Singing Snowberg
Chapter Five
Arioso <9>
Chros©
This body doesn’t care how beautiful the trees are, or to look up at the sky. The thing he cares about is the mobile phone in his hands. For me, it’s like a product of the future, when was the last time I saw a mobile phone? In the warehouse, I pressed the green button on the top right corner, and the rest of the time is with my phone. I hope it runs out of battery soon because I have been feeling a pain on my back for some time. The best thing is the time I got up and stretched and had a pee. This is how I was, controlled by a telephone.
Then I see Aliciasa on the screen, he’s watching the old photos. “I’m sorry Alice, I’m so sorry....” My heartbeat is accelerating, in a short time to an unbearable speed, shame and guilt are working.
And all of a sudden I jumped back to my cell in Southpole, because I smelt the scent of Salix on my pillow, while I couldn’t see anything since I’m covering my head with this pillow. “Cyano, it’s not your fault, not everything’s within your control.” He’s caressing my back. “What I’ve done? What I’ve done?”
What I’ve done? What I told him? Distant memories are avoiding me though I’m feeling true and deep sadness from this body. Why did I try to forget this part? And why am I picking it up? Is it because those memories being forgotten to avoid the hurting and they will appear at the right time to save me from desperation in the cost of my sanity? But everyone should know things are balanced, because I’m feeling sad that Salix is not here in real life.
“Take off your shirt?” He seems disoriented in the moment. “Do as I say.” I retrieved a plastic bag from the closet and ordered him to place his shirt inside it. He might get a clue, that I wanted to keep his things.
Open my eyes, I’m alone, and no voice speaking inside my head. I’ll get used to it, I’ll get used to it. I open that bag carefully, revel in his smell.
I got a letter from him this morning. That he had arrived at Ushuaia and settled in a nice apartment. Good host good environment good climate. He’ll find a temporary job there, until the Olympics ends, until the same day that man gets back. He asked me a favour, to ask that man when to get back. I don’t know how to reply his letter, that I’m wordless.
These days the whole research station is not at the state of working, since the 42th Winter Olympics is coming, many of us were selected as volunteers. The Olympic stadium is at the 7th station from the research station, only one station before the Southpole Government station. Volunteers can take free buses between where they are living and the stadium. A portion of the abroad staff was allocated here since our station has many vacant cells these days. Today is Sunday, the only day of a week we don’t have to work, so I’m going to find him, find Salix’s past. But I’ll go to Chun’s place first because I promised to play Gobang with her, we’ll never get tired of it. He could wait in his cell, there’s no difference between day and night these days.
“So, how about you and Miguel?” “Perfect! He’ll come... let me see... almost one hour later, we shall go to for the dinner. We can share with you, I think you’ve never tasted anything on this floor?” “I have to go out, I have a friend to see.” She laughs at this, “don’t tell me you’re just finding an excuse? All your friends are on this floor.” “Don’t talk like this.” She’s right, I have to get some ordinary friends.
“Do they pay you?” “Yes, volunteers like me get as much money as a cleaner in the research station.” “But you still get a bonus?” “No. But the time between counts when I get back to the old job.” We’re talking about the accumulated monthly bonus, every new comer has a 5 percent monthly salary raise until the ceiling is reached, my ceiling is ten thousand Credits, and it takes 15 months.
When I left her room I was attracted by the view at the end of this corridor. Outside the window there’s a band of polar light, what lured me here is its strange colour, I’ve never seen a purple polar light. In a short moment when I had been looking at it, it changed to the colour of green, expanded into its usual curtain form.
When I turn around to leave I see somebody’s in the room closest to me, the room 1,000. I knocked on the door and waited several seconds and turned the knob and walked into it. That woman is sitting on the platform under the room window.
“Cyano. Look. Is it beautiful?” That woman said, and turns her head, looking at the night sky.
“Rosa!”
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