hat?Youfoundhisclothingbytheke?Didhejumpintothewater?”

    “Don’tbesilly.HowcouldDimitrihaveittedsuicide!Fromwhatwasleftbehind,wecouldseethathewasdrunkandyonthegrass.Hisfleshbodysimplydisappearedfromhisclothing.Hisjacket,pants,hatandshoeswerepositiolyasifhewerewearingthem.”

    “No,that’simpossible!Howcouldfleshbodydisappearfromhisclothes?Youmustbedrunk!”

    “No,we’renotdrunk.PleaseaskAishatoeandseeforherself.”

    “Staythere.Don’tmove.We’llberightover.”Yokoturnedoffhercellphone.Aishastoodupandsaid,

    25

    “I’msureallofyouareanxioustogo,butAmaliaisasleep.Itwon’tdoforhertoandfindeveryonegone.”

    “IwillstayhereatthehousewithAmalia”volunteeredShei.Itwon’tdoforhertoandfindnoonearound.I’lltakecareofyou.Youallgo.”

    “Thankyou,Shei.That’sgreat.Therestgowithmeaitisalbout.”Sayingso,shewalkedoutfollowedbythebeauties.Theypiledintofourcarsanddrovetardenbytheke.

    WhenRichardmetDimitriatthreeo’clotheafternoon,DimitritoldhimhewasgoingtoAisha’sChristmasparty.WhenherefusedRichard’sofferforaride,hisoldfrienddidnotinsistbecauseheknewDimitri’spreferenceforindepea.ButwhenRicharddroveoff,Dimitriatoncegedcourseaintoaliquorstoreandboughtabottleofgoodwhiskey.Dimitriwasafrequenterthereandthesalespersonwhokneasawarethatheusuallyboughtthecheapestliquorandsosaidtohimjokingly,

    “Hey,olddog,pened?Woo?Howeyou’resplurgingforsuchexpensivewhiskeytoday?”

    “Afriendofmineisleavingonalongtrip”saidDimitrishyly“andIamsendinghimoffwiththistowishhimbonvoyage.”

    “Luckyfriend!Youdrinkonlycheapliquorbuttreatyourfriendsroyally.”Dimitrismileda.Uponleaviore,Dimitriwalkedsilentlytowardstheke,savthehappinessofleisure.Hewasveryfamiliarwiththiscityaaswelsthebackofhishand.Atthismomeasenseofrelucetoleaveallthisbehind.

    Dimitricametothekeandfromthepositionofthestohewaterandtheslopeoftheterrain;heknewhehadetothesecludedrosegardenheloved.Hesatonthergestroddrankthewhiskeyhehadjustbought.Winterdayswereasshortasthenightswerelong;soondarknesswouldcovertheearth.Dimitriwaitedawhileloiltherafficdieddownpletely.Hewalkedintardenandstrolledamongthebareandwitheredrosebushes.Hehadfihreequartersofthebottleofwhiskeyalight-headedandunsteady.Hemuttered,

    “Rose,rose,whereareyou?Areyouafraidofthecoldandhavegoohiding?Don’tbeafraid!Letmeintroduceyoutosomefriends.”Dimitriwasblind.Beforehiseyeswasonlydarkness,pitchdarkasthenightaroundhim.Hethoughtofsomethingonawhimandsuddenlybeforehimappearedafabulousorchid,lovelyanddewy.

    “Ah,it’syou,QueenAisha!”hesaid.“Wele.Wele.Didyouealone?Wherearetheothers?”Anotherfloearedacolorful,fragrantpeonyinfullbloom.

    25

    “Ah,it’syouMegginn!”excimedDimitri.“Wele.Wele.Don’tburyyourselfinworkallday.Youmusttakeiteasysometimesandenjoyyourself.”Amysteriousstreakoflightshoneonabcktulip.

    “AhMedusa,theproteyKingdomofDreams!Isthatyou?Iknowyouhavefullyrecoverednow.Withyouincharge,IamfidentmyKingdomisingoodhands.”

    Suddenlyahostofbeautifulmeteorsshotacrosstheskyoertheotherandthendroppeddownpreciselyintarden,turningthemselvesintofullybloomi

hat?Youfoundhisclothingbytheke?Didhejumpintothewater?”

    “Don’tbesilly.HowcouldDimitrihaveittedsuicide!Fromwhatwasleftbehind,wecouldseethathewasdrunkandyonthegrass.Hisfleshbodysimplydisappearedfromhisclothing.Hisjacket,pants,hatandshoeswerepositiolyasifhewerewearingthem.”

    “No,that’simpossible!Howcouldfleshbodydisappearfromhisclothes?Youmustbedrunk!”

    “No,we’renotdrunk.PleaseaskAishatoeandseeforherself.”

    “Staythere.Don’tmove.We’llberightover.”Yokoturnedoffhercellphone.Aishastoodupandsaid,

    25

    “I’msureallofyouareanxioustogo,butAmaliaisasleep.Itwon’tdoforhertoandfindeveryonegone.”

    “IwillstayhereatthehousewithAmalia”volunteeredShei.Itwon’tdoforhertoandfindnoonearound.I’lltakecareofyou.Youallgo.”

    “Thankyou,Shei.That’sgreat.Therestgowithmeaitisalbout.”Sayingso,shewalkedoutfollowedbythebeauties.Theypiledintofourcarsanddrovetardenbytheke.

    WhenRichardmetDimitriatthreeo’clotheafternoon,DimitritoldhimhewasgoingtoAisha’sChristmasparty.WhenherefusedRichard’sofferforaride,hisoldfrienddidnotinsistbecauseheknewDimitri’spreferenceforindepea.ButwhenRicharddroveoff,Dimitriatoncegedcourseaintoaliquorstoreandboughtabottleofgoodwhiskey.Dimitriwasafrequenterthereandthesalespersonwhokneasawarethatheusuallyboughtthecheapestliquorandsosaidtohimjokingly,

    “Hey,olddog,pened?Woo?Howeyou’resplurgingforsuchexpensivewhiskeytoday?”

    “Afriendofmineisleavingonalongtrip”saidDimitrishyly“andIamsendinghimoffwiththistowishhimbonvoyage.”

    “Luckyfriend!Youdrinkonlycheapliquorbuttreatyourfriendsroyally.”Dimitrismileda.Uponleaviore,Dimitriwalkedsilentlytowardstheke,savthehappinessofleisure.Hewasveryfamiliarwiththiscityaaswelsthebackofhishand.Atthismomeasenseofrelucetoleaveallthisbehind.

    Dimitricametothekeandfromthepositionofthestohewaterandtheslopeoftheterrain;heknewhehadetothesecludedrosegardenheloved.Hesatonthergestroddrankthewhiskeyhehadjustbought.Winterdayswereasshortasthenightswerelong;soondarknesswouldcovertheearth.Dimitriwaitedawhileloiltherafficdieddownpletely.Hewalkedintardenandstrolledamongthebareandwitheredrosebushes.Hehadfihreequartersofthebottleofwhiskeyalight-headedandunsteady.Hemuttered,

    “Rose,rose,whereareyou?Areyouafraidofthecoldandhavegoohiding?Don’tbeafraid!Letmeintroduceyoutosomefriends.”Dimitriwasblind.Beforehiseyeswasonlydarkness,pitchdarkasthenightaroundhim.Hethoughtofsomethingonawhimandsuddenlybeforehimappearedafabulousorchid,lovelyanddewy.

    “Ah,it’syou,QueenAisha!”hesaid.“Wele.Wele.Didyouealone?Wherearetheothers?”Anotherfloearedacolorful,fragrantpeonyinfullbloom.

    25

    “Ah,it’syouMegginn!”excimedDimitri.“Wele.Wele.Don’tburyyourselfinworkallday.Youmusttakeiteasysometimesandenjoyyourself.”Amysteriousstreakoflightshoneonabcktulip.

    “AhMedusa,theproteyKingdomofDreams!Isthatyou?Iknowyouhavefullyrecoverednow.Withyouincharge,IamfidentmyKingdomisingoodhands.”

    Suddenlyahostofbeautifulmeteorsshotacrosstheskyoertheotherandthendroppeddownpreciselyintarden,turningthemselvesintofullybloomi