Dreams Ltd

  I was so grateful, I almost cried.

  “Thank you, Ted. If it wasn’t for your observational skills and logic, I’d never have see these stones again. And they were a gift that I thought I’d lost forever.”

  “Well, you see! Then all my thinking about this whole story wasn’t in vain!” He looked flattered, “And I’m glad it wasn’t, especially since you were so kind to us.”

  “Oh, come on ....” I found his hand and squeezed it, “Anybody else would’ve never returned the stones and you got them back to me. I don’t know how to thank you...”

  “No, I would never even take one.” my former bus neighbour firmly replied, “I’d never take what doesn’t belong to me. That’s just my nature. You don’t need to thank me, I did what my heart told me to do and I’m glad it all ended so well. You get well soon; it’s unbecoming to be sick, whether you’re old or young.”

  He left, and I stood still in the shadow of the tree, facing in the direction where his steps were fading away.

  How everything has turned out! Unbelievable!

  Jenny stole the stones from my room, and when she decided to run away, she somehow forgot about them, and fortunately for me, good-hearted and honest Ted noticed it, not someone else - what a happy coincidence. Not that these stones were that precious to me - I could live without them, but it still felt indescribably good to know that some valuable part of my life got back in its place. I didn’t know who was responsible for the fate and coincidences, but I thanked them in my mind.

  “Why are you still standing there?” Tabitha’s voice came from the distance, “Your guest has gone as I can see.”

  When she came closer, I asked, “Tabitha, do you still have the key to my room?”

  “Yes, indeed. Do you want to go there?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then hold on to my elbow, sweetie.” She laughed, “What did that man want from you?”

  “He brought back one thing that I’d lost some time ago.”

  “Ah! That’s good! He must be an honest man then... I told you his face was not malicious.”

  We slowly limped to the house.

  The day was blooming with bright colours again.

  *****

  We sat by the same fountain again, but this time it was early evening, the water was splashing in the pool. I still couldn’t see it, but I could hear its tender murmuring nearby. It was a good place, and Hulk chose it himself in order spend a leisurely evening away from the ranch.

  As with the last time we were here, there weren’t many people around; only occasionally I could hear some distant footsteps and voices of the passer-byes. The heat had subsided a little and the sun was moving down towards the horizon.

  “What do you want me to do about Alex?” Hulk asked after we spent some time in silence.

  I was surprised by his question. It’s been a while since I thought about my ex-boyfriend, and if I ever did, I felt only a sense of great relief that he was no longer in my life.

  “Why would you do anything about him?”

  “He lied to you.”

  “Yes, he did. Why are you even thinking about it?”

  “It’s not nice to know that you were brought here because of him, while he is relaxing on the beach, spending that money you paid so dearly for.”

  I shrugged.

  “Yes, it’s not nice for me either, but if it wasn’t for this, I would never have got here get and would not have met you. Should I keep blaming somebody or should I regard it as a gift?”

  “Maybe you're right. You were always too kind.” I heard Hulk smiling. Then he became serious again, “This time things turned out to be ok, but there could be another time and it all could go pear-shaped. I can teach this slug a lesson.”

  “How would you do that being in Tally?” This time my curiosity took over my kindness.

  “I still have some contacts. I could really do some damage to him but first I’d like to hear your opinion on the matter.”

  I suddenly went quiet. What did I think about it? Of course Hulk was right – I always tried to be kind, wherever possible, but at the same time I knew that some people didn’t deserve it, but was it worth it to let the anger, bitterness or revenge take over you like that? What would my positive answer bring to me? If I encourage Hulk to make Alex suffer - would it deliver more happiness into my life and would I breathe easier, knowing that the guilty one has been punished?

  No, not really. Frankly, I didn’t care how Alex spends his time with his new lover.

  In the end, Alex didn’t demand any money from me, he tried to force Elmer to pay, but so it happened that it was me who sent him the required amount. Another consideration was that even though Alex was fully aware of this fact, he didn’t have the courage to confess and return the money. Instead he chose to disappear, forgetting that there was someone waiting for him at home.

  Yes, that was making me sad. But was I upset enough to say Hulk “Please make him pay! I want to see him writhe in pain from the realisation of his own mistakes!” No, I was not, and although I was angry, I still didn’t want to be responsible for such words and actions. I’m not a judge. None of us are. Yes, people interact with each other, sometimes it brings us joy, and sometimes it brings disappointment, but you always have a choice whether you want to keep dealing with a certain person, or you just to go your separate ways and find new friends to communicate with. It’s not necessary to try and change anyone, whose opinion or principle does not coincide with your own - life is too short for that. I firmly believed that I would never waste time on some fleeting desire to teach someone a lesson or make them realise something. My own time and my inner peace were far more valuable than that.

  So I happily refused the given opportunity to vent revenge on Alex.

  “It’s not necessary. I've already forgotten all about him and I don’t want to even think that our paths would somehow cross, even through your actions. I am happy with you now and he is in the past.”

  “Ok. I understand.”

  Hulk’s fingers squeezed mine as if saying “Don’t forget that I’m always here for you” and I squeezed his in return.

  We both fell silent again. A breeze touched the grass growing on the stone basin, and the stems gently rubbed my bare ankles. The new shoes that Hulk brought to the office the day before were now standing next to me, on the concrete. It was nice to wiggle my bare toes and feel them being caressed by the warm air.

  “Tell me about yourself.” I asked Hulk, “Why did you end up in Tally? And why can’t you leave?”

  He chuckled.

  “It’s a long story. But if you have some spare time, I’m ready to share.”

  I playfully pushed him to his side.

  “Mr Head of the Ranch! All the time I’ve got in Tally belongs to you now. So if your Excellency would deem one of their servants worthy of an ice cream, then your servant would be more than happy to spend some time with you, which they’d be ready to spend with you anyway, but not half as happy should they have an ice-cream in their hand.”

  Laughing, Hulk tilted me onto his own hand, and kissed - gently, slowly and savouring it. Then his fingers stroked my chin.

  “You little devil.”

  “Yes, but a very happy devil!”

  Everything was great - I laughed and he laughed. It was summer and the tree crowns were rustling, the water was splashing in the fountain and people were peacefully walking around. Now I had more freedom inside than ever. Yes - Tally, yes - a prison, but I felt so amazing inside as though I’d suddenly got wings. As though there was only one thing ahead of me - flying high; flying over the green plains and gingerbread houses, hearing joyful wind in my ears and feeling that this happiness will never end. As if it’s here and it’ll stay with you forever. Then the rest of life will fall happily into place.

  This new feeling was giving me strong and soothing hope, even confidence that everything will be just fine.

  I put my head on Hulk’s shoulder – big, strong and
reliable shoulder.

  His fingers intertwined with mine.

  “I love it when you do that. But you have to let me go for a couple of minutes; I'll fetch you an ice cream.”

  “I have a sweet tooth, right?”

  Hulk kneeled in front of me and paused. Then he gently stroked my cheek with the back of the fingers.

  “You are the one I love and that’s all that matters. “

  He gave me a gentle kiss, and then disappeared somewhere in the depth of the park. I sat there, listening to the distant sounds of cars and passers-by, enjoying the magic warmth inside that I was beginning to fear if it was for real. I felt so much love, that I was ready to pop like a balloon. I loved everything - Hulk, the world surrounding me, the people, that intangible feeling, that very moment and the one who’s given me such good moments in life. I loved the warmth of this evening, knowing that I was loved and understood, no longer alone and there will always be someone to squeeze my fingers and keep me from falling. I was continuously thanking someone above for putting these wonderful feelings into my “Feeling piggy bank”. I had no desire to be anywhere else, but here and now and nothing could compare the beauty of what and how I was feeling inside right now.

  And even though Hulk was now somewhere else - on the other side of the park at by the ice-cream booth, he was still here, with me - permanently and for good.

  I happily sighed and wriggled my feet. Then I reached for the water and dipped in my toes - what a nice chill! How nice everything around me was. No, I didn’t think I was dreaming - quite the opposite, only now I finally felt awake and all the things that were in my life before now seemed like a dusty grey tape with no sounds, colours or smells.

  Soon, the aroma of Hulk’s perfume appeared and I got my ice cream.

  “This is for you, to ease the boredom of hanging around with me.”

  “You!” I tried to put the ice cream on the banister, but before that happened, Hulk deftly caught it and sat in front of me again. I found his face and squeezed it with my hands, “It will never be boring for me to spend time with you, even if we don’t have anything but three walls and a stormy sky over our heads; no food, no water, no money, but a bunch of enemies on the horizon.”

  He laughed.

  “I won’t let that to happen to us.”

  “I know. But did you understand what I just said?”

  Hulk's voice became serious. This was another moment when I painfully wanted to see his face, but alas...

  “Yes, I understood.”

  I knew that he did.

  “I’m with you until the end - no matter how, no matter where.”

  “I know.”

  As my forehead pressed against his, and we froze, shielded by a feeling of some deep knowledge that was only available to the two or us; us, who belong to each other, whose hearts were connected by an invisible thread, which is stronger than anything else.

  Hulk gently rubbed his nose against mine.

  “Let’s go to the bench before your ice-cream starts melting.”

  “And you’ll tell me your story?”

  “Of course, I promised.”

  I slipped my bare feet into my shoes, leaned on his warm elbow, and we walked to the bench.

  The story told by Hulk, was fascinating - it was deep, at times even dark, but at the same time heartfelt. But even more so I was fascinated by the fact that the man, sitting next to me on the bench had opened up - just like that - without any fear or hesitation, knowing that he’d be accepted for who he was, trusting me completely, and it was besotting.

  “You already know that I used worked for the Special Force unit.” He began his history, “There were twelve of us - neither good nor bad, just some trained guys, doing their job. Sometimes we’d work together, sometimes separately. We’d never judge or have anything personal against those who we worked with, we’d always act according to the orders, because that’s what we chose to do. I'm not saying that we had no freedom, of course, we had. After all, we were selected based on our qualities and ability to rely on ourselves and our own decisions. And years of training unified our team. We were all friends.”

  “All of you?”

  For some reason I thought that in any good team there was someone who could spoil the whole picture. I didn’t know why – maybe, because that’s how it was often portrayed in movies - some mad person or difficult to cope with maniac.

  “Mostly, yes. I know it's hard to believe since each of us had their own perspectives on life and temperament, but yet we were similar in many ways.”

  “Did you always have to live together? In military barracks?”

  “No.” Hulk laughed, “At first, when we were training, we’d spend a lot of time at the gun ranges, offices, test labs, racing tracks, gyms and so on.... We’d learn something new in all of those places. Later, after we were fully trained, we could live our lives as we wanted in our own houses, but not too far from each other, so we could get together quickly if we needed to.”

  “Were you all taught the same things?”

  “No, as general studies, we all had our own specified areas of knowledge and you already know mine.”

  “Yes, you are a Sensor.”

  “That’s correct. All the others had the knowledge in something else.... One, for example - I won’t give you any names - a professional assassin, who was able to regenerate damaged tissue - his own or somebody else’s'. It is a very complex skill. Another guy could track an object from a distance; find any person, using only his inner vision....”

  “You must be kidding...”

  “No, sweetie, I am not. Believe me, you wouldn’t want to become his target - it’s a very painful process. There were only a few of those who could withstand being chased by him for more than thirty minutes and stay alive, so he’d usually find the desired object very quickly.”

  I just opened my mouth and then closed it. Were there really such people who could do this? Maybe it's good that I was living in peace and quiet, busy with my shop, and never heard about anything like that? Otherwise I’d be subconsciously worried and expecting a hunter like that to appear behind my back, since you never know when and why the Commission would decide to send someone after you...

  “And you? Are you able to do much?”

  Hulk chuckled again; I felt it with on skin.

  “Believe me - it will be hard for you to find something I cannot do.”

  “What is most dangerous thing about you?”

  “For you? Nothing.”

  “Not for me, but for your potential victim?”

  Hulk was silent for a while but even the air seemed to rattle by the rigidity that appeared in him.

  “I can kill not only physically but also mentally, through your consciousness. One look is enough. I can turn all the memories upside down, obtain any information, set traps in minds, and force a person to act in accordance to my plan. I can erase their memory completely or replace it with a new one. I can make them believe in something that never happened, change the perception of the reality, cause insanity or set a death timer.”

  I nervously swallowed and suddenly began shivering as though the winter has fallen on Tally. A second later everything became normal again - warmth, summer, rustling trees, walking people.

  “Oh...” I just gasped – what a good and kind boy I got myself. But anyway, I was ready for it even without knowing the details.”

  His fingers gently caressed my neck.

  “Scared?”

  I smiled like a wild predatory cat that’s just caught a huge gleaming silvery fish.

  “No. I am happy with exactly the way you are. It makes me feel... safe.”

  “But yet you are still scared.” He smiled, playing with me.

  “It turns me on.”

  “Good girl.”

  Those words made my stomach cramp and a hot wave shot through my body. I felt my love inebriating me - it was always the same with Hulk - sublime feelings were mixed with this psychological game,
passion, even lust, which I’ll hide till the end, letting him derive it from me, tear it and enjoy the victory. But it would be my victory, which of course, I wouldn’t tell him about.

  I smiled, knowing that Hulk is watching me.

  “Every time you look into my eyes, I’ll be shivering.”

  “Yes, you will be, but from love. And if I ever see the fear in your eyes, I’ll kill the one who caused it.”

  “Just like that?”