C23 (1/2)
It was afternoon by the time he got back to the Joshua Tower. Lina anxiously welcomed them:
”Lei, what happened to you? You didn't explain clearly over the phone, I'm so worried …”
Seeing that Lina was fine, I heaved a sigh of relief. The tensed feeling had finally dissipated, and I could only feel my brain buzzing.
”You look so terrible. Why don't you hurry up and go to sleep?” Lina supported me.
”No... I have something to tell you. I'll go wash my face first. ”
I told Lina to make me a pot of coffee and went into the bathroom.
His head hurt.
As soon as the tap was turned on, hot water flowed down and the bathroom quickly became steamy. I was so tired that I pinched a towel and wiped my face.
It was almost dusk when he came out of the bathroom. The golden rays of the setting sun shone through the windows. The radio was playing Elvis's Follow That Dream, and the room was filled with the aroma of coffee.
~ whenadreamiscallingyou,
There sjustonethingthatyoucano.
Is this my home? I suddenly felt safe.
From the living room came the sound of a television.
”Lina?” I called.
No one answered.
I walked toward the living room and saw Lina sitting on the sofa with her back to me. The five o'clock cooking show was on TV. She seemed to be concentrating on the TV.
”Lina?”
”Hiss — — Hiss” The sound of chewing came from the sofa. Lina was stealing snacks again.
I walked over to the back of the sofa and gave her a gentle push. She slipped off the sofa.
A strange baby with two heads and four hands, whose entire face was filled with eyes, was lying on Lina's body, gnawing at her innards.
Lina's stomach was a mess of blood and gore, and blood was trickling down from her thighs to the carpet.
”No!” I was so shocked that I took two steps back before I turned around and picked up the gun on the table.
”You monster! Leave Lina! ”Monster!”
”Lei, are you going to kill our child?”
Lina's eyes were empty, she tilted her head and said to me.
”It's just hungry, hee hee.”
The thing wiped the blood from its mouth and crawled toward me.
I stepped back into the hallway.
”Don't come over here...” I screamed in despair.
”Father.” A voice came from behind me. I turned my head, and the other creature with two heads and four feet was behind me, leaning against my shoulder and saying, ”I'm so hungry, Dad.”
”Don't touch me!” I threw it away in fright and retreated deeper into the corridor.
The third, the fourth, came out of the darkness.
”Dad, dad, you don't want us anymore?”
That monster with a head on each head, waving its little lotus root like hands, both faces looking at me at the same time.
I was on the verge of breaking down, holding the gun to my temple.
Maybe if I die, it will all be over.
The monster crawled slowly towards me on the ground, two faces, four eyes looking at me at the same time, one smiling, one crying.
”... Anfey Bina has two faces and lies as many times as the truth …
Anfey Bina has two heads, one wants to head east and the other wants to head west … ”
Suddenly, I started talking to myself.
Is this a poem? So familiar, I seem to have heard of someone saying …
Who is it …
Vadoma!
Vadoma's name exploded in my mind like a bolt of lightning, causing me to stumble and almost fall.
This is not real! It's not real!
In an instant, I remembered how I moved into the Joshua Tower, how I met Maria and Alpha, the taxi driver in the afternoon, and how Lina called me.
I'm in a dream. I suddenly realized.
It's fine, I just need to wake up. I started to pinch my face and slap myself.
”Wake up, wake up.” I said to myself, rubbing my eyes.
The deformed babies were still in front of me. The first one had crawled up beside me, reaching out with a pink hand to grab the bottom of my pants.