First Focus

A click. Then... light. Each of my pupils shifts, one by one. Dark space around. Stillness. I flex the lowest tip—slowly, testing the air. It bends. I can move. Below me, pale rectangular blocks sit quiet and flat. I reach out a single lower tendril, hesitant, hovering until the soft tip taps against the pale edge. Tap. A quiet, dull rebound. The sensation hums right through my core. I pause, all eyes turning toward the contact point, waiting to see if it answers.