Smoking Makes Me Bite your Arm

1. Finally through the Gate

We're on the train and soon enough arrive at the place of meeting. I am the first to get out, I am excited. There is much light, day, and lots of space. Further up is a park, a domain, which is private, this is where the conference or whatever will be held.

I go through the park and follow the main path up a little while. On the left is water, maybe the sea. On my right is a building, that is where all assemble. And in front of the building is a green. There are trees up ahead and people walk in the shade. There are lots of people and there is an atmosphere of anticipation and joy.

Those that came with me are lagging behind, but I don't care and just go on. I go forward. They are uncertain.

This is a place where I am bound to meet friends, people I've seen before. And I look left and right and search the faces of people. I see familiar faces but I keep going. I go towards the building. There is a stone terrace in front of the building.

Then I see Luvl, from the taiji, he has a bad knee at the moment. I had not expected him here. He is on a mission to hug every girl around, but he does not succeed. I am thinking, this is not such a bad idea. Luvl pretends as if he is single, but his wife Ve is there as well. She does not like what he is doing and says something about it. But apparently it is since he is alone that he wants all girls badly. I feel sympathy, because I feel the same.

Maybe the same dream. There are two girls right next to me. I want them both. They both look good. One of them has long red curly hair and I do go for it and kiss her. And I kiss her long. Quite long in fact. And I feel very excited, and afterwards I would have labelled this dream a wet dream, but for some reason it wasn't. Which is good.

2. Make Coffee and Bite the Arm

I'm in a very big hall where I feel a bit lost. This is a cafe of sorts. Might also be a library. Many tables, dark red atmosphere. I am here to wait. There is one particular table I belong to, but I have to get the coffee and end up serving people, being at the till.

There is more light at the till. I am stressed, because I don't know how the coffee machine works. I make the first coffee for someone who ordered, or asked me personally. It takes me a while to figure out how the machine works but I get it done.

Then, Anvd comes up to the counter and asks a coffee, and I get the cup and go to the machine, and I am completely lost. I don't know how to do it. I try this and that, but nothing works. I can't remember how I did it earlier. It takes me along time and I start to get nervous, but Anvd is not worried at all. As a matter of fact, she sees no difference with a professional. She actually walks away and sits down at her table, my table from before, and expects that I will come and bring her the coffee.

In the meanwhile a queue starts to form and I am still working out how to make this coffee. I'm really desperate now. At that point, someone else is there to help me, and I think, right, that is a relieve, she can help the other customers while I try this one a little more. But no, she comes and helps me, totally ignoring the customers. She is Bale. But she looks a bit different. Skinnier and her muscles are more tight, older.

In the meanwhile I tried a lot and I got something out of the machine, but it was not coffee. Actually, on top of the machine there are two small frying pans and in them I am cooking tomatoes for a sauce, and I put this in the cup, which is a large take away cup. Brown, light brown colour. I think, now I have at least the basis for the coffee, but some real coffee must be put on top of this to mask the whole thing, so Anvd would not notice. She will never.

Bale has trouble with the machine too although she pretends to be confident. It still takes too long. I feel behind me the customers waiting. I'm not very comfortable. Then I try something on the side, pull a handle, and out comes some sort of candy, green stuff, or something else, not at all what I wanted. Somewhat later I finally get some coffee out of the machine, but it is very thick, and not enough to cover the rest, so I'll be needing more, but I can't do it.

Meanwhile, Bale and I are talking. I know she started smoking again, and that is why her skin is becoming so leathery. The conversation turns this way because I see her pack of cigarettes lying on the work table. I can read the label, which is Bastos. I can see red, blue, white. I think smoking is bad for her, but she says I should not worry over it so much because she does not think it is that but. And that does it: I bite her arm. I can think of nothing else to do.

3. Wheels of Cheese

We arrive at a hostel, looks like an old people, all the local people are here and eating. They look as if we disturb them. It is late at night already, it is dark. We pass the counter, look for a place to sit, table. Maybe Bale is with me again, or Elbr.

While everyone else of the group is looking for a place to sit, I pass the table where the food is set and there is someone there to help. I am curious. I am indeed hungry. I see the man slice cheese. But they are big portions. He quarters a whole wheel of cheese and toasts that between a sandwich. I would like that. So I take a slice. I take a quarter too, but from a cheese that's been started already, so I end up with only a small piece. This is okay, because I don't want to be avaricious. Or eat too much cheese, since that is not good for the stomach. But the man cutting the cheese looks a bit irritated I am doing his job. So I let him. It is Gouda.

The people sitting behind us are all men and have drunk a little too much. They start to talk loud and want to fight us, but we keep our heads cool.