3
rd
December 2013 (Tuesday)
The snowflakes were falling down over Moscow. Kharon was sleeping, lying snug in his bed. he had already started understanding that it was so great to be a human who did nothing. He could find pros for to be a human but instead of comprehending them he fell into misunderstanding more and more. Why did people often say that life is dull and monotonous? Even when they face changed, they forgot about it very quickly. They were afraid. Confused. They thought how changes could have influence on their future.
The demon didn’t understand what people could want to get from each other if they already had everything. Why could amplitudinous catastrophes happen? He understood that a human was able to feel but he didn’t understand why many emotions were ignored. Why did someone feel only positive emotions while others felt nothing but negative ones?
Kharon wanted to know what to be in love meant. For some reason he was sure that to make love being in love was more interesting and pleasant. He considered sex to be his work. He liked it but now he was tired of it. He couldn’t stop doing it: the demon ate only passionate and sexual energies. Everyone needed feed, nothing could survive without material.
He had fun with women. In reality. He was fed up doing it in dreams. It was now dull and even stupid to create a page for ladies with piles of illusionary things. People did build illusions in their reality, worried about them, broke their hearts and heads. Before Kharon hadn’t knew that a human dream was just a continuation of reality.
Kharon realized all the beauty of tactical feelings with women in human world and he didn’t know what could make him go back to dream world.
Women died. None of them could stay alive after deathly coitus with the king of sexual delights. They, like in dreams, unquestionably agreed to have a deal and they paid for it. Kharon wasn’t a lawyer and he never explained what consequences were going to happen after. He was a demon. Bloodthirsty, selfish, cocky and ambitious. He needed to get yes, and he got it. He had to bring new falling souls into Lucifer’s kingdom at any price.
He was surprised with human trust… especially when it was about female part. They believed nobody harmed them that the deal suggested was just a stupid joke and their arousal was at the limit and they could resist. They seemed to be about to lose their minds… and finally they agreed.
Some died while they were having a rest after the demon invasion, with the closed eyes. Heart couldn’t bear the load and slowed down deceitfully and then it stopped at all. It got frozen in chest being tried, exhausted and lifeless.
Others’ hearts, less weak and more stupid, refused to pump blood while their owners were making love. It wanted nothing more but peace. And it got it.
Those ladies, who hearts were stronger and managed to survive coitus with hell and the all terror of body deep stillness after, were going to meet with Obliterator himself. The spirit or the demon, following hell adherents, picked up the rebellious souls. He checked if there was someone left alive by the demon. Those who managed to survive the night with the demon there would be much worse for them. Obliterator came himself. He would never put on a nice mask for people. He appeared in his genuine shape.
As a rule, Obliterator was the last which people saw in their lives. Hell knew no stories when a human survived after meeting with this spirit. His body was like a human one, he had two legs and two arms, at least. The spirit moved with the help of his legs and arms simultaneously. He looked like a spider but much more disgusting and at the first sight he seemed to be clumsy absolutely. It was a defective impression. In a broken and strange position Obliterator ran too fast! Like a crab.
He was white with muddy grey long stripes over his body and resembled the colour of tree trunk. His head was more oval and porrect than a human one. He had an intangible line of a nose, but you could hardly be able to see it. There was a thin line instead of a mouth. It looked like there had never been any cavitas oris before but there was a tauten skin like a drum. And then someone made a cut and a mouth appeared with no lips. There were long fangs hidden in his mouth look like gluttons’ claws in shape and long. Due to this unusual form of his teeth the lower part of his face was porrect down. There were big black smoggy circles instead of eyes, like they were drawn in pencil and then someone tried to erase them with a very bad eraser. They were smeared and terrible because there were two points twinkling like two-piece coals of light-yellow colour in the middle of the dirty-black abyss.
He had no hair. All his body was just skin, rough and mortally malodorous. As Obliterator fed on raw and fresh human flesh who had a deal with anyone, the process of digestion and purification came up inside of the spirit. Everything that fell into Obliterator’s body, passed into nothingness. Every chemist and physical scientist would envy him as the demon’s body was capable of digesting even quantum particles. So, while he was digesting, and it took him about a week, Obliterator sent malodour which human would hardly be able to bear. Even Kharon, having a meeting with Obliterator, wrinkled his nose at the smell. Taking into account the fact the spirit fed all the time there was no break between his malodour.
Once Kharon met Obliterator at one place, being stricken unbelievable malodour, asked Lucifer why he made the spirit to be so malodorous? In his turn Lucifer with his usual smile asked to be more respectful of Obliterator as it was, he who cleaned all the screw-ups left by other demons. And who ever heard of such a thing that scavenger and cleaners smelled like a chamomiles and thyme? Moreover, fortunately for those who met this spirit he was untalkative. He preferred to keep silence. But if he started speaking then even his co-brothers-demons couldn’t help wrinkling their nose at the smell. The most nauseating, impossible, vomit-inducing, disgusting smell that could ever happen in the world, came out of Obliterator’s mouth. Maybe that’s why the spirit was so taciturn not to harm anyone with his malodour. He was also uncomfortable because of it. This demon was lonely that made him have sad thoughts.
He killed in two ways. The first one was when he appeared usually at night and because of his big entrance people fainted and never came back. The second way was a game when a human had iron nerves and he could bear the demon’s appearance. It was Obliterator’s malodour. There was nothing left to breathe with as frequent and hoarse breath of Obliterator foully infected the air with spores of poison that venomed the human body.
After the human was dead Obliterator came into the body while it was warm and ate away inside.
Those who agreed for a deal with a demon had no chance to survive. Except two persons: it was Victoria who had paid for having Kharon with her soul and… Vasilisa.
Lucifer, Kharon and Obliterator had a very long conversation when the incubus asked Lucifer for the permission not to pay off Vasilisa and not to involve Obliterator as Kharon regarded the girl as always available energy source at hand and if he needed, he could make her come with the help of his thought power.
Lucifer had listened to the demon’s arguments for a long time and after he decided to let Vasilisa live at no charge… for a while. The fact that the girl had signed her own death-warrant was well-known for everyone expect her friend and herself, that was obviously.
Lucifer perfectly understood that his friend had a difficult game part and the incubus tried to think it out. If the witch got into a wax and decided to draw teeth Kharon he had to have a stand-by energy scarce.
None of the girls guessed which performance they both took parts in… fortunately for them. To play so easily with human lives and people didn’t know about was a favourite hobby in hell. While people were sure that they played indeed they were played.
Kharon met with Vasilisa once in a week, warming up interest in her, devouring her energy. Bit by bit he realized that women were different not only in bed but in life.
Victoria always cooked delicious dinners, had time to bake fabulous pies and cookies. She prepared juices and coffee with some syrups. She was at the oven with no tiredness and every time outdid herself in culinary art. The demon didn’t refuse that all that Victoria did was really delicious and whetted his appetites every time.
Vasilisa preferred to go to cafés and restaurants, tasting the most expensive dishes in the menu. She had no hesitation to say to Kharon that she was ready for dinner at his own expense.
Victoria guarded the house clean. Despite her personality of a designer even her table was left clean. Kharon very seldom could see her expensive pencils lying over the table. In the contrary they were put in a big box, sorted by their colour, gently coming from one into another colour.
Vasilisa had nothing to make a mess of. Having been in her room not once Kharon couldn’t understand if the girl had any hobbies. Her room was too empty but all the same there was a mess. Vasilisa’s ambiguity reflected firmly on her personality and behaviour.
Victoria constantly said him pleasant words of love which Kharon used to listen to and considered them to be a normal state of things. Vic never forgot mentioning about her love for the man and every time thanked someone for the fact that things went in their own way she liked.
Vasilisa never told anything like that. She felt nothing like that. In thoughts she wouldn’t be against if Kharon fell in love with her. To be with such a man was a rarity. Sometimes their relationships made the demon be shocked with the way the girl thought. Without stopping she made up reasons why Kharon was with her. She chose only one – Kharon was, of course, in love with her! Feeling the make-believe love of the man who was actually incapable of loving anyone, Vasilisa tried to turn him around her finger and didn’t understand why none of her tricks worked.
Victoria ironed his shirts and trousers and Vasilisa rumbled them. Vic looked in his eyes and said how much she loved him. Vasilisa looked in his eyes and asked to love her.
Every time when Kharon stayed with Victoria’s friend, the witch saw the bedroom scenes between a man a woman without faces. She got used to see them as she did about the spirits which talked to her, about visions of the past and intuitive predictions of future.
She couldn’t even think that her friend, the only one, bedded with her beloved man. Honestly Victoria almost forgot about Vasilisa. She didn’t call and text her as she was consumed with Kharon. Vasilisa was scared with only one thought that Victoria would call her and ask to meet as it had been before. Vasya couldn’t imagine in what way she was supposed to look in her friend’s eyes and smiling to tell different nonsense not to make her be suspicious.
Indeed, Victoria was blind totally! Because of love. She didn’t want to believe and see anything. She loved and yearned for being love trying to awake and cultivate the feeling in the demonic creature.
Victoria took Kharon at Hamlet performance in the theatre. That was the place where people rose in applause after Hamlet’s monolog and Kharon smiled listening to people and actors’ minds: so, few of them thought about what they had just seen, others thought of intermission and champagne. Victoria proved that theatrical art was very complicated. Kharon smiled again: people found things difficult which chemical composition consisted of only two molecules in fact. People didn’t like when things were simple. Kharon was surprised with the miracle feature of humans to have eternal tendency to complicate the primitive processes and their lives. The shining example of a person who just didn’t want to live without complicating everything, was Victoria.
The girl took Kharon to orchestral and opera performances. Kharon was silent there, frowned and Vic couldn’t understand neither a single thought nor his mood he could be in. Kharon didn’t get what his hair stood on and small round bubbles so-called goosebumps could mean.
They always went to the cinema but only the Titanic was kept in the demon’s mind. The incubus perceived modern films in a bad way, not trusting actors as far as he could throw them. He was sure he would have been able to play better and more convincing. Despite it he liked going to the cinema more than to theatres.
They walked more seldom as it was getting colder. The ground was being covered with snow.
Victoria looked at the falling snowflakes thoughtfully, Kharon looked at her pupils and eyelashes surreptitiously, where the snow was reflected. It’d been a long since he heard her inner voice last time! At those moments when Victoria immersed into her thoughts, silently and sadly pierced with the eyes into something, he could hear a weak whisper, counting down time.
He understood that he had to feel something about her, something that would grip his heart in a vice and tear well up. That was what people called a mercy. But no. He didn’t move a muscle. The girl had been warned that the union of an earth woman and a demon was doomed to fail! Sometimes you should trust a speaker.
Kharon liked so much her eyes changing its colour when they looked at snow. They beamed. They lived and rose up half alive hope from its knees, reanimating it again.
The demon often embraced the girl when they were both at the window and looked at falling snow. He nuzzled her red hair, closed the eyes and holding her tighter, realizing that it was great to be loved.
Every day Victoria came closer to know herself. The seed of suspicion and doubt rooted deep. “What’s wrong with me?” wasn’t on the table anymore but “What exactly wrong?” consumed her mind almost totally. The girl annoyed her blessed with question answers for which he didn’t want to say.
Why he needed to say that Abkhor was a demon of fear and horror who was in witches service and worked like a curse. A witch put a curse to pester the life out of someone, called for Abkhor to help. The demon did his job great. He harked after him or her, frightened them in the darkness, put self-destroying thoughts in their minds that leaded to commit of a suicide. If a witch cursed someone with the help of Abkhor then there was nothing in the world that could help to ward off the demon from the poor. Abkhor would be harking the victim until he or she was dead. Within several generations the demon would be holding the relatives and posterity of the victim.
What way would Kharon explain it in to Vitoria? Moreover, he would be forced to explain why Abkhor proffered his services to Victoria without even opening his mouth. And she understood him silent!
Of course, Kharon lied. How could he know who Abkhor was? Why was he supposed to know him? Besides, it seemed to her and that’s all. She shouldn’t think of it, certainly. Victoria trusted him. Kharon laughed in his heart. An amazing human feature was to believe everything else. Without question. The main point was to speak conclusively while you were lying. Especially when it was about women who believed everything they heard. Especially when it was about the ones who were in love. It was not necessary to speak anything to a woman who was in love. You could just bend your head, gave her a charming gaze, showing her in every way your own superiority simultaneously with that fact that she was so beautiful. You could say couple of nice words. Preferably unusual ones. A woman had to understand that she was dealing with a cocky man not just a usual street trash but a charming, intelligent man with a sense of humour, mixed with cynicism and light sarcasm! Delicacy and mannerism were always welcome.
Victoria worked. She loved her job, but she was tired of her boss’s pressure. She was too used to him and he didn’t seem to her to be so repulsive and meticulous. But she didn’t still have any feelings for him. Only one thought that he would touch her as her lover made her sick. Vic never considered her flirting with Gregory. Yes, he was so nice merry fellow and humourist. He knew what to sympathize meant and always tried to help. He knew no refusal and always smiled. His doors were always opened. He liked chattering and he was a great listener. He was a perfect man…friend. Victoria was preoccupied with a fact that he was a perfect man full of excellent qualities only for her. He could come only into her office being sure that he was waited and wanted to speak. He wore masks for others. Victoria had already seen his wardrobe of masks. To put it mildly colleagues weren’t very fond of Victoria. She was given so many privileges and honours and it’d been done for 4 working months! There were people in the company who had been working for many years and they deserved only a quick, estranged smile in their directions.
Certainly, rumours began to ooze out. In the beginning Victoria protested it, trying to prove to the whole world that she jumped steady and even in her thoughts she wasn’t ready for any adultery. Then she gave up… Gregory advised her to give up. He was sure that people needed to gossip about something at work. Let them speak about themes that related to work somehow. And if it wasn’t Victoria, it would someone else. With a grin Gregory remembered when they had imputed him love affairs if he was polite and respectful to any woman. Of course, it wasn’t pleasant when you were scowled by colleagues and you couldn’t understand if they were jealous or hated you. In time Victoria learnt to ignore them all. The only thing she had to wait for Gregory to learn to ignore her. That was more complicated.
Kharon had fun in his heart looking at the face full of sadness in Vic’s memories, making himself sure again that a human was very stupid creature when he or she was in love. The demon asked the question he had no answer for, and a half of humans asked the same question.
Here was Victoria, in love head over heels with a creature that was different from a machine just because he was warm. The girl cherished hopes for mutual love and every hour she prayed to feel Kharon’s love.
Here was Gregory, in love with Victoria and burnt with passion. Both loves were unanswered. Why?
Why couldn’t they love each other? What was a singular chain that people liked creating, falling in love with wrong persons? The demon didn’t understand that complication.
Bit by bit he calmed down seeing that energies that he had given Victoria by accident, slowly but still was leaving the fragile body of the girl. Slowly she gave it back that the demon was desperate. The witch seemed to know that she had to save it and not to lose valuable possessions.
Their sexual life gathered speed. By any ways the demon tried to get back his energies and he would have managed to do it if Victoria had been just a human. To take away from a witch something that belonged to her and her instincts didn’t want to give it back was hardly possible. The only way was indeed to kill her. Kharon couldn’t do it. The deal. He turned into a sexual magician, exhausting the girl more and more.
Victoria more and more immersed into the sexual details of passion. She knew her body completely on the other hand the existence of which she had never thought of before. She learnt what voluptuousness meant. She knew what to satisfy passion meant while having a rest, giving the body a chance to gain strengths.
Victoria realized what heaven delight was while she was on the earth. Each of her receptor of nerve-endings was fully given to the body. Any touch to the body caused a crowd of feelings which you couldn’t feel all being conscious within. Every millimetre of her skin was so keen that Victoria couldn’t hold back a sigh of pleasure.
Kharon did really like the girl’s sincere behaviour in bed. The incubus got used and he could satisfy. But he absolutely was unknown with when he was answered with pleasure in return. He knew what to give meant and Vitoria taught him to accept. Her lips touched his body so many times! They seemed to be so hot! So many times her gentle lips, warm and soft, fell lower and lower over his body, causing unusual cramps. Her hot breath and gentle tongue had never been tired. The demon let himself close the eyes while the women in love was fussing him. Yes, he just couldn’t help relaxing in her arms and with her touches. Being with Victoria he knew and realized that women were able to give back. He was flattered with it and he used the funny love and desire to please in everything.
Here December already had come. It was luxurious plump December. Moscow was in race: Christmas trees, gifts, cans, discounts, empty shops, food. People were crazy, their eyes were insane, everyone ran, in a hurry, seeing nothing. Kharon came out more often realizing that in December Russia something unreal was on plan. Little by little the city became sparkling brighter. It was all wrapped in wires on which flickering lights were. Darkness quickly fell over the metropolis and electric lights immediately switched on, lighting the centre of the city as if it were in daytime.
Onlookers idly wandered the streets, having raised their heads to look at shimmering illusion of wires stretched above the heads. They were delighted! It was so beautiful! Incredible and incomparable! Kharon couldn’t find any beauty of it. It was just flickering light and nothing more. With the same result you could speak about beauty of the lampposts.
But the demon liked wandering along the winter centre of Moscow in the evening to observe the long preparation for only moment.
Victoria was at work, turning away from her laptop. She was in her armchair facing to the window and looked and the snowflakes tumbling from the sky. The girl intently thought of everything that had happened to her for recently. And it was like a lightning flashed before her eyes. Sergey!
The girl turned back to the laptop and started e-mailing.
Victoria: “Hi, Sergey. I hope you remember me. We met in summer to exchange books. I know it’s been a long time since that, but I have no one to ask… I’m waiting for you to help.”
Send and the message with the appeal into matrix codes space. Now she had to wait. The second hand stopped at once and changed with hour-hand. Time stopped.
So much time Victoria had been sure that she was insane, incapable of talking with anyone about her sticky situation. How she could forget about another psycho who she knew, whom she could speak with about things that healthy person would have never thought of. But the question was if he agreed to speak to her about anything? She was really preoccupied with it.
In lightning speed the girl drew templates, corrected the previous ones, trying thinking of nothing and not to predict events.
Gregory was on his business trip to America and Vic had time to breathe. She had no need to close the door and wait with horror when the door was opened, and Gregory came in.
The door did be opened. Vic saw nothing but felt someone be in her office. She looked up. There was a woman in the doorframes. Actually, a girl. Vic’s colleague. Victoria couldn’t remember the guest’s name. Before when Vic had worked in open space that girl had been not far from her and seemed to be friendly. What was her name? Alla? Anne? No. Victoria couldn’t remember.
The girls mysteriously gazed at each other and kept silence until the guest started uttering some sounds formed into speech finally.
‘It’s not a social visit.’ She said, came into the office and closed the door.
Victoria began feeling uneasy. Her heart sank. She didn’t want any visits especially not social. And, of course, the intended to conflict girl made her be nervous. In addition, Victoria understood that she was weak to protect herself in a physical and moral ways.
‘Ok then what?’ she asked with no desire, intently followed the girl with the eyes.
Anastasia! That’s right! Her name was Anastasia! Vic remembered the opponent’s name.
‘You know, there are rumours about Gregory and you over the company.’
‘What do I care?’ Vic tried to be natural, not showing her anxiety. ‘Just rumours. You should not believe everything you hear.’
Anastasia stared at Victoria, then at the red-burgundy stone on her neck. How unnaturally long she was staring at the jewel and she was difficult to take herself away from the painith. Victoria intuitively raised up the hand. She cupped her hand and covered Kharon’s gift.
‘Tell me the truth, do you fuck with him?’ Anastasia asked straight forward.
‘What a question!’ Vic protested having glanced back the girl.
The glance wasn’t shy and silent but aggressive and unusual for Vic absolutely. Besides she felt her rage and something else awaken. Something unfamiliar, unordinary as like an alien had come into her body.
‘Just a question.’ Anastasia said mockingly smiling. ‘Why then did you get your own office after just two working months? Gregory seems to live here with you. Wanna say it’s all out of kindness?’
‘I’m not gonna speak with you at all. Why should I explain anything to you?’
‘You should, Vic, actually as the colleagues can’t stomach you it’s all about female part. All the men consider you to be a whore, ready for making nicey-nicey to your master for all his kindness.’
‘I’ve got a man!’ Vic snapped out. ‘I’m true to him. I don’t need anyone but him.’
With no ideas why Victoria started justifying herself. She knew colleagues not to consider her to be a saint but when someone came and told to face “you’re a whore” she felt like a fish out of water.
‘So, you mean you’ve got someone else at home?’ Anastasia grinned. ‘Does he know you fuck with your boss?’
‘I don’t…’
‘Oh, come on! You can’t have it all just for free, can you? Have the balls to confirm you’re a whore!’
Anastasia almost syllabified the last word. She felt her superiority and capability to have pressure on Vic. She liked mocking her. Being in shock Victoria looked so funny! Up to a certain time.
Suddenly there was a black veil before Victoria’s eyes. The girl smiled. Rose up.
‘8 years ago… maybe 10,’ Victoria whispered, closing the eyes. ‘A park. There is so much foliage, summer is all bluster and life intents on spreading… It’s a big park. The title The Botanic Garden is not finished on the map…’
‘What are you speaking about?’ Anastasia tried to interrupt Vic with no ideas what Victoria was speaking about.
‘I’m sad… offended. My parents don’t understand me, they refuse to understand. But I’m so cleaver. I’ve been living enough to have my own opinion about life and future.’
‘Are you insane indeed?’ Anastasia looked worrying.
‘Rustles. Bushes. The nearest to me. I’m scared. A man with no trousers? He’s in the bushes, his trousers half down below the knees, his hands don’t know tiredness… I wanna scream… I’m scared…and interested. I’m turning to him…’
‘Hey!’ Anastasia hissed. ‘Shut up, will you?’
‘Oh, yes… I wanna leave but curiosity is holding me tightly. The man asks not to leave. I’m staying. He asks to get on my knees and make a blow job. There’s money in his hand. I take his money it’s not much. I’m shocked but not scared yet. The man reminds me that I have to touch him, there’s another note in his hand. I need money… I take the note and do what he wants me to do. It’s hot and pulsative in my hands…’
‘You idiot!’ Anastasia hissed. ‘Shut up now!’
‘It’s not disgusting for me. I’m still interested… and it’s pleasant now. Why not try? It seems to be ugh, but I like it… There’s another note is his hand.’
Victoria opened the eyes and with naughty smile stared at her colleague in whose past she’d been crawling tight now shamelessly.
‘Do you still think that the person whose behaviour is supposed to be obscene is me in this room?’
The poison was juicing out of her lips, enveloped the words with its venom, hurting Anastasia. Of course, she remembered that story. Perfectly remembered. For a while she had thought that she was nobody, but she found strengths to reassure herself about it. Besides she was definitely sure that nobody would ever know about her part-time work.
‘I can see the similar case in your life and not the only one…’ Victoria said, ‘and it wasn’t the last one…Huh… Whore!’
‘How did you know it?’ Anastasia screamed and ran out of the office, having slammed the door.
The smile disappeared at once from Victoria’s face like if the slammed door exorcised an evil spirit out of her. By no means Victoria didn’t mean to mock and much less humiliate Anastasia. She didn’t understand what had come over her. She didn’t recognize herself. Victoria drew in breath, covered her face with her hands and sat down into her armchair.
There was an envelope on the dim screen. With no desire Victoria touched the mouse.
Unknown Person: “Well, look who decided to show up… I’m glad that people remember of me when they’re in troubles. Trying to help you. What’s it now? Whom you’re gonna call for? Lucifer again?”
Victoria: “Your sarcasm is out of place. I’ve got a severe problem with my head”
Victoria furiously typing the message.
Unknown Person: “I’ve already noticed it. What happened?”
Vic was looking at the screen, squeezing and cracking her fingers. She felt uncomfortable because of a thought what was going to happen next. What would Sergey think of her after she told him about her imaginary friends? What if he decided that she was crazy? Vic couldn’t bear it.
Victoria: “When can you call a person crazy?”
For a long time Victoria was waiting for an answer, looking at the empty screen and being afraid that she plunged the man into a shock.
Unknown Person: “Two answers. The first is you can call a person a crazy in any way, as we don’t know what insanity is indeed. We can just assume that if someone behaves in a strange way he or she means to be out of wreck. The second is bad one. All are crazy who burn their lives, wasting time on empty things”