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  He lost consciousness. And in his sleep he dreamt. He dreamt that someone, or rather a being, had heard his cry. He saw a light-like entity, which his senses couldn’t quite recognize, descend upon where he lay, take him in its arms and lay him upon his bed. Then the being hovered above him and whispered, “Your burdens shall pass; as they always have.” Behind the entity that spoke stood another, its appearance also beyond his comprehension.

  Jaden slept through every alarm that had sounded in his apartment starting at 3:30 in the morning. He had also lost track of the days; fortunately the morning was that of a Saturday.

  23

  Dadya

  A FEW WEEKS AFTER CASSANDRA AND PHIL’S MEETING: Lydia turned off the hair dryer, believing that she had heard a sound. It was her cell phone which lay resting on the bathroom sink. She looked at it. It was Cassandra calling.

  “Oops! I hope this hasn’t been ringing long,” she said, flipping the phone open. “Hey!”

  “Goodness! What took you so long?” grumbled Cassandra.

  “Sorry! I didn’t hear it. I had the hair dryer on,” she explained.

  “Oh! Okay. Just calling to let you know that I’ll be there soon, okay?”

  “Are you sure about this?”

  “Of course I’m sure. Why?”

  “Don’t you think that you should at least let him know that I’ll be coming along? Who knows, he may have plans for just the both of you, and the last thing he’d expect is a third wheel making things awkward.”

  “It’s okay. When I agreed to meet, I did tell him that you might be coming along; actually, the impression I really gave him was that you would be coming along”

  “And what if I didn’t agree to come with?” Lydia asked, curious as to the answer.

  “Then I would not have gone,” Cassandra said.

  “Then don’t you think you probably should have asked me before committing yourself,” she asked, shaking her head disapprovingly while smiling.

  “But I knew you’d say yes. That’s what we’ve always done. We’ve always said yes to each other, sweetie.”

  “Always!” Lydia acknowledged. “Do you feel nervous yet?”

  “Each time I’ve spoken with him over the past few weeks, I’ve felt a bit nervous, and now I really feel very nervous. I just hope that I don’t somehow embarrass myself when we see each other.”

  “You won’t. You’ll be just fine. So what time do you think you’ll be here?”

  “I’ve just pulled into the parking area. I’ll be up in a sec.”

  “Okay.”

  THEY joined the bustle of downtown, spending a bit of time window shopping before strolling over to the Water Tower. It was a beautiful afternoon and the park teemed with the liveliness of children, adults, pets, butterflies, birds; life abounded in the mirthful atmosphere. To and fro they went about the park, wondering if they’d find somewhere they may sit. The weather was wonderful and so plentiful were those who visited the park that even the steps that led down to the park from the Water Tower were crowded as everyone sought a place from which they may enjoy the day.

  “Oh my God!” Cassandra suddenly exclaimed.

  “What is it?” Lydia asked, alarmed.

  Cassandra realized that she had given Lydia a fright. “I’m sorry,” she apologized. “I didn’t mean to scare you. There he is,” she said, pointing to a couple of fellows seated on and leaning back against a bench, conversing. “I thought we had gotten here first but obviously he showed up even earlier.” She was still pointing.

  Lydia looked in the direction indicated. “Okay, you can stop pointing now.”

  Cassandra hadn’t realized that she still had her arm up.

  “Which one is he?” Lydia asked after spotting them.

  “He’s the one without a cap on. Oh my God! What am I going to do?” Cassandra asked, holding onto Lydia nervously.

  “Well, that’s easy. You came here to meet him, right? So go over and say hi.”

  “No, I can’t do that!”

  “It’s okay to be nervous. You’ll be fine. He’s probably just as nervous, or will be as soon as he sees you. Come on, you said you’d meet him here and that’s what you’re going to do. Let’s go.” Lydia started forward but Cassandra held her back.

  “It’s easy for you because you’re not in my shoes,” Cassandra pouted.

  “Though true that may be, my dear, fact is, sooner or later you will have to face him, or whoever else it could have been, sweetie. Now come along, we’ll do this together. I know that it’s different now because, unlike your first meeting at the gas station, this one now has implications that had never crossed your mind. This meeting does kind of point to the intent of this being more than just friendship between you both. Trust me, you’ll be just fine,” Lydia assured her. “Besides, isn’t the pressure usually more on the guys than it is on the girls to make a good impression? As bad as this might sound for the empowerment of women, all we girls need do is simply just be girls, which can entail a lot, and carry ourselves well. Let the guy be the one to get nervous. Let him be the one worrying about saying something silly he might later kick himself in the butt for, wondering how he could have been so brainless, even if he may not have really been.”

  “Okay. But let’s walk over very slowly.”

  Lydia sighed as that made absolutely no sense for the meeting was to occur regardless of their pace but she did oblige her. “Okay, amor, we’ll take our time getting there.”

  Because a great many people moved about the park walking, talking, pacing back and forth, sometimes standing beside where Jaden and Phil were sitting, neither one of them noticed the girls approaching.

  “Hi, Phil,” Cassandra said, trying as best she could to calm her nerves.

  Hearing the voice Jaden looked away from Sergeant Phil and turned his attention in the direction from which the voice had spoken. He looked upon Lydia and in that instant recalled what he believed was a dream he had had as a child in which a little girl had sat beside him upon his bed. She had taken him somewhere. A place he recalled seeing a lot of people, cars, buildings and… and the Water Tower. Also in that instant, Jaden was of the distinct impression that there was something very different about Lydia, and that somehow they knew each other. Though the thought would remain, the impression was, however, fleeting.

  *

  While thoughts of dreams of yore preoccupied Jaden’s mind, a child, a little boy, along with his otherworldly companion, had come forth from whence unseen and had hovered above the Water Tower for but a short while bemused as to his purpose there before vanishing just as suddenly as he had appeared.

  *

  Phil had also turned around, following Jaden’s lead, hoping it was she whom he awaited. “Hi, Cassandra!” he greeted her as he rose.

  It was only then that Jaden noticed Cassandra.

  “Hi,” she said again, shyly.

  “It’s so nice to see you,” Phil said, his demeanor rather giddy. “Cassandra, this is Lieutenant Ramiel. Sir, this is Cassandra.”

  “Hi, Lieutenant Ramiel.” Cassandra greeted Jaden a little less shyly.

  “Hi, and call me Jaden. You’re not in the army,” he said, smiling. He then turned his attention to the sergeant and said, “Phil, relax, dude. We’re not on duty, no need to be so formal about things. Besides, with all the force protection they beat into our heads, if you go around introducing me as a lieutenant, you might make me a target for terrorism,” he said facetiously. He wasn’t in a warzone so couldn’t imagine what anyone would want with a lowly lieutenant assigned to a mundane position supervising mechanics; such were his thoughts always whenever the company commander discussed force protection as part of every weekend’s safety briefing prior to dismissing the troops. Besides, everything he knew was already public information, thanks to the internet.

  “Roger, sir,” Phil said.

  “Also, kill the “sir” while we’re off duty, especially out here.”

  “Got it… dude!”
<
br />   “That’s more like it,” said the Lieutenant. “And who, may I ask, do we have here?” Jaden said ever so politely, now again focusing on Lydia.

  “Oh, I’m sorry!” Cassandra said, seemingly just come out of a stupor. “Guys, this is Lydia.”

  “Hi, Lydia,” Phil said, extending his hand to her; she reciprocated both greeting and gesture.

  “Hello, Lydia. Nice to meet you,” Jaden said, smiling warmly.

  “Heeellooo,” she said mellifluously.

  Jaden looked at her as though one spellbound. He was reminded of something. Or was it perhaps someone he felt that he ought to know?

  “Are you all right?” Lydia asked, Jaden’s mesmerized mien not unnoticed by her.

  “You remind me of someone but of whom I’m not sure.”

  She seemed fascinated by his words, almost as though one who bore like thoughts about him. “Really?” she said quizzically. “A nice person, I hope,” she said, smiling.

  “Of course, my dear,” he said casually. “I only know good people. I just wish I knew who exactly it is that you remind me off.” He turned his head that he may face Cassandra; his eyes, though, lingered upon Lydia for a second or two longer. “So, Cassandra, I take it that you must be the girl that Phil’s been going on about all afternoon.”

  She blushed.

  Remembering his manners, Jaden offered, “Would you care to take a seat? With as many people here as there are, we may want to take our seats rather quickly before others do. Quite a crowd today,” he said as he looked about.

  LATER: “It’s getting late. I should be going,” Jaden said while looking at his watch.

  “It’s only 19:45 and tomorrow’s Sunday,” Phil said.

  “Yeah I know but I’ve a slight headache. I’d rather get back now than chance it getting any worse and driving when it’s darker,” Jaden explained.

  “Okay.”

  He turned his attention to the girls. “Ladies, it was a pleasure. I’m sure I’ll see you around.”

  “Likewise,” said Cassandra.

  “Are you coming by the barracks tonight if you feel better? It’s been a while,” Phil asked.

  “I doubt it. I’ll probably just have a quiet evening at home.”

  “Roger that,” Phil acknowledged.

  “Again, ladies, very nice meeting you,” Jaden said while getting up. “Phil, I’ll see you Monday.”

  As Jaden walked towards the steps, he thought of the two couples he’d seen during his earlier visits to the tower; perhaps they were among the host gathered there with their families, enjoying an outing. He arrived at the top of the steps, walked over to the traffic light and waited for the pedestrian signal. His car was parked across the street, the parking meter had long since expired. He hoped he hadn’t been ticketed.

  While still waiting for the pedestrian signal, he heard a voice call out to him. Reacting to the voice, he turned and saw Lydia coming up the steps. “Hey there! Que passa?” he inquired, having learned during the course of the afternoon that Spanish was one of Lydia’s four tongues.

  Once caught up to him, she extended her arm and in her hand lay an object. “At some point while sitting back there, your keys must have fallen out of your pocket,” she said, offering them back.

  He looked at the set of keys while feeling his pockets. They were, in fact, his. “Where were they lying?” he asked, grateful that she had found them.

  “I noticed them lying on the grass beside where you sat.”

  “The grass! That explains why I didn’t hear them fall. Thank you. It would have been interesting trying to get home without my car keys. Well… I suppose I could have hotwired the car if you hadn’t found them. It would have been hell, though, trying to silence the alarm. Thanks again, Lydia.”

  “You’re very welcome. Tell me, what is it to hotwire a car?’’ she queried.

  “Have you ever seen movies in which people break into cars meaning to steal them but because they don’t have the key they use certain wires to short-circuit the ignition?”

  “Yes.”

  “That’s hotwiring.”

  “You know how to do that?” she asked, intrigued.

  “Oh definitely. It’s a skill I picked up when I first started chopping cars,” he said casually.

  “I’m sorry but I’m not at all certain what that is either,” she said, her perplexity quite obvious.

  “It’s okay. I don’t suppose that that is the kind of stuff your English teachers would teach you, at least not in a proper classroom setting,” he said, smiling. “Chopping cars is when someone breaks apart stolen cars and sells its components as individual parts. Fun stuff, chopping cars!” he said, his facial expression that of one who reminisced on fond memories of times past.

  She stared at him dumfounded, perhaps in shock.

  “I was part of a very successful, albeit illegitimate, business until a judge told me to either join the Army or go to jail,” he continued. “Obviously you know what choice I made. Listen, if it’s something that you might find yourself interested in, or know anyone that might be, definitely let me know. I’m thinking about getting something going here in Germany. It is the home of well-known makes, after all. I could make quite a killing… not people,” he quickly added, considering the possibility that she may misinterpret that quite the wrong way. “What do you think?” he asked very nonchalantly. Jaden wasn’t sure if her face bespoke horror, shock or both.

  She stood speechless and utterly appalled by Jaden’s past, his declared future, and his indifference with regards to criminal activity. Jaden stood silent for a few seconds watching her reaction before assuring her that he merely jested.

  She was relieved. “Thank goodness!” she said, placing a hand over her heart. “I was beginning to wonder just what kind of person Cassandra was getting herself involved with.”

  “Birds of a feather flock together, huh!” he said wryly.

  “Yes, exactly. You couldn’t have said it any better,” she said, breathing normally again.

  “Thanks again for the keys. I really appreciate it.”

  “Don’t mention it. Just be more careful. You might not be lucky if there is a next time.”

  “You’re right. I’ll be more careful.”

  “Goodnight,” she wished him.

  “Goodnight.”

  She turned to walk away but then stopped. Jaden was still watching her. She looked back at him and smiled. “You silly boy!” she said before starting off again.

  He smiled. ‘Silly boy,’ he thought as he watched her walk away. Just who does she remind me of?

  Jaden crossed the street, hoping he hadn’t been ticketed. He hadn’t. About to unlock his car, he heard what sounded like the voice of a little girl calling out a name. It could not have been his attention that was being sought, he believed, for the name that had been called out was not his. Nevertheless, curious, he looked around him. A child was not to be found. Again he turned his attention to his car, pressing the unlock button on the remote. The doors unlocked just as the voice again called out the same name. Where was the child and who was it that was being called for? he wondered. There wasn’t a presence in his immediate vicinity yet the voice seemed to be coming from where he was parked. Jaden looked around him again but still failed to see anyone. Perplexed, he walked over to the other side of his car, wondering if perhaps the child was there. She had to be close. No sooner did he round the corner of his car than a cute little girl dressed in a pretty pink dress seemed to just appear out of nowhere.

  “So you’re the one that’s been calling out for someone called Dadya,” he said, looking at her, curious as to why she was alone. He looked around hoping to identify the irresponsible adult that had left the child unattended long enough for her to have wandered off on her own.

  She looked at him then ran up to him and hugged him. Calling him by the same name, she asked, “Where did the sun go?”

  Poor sweet child, he thought. She looked no older than five. “Hi there, li
ttle princess,” he said, trying to remember if he had noticed a police station nearby in the event he couldn’t find the child’s guardian. She speaks English so that is a good beginning, he thought. “Are you lost, sweetheart?”

  Still holding onto him, she looked up and chuckled. “No, I’m not lost. You are so silly, Da-” She dropped her doll. “Oops! I’m sorry, little baby.” She apologized to the doll as she picked it up.

  “Sweetie, I’m sorry but I’m not Dadya.”

  “Of course you are, silly boy,” she said affectionately.

  Jaden took her by the hand. “Come along, sweetheart. Let’s go find your parents, okay? I’m sure that they are quite worried about you.”

  “Why would Mommy worry about me when I’m with you?” the little girl asked.

  Jaden wondered just who exactly she thought he was. That was not important, though; finding who she belonged to was. He locked his car and proceeded with her to the traffic lights, intending to ask Phil, Lydia, and Cassandra to help search for the child’s parents or whoever was responsible for her. Almost tripping over himself as they started, he noticed that one of his shoe laces had come undone. He turned his attention to her then said, “I’m going to let go of your hand but please stand right beside me, sweetie. Don’t go anywhere. I’ve just got to tie my shoe lace, okay?” Then he stooped down. However, as he lowered himself, something didn’t seem quite right. He couldn’t imagine what. Instinctively he looked over to where the little girl was. He almost fell backwards when he saw that she was gone.

  His heart racing he looked around him wildly. He didn’t see her anywhere, nor was there anyone close enough to have absconded with her. He was confounded. Where could she have gone? How could she have gone anywhere without him noticing it, if only through his peripheral vision? She had literally been standing right next to him as he knelt to re-tie his shoe lace. He quickly circled the car, hoping to find her. He didn’t. Was his mind playing tricks on him? It was impossible for a little girl, or anything else for that matter, to simply vanish into thin air. He wondered if his drinking was beginning to affect his cognizance. No! She was real. She had to be, he told himself. Somehow, he wasn’t sure just how, the child had gotten away from him in the twinkling of an eye. He had to find her. Oblivious to everything else, he dashed across the street, unmindful of the traffic. Several cars came to a screeching halt, their drivers honking furiously and yelling hysterically at him. His mind was too preoccupied for him to take notice.