‘What do you mean? Are they from Mars?’ Vic asked seriously.
‘Of course, no, they aren’t. I took them from the place, as you like calling it – hell. We have such flowers there. There are no such on the earth and it’s hardly they’re gonna be.’
‘The flowers from hell. Form the demon. Kharon, am I ok?’ the girl confusingly looked at her companion.
‘Absolutely. You believe in my existence, but you don’t believe in the world where I live, and such flowers can be? You’re so strange.’
‘Strange is better than insane. You see, that’s you and you know yourself all your entire life, you’re not surprised with yourself. And I’ve known different things all my life. I’ve been grown up like an atheist for my 20 years as well as sceptic and materialist. I’ve been laughing at others who believe for 20 years. My mother is resuscitation specialist. She will never believe that a dead body has a soul and it goes somewhere to travel. Of course, I feel stupid when you appear.’
‘I always had fun at the way people react to my appearance. I’m something unusual in their lives. But I don’t usually need to prove them anything. It’s different with you… I’m in your world with you, in your life… in reality.’
They were walking along the Stariy Arabat, hands in hands. They were like other millions over the world, they weren’t different. The demon in the shape of a man stayed unnoticed as the girl with her sold soul.
Kharon examined the world having no tiredness. He observed people doing that or this, dressing, combing, what bags and jewellers they had. He had been building the picture, immersing himself into a human life, trying to understand what social cell he needed to get to be comfortable.
Victoria was thinking of his warm hand, his fingers between hers, how pleasantly his thumb was gently and rhythmically touching her index finger and how pleasantly his finger could have been touching her body…
The demon smiled as he heard the girl’s thoughts. He liked the things she imagined, and he looked forward to having all those spilled out of her mind into reality.
‘Kharon,’ suddenly the girl stopped. ‘I gotta tell you something. Yesterday when you left, I saw a girl be killed…’
‘Are you speaking about your vision? I’ve seen everything already through your memories and eyes that happened to you yesterday.’
‘Then you have to know what it was.’
‘It was a vision of a past.’ Kharon shrugged his shoulders.
‘Do you think it’s ok?’ Vic couldn’t understand imperturbable calmness of the man.
‘Yes, it is. I see the same every day.’
‘Kharon,’ Victoria pressed to him, trying to get to his ear. ‘What if I tell you that it is not ok to see any past in vision for people? We can’t see past, present and future… We have no visions.’
‘What if I tell you,’ Kharon stooped to her ear and whispered in the same way as she did, ‘that you can’t know everything that happens to other people? The thing that you think normal or abnormal, happens to you, can happen to others and they’re ok with it.’
Victoria was looking at his amber-brown eyes and getting him right. Kharon tried to explain in a veil way that that hadn’t been the worst thing that could happen to witches. But he didn’t want to tell her who she was. He didn’t want to explain that the dying old woman managed to give Vic her gift under Lucifer’s pressure.
‘Have I calmed you down?’
‘Yes.’
‘Do you want to see my flat?’ he smiled. ‘I’ve concluded the agreement already… wait… Agreement of accommodation leasing for two years.’
‘What an awkward hint.’ Victoria couldn’t help smiling. ‘Then you ask me for tea?’
‘Yeah, I can. I have tea. And coffee as I remember.’ Kharon was confused.
He was serious and even offended a little bit with the girl’s mocks and he tried not to look at her. Then Victoria understood that “wanna see my flat” meant to see his flat and nothing more. It never occurred him to blow the girl’s mind with the help of such terrible human step to get her into bed.
‘Let’s go.’ Victoria felt stupid again.
How could that be? Even the demon of sex sometimes thought of something else except sex and people were always thinking of it. They also tried to hang their desires on others.
‘Why did you act so strange?’ Kharon asked.
‘Nothing, don’t pay attention to.’ The girl answered by a quick smile.
The demon stopped again and carefully looked at Vic’s face.
‘I’ve been like a young fellow, haven’t I?’ he asked in surprise.
‘Kharon, stop poking into my mind.’ Vic got more ashamed.
‘No, dear, explain it to me!’ he insisted. ‘I’m gonna be on earth for a long time. I have to know all not to look like a young fellow!’
‘Usually when a guy offered a girl to see his apartments, it means that most likely he wants to show only his bed and himself in doing. These are stereotypes. I’ve never met and heard anyone who really wants to show only his flat.’
‘Oh,’ Kharon looked aside. ‘Did you really think that I suggested you get lain? Do I really look like a failure in your opinion?’
He was still smiling, embracing the girl, biting off her parts with his unbelievable eyes. She seemed to be going to blow up because of confusion.
‘Kharon…’
‘What?’
He was looking at the red-haired sun in his arms. Yes, he liked her definitely. He observed her nice smile and her smiling freckles. Her eyes. How much true happiness was there! The ocean of life. The demon heard her heart beating, filling with her beloved man’s energy. Kharon couldn’t believe were people really capable of being in love with someone else so much than themselves?
‘You’ve embarrassed me.’
‘Well here I’ve got some achievement at least! I almost got upset that I’m not your emotional experience.’
‘You know about emotions better than me.’
‘True. But first you have your crazy desire to touch my body, feel my lips on yours and you want me to undo my next button on the shirt, squeeze stronger your hand and all the other things in your heads… and the second thing is your behaviour in reality… you’re like two absolutely different people. You reject me and run away… I’ve started mistrusting my own powers to read correctly your mind. Tell me, dear, do I understand you right? Am I reading your mind correct?’
‘People are looking at us,’ Victoria whispered and didn’t let his hands get through where they wanted to.
Kharon stepped back. Victoria smiled, the passion flame was burning inside her, and the demon couldn’t read it wrong. He perfectly understood everything, but he didn’t understand the girl behave in such a strange way. Now it was people.
‘Why are they looking at us? Don’t they do the same?’ Kharon surprised, having taken the girl’s hand, kept on their way to the Manezhnaya Square.
‘They do. They sometimes do worse things. As a rule, they exculpate themselves, why they can do this and why we can’t.’
‘Do you always eat out of people’s hands?’
‘No. I don’t. I just don’t like people looking at us.’
‘Can you imagine how strong they hate us kissing in such a beautiful evening among the old narrow streets of Moscow? Maybe many of them want to get the same…’
‘Maybe.’ Victoria was adamant. ‘But many of them are