THE  27Th  EDITIOn

Heaps of trash can’t live on the planet alone. They came through the door in polyamorous relationships, pressed up against one another in a sensual ballad. There was nothing else but trash, and when the trash piled up it was dumped down further, because it was trash. From one heap to another the trash danced, becoming worse trash with each hand that tossed it further down. 

          Couch cushions. 

          Piles of couch cushions vomited out of the large door in the middle of nowhere, a dull black and white universe made for trash. Jameson liked the couch cushions. Occasionally, he could find one to replace his worn out reclining chair. He liked to play a game called Princess and the Pea with them, stacking them one at a time and sitting atop them with each new cushion until he could no longer feel the small piece of wood he had put at the bottom of the pile. It was a nice way to stack the heaps of trash, making it easy to push them over into the hole once they became trash to Jameson. 

          He averaged around four stacks of cushions before he tossed them. The quality was always durable, and that was the problem. He wanted something rancid, unusable, perhaps even full of bedbugs. He had found a remote from a television in one of the cushions once and had fun clicking its various buttons until he decided it was trash too. 

          Jameson was often tired from sorting all the trash. The door was never unfilled, constantly piling up more and more trash. He found it was better to let it sit and rest himself on his reclining chair. There was even a table that he could pretend to put objects on. He had a bucket too that was filled with fabric, feathers, and string from the couch cushions. It was a fine place to rest.

          While Jameson sat in his reclining chair, he stared at the door and found himself waiting. He was sure something would come through the door worth entertainment one day but was too tired to search for it, so he waited in his reclining chair with his side table and bucket. If it moved, he would catch it. If it didn’t, he would fiddle with it endlessly. 

          “Trash is not lonely, but it’s a lonesome sight,” a voice spoke to Jameson. The man's head shot to the right, towards one of his piles of cushions he had previously played Princess and the Pea on. There was a human atop the cushions. He had made a staircase of cushions to sit at the very top, legs criss crossed and fingers resting along his chin in thought. Jameson hadn’t seen another human in more years than he could count on his fingers. He was in awe. He was in complete shock. His body quaked with excitement, running off every bit of adrenaline that could still course through his system. Something breathed in front of him, and moved its body without his aid. This was a person who wore clothes to keep his dignity and had hair to keep his head warm. He was like Jameson. 

          The unknown man’s head tilted back and forth as his face scrunched up in thought. “Hm…Hm…” his voice echoed as he thought. “Ah, I feel it.” He patted the cushions and winked at Jameson. “This princess is surely the one.” 

          “You’re here,” Jameson spoke, still in awe. He didn’t think he would recover from this feeling anytime soon. A person here in front of him. 

          “In the flesh, blood, heart, body, mind, and soul,” the other man responded. “Now sir, my dear princess, I cordially ask you for your name.” He stood atop the cushion tower and bowed. Jameson knew the tower was unstable. It wasn’t his best build. It was a shoddy job, yet still the man stood with perfect balance.

          “I’m Jameson,” he responded, finding he couldn’t think of anything else to say. He couldn’t remember what people talked about between one another. 

          “And I’m your prince, here to take you away from your tower of trash,” the unknown man responded. “Call me Kaiser.” 

          “Kaiser…” Jameson echoed, the now named man smiling with glee. “Do you like couch cushions?” 

          It was the only topic he could think of. As the thing which revolved around his daily life, his mind was constantly occupied by couch cushions. Couch cushions and trash. “I like couch cushions,” Kaiser replied, filling Jameson with a small bit of glee. “I like picture frames as well, and bike helmets. I like green rakes and yellow lighters. I like other colored rakes and lighters too, of course.” He hopped down from the tower of cushions, not making it waver the slightest, and walked towards Jameson in his chair. “I like humans as well.” He sat on the edge of the reclining chair and reached a hand out to Jameson. In such close proximity to another human being, Jameson found himself growing warm. His heart pounded faster with excitement. He let Kaiser’s hand touch his face, realizing he had stubble along his chin. It was slightly embarrassing knowing he wasn’t cleaned up properly. Kaiser didn’t seem to react. He touched Jameson’s cheek tenderly, real and warm contact causing him to freeze up. It wasn’t a couch cushion. It was a human. Something warm that moved and was alive was touching his body at this moment. 

          “Why don’t you like me too, Jameson?” Kaiser asked, somewhat like an offer. He tilted his head up. 

          “I like you,” Jameson replied without hesitation. Kaiser smiled and Jameson felt he had answered with the correct response.

          “Very well, my princess. It’s mutual,” Kaiser said, like it was a good thing. Jameson tried to remember the meaning of relationships, but could only think back to couch cushions. They bundled together and brushed against one another. Couch cushions weren’t alone in the heap. They weren’t alone in his piles or on his chair either. Nothing in the heap was allowed to be alone, and Jameson waited, alone, for the same strange occurrence to one day happen to him. Kaiser didn’t come from the heap, however. 

           “Where are you going?” Jameson asked as Kaiser’s hand left him and he began walking towards one of his towers. 

           “Trash is not lonely, but it’s a lonesome sight,” Kaiser repeated, lifting a foot and kicking the tower down. He moved to the next one, Jameson watching him from his chair, part of him growing upset over his work being destroyed, and another part curious about Kaiser’s intentions. “To understand trash is to understand the abandonment of others.” Kaiser kicked another pile down. “Things left behind become memories…” Another tower fell. “...and are crushed until unnoticeable.” The last pile fell and Kaiser turned to Jameson with a bright smile. “I read that in a book once. Stellar, isn’t it?” 

           Jameson was in despair, staring at his piles in horror. The accumulation of his games of Princess in the Pea were laid to waste and now a bright light surrounded him. It hurt his eyes and forced him to look into the vast expanse of nothingness. Doors littered trash in the distance, yet none were close enough for Jameson to truly see them. His prior excitement turned into fear, anger, and despair. 

           Hands clapped over his shoulders from behind, making him jolt. “Look, princess! The vast expanse of the world! Scary, right? No matter! You are no longer alone, my dear princess. We are a heap of trash, dancing together and merging like lovers. Very well! Let’s greet the open world with a smile and glory in its delight!” 

          “I’m going to wear out,” Jameson replied. “No good. No good. I’m going to become rotten and fall. I can’t.” 

          Kaiser’s face leaned forward and stared at Jameson with wide open eyes. “Then fall, princess. Your prince has no choice but to follow you. Hurry up and fall or run wild in the nothingness with me.” 

          Jameson shivered, unsure of his decision. 

          “Just wait. You’ll see.” Kaiser pulled him up off his chair. He was dragged forward, away from his couch cushions and reclining chair and side table with the bucket full of fabric, feathers, and string. He was pushed away from it all. 

          Jameson was dragged at first, and then his feet gave in and began walking in pace beside Kaiser. Their hands stayed connected, trash needing to be in constant contact so as not to be lonely. A dance. A polygamous relationship. A lover's embrace. 

          Jameson looked back, finding his gaze unable to part with his cushions or heap by the door. “How does the book continue?” he asked Kaiser. 

          “I’ll muster up my knowledge to continue for you,” Kaiser replied, thinking hard once again with a scrunched brow. “It’s been bookmarked! Wonderful! Let’s continue from ‘crushed until unnoticeable’.” 

          Kaiser cleared his throat dramatically and began. Jameson found his gaze turning forward again as he listened.

          “I, myself, have become a figure devoid of substance. I am an enigma of possibility formed into a pile of trash. Just wait, one day my flesh will become solid and my bones strong. I will lift my arms at the glory of the day and bask in the sun. I, too, will feel that I am alive.”