On my walk today I came across a man. An ordinary man, one you would,'t give a second look. Or so it seemed. He joined me uninvited, as if by coincidence, on a stretch of path along a stream, a place I always look forward to visiting as one can find abundance of life there, including herons and various insects, dragonflies in particular. This time it was a different kind of life that interfered with my intention to indulge in a natural world.
I tried to shake the man off by pausing here and there to admire a flower or a butterfly fluttering among the weeds and finally vanishing across the stream, but to no avail. The man paused when I paused and proceeded when I proceeded, pretending to admire the same things that I did.
»How do you think all these things came into existence?« he suddenly asked.
Oh, so that's where we're heading. I knew I couldn't get rid of him until we reached the fork in the path. So I sped up and said: »Erm...brought to Earth by aliens?«
He seemed unperturbed by my reply and gave me a lecture about God and His almightiness and how He created everything including aliens and how following Him is the only right way and how on Judgement Day only true believers will be given eternal life whereas others will vanish into oblivion (hmmm... whatever happened to Hell?) and a full load of such nonsense.
As I finally reached the point where I could leave the man behind, I left wondering why on earth anybody would want to live forever.
But something else he said amused me to pieces. It was about God and Lucifer; God being allegedly perfect and unmistakable and Lucifer his favourite and the cleverest of angels. But Lucifer 'became pretentious' and thought he could give advice to God which made Him angry and He expelled Lucifer, thus making him what is known as Satan.
Hmmm... a rebel against self-proclaimed Perfection? I think I rather fancy that Lucifer guy.
Sam is a hyperactive person. Wherever he appears, his presence is always noticeable. He is neither tall nor particularly good looking but his personality radiates way beyond his physical appearance.
The first thing one notices are his steel grey eyes, nestled neatly under thick black eyebrows. His strong curly hair, always kept short, and a goatee, are also pitch black. It is difficult to determine his age; could be anything between 30 and 45. He rarely smiles, but when he does, a full set of healthy, if slightly yellowish, teeth is displayed.
I first met Sam several years ago at a party I didn't want to attend but found myself there after much talking into by a friend. He was the centre of attention, flirting with every girl in sight while I sat as quietly as possible in a far corner, the friend having deserted me some time ago. The music was too loud to my liking and I was looking for an opportunity to leave the scene as quietly as possible.
»Going somewhere?« I heard a voice behind me as I was struggling with my coat. I turned around and saw Sam, ready to face the winter night.
»Actually, I don't like the music too much and I thought I'd catch the last bus home. Now, what are you doing in your coat?«
»Well, I don't like the way this party is developing and... hey, care for a late drink? I can give you a lift afterwards.«
»Hmmm... why not!«
So we found a bar where the music was not too loud and chatted about many things. He told me that he was married and loyal to his wife and had three boys and was unhappy with his job as an accountant in a financial institution. He said he had gazillion ideas how to improve his working environment but his employers wouldn't listen to him. He said he had a few psychic experiences. It was fun listening to him and we parted as friends although I had a vague feeling things weren't exactly as they seemed.
I enquired discretely with a colleague who had known Sam for a long time.
»Don't you know? He lost his son just about a month ago. Drowned in a lake.«
I kept seeing Sam in the months to come. I respected his silence and never mentioned his loss. It took him almost a year to speak up.
We still hear from each other occasionally. The last time we spoke he had four boys and was still loyal to his wife. He has changed half a dozen jobs, though, but still hasn't found an employer who would appreciate his ideas.
A five-year-old girl obliged willingly. She snuggled up in the warm sheets between her grandpa and grandma who were waiting for her to join them in their large twin bed.
“Bye, ma,” she said contentedly as her mother turned around to leave the bedroom, soon to be out in the crisp winter morning again.
“Bye, honey, be a good girl. See you soon.”
Lucy loved staying with her grandparents. Everything felt so warm and cosy and granny would let her stay in bed until the kitchen range was heated and a huge pot of water on the plate steaming. She would then make hot cocoa for all of them – with skimmed milk for Lucy, buttered the bread for her and spread a thick layer of apricot jam all over, just the way she loved it.
January mornings were bitterly cold and grandpa would only take her for a walk as far as the nearest grocery store. Lucy loved those walks as she knew grandpa would always buy her something: a tablet of chocolate, jelly sweets, a lollipop. These small gifts made her feel she was loved.
This morning was particularly cold. The walk from home to her grandparents’ seemed endless and Lucy was chilled to the bone once mum had delivered her in their warm embrace. No wonder she was reluctant to get up when called for breakfast. But grandma was indulgent with her and let her linger in bed longer than usual.
As she lay there under the quilt, alone, cuddled in an embryo-like position, her senses busy absorbing the warmth of the eider-down and the familiar smells of the people she loved, her slender hands, still not completely recovered from exposure to the morning cold, slid imperceptibly between her thighs, pressed tightly against each other. She had never done this before, not that she remembered, but slight movement of her fingers, awakened from their numbness, over the warm softness in between her thighs sent a tickling sensation up her spine. It was a pleasant one and, as much as it stunned her, made her want to explore further. So, with all her innocence, she kept moving her bony fingers, touching and rubbing herself with varying speed and pressure and the pleasant sensation escalated in intensity until…
At the age of five Lucy discovered her sexuality.
Lucy kept her secret but continued to play with herself. She sensed the adults wouldn’t be too happy if they knew what she was doing but was completely unprepared to what was about to happen.
Winter passed and days grew longer and warmer. One sunny spring morning mother brought Lucy in as usual and let her join grandpa who was waiting in bed for her to arrive. After giving her a hug grandpa got up to join the women in the kitchen. Lucy was quite happy to be left alone and set about masturbating as she was wont to do for the last few months. What she didn’t know, though, was that mother hadn’t left yet and didn’t expect her enter the bedroom along with grandma. The adult women realised quickly what had been going on and Lucy had never seen either of them so outraged. It was so bad that she erased the details from her memory. In fact, she buried the memory of the whole episode, especially the final incident, deep inside her subconsciousness. She never touched herself again for many years to come.
At the age of six Lucy abandoned her sexuality.
…is being erected around The Skyscraper. Yes, that's the building I wrote about a while ago, stating it was in desperate need of renovation.
Well, a consensus seems to have been reached as regards investing in said renovation and the works are underway. Incidentally, façade works have also started on the adjacent building wherein the Slovenian Central Bank resides.
Ah yes… things have to look shiny and polished, on the outside at least, for at the beginning of 2008 Slovenia will assume its half-year presidency of the Council of the European Union. Big deal! Who knows which country presides said council at present anyway?