“Thanks. That’s okay then. I’ll see you later. Get some rest,” stated Donald sheepishly as he left the room once more.
“Great. See you then. It’s been good spending time with you and thanks for getting me out of the tunnel; I forgot to say that,” replied Ed, as the curtain flowed down closed and he heard a distant “no probs” from the departing private. Ed lay down once again, drifting off into a calm sleep.
Chapter 12
Fritz the baker
“Come on, Ed, come on, we need to go over to Yedida, she’s expecting us, come on,” exclaimed Donald, as he gently shoved his shoulder back and forth, shaking him from his sleep like an apple from a tree.
“Arrghh, er, where am I? Er, oh, Thomas, NO, Donald. Sorry, yes, I’ll be with you. Give me a second,” spluttered Ed, emerging from his sleep like fog seeping under a door.
“I’ll wait outside.”
“Okay,” replied Ed, as he span round upright on the bed, directing his feet onto the floor. He held his head in his hands and rubbed his eyes, quickly adjusting to the new environment. He jumped up and sprang across the tiny room, through the black silky curtain and out to the waiting Donald.
“Good. That was quick. Let’s go, she’s on the upper levels and it’ll take a little while to get there. I’ve left my gun back in the room as well, just to keep you happy. Yedida doesn’t like guns either. She’s had quite a life – I’m sure she’ll tell you about it at some point.”
“Yes, I saw the tattoo on her arm. Does it mean what I think it means?”
“She’ll tell you, I’m sure. If by ‘what I think it means’ you mean ‘it’s what I think it means’ then yes, you are probably right, but it’s not my story to tell. Put it this way, we both have a lot of common ground having lived through extreme cataclysmic events and it gives us a close bond,” replied Donald, as they started to ascend the inclined walkways. The views into the large dome area grew more spectacular the higher they got, and Ed almost forgot about the mission to find the Viking, his transient predicament and all of the complexity that was now part of his existence. Soon they were up near the top and at Yedida’s door.
“Yedida, we’re here,” exclaimed the British soldier.
“Great, come in, come in,” replied the sexy and seductive voice from inside the curtained enclosure. Soon they had parted the silk covering and entered the room, politely kissed her on both cheeks and all three sat down, Ed and Donald on the bed and the striking black lady on a small stool opposite.
“You’ve just arrived then, Ed. What was your last transience?” enquired Yedida.
“A very brief one. I was caught up in a fox hunt as one of the hounds. Luckily though, I managed to sabotage it and the fox escaped. It was a horrible grizzly scene though,” replied Ed.
“Horrible eh, the idea of fox hunting? Strange barbarism, although it’s in keeping with the general demise of human character.”
“Yes, quite,” replied Ed.
“Anyway, you want to see the Viking do you? Donny doesn’t altogether think he’s for real, do you, Donny?”
“Until I’ve seen him with my own eyes, I’ll remain a sceptic. Anyway, now you two are together, I’ll love you and leave you,” stated Donald, as he got up and put his hand out to shake Ed’s.
“Maybe I’ll see you later, Ed, if you stay on. Otherwise, thanks for the company.”
“Thanks to you too and thanks for everything,” replied Ed, as he stood up to shake Donald’s hand.
“If you don’t mind me asking, why carry the water bottle with you all day if you can’t drink?”
Donald reached down to the canvas covered water bottle hanging from a canvas strap over his shoulder. He turned it round towards Ed to reveal a large dented hole.
“Of course, it’s empty but it has sentimental value. It saved my life in my first few days at the front. It’s a good luck charm,” replied Donald with a smile on his face.
“Oh. Okay then,” replied Ed, as Donald kissed Yedida on both cheeks before leaving the room and pulling the curtain closed behind him.
“Lovely guy,” stated Ed.
“Yes, he went through a lot out there and really had to do a lot of soul searching when he came here. I guess he told you his story did he?”
“Yes, the whole thing. I think he felt really bad being lured into that vengeance, hatred and loss of self. You can kind of understand it, given the circumstances, don’t you think?” replied Ed.
“To a point. They were certainly extreme circumstances with a lot of psychological impact. That’s sometimes worse than anything physical. You must, however, do everything you can to keep a sense of self in such extreme circumstances. That would be the only thing that could protect your soul and inner being. As long as you keep sight of yourself, there’s hope you can make the right choices, whatever the situation,” stated Yedida wisely, her smooth black complexion complemented even more by the pure white trouser suit. Her straight silky jet black hair cascaded down and framed her perfectly chiselled face whilst her proud straight posture gave her more than an air of grace. Ed guessed she was in her mid to late twenties.