‘Albert, I am far stronger than you are and would be able to save us both. I do not wish to see you die as an immortal on the Earth unable to enter the spiritual dimension!’
He let out a boisterous laugh. ‘You are deceived if you think that you are stronger than I am Liam. This old ravaged bony disengaged body is a decoy. It gives me the psychological edge in battle. My strength will outperform yours a multitude of times. This is what I was created for—to be a Protector. This is what I do! You have to trust me!’ Albert spat bitterly before he held up his right hand with his fingers splayed.
I connected my left fingertips to his right fingertips. In one mind bending moment he exploded out of his diminishing Earth form before my eyes. It was a vision, much like a hologram, where I saw him for whom and what he was. He was not the spindly little figure of an ugly old man who looked somewhat like a cripple that he presented to us. He was intensely powerful in body and mind, able to repel, and reduce his enemies to mere shadows of their former selves with either brute force, or through mind manipulation. He was a true Protector—pure of heart. He was also an immensely beautiful being.
He withdrew his hand and smirked at me. I now realized that I would never be a spirit as powerful as he was. I shrunk at my foolishness and hoped that he would forgive me. ‘Ti prego perdonami?’ I said with sincerity, and connected my soul to his through our eye contact.
‘You are forgiven my friend,’ he said in a serious tone. ‘You will not be without punishment though Liam. You will have to be subject to my cooking until death do we part, as mortals!’ Albert looked up at me with the slight hint of humour playing around his lips.
‘Death by Albert cooking it is then!’ I replied, and smiled at him. I held up my teacup as a toast.
‘Put your tea cup down at once. That is so uncouth! Have you not learnt anything here in your four hundred years boy?’ Albert grunted.
I sipped my tea loudly. ‘Not. Otherwise we would not still be here! Please excuse me while I change for work.’
Albert was in the kitchen when I approached the front door to leave.
‘Are you expecting to see anyone today Liam? Matisse says that you smell nice.’
‘I don’t know Albert, you tell me. You are the one who can see things before it happens.’
‘Only if it is consequential you do realize. Enjoy your day and stay out of trouble,’ he added before I closed the door and entered the street-scape. I pulled my collar up and around my neck.
The moment I entered the Metropolis Mirage something felt amiss. Silence echoed off the walls and bounced on the marble floor. Only one elevator remained in operation with the night watchman: Elevator Thirteen.
I entered the staff door to head to my locker to suit up for the day. My comrades held letters in their hands—identical letters. I narrowed my eyes as I looked around the room.
I returned my gaze to my locker and entered my security code. I opened the door to the view of a personally addressed letter sitting atop my shoes. I looked over to my right at the letters held in the hands of my work buddies. They were one and the same.
I hesitated before I lifted the envelope and opened it.
‘Dear Mr O’Connell,
It is with a heavy heart that I write to you to this early morning. I am the bearer of bad news to Elevator Operators.
The Metropolis Mirage Body Corporate has decided that it is time that we update some of our elevators to self-service. The world is changing, and we must change with it. However, to keep residential occupants happy, we will retain four elevator operators for those who prefer the services of a personal Elevator Operator.’
I swallowed the lump in my throat. Nine Elevator Operators were about to lose their jobs, their livelihoods. I hoped that one would be me. Not because I did not like my job, but because some of the men here had wives and children to feed, clothe and put a roof over their heads. I read on.
‘You are required to see Mr. Bellini at 10:00am. During this meeting you will learn the fate of your employment. I am deeply sorry that I have to deliver this news to you, and I wish you the best for your future.
Yours sincerely,
Mr. J. Wilson,
For the Metropolis Mirage Body Corporate. ’
Now I understood the uncomfortable silence in the room. I reached for my bottle of water and sipped it slowly. I let the coolness of the water flow over my tongue, and let it trickle down my throat to my anxiety filled stomach.
I looked up to my right and saw the red flashing light on the security camera. We were being watched.
She sat on the white leather sofa alone, presumably waiting for someone. Her longs legs were crossed and her right arm slung over her leg. Beside her, she balanced two parcels wrapped in plain brown paper with string around them.
Every time that someone entered the building, her head turned towards them, and then turned back to the cell phone that she was reading.
She sat in the same position for twenty-six minutes until her cell phone rang, at which point she stood up and answered it, and looked out of the glass window at the park. Then, as if given an instruction, she about turned, picked up the parcels and headed my way.
‘Good day Miss Flynn, which floor tickles your fancy today?’ I asked, and dipped my head towards her with a slight smile on my face.
‘Floor thirty-eight please Mr. O’Connell,’ she replied.
‘You are heading up to Mrs. Rossetti’s apartment?’ I asked frowning at her, trying to stifle my surprise at her visiting Mrs. Rossetti.
‘Indeed I am Mr. O’Connell. She asked me to paint two portraits of Selena for her, and I am delivering them to her today,’ she answered, bobbing her head up and down looking at me.
‘Good for you Miss Flynn,’ I responded and looked into her green eyes.
Her face flushed and she looked away from me. ‘Why weren’t you at the bar last night?’
I narrowed my eyes at her and clasped my gloved hands together in front of me.
‘You go there two or three nights after work don’t you? Except last night you were not there. Where were you?’ she said before I could answer her first question. She turned her gaze back to me.
‘My uncle needed me last night, so I chose to help him out instead of indulging my liking for alcohol,’ I replied. I lowered my head and looked into the depth of her eyes, curious as to why she was tracking my movements. ‘Do you go to the bar every night?’ I asked.
‘No. I was just hoping that I would see Liam there, that is all,’ she answered as the doors pinged.
‘Be gentle with Mrs. Rossetti Miss Flynn. She is old and grieving and needs some tenderness at the moment,’ I said, and indicated for her to exit the elevator.
Sarah cocked her head to one side and widened her eyes at me while she put her hand on her hip. She was about to rebuke me, but I put my finger to her lips to stop her.
‘You are a red head after all Miss Flynn!’ I whispered against her ear, sending my blue energy around her before I stepped back into the elevator. I closed the doors and disappeared from her view, descending the bowels of the elevator shaft to the ground floor again.
Within fifteen minutes my elevator arrived at the thirty-eighth floor again. I steeled myself for the ear bashing from Miss Flynn. However, she entered the elevator arm in arm with Mrs. Rossetti. They looked very snug.
What are you up to girls?
‘Good afternoon girls. To the beauty parlour, shopping floor, cafe or ground floor ladies?’ I asked, looking at Mrs. Rossetti and avoiding all eye contact with Miss Flynn.
‘We, Mr. O’Connell, are headed to the pet store. Mrs. Rossetti has decided to add another family member to her household. And I am privileged to be attending with her to meet the little four footed adorable pup that awaits her,’ Miss Flynn responded in a matter-of-fact voice.
I smiled at her. I had offended her by my earlier remark. It resonated in the curt tone of her voice.
‘Well, enjoy yourselves my lovelies. A bouncing
fluffy four legged bundle of dog will melt your hearts and charm your senses until you find yourself head over heels in love with the little innocent eyed hairy beast! Shall I expect to meet it soon Mrs. Rossetti?’
‘Henry, I certainly hope so,’ she replied.
‘It is not too soon after the passing of Selena do you think Mrs. Rossetti?’ I asked, concerned for her state of mind.
‘Oh my giddy aunt Henry! It is never too soon to welcome a beautiful puppy into one’s family,’ she replied looking at me, and then at Miss Flynn. A wide smile spread over her face from ear to ear.
I smiled at her and bowed my head.
We arrived at the ground floor, and they departed the building to head to the pet store down the street. The tapping of their shoes along the marble floor of the foyer echoed until they exited the building, arm in arm.
Five minutes later my elevator doors closed. I had been summoned to the thirteenth floor. I took a deep breath through my nostrils. Not that I had to. I did not need to breathe to live. But it did seem to still my nerves in trying situations.
Mr. Bellini waited for me outside his office. He paced from the left to the right and back again. He held a cell phone to his ear and placed his hand on his forehead and nodded his head often.
I slowed when I came near to him, and felt negative energy bouncing off him. I stopped before him and waited for him to finish his call. He indicated for me to enter his office, whilst he still held the cell phone to his ear, and then followed me in.
I sat in the black chair of doom.
I wondered how many times the occupant of the black chair had heard the words of doom today; the words informing them of the cessation of their employment. Would I be one of them? I rested my elbows on the arms of the chair and clasped my hands in front of me, just below my mouth.
‘So Mr. O’Connell, it appears that you did not present yourself for your appointment time today,’ Mr. Bellini spoke in a low tone just audible to the ear.
‘Indeed, it appears that I did not Mr. Bellini,’ I answered and looked directly into his eyes. ‘I choose to be one of the nine to be made redundant from my position of employment with The Metropolis Mirage. I do not have a wife, children, or a residence which require a steady income as many of the other operator dukes have. So I am asking you to choose me to walk out that door today and to never return.’
Mr. Bellini hooked his fingers together in front of him, and looked at the list that rested on the desk before him. ‘It would seem that you are staying with us Mr. O’Connell, although you are the only employee with two yellow cards of warning, and although you are the only employee that did not arrive at their schedule appointment time. There are a certain number of residents that have demanded that you stay with us … so we have honoured their request. And besides, you have not finished your mission. The Establishment’s hunger has not been sated, and you still have eight days left to fulfil your requirements. And then we shall see about your job security. Rid yourself of my office Mr. O’Connell. I am in need of a beverage,’ he said. He avoided all eye contact with me, and waved me off with his hand.
I stood at once. ‘Mr. Bellini,’ I spoke in leaving, and bowed my head towards him before I headed out of his office to the safety of Elevator Thirteen.
After the doors closed, I placed both of my hands against the wall and leaned into it, then put my forehead against the cold metal wall. My heart ached for those about to lose their jobs today.
I rolled my body so that the top of my shoulders now rested against the cold metal wall. I looked up to the ceiling of the elevator, frustrated by my inability to help those who needed it the most, although I had tried.
The elevator stopped at the ground floor. I stepped out and stood to the left of the doors as we had been trained to do. I looked over at my fellow elevator dukes. They gave nothing away about their emotional state. They held their backs straight and their shoulders square. The closed mouthed smiles on their faces were nothing but professional.
It was getting late in the day. Time would soon tell which nine were to leave and which four were to stay. Guilt started to bounce around in my blood. It travelled everywhere causing chaos in my mind.
A familiar echo sounded throughout the ground floor and entered the elevator foyer. It was two pairs of shoes tapping on the marble floor simultaneously.
I grinned before I turned my head towards the two smiling faces of two women in love. It was Sarah Flynn and Mrs. Rossetti, and the new puppy.
They stopped in front of me with a look of pleasure on their faces. I looked at my wrist watch. ‘I do apologize ladies, but you have missed your opportunity to ride the elevator. Only residents with furry pooches may enter. Would you happen to have one?’ I asked and maintained a straight face while I looked at them and waited for their answer.
Sarah looked at Mrs. Rossetti and burst out laughing. ‘Why Mr. O’Connell, it just so happens that we do have a furry pooch. Montgomery is his name, and he has the key to our hearts,’ Sarah Flynn responded, speaking with a plum in her mouth, over-dramatizing her words.
I cast my eyes upon the little bundle of white fur in Mrs. Rossetti’s handbag. I smiled at them, and bowed to them with my hands out, as if receiving applause at the end of an act. They entered Elevator Thirteen, gushing over Montgomery as if he was a baby human.
‘Montgomery, meet Uncle Henry,’ Mrs. Rossetti announced whilst the elevator rose thirty-eight levels.
I put my hand into the bag and gave Montgomery a gentle pet. They were right. The dog held a key to hearts. I smiled at Mrs. Rossetti, approving of her new addition to the family, and then looked over at Miss Flynn. She held my gaze with a ‘told you so’ stare. The elevator doors pinged and opened, saving me from the stare of death.
Sarah and Mrs. Rossetti left the elevator and chatted in excitement as they introduced the puppy to his new home. I blinked, absorbing the cherished sight of happiness that abounded around the three souls.
Under my breath, I murmured a phrase of blessings to the long lasting friendship between the two women. They needed each other. And no doubt it had been planned long before they ever met.
The doors closed and I returned to the ground floor. My shift had ended.
I carried my heavy heart on my walk to the staff lockers to change out of my uniform and into my mufti clothes. I took a deep breath to steady my emotions. Men changed out of their work clothes in silence; some for the last time.
And the silence was deafening.
There seemed to be an elevator duke code of silence. Eye contact between comrades was fleeting. They just got on with the job of changing. Then it occurred to me. Mr. Bellini had put them on a gagged contract, preventing them from speaking of their conversations held in their appointment time today.
I was last to leave the locker room, and last to arrive at the bar for final drinks as one of the thirteen elevator dukes.
Come Monday night, there would be just the four of us wanting to drown our sorrows, but prohibited from doing just that because of our work contract.
‘Hazaar!’ they all yelled when I entered the bar and walked towards them at our usual round table. But there was something unusual at our usual table. Sitting in the centre of the table sat ten beer jugs. We only ever had one glass of beer each. Some were either celebrating their freedom, or drowning their sorrows, or perhaps both.
I sat down at the table and raised my glass to them, ‘Cheers!’
‘Hazaar!’ they yelled again and broke into boisterous laughter.
I chuckled under my breath and leaned back in my chair and studied each of the faces of my comrades while they talked and joked. I was looking for an emotional weakness on the faces of the ones who had lost their jobs. I found none. I wondered what the deal was that Mr. Bellini struck with them when he delivered the bad news to them.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the flowing scarlet hair of Sarah Flynn as she entered the premises. She strolled over to the bar, sat down and ordered a drink. I knew
that she wanted to talk to Liam about something, not Henry. I ran my fingers over my jaw line and watched her.
She lowered her head and rubbed her hands over her face, then left her palm resting against her forehead and shook her head.
I slid into the seat beside her without a sound. I reached across in front of her to grab some peanuts. ‘Excuse me for passing my arm in front of you. But you do have a bad habit of keeping the peanuts all to yourself,’ I mumbled towards her.
‘It’s because they are a decoration. Nobody eats the peanuts at the bar Mr. O’Connell. You’ll probably get a miniscule piece of peanut stuck in your throat and start coughing your elevator germs all over the place. I do recommend that you leave the space of one chair between us,’ she retorted.
She had a bee in her bonnet about something.
‘Good evening to you too Sarah,’ I threw her way. ‘Good to see that Irish blood of yours mixed with your red hair is keeping your temper at bay!’ I sipped on some water, and waited for her reply, hoping that it would be heated with sparks. I liked a challenge with entertainment thrown in for free. I was surprised when she did not respond. So I moved down a stool as she had requested. We sat in silence for three minutes, like total strangers.
My energy force changed the moment that she moved to the stool beside me. It was like playing a game of chess. ‘Careful, I might choke on my peanut and then cough elevator germs all over you. You are in danger sitting next to me you know. Or, unknowingly, you might pass on some germs to that cute little puppy of Mrs. Rossetti’s.’
‘Liam, sarcasm is not your strength, so you should not engage it in our conversation,’ she replied in a flat voice.
‘Oh, we are having a conversation now are we?’ I asked and looked at her.
‘Perhaps, depending on you, of course,’ she said, and ordered another glass of white wine.
I looked away from her and sipped my water again. Now I was stuck for words. All of a sudden I did not know what to talk to her about. It was awkward and highly unusual for me to be without verbal communication at any time. I ran my hand through my hair. ‘Do you come here every night Sarah?’
Mortal Desire Page 10
