by James Hudson
George stopped and looked around and noticed Jack Morgan, who was standing 30 feet away, talking with a cheerful kid. George slowly approached them.
“Look, who’s here, George!” Jack exclaimed. “Little Tommy!”
“I’m not little!” Tommy objected. “I’m nine already!”
“Hello, Tommy!” George nodded politely.
“Good morning, sir!” Happy Tommy extended his little hand. George smiled and shook it.
“Cool, guys! Let’s go inside!” Jack said, pointing at a door on the side of the old, three-story brick building.
George looked up and saw a plate ‘Corner of Happiness.’ It was a small toy shop. Jack, sparkling with joy, unlocked the front door and hopped in. Little Tommy instantly followed him. George sighed heavily and entered too.
The shop was nice and cozy. Although it was very cramped, the number of toys was enormous. Jack used the maximum available space. Hundreds of bright-colored models of cars, tabletop games, dozens of plush toys, and probably a thousand figurines of animals, cartoon characters, and some incredible fantasy creatures – all that was here.
George was enchanted to see it all. Little Tommy was trembling with happiness, although he’d obviously been here before. The emotions were unfeigned.
“Here you are, mate!” Jack extracted a folder with colored paper. “I printed it yesterday. Scale 1:18. 488 Pista. As agreed.”
“Wow! Amazing!” Little Tommy jumped as high as he possibly could. “Thank you, Jack! You’re incredible!”
“High-five!” Jack exclaimed.
And little Tommy jumped again to reach Jack’s palm. Then he grabbed the folder and headed for the exit.
“Remember! Not more than three days!” Jack winked at him.
“Yes!” the boy cried and ran away.
George smiled. “Your son?”
Jack shook his head. “No.”
“Wow… A customer?”
“Not even a customer,” Jack grinned. “You know, he’s from a low-income family. Once he came here with his mother and just couldn’t avert his eyes from little scale models. His favorite one was a Ferrari 488. Great sportscar, actually. Exquisite vehicle! But his mother didn’t have enough money. Mother worked hard, but she couldn’t afford to buy it. I told him to come back again. He was delighted.
The next day he came alone in the early morning before school. I suggested him to make car models out of paper.”
Jack pulled a small Volkswagen Beetle out from the table. It was colored with a yellow felt-tip pen.
“Little Tommy was so happy that he came after school to discuss the details. By the way, he mentioned that he had no father.
So, he wanted to make a Ferrari 488 Pista out of paper. He ordered quite a unique spec.” Jack laughed cheerfully. “I mean, I promised to get him a cut-out sheet. So, he’s just taken it with him. He’ll cut the wheels, the doors, the roof out of cardboard. Tommy wants to copy the design of one really existing car. It’s a fantastic blue Ferrari 488 Pista with yellow stripes on the hood. The owner is a famous British entrepreneur and vlogger. He’s rich and has a ten-car garage. But let’s get back to Tommy. This boy is a great example of a man with a dream. Even without the slightest possibility of buying this car now, he decided to live his dream by doing whatever he can. This boy will be successful. He has a strong will and strong character.”
“So, you just helped this little boy?” George asked.
“Yeah… Why not? Have you seen a plate over the door? Actually, nobody leaves the ‘Corner of Happiness’ being unhappy. I don’t allow my customers to feel anything except happiness and excitement.” Jack laughed, looking at pale George. “What? Don’t you believe me? I can prove it to you! You’ll leave this place happy either! With a happy smile on your lips.”
Jack pulled out a little purple jar and handed it to George.
“What is it? Should I drink it?” George asked suspiciously.
“Oh, no! Jeez… Soap bubbles!”
“Wow!” George grinned. “What should I do with them?”
“Try to guess! I thought you were not so stupid!” Jack went on laughing. “No kid has ever asked me what to do with soap bubbles! Everyone starts acting immediately.”
“OK, I’ll take it,” George smiled and extracted the wallet.
“Free of charge!”
“Why?”
“Because I give it away! Everyone who comes to my place gets free soap bubbles.”
“Well… I’d like to buy that Ferrari model for little Tommy,” George said.
“Oh, you’ll offend him!” Jack exclaimed. “I wanted to buy it for him as a present. But he strongly refused. He said that he must create himself the car out of the paper. Because nothing can be compared to the feeling of enjoying your work.”
“I always enjoyed creating global financial developments,” George grinned.
“Well, I’ve always tried to be happy and to create happiness inside human hearts. I’ve always wanted to become a volcano, George, to melt icy hearts, to make them remember what real happiness actually means. Just look at that! Simple things like these soap bubbles make you smile, laugh, make you happy! These stupid soap bubbles can make you happier than a brand-new Ferrari for 300 grand! You don’t believe me? Just look at the Ferrari-owners. They don’t smile a lot. Most of them just show off their intoxicating luxury – someone like Philipp Plein.
But people who just blow soap bubbles are always happy. Their hearts sing. Just imagine how much jars of soap bubbles you can buy for 300 grand? You’ll be happy for the rest of your life. You don’t need a Ferrari.”
“Why do you have… sad eyes, Jack?” George asked suddenly.
Jack Morgan lowered his head. “I told Tommy to hurry up. Three days maximum. I have cancer, dude – 4th grade. I have terrible pain in the chest. At nights, doctors give me morphine. I’ve got a few days to live. A week tops…”
39. Simple things
Sarah was outraged. She quickly dialed the number.
“It’s me, Sarah! If you don’t explain what I’ve just seen, I stop watching Hartley. I can’t bear this anymore. You wanna know where’s now? He’s just walked out of the toy shop called ‘Corner of Happiness.’ He is crying and laughing simultaneously. Can you imagine that? Your financial magnate is crying! And right now… oh my God! I can’t describe it!”
“Calm down, Sarah!” the voice grinned. “Has he killed anyone?”
“Hell, no! He is… he is blowing soap bubbles. They are flying in the air. He is trying to catch them, jumping. He left me alone! What have I done wrong?”
“Where’s he now?”
“He’s gone back to the shop…”
“All right. Just wait for him. Do nothing. Watch your step.”
“He’s gone mad!” Sarah exclaimed.
“No, Hartley never goes against reason and common sense. He has something on his mind. Just don’t let him get into trouble, Sarah. We need him alive. If you need anything, you’ll get it immediately. As always. A helicopter, a car, a submarine…”
“OK,” Sarah uttered obediently.
“Jack, I’m back!” George exclaimed. “I forgot to buy a toy… for my son.”
“Really?” Jack jumped on the spot. “You were hiding a son from me? How could you…” he laughed cheerfully. “How old is he?”
“Five.”
“Cool, man! Is he crazy about cars?”
“I… I don’t know. I work hard and… I don’t spend much time with him.” George lowered his eyes. He was ashamed. And also, he couldn’t look into Jack’s eyes – eyes of a very kind man who would inevitably pass away in a few days. Goddamn it, nature is so cruel, George thought. This man is dying. And I’m still alive. Nature let me do evil… Someone wants me to stay alive again and again… My life mission must not be completed yet.
“George, take this,” Jack handed him a scale model car. “Volkswagen Beetle. Old Beetle or Käfer has always been a great present. Classics!”
Geo
rge imagined India. My son must be seeing this old junk every day. People who live there have to use these vehicles as a means of transport and suffer. Beetles are cool classic cars for people of Western Europe, but not for India. George shook his head. “No, Jack. I need a kind of educational toy.”
“Oh, I got you!” Jack exclaimed and took a small box from the shelf. “LEGO building kit! This is my favorite! You know why? Because you can create. If your son loves freedom and loves to fantasize, LEGO will let him create different kinds of vehicles. He’ll definitely become a creator in years ahead.”
George shuddered. “One more creator…”
Jack smiled. “Well, I’ve been the creator of a good mood for many years. Kids are the closest creatures to good.” Jack rolled his eyes. “Now I’m passing away. But the kids will always be born on the Earth.”
“Oh, don’t tell me about your death!” George exclaimed. “You shouldn’t die! You’re so young! Look… I have the money. I can give you 100 grand. Is it enough for operation?”
“Nah… They said it’s over. I can feel it – metastasis all over my body.”
“Jack, doctors always dramatize the situation!”
Jack smiled. His eyes expressed grief, but he said, “Man, I’m happy. I’ve never been rich. I often stayed hungry. But people always helped me. And I’ve always believed in miracles. I discussed that with little Tommy. I’m thinking about him as my successor. But he’s too little. I mean, who would run the toy shop when I die? I can’t imagine that an old, greedy Scrooge would replace me. That would be awful. This place is a paradise for children. I’d better burn my shop than let some malicious merchant make money on kids.” Jack smiled.
“Jack, I promise that everything will be fine with your shop!” George said confidently. “I’ll find you a great man!”
“Really?” Jack raised his eyebrows. “Well… anyway, I have to talk to my boss.”
“You’re not the owner of the shop?” George asked.
“No. The owner is a good-hearted woman. But the shop doesn’t make a profit because I spend my money and even her money on free giveaways. The greatest pleasure, George, is to see children’s smiles. I bet you know it.”
“I do,” George lied.
“So, here you are, George!” Jack handed him a LEGO-box. “Your son will love spaceships. They are gorgeous!”
“Thank you! How much?”
“Forget it! It’s my gift to your son!”
“Thank you. I promise I’ll find a man, Jack.”
George turned around and left the shop, hardly restraining tears. He wanted to tell Jack that he had no place to go, but he couldn’t. He would have to concoct another lie about his wife and son. George didn’t want to upset Jack and pretended to be a caring father.
I won’t forget him, George thought. I should help him. Even if he dies, I’ll do everything to save his wonderful place. No child should be unhappy!
George crossed the street and dived into a café. He ordered coffee, opened his laptop, and connected to Wi-Fi. He quickly typed a new email message to Katie, asking for their address in India. Then George started thinking. But nothing came to his mind.
He gulped his coffee and went outside. He only thought of one thing. He pulled the purple jar out of his pocket and started blowing soap bubbles. A minute later, his anxiety disappeared, and a stupid smile appeared on his face. He laughed as loud as he could. And he couldn’t stop laughing, watching the bubbles flying up into the sky. Older people were looking at him suspiciously. Young people didn’t react or smiled, walking past George. Only children started coming out of the blue. They were all giggling and laughing. Their eyes sparkled with joy. Everyone was looking intently into the sky.
“That’s amazing,” George muttered quietly. “Such simple things attracted kids, cheered them up, made them forget about everything. Jack was right: children are the closest creatures to good and God.”
Someone touched George’s shoulder. He winced and turned around. It was Sarah. She stared at him coldly.
40. Kids
“Sir, don’t stop blowing bubbles!”
“Yeah, sure,” George nodded. “I won’t let this lady ruin this wonderful atmosphere.”
“George, I’ve found out something about you!” Sarah said nervously.
“Go to hell, Sarah!” George grinned.
“Something terrible!” she added, casting a suspicious glance at the kids.
George nodded indifferently and blew a new portion of soap bubbles into Sarah’s face. Sarah sneezed and squeezed her fists. Children burst out laughing. George giggled, looking at the angry woman.
“I’m serious, George! You’re a criminal!” Sarah exclaimed.
“Ha, ha, ha!” George and the kids laughed loudly. “Of course, I’m a killer, Sarah! I’m killing people with soap bubbles!”
“Jokes aside!” Sarah barked.
“Come on, girl! You’ve come to intoxicate us?”
“I need to talk to you!”
“I’m tired! As you know, I didn’t sleep last night. But I’m always ready to make people happy, even if my life shortens.”
“Just a couple of minutes, George!”
“All right,” George sighed. “But I don’t have any secrets from my new friends,” he pointed at smiling kids. “If you want to tell me something, go ahead. They will listen to you too.”
Sarah was stunned. Apparently, she wasn’t ready for that.
“I’ll buy you breakfast,” she said quickly.
George turned to the kids. “Guys, breakfast for everyone!”
“Wow! Cool! Amazing! Thank you, miss! You’re so kind!”
Sarah went pale.
“Come on, Sarah!” George grinned. “Kids are hungry! Don’t try to be greedy! At least once in life, try to do something not for yourself!”
George, Sarah, and seven kids walked toward the street food van. All the kids chose burgers, pizzas, and colas. They were delighted. Sarah paid for them. After that, George pointed at Jack’s toy store and said that everyone would get soap bubbles for free. All kids at once made a dash for the ‘Corner of Happiness.’ Ten seconds later, they all passed out of sight.
Sarah suddenly smiled. “I feel a warmth inside. Strange feeling… Like someone very kind has just talked to me. I feel vibrations throughout my body… Like after good sex.”
George grinned. “Children let you forget about egoism.”
“Yeah, perhaps,” Sarah shrugged.
They began walking down the street.
“Do you have any idea where I could sleep for seven hours?” George asked.
“Let’s go to my place,” Sarah smiled. “I’ll make you breakfast.”
George squinted his eyes. “You promised to buy me breakfast.”
“I cook really well,” she winked at him. “And don’t find any reasons to decline my proposal.”
“Do you have Wi-Fi?”
“And if I don’t, you won’t go?” Sarah asked sarcastically.
“Is it far?”
“Half a mile.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I managed to sleep the last night,” Sarah remarked.
“I doubt it. And how did you find me?” George asked.
“I love to take a stroll in the mornings. Do you think I’ve been watching you? Of course, not!”
“I don’t believe you!” George exclaimed. “We landed in the field about four hours ago? Where the hell is the helicopter? How did you get to the city so quickly?”
“George, it’s just a coincidence. I was shocked when I saw you blowing soap bubbles. I saw the real you. Children would never come up to you if you were insincere with them. Just be yourself, George.
Last night, I thought you were just playing stupid games. But this morning, I read the newspapers and found out it was all true. It was reported that about twenty people were killed in the hotel.”
“Twenty?” George stopped dead.
“Yes. Including a dozen police officers.”<
br />
“Who were the other victims?” George asked, horrorstruck. “As I remember, that armed guys of Walter Schmidt killed about six policemen.”
“As they descended to the ground floor, they were killed by the police. But they’d managed to kill about ten officers. There was a shooting in the hotel lobby.”
George mopped his brow. “Have they begun the investigation?”
“Of course,” Sarah nodded. “The police suspect that a girl was involved in this massacre. The girl who had actually rented the room for you.”
“Holly Molly!” George cried out.
“Do you know her?” Sarah asked.
“Certainly, I do! She’s just a student I encountered in the street. I asked her to rent a room for me for a week because I had no passport. Officially, I’m still dead.”
“Did you sleep with her?”
“Hell, no! I asked her not to bother me for a week.”
“And she’s gone to India?” Sarah asked mockingly.
“How do you know that?”
“Newspapers! The police assume that she could be one of the associates of a terrorist group in the Middle-East.”
“Oh, no!” George closed his eyes tight. “This is insane!”
Sarah spread her hands. “They will investigate the case. It’s a high-profile crime.”
“Did they mention me? Do they know I lived in that room?” George asked.
Sarah shook her head. “Not a word. Maybe they don’t reveal all the details.”
“OK, thank you for that. It seems I shouldn’t walk outside. There’s a risk that street surveillance cameras will spot me. And you too, by the way.”
“Well, you can stay calm. You were officially buried. Even if the police spotted you, they would be hunting for another person who looks like you.”
“After all that, I still love you,” Sarah said fondly and put her hand on his shoulder.
George didn’t say anything. He remembered his family, although he couldn’t imagine how they actually look like.
41. An Unexpected Turn of Events
Soon, they reached the place. They entered the five-story building and ascended to the third floor. When they went into Sarah’s apartment, George quickly explored it. It was not cozy. George remarked that the thick walls provided splendid sound insulation. What confused him was the kitchen – it looked absolutely clean and untouched as if nobody had ever eaten there. Being in the room, he noticed a pile of magazines on completely different subjects – fashion, weapons, space, gardening, and diving. The magazines were lying on the window sill. There was no desk, no wardrobe, what really surprised George. When he dove into the bathroom, he was shocked – no toothbrush, no toothpaste, not even a cabinet with cosmetics.