"Well I love my baby, tell the world I do
Give me little love darlin', and make my dreams come true"  

Donald Cammell knew right away something was amiss, when Brian appeared on the doorstep off his Paris flat. It was unusual to see the guitarist with messed up hair and thrown on clothes, when he loved to dress up more than anything else. Donald starred at the other male at least for 5 full minutes, before he managed to blink. Brian was rambling and obviously raving about something that had upset him, while holding on to a teacup. It was so surreal that Donald thought at first it had to be an illusion. As far as he knew he and the others were still supposed to be in Morocco. Deborah had returned earlier after some trouble in Spain and hadn't gone with them the full way, but Keith, Tom and Anita must have... Donald knew Brian had fallen ill along the way, but he had been better again... so what was this now?

It took him long to figure out what was wrong and even when he knew, Donald didn't understand. If Brian had been upset about the betrayal of Keith and Anita, it would have been understandable, but instead the guitarist seemed hardly fazed about that. At one point Donald could have sworn Brian had said something like "to hell with Anita, I don't care" and then started rambling about 1978 again and a hotel maid that might or might not exist or might or might not be a Djinn. 

In summary it was insane, but in a way relieving too. 

Brian hated being alone and Donald suspected that abandoning him all on his own, even stealing his things would have destroyed the sensitive man. Brian wouldn't have been able to recover easily and he would have headed for a very dark path and now though that the guitarist was obviously not his usual self, Donald could see hope in his eyes. Whatever trip Brian had been on, had helped him move past the pain and look ahead to a brighter future. There was just one thing that worried him; Brian's obsession with the maid.

"I need to find her... even if she's a demon and only wants to trick me... She- she made me feel better and I just want to feel good, you know?"

Donald understood his point, but contrary to Gysin he didn't think she was a demon or a Djinn, but only an imagination of Brian's mind, which seemed even worse, because it meant for his friend he could never met or see her again. How peculiar, he thought, that he felt sad at the thought that Brian could never met an imagination, when the man had just recently lost his in real life girlfriend. Maybe that was why Gysin came up with the demon thing- not only made it a better story than Brian being high and dreaming the whole thing- it was less sad too... and maybe just maybe she was real and they indeed met each other again. 

It would have been a nice end for a story, but life wasn't a story and it hardly ever wrote nice ends. 

Brian went back to Morocco and though he never said it, everyone knew it was to look for her and how pointless his search was, but the guitarist didn't want to give up. He needed to thank her... he earned her that much. Vivi had helped him out at one of his lowest points and had directed him into the right direction once more. He felt better than he had in years, though one thing haunted him; Her.

Maybe Brion was right and she was indeed a demon that had put him under his spell. It hardly passed a day when Brian wasn't reminded of her... and her teacup on his nightstand probably wasn't helping to forget either, but he needed it to remember what he really wanted to do. His dream was the music, not the Stones, fame, money or some girl. 

Yet Brian wasn't happy, he was less miserable, but not happy. Self doubt, loneliness and their brothers always found their way back and tortured him. He then was always reminded of Vivi's words; Are we ever truly happy? and his heart felt even heavier. Maybe it was stupid and insane to cling to somebody he had met in a dream- or whatever it had been, but he wanted to hold onto it no matter what. 

He heard what the others called him; obsessed, paranoid, a liability and maybe they were right, but Brian believed in a deeper meaning in their meeting... even if it might have truly meant he was only bewitched... or that she wasn't real and he had imagined her to feel better... 

For two years he looked for her with hopeful eyes, only to return with crushed dreams, and in turn he crushed her teacup and canceled another trip to Morocco, though he really enjoyed the country and to record the indigenous music. Music was his dream after all, wasn't it? But how could he focus on it, when she haunted him? Brian needed to let go and start over anew, that was what she had told him after all...

The moment he set a foot on Cotchford Farm, he knew he had found a place he might be able to. There were places in this world that had magic and where one could lose himself  in different worlds. It was easy to tell where the author of the Winnie-the-Pooh books, to whom the house had belonged before, had found its inspiration. The forest spoke of mysteries and the air smelt of adventures.  The house felt so welcoming that though Brian had planned to primarily use it as a weekend house had moved in permanently soon after he had bought it. 

Yet it wasn't only the atmosphere of the house he had fallen in love with, but the small village and its people too. Brian felt at home, free from the past and from Vivi. He couldn't deny her influence, but it no longer haunted him.... He was at peace.

At least Brian thought so, until one afternoon in early summer, when his past caught up with him once more. 

He was visiting his neighbour, Miss Hallet like he occasionally did. She was a nice lady whose family had lived next door since well forever and Brian had immediately liked her.

"Nice of you to visit me, Brian," she greeted him with a smile and he gladly returned it. "I hope you don't mind that my niece is staying with me for a while."

"No, no it's fine... I can return another time," he mumbled a bit shyly. 

"Just come in and have tea with us!" Miss Hallet laughed and nearly forced him inside his living room. As if he could have turned her down anyway... "And of course have some cake as well." especially when she offered cake.

"How could I say no then?" Brian laughed as he stepped into the living room, but soon forgot to breath for a second. 

She just looked like she had when he had last seen her and the glimmer in her light eyes as her smile told him she remembered him too. She was holding a tea kettle and Brian could have sworn her smile had grown. It made him shudder and out of reflex he took a step back. Why had she come back now, when he had found peace, he asked himself. Or maybe that was why she had come back and wanted now to claim his soul? 

"Brian what is wrong?" Miss Hallet interrupted his thoughts and surprisingly her worried voice manged to calm him a bit. She was the normal element in this bizarre scenario and Brian wondered if he had jumped to conclusions too quickly. After all she had told him that her niece was visiting, maybe this wasn't anything else than some strange case of luck.

There was only one thing, Brian was absolutely sure of after the next words.

"Would you like some tea to calm down? You know the right cup has helped many people before."

It was undoubtedly her;

Vivi.

*

Thank you for reading, voting and commenting!<3

P.S. And yes this is indeed the end!  And no I'm not going to write an epilogue, where I clear up who or what Vivi is or if Brian dies or not. Sorry, not this time. I'm mean and love opening endings. :P