The 'Cluster' LINKS.

Journeys of the Mind, (C)1994-2004 A. Alexander Volenski

Chapter 5, unedited excerpts
Location: Monte Carlo
Characters: Stilly and Harry.
Time: Spring/Summer.

The Meeting

  The early evening sky of Monte Carlo was unusually deep blue with a
tint of amethyst, no moon.  The sun would set itself in an hour or so,
the air was warm and the sea tranquil and very dark.  The city below 
quietly showed itself in contrast, seeming out of place to the meadow
of the villas where green grass and dandelions grew so peacefully nearby.
Swallows were in the sky everywhere, all was very pleasant, and as one
breathed the air it was comforting and fresh; this was an evening one
would like to have always...
  Stilly walked upon the grass in her bare feet, its coolness titteringly
gliding between her toes, and as she strolled she glanced at the villa
below.  The lawn was soft in a sensuous and earthy way, she was alone in
a mild mood uncluttered.  Stilly let her mind relax and seize as it 
absorbed the pristine abstracts of the evening with its slanting shades;
plush and filling with shadowy glow.  She felt elated inspired fulfilled,
at peace and complete.
  Pausing for a moment and looking down and across the lawn, someone was
also walking in the evening coolness.  It was a man, and as she looked closely,
suddenly she realized it was him, the one whom she was searching, but he
did not know she was there, and she smiled silently to herself...
  Harry stepped off the stone path and onto the grass, he also was bare
footed, and as he walked he did not see her.  Harry was totally occupied
by his thoughts and surroundings, as if the natural atmosphere of the
evening were all that existed.  "Very remote this place," he thought,
and as he walked he reflected how quietly the evening and meadow presented
itself.  He thought of what he saw, shrubs trees flowers, lawn colors-green,
so many different shades of green flourishing between grass and shrub,
leaf and flower.  Dark and light tones of green combined here and there
with colored flora, filtered tinted shades too, all alluding and working
the imagination, asking to be identified within pigment bloom.  Harry
reflected though, of how this all would change in the autumn, and he took
a deep breath, fresh sure touching inner self, and he wished these surrounds
had no autumn, for the harmony and compatibility encircling him seemed
so complete; he too was at peace.
  Gazing up, the sky showed some purple, some blue, no cover of cloud,
no moon, it would come soon the moon, Swallows sailing in the air, other
birds in the trees and bushes, their sound coming in waves of innocence
expressing and sharing the pleasure of natures melodic overtures at eventide.
Rocks below the grass, Harry could feel on the soles of his unclad feet,
and as he walked the short grass pushed up between his toes, cool almost
moist, very virile, potent, it seemed to him.  Loveable dirt of earth which
grows all, touches all, holds all, as it circulates embracing the impressive,
awesome, inviting character of conception.
  Harry scanned the tree line, it was very level he noticed, and as he looked
across the lawn he saw her, a woman standing alone, and instantly he knew
she was 'The Geneva Lady'.  Harry turned in her direction, she was looking
toward him too.  As he focused, many thoughts and wonders about her spun
within his searching mind, and with them came an uncontrolled smile, a
little laughter, as aroused excitement filtered through him; it was that
wide minded feeling of warmth and knowing which comes when you find someone
or something you've been seeking.
  Stilly slowly walked in his direction, there was some distance between
them so it seemed to take an eternity, and she wondered how he would really
be.  Walking up to her, Harry reached out his hand as she reached and took
his, they stood there for a moment in silence just looking to each other,
and then Harry said, "we've finally met," and Stilly answered, "yes, my man
of dream."  They embraced each other with absorbing affection, arms holding,
bodies touching, unrestricted freedom clinging in the moment, and warm
the passions they could feel beginning to surge, like a warm sensation of
delight on naked skin in the night; so radiated desire and passion between
these two.  After their embrace, they stood looking to each other and felt
a strong physical attraction still issuing between them, and with it the
awareness of a strong inner passion and trust, the kind of trust one
would find between two who knew each other very well.  Eyes searched eyes,
mind and feeling searched mind and feeling and seemed to fly swirl-twirl
as though these coupled minutes they first shared were removed from the
world of which they both were born...
  Then Stilly spoke, "there is much for us to talk about, and a lot I
would like to know about you."  Harry nodded, "the same is true with me for 
you."  'Is that your villa?" she asked.  "Yes, it's mine...quite a surprise
to find you here, it is hard to believe,' Harry answered.  Stilly was
silent and thinking, then she spoke, "Isaac Newton, do you know him?"
Harry nodded and replied, "yes, I've known him a long time."  Then smiling
back, Stilly explained, "he's an old friend of my father, I always have
him arrange a place for me when I'm here...Isaac knows how I like things
done."  Harry listened intently, and then moving his feet a little, he
relaxed and reasoned that their meeting here was probably a coincidence
after all, then he laughed a little trying to relieve the query he felt
and said, "I met Isaac at a Casino many years ago, we've been friends
ever since that time, I trust him and he too takes care of my accounts
when I'm here."  Then Stilly understood that this man was a man that was
cautious of those he first met, which she knew to be true of many people.
She would not dwell on this and moved on, asking, "would you like to come
over to my place for a drink?"  Harry responded, "please lead the way."
  Walking across the grass for a ways, neither spoke, their minds were
moving very rapidly, first impressions attempting to establish rapport,
understanding, harmony.  As they neared the villa, Stilly paused a moment
and stopped.  And Harry turned toward her as she asked, "do you find me
attractive?"  Harry looked into her eyes, and after thinking a moment,
he answered, "yes, very attractive and desirable."  Smiling and touching
Harry's cheek with her fingers, she replied, "I find you very handsome,
but there's more to why I've pursued you."  Then they continued toward the
villa and as they walked up its entrance, Harry noticed her bare feet
and grinned at the notion, that if they had something in common at the
start, who would have guessed what it would be, namely, walking bare footed.
  Entering the villa, Stilly went over to the bar, "what should we have,"
she asked.  Harry glanced in her direction and answered, "well the last
drink I had today was a martini, how about going with that?"  "Martini's
it is, gin or vodka?"  "Vodka," Harry answered...  Then taking a seat at
the bar, Harry looked around the villa, small and spacious, quite different
from his, and then he saw the staircase.  "A circular staircase, very
unique," he commented.  "That's why I leased this place, just for the
staircase," and walking from behind the bar with their drinks, Stilly
continued speaking, "come on...let's sit outside on the lawn chairs."
Taking his drink, Harry followed through the glass sliding doors.
  The sun had set, it was still warm, very nice night approaching, the
city lights below reflected up to them, and he wondered how it would be
with the two of them.  Settling into the chairs next to a table, they
were silent for a while, and then Harry spoke, "you know, we haven't
introduced ourselves, I'm Harold Locke, call me Harry."  Stilly smiled
and was silent, then she responded, "I'm Stilly Snow, and I've heard your
name mentioned at the Casino's here in Monte Carlo...your a known Gambler,
'KG' as they put it, someone with a reputation too, they say Harry Locke
is 'hard nosed' a cautious player, 'a punter' with a bundle."  Harry
laughed, and then commented, "I had no idea that's how they rated me
(referring to the gambling cartel), I don't really see myself that way
at all...I just play my own odds."
  Stilly drank some of her martini, and then responded, "I like the sound
of that, about the 'odds' that is, and how are our odds...you and me Harry,
what do you think?"  "I would say they're looking very good," Harry remarked,
"but let's leave it at that, tell me Stilly, why me, and how did we arrive
here where we are now?"  "Oh, just say it was something I dreamed up,"
Stilly acknowledged, laughing lightly.
  She was a very pleasant woman with a quick mind, soft features, a giving
look in her eyes, clear voice, the kind of voice which had a pulling sweet 
tone, but Harry still wondered if she was sincere or was she something
else.  Setting her glass on the table, Stilly asked, "do you dream?"
Harry lifted his eye brows and answered, "yes, but not to often, I prefer
not to call them dreams, to me they are 'events', reflections and maybe
projections of what I'm about; and some are very real."
  Stilly sensed caution again in Harry with questionable thoughts toward
her, so she began to try and break through these new barriers that were
forming, and try to establish a positive firm footing for their relationship
to grow upon.  She decided to open up and explain, "believe it or not,
I dream or have 'events' all the time, always have, and about three months
ago I started dreaming of you...the more dreams I had, the clearer you became,
then I happened to find you that day in Geneva, I never imagined meeting
you in the real."
  Harry drank some of his martini as he listened and Stilly continued,
"yet, there you were, so I stopped and came over to really meet you, and
that is why I gave the napkin with the drawn half-heart to you...since
that day many things have come to light, and a lot of it I haven't figured
out, but now that we have met again, maybe there will be answers...I hope
everything will be known."
  There was a truthful expression in the way she explained herself, she
was convincing, and Harry couldn't help but believe everything she said
was the truth.  The martini tasted smooth/good as he finished it off,
and he knew Stilly wouldn't be easy to forget as time went on.  He also
felt as though he knew her very well, yet didn't know where, how or why.
"You know what I need is something to eat, how about letting me take you
to dinner," he asked.
  Stilly leaned to the right in her chair, and then answered, "let me
fix it, come in the kitchen, let's broil some T-bones (steaks) and make
a splendid meal."  Harry lifted his eye brows and nodded his head, "T-bones
sound good, lead the way."
  There is a fine line of thought when a woman meets a man, a course that
she travels upon which seems easy at first, yet as time goes by it can
become increasingly difficult.  A sort of waving plane in thought, one
that moves in many different directions, and Stilly knew that together,
Harry and herself, must travel that lane.  She would go wherever he went
and he would go wherever she led, and together they would experience a
kind of simultaneous kissing of mind, a blending together as time itself
ran with their pattern.  A pattern, a journey, a place unspoken, a place
known and usually not mentioned, a passageway, an avenue, a lane, which
either could veer from at any moment, but Stilly and Harry would not veer
from the progression, for the draw between them was too great.  Walking
into the kitchen Stilly began to reason, trying to interpret her inner
emotions which came in a panorama of expressions with many things abounding
at the same time, for her mind moved quickly.  There were happy positive
thoughts as her joy of heart was gathering in momentum, and she would try
to keep her thoughts going in ways that wouldn't fog the inner self; that
innateness and natural self she was born to see.
  Come and let him be part of the forgotten place in my being, and give
us trueness, a closeness, even though our human nature may frustrate it
because of the monetary world that surrounds us.  A world that we must 
learn to be in control of and not controlled by, and let our identites
blend (bridge-with) and become powerful together.
  Stilly continued her thought, 'what is the gift of time, if the dream
can be and is not there.'  Will he, this man in time, speak, and will he
bring into this life that which is his and also mine.  Will he open himself
to that which is not the present, that which is stored away or perhaps hidden,
as though it were a secret for only him to learn; and does he know the
real design is a twosome?  'Be that what you will,' she thought, and give
that which you must, and see if this man is the one whom you really seek.
  ...The collective memory, like a free wandering horse whose pursuits
and turns carry it wherever its will wishes to go, roaming and running
through the expanse of times endless canyon, planes and valleys.  One
remembered thought follows the other, as one hoof follows the other in a 
cadence of its own being, never faltering or wavering from the course
it freely pursues.
  Memory, thirsting and hungering as it does, rides the open meadow of
the mind, and like the mare and stallion, it continues to read the interpretation
of its nature, which is necessary in order to survive.  The horse with
its beauty, rides through any portal of time, over and through any dangerous
divide, on and on through wind and rain the animal bred to survive continues,
as memory itself continues traveling as it does, across the full range
of existence.
  Like a walker from one dangerous thought to the other, from one grand
oddity to the other, from one love to love, memory and horse both ride
together within the other in a metaphor fashion, each unique yet separate,
as separate must be.  Fearless and driven by relentless demands, the
stallion goes on, through darkness and battle, through weather and cold,
through hardships and plenty, its spirit strong and sustaining, a spirit
formed and born to live freely, just as memory must do.
  Memory, the companion of the spirit, journeys with us wherever we may go,
recording, relaying, and accumulating all that takes place.  Climb the
wind and see the sharp edges of thyself, sweep along the drifing moment
and incline toward the future, rise and tumble as within a dream, and 
settle so slightly upon the present domain.
  The spirited self rises and flies, settles and rests, and speaks to
one's innate in a silent way.  Look and see the distant shapes, like misty
outlined clouds in pyramid form, lift thy head and look into the blue sky
teeming within its sapphire hue, and see and learn to understand who and
whom you are, listen to the surrounds of nature, notice the moon and know
where you are, and ask yourself in the silence, why you are where you are,
and then simply listen and see.
  The spirit moves on leaving no trace, only time and the pattern of living
leaves a trace, yet if you look and observe, you'll find 'memory' is like
a pathway which is traveled extensively, one made to be seen and found,
if only we look its way.

  [Stilly & Harry had a beautiful evening and dinner, they talked, and
also did kiss a little, and there was also the mention of the dream lady
Melody...Melody Snow, who both of them had dreamt of, yet neither knew;
however Melody knew of them...what was the connection?  And at that point
we move here into the next morning...keep in mind that Stilly's and Harry's
villa's (which I haven't mention here) are both located next to each other
within a large estate that is high on the mountain area above Monte Carlo.]

  ...Awaking, Stilly opened her eyes and rolled over to look at the clock,
it was going on 11:00am the night had passed quickly, 'guess it's going
to be lunch,' she thought.  As she dressed she recalled what Melody had
said in the dream (last night) about the island of Ibiza.  Ibiza, meant
something, and also was linked to Melody.  Stilly now knew that things 
were set in motion.  After dressing, she self her villa and walked across
the lawn and down to Harry's place.
  'Another beautiful day,' she thought, and stepping through the door
at Harry's home, she wondered what his villa would be like, and whether
he was already up.  Walking into the living room, the first thing she
noticed was the wall of books, and then looking to her left she saw Harry
standing near the bar with a drink in his hand.  He put down his glass
and walked over to her, and they embraced very long and warmly.
  "Welcome to my home," he said.  "And good morning to you my sweet man,"
Stilly responded, as they walked arm in arm over to the bar, and Harry
asked, "can I get you a drink?"  "What are you having?" she asked.  
"Bacardi."  "I'll have one too, guess I'm a little late for breakfast,"
Stilly commented as she sat down on one of the bar stools.  "I've only
been up a little while, after that delicious dinner last night I'm not
very hungry, at least for now...shall we pass on breakfast," Harry asked
as he joined her at the bar.  Looking around the villa, Stilly nodded
and answered, "that's fine with me, I'm not hungry either...this is really
some place.  I've never seen so many books, who lives here anyway?"
Leaning against the bar, Harry looked around the room and then back to 
Stilly and replied, "Isaac told me the owner was a writer...that's the
reason for all these books."  "Speaking of Isaac, I think we should call
him."  "What do you have in mind," Harry asked, as he tilted his glass
back finishing his drink.  Stilly looked to Harry, and getting his attention
asked, "have you ever been to Ibiza, or have you heard of the island lately?"
Harry moved his eyes toward the floor and then up toward the other end
of the room and answered, "yes I have, fact is, last night I heard it
from Melody...she suggested you and I go to the island...did you get the
same message?"  "Yes, something about a white beach house, I think a 
private beach, do you think Isaac can find such a place for us?"  "I don't
know, let's give him a call and see what he says, besides, if he can't, 
at least we have the white beach house as a clue."
  Harry placed the call and put it on the phone intercom at the end of the
bar near to where they were.  They heard the call go through and waited,
finally there was an answer on the other end.  "Isaac Newton here, what 
can I do for you."  "Isaac, this is Harry Locke, and I'm with Stilly Snow,
you know she's my neighbor."  "Yes, yes Harry, I know who you mean."
Then Stilly spoke, "hi Isaac, this is Stilly, we're at Harry's on the open
phone, can you do us a favor?"  "Sure Stilly, anything for two good friends,
what is it?"  "We'd like to go over to Ibiza, for a week or longer, can
you fix us up with a white beach house, secluded, private beach?"  "Just
a minute, I'll check the computer and see what we have listed there...Ibiza,
let's see...there are only a few villas and one is white, your both lucky,
very nice with private beach, do you want me to book it for you?"  Harry
looked at Stilly and laughed, and then said, "tell you what Isaac, secure
it with car and food, the regular you know, and we'll be there in the next
day or so...make it out on an account under both our names."  Then Stilly
responded, "that's right Isaac, make it out to Stilly and Harry."  "Okay
it's done, when you get there contact Dominique at Ibiza Travels, she
will make sure everything is taken care of...glad I could help you both,
and enjoy yourselves."  "Thanks Isaac, we'll be in touch," Harry said,
ending the call.
  After they hung up the phone, Stilly and Harry both laughed, "you can
always depend on Isaac Newton," Harry commented, and Stilly agreeing,
leaned over and gave Harry a kiss.  Then they called a private airline
and chartered a plane that would take them to the island the next day.
Now it was just a matter of enjoying the afternoon and evening, packing
a few things, and tomorrow off to Ibiza.

~

[Okay...next, chapter 6, Ibiza;
please note, this text is yet to be proof read.]

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