Day 14| Part III

I don't know how we were not seen by the monk in the subway. Of course we were hiding as much as possible, but Sebastian's hair was able to get attention of someone on the other side of the world. The backpack he was carrying also didn't help.

"Sebastian leave this thing behind!" I almost shouted.

"No! There are useful stuff in here" He said.

"Like what?"

"Water, and... food. Don't look at me like that. I think it's very useful."

I had to turn to the other side to hide the smile that came to my lips. Why the hell that was happening?

We saw more and more stations passing by through our window; each one exactly like the other. It was funny to see the kids poking their parents to ask if the monk was an actor or something. Funnier were the silly jokes that Sebastian made me listen all way long.

"What kind of car does Mickey Mouse's wife drive? ... A minnie van!"

He leaned back in his chair to laugh.

"Ppffff I don't know what is worse: the joke or its teller." I beamed.

Another wave of laugh came from his mouth. Okay, perhaps my body couldn't contain it any longer. His laughter filled me with joy.

•••

I suddenly felt Sebastian's hand on my thigh. I stayed still without breathing until his head actually turned to me. "Time to leave the train"

"Y-yes?"

"Why are you stammering?" He frowned.

"Nothing" I got up quickly, his hands slid away, and we both followed the flow of people.

The man bent corners and more corners, and increasingly the landscape became more and more ... poor. I was thinking of "dirty" or "abandoned", but those streets were not exactly like that. They were only poor. People were no longer on new shoes and dogs were no longer boasting pink collars.

I had no idea of what part of town we were. The only thing preventing me from panicking was Sebastian's presence. I seemed to receive the strength from his eyes, the courage from the contact of his hands.

The man disappeared up a flight of stairs.

"You go first." I hinted.

"Of course" He began walking. Each of his steps were full of mystery, like scenes of a type of movie I don't like watching.

I blinked my eyes several times to focus on the view from the top of the staircase. It was a crowded slum with sprayed walls. Sebastian looked at me and continued walking looking for the Buddhist Arian. And suddenly we were rudely forced to stop by two huge weapons against with our tummies.

"Oops Oops, who are you?" The owner of the left gun asked.

I don't know how but I turned to see if Sebastian was going to answer or I would have to do something. I saw his brain working in an incredible speed, like a machine activated by light.

His eyes narrowed slightly to face the opponent more coolly. "We are fugitives."

"Fugitives of where?" The guy with the right weapon asked.

"Oxygen"

They immediately held back the weapons smiling.

"Right choice. Welcome"

I certainly wouldn't had left that spot if Sebastian hadn't pulled me.

"That was good, give me congratulations." He said.

I let out a breath while opening a smile. "Congratulations"

We dispersed in the middle of those people, that, by the way, had changed a lot since the staircase. They didn't seem to be underfed like the customers of the Soup House, or poor like the ones from the street before. These were strong, stained and beautiful. I could totally call them powerful.

"Are you having the same feeling as I, Angelina?"

"I think so..."

"Fuck! Look at that!"

It was a woman, hanging clothes on a clothesline with at least 20 meters height. Without anything holding her on ground.

"They LITERALLY DON'T HIDE" Sebastian passed a nervous hand through his hair.

      "It means everyone here is like us?"

"Yeah, I think the guards over there secure that."

"How didn't the government realize it yet?"

"I don't know. I just ask myself why the hell these people are here."

We both had questions without answers so we watched the woman. She flew, hung a sweater here, a panty there... and came back to ground smoothly. Sebastian turned his head to me and then back to the woman. I knew what he wanted to do.

"Hm- excuse me, lady," he said. "you shouldn't be using your powers like that."

"Well what else are they here for if not to use?" The woman spoke. Sebastian widened his eyes a little bit and looked at me. I just blinked.

We went down through the narrow streets, always looking behind our shoulders to see if the guards realized we had lied or something. But they didn't come, and as time passed, it became more difficult to find us. The streetlights painted everything yellow and more people showed up from their houses to enjoy the night.

A little boy bumped into my legs. He looked up, gasped and continued running; then a little girl bypassed us too, but then she stopped. "Sorry, he is shy sometimes." - and she continued running after him.

I beamed with the thought that those kids, all the kids from that place, had this opportunity of running together and never getting lost. Different than me, they knew who they were and where they belonged.

I turned to see Sebastian. He was a few feet from me, in the middle of a little crowd watching a man do stunts with fire.

"Impressive" I approached him.

"Yep"

"Do you think all people who do the same thing in talent shows are Arians too?" I twisted my nose.

Sebastian chucked and slipped his hand down my forearm until his fingers got tangled with mine.

It was like if every butterfly in the world had migrated to my stomach.

The man had gotten a tube releaser of yellow smoke from a woman who was selling toons of them. He looked up and spat a flaming fire so big it almost reached the lamp attached to the wall next to him. The smoke mingled with the fire. The crowd clapped, but we had no hands to do the same.

•••

"Someone is staring at us." Sebastian whispered only loud enough for me to hear.

"Where?" I asked nervously. My heart had switched to another type of pace.

"That man- wait- is he the monk?"

I could also recognize the Buddhist monk. It was just ignore the fact that he was now wearing jeans. What a weird monk.

"He's not a monk!" Sebastian shouted, going in the man's direction without hesitation. I tried to pull his arm back but he was too much stronger than me.

The monk speedily turned around and ran. He ran.

"Son of a bitch"

"No! Come back! Sebastian!"

I ran after them bumping on people, boxes and dogs. I had no idea of what was going on but couldn't let myself behind without Sebastian.

The ex-monk took us to a darker part of the village, where no living soul dared to go and the graffiti on the walls seemed to be there for ages. I stopped when Sebastian did, and we both looked at the place the man last showed himself.

But the man was no longer the monk. There is no sense in what I am going to say now, but inside the same jeans as the monk, was standing Damon Collins.