From The Book - Living On Love - Tease 2

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From The Book - Living On Love _ The Messenger - Tease 2

" Does a story really have a beginning or even have an end? Where

does it begin and where does it end? Does it begin at the start

of a trip, the end of a trip... "

I stopped for a second to see if they were still with me.

" Or does it start when we made certain decisions which lead us to

the path that led to the start of the story? Or does a story

start when we leave for the journey, or when we start packing, or

when we make the plans? And when does it end? If a story has

changed us, does it end when we stop talking about it? And what is

the important part? All the decisions that were made or the paths

that were followed, a story is like the point where four roads

meet? Let's face it … there is no beginning and no end. "

If you ever want to get rid of someone, just give them a line like

that...it will blow them away like dry leaves in the summer wind.

I was looking at both of them, trying to hold back the smile that

was building in me from the anticipation of watching them blow in

the wind.

" I agree totally, " said Danny. Neena nodded her head in agreement.

" It's sort of like truth. What is truth? Sometimes truth can be

really puzzling, " answered Neena. Obviously she was not blowing

in the wind.

" What do you mean? " I asked, quite surprised that this might turn

into a conversation.

" For instance, " she said, " ten people watch an accident happen.

There are ten versions of what had happened and the only thing we

know for sure is that there are several cars smashed. And then

there is the question when did it really happen? Did it start when

one car went out of control or did it start when the drivers got

into their cars? They say our thoughts create our reality, and if

that's so, then when did this accident really start? "

Danny and I both nodded our heads in agreement.

" Take that wallpaper over there, " Danny noted. " We all see it, but

is it the truth? What we see are colors and stripes; what we don't

see are the people that work at the factories, making this paper,

their fears, and their dreams. Nor do we see the trees that the

paper came from and the people that built the wall, hoping to be

able to feed their families, nor the owner hoping to make enough

money to pay for all of this. All we see is colors and stripes.

But that's not really the truth. "

During the silence that followed, I took another sip of my scotch.

I don't know why, but a dream I've had since I was a small child

came to my mind. I was thinking about it when Neena interrupted my

thoughts.

" There's that frown again. " Neena nudged me with her elbow. I

must have been feeling safe because my lips started to speak again

without my total consent.

" I was just thinking of a dream I had when I was a kid. I believed

that the world could be one big garden. You know what I mean,

cities built in and around gardens, where everybody is happy,

playing, planting fruit trees, flowers, berry bushes, and picking

fruit. Playing with the wild life, animals like deer and rabbits

and foxes running around not afraid of humans but drawn to them.

People not afraid of people. Everyone caring for each other

instead of beating each other down. " I gestured with my hands.

" Just a stupid dream, like anybody will ever see that happen,

we're too busy blowing everything up and trying to make more money

than our neighbors... "

" You never know! " Danny reached under the bar and brought out a

strange green bottle. I saw it had a cork in it but no label.

" I've been saving this for a special occasion, " Danny said with a

strange gleam in his eye.

I looked at the bottle. " Where did you get that from, a pirate

ship? "

Danny set down three glasses in a row and smiled. " No, not quite. "

" It looks old, " I said, as Danny tried to pull the cork.

" It is. " Neena answered. " Very old! "

" What is it? "

They looked at each other for a moment, and Danny started to pour.

I shrugged my shoulders. " Okay then, what's the special occasion? "

I don't know if it was the scotch or the company, but I felt at

ease and safe, even though they didn't answer my question. There

was only enough in the bottle to fill three glasses half full.

Danny put the empty bottle back under the bar and handed each of

us a glass. It was thick and a dark blood-red color. I held it to

my nose. It smelled sweet but had no scent of alcohol.

" It doesn't have any alcohol, " Neena said.

I smiled. " What will we drink to? "

" To dreams. May they be beautiful and come true. " Neena raised her

glass.

" Here, here! " Danny sounded like a pirate.

It was incredible. It tasted like berries, sweet and thick, but I

could not tell what kind of berry it was made of. My taste buds

just came alive. I took another sip and another, and slipped into

a world of my own. It felt like every cell in my body had sprung

to life. The lush in me took over and by the time Neena said " you

might want to take it slow! " it was too late. I was already

sucking up the last drop and looking for more.

By the time I put down my glass both of them were laughing very

hard. Looking at the other glasses I realized that they had only

sipped theirs. It must have been the way I looked at Neena's glass

that made her move it further away from my reach. I had no choice

but to laugh with them. My mind was as clear as a bell. I also

felt very energized.

" Wow! That's good stuff! I'll take a case... "

They were still laughing.

" Man, I feel like I could hog tie a dinosaur. "

I'm pretty sure I had a grin on my face that would have been the

envy of any clown.

Neena put her hand on mine. " So now that you know we're not going

to ridicule you, maybe you would like to tell us this story about

angels and Love. "

" All right, " I said, " fair's fair. "

" Start from the beginning and don't leave anything out. " she said.

" Just let me get my bearings, " I slid my empty Scotch glass

towards Danny so he could refresh it.

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