WHAT IS MANNA?

On an essay. What Was Manna?written by Prof. Roger Wotton, in UCL in UK

Manna is a physical entity, depicted as a supernatural origin in the Old Testament . This physical entity has some characteristics that have been mentioned in the Bible. Book of Number, The most crucial statement about the manna is. ‘Arriving with the dew during the night,’ Probably,the environment approach provide the condition for the chemical formation of the entity . Exodus adds that manna was comparable to hoarfrost in size, similarly had to be collected before it was melted by the heat of the sun , and was white like coriander seed in color. after collecting it may become like bdellium.

The Holly text is reciting, in the time when Israelites had been wandering in the wilderness for so many years, and they built this unique relation with a material fell down on the way they passed through. They called it Manna. (Manna, obviously, in Hebrew language , is some thing bestowed, and has a heavenly origin.) Some dictionaries state the definition in this way: An ash tree which exudes a sweet edible gum (manna) from its branches when they are damaged, native to Southern Europe and South West Asia. But, this way of bestowing would not fascinate any mind, if it was not heavenly originated.

But, in considering manna not heavenly originated, yet, as a falling material from the sky, would be ranked such as rain or snow. Whilst storms and Tornados are less heavenly ranked, and if they carried manna away with all kinds of dirt, eventually would make a mixture of manna and all kind of dirt, and manna would disappear midst the huge amount of dirt . ( Here, according to my knowledge, in counting all regions with extreme storm around the world, no traces of manna could be found.)

Tornado, or the Khamsin or khamasin wind would not help the formation of Manna , on contrary it is against the congregating of the particles of the material. In Egypt, Khamsin usually arrives in April but occasionally occur in March and May, carrying great quantities of sand and dust from the deserts, with a speed up to 140 kilometers per hour. The khamasin wind is hot and dry and dusty far different from ‘Arriving with the dew during the night.’

During Napoleon’s Egyptian campaign the French soldiers had a hard time with Khamsin: when the storm appeared "As a blood-stint in the distant sky", the natives went to take cover, while the French "Did not react until it was too late, then choked and fainted in the blinding, suffocating walls of dust, instead of falling of Manna.

How Moses and Herron behaved at Sinai during Khamasin? Probably not like Napoleon’s soldiers, since they were familiar with Khamasin.

Personally I crossed Sinai and for a long time have being thinking about Manna- Sinai, and came to a conclusion, if Manna fell down for Israelite at that time, it would never falls on Sinai of this new earth environment, because there is no manna’s primal material above Sinai now and long time ago, to proceed the process of creation of the main component of that terrestrial featured -sky entity.(Simply sugar.) The main component of Manna.

Therefore, the crucial question would be , what are sugar’s components ? Definitely, the simplest chemical structure of sugar is made of Hydrogen, Oxygen, and carbon Monosaccharides are the simple sugar, the most important is glucose. Almost all sugars have the formula CnH2nOn (n is between 3 and 7). Glucose formula is C6H12O6. Therefore for each molecules we need carbon, hydrogen, oxygen in the ratio n/2n/n. in a specific arrangement to make sugar not lipid.

In answering the question. Is there a natural plant in the sky producing such kind of sugar ? Definitely there is such a plant… higher or in several hundred meters above the sea level, where in the space a specific area with the environment of temperature, pressure, and humidity etc, working in harmony, in a specific area, definitely becomes the imaginary plant of manna.

Now, the question is: is not air made of nitrogen , oxygen hydrogen carbon and all other gases and also water vapor, and all together are exposed to a wide range of pressure and temperature in the sky somewhere above some regions. (Personally watched the weather during falling Manna {Gezo] on Kurdistan heights, it is known for everyone there, how to collect the manna . I also read about manna production of Terengin in Iran. Terengin may be somehow a different type, of gezo forming in lower temperature, or under different pressure .

Therefore, in conclusion , the most reliable theory is: the formation of the physical entity manna is depending on the existing of the basic component of sugar in Air {Carbon, Hydrogen and Oxygen , with possibility being mixed with other particles , or materials during its local journey, like rain or hail.). All this under a special condition: required temperature, special pressure, and humidity or even a magic thunder or even catalysts. Researches could be conducted for proving the origin of manna practically in some places . A simple design depending on balloons left on deferent heights with sensors watching the formation of the manna in a such environment could answer all our questions.

My warm thanks.

Best Regards
Kay H.

3
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REMAINS OF 1988

KAY  Hay

The years reel, a filmstrip unraveling, forcing me into an eternal rewind. A flashing scene, a moment of rupture—chaos, motion, voices colliding in an airport's endless churn. And then, gravity. My gaze is yanked, my entire existence snagged on something small yet impossibly heavy. A handful of paper scraps, abandoned, or maybe waiting. Their presence feels intentional, like an event horizon demanding collapse.

Fate? Probability? No. This is something else. Something preordained yet lawless. I pick them up, and the world subtly tilts. Somewhere, someone watches. A lost sibling. A shadow folded between dimensions. A pulse of recognition with no source. My senses sharpen, doglike in their hunger, but no matter how deep I inhale, no matter how feverishly I scan the sea of faces, the author does not exist. Or perhaps they exist too much—so much that they evade the boundaries of space, time, and even the divine.

Still, I do what must be done. The scraps come to me—a treasure. I think abnormally . Not by choice, not by curiosity, but by an inescapable pull, the way all matter must fold toward the singularity. I spend a year—though it could be forever—deciphering the content of them, unearthing a story that was never meant to be spoken. And now, as it takes form, I send it spiralling outward, calling across the abyss: “No matter how cruel, how rootless I am—my mysterious lady, my ever-wondrous spectre—you orbit me like a dead sun, a thing that should not shine but does. Forgive me. I am sorry for sharing your memory. Nevertheless,  they say, every great story needs a rogue Jonah, and I am  yours.”

Fragments of the Past

Against fate itself, I pieced together the remnants of a soul. Each page was a wound, each line a scar. Fifty-seven weathered sheets, trembling with the weight of a life shattered yet unbroken. Her courage lay before me, raw and unburied.

"I found myself amidst the ruins of my mother. My fingers traced the brittle contours of her skull, the fragile architecture of memory itself. Bone to dust, dust to whispers, I listened to what remained. But duty called like a storm without mercy, dragging me into the abyss of night. I left her behind—her cursed shell abandoned to a thousand unseen eyes."

—Unreadable scratch.

"Shepherds with no faces led me to the edge of a great valley. They left me there, nameless among the desolate rocks of the Heights, with only my daughter clinging to the silence. 'To whomever you may be,' I murmured into the void, ‘my deepest gratitude, dear dearest, dearest...’"

I say: "Whoever you were, I am grateful. Dear dearest, dearest..."

1988.

"I remember, and I say: I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. And nothing stains that absolute truth."

—Unreadable scratch.

"When they threw my brother from the sky, I saw his eyes flash—twin stars, wide and disbelieving. The soldiers had captured him where he lay, bleeding into the battlefield, and they took him not as a prisoner, not as a man, but as an experiment. A body to be tested. A lesson to be taught. They dragged him to the plane, flew him high above his land, and cast him into the void."

"And as he fell, the sky itself split with laughter. The soldiers screamed down at him, voices jagged with mockery: ‘These are your rocks, bastard. Not ours. You think so, bastard? You are dreaming.’"

And the rocks did not dream. They simply received him

Aftermath, Aftermath

"Dogs came later. They tore his corpse apart, dragging him limb by limb until nothing remained whole. And then the floods came, sweeping his bones through valleys and ravines, stripping them of their weight, scattering what was left of his name. That was the end of his short life."

"Then they came—the soldiers. And they took his wife. Sold her to many men. She was pregnant. And when at last we were certain she was dead, we read a thousand verses over an empty grave, a prayer that reached nothing."

1986.

"Aftermath, aftermath."

"I survived. A decade passed, then another  Al- Anfal came and went, and I remained."

—More unreadable scratch.

"A boy stepped forward—charming, with a face carved from the sweetest sorrow. His lips trembled, his eyes glistened, his voice barely a whisper through the weight of years."

"Mother."

(Many words were missing.)

"I felt it. That frame—the outline of an angel, sculpted in the agony of waiting. He walked so sweetly, so proud, that I nearly screamed. 'The only man left in the family.' I stood frozen."

"‘Mother, I have searched for you for so long.’"

"Touch his face. Hold him. Kiss him," my friend wept beside me. But I only stood there, shaking like a wretched creature, my mind emptied of thought, my tongue useless in my mouth. 'You can. You can,' my friend cried out."

(Many words are lost.)

"God! Torture me not, I beg you—I beg you, Almighty!"

"I was speaking to no one, speaking to the silence, when he said: ‘I always kept your picture with me.’"

1999.

(Many words are missing.)

"He is not your son. He is not your son."

"Do not get carried away with your feelings," they warned. "One must be careful these days."

"O' Golden Heights."

"Golden breeding."

"My tribe."

—Unreadable scratch.

"You let a stranger into your house."

"Goddamn," I screamed. But even as the word left my lips, I wished I had not spoken it.

"Listen to no man," my friend urged. "He has your eyes, your lips, your nose... are you blind?"

But I had no one. No one at all.

And yet, the truth did not wait for permission. It was unearthed—not with reason, not with proof, but with something deeper: the fangs of my heart, the marrow of my lost soul, the relentless force of knowing. I dragged his face out of the abyss, piece by piece, and in that moment, I knew.

"If truth must be spoken," I declared, "then let it be said: He is my son. He is the truth."

And from then on, there was nothing left to say.

Except this:

"The graveyard is no place for lies."

I speak only because there is no one left to listen.

(2000.)

                                                                          

                                                                            ***
                                                                               

Past is a venom coursing through me...

(Missing word.)

"The past is not behind me; it is within me, buried in the marrow of my bones. It is a specter coiled at the core of my being, a shadow lurking beneath my skin, spying on the world through the pores of my flesh. Its gaze is serpentine—sinuous, watchful, waiting."

"With each breath, I swallow the dust of forgotten divinity, a silent witness to the ruin of the laden God—the one bound by a thousand chains, the one shackled to us until the end of time. And so I whisper softly, ‘Farewell,’ urging my own ego to shatter Him, to break the chains that no god can sever."

"Creep. Creep out," I say.

(Many words are missing.)

---

In the labyrinth of recollection, I walk the ancient paths of my town—not a place, but a wound, a history that breathes in the dust and sighs through the broken walls. The air is thick with the scents of ceaseless strife, with the ghostly weight of voices that will never fall silent. I push forward, deeper into the abyss of memory, my steps echoing against the stones of the Walk of Death.

We were fools, all of us. Fools who could not stop unearthing the graves of our past. Fools who could not leave the dead to rest.

"Well," I say, reluctantly. "Yes."

But in the silence of my soul, I proclaim something else:

"Embark upon the voyage to the farthest reaches of existence."

I have turned that verse over in my mind a thousand times, pressing forward, untethered, until I stand at the crossroads where past and future collide. There, where our wary gazes meet the spectral echoes of our ancestral land, we converse in the tongue of the wind—like highlanders of old, like those who spoke before the world was set aflame.

"Behold," they say, "there is no escape. You are bound to the holiness of the collective fate."

I clutch my restless heart.

"Yet you cast me aside," I say, longing for a place beyond reach.

"I renounce the confines of tradition and the shackles of servitude," I declare, and though disbelief flickers in their eyes, my will does not waver.

"I am not deceived," I answer their doubts.

"Then you are resigned," they mourn.

"I shall depart, never to return," I vow.

"And what of your lineage? Will you forsake the memory of your kin?" they ask.

With a heart made heavier by truth, I reply:

"My kin dwell in the realm of the departed."

(Scratched words).

(Missing Words).

---

The season's breath stirred before its time, a whisper of upheaval. The wind awoke with a sudden hunger, tearing through the streets, unbalancing the steps of young scholars who did not yet know what it meant to fear. Along Pretoria Road, the towering sentinels of nature swayed—a slow, knowing rhythm—casting off their golden robes in a final, sorrowful dance. Their seeds scattered, like the echoes of my unspoken desires, drifting down the same paths my ancestors once walked, carried by invisible hands.

Then, the storm came.

It did not arrive—it descended. It crashed upon the earth, tore through the roadside sanctuaries, and roared into the hills like a god unchained. The trees bent as if bowing to an unseen king. The sky split apart.

And then—

The fire.

(Missing words.)

The bush ignited. Not a spark, not a flicker—but a devouring, an insatiable beast of flame.

(Missing words.)

I shrieked into the chaos, my voice breaking against the wind. "Run, run, run!"

The children ran.

(Missing words.)

I stood still.

I stood still because I had seen this before.

My ghosts whispered beside me, their voices curling in the heat. They did not beg, nor weep, nor scream. They only watched.

For I had learned this truth: the past does not chase you; it stands and waits.

I turned away from the fire only to meet another—the one that smolders inside me. A quiet, merciless burning. The weight of grievances unspoken, justice unanswered. The world, vast and indifferent, offered no reprieve. Our rights—our most basic rights—were treated not as birthright but as a plea, as if to exist itself was an act of defiance.

"I am but a dweller of the mountains," I say.

And they reply, "You dwell at the nadir of the rock."

But I know the truth.

Even from the lowest stone, even from the deepest valley, I hear the voices of my people. And when their bones cry out, when the wind carries their grief to my ears, what choice is left to me but to mend what has been broken?

"Stop this folly," they warn me.

And yet, my hands do not still.

For if no one else will gather the shattered souls of my kin, then who shall?

---

This is beyond divinity. It is beyond godhood. It is the raw force of something older than gods—something that does not bow, that does not plead, that simply is.

Does this strike the mark, or shall we carve it deeper?

---

I walked, endlessly, down the street—each step dissolving into the next, my thoughts unraveling like a serpent shedding its skin. A thousand paces deep, I found myself submerged in a world of fragrant lavender.

Lavender—the color of dusk’s last breath, the scent of ghosts who refuse to be buried.

The rain whispered its secrets against their trembling petals.

And above the imperial avenue, I drifted. Laden with memories sharp enough to wound. The season exhaled, and I swallowed its sorrow.

"You!" I shouted into the void.

"Even in deserts, you might meet a friend," the echo replied.

"Hold on," I murmured. But the words did not belong to me.

They came from him—his voice, thin and spectral, seeping through the mist of my wandering. My husband, my phantom, his poetry weaving through the silence, struggling to graft itself onto my flesh.

I should confess... (Missing words.) I am but a futile scum, a whisper lost in the wind, squandering moments in life’s vanishing gleam.

"That might bring you back, dear," he pleads, his voice a fragile bridge between worlds.

But I—the real one, the defiant one—pull away.

"Get out of my life," I command.

And like a ghost, I dissolve. Like whispers swallowed by the storm.

With the wind, I flee. Beneath silver sheets of rain, he calls after me.

"Bring me back."

"We are but strangers," I reply, my words scattering like dying embers.

"I know," he says. And then he is gone.

---

Trepidation coils around me like a noose as I await his arrival. Outside, the autumn night hums, thick with unseen hands. I stand before the old apartment window, the ancient balcony beneath my feet, the weight of a thousand lifetimes pressing into my spine.

I open my palms, sifting through gemstones—their facets swallowing the light, swallowing me. Each stone bears the faces of the dead, their stories etched in silent screams.

"Gemstones are God's favored accessories," he once told me, and I nearly believed him.

He, my husband. The man who walked between beauty and madness.

He named me Origin of Symmetries.

The beast that read Blake in the dark.

"What immortal hand could frame thy fearful symmetry?"

I, barely breathing, whisper— "Never let..." (Missing words.)

"Agile, like Comte de Lautréamont," he once called me. (Missing words.)

"You are not clear, my man," I had laughed.

"I am. I am," he had said. (Missing words.)

(Missing words.)

Years have collapsed into dust, and only now do I see—

The tiger’s frame was mine.

I, the brutalest beauty. The deadliest thing to ever bear a name. The woman they all wanted but never owned. The phantom that burned in the eyes of a thousand suitors.

"Three symmetry rows," he said once.

Did he ensnare me with his spell?

"Stop it," I whisper. "Stop it."

"Bid me farewell, dear."

"So long, dear. So long, dear Heights."

And in that instant, the truth uncoiled like a beast from its den. My beauty—wild, unbroken—was his opium. He had conjured me from the marrow of his mind, shaped me in the forges of obsession, painted me into his youth like a curse he could not lift.

"One thousand years ago!" I screamed, unraveling.

"Oh, Great God, he has lived in me for so long!"

"Our frames, dear," he murmured from beyond the veil.

"My love," I sobbed.

"So cruel you were! How dare you die without me!"

(Missing words.)

"Cruelest. Dearest. You are dead."

And in the silence that followed, I heard it—

The beating of my heart, hammering out his name like a death knell.

I turned.

And there it was—

The abyss.

Deep. Infinite. Its eyes staring into mine, hollow as the sockets of time itself. (Missing words.)

I felt the weight of the years pressing upon me, suffocating me. I dulled my senses, dimmed the ember of my existence, let the shadows swallow me whole. In obscurity, I sought my final refuge—where truth and lies are no longer distinct, where the whispers of the past dissolve into the hush of the void.

"Your course of metamorphosing..."

"Have we been brought up for this?" I ask the darkness.

No answer comes.

Only silence.

Only the slow decay of memory.

.                  ****

I sat alone beneath the quiet, cool dusk, where the discarded shells of tetrahedrons lay scattered—mute relics of forgotten symmetry, glittering beneath the pale burgundy glow of the past. Shadows stretched long, weaving themselves into the fabric of memory.

An old Greek master stood beside me, his hands worn by centuries, his chisel steady as the pulse of time. With measured strokes, he engraved the names of my beloved ones onto the stones’ faces, binding their essence to the eternal.

"Men forget," he mused, his voice a whisper of marble dust, "but stones do not."

He called me The Lady of Stones.

The name fit, though it was not mine to choose.

The man himself was a relic, a living fragment of history—ancient and tasteless without his stones.

"You are not Greek, are you?" he asked, eyes flickering with amusement.

"No," I answered, unwavering. "I am a stone."

He regarded me in silence, then nodded.

"It is not bad to be a stone, my lady."

"Aye," I said, a slow smile curving my lips. "We are stones."

---

In solitude, beneath the hush of the dying day, I traced the carved names with my fingertips. Their edges were sharp, but not as sharp as memory. The Greek master worked in silence, but his presence hummed like an unspoken truth.

"Forgetfulness befalls men, but stones endure," he said at last, his words carving themselves into the marrow of my bones.

"Is it an everlasting curse?" he pondered aloud.

"No," I murmured, my gaze lost in the endless procession of time. "It is unyielding."

He looked at me, perplexed.

"Perplexed?" I asked, tilting my head.

"Yes," he admitted, his chisel pausing midair.

I exhaled, slow and deliberate.

"Aye," I agreed, nodding toward the inscriptions, "but in our stone-like hearts, truth never dies."

---

When the great heights fell—when the towers crumbled and the sky wept—every breath bore the weight of untold sagas. Each heartbeat echoed with the cadence of celestial hymns, yet my story lay untouched, though rephrased by the hands of divine destiny-makers.

Suspicion clung to me like a shroud. I felt the eyes of eager scribes upon me, their quills poised, their ink thirsting for scandal. They coveted my downfall, seeking to weave my ruin into their wretched displays.

But I stood, immovable.

A bastion against their voyeuristic hunger.

Never would they drink from the wellspring of my sorrow.

Never would they revel in the spectacle of my demise.

I swore, with the last embers of my soul, that I would deny them the satisfaction. I would endure, unyielding, until the final curtain fell.

---

"Nothing there."

(Missing words.)

Midnight unfurled its obsidian cloak.

I sat in the dim hush, counting the spectral visitors of my past—ghosts of friends, whispers of kin, the weight of eternity pressing upon me.

"Almighty," I murmured to the night, "what could men of that time be doing now?"

"Nothing, baby. Nothing, nothing."

His voice drifted to me, an echo from the abyss.

"Nothing?" I repeated, a shiver slipping down my spine. "God forbid."

"Nothing is the pinnacle of tragedy."

"I do nothing, darling."

"I know."

And in that silence, I understood.

Nothing is the weight of a forgotten name. Nothing is the absence of a heartbeat once remembered.

Nothing is the void where love once lived.

And we, the stones, bear witness.

In my time, you could find them gathered—whether by the dunghills, along the barren creeks, or within the tranquil courtyard of the mosque, where silence reigned like an unseen scribe etching fate upon the earth. They stood, cloaked in dark or khaki coats, their rifles slung across weary shoulders, their fingers dancing over the beads of long, winding prayers. Their eyes, fixed upon the mist-shrouded canopy of the cemetery, traced the towering silhouettes of ancient oaks, as if seeking communion with the dead.

Amid the tendrils of smoke curling in the evening’s breath, they spoke—not in hushed whispers, but in the bold cadence of men who wove history into speech. Tales spun from silk and dust, half-truths laced with poetry, voices rich with sorrow and bravado alike.

The ghost beside me, draped in sardonic elegance, exhaled a knowing chuckle.

"Deceit," he murmured, "has a voice too sweet to resist."

I nodded.

"Indeed."

For even the most deceitful words carried within them the weight of a thousand buried truths, their essence woven into the very fabric of our minds.

A swelling wave of a renowned symphony washed over the boulevard, drowning me in the relentless embrace of dusk. Tears welled in my eyes as I listened—not just to the music, but to the solitary resonance of my own existence.

I was the lonely snowgum.

Rooted yet adrift, swaying yet unmoved, my voice lost in the distant melodies that rose from the brothels lining the night’s edges. Their songs, ghostly and honeyed, wrapped around me like a net of sighs.

"I am a lonely snowgum," murmured a voice within me.

"Indeed," I whispered back, baring my soul to the unflinching stars.

Beneath their cold illumination, I gazed upon the street below—a flood of faces, a mosaic of a thousand races, shifting like tides beneath the neon glow.

Yet within this riot of beauty, I harbored an unspeakable sorrow.

For though I stood amidst them, I was marred, unseen, tainted by an invisible stain.

Caught between the call of freedom and the weight of sin, I curled into myself, tracing the scar upon my chest with trembling fingers.

"I saw a man."

---

The man I saw was my husband's friend.

"Aye," he murmured, unfolding a scrap of poetry before me.

I thought him a genius.

Once, we too had been poets—bards, writers, singing like nightingales.

But that time had passed.

My husband had loved him.

And he had loved me.

He had struggled, desperate and silent, for a love he dared not name.

And today, with a hoarse voice, he recited a poem.

But the words failed him.

They failed the beauty they sought to capture.

And yet, the bastard had crossed the Pacific for me.

---

Victoria the Great,
Goddess of a bygone era,
Once seized Zeus' scepter
And ensnared a soul, sharper than Winston;
The sovereign of her chivalry,
Enthroned upon the magic of history,
To fill the vastness of her throne.

---

"Her majesty is frozen in the narrow sky of the city," he mused.

I used to sit by the queen’s monument and whisper the same old question.

"What might happen to us?"

Had I revealed my secrets?

I wasn’t sure.

But something in his gaze, in the tremor of his breath, unsettled me.

"He scared the hell out of me."

For a fleeting moment, I thought the beast before me might be my own man.

I knew the bastard had begun his poem the moment he set foot here.

"I dare to say," he murmured, "let’s reserve a place for you in the Genocide Museum."

"Are you insane?" I screamed.

"No. I am serious."

"Get the hell out of here, now, bastard!"

"I’ll go and never return," he said.

"Wait, wait," I spat. "How dare you say that?"

"I am crucified," he whispered.

"So what? We all have been crucified."

"We crossed oceans, spaces, skies," he said.

"Alone?" I asked.

"No. With Ely Banister Soane."

I was tired.

"I am tired too," he said.

---

And then the storm came.

It roared through the city’s underbelly, beneath the blue cloud, until the wind crushed the city’s wings.

"Crushed her chest."

"Flattened the walls of her heart."

"Stop it, bastard," I hissed. "They were children."

The wind slammed against the trees, schools, windows, our doors.

It shrieked, it clawed, it tore apart my husband's frame.

"Right, right."

"So what?"

"Gone, with tears."

"He is here." He clutched his heart.

"Bastard."

"The city?"

"No. Him."

"He was the home of a thousand virtues, allegories, poems, and epics—flowers of mountains, songs of mountains, our fragrant bower... yours, and mine, and my own sibling," he murmured.

---

With bitter remembrance, I rose—a giant in my grief.

The tempest had raged, had screamed, had swallowed us whole.

Smoke billowed.

The town shrank into splinters and embers.

And then—

In an instant—

He was gone.

Vanished into the ether.

---

"Goddamn."

I stood there, murmuring steadily, "How dare you?"

A passerby startled me.

"Are you waiting for the Happy Prince, your majesty?"

His voice held the whisper of a jest, but his eyes betrayed something deeper.

A wayward soul.

A wanderer, like me.

I regarded his figure with a bitter gaze, finding it nearly as flawed as my own.

.

****

Years had to pass.

The weight of them settled like dust upon my skin, silent, inescapable.

And yet, time had no mercy. It brought me here again—to this moment, this street, this face I had tried to forget.

As I looked out onto George Street, I saw him.

My husband’s friend.

Leisurely, unhurried, as though the years had been kind to him. His gaze met mine with an unsettling familiarity, a look that lingered too long, as if drawn by some invisible thread neither of us could sever.

"Mother sent me binoculars and a new radio when I was a little guerrilla," he remarked, his voice soft with nostalgia, his lips barely curving around the words.

It wasn’t his first time watching me.

A chill crawled up my spine.

"Bastard, you were supposed to be gone," I muttered, but he did not flinch. His stare remained steady, fixed on me as if searching for something—some proof of life, some remnant of the woman he once knew.

Tears welled in his eyes, unexpected, out of place against his usual composure.

I lifted a cynical hand in acknowledgment, a wave so slight it could have been mistaken for indifference. Yet, long after he disappeared from view, I felt his presence lingering, an unshaken shadow in the depths of my mind.

"Have you ever had an objective plan in your life?" he had once asked me.

"No," I had answered. "I haven’t... I’ve never had one."

That was the truth.

---

It was the harshest time for him.

For both of us.

I could not contain the tumult within me. We existed in a state of perpetual immaturity—two souls caught between knowing and not knowing, wanting and fearing. He lacked the courage to confront me, and I, feral and merciless, was too much for him to bear.

The moment he saw the depth of my seriousness, he recoiled.

He shielded his face, turned, and fled.

Through the crowd, he tore—a wounded thing, a ghost escaping into the world of the living.

I wanted to call his name.

But before I could form the syllables, before I could give shape to the person he had been, he was gone.

---

Yet he did not let me break him.

Not completely.

He found refuge in the doorways of forgotten streets, in the silent corners where poets go to die. He clung to his craft, his words the last shield against a world that had stripped him bare.

Prisons, battlefields—he had known them both.

He had worn suffering like a second skin, carried his wounds as though they were medals.

And I, cruel and reckless, had tried to destroy him with my words.

With every savage insult, every venomous syllable, I sought to hollow him out—to reduce him to dust, to render him weightless in my hands.

But he remained.

Unyielding.

He saw me still—through all of it—as something pure, something perfect.

And that was the worst cruelty of all.

"I am a bitch," I confessed to no one.

The words sat heavy on my tongue, thick with self-loathing.

"A terrible woman. Mean and cruel."

I whispered it again, let it sink in, let it cut.

---

The northern bay stretched before me, restless under the night’s breath.

The lights danced upon the waves like shattered stars, and I stood there—rooted, hollowed, waiting for some revelation that would not come.

There, in the distance, in the hazy reflection of the water, I saw her.

My former self.

Tall, resolute.

A storm of my own making.

"I won’t ever be..."

The vow remained unfinished, a silent promise to rise—if not to redemption, then at least to understanding.

---

In solitude, I sought the queen.

She did not answer, but she did not turn away.

Her stone gaze was a comfort, her presence an anchor.

Beneath her feet, I found the only stillness I had known in years.

And as I looked up at her cold, grey face, I thought of his poem—the words he had left behind, the ones that refused to fade.

"When I stare unto thee, further up to thy grey face, akin to me..."

The rest was lost.

But I knew what followed.

"My bleeding wounds may torment thy conscience."

                                                                      ****

In the midst of the disquietude permeating George Street, the city hummed like an old, restless beast beneath my feet. The neon glow of bars flickered in the puddles, fractured like the remnants of forgotten prayers. A faint breeze carried the scent of stale beer and wet asphalt, mingling with the echo of footsteps that never quite belonged to me.

I wandered without purpose, yet my body moved with the certainty of something ancient, something beyond my will. Whether leftward or northward, I was drawn—ineluctably—toward the sublime majesty of St. Mary’s Cathedral.

It loomed, veiled in the gauze of evening mist, a monument to sins both absolved and unspoken. Its spires reached like desperate hands toward the indifferent heavens, as if demanding recompense from a God long deaf to the pleas of this city’s ghosts.

But my diary stretches farther than this.

No sooner do I pull away than I find myself again before the Statue of Queen Victoria the Great. She stands as she always has, bearing the weight of history, of conquests written in blood and marble. I wait—breathless—for that eerie wave of recognition to seize me, to remind me why I am here.

It arrives like an old melody, half-remembered, half-feared.

This bond, this tethering to the austere visage, is something older than me, older than time. It is the longing of childhood, the strange ache of The Heights, where melancholy is a kingdom unto itself.

And then, as I read the bastard’s poem, the question rises unbidden, like a whisper from the grave:

"Who the hell is walking by my side?"

---

His poem concludes, and I inhale deeply, as if the very act of breathing could fold me into its last line, into the solace it promises but never quite delivers.

"What are you doing? The manager may return soon."

"What can he do?"

"Inflict your mind with more cracks," she muses, the voice in my head no longer entirely my own.

A pause. A sharp intake of air.

"Perhaps someday."

I toy with the thought of confronting him—Mao, the unseen overseer, the looming shadow. "Fuck you, Mao," I imagine myself saying, defiant, reckless.

And yet, I know.

By then, I will have aged beyond recognition, beyond expectation.

Behind the carefully curated mask of my present self, no trace remainas of my former ruin. The years have smoothed my skin, even erased the smallpox scar that once anchored me to my past.

Yet I know better.

The map is still there—etched beneath this delicate pink underwear, drawn in scars and memory.

And still, his poem lingers within me, tracing invisible lines across my ribs, pressing against my breath like the ghost of a hand that never dared to touch.

---

I felt it as a visceral imprint upon my soul—a wound, a signature, a whisper.

A savage impression that moved in time with my sighs, with the relentless drumbeat of my heart.

Beyond me, the city exhaled.

The crowd, dissipating like mist in the maw of the metropolis, became nothing more than an echo. They surged forward, an unseeing tide of flesh and motion, vanishing into the labyrinth of alleyways and underground tunnels.

Each face—a blank canvas.

Each gaze—a void, fixed forward but seeing nothing.

Their anonymity was a kind of violence. A disregard that could one day be washed away by the tides of time—or swallowed whole by them.

---

But I am unequivocally certain:

We inhabit the correct celestial body.

And yet, when I write, it feels as though I am composing letters to the dead.

To my siblings, lost in the passage of time.

To the next of kin who once held me as their own.

To the remnants of a self I buried beneath years of forgetting.

---

I stand at the precipice of existence.

Where the ancient ocean draws its breath, where the Sun Goddess accepts her nightly tribute, where the air itself hums with something old and unyielding.

Longing claws at me, but it is no longer a gentle thing—it is a wound that never learned to close.

And here, in this vast expanse beneath the firmament, I hear my late husband’s voice.

Dante’s words, passed from his lips to mine, from one world to the next:

"I turned me to the right hand, on the other side,
To behold the other pole, and saw four stars,
Ne'er seen before save by the primal people."

I breathe.

"But, but I can see them."

The stars, untamed and burning.

And with their light upon me, I understand.

"It is time to transcend the shackles of the past," I whisper.

And I step forward.

The End
  Autumn 2004

Read More

Apprentice

Kay Hassan

Part One

Scene One

 Interior of the  unaccomplished complex in  Rushcutters Bay in Sydney .  It is  of a day in the middle of  Autumn .The storm hits the city.  Normal life is on hold in the city. Driving through the  wild storm is a catastrophe -Radio says thousands of houses are without power

Cars are flattened under the falling trees - Roofs are ripped .Streets are flooded like the ancient rivers. Giant waves are hitting our shores - Buildings are shaking. Houses are washed away

A Vietnam veteran's died - Hunter river is the wildest. Thousands of volunteers are rushing into those suburbs to help people: they are real heroes. The huge cellar of the complex is quite compared with spaces between the buildings  but the sky above the roofs was furious by contrast.

Barbara :  Ich nenne Architektur gefrorene Musik. ( (Her blue glittering  eyes stare at me.  She is eighteen  tall and well built with a  beautiful  good-looking face  with expression  of superiority .She is not the only woman in the mega construction site but her presence is so dominating that we rarely feel the others' touches .   Her eyes remind  me of  the beautiful spark of God ; solemn and sublime. She has a  short blonde color- hair hardly touches her  reversible high visibility vest over her overall jeans . I am  a descendant of a illegitimate son of Saladin  ,not that tall , actually  has been  built on weaker and modest model,has dark eyes and grey hair and  dressed rough clothes. And  we are both wearing armored boots and hats.)

The main gate is flattened and the exit ramp is flooded.  Angelo. (A giant  athletic man)  is the Site Manager, he walks towards the gate  and stands watching the chaos. He puts his hands in his pocket  and wildly  yells  at the sky ." Fuck."

Barbara and I are watching him from the circular  lobby of  the building number five . She turns her eyes and stares stunningly  at the first building.

Barbara: Look.

I: What?He said fuck.

Barbara: I say, look.

I: I see Angelo.

Barbara:Look at the building. I say : Ich nenne Architektur gefrorene Musik.

I : Not in this  storm, sweety..

Barbara:  LOOK. (Screams she and nods to the first buildings facade in the rain.) It is frozen under the storm.

I:Perhaps , sometime.

Barbara: It is always, It is always. You are not perfect too.

I:Shredded...shredded.I know how the storm has changed your mood.

Barbara : What? Fuck  I am used to a worse weather.

I : I am not ridiculing your experience, but say that in the right time.

Barbara: When is the  right time coming?

I : When  I am  done.

Barbara : We  are talking about continuous concept.

I: Marvelous.

Barbara: What is marvelous?"

I:  Continuous concept."

Andreas :(He  comes closer with his bare chest. ) Why everyone thinks Barbara is smart? (Andreas is little and thin, speaks with Hispanic accent, and  is obsessed with tracing back his Spanish ancestors."    Barbara: Andreas. You  shut up.

I:  Right .You shut up  Andrew.

Andreas: I  say why?.

I: Because she is from Goethe's country, (Eventually Andreas  leaves.)

Barbara:  You fucking old man,.

I: What makes you so angry, little goddess?

Barbara:You!

I: ME? What are you looking at ?

 Barbara:I am looking at your wild look.

I:What is wrong with my wild look?

Barbara:How could  you dismiss Dmitri so cruelly ?

I: Dismiss? No ...no. I have no authority to do that.

Barbara: Tell me the truth.

I:  He just  was not great yesterday..

Barbara: Honestly , what happened?

I: He dismantled the scaffold before even I ran the cables for the surveillance cameras?

Barbara: I guess. Probably  someone told him to.Imagine  what would happen in this storm  if he did not.

I: Nothing.

Barbara: Who knows?

 However, it is better to say.'It is not the end of the world.'

I: Right, he only needed to ask someone.

Barbara: Definitely, Angelo knows, doesn't he?

I: No.he doesn't know.

Barbara:This building is ugly, compared with the first one.

I: Don't challenge me. There is no difference.

Barbara:I can  feel its music.

I:There is no difference.

Barbara: Perhaps for you.  I have better eyes.

I: Look. It is a complex of a billion Dollar budget, they won't make such  a big mistake.

Barbara: There is no WOW.Don't escape my question.

I:  Look BB, I promised  Sam, but he fucked my plan .

 Barbara: Fuck Sam. Instead of getting supplied with materials for north side windows, he yells at me for not having worked on the  west side windows.

I: You may fuck him, but I can't .

Barbara: I dare to fuck him now.

I: He is a good guy. He is Jewish.

Barbara:    I am Jewish  too.

I :I know.

Barbara: And a very far relative to Karl Marx , you know him, do not  you?

I: Good Heaven! That is impossible- Frau M.

Barbara:I’m either way German.

I: Terrific, I am shocked.

Barbara:Am I telling a lot about myself.

I:I am honored, tell me  what ever you like.

  Barbara: Oh, dear. Old man, you are adorable. You can't do bad things.

I: What? I am evil too.

Barbara:NO, no. There is  only Dmitri. Dmitri.(The wind does not  let up .)

 I: ( With indifferent response.)  Fuck, what?

 Barbara:  I say Dmitri.

I:  Dmitri! what is good about Dmitri.

 Barbara:Look. We have to make a deal.

I: He does not let us deal with him. Actually he pissed me off.

Barbara:You are friends.

I:We were sort of.

Barbara:Fuck. Listen ,I feel responsibility  for what happened to Dmitri's  family.

I: What ?  Are you crazy. You are from Treves in Germany  and he is from Astrakhan on Caspian sea.

Barbara:That is the point."

I: Bullshit.

Barbara:Well. Listen to his story.

I: What story?

Barbara:The one I know.

I:  What else.

Barbara:I am a woman, have a feeling .

I : I see.

Barbara:Fuck, don't go too far.

I: I Won't.  I know he does not speak to me anyway, at least today.

Barbara: Do not be silly.Easter is coming. We will be having  a huge party.

I: Right. But I am not coming.

Barbara: No, you are coming.

I: No, I am not  coming.

Barbara: I say, yes, you are coming. I have an announcement.

I: Personal announcement?”

Barbara: Absolutely.

I: Lets talk to Angelo.(I walk out through the glass door  of the circular lobby.)

Barbara:(Grudgingly.) Hmm( She  follows  me.)

(The Curtain Falls)

................................................................................

Scene Two

We are standing behind Angelo. (He is a giant cheerful and friendly athletic man. He is thirty five .His face is blond and well-formed, good-looking. There is strength and stubbornness in his expression but sometimes looks  unsettled, untamed. He thinks if he could buy a  thousand heads of goats for his father's deserted  farm in Greece, he would live like a king )

I: Here is Angelo. ( I yell.)

Barbara:Fuck Angelo. (Whispers she. Then she speaks loudly.) See you..

I: Stay with me, little  goddess.

Angelo: Barbara, wait.

Barbara: What?

Angelo: What is happening ?.

Barbara: Nothing.What  do you mean.

Angelo: Go and check the list of your materials; they have just arrived. Stop whingeing.

Barbara: Thanks. I will. Don't be harsh on Dmitri.

Angelo : Seriously, what happened?

I: Nothing, nothing.

Angelo: Look... I did not tell him to dismantle the scaffold. I swear.

I:I know  Dmitri did it by his own.

Angelo: Yes. Don't worry...just  leave it for me.No one can work in this fucking weather.

Sam:( Sam passes, He has an elegant oval visage. He is twenty-five, tall and gaunt,trying his best to keep Angelo impressed by his engineering talent and management skill   but marred by his rather gross ambition and determination . He is dressed in his smart blue jacket and jeans .)

I: Is Sam angry?"

Angelo: Not as much as the storm is.

I: Thanks. What is going on , on your side?"

Angelo: Oh , yeh, fuck. I forget.This storm is not natural.

I: Fuck, shit. What are you talking about?

 Angelo: I say it is not natural.(He halted and snapped.)  Fuck, I forgot! Do you know Romeo?

I:  Not really.

Angelo: Me either. ( He laughs) He said. 'An extreme  phenomenon of the sort is  artificial. '

I: What ? You don't know him!

Angelo: You know I him his boss.

I: I see.

Angelo:  It is very important to see him.

I: Why?

Angelo: It is about  the theory.

I: What theory, and why should we see him?

Angelo:  'Cause he is almost Illuminati. He says natural disasters no more have God's signature.

I: What?( I say and laugh surprisingly .)You just said I don't know him.

Angelo: I am serious, and I will introduce you to him .

I: But,why are you so nervous today?

Angelo:I don't know, the storm affects my nerve!  Oh, yeh...right.  Motherfucker pissed me off.

I: Who  ?The storm?

Angelo:No.  Darko!

I: DARKO? Fuck.  He is just a kid.

Angelo: But, he pissed me off.

Angelo: Hi, Sam.(Sam passes by us again.)

Sam: Angelo. Where is the work progress report.( He does not stop.)

Angelo: It is ready.

Angelo: Fuck. Look how this  kid  governs us.

I: His money does.

Angelo: Right, his father's money.

I : Ignore him now.  What did Darko say? He did not kill you, did he?

Angelo: He said you are exaggerating about history."

I: That is not a big deal.

Angelo: No, it is. For me it is."

I: Why?

Angelo: Because I am Greek, and you know how things work for me.

I: Right. But, what does he have to say about it ?

Angelo : Nothing. he just  challenged me.

I: Don't take it personal.

Angelo: I won't, but I need to have another go  with you, particularly through this fucking theory.

I: I like the those fucking  old hypocrites!

Angelo: No, no. I am serious.

I: Any time. I am ready.

Angelo: It was about Macedonia.

I: OH MY GOD.STOP IT. Darko is a Mongolian kid.

Angelo: Don't ridicule my cause.

I: Sorry,  I won't. I won't. Look at his yellow face; he is a Mongolian kid.

Angelo: Anyway.  I am taking  you to meet Romeo.

I: Seriously, who is Romeo?

Angelo: Doubtless, you  have seen him. He is the man with the shortest pant in this premises.

I:(Remembering him.)  OH. Holy Mother O' God.

Angelo: (He laughs very loudly.)He is fine , don't worry about his pant.

 The curtain Falls

Part Two

            

Scene One

Log  M Restaurant  in Kings Cross.We sit on a long row of olive couches facing our workmates  occupying a row of brown  chairs,behind  tables of the same color which  are lightened by cubic light bulbs planted  on them.

Barbara: Dmitri.  Dmitri is  drunk?.Who pays for all his shit ?

Angelo: He  won't pay, you know why, Barbara?

Barbara:No I don't.

Andreas: Sam does.

Sam: (Proudly.) Drink as much as you can.

Barbara: Dmitri stop  drinking ?

I :Drink Andreas.

Andreas: I do.”

Angelo: Stop spending your money on chicks.(Ha Ha Ha.)

Andreas: What else  have I to do? Oh, Gabriela Mi Amore.

I:  Spoil yourself, Dmitri.

Barbara: Oh, wise man, do not  corrupt the youth.

I:  He does not listen to my advise anyway.

I:  Josh, check  if Sam is  paying?You can't trust everyone these days..

Joshua:(Screams)  Mate (  He claims he is a descendant  of  Anne Boleyn's sister  .  He is twenty-seven , tall and strong .  He is  defiant, has two  blow piercing  eyes, and  has  brown hair." You are in an honest hand.

Barbara: (Smiling .) You are too, a hypocrite kid, baby.

Joshua: Fuck, I try to help.

I: That is what Hypocrite does; you are perfect.

Barbara: Josh, please.

 Joshua: What?

Barbara: Let me go.

Joshua:(With shocked eyes.) Going where?

Barbara: Let me have a go.  My announcement.My announcement.

I: Oh, yes. What are you waiting for?"

 Barbara: Well listen. (Everyone was frozen, and thinking, what kind of surprise that freak'n girl has prepared for them.)I am leaving the country very  soon.

-WHAT?-  (We shout with a loud screech)  WOW. (Everyone cheers except Joshua.)

 I: (Blowing- shocked.) Barbara, are  you serious? ( Tried then to take it easily.)

(Everyone screams again-) WOW-

I: We miss you , indeed.

(Chorus like everyone says) We miss you, indeed. (And kisses  her, and hugs  her for a long while.)

Barbara: (She sheds glittering tears.) I am overwhelmed.

“Miss you miss you miss you.”

I: Going back to school.

Barbara: Home, school. What about you Dmitri?

Dmitri: (Doesn't reply.)

I : He needs money.

Joshua: Fair enough. I understand.(Says angrily.)

Barbara: (Seriously.) No you don't.

Dmitri: (Gasps angrily .)

I: Shut up Josh.

I: Calm down, Dmitri, talk about your feeling.

Barbara: Should he, Old man? I think he is scared.

I: It is better if he  needs  to.

Joshua: We are friends no matter what . Here or there.

Barbara:(Ignoring Joshua's comment.)  I think , Dmitri  needs to talk.

Joshua: (Submissively.) Then say something, Dmitri

Dmitri: It is hard to talk. If talked I have to say.' I won't let my smart sister become a prostitute.(Silently looking at me. I can't encourage him, or support him.)

Barbara: Dmitri, Dmitri.

Dmitri: She is studying in Moscow.They say the fucking  tourists are paying well and I am so scared that I sent all my money to her, and consequently begged my father to lend me money  to help my mother in the hospital before she  died.'

Angelo and Joshua: (Screaming together.) Fuck.

Dmitri: I told him: Think about your daughter:  you used to preach  how rich men  might seduce  poor women .He said : Look , I am sorry, I was so wrong.

 Barbara " ( Cries midst our shocked eyes..) Dmitri I am sorry.

Angelo and I: What?

Barbara: I hope I could change the history.

Joshua: ( He looks at us) Bullshit, why does not he help his wife.

I:  The  bastard  had divorced her .

Andreas : Is he poor?

Dmitri: NO.No.

 Joshua: Is he  a business man? Like Sam's father.

Dmitri: NO.(He stopped talking.)

Barbara:  Dmitri speak.

Dmitri: If you are keen to listen then  let me talk; they are twelve thousand mile away from here .

Sam: We are all yours.

Dmitri: Thank you...lucky me.

Joshua: Then what are you waiting for?

Dmitri: Right... listen, all of you. In the start of the last century  my grand grandfather had built a small old style  knitting factory.”

Joshua : Where?

Dmitri: In  my city.

Dmitri: Where else...fuck?

Joshua:  Am I bad?

I :Yes you are.

Dmitri:(He yells)  Let me finish.

Joshua : Fine ...fine. You drink well.

Dmitri:  The little factory was taken by the  Bolsheviks and  transformed it to a modern factory producing fabric and mink fur.

Sam: They took it just like that?

Dmitri: Yes, Just like that.Do you you care?

Sam: Yes I do...otherwise I would not listen to you.

Dmitri: Thank you .LISTEN .

Dmitri: They  let him working in a farm out side the city for twenty two  years, however, when his son, my grandfather was wounded in the war world two they let him come back and work in the factory but he died very soon.

(We scream )Wow.

Dmitri: And later when my grandfather died my father had already became a dependable technician in the factory, and ironically  his rank in the party  was higher than his Manager's.

Barbara : What do you mean?

Dmitri :(Angrily) Ask your grandfather. It takes me ages to explain this point.

Joshua : Pass, anyway.

I:Dmitri ,Dmitri.  I understand very well.

Dmitri:  Love you old man.

Dmitri: He found accidentally  that his grandfather was related to Vladimir Ilych Lenin's father. I mean they  were ethnically from Chuvash people.

I : (I yelled) Fuck.  You are talking gibberish.

 Dmitri: Look , that was a great honor at that time.Actually he became the lord of the factory with the magical  power of the deceased man .

Sam: Was he rich?

Dmitri: Rich, poor were meaningless words at that time.But,  his giant step, after  Perestroika (перестро́йка) was to  record the factory in his name.

Sam: What?”

Dmitri: I am telling the truth.

Sam: We know...we know.

Dmitri: I am not worried about his era.

Joshua: What is your concern then?

Dmitri: The bastard divorced my mother very soon and kicked us out - and  married his young secretary.I helped my mother and struggled until  finished my study. Then started working for him in the factory until recently I got this work visa to here for one year.

Sam:  So you own a big factory.

Dmitri: Fuck. NO,  yelled Dmitri.

 Sam: I mean when he dies.

 Dmitri: Right, but he has got four boys from his new wife.

Sam: Sorry. Let me  take care of the  bills of those  who are leaving early.

I: (Cynically.) )We can pay.

Sam: No you can't, good man, I am paying for two hundred persons.

Barbara:  (Screams.) I told you, I told you, Old wise man.

Angelo: (Interferes, and yells, as he nods to me .)  Prepare to meet Romeo.

I: Is it a right time? (I mean it is not proper place to talk our private topic.)

Angelo: For God's sake, ignore  etiquette

I: ( I am urged.) Catch up latter, BB.

Barbara: Think better.Remember; no drama, no myth.

I: I will. I promise.

Angelo: Lets lose our innocence.

I: Ready. I am ready.(Following Angelo.)

Angelo: Here is Romeo.(He is  siting on the table number 12)  By the way, I think she is obsessed with Dmitri's crisis.

I: What? Who. (I was, certain he meant Barbara.)

Angelo: Never mind.

(We walk towards Romeo. His friends have already left.)

The curtain falls.

Scene Two

Angelo: Good evening  , Romeo..

Romeo:(A man of middle height neither dark nor blond; in other words he was a man with a typical Italian mild face)  Good evening  Angelo. You know him.(Angelo nods to me.)

Romeo: Oh, yeh. Hi.

I: Hi.

Angelo: Have not you drunk yet, Romeo ?

Romeo: No.No I've not. Actually, I have been thinking about Darko. He told me you  are like  twins.

Angelo: Really? Oh, yes. But , never listen to him . He is an idiot.

Romeo:  Let me confess, Angelo. From my perspective,  it is not fair to leave your friend think that he is a descendant of Sumer.

I: Good  heaven , he is talking about me, is not he?

Romeo: I am sorry I won't  say anything else about my point of view, at least now.Don't be ashamed. I, personally,  am a descendant of  Hugues de Payen, the founder  of the Templars: I mean the Order of Solomon's Temple, and I have all our  churches' evidences and documents of my blood line  .

Angelo: Wow.You are a blessed man.

Romeo: I tell you this ,because we are part of this miss.

I: Marvelous start.

Angelo: (Giving a nasty look.)We are willing to hear.We are, in fact, voluntarily some  sort of researchers.

Romeo : Angelo. it  is not about you, personally.

Angelo: (Uncertainly.)   I am  in, either way.

Romeo: Only If you both  accepted my points of view.

Angelo: What are they?

Romeo: (Proudly.)  IN THIS WORLD WE ARE APPRENTICES FOREVER.(He brushes his  long brown   hair.)  And we have to  raise  questions contentiously .

Angelo: (Looks confused.)

I: We are apprentices. otherwise we are dead.

Angelo: That is better for me.(Excitedly screams.)

Romeo : Hopefully, we are close.

Angelo: I am certain we are  on the same page, Romeo.

Romeo: Look, man.(He looks at me carefully.) the people of Sumer had left this SHIT PLANET  four thousand years ago.

I:  ( Listening to the silence and gasps in shock) What?

Angelo: What do mean? (Screams Angelo.) Where is your proof?

Romeo: You are not patient adequately .

I: Romeo.   For such a serious Hypothesis,  you need to discuss  Strong  Evidences  , don't you?

Romeo: Certainly, I do. In fact we have already passed that stage.

I: (Cynically ) COOL.

Romeo: Listen.THIS IS CRUCIAL

Angelo: (To me.) No shit.

Romeo: Evidences; listen  and prepare to the surprise.

Angelo: Good heaven.

 Romeo: Ready?(Tying to predict  our responses.) Good. Listen.We say .'Noah's Ark is absolutely not Noah's Ark".

Angelo: (He yells) Fuck. Sorry. Good Heaven. We both believe it is.

Romeo: It is a bullshit, with all due respect .

Angelo: (Laughs sardonically.) Then what is it?

Angelo: ( Silently, watches Barbara for no real reason.) I sear to God  Barbara wishes  to join us.

I:(Enthusiastically.)   Can I invite her to join us?(Pauses and gasps. ) She is interested in men's  issues .

Romeo: Barbara? NO.NO. She is not my type, man. She is  just  a little girl.

I: She is eighteen.

Romeo:( She is eighteen! It doesn't work like that, mate.  She relates pure politics directly with the THEORY, such as the Russian Revolution.

Angelo: Look, Romeo. This old man is my theory maker  and BB is my practical hands; she is young and full of blood.

Romeo: Listen .Angelo, Angelo , you are a bit noisy. I said.' No.'

Angelo: Fine, fine.We are all yours. I know this fucking theory takes a lot.

Romeo: Look Angelo I know you are honest about all these stuff, but you need some basics.

Angelo: (He yells.) Romeo.  We are on the same page.I have read all your magistrates' highlights.

Romeo: That is fine. But  to understand THE THEORY is a long way,and  not something that  can be taught by some fucking  UNI's Profs. or teachers or law makers.

Angelo: Don't miss this opportunity.This old man  will be shocking  you, everyday in a different way.

Romeo:  I won't suspect anyone's talent, just I hope you are in the right place.

Angelo: Definitely  we are.

Romeo: So... when you ready say, YES?

Angelo:  YES, YES,

Romeo: I'll not  review the classical Theory if it suits both of you.

I: Go ahead.

Romeo: Eventually, I ask, can you remember what have I  said about  Sumer?

Angelo: Have not you said.' They had left  the planet? Right.But, how? Where are the your  evidences ? I have no clue."

I:  There is none.

Romeo: HOW ABOUT NOAH'S ARK.

Angelo:  NOAH'S ARK? You said it is not Noah's Ark.

Romeo: YES. The ARK  is not Noah's. It is in fact  a Sumerian space ship. ships, or fleets. They took off and left the planet. (He speaks frankly and confidently.)

 Romeo: Ironically Tanach or in general  ' Bible' writers  made it a main issue for  Abrahamic faiths.

Angelo:( He laughs and screams randomly.)

Romeo: You breach the commitment.

Angelo: Sorry I don't  mean to. I am just excited.

I : I like you, Romeo.We are not in hurry.however, we prefer to derive some evidences; empirical evidences.

Romeo: I have my evidences, more than you expect, if you are interested  take these  CDs.  (He produces  from his bag a couple of discs and relays them to me.) Take your copy,Angelo

I: Thank you.  I believe we need a theory to justify how the precedent events work  in full swing with  the new world  order.

Romeo: Impressive. Impressive.

Angelo: I told you,Romeo.He is damn good.

Romeo: Seeking  approval is very complicated process , and any one's authenticity must be passed through the magistrates' watching eyes.

I:Any other evidences?

Romeo: Definitely. (He snaps victoriously.) Ezekiel's Vision of God.

I: Good one.

Angelo: (Yells in fear.) Enlighten me.

I: Do not panic, man.Just write down  in your diary. 'Read Book of  Ezekiel.'

Romeo : I don't stop at this point forever. Listen, these examples are for apprentices.

Angelo :(Grinning.)  Then let us be your Apprentice, master.

Romeo :  ( Grudgingly.)It depends on the  level  of your expectations.

Barbara:( Interrupting.  ) I couldn't resist my greed.

Romeo : (Grudgingly) I hope it suits both of you, guys.( And after a  short pause, he explodes .) But , it does not suit  me.

Angelo: ( Yells in shock. ) Romeo!

I: (Speechless, waiting for a breakthrough)

Romeo:(Decisively,  leaves.) By the way , we have not said anything. Right ? Have a good night.

Barbara: Fuck, what was that?

Romeo: (No response.)

Angelo: My apology.

Barbara: It is  not about you , Ange.

I: Probably, he  was not ready to show his hands.I mean to disclose his secrets.

Barbara: For God sake , don't look for excuses, in behalf of him. He is just an idiot. By the way.(She looks at me furiously.) You  are a bad hypocrite.

I: Thank you . I did not know that, but he was tense with the excitements.Actually the man can't cope with strangers, easily.

Barbara: Fuck. I am leaving . I am sure that is what you want both.

I: You are absolutely wrong. 

Barbara: (She leaves without a single word.)

Angelo: At least say, good night , BB. Lets end our night, good man.

I: Good night, Angelo.

(We leave grudgingly.)

The curtain falls

Scene Three

Four day later. On the roof of the building number one.

Angelo was cranky and screaming randomly at Kamal.

Angelo: Never happened. Never happened.

Kamal: Angelo, make it clearer.( (Kamal  is stunned. His face is  dark and calm ; it is  a blend  of the Indian descendant and oceanic blood . He is twenty-seven , tall and strong. His carriage reminds one of the men who suddenly  pop up  from the depth and obscurity of the oceans.)

Angelo: It is clear. Only,  get the job done, we won't stay here forever.

Kamal:  (He looks at me.) Am I the only one here?

Angelo: Fuck, man, I know what I am talking about.

I: Angelo.

Angelo: I am not taking orders from anyone.

I: (Nervously I try to leave the roof.)

Angelo: (He is angry.) I do not say leave.

I: (Cynically ) Bad choice.

Angelo: Dmitri will be helping you, Kamal. 

Kamal: ( He doesn't respond  .)

I:( I am close to the door, and ready to leave the  roof.) Angelo, you are wasting  my time.

Angelo: (Frowning and grabbing my arm  .)  I am happy with that, old man.

(We  are now  standing close to the door. )

I:By the way.  Romeo was rude with BB.

Angelo: (Confusedly )Right. But,guess what?

I: What?

Angelo: According  to Sam,   Romeo  is not coming anymore.He has quit.

I : Are you serious?

Angelo:YES. And that is why I am cranky these days.

I: (Bragging ) At least I can say now. 'He is not free.'

Angelo:  You reckon?By the way, have you watched his CD?

I: yes.

Angelo: What was it about?

I: It is a long story.It starts with some recent catastrophes and many unsolved historical mysteries.

Angelo: Marvelous  ( And he leaves the roof.)

 I: (I follow him meekly.)

The Curtain falls.

Scene  Four

Next day.  I am testing  carbon monoxide sensors in the lower cellar . Angelo and Barbara are rushing down the ramp. Barbara's eyes  boldly  glare with hard, defiant looks.

Barbara: Hey. (  She  looks with a queer smile  .) Stop, fuck , listen.You know nothing.

Angelo: (Laughing aloud.) 

I:  (No longer doubting myself.)Let me  guess... I guess.

Angelo:    No, No. (Irresponsibly .)

Barbara:  Angelo.(Seriously.) It is not funny.

Angelo: BB, stop.

Barbara: Who told you to call me BB?

Angelo: Your friend.

Barbara: (Looks at me with eyes full of  fire.)

I:  What are you  waiting for?

Angelo: (Quietly)  It is about Romeo.

I: What is wrong about him?

Angelo: ( Angrily.) Sam has lied about Romeo.

Barbara: (Defiantly.)No, he has n't. He does not know the details.(She struggles to find her words.)Actually Police questioned him about the last  moments you spent with him. .

Angelo: Oh, God.  What do you call it then?

I: Damn ye. You can't beat those magistrates.

Angelo: Romeo? Man, he is missing.

I:(Terrified. and seriously looking at him  )

Angelo: ( Restlessly , waiting for my verbal  response.)

I: Are you  serious?

Angelo: Definitely, yes.

 I: It is a great disaster,indeed.

Angelo:What ?( Screams to  deny our involvement.)  I don't understand what do you mean.

I: We are the last ones who met him and are  the strangest combination of men and women here.

Angelo: (He is stunned.) No one listens to such bullshits..

Barbara: You both are crazy.I heard the news first,and  there is nothing to fear of.

Angelo: BB, I am not expecting from you more than that.

Barbara:(Angrily.) Fuck. Don't call me BB.What did I said?

Angelo:Fine , Barbara.

I: There is a man MISSING.

Angelo: Is there a way to help him.

I: I am thinking .

Joshua: (Breathlessly  rushing down the ramp, looking for  Barbara.)

Barbara: Josh!

Joshua: Police is here, they mentioned your name.

Barbara: My name (She looks shocked .)He was not even  nice to me?

I: Look! Don't talk too much. The worse case scenario is .

Angelo :(Interrupting me.) Don't scare her.

I: I won't.BB, tell  them exactly  what happened, briefly.

Angelo:Then,  they  interrogate us.

I: Definitely they will.

Angelo: Fuck. I remember nothing.I was drunk.

I : Right, but it is abut our physical presence  there WITH HIM.

Angelo:  I am sure there was no tension between us.Definitely we were watched through their fucking  cctv eyes.

I: We are lucky.

Angelo: We did not talk, did we?

I: Good heaven,  we did.

Angelo: Fuck.

I: Angelo, look , we have no problem with police.

Angelo: You  reckon?

I: I am certain. But.

Angelo: What do mean by your 'But'?

I:  I am scared of a third party.

Angelo:Fuck, I am not ready for that.

Barbara: (She has n't recovered from her shock.) Angelo I am going to meet them.

Joshua: They have n't called you yet..

Angelo: Right. It is better to do your job.Josh take care of her.

I: Barbara, we won't let you down.

Barbara: Thanks. You know where to find me.(She leaves with Joshua.)

Angelo: What the hell are you talking about?

I: (Silently looking at him.)

Angelo:Fucking third what?

I: Third Party. Man, listen, if Romeo was not a delusional, someone has an interest in his disappearance.

Angelo: Wait, wait wait.You mean it, you mean it, fuck. (He screams) UNDERSTOOD

I:  Then, explain it please.

Angelo: You mean, , he has been punished for disclosing their secrets.

I: Exactly.So.(I push to calm him down.)We wait.

Angelo: We wait.(He walks away with a loud laughter.)

I: ( I stay alone thinking and working silently.)

The curtain falls

Scene Five

 Three police officers are  interviewing Barbara in the Sam's office.

Matt: Barbara.( A middle aged man with  florid complexion and  two prominent plump cheeks and cold eyes. He introduces himself and his companions to Barbara. ) We ask you only one question. Please answer us precisely.

Barbara: (Responds listlessly." Yes, sir." 

 Matt: (He consults the other two officers for a very short time.) It is a stress free conversation.

Barbara :(Interrupting him.)  I am ready, sir.

Matt: First of all, prior to the moment you interrupted them, you have nothing to worry about.

My colleague.(He nods to his companion on his right hand side , and reassure his name.)  Officer Albert, will  officially asks you his  question please kindly make your answer as briefly as you can.

Barbara:  Yes, sir.

Albert: (  ) Obviously, you are aware what  all this is about,  and for the momentum of the case , there are three officers dedicated to the investigation

Barbara: Yes, sir.

Albert: (He gestures to the female officer.) Officer Flora, are you recording?

Flora: Yes, I definitely, am

Albert: Then,Barbara, listen carefully: When you approached your friends  Romeo gave them a big frown of disapproving  and left the table  immediately.(He cleaned his throat, snoring, strangely.) The crucial question is: what happened henceforth ? 

Barbara:(Hesitantly, she  stammers , but gradually regains her confidence.) As, as,  as an excuse for  my intrusion. ( She stops for a while.) I said. I said. 'I couldn't resist my greed.' In his response grudgingly, Romeo told his companions. 'I hope it suits you, guys.  But it does not suit me.' Then he left  immediately.

Matt: Correct !

Barbara: (She is stunned. She yells.) Correct? Exactly . What do mean?

I have nothing else to say, sir.You knew it...you knew it.

Matt: Barbara, we know ...we know. Thank you for your help. Let me say.'You can go .'

Barbara:(Dazzled. But, hailed.) Really ? Anyway, thank you.

Matt: You're welcome.

Barbara: (Overwhelmingly , walking  out alone. But suddenly  hears a shout.)

Matt: Barbara. We won't interview your friends.

Barbara: (Cynically, shouted out side the office.) I know.

The three police officers look at each other without saying  a single word.

The curtain  falls.

Scene six

The cellar. I am testing the equipment.

Barbara: (She is coming out from the lift's cabinet , and shouts. ) I'm done.I: ( I am surprised.) BB, what happened.

Barbara: They interviewed me.It was  about a crime, isn't it?

I: (Nervously.) No shit. You ask me?

Barbara:( She is shrinking in side her skin.)  I am scared.

I: ( Silently showing my respect to her feeling.)

Barbara: They verbally  displayed the scene and focused on the last moments when I came close to your table and said. 'I couldn't resist my greed.'

I: (With encouraging mood,) Excellent.

Barbara: (Strangely shouting.) He's gone. Romeo's gone.

I: ( Uncertain what to say.) Take it easy, baby.

Barbara: ( Shouts Loudly.) Fuck, I am worried about you.

I: What?

Barbara: Listen, one of the officers  said. 'We won't interview your friends.'

Why did he say that?Think with me.

I: ( In shock.) It is a big blow.( Thinking massively.) Wait a minute ...wait a minute.

Probably,they take advantages of your  mistakes .

Barbara: I haven't done any.

I: Listen , we have to warn Angelo immediately.

Barbara: I am the one who supposed to do that.

I:(Seriously.) Then,  what are you waiting for?Besides, let me think  without disturbances. 

Barbara: (She leave silently , but shouts before she disappear .)Coming back.

I: ( Staying in my place and thinking loudly.) Romeo!What were you hiding ?( Trying my best to focus on my job.)Someone has to find out, but we are just a bunch of stray boys.

Angelo: ( He appears suddenly.)

I: Any news?

Angelo :( Laughing loudly.) The whole story is just  bullshit.They have  left  without  asking us a sing question.

 I: Right, but the investigation is going on.Besides.(Angelo makes noises.) Listen, there is a man missing right now, and we are definitely involved in the police's point of view, and in those unknown agents'.

Angelo: Stop, stop.

I: Fuck.  Magistrate!  Magistrate.(Shrieking.) Angelo

Angelo: And specifically.' The magistrates' watching eyes.'  But what the fuck are you on about?

I: It means Romeo ,somehow,  relates to those unknown devils.

Angelo: Go ahead.

I: (With sardonic look.)Go ahead?

  Do you know how long it took me to say that?

Angelo: I have no idea, just tell me what to do.

I: Thank you, Ange. I am taking  Dmitri to  Log  M Restaurant. He knows one of the  waitress there. We have to watch the whole scene with our own eyes

Angelo: What for?

I: To catch the thread of the crime.

Angelo: Crime?

I:(Exaggerating.) Corpse atop corpse

Angelo:How can I help?

I: Keep Sam under control.

 

Angelo: I can't promise,  Motherfucker is volunteering-ly  trying to remind  the police as if the crime happened here.

I: Then do nothing.

Angelo: I'll  cover for you and Dmitri , anyway.(He steps away to leave. He changes his mind soon.) Let me call Dmitri.(He talks on his mobile phone)Dmitri , Dmitri.

I: My appreciation.

Angelo: Dmitri is coming...this is your idea not mine. 

 I: Right.

Angelo: He says the storm has erupted.

I: Can't hear anything.

Angelo: I know...I know ... Let me have a look. Probably, it calls for another victim. 

I: Is it  a natural storm ?

Angelo: Fuck, how do I know?

I: Well, you know him better than me.

Angelo: Don't mention his name.

I:Fine.No one is here.( I am silenced.)

Angelo: Who knows?Were not we alone?

I:  Right.(Disappointed.)

(We are silently waiting for Dmitri.)  

The curtain falls.

  ****

Part Three

Scene One

Dmitri: ( Suddenly, appears with his tallness and the Russian's touch.)Angelo, here I am .

Angelo: Thank you for  your coming. Dmitri, listen.  On contrary  to  your  expectation, I am asking you to do me a favor.(He looks at me hesitantly.) It is serious.

Dmitri: What is it?

Angelo: Do you know any one in the Log  M Restaurant ?

Dmitri: (He is excited.)  Why ? In fact yes I do.

Angelo: Marvelous. Man,  we need your help for a risky mission.

Dmitri: Me.

I: Angelo, it is not a mission. 

Angelo: What is it then?

I : Look Dmitri. You know Romeo has recently disappeared.

Dmitri:Yes I do.

I: You remember the event in the  restaurant  .

Dmitri: Yes I do.

I: Your girlfriend is working in the  place.

Dmitri: I have no girlfriend.

Angelo: Fuck , don't deny it... you are our only hope.

Dmitri: What are you talking about?

I: Listen  , Dmitri. The truth is we need to know what happened to Romeo.

Dmitri: I don't know how to help.

I: Right. Your friend can help.

Dmitri: Show me how.

Angelo: Just introduce us to her.

Dmitri : What?  I can't .I won't. Don't push me.

I: No one pushes you.

Dmitri: No, he does.

I: Well, what about another night?

Dmitri: I won't ask her for anything.

I: You don't need to.We will create a situation.

Dmitri: I won't let you use her.

Angelo: (Angrily)  Dmitri,  just leave.Forget it, we were wrong.

Dmitri: (Defiantly.) Fine, I will be living , but I am worried for not being understood.

I:Wait  a second, wait a second.(Gesture to  Angelo.) You  shut up.Dmitri, you said. ' I am worried for not being understood.' What do you mean,?

Dmitri: Look, I don't mind to help, but not the way you suggested.

I: Well,if you are serious please enlighten us.

Dmitri: Let us work it out without involving  the poor girl in our mess.   

Angelo: (Yells) How?

Dmitri : Specifically , tell me what do you need?

(It is a great blow.Dmitri shows more signs of enthusiasm .)

I: Everything happened at the   night of the event  during  the period between five o'clock to ten o'clock.

Dmitri: (Thinking and  raking  his hair with his long fingers.)  Done! But don't ask me questions.

I: Deal. Man, It's for Romeo.

Dmitri: For Romeo. 

Angelo: But, how does it work?

Dmitri: I said don't ask  me questions.

Angelo: In this case, it is better to restructure the question.(He gestures to me.) What are we supposed to to do?

I: ( Trying to shut him out  before Dmitri interrupts him.)

Dmitri: Nothing. Nothing. Just wait for me.

(Dmitri leaves.)

Angelo: Should we trust him?

I: We have  no choice.

Angelo: The time is up.(He laughs  loudly and slowly walks away.)

I: (Yelling) Have a good weekend Ange.

Angelo: You too. The kids are waiting for you.

I: Right.( I walk meekly after him some steps and stop.) I like to be with them  these moments. Probably they are ready to go clubbing .

Angelo: Oh,  yeh, doubtless. ( Laughing  and disappearing  behind the new piles of tiles.)

The curtain falls.

Scene Tow

(Log  M Restaurant  in Kings Cross. Romeo is sitting with two strange men )

Romeo: (Silently looking at the north-corner of the  restaurant.)That is all what I could think of.

Man I: Mr. Maserati!

Romeo: Call me Romeo, sir,

Man I: Well, Romeo, lets be more specific.I see

Kay Hassan

Part One

Scene One

 Interior of the  unaccomplished complex in  Rushcutters Bay in Sydney .  It is  of a day in the middle of  Autumn .The storm hits the city.  Normal life is on hold in the city. Driving through the  wild storm is a catastrophe -Radio says thousands of houses are without power

Cars are flattened under the falling trees - Roofs are ripped .Streets are flooded like the ancient rivers. Giant waves are hitting our shores - Buildings are shaking. Houses are washed away

A Vietnam veteran's died - Hunter river is the wildest. Thousands of volunteers are rushing into those suburbs to help people: they are real heroes. The huge cellar of the complex is quite compared with spaces between the buildings  but the sky above the roofs was furious by contrast.

Barbara :  Ich nenne Architektur gefrorene Musik. ( (Her blue glittering  eyes stare at me.  She is eighteen  tall and well built with a  beautiful  good-looking face  with expression  of superiority .She is not the only woman in the mega construction site but her presence is so dominating that we rarely feel the others' touches .   Her eyes remind  me of  the beautiful spark of God ; solemn and sublime. She has a  short blonde color- hair hardly touches her  reversible high visibility vest over her overall jeans . I am  a descendant of a illegitimate son of Saladin  ,not that tall , actually  has been  built on weaker and modest model,has dark eyes and grey hair and  dressed rough clothes. And  we are both wearing armored boots and hats.)

The main gate is flattened and the exit ramp is flooded.  Angelo. (A giant  athletic man)  is the Site Manager, he walks towards the gate  and stands watching the chaos. He puts his hands in his pocket  and wildly  yells  at the sky ." Fuck."

Barbara and I are watching him from the circular  lobby of  the building number five . She turns her eyes and stares stunningly  at the first building.

Barbara: Look.

I: What?He said fuck.

Barbara: I say, look.

I: I see Angelo.

Barbara:Look at the building. I say : Ich nenne Architektur gefrorene Musik.

I : Not in this  storm, sweety..

Barbara:  LOOK. (Screams she and nods to the first buildings facade in the rain.) It is frozen under the storm.

I:Perhaps , sometime.

Barbara: It is always, It is always. You are not perfect too.

I:Shredded...shredded.I know how the storm has changed your mood.

Barbara : What? Fuck  I am used to a worse weather.

I : I am not ridiculing your experience, but say that in the right time.

Barbara: When is the  right time coming?

I : When  I am  done.

Barbara : We  are talking about continuous concept.

I: Marvelous.

Barbara: What is marvelous?"

I:  Continuous concept."

Andreas :(He  comes closer with his bare chest. ) Why everyone thinks Barbara is smart? (Andreas is little and thin, speaks with Hispanic accent, and  is obsessed with tracing back his Spanish ancestors."    Barbara: Andreas. You  shut up.

I:  Right .You shut up  Andrew.

Andreas: I  say why?.

I: Because she is from Goethe's country, (Eventually Andreas  leaves.)

Barbara:  You fucking old man,.

I: What makes you so angry, little goddess?

Barbara:You!

I: ME? What are you looking at ?

 Barbara:I am looking at your wild look.

I:What is wrong with my wild look?

Barbara:How could  you dismiss Dmitri so cruelly ?

I: Dismiss? No ...no. I have no authority to do that.

Barbara: Tell me the truth.

I:  He just  was not great yesterday..

Barbara: Honestly , what happened?

I: He dismantled the scaffold before even I ran the cables for the surveillance cameras?

Barbara: I guess. Probably  someone told him to.Imagine  what would happen in this storm  if he did not.

I: Nothing.

Barbara: Who knows?

 However, it is better to say.'It is not the end of the world.'

I: Right, he only needed to ask someone.

Barbara: Definitely, Angelo knows, doesn't he?

I: No.he doesn't know.

Barbara:This building is ugly, compared with the first one.

I: Don't challenge me. There is no difference.

Barbara:I can  feel its music.

I:There is no difference.

Barbara: Perhaps for you.  I have better eyes.

I: Look. It is a complex of a billion Dollar budget, they won't make such  a big mistake.

Barbara: There is no WOW.Don't escape my question.

I:  Look BB, I promised  Sam, but he fucked my plan .

 Barbara: Fuck Sam. Instead of getting supplied with materials for north side windows, he yells at me for not having worked on the  west side windows.

I: You may fuck him, but I can't .

Barbara: I dare to fuck him now.

I: He is a good guy. He is Jewish.

Barbara:    I am Jewish  too.

I :I know.

Barbara: And a very far relative to Karl Marx , you know him, do not  you?

I: Good Heaven! That is impossible- Frau M.

Barbara:I’m either way German.

I: Terrific, I am shocked.

Barbara:Am I telling a lot about myself.

I:I am honored, tell me  what ever you like.

  Barbara: Oh, dear. Old man, you are adorable. You can't do bad things.

I: What? I am evil too.

Barbara:NO, no. There is  only Dmitri. Dmitri.(The wind does not  let up .)

 I: ( With indifferent response.)  Fuck, what?

 Barbara:  I say Dmitri.

I:  Dmitri! what is good about Dmitri.

 Barbara:Look. We have to make a deal.

I: He does not let us deal with him. Actually he pissed me off.

Barbara:You are friends.

I:We were sort of.

Barbara:Fuck. Listen ,I feel responsibility  for what happened to Dmitri's  family.

I: What ?  Are you crazy. You are from Treves in Germany  and he is from Astrakhan on Caspian sea.

Barbara:That is the point."

I: Bullshit.

Barbara:Well. Listen to his story.

I: What story?

Barbara:The one I know.

I:  What else.

Barbara:I am a woman, have a feeling .

I : I see.

Barbara:Fuck, don't go too far.

I: I Won't.  I know he does not speak to me anyway, at least today.

Barbara: Do not be silly.Easter is coming. We will be having  a huge party.

I: Right. But I am not coming.

Barbara: No, you are coming.

I: No, I am not  coming.

Barbara: I say, yes, you are coming. I have an announcement.

I: Personal announcement?”

Barbara: Absolutely.

I: Lets talk to Angelo.(I walk out through the glass door  of the circular lobby.)

Barbara:(Grudgingly.) Hmm( She  follows  me.)

(The Curtain Falls)

................................................................................

Scene Two

We are standing behind Angelo. (He is a giant cheerful and friendly athletic man. He is thirty five .His face is blond and well-formed, good-looking. There is strength and stubbornness in his expression but sometimes looks  unsettled, untamed. He thinks if he could buy a  thousand heads of goats for his father's deserted  farm in Greece, he would live like a king )

I: Here is Angelo. ( I yell.)

Barbara:Fuck Angelo. (Whispers she. Then she speaks loudly.) See you..

I: Stay with me, little  goddess.

Angelo: Barbara, wait.

Barbara: What?

Angelo: What is happening ?.

Barbara: Nothing.What  do you mean.

Angelo: Go and check the list of your materials; they have just arrived. Stop whingeing.

Barbara: Thanks. I will. Don't be harsh on Dmitri.

Angelo : Seriously, what happened?

I: Nothing, nothing.

Angelo: Look... I did not tell him to dismantle the scaffold. I swear.

I:I know  Dmitri did it by his own.

Angelo: Yes. Don't worry...just  leave it for me.No one can work in this fucking weather.

Sam:( Sam passes, He has an elegant oval visage. He is twenty-five, tall and gaunt,trying his best to keep Angelo impressed by his engineering talent and management skill   but marred by his rather gross ambition and determination . He is dressed in his smart blue jacket and jeans .)

I: Is Sam angry?"

Angelo: Not as much as the storm is.

I: Thanks. What is going on , on your side?"

Angelo: Oh , yeh, fuck. I forget.This storm is not natural.

I: Fuck, shit. What are you talking about?

 Angelo: I say it is not natural.(He halted and snapped.)  Fuck, I forgot! Do you know Romeo?

I:  Not really.

Angelo: Me either. ( He laughs) He said. 'An extreme  phenomenon of the sort is  artificial. '

I: What ? You don't know him!

Angelo: You know I him his boss.

I: I see.

Angelo:  It is very important to see him.

I: Why?

Angelo: It is about  the theory.

I: What theory, and why should we see him?

Angelo:  'Cause he is almost Illuminati. He says natural disasters no more have God's signature.

I: What?( I say and laugh surprisingly .)You just said I don't know him.

Angelo: I am serious, and I will introduce you to him .

I: But,why are you so nervous today?

Angelo:I don't know, the storm affects my nerve!  Oh, yeh...right.  Motherfucker pissed me off.

I: Who  ?The storm?

Angelo:No.  Darko!

I: DARKO? Fuck.  He is just a kid.

Angelo: But, he pissed me off.

Angelo: Hi, Sam.(Sam passes by us again.)

Sam: Angelo. Where is the work progress report.( He does not stop.)

Angelo: It is ready.

Angelo: Fuck. Look how this  kid  governs us.

I: His money does.

Angelo: Right, his father's money.

I : Ignore him now.  What did Darko say? He did not kill you, did he?

Angelo: He said you are exaggerating about history."

I: That is not a big deal.

Angelo: No, it is. For me it is."

I: Why?

Angelo: Because I am Greek, and you know how things work for me.

I: Right. But, what does he have to say about it ?

Angelo : Nothing. he just  challenged me.

I: Don't take it personal.

Angelo: I won't, but I need to have another go  with you, particularly through this fucking theory.

I: I like the those fucking  old hypocrites!

Angelo: No, no. I am serious.

I: Any time. I am ready.

Angelo: It was about Macedonia.

I: OH MY GOD.STOP IT. Darko is a Mongolian kid.

Angelo: Don't ridicule my cause.

I: Sorry,  I won't. I won't. Look at his yellow face; he is a Mongolian kid.

Angelo: Anyway.  I am taking  you to meet Romeo.

I: Seriously, who is Romeo?

Angelo: Doubtless, you  have seen him. He is the man with the shortest pant in this premises.

I:(Remembering him.)  OH. Holy Mother O' God.

Angelo: (He laughs very loudly.)He is fine , don't worry about his pant.

 The curtain Falls

Part Two

            

Scene One

Log  M Restaurant  in Kings Cross.We sit on a long row of olive couches facing our workmates  occupying a row of brown  chairs,behind  tables of the same color which  are lightened by cubic light bulbs planted  on them.

Barbara: Dmitri.  Dmitri is  drunk?.Who pays for all his shit ?

Angelo: He  won't pay, you know why, Barbara?

Barbara:No I don't.

Andreas: Sam does.

Sam: (Proudly.) Drink as much as you can.

Barbara: Dmitri stop  drinking ?

I :Drink Andreas.

Andreas: I do.”

Angelo: Stop spending your money on chicks.(Ha Ha Ha.)

Andreas: What else  have I to do? Oh, Gabriela Mi Amore.

I:  Spoil yourself, Dmitri.

Barbara: Oh, wise man, do not  corrupt the youth.

I:  He does not listen to my advise anyway.

I:  Josh, check  if Sam is  paying?You can't trust everyone these days..

Joshua:(Screams)  Mate (  He claims he is a descendant  of  Anne Boleyn's sister  .  He is twenty-seven , tall and strong .  He is  defiant, has two  blow piercing  eyes, and  has  brown hair." You are in an honest hand.

Barbara: (Smiling .) You are too, a hypocrite kid, baby.

Joshua: Fuck, I try to help.

I: That is what Hypocrite does; you are perfect.

Barbara: Josh, please.

 Joshua: What?

Barbara: Let me go.

Joshua:(With shocked eyes.) Going where?

Barbara: Let me have a go.  My announcement.My announcement.

I: Oh, yes. What are you waiting for?"

 Barbara: Well listen. (Everyone was frozen, and thinking, what kind of surprise that freak'n girl has prepared for them.)I am leaving the country very  soon.

-WHAT?-  (We shout with a loud screech)  WOW. (Everyone cheers except Joshua.)

 I: (Blowing- shocked.) Barbara, are  you serious? ( Tried then to take it easily.)

(Everyone screams again-) WOW-

I: We miss you , indeed.

(Chorus like everyone says) We miss you, indeed. (And kisses  her, and hugs  her for a long while.)

Barbara: (She sheds glittering tears.) I am overwhelmed.

“Miss you miss you miss you.”

I: Going back to school.

Barbara: Home, school. What about you Dmitri?

Dmitri: (Doesn't reply.)

I : He needs money.

Joshua: Fair enough. I understand.(Says angrily.)

Barbara: (Seriously.) No you don't.

Dmitri: (Gasps angrily .)

I: Shut up Josh.

I: Calm down, Dmitri, talk about your feeling.

Barbara: Should he, Old man? I think he is scared.

I: It is better if he  needs  to.

Joshua: We are friends no matter what . Here or there.

Barbara:(Ignoring Joshua's comment.)  I think , Dmitri  needs to talk.

Joshua: (Submissively.) Then say something, Dmitri

Dmitri: It is hard to talk. If talked I have to say.' I won't let my smart sister become a prostitute.(Silently looking at me. I can't encourage him, or support him.)

Barbara: Dmitri, Dmitri.

Dmitri: She is studying in Moscow.They say the fucking  tourists are paying well and I am so scared that I sent all my money to her, and consequently begged my father to lend me money  to help my mother in the hospital before she  died.'

Angelo and Joshua: (Screaming together.) Fuck.

Dmitri: I told him: Think about your daughter:  you used to preach  how rich men  might seduce  poor women .He said : Look , I am sorry, I was so wrong.

 Barbara " ( Cries midst our shocked eyes..) Dmitri I am sorry.

Angelo and I: What?

Barbara: I hope I could change the history.

Joshua: ( He looks at us) Bullshit, why does not he help his wife.

I:  The  bastard  had divorced her .

Andreas : Is he poor?

Dmitri: NO.No.

 Joshua: Is he  a business man? Like Sam's father.

Dmitri: NO.(He stopped talking.)

Barbara:  Dmitri speak.

Dmitri: If you are keen to listen then  let me talk; they are twelve thousand mile away from here .

Sam: We are all yours.

Dmitri: Thank you...lucky me.

Joshua: Then what are you waiting for?

Dmitri: Right... listen, all of you. In the start of the last century  my grand grandfather had built a small old style  knitting factory.”

Joshua : Where?

Dmitri: In  my city.

Dmitri: Where else...fuck?

Joshua:  Am I bad?

I :Yes you are.

Dmitri:(He yells)  Let me finish.

Joshua : Fine ...fine. You drink well.

Dmitri:  The little factory was taken by the  Bolsheviks and  transformed it to a modern factory producing fabric and mink fur.

Sam: They took it just like that?

Dmitri: Yes, Just like that.Do you you care?

Sam: Yes I do...otherwise I would not listen to you.

Dmitri: Thank you .LISTEN .

Dmitri: They  let him working in a farm out side the city for twenty two  years, however, when his son, my grandfather was wounded in the war world two they let him come back and work in the factory but he died very soon.

(We scream )Wow.

Dmitri: And later when my grandfather died my father had already became a dependable technician in the factory, and ironically  his rank in the party  was higher than his Manager's.

Barbara : What do you mean?

Dmitri :(Angrily) Ask your grandfather. It takes me ages to explain this point.

Joshua : Pass, anyway.

I:Dmitri ,Dmitri.  I understand very well.

Dmitri:  Love you old man.

Dmitri: He found accidentally  that his grandfather was related to Vladimir Ilych Lenin's father. I mean they  were ethnically from Chuvash people.

I : (I yelled) Fuck.  You are talking gibberish.

 Dmitri: Look , that was a great honor at that time.Actually he became the lord of the factory with the magical  power of the deceased man .

Sam: Was he rich?

Dmitri: Rich, poor were meaningless words at that time.But,  his giant step, after  Perestroika (перестро́йка) was to  record the factory in his name.

Sam: What?”

Dmitri: I am telling the truth.

Sam: We know...we know.

Dmitri: I am not worried about his era.

Joshua: What is your concern then?

Dmitri: The bastard divorced my mother very soon and kicked us out - and  married his young secretary.I helped my mother and struggled until  finished my study. Then started working for him in the factory until recently I got this work visa to here for one year.

Sam:  So you own a big factory.

Dmitri: Fuck. NO,  yelled Dmitri.

 Sam: I mean when he dies.

 Dmitri: Right, but he has got four boys from his new wife.

Sam: Sorry. Let me  take care of the  bills of those  who are leaving early.

I: (Cynically.) )We can pay.

Sam: No you can't, good man, I am paying for two hundred persons.

Barbara:  (Screams.) I told you, I told you, Old wise man.

Angelo: (Interferes, and yells, as he nods to me .)  Prepare to meet Romeo.

I: Is it a right time? (I mean it is not proper place to talk our private topic.)

Angelo: For God's sake, ignore  etiquette

I: ( I am urged.) Catch up latter, BB.

Barbara: Think better.Remember; no drama, no myth.

I: I will. I promise.

Angelo: Lets lose our innocence.

I: Ready. I am ready.(Following Angelo.)

Angelo: Here is Romeo.(He is  siting on the table number 12)  By the way, I think she is obsessed with Dmitri's crisis.

I: What? Who. (I was, certain he meant Barbara.)

Angelo: Never mind.

(We walk towards Romeo. His friends have already left.)

The curtain falls.

Scene Two

Angelo: Good evening  , Romeo..

Romeo:(A man of middle height neither dark nor blond; in other words he was a man with a typical Italian mild face)  Good evening  Angelo. You know him.(Angelo nods to me.)

Romeo: Oh, yeh. Hi.

I: Hi.

Angelo: Have not you drunk yet, Romeo ?

Romeo: No.No I've not. Actually, I have been thinking about Darko. He told me you  are like  twins.

Angelo: Really? Oh, yes. But , never listen to him . He is an idiot.

Romeo:  Let me confess, Angelo. From my perspective,  it is not fair to leave your friend think that he is a descendant of Sumer.

I: Good  heaven , he is talking about me, is not he?

Romeo: I am sorry I won't  say anything else about my point of view, at least now.Don't be ashamed. I, personally,  am a descendant of  Hugues de Payen, the founder  of the Templars: I mean the Order of Solomon's Temple, and I have all our  churches' evidences and documents of my blood line  .

Angelo: Wow.You are a blessed man.

Romeo: I tell you this ,because we are part of this miss.

I: Marvelous start.

Angelo: (Giving a nasty look.)We are willing to hear.We are, in fact, voluntarily some  sort of researchers.

Romeo : Angelo. it  is not about you, personally.

Angelo: (Uncertainly.)   I am  in, either way.

Romeo: Only If you both  accepted my points of view.

Angelo: What are they?

Romeo: (Proudly.)  IN THIS WORLD WE ARE APPRENTICES FOREVER.(He brushes his  long brown   hair.)  And we have to  raise  questions contentiously .

Angelo: (Looks confused.)

I: We are apprentices. otherwise we are dead.

Angelo: That is better for me.(Excitedly screams.)

Romeo : Hopefully, we are close.

Angelo: I am certain we are  on the same page, Romeo.

Romeo: Look, man.(He looks at me carefully.) the people of Sumer had left this SHIT PLANET  four thousand years ago.

I:  ( Listening to the silence and gasps in shock) What?

Angelo: What do mean? (Screams Angelo.) Where is your proof?

Romeo: You are not patient adequately .

I: Romeo.   For such a serious Hypothesis,  you need to discuss  Strong  Evidences  , don't you?

Romeo: Certainly, I do. In fact we have already passed that stage.

I: (Cynically ) COOL.

Romeo: Listen.THIS IS CRUCIAL

Angelo: (To me.) No shit.

Romeo: Evidences; listen  and prepare to the surprise.

Angelo: Good heaven.

 Romeo: Ready?(Tying to predict  our responses.) Good. Listen.We say .'Noah's Ark is absolutely not Noah's Ark".

Angelo: (He yells) Fuck. Sorry. Good Heaven. We both believe it is.

Romeo: It is a bullshit, with all due respect .

Angelo: (Laughs sardonically.) Then what is it?

Angelo: ( Silently, watches Barbara for no real reason.) I sear to God  Barbara wishes  to join us.

I:(Enthusiastically.)   Can I invite her to join us?(Pauses and gasps. ) She is interested in men's  issues .

Romeo: Barbara? NO.NO. She is not my type, man. She is  just  a little girl.

I: She is eighteen.

Romeo:( She is eighteen! It doesn't work like that, mate.  She relates pure politics directly with the THEORY, such as the Russian Revolution.

Angelo: Look, Romeo. This old man is my theory maker  and BB is my practical hands; she is young and full of blood.

Romeo: Listen .Angelo, Angelo , you are a bit noisy. I said.' No.'

Angelo: Fine, fine.We are all yours. I know this fucking theory takes a lot.

Romeo: Look Angelo I know you are honest about all these stuff, but you need some basics.

Angelo: (He yells.) Romeo.  We are on the same page.I have read all your magistrates' highlights.

Romeo: That is fine. But  to understand THE THEORY is a long way,and  not something that  can be taught by some fucking  UNI's Profs. or teachers or law makers.

Angelo: Don't miss this opportunity.This old man  will be shocking  you, everyday in a different way.

Romeo:  I won't suspect anyone's talent, just I hope you are in the right place.

Angelo: Definitely  we are.

Romeo: So... when you ready say, YES?

Angelo:  YES, YES,

Romeo: I'll not  review the classical Theory if it suits both of you.

I: Go ahead.

Romeo: Eventually, I ask, can you remember what have I  said about  Sumer?

Angelo: Have not you said.' They had left  the planet? Right.But, how? Where are the your  evidences ? I have no clue."

I:  There is none.

Romeo: HOW ABOUT NOAH'S ARK.

Angelo:  NOAH'S ARK? You said it is not Noah's Ark.

Romeo: YES. The ARK  is not Noah's. It is in fact  a Sumerian space ship. ships, or fleets. They took off and left the planet. (He speaks frankly and confidently.)

 Romeo: Ironically Tanach or in general  ' Bible' writers  made it a main issue for  Abrahamic faiths.

Angelo:( He laughs and screams randomly.)

Romeo: You breach the commitment.

Angelo: Sorry I don't  mean to. I am just excited.

I : I like you, Romeo.We are not in hurry.however, we prefer to derive some evidences; empirical evidences.

Romeo: I have my evidences, more than you expect, if you are interested  take these  CDs.  (He produces  from his bag a couple of discs and relays them to me.) Take your copy,Angelo

I: Thank you.  I believe we need a theory to justify how the precedent events work  in full swing with  the new world  order.

Romeo: Impressive. Impressive.

Angelo: I told you,Romeo.He is damn good.

Romeo: Seeking  approval is very complicated process , and any one's authenticity must be passed through the magistrates' watching eyes.

I:Any other evidences?

Romeo: Definitely. (He snaps victoriously.) Ezekiel's Vision of God.

I: Good one.

Angelo: (Yells in fear.) Enlighten me.

I: Do not panic, man.Just write down  in your diary. 'Read Book of  Ezekiel.'

Romeo : I don't stop at this point forever. Listen, these examples are for apprentices.

Angelo :(Grinning.)  Then let us be your Apprentice, master.

Romeo :  ( Grudgingly.)It depends on the  level  of your expectations.

Barbara:( Interrupting.  ) I couldn't resist my greed.

Romeo : (Grudgingly) I hope it suits both of you, guys.( And after a  short pause, he explodes .) But , it does not suit  me.

Angelo: ( Yells in shock. ) Romeo!

I: (Speechless, waiting for a breakthrough)

Romeo:(Decisively,  leaves.) By the way , we have not said anything. Right ? Have a good night.

Barbara: Fuck, what was that?

Romeo: (No response.)

Angelo: My apology.

Barbara: It is  not about you , Ange.

I: Probably, he  was not ready to show his hands.I mean to disclose his secrets.

Barbara: For God sake , don't look for excuses, in behalf of him. He is just an idiot. By the way.(She looks at me furiously.) You  are a bad hypocrite.

I: Thank you . I did not know that, but he was tense with the excitements.Actually the man can't cope with strangers, easily.

Barbara: Fuck. I am leaving . I am sure that is what you want both.

I: You are absolutely wrong. 

Barbara: (She leaves without a single word.)

Angelo: At least say, good night , BB. Lets end our night, good man.

I: Good night, Angelo.

(We leave grudgingly.)

The curtain falls

Scene Three

Four day later. On the roof of the building number one.

Angelo was cranky and screaming randomly at Kamal.

Angelo: Never happened. Never happened.

Kamal: Angelo, make it clearer.( (Kamal  is stunned. His face is  dark and calm ; it is  a blend  of the Indian descendant and oceanic blood . He is twenty-seven , tall and strong. His carriage reminds one of the men who suddenly  pop up  from the depth and obscurity of the oceans.)

Angelo: It is clear. Only,  get the job done, we won't stay here forever.

Kamal:  (He looks at me.) Am I the only one here?

Angelo: Fuck, man, I know what I am talking about.

I: Angelo.

Angelo: I am not taking orders from anyone.

I: (Nervously I try to leave the roof.)

Angelo: (He is angry.) I do not say leave.

I: (Cynically ) Bad choice.

Angelo: Dmitri will be helping you, Kamal. 

Kamal: ( He doesn't respond  .)

I:( I am close to the door, and ready to leave the  roof.) Angelo, you are wasting  my time.

Angelo: (Frowning and grabbing my arm  .)  I am happy with that, old man.

(We  are now  standing close to the door. )

I:By the way.  Romeo was rude with BB.

Angelo: (Confusedly )Right. But,guess what?

I: What?

Angelo: According  to Sam,   Romeo  is not coming anymore.He has quit.

I : Are you serious?

Angelo:YES. And that is why I am cranky these days.

I: (Bragging ) At least I can say now. 'He is not free.'

Angelo:  You reckon?By the way, have you watched his CD?

I: yes.

Angelo: What was it about?

I: It is a long story.It starts with some recent catastrophes and many unsolved historical mysteries.

Angelo: Marvelous  ( And he leaves the roof.)

 I: (I follow him meekly.)

The Curtain falls.

Scene  Four

Next day.  I am testing  carbon monoxide sensors in the lower cellar . Angelo and Barbara are rushing down the ramp. Barbara's eyes  boldly  glare with hard, defiant looks.

Barbara: Hey. (  She  looks with a queer smile  .) Stop, fuck , listen.You know nothing.

Angelo: (Laughing aloud.) 

I:  (No longer doubting myself.)Let me  guess... I guess.

Angelo:    No, No. (Irresponsibly .)

Barbara:  Angelo.(Seriously.) It is not funny.

Angelo: BB, stop.

Barbara: Who told you to call me BB?

Angelo: Your friend.

Barbara: (Looks at me with eyes full of  fire.)

I:  What are you  waiting for?

Angelo: (Quietly)  It is about Romeo.

I: What is wrong about him?

Angelo: ( Angrily.) Sam has lied about Romeo.

Barbara: (Defiantly.)No, he has n't. He does not know the details.(She struggles to find her words.)Actually Police questioned him about the last  moments you spent with him. .

Angelo: Oh, God.  What do you call it then?

I: Damn ye. You can't beat those magistrates.

Angelo: Romeo? Man, he is missing.

I:(Terrified. and seriously looking at him  )

Angelo: ( Restlessly , waiting for my verbal  response.)

I: Are you  serious?

Angelo: Definitely, yes.

 I: It is a great disaster,indeed.

Angelo:What ?( Screams to  deny our involvement.)  I don't understand what do you mean.

I: We are the last ones who met him and are  the strangest combination of men and women here.

Angelo: (He is stunned.) No one listens to such bullshits..

Barbara: You both are crazy.I heard the news first,and  there is nothing to fear of.

Angelo: BB, I am not expecting from you more than that.

Barbara:(Angrily.) Fuck. Don't call me BB.What did I said?

Angelo:Fine , Barbara.

I: There is a man MISSING.

Angelo: Is there a way to help him.

I: I am thinking .

Joshua: (Breathlessly  rushing down the ramp, looking for  Barbara.)

Barbara: Josh!

Joshua: Police is here, they mentioned your name.

Barbara: My name (She looks shocked .)He was not even  nice to me?

I: Look! Don't talk too much. The worse case scenario is .

Angelo :(Interrupting me.) Don't scare her.

I: I won't.BB, tell  them exactly  what happened, briefly.

Angelo:Then,  they  interrogate us.

I: Definitely they will.

Angelo: Fuck. I remember nothing.I was drunk.

I : Right, but it is abut our physical presence  there WITH HIM.

Angelo:  I am sure there was no tension between us.Definitely we were watched through their fucking  cctv eyes.

I: We are lucky.

Angelo: We did not talk, did we?

I: Good heaven,  we did.

Angelo: Fuck.

I: Angelo, look , we have no problem with police.

Angelo: You  reckon?

I: I am certain. But.

Angelo: What do mean by your 'But'?

I:  I am scared of a third party.

Angelo:Fuck, I am not ready for that.

Barbara: (She has n't recovered from her shock.) Angelo I am going to meet them.

Joshua: They have n't called you yet..

Angelo: Right. It is better to do your job.Josh take care of her.

I: Barbara, we won't let you down.

Barbara: Thanks. You know where to find me.(She leaves with Joshua.)

Angelo: What the hell are you talking about?

I: (Silently looking at him.)

Angelo:Fucking third what?

I: Third Party. Man, listen, if Romeo was not a delusional, someone has an interest in his disappearance.

Angelo: Wait, wait wait.You mean it, you mean it, fuck. (He screams) UNDERSTOOD

I:  Then, explain it please.

Angelo: You mean, , he has been punished for disclosing their secrets.

I: Exactly.So.(I push to calm him down.)We wait.

Angelo: We wait.(He walks away with a loud laughter.)

I: ( I stay alone thinking and working silently.)

The curtain falls

Scene Five

 Three police officers are  interviewing Barbara in the Sam's office.

Matt: Barbara.( A middle aged man with  florid complexion and  two prominent plump cheeks and cold eyes. He introduces himself and his companions to Barbara. ) We ask you only one question. Please answer us precisely.

Barbara: (Responds listlessly." Yes, sir." 

 Matt: (He consults the other two officers for a very short time.) It is a stress free conversation.

Barbara :(Interrupting him.)  I am ready, sir.

Matt: First of all, prior to the moment you interrupted them, you have nothing to worry about.

My colleague.(He nods to his companion on his right hand side , and reassure his name.)  Officer Albert, will  officially asks you his  question please kindly make your answer as briefly as you can.

Barbara:  Yes, sir.

Albert: (  ) Obviously, you are aware what  all this is about,  and for the momentum of the case , there are three officers dedicated to the investigation

Barbara: Yes, sir.

Albert: (He gestures to the female officer.) Officer Flora, are you recording?

Flora: Yes, I definitely, am

Albert: Then,Barbara, listen carefully: When you approached your friends  Romeo gave them a big frown of disapproving  and left the table  immediately.(He cleaned his throat, snoring, strangely.) The crucial question is: what happened henceforth ? 

Barbara:(Hesitantly, she  stammers , but gradually regains her confidence.) As, as,  as an excuse for  my intrusion. ( She stops for a while.) I said. I said. 'I couldn't resist my greed.' In his response grudgingly, Romeo told his companions. 'I hope it suits you, guys.  But it does not suit me.' Then he left  immediately.

Matt: Correct !

Barbara: (She is stunned. She yells.) Correct? Exactly . What do mean?

I have nothing else to say, sir.You knew it...you knew it.

Matt: Barbara, we know ...we know. Thank you for your help. Let me say.'You can go .'

Barbara:(Dazzled. But, hailed.) Really ? Anyway, thank you.

Matt: You're welcome.

Barbara: (Overwhelmingly , walking  out alone. But suddenly  hears a shout.)

Matt: Barbara. We won't interview your friends.

Barbara: (Cynically, shouted out side the office.) I know.

The three police officers look at each other without saying  a single word.

The curtain  falls.

Scene six

The cellar. I am testing the equipment.

Barbara: (She is coming out from the lift's cabinet , and shouts. ) I'm done.

I: ( I am surprised.) BB, what happened.

Barbara: They interviewed me.It was  about a crime, isn't it?

I: (Nervously.) No shit. You ask me?

Barbara:( She is shrinking in side her skin.)  I am scared.

I: ( Silently showing my respect to her feeling.)

Barbara: They verbally  displayed the scene and focused on the last moments when I came close to your table and said. 'I couldn't resist my greed.'

I: (With encouraging mood,) Excellent.

Barbara: (Strangely shouting.) He's gone. Romeo's gone.

I: ( Uncertain what to say.) Take it easy, baby.

Barbara: ( Shouts Loudly.) Fuck, I am worried about you.

I: What?

Barbara: Listen, one of the officers  said. 'We won't interview your friends.'

Why did he say that?Think with me.

I: ( In shock.) It is a big blow.( Thinking massively.) Wait a minute ...wait a minute.

Probably,they take advantages of your  mistakes .

Barbara: I haven't done any.

I: Listen , we have to warn Angelo immediately.

Barbara: I am the one who supposed to do that.

I:(Seriously.) Then,  what are you waiting for?Besides, let me think  without disturbances. 

Barbara: (She leave silently , but shouts before she disappear .)Coming back.

I: ( Staying in my place and thinking loudly.) Romeo!What were you hiding ?( Trying my best to focus on my job.)Someone has to find out, but we are just a bunch of stray boys.

Angelo: ( He appears suddenly.)

I: Any news?

Angelo :( Laughing loudly.) The whole story is just  bullshit.They have  left  without  asking us a sing question.

 I: Right, but the investigation is going on.Besides.(Angelo makes noises.) Listen, there is a man missing right now, and we are definitely involved in the police's point of view, and in those unknown agents'.

Angelo: Stop, stop.

I: Fuck.  Magistrate!  Magistrate.(Shrieking.) Angelo

Angelo: And specifically.' The magistrates' watching eyes.'  But what the fuck are you on about?

I: It means Romeo ,somehow,  relates to those unknown devils.

Angelo: Go ahead.

I: (With sardonic look.)Go ahead?

  Do you know how long it took me to say that?

Angelo: I have no idea, just tell me what to do.

I: Thank you, Ange. I am taking  Dmitri to  Hog  L Restaurant. He knows one of the  waitress there. We have to watch the whole scene with our own eyes

Angelo: What for?

I: To catch the thread of the crime.

Angelo: Crime?

I:(Exaggerating.) Corpse atop corpse

Angelo:How can I help?

I: Keep Sam under control.

 

Angelo: I can't promise,  Motherfucker is volunteering-ly  trying to remind  the police as if the crime happened here.

I: Then do nothing.

Angelo: I'll  cover for you and Dmitri , anyway.(He steps away to leave. He changes his mind soon.) Let me call Dmitri.(He talks on his mobile phone)Dmitri , Dmitri.

I: My appreciation.

Angelo: Dmitri is coming...this is your idea not mine. 

 I: Right.

Angelo: He says the storm has erupted.

I: Can't hear anything.

Angelo: I know...I know ... Let me have a look. Probably, it calls for another victim. 

I: Is it  a natural storm ?

Angelo: Fuck, how do I know?

I: Well, you know him better than me.

Angelo: Don't mention his name.

I:Fine.No one is here.( I am silenced.)

Angelo: Who knows?Were not we alone?

I:  Right.(Disappointed.)

(We are silently waiting for Dmitri.)  

The curtain falls.

  ****

Part Three

Scene One

Dmitri: ( Suddenly, appears with his tallness and the Russian's touch.)Angelo, here I am .

Angelo: Thank you for  your coming. Dmitri, listen.  On contrary  to  your  expectation, I am asking you to do me a favor.(He looks at me hesitantly.) It is serious.

Dmitri: What is it?

Angelo: Do you know any one in the Log  M Restaurant ?

Dmitri: (He is excited.)  Why ? In fact yes I do.

Angelo: Marvelous. Man,  we need your help for a risky mission.

Dmitri: Me.

I: Angelo, it is not a mission. 

Angelo: What is it then?

I : Look Dmitri. You know Romeo has recently disappeared.

Dmitri:Yes I do.

I: You remember the event in the  restaurant  .

Dmitri: Yes I do.

I: Your girlfriend is working in the  place.

Dmitri: I have no girlfriend.

Angelo: Fuck , don't deny it... you are our only hope.

Dmitri: What are you talking about?

I: Listen  , Dmitri. The truth is we need to know what happened to Romeo.

Dmitri: I don't know how to help.

I: Right. Your friend can help.

Dmitri: Show me how.

Angelo: Just introduce us to her.

Dmitri : What?  I can't .I won't. Don't push me.

I: No one pushes you.

Dmitri: No, he does.

I: Well, what about another night?

Dmitri: I won't ask her for anything.

I: You don't need to.We will create a situation.

Dmitri: I won't let you use her.

Angelo: (Angrily)  Dmitri,  just leave.Forget it, we were wrong.

Dmitri: (Defiantly.) Fine, I will be living , but I am worried for not being understood.

I:Wait  a second, wait a second.(Gesture to  Angelo.) You  shut up.Dmitri, you said. ' I am worried for not being understood.' What do you mean,?

Dmitri: Look, I don't mind to help, but not the way you suggested.

I: Well,if you are serious please enlighten us.

Dmitri: Let us work it out without involving  the poor girl in our mess.  

Angelo: (Yells) How?

Dmitri : Specifically , tell me what do you need?

(It is a great blow.Dmitri shows more signs of enthusiasm .)

I: Everything happened at the   night of the event  during  the period between five o'clock to ten o'clock.

Dmitri: (Thinking and  raking  his hair with his long fingers.)  Done! But don't ask me questions.

I: Deal. Man, It's for Romeo.

Dmitri: For Romeo. 

Angelo: But, how does it work?

Dmitri: I said don't ask  me questions.

Angelo: In this case, it is better to restructure the question.(He gestures to me.) What are we supposed to to do?

I: ( Trying to shut him out  before Dmitri interrupts him.)

Dmitri: Nothing. Nothing. Just wait for me.

(Dmitri leaves.)

Angelo: Should we trust him?

I: We have  no choice.

Angelo: The time is up.(He laughs  loudly and slowly walks away.)

I: (Yelling) Have a good weekend Ange.

Angelo: You too. The kids are waiting for you.

I: Right.( I walk meekly after him some steps and stop.) I like to be with them  these moments. Probably they are ready to go clubbing .

Angelo: Oh,  yeh, doubtless. ( Laughing  and disappearing  behind the new piles of tiles.)

The curtain falls.

-Scene Tow

(Log  M  Restaurant  in Kings Cross. Romeo is sitting with two strange men )

Romeo: (Silently looking at the north-corner of the  restaurant.)That is all.

Man -I-: Mr. Maserati!

Romeo: Please call me Romeo, sir,

Man I: Well, Romeo, let's be more specific.(He looks serious.) I adore  the word- unequivocal-

Romeo: Nothing to say.

Man- II-: You confessed more than you were allowed to.

Romeo: I am a free minded man,  not taking orders  from anyone.

Man-I-:Don't be ungrateful, Romeo.

Romeo: Ridiculous!

Man I: It is an onerous burden.

Romeo:  Don't compel me to admit things I haven't done.

Man II: This is the cost  of  the significant tasks. You know what I mean.

Romeo: (Tossing his headphone on the table confronting  them with his fists clenched hysterically.)   Tasks? There is no proficiency in my obsession.

Man I: Don't underestimate yourself.

Romeo:I don't, but it is different, now...it is a cheap and filthy game,

Man II: What do mean?

Romeo:It is obvious.

Man I: What is obvious?

Romeo:Look at the media, look at the movies and Ads, and the new wars

 Man II:Fuck the hell up.They are all working independently.

Romeo:(The camera zoomed in for a close-up of -Man I's face) What are you doing?

Man I: (His face is frozen on the screen.)

Angelo: (In the middle of his office, nodding to Dmitri.)  Are you serious?

Dmitri: (Confidently.) That is it.(He switches off the screen and takes his device and  hides it in the pocket of his back) That is all. 

Angelo:  No. (Stunned) But it's interesting.(He studies   my impression for a while)What do you  reckon ?

I: Nothing much, at least now. We have to study every word they said. 

Angelo: Well, I think  it  is not -NOTHING. (He laughs loudly.)Doubtless, we will have ample time to question ourselves. 

Dmitri: Am I done?

I: Yes, Dmitri. Thank you.

Dmitri: Any time.( Relieved. He takes his laptop, and leaves .)

 Angelo: Who are those men? Why they were questioning him?

I:(Uncertain.)  Romeo  is either a rogue member , or they are attracting him - or even threatening him.(Silence.)But nothing is certain.

Angelo: I am impressed.

I: Impressed?

Angelo: Yes. Look how far we have come.

I: (Silent)

Angelo:  Doubtless, Police knows about this.

I: We don't have to interfere with them- we are not serving the law... just looking for the Truth about the Theory.

Angelo: Right, sorry-but  Romeo himself is our concern.

I: Romeo! (Sarcastically.)  We are not getting involved. (-The door is knocked-) I am leaving.

Angelo: Fuck. Police!

I: (Letting the door ajar - then widely let it open- Politely )Hi, come through, please.

Matt:  Officer Matt.(And he nods to his companion.) Officer Flora.

Angelo: Come through, Officers.

Matt: ( Smiling to Angelo seductively.) Have you expected us? (And nods to me to wait.)

I: (Thinking ,how- habeas corpus- can work for us, in case.) May I leave, sir.

Matt: I am afraid, our visit concerns you too.

Flora: ( Looks at the document she holds.)Today. Precisely, we are going to interview both of you, sir." She follows  Matt who sits soon  in Angelo's chair and spreads  his papers with her help. She sits next to Matt."

I: (Guardedly, I took a seat next to Angelo opposite to them-) So... it looks you are serious about something...

Matt: Absolutely right, sir , however, it is our duty to sort out what the course of debate is about.  Angelo: So, with all due respect,sir, what is it about?

Matt: Well, much you hear much you learn.

Angelo:  Right.

Matt: Our records show that, you and Romeo were  close friends. Right?

Angelo: I am his boss. There is nothing to hide.

Matt: I am talking about friendship and things you share with some people in particular.

Angelo: Get on with  the topic, please.

Matt: (He looked at me." Romeo is missing and you both were the last ones who talked to him.

I: (Interrupting him without hesitant.)  Even if your quotation is correct , what on earth you refer to.

Flora: It is better to listen till the end.

Matt: You came to a conclusion too early.

I: Because we have nothing else to say.

Matt: Let me remind you.

I: Remind me.

Matt;( He reads some paragraphs from   our conversation in the restaurant.)

Angelo: Did we say something illegal?Fuck, even if we did, doubtless we are free

Matt : That is not the point, sir,

I: With all due respect, that is the only -issue- you are qualified in, sir.

Flora: What do you mean, sir.?

I: Let me  make it clearer.This is not a police's mission, or duty,or whatever you call it.

Matt: Man, have you lost your mind, there is a crime!

Flora:(Regretting-ly talks to Matt .) Sir,I remind you, insulting  Police is an offence.

Matt: Take it easy, Officer.

Flora:(She looks at me fiercely, and snaps.)You better come down to the station.

I: (  Angrily.) It looks you took it personally.

Angelo: We don't mind to come down to your station, madam, if that is your problem. 

Matt: Well. Angelo, listen, I would not choose the station to question  you, but you both make it harder for yourselves.

Angelo : How?

Flora: Answer our question

Angelo: What is your question?

Matt: Everything was said during the last conversation with Romeo.

I: Have not you listened to our conversation?

(They looked to each other restlessly.)

Matt: Yes we have.

I: Then do it. Arrest us.

Matt: We can't , we have no evidences.

I: So leave us alone, and look for Romeo.

Flora: Absolutely, we can't.

Matt: Officer, Flora, give the list to Angelo and let all of them come down to the station. Angelo!(Matt yells  at Angelo.) What are you  doing?

Angelo:(He is still writing)  I wrote- I write for you ,guys,  the whole conversation with Romeo.Let my colleague check it too. (He signs the paper and  relays it to me.)

I: (Hilariously, printed my signature and gave it to Flora.)Man, I trust your memory and honesty. It's their trust you have to seek.

Flora:(Takes the signed paper. ) Let's have them compared.(She produces their copy which was taken from the restaurant's records.)

Angelo: (Waiting, anxiously.)

Flora: (Reading.) Terrific.Sir.(She relays the two versions to Matt.)Literally they are identical.

Matt: (Reading.) Keep it.

Angelo: Thank God.

Matt: I believe it is enough for today, however, doubtless we will have another meeting somewhere else.( Readying to leave.) Officer.

Flora: (Packing her documents.)Yes, sir.Ready.I am ready.See you, guys.

Angelo: See, you, Officer.

 Matt: See you.

The Curtain Falls.

-Scene Three-

(Matt's Office --Kings Cross Police Station.)

(Attendants, Matt, Flora, Angelo, Joshua, Dmitri,Sam,  Barbara, and myself.Suddenly... Romeo enters t;he office.)

Matt: (Responding to our shocked faces.)  Romeo,please tell your colleagues what you have told us.

Angelo: Motherfucker, where have you been?Missed, killed.
Romeo: (Grudgingly, whispering  to me and Angelo.)I was chasing the storm's source.
Angelo: What? But, you you did not do it in the right time.I mean you did after
Romeo: I did, but have not told you.
Angelo: Have you found anything?   

I: Angelo!
Matt: What are you talking about?
I: I told you, this  is none of - Police's business , Officer.
Romeo:Right, right-
Matt:  Romeo,please tell your colleagues what you have told us

Romeo: Police prefer to say- I was kidnapped,and I agreed.
I: So, there is nothing serious with Police.
Romeo: I think there is a trap, someone has used Police.
Matt: (Gestures to Romeo.) You can go home,actually your bail has been granted .(Then he casts pleasant  glances  at our faces one after another. ) I am sorry for this  professional misconduct, however, the situation is changed, and  there is nothing to talk about with you guys.(He leave.)
(Feeling-  we are asked to leave)
Romeo: ( Looks at me.) I am certain, you are absolutely aware of my feeling.
I: Right, definitely we gotta get out of here, and have  another go-
Romeo: And, for the theory,we are someday building our  team
I: Here we are... a real team  .
Romeo: -Sons of Conspiracy?
(Everyone hails.) Sons of Conspiracy.(And leaving the office.)

The curtain falls

Scene Four

(The team members at Log  M  Restaurant  in Kings Cross, at dinner time - .)
Angelo: What  is the story of the two strange  men who were sitting with you"
Romeo: (Surprised.) Those two men were behind the police intervention.
Angelo: I am confused about their questions.
Romeo: What are you talking about ? It is too much.
I: Romeo, you have to be  absolutely, transparent.


-Still coming 

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