“The temperature is just fine. I promise.”
“I hope you’re right,” she said. “So, what takes you to Alaska, if I may ask?”
Miss Davies kept one eye on her cell phone as she listened to a wonderful tale about the love and understanding of marmalade.
Her heart skipped a beat when the gate agent eventually announced her flight. Soon, she would be defying the laws of nature. The hair on her arms stood up as she thought of the feeling when pushed back against the seat at takeoff, and the feeling of flying above the clouds and discovering a whole new world. The sudden vibration in her hand startled her, but the message on the screen did just the opposite.
She loved him more than anything else in the world. There was nothing she wouldn’t do for him.
How do you shoot a pilot?
5 HATRED
Friday evening
The man didn’t have a name. He’d lost his name in a shower locker room on a cold November evening in Anchorage, Alaska.
It had been impossible for the boy to pronounce a particular name. If the boy for some reason had to pronounce that exact first name, then the boy would instead choose to pronounce the last name of that specific individual. And if the last name was unknown, then the boy would simply use a pronoun, and if necessary, combine it with the appropriate hand gesture. The name in question only contained two syllables, but pronouncing them was too difficult for the boy.
The airport is empty. I’m all alone. There’s no reason to turn my head around and confirm it. The terminal is clear. I’m the only one present. I’m safe.
And I’m not hearing any voices.
As long as his shoes passed through the metal detector, he’d be all right. The airport staff wouldn’t think of asking him to remove his shoes. His shoes didn’t contain any metal, and there was no reason as to why they wouldn’t pass through the metal detector.
Sweat isn’t running down my neck. I’m not breathing more heavily than anyone else. I have no reason to be concerned about the future. I’m not going lose my legs.
He was always hot, but he always made sure to cover his skin with fabric. He only wore long sleeves. He assured himself that the note was still in the inside pocket of his blazer. But the noise was louder now and getting harder to ignore. His mental barrier began to crack. His reinforced mental concrete could hold no more. He couldn’t ignore the voice anymore, and as usual, the voice was that of a male. The voice reminded him that he smelled bad.
He wasn’t used to the outside. He preferred the inside. Trapped in his room. His room was harmless. When he was alone, he felt like a normal person. But when surrounded by other people, he felt lonely and isolated.
People can only see what they believe.
You can’t see me. I’m fooling you.
“You need to take those shoes off.”
His heart skipped a beat, but then he was relieved to see a hand reaching for the frame of the x-ray conveyor belt. The woman behind him was supporting herself against the rail while taking her shoes off. He made sure to turn his head away from the airport employee, hoping it would reduce the risk of enduring the same cruel fate as that of the woman behind him.
He didn’t walk; instead, he wobbled. He merely shifted his weight from one foot to the other, and tried his best to put as little weight on his shoes as possible, hoping the landing would be soft and consistent. He moved slowly. Anxiety had a firm grip on him as he approached the metal detector. He made a silent and desperate prayer. The voice reminded him not to get stuck. The machine didn’t make a sound. The sympathetic and artificial smile from the woman attending the machine confirmed his fear was uncalled for.
Suddenly, the voice was back, a different voice this time, but still a male voice as it usually was. This time, the voice reminded him that he had no value as a human being. But the words didn’t hurt as much as the laughter. The laughter reminded him of the man without a name. That overenthusiastic joy of witnessing another person being humiliated.
The smoke detector is wrong. There’s no fire. The fire was in the past. There’s no danger and no reason to be concerned. It’s a false alarm. The back of my brain is deceiving me. As soon as the air clears, the alarm will silence.
Breathe. I’m safe now.
Timing was essential, so he made sure to “recharge.”
The sensation created by the frontal part of his brain relieved him of the stress and fear detected by the back of his brain. The responding chemistry silenced his alarming anxiety. His mind was different now; the sweet and dark compound in his mouth stimulated it, and brought him a rewarding sensation. People were staring angrily at him, though. The chocolate bar seemed to provoke them.
His eyes sought further energy. He needed to recharge as soon as possible. Fast food wasn’t an option, as too many young people were in the restaurant, and he hated to place his order. People didn’t approve of his voice, since they found it too bright and feminine. The café was overcrowded. However, the kiosk had plenty of supplies with the right nutritional content. He made sure to open the door to the refrigerator with his sleeve. He had no particular reason for doing so, but merely did it out of habit, because he had done so since he was eight years old.
It was impossible for the boy to touch the same surface that the man with no name had touched. However, if the boy had to touch the surface (for example to open a door), the boy would use his sleeve to protect his skin. If his skin accidentally were to touch the surface, then the boy had to wash his skin as quickly as possible. If a sink wasn’t available at that particular time, then the boy would blow on his skin until the warm indentation was no longer noticeable. The boy stopped wearing short sleeves when he was eight years old.
The all-too-familiar container had six varieties of the same product, each one the same size and shape as the others, but with different and inventive coatings. The product was easy to consume while walking and therefore suitable for a person short on time. His taste buds quickly detected the product’s sweet and glazed surface. He made sure to devour all six donuts as quickly as possible before he washed them down with cold, sugary soda.
Disliking the experience would be impossible. Whenever a member of the human race was so fortunate as to obtain nutrition high in energy, that person was supposed to consume as much as possible. In order to ensure that the person made the right choice between food high in energy and low in energy, the person was rewarded with a delightful sensation whenever consuming food high in energy.
He was running out of time. The reward wasn’t fast enough. He could feel it.
The architectural design was thousands of years old, and it was constructed with amazing precision by the most advanced physical engineering ever known. Electricity ran through the endless number of rooms and hallways in this amazing “structure.” At the entry, the electric current was strong, and provided spectators with a bright and clear image of their surroundings. At this part of the structure, the owner was happy to share any impression to any visitors at any time.
For example: One room held images as far as the eyes could see. Another room contained the scents of all aromas the owner had ever detected. The sounds from another room were so powerful they could leave a person devastated or filled with joyful and moving enthusiasm. But the interior in these rooms wasn’t by any means unique or special. These rooms were basically the same as one could expect from any other structure.