Dreams Ltd (35 page)

Seeing Hulk’s clenched jaws, Tabitha began to worry.

“Please don’t punish her too harshly. It’s not been an easy life for her here and she’s never done anything bad to anyone...We can all start pining here sometimes, you know...”

Hulk just nodded and a second later he was gone.

Tabitha sighed and shook her head - these two will be idiots if they don’t notice each other. Shereen needs a reliable, fair and caring partner, but will she recognise these qualities in Hulk through the constant pretence, which was vital for survival in Tally? And Tabitha could tell her the truth, no, she couldn’t... Shereen must find out what he is like for herself.

And Hulk? How great would it be if someone softened his toughness? It’s like watering dry soil - you never know what could come up there afterwards; but life is life and it’s not meant to be easy. At times it can be sweet or scary, sometimes gentle or rough, but never easy.

Tabitha shook her head again, put away the biscuits, rinsed her cup and turned off the kitchen light. That’s it. Bedtime. The young ones will sort things out themselves and she has to get some rest – the age is taking its toll.

The ranch was quiet; only a few windows were lit up in the mansion, most of the guards went back to their barracks and only the patrol was making a round by the perimeter of the fields.

Hulk quietly and quickly lurked into the garage - a bright light lit up his shiny black 4x4 - spacious and fast. Before starting the engine, Hulk turned the satnav on, but instead of choosing a destination he entered an eight digit password, which brought up another page. He couldn’t risk raising the alarm because of Shereen’s disappearance since that would only open up a can of worms, and the only person he could rely on in catching the girl was himself.

Hulk started the engine and fastened his seatbelt. Then he found a piece of paper with the code of Shereen’s bracelet and put the number into the waiting for further instructions GPS. The device made a subdued sound confirming the entry - it was now up to a satellite to search for the required object. Waiting for the result, Hulk, turned on the headlights, drove out of the garage and left the ranch. In the mirror he saw the gate shutting down silently and then took a turn on the motorway leading to the city.

The deserted road was illuminated up by the moon - a silent cold spotlight was always in its place ready to work another night free of charge. There were never any moonless nights in Tally as the climate there was too hot and dry to form any clouds in the sky. Maybe some people were not too happy about that, but he certainly wasn’t one of them since there were good yields several times a year. As long as there was enough water (which there was plenty of here) and as soon as Hulk understands how the ancients built their irrigation systems described by the Turics in the book, everything will work even better. But to ensure that the translation is done, he must find that naughty girl who buggered off to the city under the cover of the night. Hulk wasn’t so much angry with Shereen, as, oddly enough, he was worried about her - Tally was a really unfriendly place, especially for a single girl at night.

These cloudless nights were quite helpful for another reason - nothing would block the satellite signal and to Hulk’s relief a minute later the GPS popped up a message that the requested object is found and now it was calculating the shortest route to it. Shereen was located somewhere in the city centre, which was about fifteen minutes drive if he puts his foot down. Judging by the map she was in the city park - plus or minus fifteen meters away from the main gate. What the hell is she doing there? Hulk threw another glance at the flashing dot and pressed harder on the accelerator. Soon he’ll find out.

The SUV couldn’t be parked on the park’s grounds - entry of any vehicles was forbidden, so Hulk had to leave the car by the gate and walk to the park. The GPS had to be left behind in the car seeing that it did not have its own battery and if unplugged from the dashboard it would instantly become totally useless. Shereen’s bracelet was still seen by the satellite at roughly the same location and Hulk decided that he had no other choice but to try to find her himself. Trusting his intuition, he walked along one of the paths, carefully watching out for any moving objects or anything that resembled a human body, lying on the ground. On the one hand, it was a positive thing that she didn’t go to any bar where men could mistakenly take her for a prostitute, but on the other hand, the park wasn’t the safest place either - from time to time someone was raped and robbed here, despite constant police patrols.

Hulk couldn’t be sure if Shereen was not injured, but he was absolutely sure that she was alive, because prisoner’s bracelets would immediately warn the system, if the pulse of the owner suddenly stopped.

Hulk thought that ironically enough it was good and bad at the same time. He began to worry.

The park lanes were empty. The tops of trees, standing like a dark wall, were lit by the moon, the shadows from their trunks were stretching on the ground like long black stripes, and the crowns were moving slowly. The park benches scattered here and there were dozing peacefully - at this hour, there wasn’t anybody to sit around for minute or two, reading a newspaper or sipping lemonade. There were no police, no traffic noise, and no voices - all tranquillity. But Shereen was definitely somewhere here - Hulk trusted the satellite data, and, so he kept on looking. By this time he had walked through approximately half of the park and now began wondering what would happen if she decided to hide in the bushes when she heard the steps of a stranger? But before this idea evolved into a definite conclusion, Hulk emerged from the alley on a luminous square and stopped. In the centre of it there was a marble fountain with a statue in the middle, which looked like either a large curved fish or someone holding a pitcher. Perhaps, according to the architect’s plan the water should be running down from the statue into the basin, but now the fountain didn’t make a sound as it was completely dried out. Shereen was sitting right on the edge, with her legs thrown over the side of the water feature - her body with drooped shoulders could be a continuation of this marble assembly, if it wasn’t for her long curly hair moving from the night breeze. She sat motionless and quiet, staring at the night sky. Hulk looked around, making sure there was nobody around, and then walked towards the fountain - the first thing to do was to make sure that she was alright.

“Shereen?” he called quietly, approaching her from behind.

She turned after a short pause, as if she didn’t recognise his voice.

“Hulk?”

“What are you doing here? Why on earth did you leave the ranch without my permission, and on the last bus?”

“I knew you were going to be angry, but I had to...”

Her voice sounded shaky and a little vague. Hulk suddenly realised that she was drunk. And yes, when he came closer he saw a large dark bottle in her hands.

“What are you drinking?”

“Bourbon, I bought it at the supermarket.”

“Bourbon?” repeated Hulk in surprise, “You sit here at night in the park, drinking bourbon?”

“What do you think I should be drinking and where?” Shereen asked sarcastically, “A glass of red wine while sitting in front of the fireplace and reading a love story?”

Hulk couldn’t find what to say. He paused, on one hand he felt a relief that he’d finally found her and on the other feeling very confused - how should he behave with a drunk Shereen? But since he wasn’t certain he knew how to deal with sober Shereen he just shifted his car keys from hand to hand and said.

“It’s not safe to be here at night. Let’s go.”

“Go where?”

“Back home.”

“I don’t have a home.”

Hulk swore silently.

“Back at the ranch.”

“I don’t want to go back at the ranch!” she shook her head like a spoilt brat, “I'm tired. I’m tired of everything here. The ranch is your home, not mine.”

She took the bottle to her mouth and had a hefty sip straight from its neck.

“Leave the booze alone!”

Hulk came closer, but Shereen quickly pressed the bottle to her chest.

“No! It’s mine! I paid eight points for it!”

Almost laughing at her ingenuousness, Hulk suddenly realised that he was utterly bewildered. Here he is God knows where, in the park, in the middle of the night, trying to take a drunk girl home, who’s really playing up and does not want to be budged. Should he throw her over his shoulder and carry back home? What a load of nonsense!

“Let’s go, Shereen. I have every right to tell you what to do and you know it.”

“Yes, of course. You can order me around and you can take all my points, I know that.” This phrase sounded not as much provoking but more sad.

Hulk was very quickly learning that pressure won’t help the situation and immediately changed his tactics.

“Let's go back. We’ll pretend that nothing happened and I will not punish you.” he said softly.

Shereen slowly put the bottle on the edge of the fountain and looked openly at him for the first time. Her eyes - surprised and confused, made him feel as if there was a lump his throat.

“You know, you're not that bad at all...” she said, and the lump got bigger. Hulk shook his head trying to get rid of the unusual sensations, while Shereen continued, “Yes, we will go, but please, let's sit down for a minute.”

“Sit down?”

“Yes, right here. I am exhausted of the ranch and I don’t want to get back... not yet.”

This night - quiet alleys, light wind, shining moon, fountain and Shereen with a bottle in her hands - made the entire scene seem so surreal, as if the reality became fuzzy.

Hulk sat down and also threw his legs over the edge of the fountain. The bottom of the basin was all cracked and the weeds were going through them, trying to find some moisture under the weight of the stone bowl. The silence has wrapped up two strangers, sitting in the depths of the park.

Oddly enough, Hulk suddenly realised that he wasn’t in a hurry to get back to the ranch as well. There was something comforting, long forgotten and almost romantic in what was happening now. The tenderness of a summer night has mixed with a slight feeling of guilt from the fact that it was him who got Shereen so unsettled and therefore there would be nothing wrong if he allowed her to take a break from the usual hassle and bustle. It wouldn’t hurt to spend another ten minutes in the park, especially when it’s so calm and even enjoyable around.

Hulk felt some obscure bits of sensations from the past – when he wasn’t lonesome, there was someone loving and caring around, when he wanted to reach to the sky, simply because some strings of his heart were singing from just a touch, just like they were now from the night breeze.

These feelings - wonderful and unexpected, were accepted by Hulk in silence and awe. He was afraid to startle them - so fragile and intangible; they could disappear any moment, if he let a single thought squeeze into his mind. Instead Hulk forced himself to relax and immerse into “here and now” - the chirring of cicadas in the grass, barely audible rustling crowns of the trees and the crunchy sound of pebbles at the bottom of the pool under the soles of his shoes. Quietly halted and imbued with the beauty of the night, Hulk suddenly discerned how grateful he was for this moment, so unexpectedly and beautifully presented to him by life. He wasn’t trying to understand where these fragments of long forgotten feelings came from or to analyse what they meant, he was just glad that they suddenly came to him, reminding that there were still some soft and sensual layers in his soul left, lying somewhere deep beneath the everyday boredom.

Realising that Shereen has been looking at him all this time, Hulk asked.

“What?”

“You are here. You are here with me.”

“Yes, I’m here. You’ve asked me to stay here.”

“Yeah …” she mumbled vaguely as if she was still surprised, and they sat in silence again.

The time has stretched, became somehow flexible or just frozen completely. The park was hiding minutes, and the silence didn’t seem heavy.

“And where is your home?” Hulk asked, “In Klendon-city?”

Shereen shook her head.

“I used to think it was there, but now I now it’s just an apartment to me. Could I it call it “home”?”

“And what could you call “home”?”

“Home is not a set of concrete joists, walls, windows and carpets. If you take it all apart, break it down and put it back together again but in a different way, it won’t be your home anymore. Home is a certain order of things in life, familiar and understandable. It's when you know every little detail in your bathroom, when you have your favourite coffee cup in the kitchen, when you know you can go to the corner shop in the morning and Chuck who’d known you for ages will greet you with a smile... Yes, home - is an order of things; and maybe a special state within you.”