49 for cadina
49. “Who hurt you?”
Regina is a few minutes away from the school when she spots someone sitting by the side of the road.
She's about to swerve and give them a wide berth as she passes, until she sees who it is, and she slams on her brakes instead.
It's Cady.
Cady looks up as Regina screeches to a halt, her face streaked with tears. Regina feels her breath get shallow as anxiety rises in her chest. She smacks the hazard light button and climbs out of the car.
"Cady? Are you okay?" Regina crouches down next to Cady and scans her face. Aside from some smeared mascara and red eyes, she seems mostly okay.
"I'm fine," Cady says, sniffling.
Regina sees Cady is clutching her knee, the skin scraped raw, and Regina sees red.
"Who hurt you? Who did this?" she growls, her vision almost blurring with how quickly her anger rushes through her.
"What? No one," Cady says, looking confused.
"Who, Cady?" Regina asks again, more urgently, gripping Cady's shoulders. Cady's head bobs a little with the motion. "I'll kill them right now. Nobody will find the body."
"Regina! Nobody hurt me," Cady insists. "I fell off my bike." She points a few feet behind her, where there is indeed a bike lying on its side in some bushes.
All of Regina's anger drains out of her body at once, like someone pulled a plug. Cady is okay, she repeats to herself.
"Sorry," Regina says, feeling a little embarrassed at her overreaction. "I just saw you crying by the side of the road, and..." She trails off.
"Well, it hurt." Cady turns her palms up, and they're scraped, too.
"Yeah, I bet it does." Regina fishes in her purse for some tissues, presses one to Cady's bleeding knee. "Where's your helmet?"
Cady shrugs. "I forgot it."
"You were riding your bike without a helmet?!"
"What are you, my mom?"
"No, but I'll tell your mom," Regina threatens, and when Cady's eyes widen she waves a hand. "Kidding, kidding."
"Thanks," Cady says, smiling a little, and Regina brushes a lock of red hair out of Cady's face without thinking, barely resisting the urge to cup Cady's face and brush the tears away with her thumbs. "And thanks for, you know, offering to kill someone for me."
"Of course I would," Regina says. "Isn't that what friendship is?"
Cady laughs and gives Regina a smile—Regina's favorite smile of Cady's, the one that feels like it's just for her, affectionate and fond and intimate, crinkling the corners of her eyes. The smile that always makes Regina smile reflexively back, the one that makes her heart beat a little faster.
"Come on," Regina says, standing and offering Cady a hand. Then she remembers that Cady's hands and scraped and gross, so Regina just kind of hauls her up by the arms. "I'm driving you home."
"But what about my bike?" Cady asks.
"Someone can come back for it later," Regina says, opening the passenger door for Cady. "But I think this is a sign you should retire that thing. How many times have you crashed it now?"
"I'm getting better," Cady insists.
"Lord save us all when you start driving," Regina says as she buckles herself in.
Cady pouts and crosses her arms, so Regina reaches over and squeezes Cady's leg. Cady looks a little startled, and Regina realizes how high up on Cady's though her hand is, and she quickly brings it back to the steering wheel, her palm burning from the contact.
Driving Cady around might be better for Cady's safety, but definitely not for Regina's own sanity.
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Sonos will be the first company to offer Apple Music's immersive spatial audio experience to users in their living rooms
Sonos has announced that starting on March 28th, its Era 300, Arc, and Beam (Gen 2) speakers will support Apple Music's spatial audio. This means that Sonos users will now have access to an immersive, multi-dimensional sound experience that places them at the center of their music.
Before this announcement, Sonos only supported spatial audio through Amazon Music Unlimited. With Apple Music's spatial audio being added, the potential audience for Sonos has doubled. According to Statista, Amazon had 13.3% market share in the second quarter of last year, while Apple Music had 13.7%. This means that many users will now be able to try this feature for themselves.
Older Sonos soundbars and Play-series speakers won't support spatial audio as they were built around conventional stereo and surround output. This means that users who want to upgrade to a grander audio experience will need to purchase the Era 300, Arc, or Beam (Gen 2).
It's unclear if other speaker brands will support Apple Music's spatial audio, but for now, Sonos has the edge over competitors that may not offer Atmos music at any price point. Although the $299 HomePod is more affordable than the $450 Era 300, it's worth noting that the Sonos model represents a larger investment but is likely to sound better.
Read More below:
https://trendingtopicnow.com/2023/03/sonos-will-be-the-first-company-to-offer-apple-musics-immersive-spatial-audio-experience-to-users-in-their-living-rooms/
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The Lighthouse, a short story.
inspired by the song.
Editor’s Note
It’s a scary place, the real world. It’s not kind to anyone. Filled with horrors seen and unseen, it treats everyone the same, and no one can prepare for the unknown.
But you can process it.
This is a cold, short story. It’s written by an ancient processor of the unknown. Learn about the situation, and start listening to The Lighthouse by Halsey when I tell you too.
Enjoy :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Introduction
The beach is beautiful if you really think about it. The clouds in the sky cover the sun in a way that almost makes you feel protected. You can see every grain of sand, and feel how soft and individualistic they are in between your fingers. The rocks are tall around the shore, and give off a dust that almost smells like wood. There is a Lighthouse that sits on top of the rocks, at the ends of the shoreline.
It is completely unreachable, not because the rocks are dangerous, but because it’s simply impossible. It stands tall like it’s the tallest building in the world, and intimidates in a way a monolith would intimidate its congregant.
You get the sense that everything isn’t what it seems.
The Protagonist lifts their head, gasping for plentiful air as the waves brush past their bare legs. An automatic sense of dread fills their chest, like where they are is not where they should be. A lack of belonging is painful. They can’t help to think that where they are is beautiful, and the wind blows through their hair almost like a pat on the back. But as inexplicably human as they feel at this moment, they don’t want to be here. The fishnet tied around their body keeps them safe, in the meantime.
The ocean begins to move.
Begin The Lighthouse by Halsey
A boat drops a body into the water.
The Protagonist squints their eyes as the vessel disappears as quickly as it came. They walk through the water to the sandbar when a force brings them to their knees, no amount of effort allows them past. They think, what did I do? Then something brushes past their waist. They wonder.
How do you take on someone else when you can’t take yourself?
The Protagonist sets him down on the shore, and a green light suddenly flashes from the Lighthouse in the sky. What could I possibly be doing here, they think. I have been brought, a man, and yet I still have no answers. The light dims, and a tingle goes down their legs. A warning? The man gasps for air as the light flashed brighter. What are you trying to say? They think.
The Protagonist looks down at the man, layers of fishnet wrapped around their body like a towel. He looks very peaceful when he sleeps, the violent need for breath ruined their picture of possibilities almost immediately. The man gets up, dressed like a Sailor, in need of leveling ground and the two stand apart.
The Protagonist goes to speak, words forming at their lips but no sound ever coming out. Their eyes widened at each other. I can’t imagine a life without my voice, the Sailor says. I bet yours would’ve sounded sweet and airy, like the holes in your fishnets. I could help you find your voice again, if you’d like. Let me take you back into town. He reaches out and grabs their hand, a moment frozen in time.
The Protagonist looks into the Sailor’s eyes, almost examining his soul. Into town? What a strange thing to say. A body is dropped from a ship of men. Then he wants to promise me things of which I couldn’t even imagine? I don’t know who this is, I don’t know what I’m even doing here. I must find my belonging before it cuts me open. I don’t need your sympathy, they thought. I have exactly what I need.
They took their hand out of his and rested it on his heart, and felt that it was beating quite fast. A ringing began in their ears like they had found the source. What is it? The Sailor asks, he’s so entranced by their beauty that he forgot what brought him there in the first place.
The Protagonist felt their fishnet start to come apart, a barrier was slowly breaking. In the little time it took for a man to become distracted, their body began to transform. The Sailor pushed back, skin he’s never seen runs down their abdomen. Are you okay? What is wrong with you? He says, a borderline of genuine curiosity or stupidity.
As if by wielding the force that originally brought them to their knees, they grasped at the throat of the Sailor and ripped the chords from his neck. A stain to the oil painting they had created in the Sailor’s perception of his savior. The sailor fell back into the beach as the Protagonist ate every chord, every word he ever said, every song he’s ever sung, and every lie he’s ever told. The Lighthouse let out a deep, guttural roar. Like a signal.
A Lighthouse is a monolith that intimidates its congregants, and it’s never meant to be defied.
The Protagonist looks up at the sky, blood dripping down their face and hands. A bloody, gory mess of it all. Look at what the mess you’ve made, they thought. The skin starts wrapping around their back and shoulders, down their arms. They ponder the meaning of love, and if it’s something meant for them. Their throat begins to burn, the inside like a candle wick.
The human mind is a vessel of dread, some ships sail and some don’t. Time is hard to comprehend on the lonely beach, just another construct to keep track of in this reality. The sky begins to dim as quickly as it lit up. A sureness flushed through the Protagonist’s face, an acceptance of the evolution of their body. However, the validating burn in their throat hid the cramp inside their stomach. They could feel the squelching thickness of his sins, even if he was already gone.
The Protagonist let out an involuntary groan of pain, and the Lighthouse began to flash red. They looked to the light, remembering that this wasn’t where they belonged. I have to get back, they thought. I must find it, it’s killing me.
There is no one on this beach for a reason, it’s quiet here. No one comes here willingly, do you really have a choice? The Protagonist looks down at the sailor, what was once peaceful now shows its true fate. You would have never made it out alive, they say to the man.
Or what was once a man. Was it ever a man? They pick up the body, arms splayed out, and look to the ocean. Tears began to stream down their face. I’m not afraid of anything. They say to themselves.
By this point, their new skin covered them head to toe, their hair draped down their back. They stepped into the ocean, a tingle running down their arms and legs. It felt good enough that the pain in their stomach faded to the background again.
They carried the lifeless body to the edge of the sandbar, a feat once impossible; they're almost towards the end of their evolution. The sun starts to set, and they gradually let go of the body. As by magic, it sinks into a deep, unknown abyss.
The Lighthouse roars again and the red light flashes brighter. They watch through the light as dark figures surround the body, and the Protagonist breathes a sigh of relief. The waves are getting taller, almost as tall as the rocks.
There’s real beauty in self discovery, maybe this is my lesson. The Protagonist dives into the water, gills at their sides, a long tail. No longer alone or in pain. Free.
The end.
Thank you so much. If you made it to the end, read it again, if you want. It's for you <3
a love letter to a special community, and it’s fearless leader
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