Decoding A Dream (Part 6)

It rained into the second half of November with scattered showers and directions unpredictable. Kaola climbed the rooftop on an attempt even more pathetic. He carried a spare key to the backdoor of the big room and a pair of small scissors under his silk panties. Kaola reached the edge and right below lay a narrow passage only few feet wide at this end. He descended with ease pressing his limbs against the walls like climbing down a chimney. His only way out was to climb to the top that could be tough and slippery in the falling rain. He could not walk out through the doors because her brother was probably watching TV in the sitting room.

It was dark in the canal. The rear window was closed. Some clothes hung on a line out in the rain. He peeked through the panel and noticed the girls sleeping. He reached the backdoor partially sheltered under an overhang. The door was unlocked.

He entered quietly and to his shock it was this cousin brother sleeping right under the window. Three girls slept in a couple of mattresses placed together in the middle of the room. He never noticed one little girl before; her six year old daughter. Hishan slept in a bed by the far wall. She lay wearing a red nightie and white panties. A pillow under a knee pulled up and her glutes exposed lying on a side. He could hear ‘Riders On The Storm’ played softly on cassette coming right behind the bedroom door.

Kaola stepped close to Hishan’s bed. Pulled the scissors and neatly cut few strands of hair right under her right ear. He was reaching the backdoor to get away with ease when she woke up abruptly, “Who’s there?” Kaola paused at the door with his head jammed not to look behind. Hishan jumped out of bed and darted out of the room waking the house.

“A thief…a thief!” she cried trembling in the sitting room.

Kaola dashed for the wall and knew instantly he couldn’t climb. He got under a housecoat hanging on the line. Hishan’s brother, Reed, reached the door with a torch. The lights came on inside the bedroom.

Reed flashed on his bare toes and legs. “Come out!” He grabbed Kaola who was hiding inside the gown. “Who’s this guy?”

“It’s not me! Let me go!” Kaola cried in a rough voice. “Not me, I didn’t do anything…”

Reed and his cousin brought him to the sitting room lit in bright lights and removed the robe. “It’s you! Kaola! What are you doing?”

He stood in his pink underwear soaked to the skin. Nobody noticed the scissors tucked under it.

“Let me go!” the note in his screech was worse than a crow, “Let me go!”

“What do you want to steal?”

“I didn’t. I climbed to fix the roof…”

“It’s midnight, Kaola!”

Shym and the east wing girls gathered in the lawn to observe the next door tenant holding up a half-naked landlord.

“It’s raining. You are not treating me nice. Let me go! I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Things are really ugly here,” Reed gave a shove pretty hard. Kaola landed on the tiles and skid down the doorway some twenty feet across to hit the steps by the gate front. His wet body aided in an effort to slide like a sledge on snow.

“What did he do?” Shym asked.

“He entered the room,” uttered Reed.

Kaola got to his feet cursing of pain faking that he was hurt. He slowly withdrew to his room.

“He’s high…”

“Little chap…”

“Check if anything is missing.”

 

Thursday morning Kaola presented the stuff to Nasr who uttered in surprise, “How did you…”

“Don’t ask. Just do it,” said Kaola.

Reed did call at Kaola’s door. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. I’m sorry. If you want money or anything, just ask, okay!”

Kaola wasn’t scared or ashamed. If he got angry he’d pick the blade. “Leave at that. Give me a break.” He knew he got even a worse act to attempt next.

“You’re a nice chap. Behave yourself!” Reed left giving him a chance.

Nasr prepared an amulet woven in a black arm-band with a lock of hair and petals of the orchids. He instructed Kaola to wear it on his left biceps and carry out with the next step. “You’re not supposed to remove this armband throughout this process. Not in shower, not in bed, not for any reason. Got it?”

“Fine,” replied Kaola.

He could tell by the sound of key locks which door was opened of the two wings. He knew school kids went out first in the mornings. Next the girls attended to their offices to work and did Shym.

Monday morning Kaola stood in the passage giving a sharp ear listening to the door locks. As he was instructed he carried or wore nothing accept the black armband. His mission to urinate in front of the girl was proving more difficult than he thought. When he heard the lock turned he began to release pee standing stark naked. He assumed it was Hishan.

However, it was Natasha of the east wing who stepped to the gate side. She saw him standing naked in the passage. She reached the gate and paused with her eyes fixed on the door and observed in her mind rather that he was urinating to the ground. And that was nasty. A bad day, she presumed, on too much booze perhaps. Natasha opened the gate and stepped out.

Kaola helplessly emptied his bowel. He failed to detect the proper lock. That lock just turned and Kaola quickly entered his cubicle knowing it was Hishan who stepped out.

He reached east waters and reported to Nasr. “Will it work on her?”

“No. It’s not her twine,” replied Nasr. “Well, try again. Tap on her door. When she comes out you do it.”

“She’d come to pay the rent in the first week of December.”

“You have to do it in phase of the Full Moon.”

“When is the Full Moon?”

“Last night. Now it is 29^th and you cannot delay. Tomorrow is your last chance.”

“Damn!”

That night Kaola chatted with this anonymous coquette who asked a lot of personal questions. She had not revealed herself. Now that she knew him and he was keen to find out about her. She knew where he stayed that he told on a previous chat.

Six-thirty in the morning he came out to see the girl turn up the lane walking at slow pace. Nizu saw him and turned back to take another road. His mobike was standing by the gate but in second thoughts he was not willed to go after her. He lost his cool.

He returned to his cubicle and hurriedly took a big dose of heroin preparing for the morning encounter with Hishan. In the trouble he bumped on the leading edge of the door left open in an angle blinding to his eyes and dropped to the floor unconscious.

He was sinking to the bottom. It was cold, dark and a dreary night. Waves rolled over his head burying distant lights. There were people drowning in the sea and lights of a floating bridge emerged. He was growing weak. He couldn’t swim across and climb the mile long ridge. He grabbed a mooring line and listened to voices behind. Half-brothers and half-sisters of faces he knew little got a hold on to this line. He let go and dived deep to save their souls and him on his own.

Kaola woke up after an hour, lying on the floor. The door left open and the dope left on the table. It was wet outside and a cool Tuesday morning. A numbness biting his left side and he could feel no pain. Very quiet and nobody came looking for him. He treated a couple of cuts on his face. The dream lingered on his mind. He tried to associate with anything to real life. Once again he remembered his father…a cheat. He could not easily dismiss these thoughts.

Kaola missed the chance to bump into Hishan. He slowly removed the black armband knowing he had failed. What followed next took place ‘In Witness Of A Dream’.

~The End~