The White Gloves

by George Trialonis

stores, as I said before.”

  Their eyes met and Charlie felt a tingle in his heart and a sense of connection with this young woman.

  “Of course you can borrow my gloves,” Charlie said beaming a smile, “besides; I’ll have the chance to see you again, right?”

  “Of course,” Felicity said and smiled. “Here’s my card. You can call me in a couple of days.” She paid the fare and got out of the cab.

  “Charlie rolled down the window, “Bye Felicity, see you in a couple of days.”

  “Bye Charlie; thank you for the gloves.”

  Charlie kept looking at Felicity until she went through the door of the Maternity Hospital.

  I think I’m in love, Charlie whispered and looked at the card; it read:

  Felicity Forest

  Nail Technician

  Nail care for older people

  Two days later the phone woke him up early, about six in the morning.

  “Yeah,” Charlie said still drowsy from sleep.

  “This is Felicity, Charlie. I’m sorry to wake you up so early.”

  “Oh, that’s all right, I had set the alarm to go off at six fifteen,” he lied as he sat up on his bed.

  “Listen Charlie, I need to give you something in return for lending me the gloves,” Felicity said.

  “Oh, you don’t have to,” Charlie said.

  “No, I’m not going to give you any money, only to invite you to dinner this evening, if you are free that is.”

  “Dinner! Oh yes, I’m free.”

  “Fine. Could I ask you one more favor?”

  “Yes, anything,” Charlie said.

  “Could you pick me up from work?” Felicity asked.

  “Of course. Where’s work?”

  “It’s the triple-C Nursing Home,” Felicity replied. “Do you know where that is?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “Fine, drive past the gate and I’ll be waiting for you at the roundabout at six. Bye now!”

  “Bye,” Charlie said and put the receiver down.

  I’m in love, he thought. I’ve never felt this way before. This is definitely love. I feel I’ve known Felicity for years, although I’m sure I’ve never seen her before. But when she is near me I feel … I feel I’m back home. I can smell the scented meadows of the forest; I can hear the murmur of the stream and the rustle of the leaves on the trees. And yet I feel all this not with the heart of the wolf, not even with the heart of a human being. I feel … I feel I’m one with everything in the forest. I am the forest. Felicity is in me. She is in me. She and I are one. How can we be apart?

  Without realizing it Charlie closed his eyes and fell asleep again and had a strange dream. He dreamed of Felicity. She was dressed all in white and had delicate transparent wings on her back. She looked like an angel who emitted a brilliant light.

  “Come,” Felicity said to Charlie as she extended her right hand.

  “Where are we going?” he asked.

  “To the forest, our home.”

  She took Charlie’s hand, raised him above ground and both of them flew across the sky over the big city. Because Charlie was dreaming he didn’t think that flying in the air was strange or peculiar. He was following his heart. He loved and trusted Felicity and would follow her to the end of the world.

  “To the forest, to the forest,” Felicity declared as if giving directions to an invisible coach driver or to the wind.

  Before reaching their destination Charlie noticed the village at the fringe of the forest.

  “Oh, look,” he said, “There’s the village, and this is Red Riding Hood’s house. I hope she’s happy.”

  “I hope so, too,” Felicity said.

  “And there is the hut that I …,” Charlie hesitated for a moment. He wanted to say, where I met a very strange sheep that I wanted to eat, instead, she kissed me.

  “This is our final destination,” Felicity said and pointed to the hut. Then she slowly started to descend until both of them touched the ground just a few steps before the front door of the hut.

  As Charlie touched the ground he realized that Felicity had suddenly disappeared. Felicity, Felicity! He shouted. He came to the door of the hut and pushed it in. He was not surprised to see the fluffy white ewe again. She was standing on its hind legs.

  “Where’s Felicity, sheep,” he shouted.

  “Come, wolf,” the ewe said. I’ve been expecting you.

  Charlie was not surprised when the ewe addressed him as wolf, besides, his surname was Wolf. He noticed that the ewe had something in her hand and was about to give it to him. It was a package. He took it in his hands, opened it fast, and saw his white gloves neatly folded. He took them out and tried to put them on but he screamed in terror. Both gloves were stained red.

  Charlie woke up by his own scream. He sat up, bent his legs and rested his elbows on his knees holding his head.

  What a dream! He thought. Then he looked at his watch and immediately jumped out of bed. He had a quick shower, brushed his teeth, dressed fast and jumped into his car to go to work.

  As he was driving along the main avenue of the city he heard sirens blaring from behind. He looked through his rear-view mirror and saw the flashing lights of a police car and behind it the lights of an ambulance.

  An accident ahead, he thought. I should slow down and drive with caution.

  Half a mile ahead he noticed two smashed passenger vehicles. The police had cordoned off the spot, which explained why traffic was slow from a couple of miles before the site of the accident.

  No sooner had he arrived at work than his supervisor informed him that the manager wanted to see him in the main office. Oops, I shouldn’t have been late, he thought.

  The manager was standing behind his desk and as soon as he saw Charlie through his office window he waved his hand to invite him in.

  “Come in, Charlie,” the manager said and put the receiver on the hook.

  “Thank you, boss,” Charlie replied, hoping that he would not lose his job.

  “Listen,” the manager continued. “We’ve received two phone calls from the General Hospital this morning. There’s a doctor there who needs to speak with you. I told them that you would be here soon. As a matter of fact the last phone call was a couple of minutes ago.”

  “A call from the Hospital? for me?” Charlie asked with disbelief.

  “Yes,” the manager said.

  “But why? I have no business with the hospital or with the doctors there,” Charlie replied and frowned.

  “Oh, don’t ask me, Charlie,” the manager said.

  “Here’s the phone of the Hospital and the extension for doctor Harper. He sounded urgent. You can call him from this office if you like,” the manager pointed to a piece of paper next to the phone on his desk.

  Charlie hesitated for a moment. Then he looked at the numbers on the piece of paper, picked up the receiver of the phone and dialed the number of the Hospital. He asked to be connected to doctor Harper’s office. The doctor’s secretary answered the phone and no sooner had Charlie given his name than he heard the doctor’s voice.

  “Mr. Wolf,” the doctor said.

  “Yes,” Charlie replied, “I understand you were asking for me, doctor Harper?”

  “I’m afraid a friend of yours has been involved in a traffic accident. Could you come here after work?”

  “I’m afraid I don’t understand, doctor,” Charlie said rather baffled. “What friend of mine? I … “, he wanted to say: I don’t have friends, but then he remembered his cousin Jack whom he had not seen for some time.

  “Her name is Felicity Forest. Do you know this person?” the doctor asked.

  Charlie almost dropped the receiver on the desk. His vision blurred and he nearly lost his balance. The manager pulled up a chair and asked Charlie to sit.

  “Hello, hello,” the doctor repeated on the phone, “Are you OK Mr. Wolf?”

  “Yeah, I’m OK,” Charlie managed to reply. “Doctor, I’ll be there in a few minutes. Thank
you.”

  “You can come to my office as soon as you arrive, Mr. Wolf. I have something for you.”

  Charlie arrived at the Hospital in fifteen minutes. He went straight to the doctor’s office. The doctor closed the door and sat behind his desk. He opened a drawer and removed a small package that was beautifully wrapped in gold paper and tied with a red ribbon. That was a gift, no doubt. But there was a letter attached to the package, too.

  “Where’s Felicity?” Charlie asked impatiently.

  “I’m sorry,” the doctor said, covering the package with both his hands. “Mrs. Felicity Forest died on the operating table. She was conscious for about an hour after the accident and asked me to give you this.”

  Charlie extended his hands to receive the package with the letter. His hands were shaking and his ears were ringing. “Thank you, doctor,” he managed to whisper.

  Charlie left the hospital but didn’t return to work. He called the manager and asked for the day off. He went back to his apartment, sat on the couch and opened the package very carefully. He didn’t want to tear off the beautiful paper or cut off the ribbon. He wanted to keep them.

  Oh god! My gloves!

  He looked at them and saw that they had a glow around them. Actually, they were sparkling white, whiter than ever before. He removed them from the package and put them on. He felt different. His vision became clearer and his hearing more acute. Even his sense of smell increased. What was happening to him? He then noticed the letter.

  He took it in his hands and held it against his heart for some time. Then he kissed it and opened it with such care as if he did not wish to disturb the air around it.

  He read:

  Dear Charlie, or should I say dear “big bad