"To bake or not to bake a pie?" was the question on Serenity's mind after the departure of the Disembodied Spirit Roaming the World.
The world is so unjust: my mind and my soul have been abused and exploited by the two Demons and their minions since birth and nobody has noticed anything. Nobody has come to rescue. My development trajectory has been severely distorted and my health has been irreversibly damaged. Only consumption of sweets can temporarily remedy such a sense of injustice but who can bake an organic pie in such an extreme psychological state? Not me, I have to hurry to the supermarket before its closure in order to purchase some sweets and thus quiet the unsteady emotions.
In front of the confectionary shelves at the supermarket.
Should I get one box of cookies or two boxes just in case one box is not enough to pacify my inner pain? I started feeling that pain in every cell of my body. I guess, I should also throw a box of chocolates into the shopping basket. Two boxes of cookies won't be enough to ease the present intensity of the emotional pain.
It's past 9pm. The sun has set more than a couple of hours ago and the full moon has already risen. It keeps shining so brightly in the sky. The very same Moon that has been revered and admired by our ancestors and that has been there to witness the events on Earth for millennia.
The small garden near the social housing estate where Serenity resided looked eerie in the moonlight. The evening air was damp and felt cool but not too cold yet. The gentle breeze kept rustling autumnal leaves on the tree branches. The ones (leaves) that have already fallen onto the ground rested immobile at the moment. There is the very specific scent of autumnal leaves in the air. Serenity has installed herself on the garden bench and opened the first box of cookies. The night sky was full of bright stars and faster or slower moving satellites.
When I was little and knew nothing of satellites I used to believe that those moving bright dots in the sky were alien ships. There was no tradition of asking adults any questions of interest in our family. Hence, I always had to come up with answers of my own to my questions. Perhaps, for this reason the world seemed quite a scary place. Moreover, I secretly wished that the aliens took me away from this planet because I kept experiencing an unexplainable existential dread every waking minute and in my dreams too whenever they visited me. After having heard what the Disembodied Spirit Roaming the World had to say, I sort of understand why my perceptual consciousness was enveloped by the feelings of existential dread all the time.
Two boxes of cookies have already been emptied. However, emotions were nowhere near being placated. She has reached for the box of chocolates next while focusing her gaze onto the vastness of the sky vault.
I cannot image the Universe neither finite (because what's after that? Another Universe? And is it finite? What's after that?) nor infinite (How can something be infinite?).
Suddenly a bright light has lit the sky.
What was that? A shooting start? Make a wish, quickly! Waistline containment, waistline containment. Emotional balance is better instead. How about both: I want both simultaneously. I hope I've managed to make my wish within the correct timeframe. It's been only a third shooting star that I had witnessed in my lifetime. And during the previous two times I was so amazed by the dazzling sight in the sky that I forgot about making my wishes altogether.
People call it a "shooting star" but, perhaps, it is a meteorite. I need to check on my mobile phone once and for all. After all, it wasn't a meteorite it was a meteoroid. They enter Earth's atmosphere at high speeds and burn up with a streaking flash of light.
This is exactly the phenomenon that I have just witnessed in the night's sky. To ordinary people there is not much difference whether they call the "streaking flash of light in the sky" a "shooting star", a "meteorite" or a "meteoroid". However, I imagine that recognizing heavenly bodies was of utmost importance to the astrologers of the past. I also tend to think that some serious misidentification of celestial phenomena led to the downfall of astrology as a respectable profession over the course of history. Never mind. I need to focus on redressing my present day injustices. Interesting... what do folk traditions have to say about the entities that have the power of remotely controlling people's minds and souls, thus, causing their deterioration. Oh, here is one candidate: a nine-tailed fox. Not an entirely benign character and it is in possession of a superior to human consciousness according to the centuries old myth.
While focused on her mobile browser Serenity has heard dry leaves rustling on the ground nearby.
Must be a hedgehog or some neighbor's cat.
The rustling of fallen dry leaves continued.
It's too much noise for a hedgehog and for a cat to make. What else could be the source of it?
She started looking around the bushes under the dim street light and then... she noticed a shadow lit by the moonlight, bigger than a cat, standing a couple of meters away from her bench. A fox?! One tail only. What if eight others are not visible to me yet? This fox has been wondering behind my the garden bench while I kept browsing the "nine-tailed fox" topic on my mobile and dismissing the rustling leaves sound behind my back as the one being made by a hedgehog or the cat... And that too on a full moon night... Aren't animals supposed to be afraid of humans? Normal animals keep their distance. But this fox has even ignored the loud sound that I have made by tapping the bench in order to chase it away. It just kept standing a couple of meters away and staring back at me all this time. I don't understand what's going on. It's time to get back to the safety of my social housing flat.
Sun is up again. Serenity kept hesitating whether to go on a walking meditation this morning or to continue laying in her bed for longer. She decided to get up and go outside.
"Where is my khaki sportswear? Oh, there it is!"
It looks like I am among the first ones to the park this morning. No, not so fast: there is some stranger over there by the lake wearing a sparkly white loungewear ensemble. The Stranger has taken notice of Serenity's presence.
"Good morning, Miss! May I accompany you on your morning walk?"
The Stranger seemed somewhat restless and a little agitated; a countenance far away from inspiring immediate trust in them.
"I know that you are used of going for walks alone. However, I have already noticed a pair of startled wild boars nearby and it simply would be safer for you to walk along with me today."
He already knows that I go for walks by myself? Many people go on walks by themselves these days. It's easy to get this statement right. Or could he be some kind of a stalker? Those are also increasing in number. Wait, what he is in the process of doing right now?
The Stranger pulled out a handgun with a silencer, aimed and rendered inanimate one of the parks pigeons inanimate. Its white feathers became colored bright red while lying on the paved ground.
"That's what I meant by saying that you would be safer walking by my side since I have protection measures against the unpredictable animal behavior."
A stalker with a handgun?! Keep breathing and keep calm. I guess, he is unlikely to take "No" for an answer.
"Ahhh... I agree with you. It's for my own safety after all... Shall we start walking then?"
"So, yeah, please, forget that episode with the bird just now. It's nothing compare to what life can throw at you sometimes."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Do you like speed?"
What sort of answer is he expecting from me? Given his emotionally unstable state, he might be triggered by the negative replies. Hence, I must utter something positive true or not.
"Well, yeah, I sometimes ride my bicycle down that hill in the park. The acceleration is wild! One might end up straight in the waters of the lake if not careful by using brakes."
"I see... I prefer driving a racecar on a racetrack and explore the limitations of my physical body. But that's not all. I enjoy parachuting from time to time as well. Last time my parachute didn't open but luckily I have landed in a lake and my instructor who has landed on a tree has broken a couple of ribs. He was sure he checked the equipment before our jump but I guess he has only accomplished the action mentally in his head but not manually in real life. Are you afraid of heights?"
"I love heights. The last time I have climbed up the observation tower the sky happened to be clear and I got to enjoy the panoramic views of our City."
Stranger's perfume has been overpowering her sense of smell.
"I did some climbing too. Braving the highest of the mountain peaks on this planet. We have made it to the top with my best friend. But destiny has parted us forever on the way down the mountain slope during a snow storm."
"I am so sorry for your loss..."
"That's what I mean: you can never know in life..."