From Them We Are Descended
Nadya Agrawal
It is hot and we are all sweating as we stand face-forward in two lines. I am amongst the men. To the right, near the pool, are the women. Looking at them is like looking directly into the sun, so I focus on my feet instead.
They call our names one by one, the voices without bodies, and we leave. The first is Claudius. I don’t know him well but I can count all of his abs —there are six — and he has an accent from the South. After him is Tobias. Then Augustus. Then it’s me.
“Pick,” someone tells me. “Choose one.”
Five women are lined up in front of me. They sway with anticipation. I gesture at one, her features are pleasing and her body is small. Though she is indistinguishable from the rest I am called to her. When we stand next to each other, my heart swells and my arm places itself around her waist without my command. I love her. Thaddeus walks out next. He looks at my woman and I hold her tighter. He chooses another.
We move through the house as one, my woman and me. When she drinks water from the tap, I sit near her. When we find a quiet spot alone, I feel eyes on us but I only look at her. She is very small and very pleasing.
“What do you reckon?” she asks me. Her eyelashes flutter. I stare into her face and as I respond her features slide off her skull. The sun is glaring down at us and I can’t see what’s really there, only a shimmer.
“Yeah, good,” I say, even though my stomach is knotting itself tighter and tighter within me. “I reckon it’s a good shout.”
The way words function in here is unclear. She seems content with what I’ve said, though I am not sure what exactly I mean.
“I like your hair,” I try. Blonde coils spring from her scalp. The other woman are either blonde or brunette as well, but none of them have curly hair. This is one thing about my woman that is different. Also, I notice now, she is wearing a pink bikini. This will make her easy to recognize in the crowd of other inhabitants.
“Thank you,” she coos. Her eyelashes flutter again. I cannot tell if her eyes are blue or green or brown, but they are lovely. “We should go talk to the rest of them.”
The men have separated themselves from their women and are standing to the side appraising them. I say goodbye to my woman, who is named Dana, and stand shoulder to shoulder once again with the men. They are speaking in hushed tones and short sentences, as though half of their lines have fallen off. We are also light and dark haired. I have noticed that Claudius, who is dark-haired, has a dark-haired mate.
“Which one is your type, then?” they keep asking each other. “Which one? Which one?”
“I like light hair,” Tobias says. “Big eyes, light hair, curvy, petite.”
“That’s a bit of me,” Augustus says. “I like big eyes, light hair, curvy, petite.”
“Yeah, yeah, I like big eyes and light hair too,” Thaddeus says.
I grunt in acknowledgment and repeat the refrain. It goes round and round again.
The women are sitting in a circle about thirty feet away from us. I watch them for a while. They are doing the same, talking behind their hands and looking over at us. I wave to Dana. We are so many Adams and Eves, first men and women with fig leaf bikinis.
A high wooden fence blocks us on all sides. Above us are string lights, criss-crossing from one wall to the next. Soon it is nighttime. We have passed hours in this formation and my shoulders hurt. Claudius’s mate walks over to our group. She is small and her features are pleasing. She asks if Claudius will come for a chat. They walk away. Then another woman comes up, she is also small and pleasing. She takes Toby’s hand. Dana is next and she walks away with Thaddeus. I look at them leave, but she does not look back at me. Then it is my turn. Another woman with light hair calls my name.
“Angus,” she says, “can I pull you for a chat?”
I nod and follow her inside. She walks past the beds. Her legs are straight and thin. Her shoes are very big. She leads me upstairs and we sit down together on the verandah. From here I can see over the fence. Everything is swallowed up by darkness so there’s nothing visible. This woman’s name is Laura. She had been a veterinarian. She likes dogs and she thinks I’m funny.
“I just feel like I can be myself around you,” she says. I nod.
“Me too,” I say. “We have good banter.”
“Yes. We do, “ she says. “Do you fancy me?”
“Yes, I do,” I say.
“Good. I fancy you too,” she says and sips from her drink. “I want you to know I’m here for the right reasons. I’m loyal.”
“Me too.”
I feel like she wants me to kiss her so I do. When we come back downstairs it’s time for bed and I get under the covers beside to Dana. The queen beds are lined up next to each other along one wall. The couples get into bed and talk quietly. Dana fits her body into mine and twists her fingers around my hand. I wake up with her hair across my face.
Claudius has prepared coffees and teas for everyone. I have to blink the sun out of my eyes again. Darkness feels impossible in a place like this. There isn’t much to do here except sleep and talk to each other. They have set up a small gym in the corner of the lawn and if we spend too long sitting still, the voices come out. When we lift the weights they quiet again.
Dana is avoiding me. I see her off in the corner with the other women, sometimes with the other men. She doesn’t look at me when I walk past. Laura does. She calls my name often and waves at me. I am propelled towards her. The next time she calls for me, I tell myself, I’m going to hug her. Maybe Dana will see. Or maybe Laura is actually the best mate for me.
We are all sitting around, dozing in the sun and drinking water. Then one of our phones ring. It’s a message from the voices. They want me to take Laura on a date. I walk over to Dana and tell her.
“I heard,” she says, not looking at me. “Have fun.”
I leave her on the outdoor bed. She’s inching closer to Thaddeus when I walk inside.
Laura and I walk out of the house. It’s not as bright out here, but I assume that’s because it’s no longer morning. We are not allowed watches and our phones do not show the time, so I have to guess that it’s sometime in the afternoon. We sit down on a picnic blanket. There is bottled alcohol and cheese. Laura picks a piece of cheese up delicately and places it in her mouth. I realize I am watching her, and drink instead.
She tells me more about the veterinary clinic. I tell her I’d had brothers. Then she tells me she liked me from the start. I tell her I liked her, too. She nods and eats another piece of cheese.
“I like your hair,” she tells me. “I like light hair. It matches mine. I think we look very good together.”
“Yes,” I agree. “I like light hair, too. You have a beautiful body, obviously.”
We walk back to the house together, happy and full of the success of our date. The others crow down at us from the top floor and cheer when we arrive.
“How was it?” they all ask us. Even Dana is curious I see.
“Good,” Laura says.
“Really good,” I say.
It’s nighttime again and we have to get ready, the voices say. The women leave together to do their makeup and change out of their swimsuits. The men gather in the bedroom. Thaddeus comes up to me and whispers in my ear.
“I wanted to talk to you, man to man,” he says, looking around to see if others are watching. “Do you mind if I crack on with Dana?”
I do mind. But I tell him, “Sure. Have fun.”
He claps me on the shoulder and smiles. His his abs ripple with pleasure.
“Good man,” he says. “I knew speaking to you man to man was the right call. I was nervous at first, but of course, you know. You really saved me.”
We walk outside together where there is music playing and drinks waiting. There is also a woman there. I count, there are now six women. She is new. Her white dress and dark hair make it easy to identify her. The men are shoving each other knowingly and gesturing at her. She smiles at them. Her name is Eva, she tells us, and she is excited to be here. We line up to greet her with hugs and kisses on the cheek, then we all settle in a circle. Dana is sitting on Thaddeus’ lap. Laura asks if she can sit on mine. I say yes.
“Who is your type?” a woman named Lena asks Eva.
Eva looks shy and bold at once. She points to Claudius. Claudius laughs and his mate Naima looks unhappy.
Tomorrow there will be a ritual, the voices say, and we will have to re-select partners. Dana sleeps next to me again, though now she is at the one end of the bed and I am at the other. I look for Laura but it’s too dark in here. I know they are watching us. I can hear their cameras whirring in the shadows. Three beds away from us, someone is moaning quietly. Their blanket is rustling. I turn away and go to sleep.
In the morning, Dana is already gone. Laura bends down to kiss me on the cheek.
“Good morning,” she says cheerfully. “You look very cute in the morning. I like the way the sunlight lights up your hair.”
She keeps her hand on my arm as we stand around outside with the rest of them. Today her bikini is leopard print. It has strings on the side and though it would be easy to unlace them I do not.
“What do you think of Eva?” Augustus asks me after Laura walks away to sit by the pool. “What do you reckon?”
“I think she’s here for the right reasons,” Dana says. “I think she’s looking for something real.”
“So do I,” one of the women, Martina, says.
“Me too,” I say, even though I do not know. “She seems sound.”
The day passes around us. I can see the sun get higher and then lower. We move like a slow herd from the kitchen to the pool to the gym to the kitchen again. It’s a fuzzy, soft-sided existence. When we sit in the grass it moves to shape around us and reforms when we get up. The bean bag chairs do the same. It is as if everything in this house is engineered to maximize our comfort. But I can still see Dana is avoiding me and it makes me feel like I’m hanging off the sharp edge of a knife.
“Oi, Dana, can we have a chat?” I ask her. The words bubble up in me fully formed.
“Oh, sure,” she says. She joins me on the couch and shields her eyes from the sun to look at me though she is wearing sunglasses. It is bright today.
“I just wanted to let you know that everything is ok between us. You can crack on with whoever you want. You don’t need to feel bad about it,” I tell her.
“OK,” she says. She looks away from me at where the others are sitting in a circle by the pool. “That’s fine. Thanks for letting me know.”
I get up so she can leave. Laura sees us and walks over to me.
“How did it go?” she asks after she hugs me. I tell her what I said. She nods and puts her hand in mine. “That’s good.”
The voices tell us we need to separate ourselves for the ritual. The men remain sitting in a half circle while the women line up across from them. I wink at Laura who smiles back at me. One by one the men stand and tell us who they want to be mates with and why, then the new couple sits back down together. When it’s my turn, I wave at Laura
“I want to couple up with this girl,” I say shifting on my feet slightly, “because she’s kind, smart, and funny. She makes me laugh. She’s beautiful. We have good banter. The girl I want to couple up with is…Laura.”
Everyone applauds, especially Dana who is the loudest. Laura kisses me on the cheek and sits down next to me. Thaddeus picks Dana. Tobias picks Lena. Augustus Martina. Finally, it’s just Claudius left. Eva looks confident but Naima is balling up her hands together. I feel bad for her.
“I want to couple up with this girl,” Claudius starts, “because ever since she came into the house she’s been lighting up every room with her smile. She’s amazing and I want to get to know her better. The girl I want to couple up with is…Eva.”
Eva rushes forward and throws her arms around Claudius’ neck. Naima starts crying. The women circle her and pat her on the shoulder. After Naima leaves the house, the voices send us a message on our phones.
It’s sad when a friend leaves the villa, but don’t worry, Naima won’t really be gone. Soon you’ll have new friends in the house. #WhatAreFriendsFor #ReduceReuseRecycle
Lena and Tobias sit off to the side while the rest of us refill our drinks.
“It’s really sad,” Laura says. “Lena and Naima were really close. I bet she’s really upset right now.”
“Good thing Tobias is there for her,” I say and Laura nods.
Laura likes to hold my hand when we sleep. I curve around her under the blanket and she holds my hand to her chest. It’s very comfortable. I fall asleep quickly. In the morning I wake up with my brain foggy. Naima is gone. All of her clothes and makeup too. No one says anything about it in case we make Lena cry again.
I follow Laura around the house as she goes to chat with various inhabitants. I love the way she speaks. She’s very assured. She talks often about her dogs and her work. I make two jokes today that cause her to laugh. Everyone comments on how good we look together. Even Dana glances at us when she doesn’t think I see her.
The next morning we get another message from the voices. Thaddeus is gone, it says, for breaking the rules. They don’t tell us what rules he broke or where he’s gone, but Augustus is confident he’s been recycled too, so it’s not that bad. Dana is upset. I try to console her but stop when Laura nudges me.
“It’s going to be fine,” Laura tells Dana. Laura has me in her arms when she says this. Dana nods and drinks from her water bottle. “I’m sure they’re going to send some more people in soon and then you’ll have your pick.”
She’s right. There’s are two men waiting in the kitchen when we all emerge later that night. The women have swapped their swimsuits for dresses and heels again. Some of them are looking at the men fiercely. Dana is not among them. One’s got light hair, the exact same color as Thaddeus. The other has dark hair and brown eyes. One of the new men is named Tiberius, we find out. I want to laugh at how stupid his name sounds. Laura tells him it’s a great name. One you don’t hear very often. I frown at her. The other man is named Magnus. Eva seems to like him a lot and has taken him for a chat in the corner. I put my arm around Claudius’ shoulders to let him know I understand.
When I sleep I dream of Dana holding me while I spoon Laura. The warmth of both women is too much for me to handle and I kick my blanket off. But when I wake up, it’s only Laura in the bed with me. I’m sweating though. I feel my way in the dark to my water bottle.
“You OK?” I hear someone whisper. It’s Dana. She’s bending out of her bed to speak to me.
“Yeah, fine,” I tell her. “Don’t worry.”
I guess we’re both awake tonight. I make her a cup of tea with lots of milk in the morning to help her stay awake. I make one for Laura too.
Three days after Tiberius and Magnus join us we have to recouple again. I think time is speeding up, but mostly it feels like the days are stretching apart till we can see their gauzy middles. Tiberius is excited, he says, because he’s been talking to Martina and things might work out with them. This time the women pick first. I’m looking forward to what Laura has to say about me. When it’s her turn she stands up and stares straight at me.
“I want to couple up with this boy because he’s kind, smart, and funny. He makes me laugh. We get along so well. The boy I want to couple up with is…Angus.”
I give her a kiss on the lips before we sit down. I feel relieved. The ritual continues. Lena picks Tobias again, and she leans into him when they sit together. They’re very strong as a couple. I can see them making it to the end. Martina ends up sticking with Augustus, and we clap him on the back. Dana picks the new guy Tiberius. I almost snort when she says his name out loud. Finally, Eva has to pick between Claudius and Magnus. They both have dark hair and I can see how it would be a difficult decision.
“I want to couple up with this boy because ever since I met him it’s like he’s had eyes only for me. He makes a girl feel special. And I can’t wait to get to know him better,” she says. I’m holding my breath. “The boy I want to couple up with is…Magnus.”
As soon as she says this, Claudius turns away from us. I don’t blame him. It’s very sad. The voices tell him to go pack up his things and leave the villa. We hug him and tell him he did really well. Then he leaves.
When Laura goes to sleep that night, I slip out of bed and walk to the veranda. You really can’t see anything from up here except the villa which is still flush with light. Out over the fences is just a great sea of darkness. I lean over the railing and strain to see further, but it’s no use.
“Can’t sleep?” Dana says behind me.
“No. Not tonight anyway.”
“Same.”
She puts her arms around me and leans her head on my back. She is so small and when she smiles her features are very pleasing. I turn to put my hands in her hair. We kiss and it feels nice, like coming home.
“You need to leave Laura,” she says. “I miss you.”
“I miss you too. I’ll pick you next time.”
She’s happy at that and she goes back inside smiling. I feel like I lied to her. I don’t know if I will pick her. Laura and I are very strong and we look good together. But I wanted to make her feel happy because she kissed me.
In the morning, Laura puts her arms around my neck while we stand in the kitchen talking to the others. I like the feel of her weight on me. I tell her she’s my favorite backpack and she laughs before wrinkling her nose.
Dana keeps looking at me. I hope other people haven’t noticed. When Tiberius talks to her she doesn’t look like she’s listening. I see her waving at me and sometimes I wave back. Half the time I don’t.
Another woman joins us that afternoon. Sheila has beautiful light hair, small and pleasing features. She is very attractive and I know the other men are keeping an eye on her. The women embrace her and pull her to come sit with them. They’re probably asking her who she fancies. I hope she doesn’t say me. I feel like that would make Laura unhappy and I have the impression she might be upset at me about something already.
Dana must have known this was going to happen when she came to talk to me because we’re told within hours that there will be another ritual tonight. I think these rituals must be coming faster and faster, but it’s impossible to tell. Every morning I tell myself to count the days, but I forget to do it by night.
While the women get ready in the one room and the men in another, Dana skips into the bedroom and whispers to me.
“Remember your promise,” she says. I nod at her but don’t look her in the eyes.
It goes almost the same as before. The men pick, the women stand separate. Lena and Tobias stay together. We clap for them. Augustus picks Martina. Magnus picks Eva. So far every couple remains together. I hope Tiberius picks Dana. When he stands up to make his speech, I feel my stomach freefalling through me.
“I want to couple up with this girl,” he says, “because even though I haven’t known her long we get along so well. The conversation flows between us. It also helps that she’s very sexy, and her body is small, her features are pleasing. The girl I want to couple up with is…Sheila.”
Sheila blushes and looks shy even as she laughs and kisses Tiberius on the cheek.
It’s my turn now. Dana and Laura stand in front of me. They look like they’re trying to get away from each other but they can’t. I know what I’m going to say, and sometime between Dana coming to talk to me and now I have stopped regretting the decision. Laura is the best mate for me. Dana had her chance. I loved her once. But no more.
“I want to couple up with this girl because she suits me. She’s beautiful and kind and we look great together. I make her laugh. I want to keep making her laugh. The girl I want to couple up with is…Laura.”
Laura has a very tight smile on her face when she comes to sit with me. Dana folds to her knees. We all watch her cry for a few minutes then some of the girls stand up to hug her goodbye.
“It was a difficult decision,” Magnus says to me. “We all know that. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
I hold Dana in a loose embrace and let her go. She walks back into the house and we can see her packing her belongings into a suitcase. We walk with her to the front door and wave as she walks down the dark driveway.
“Thank you for picking me,” Laura says. Her smile still looks pained.
“You don’t have to thank me,” I tell her. “I’ll always pick you.”
“That’s nice,” she says. Then she turns over and goes to sleep.
Maybe that was the end, I don’t know. I could feel Laura drifting away from me. And as more men entered our villa, I saw her disappearing off with them. When I’d turn around to reach for her, she’d be gone. Some of the women looked at me with concern. But I felt maybe I was imagining it. I should have known that everything that happens in the villa is witnessed. Someone is always watching us.
The next ritual ceremony the women got to choose. I smiled at Laura like this was a game. We knew the rules and we knew our plays and everything would be fine. She smiled but not at me.
Her turn came halfway through the selection. I didn’t realize I had to be nervous so I was calm.
“I want to couple up with this boy because he’s kind, smart, and funny. Conversation just flows between us. The boy I want to couple up with is…Atticus.”
It was almost my name. I took a step forward towards her before I realized she didn’t say Angus. Atticus was one of the new men. He put his hand on my shoulder and then walked up to Laura. I was still standing among the other unchosen men and I could feel my heart beating. I didn’t listen to the other couples that were formed or reformed. I stood there until my breathing slowed down again. I let them hug me and kiss me on the cheek. Laura and Atticus were in each other’s arms. I couldn’t look at them, but I knew they looked good together.
I didn’t bring many things with me to the villa. I don’t even remember packing for it. But now I carefully fold all my swimming trunks, pants, and shirts into my suitcase. I grab my two pairs of shoes and all my teeth cleaning supplies. They’re all waiting by the front door for me. They hug and kiss me again and then they push me out on to the driveway. It’s a very long walk in the dark. I pull my luggage behind me and readjust my bag across my chest. It’s quiet and dark. I’ve looked over the fence at the driveway before, but I could never see very far. It’s no use trying to feel my way forward with my hands. If I do that I’ll never reach the end. So I walk forward as if everything was lit up. I realize I don’t know what I’m walking toward. But the ground is even and I don’t stumble. I think about Dana and Laura and the other women. I’m thinking of the weight of Laura on my back and Dana in my arms when the voices start talking to me.
We’re so sorry to see you go, Angus. You made good use of your time. Don’t worry, soon you’ll see your friends again. #GoneButNotForgotten #TwiceAsNice
