Warlock, page 5
“Come, come on, boys. Come on, tea is good when it hot! « said man with the impression. «Cold tea is for European girls.”
Fifteen minutes later, they sat in the mediate hall with the old host of the house, who lived here alone – this Alex can say without asking him. Like a single man, whose friends get married, not long time ago he perfectly saw difference in home atmospheres of singles and couples. However, he thought that someday there were some missis.
Jim was joyed like a kid “It’s not very carefully with your hand”, he said.
“What?” do not understand old man whose name was Bill Cherguest.
“Such invitations,” said cameraman of “Abnormal”. «We can be bad guys, you know.”
A host waved his hand once more, as people usually wave out fly:
“Nonsense!” he said. “Our town is not such place, where something like this can happened. Besides, what can you take from old man? Garbage maybe.”
Men laughed, and Bill poured three cups of nice smelling tea. Alex mentioned right and correct moves of their unexpected host, despite his almost total blindness.
“We’re actually…” said Alex, but was interrupted.
“A-a-a!” said Bill. “Tea first. Then – talk.” He takes his own cup and sipped a little. “Boys be careful, it’s a really hot thing”.
Friends followed his example and drunk a little. At that same moment, Jim opened his mouth and takes an air. Little old man smiled. «I’m warned you.”
Alex nodded significantly and said, “That is… Pretty good mix, Bill. You - herbalist? Or the pharmacist?”
Host smiled little bit wider and at that moment remind to Jim Mr. McGoo if not wrinkles, “No,” he said cheerfully. “My father was, but I’m just an amateur. I’m a former principle of local school. And you are? You’re not local, am I right?”
Guys looked at each other, shared one thought.
“What?” asked old man. “I said something wrong?”
“No,” answered Alex. «Vice versa. You see, we are journalists. And we searched for the teacher of your school and find principle.”
Old man smiled and nodded:
“Oh, I see. I see,” he said. “And about what is your story?”
Alex, who sipped another portion of tea, gulped it hardly, looks to Jim, He found no help in his friend eyes, then said honestly, and in a little bit low voice:
“It’s about the guy, who made those murderers in school…”
“Oh…” sail Bill. “That’s a horrible story…”
“Yes, and we would understand if you close this theme…” had begun Alex but he was interrupted by host:
“Why would I do that?” He asked. “Is there something wrong with this theme? Or you?”
Alex shrugged:
“Both. Maybe. You see, we are creators of some… Web serial, our profile is…” he tried to find words that wouldn’t return Bill from them. «Our profile is stories that seemed like supernatural one. Aliens, ghosts, etc. And because of that…”
Bill begun to nod, and finished sentence “And because of that everyone thought that you are vultures”
“Sort of,” said Jim. “It’s lightest of our nicknames.”
Bill smiled, “Well. I admit all work if it did well. Say, you, boys, are good at this?”
Friends looked at each other again and Alex answered:
“I think that we are. And we try to become better.”
Old man tapped with his hand to the table “That’s most important thing! Self-improvement is the main thing in every job. And as about that story – we can talk about it. I don’t’ scare like those…”He waved with his head to the door.
Alex made a little bow, and said “Thank you, Bill.”
“You’re welcome”, cheerfully said host. “But I’m afraid that I would be a bad help. Most of my time I sit here. You see – my eyes are really bad. There are several ills of our profession - lungs (because of chalk), spine (because of sitting), and eyes – that paperwork…”
Alex nodded with participation, and agreed when almost blind man offered them another portion of tea. Hot drink slightly burns their throats, and mint males it feels freeze. Friends like this effect.
“But maybe you can say, why everyone so…excited with this case? No one can say that he didn't interest in it, or that it does not touch him… Everyone or scared, or tries to scare us.”
Old man thought a little saying “Hmm…” Then he said, “I thought that all that reactions are because they don’t understand any point of this case. You see, it’s about foreign teenager. You are young, but even you forget what it feels like – to be a teenager.”
“Yes, but…”
“But,” said Bill. “When you are his age – You’re at war against all world, all universe. Moreover, he was arrived here – to strange country. Can you imagine?”
Jim and Alex were silent. First out of the stupor was Jim. “But he is not unique,” the cameraman said. “There a lot of such boys and girls, who came here?”
Bill smiled sadly, and said “Yes. Nevertheless, there a lot of local boys, who takes a weapon to school and makes terrible things. Better part of being principle, teacher of old man – You are in the world of a teenager. You work with them, or in case of old man – you feel like them. You have not all rights, and everyone talk with you like with a baby”
Friends laughed a little. “The old as well as small. My mom said,” said Jim.
“And she was totally right,” said Bill. “But there is one thing also. Grownups forgot how it was – to be a teenager.”
Jim smirked and said “What for?”
Old principle smiled instead of answer. Alex feels a light chill under his collar on the neck. Those were a smile without humor, that smile meant that his friend was mistaken. It is a triumphant smile. Bill said, “That is one of the causes why boys and girls of your hero age hate their parents, young man”, he said to Jim. “Because they forgot. In addition, see no reasons to remember. You are surrendered.”
Roses rose on Jim’s cheeks. He put his cup on the table and said, “Look. You told about this... Their way of seeing the world like some battle… But…”
“It is, young man. For them it is.” Bill nodded. “You see, every day, even if its calm, hide a danger inside, and they feel it more sharply. They look for their way, and they feel weight of the world, they think about size of the universe, and feel their own insignificance. They fight for their scale. Yes. I’s a war - the most suitable word.”
“But surrendering…” had begun Jim and Bill interrupted him.
“Yes. They see how many roads lie before them. That they can choose one of them. They think like this, and you were such idealist. Young man.” He looked down and continued like recalling something from the depth of his memory. “And then they saw grownups. Parents for example and what do they see? They see former fighters, who gets up early, goes to the work, then came home, and goes to bed with one purpose – to repeat it for another turn tomorrow. It’s surrenders behavior.”
Alex listened to their host with great interest. He even forgot about cup with tea in his hand and recalled it when he spilled a little to his hand. “But,” he said and put his cup near his friend’s one. «Here is one thing. We live in one same world. They may saw all circumstances, all responsibility that occur to grownups, they may understand… What?”
Alex in amazement looked at Bill, who paternally shook his head from side to side. Old man said, “And here lies, maybe the biggest mistakes of the grownups. We forget that teenager is a one-man army. Last stand rebel.”
Jim and Alex leaned back almost at the same time. “And what about gangs?” Said Alex, thinking that he found smart way. “They are compiled of loners too?”
“In some meaning – yes,” answered Bill. “Do you know how see this world people with impaired vision? On the other hand, people without eyes at all? Or people who can’t feel touch?”
Now Alex began to see the way in which the old man leading them. “I think I see what you mean.”
Their host nodded, but Jim was too agitated “And I’m don’t,” he said.
“Our hospitable owner told us that everybody had its own world, because understanding of reality compiling in our own head with all ours kinks.”
Bill sipped his tea and said, “Even I can’t say it better.”
Guys remembered about their drinks, and followed the example of Bill. At this time old man turned his head to the window, where warm evening sun were and dreamily said, «I thought about this problem a lot. Moreover, these are the conclusions I have made. «He carefully and intently looked at friends, and said, “Everyone lives in his own world into big one, overall. Nevertheless, teenagers believe that their world is unique, that their world is a chance to discover the truth. They rebel against idea of one big world, and they try to save purity of their worlds and discovers.” He pointed at Alex with his finger, “Their own world, with its horrors, sets of rules and meanings. And the hardest their faith – the fiercely they fight.” Old man looked at Jim, “That’s why they hate grownups who raised the white flag in the middle of the battlefield.” …
Silence prevailed for the couple of minutes in the living room. Wild thought run through stunned Alex’s consciousness – now he had understood why does this house hadn’t special smell of old people. He held receipt in his own hands – herbs. In addition, why he had thought about this? In the same moment when he wanted to fulfill this silent moment, Bill said in a prosaic voice, “That’s why I think that your story would be about a ghost…”
Saying this, he finished his tea. In addition, judging by his vivacity, it gave the impression that they have not even started talking. The guys were squeezed dry.
“Ghost?” asked Alex almost in whisper.
“Yes,” nodded old man. “Ghost. Nothing supernatural, just look at the teenage world from distance. Not the most accurate observation.”
Alex feels that discussion cannot be better, and without saying, the word knew that Jim feels the same.
“One last question, Bill,” Alex said.
“Yes?”
“Do you know where we can find a teacher from your school? Ms.…” He looked at the message from Janine. “Ms. Prey?”
Bill thought a little then asked, “I don’t know her. However, many of our teachers spend first weeks of their vacations leaving our town. And I think that after things that had happened this girl want to rest.”
“I see,” said Alex and stand up. “Thank you, Bill. It was very interesting.”
Guys shook hands to their host and goes for an exit. “Thank you once again.”
“Your welcome,” hospitably said Bill, standing after them. “I just hope that stories and thoughts of old man do not disturbed you. Hope you’ll get your story. Even if it would be about a ghost. There are so few good gothics.”
Alex and Jim crossed the street to their van that had bathed in warm orange evening sun. There was no need to discuss that remained visit was postponed for tomorrow. They knew each other from college, and somedays there was no need to say something to understand what think another one. This quality has happy marriages and good friends. Therefore, without discussion, in complete silence they went for dinner.
---
That night was pretty hard for Alex. One of the causes he thought was cold soup that he had eat at Nancy’s. It was onion soup with chili. He knew perfectly well how acts on him hotfoot, but can’t stand. Three hours later, when he staring at the wooden ceiling of their room without dream, he thought about soup once again. There were no regrets, he decided - soup was worth it. He looked to his smartphone, and saw that it was half past twelve. He looked to the other bed, where sleeps snorting Jim, and decided to go for a walk. He stands up, dresses, taking a jacket in case of windy night and went out.
Night were perfect for a walk, and just for him. There were a plenty of stars above him, so close, and so bright. Modern city habitants are deprived of stars, and he always thought that that is their pay for an urban life. And more senior he becomes, more unfair seems that exchange rate. He thought that people needs to look at the skies and see stars, galaxies, Milky Way, just for understanding the scale, their all insignificance.
Alex walks on the road that leads to the tows from their hotel, and heard only light wind crickets and sound of his footsteps and thoughts. Latest conversation with former principle echoing in his head. Alex with a little regret thought that Bill Cherguest were totally right – for this moment their story is about ghost. It was sad as for Alex – you live, you do things, you love, you kill, you die, and only thing that others can say – is how it was looked. How your shell was shining, in case if you had gone to the sunlight. Either way they can’t tell anything… We all living in shells, thought Alex, in little spheres, and our connections with other spheres is minimal – any mathematic can told you that. And remember paradox of the gold fish? The one, what tells that goldfish, living inside its little semi sphere aquarium thought of outside world like about bulgy place. The same world – the different views, is not this Bill meant?
Alex made a deep inhale and even deeper exhale. A little association shine in his mind, and responded in lungs and on fingers. His hands even after two years of quitting smoking remember all ritual. He closed his eyes, put hand in chest pocket, put out imaginary pack, opened it, took out cancer stick, close a pack and put in the pocket. Then he took out lighter (from his jeans pocket, right one, back) and lit imaginary cigarette. He inhaled once again, and for the moment he could swear that he felt little buzz in his head and that numbness in lungs that all smokers love more of all.
He opened his eyes, and thought about our habits and our little spherical universes. He looked around, and smiled – even now, in total silence and alone on the night road he surrounded by this bubble. He thoroughly doesn’t want to believe in this theory, despite of that fact that everyday gives evidences for its truthfulness. Something bothers Alex in this chain of thoughts. He frowned a little, even do not understanding that he shows his emotions to the night.
He wants to believe that nowadays society is hyperlinked between any of its part. In other way, he thought, what makes us connected to another? Social network? Smartphone? Tweet? Really?
For honest talk, person need to be open, and true openness creates inside. You must be in peace with yourself for the first place, have no contradictions with your inner true spirit, and then – connect to the world. Can TCP/IP give that appeasement? Alex was doubted about this. He thought that subnet mask was not really consonant with the concept of real masks.
Alex signed. We all gathered in one hamster ball named our world. And anyone has his own reality in this big lunatic place, and all this madness concentrating in our sculls.
“God, what was in that guys had?” Alex said.
No one answered, except of his own breathing and footsteps. He put his jacket on. Bill was right when he said about forgetfulness of grownups, that they do not want to think about their own rebellion. Is that why do them once surrendered? In that case dying young – the highest glory for such a fighter. Not a novelty, thought Alex. Looking backward he thought that grownup don’t want to enter to that asylum that teenagers word is, whet your mind ruled by pure emotions mixed with hormones on the razor blade.
At last, he feels tiredness. He turns around and goes to the hotel. All right then, he thought, it would be story about ghost. After all, a scientist thought that ghost phenomena is a projection of our own mind. Alex smiled visualizing ghost figure that was a projection on the surface of our own world boundaries, on the plastic of our hamster balls. His only regret was that we didn't touch anything behind that sphere. We can go out and can’t interrupt in someone else’s.
One of Chinese’s curses told “Whatever your wishes come true”, and if Alex knows this, he can think that someone hear his mind in this same second and cursed him.
---
“Diary entry #7.
Dear gross diary, I’m going mad! Fuck yeah!
Let me tell you about this nice thing in order.
Now, thinking about this, I can tell that this had occurred before, but so rarely that I do not thought that this is something important.
The situation is that from time to time I heard voices. Wait! Stop right here! It’s not that kind of voices that told me to kill John Lennon, or some secret channel with spy dialogues. Nope. It happens before I fall asleep, or when I just awake. In that state of mind when I do not recognize is that a real world that I see or dream world. Some kind of transition period. And in these moments, I heard silent woman voice. It seems like someone talking in the next room. In addition, no, it wasn’t my mom for sure – I know her voice.
I know what someone think about this – that I’m hear some voices from around me, and in case of my sleepy states – it also can be me. But I know how’s my own voice sound like, and now I can be sure that it isn’t my mom. This time I was totally alone at home.
It was a calm and very low voice. Moreover, a nice one too. But in a fact it was a little creepy to hear someone in a room beside myself. For a moment, I was scary, but then come to a window to see if there someone talking near the house. None. Empty street. I got up and walk around the house – silent TV, radio and computers.
I took a shower and drink morning tea all time listening. I do not know what was scarier – to hear or not to hear something. However, there was silence. Then I had decided to check this situation in internet, but soon close browser. Web is a very scary place at some points of view. I need to try to remember not to search health problems in a future.
What was that? Who is she?
Something or someone try to tell me something. It is a voice from another world? Another dimension? On the other hand, it’s something with my head? Or, maybe, my dirty diary became a sci-fi diary? Last sounds nice…
Maybe.
Na-ah…This some stupid shit, but…
Anyway, I’ll listen carefully.”
