All Sonic the Hedgehog and Knuckles the Echidna characters are copyrighted to Archie Comics, Sega, DiC, and whoever else that isn't me. Any original characters or plots belong to me.
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-TEL AVIV, AUTONOMOUS SOVIET REPUBLIC OF PALESTINE; UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS, 3255
"It's too hot!" Nick whined. "I think I can feel my fur sweating!"
"That's what you get for wearing winter clothes in the desert!" Naomi shot back, not feeling the least bit sorry for her brother. "I told you we were meeting Aeryn and Chris in Palestine!"
"You also told me to dress warmly for Russiya!" Nick retorted.
"Does this LOOK like Russiya to you?! No, this is Palestine! Meaning we're in Arabia, which is mostly desert. Now stop whining, you're giving everyone a headache."
Nick grumbled a bit and moodily stomped away. Naomi just shook her head at her departing brother. Truth be told, it WAS hot even though she was only wearing a tank top and a pair of shorts, along with her shoes and a pair of sunglasses. She rubbed the back of her hand against her forehead, wiping away the sweat. Even with her sunglasses Naomi still felt the hot Tel Aviv April sun beating down on her. She could see that the rest of her friends weren't doing that well either.
Nick was still whining and Lara-Su simply sat underneath an umbrella, trying to beat the heat by doing and saying as little as possible. Even the normally unflappable Thomas was obviously feeling the effects of the heat, his normally neat hair looked frazzled and misshapen. He wasn't even breathing so much as he was panting in the hot desert. Just when Naomi was about sure she was about to collapse, she spotted two figures heading towards them.
She was pretty sure it was a mirage until one of them was close enough to shake her out of her trance.
"Naomi?" She blinked.
"That you Aeryn?"
"Who else would it be? Forgive me if I'm prying, but why is your brother wearing a parka in the middle of Tel Aviv?"
"Let's just say he fell asleep during geography." Naomi said succinctly.
"I see." Aeryn said, trying not to laugh. "You didn't have to wait over here you know. We've been waiting at the train station for an hour. It's only three blocks from here."
Naomi winced. "What's the Russian word for 'oops?' " Aeryn just shrugged.
"It's as you say 'no biggie,' the train doesn't leave for another fifteen minutes. Come on, Christopher and I will help with your bags."
"Thanks." Naomi said. "Come on guys, let's get going!" The group picked up their belongings and marched over to the train station.
"Welcome to the Red Arrow Express." Aeryn said as they climbed aboard. "I chose to have us take a train in order for us to get a better look at the country as we go past. Planes just can't show the same kind of beauty and detail that trains can." Nick snorted.
"I bet someone was just afraid to go flying." He muttered sullenly, looking at Christopher who just flushed and moved away. Aeryn gave Nick a stern look that would have melted steel, but said nothing.
"We should arrive in Moscow by the Twenty-eighth."
"Three days." Naomi said. Aeryn nodded.
"It COULD go faster, but this particular train is for relaxation and sight-seeing, not just transportation." She explained. "I arranged for two compartments for the six of us. We should stow our bags there before the train starts moving."
Aeryn showed Naomi and Lara-Su their compartment while Christopher did the same with Thomas and Nick. After they put their stuff away, Aeryn was showing Naomi and Lara the observation car. It was mostly empty, save for one middle-aged mouse looking out the window. Naomi saw that Aeryn seemed to recognize him.
"Uncle Mordechai?" She asked.
"Aeryn?" The mouse answered back. "Gevalt! I didn't know you were in Tel Aviv."
"I'm picking up some friends. This is Princess Naomi of Mobotropolis and Lara-Su of the Floating Island."
"No kidding? You all going to Moscow?" He asked.
"Yes, we have some other friends who are around here somewhere."
"Is that kangaroo boy with you? The one than always hangs around with you?"
"Christopher? Yes, he's here. Why are you going to Moscow?"
"Not for the verkakte weather, I can tell you that. I just need to talk with your father about some things."
"Ah," Aeryn noticed the confused expressions on her friend's faces. "This is Mordechai Chaim Moyzl, President of the Autonomous Soviet Republic of Palestine. He's an old friend of my father and a former freedom fighter leader."
"You give an old man far too much credit." Mordechai said as he rolled his eyes.
"You were a freedom fighter?" Naomi asked, who for the life of her couldn't remember the name Mordechai Moyzl. He nodded.
"Years ago. I was with a little band of Jewish freedom fighters called the Frayovekh Freedom Fighters. I somehow ended up going along with Aeryn's father crazy idea of a revolution and the next thing I knew, I was sitting in an office in Tel Aviv. President no less! Oy, the headache this job has given me." He griped. It was Aeryn's turn to roll HER eyes.
"Oh please, you wouldn't trade 'this job' for anything." She retorted, amused. "Besides, none of your fellow freedom fighters wanted it."
"Can you blame them? Half my staff speaks Yiddish or Hebrew and the other half speaks Arabic. It's enough to drive anyone meshuggeh!" Aeryn said nothing, but simply raised an eyebrow.
"How is that any different from talking to your family?" She asked. To her friends she explained, "His sister married the leader of a band of Arab freedom fighters called the al-Buraq Freedom Fighters. He also happens to be President of the Democratic Republic of Arabia, meaning that he and Mordechai are brothers-in-law."
Mordechai snorted. "We're a crazy mixed up family. A fine metaphor for Palestine if ever there was one." Seeing Aeryn's critical gaze he shrugged. "I'm kidding. I love my brother-in-law like a--well, like a brother." He shrugged again. "Jews and Arabs have lived side by side for over five hundred years, and probably will continue to do so for another five hundred. In fact, one of the reasons I decided to go to Moscow myself instead of sending an envoy was to spend time with my nephew Ibrahim, who goes to school in Moscow."
"He's a classmate of mine." Aeryn said. "I hope to introduce him to Naomi and Lara."
"That's good." Mordechai said as he yawned. "Forgive me, I need to go lie down for a while. You kids go, enjoy your youth while you have it. Trust me, it goes all too quickly. Shalom, Aeryn."
"Shalom, Uncle Mordechai." Aeryn returned as he turned to leave.
"Interesting fellow, isn't he?" Lara commented after he left. "Is he actually your uncle? Or is it just a sign of familiarity?"
"Sign of familiarity." Aeryn answered. "He and my father are old comrades, not to mention that they're both Jews."
"I never knew that." Naomi mused. "Never heard of a Jewish overlander. Oh that's right, he's 'human,' whatever that is." She corrected herself.
"That's right." Aeryn nodded. She then pulled a thin necklace out from beneath her shirt, on it was an star. "This is a Magen David, Mordechai gave this to me at my Bat Mitzvah."
"Your what?" Naomi asked.
"I'll explain later." Aeryn sighed as she put the necklace back. "Any questions about Moscow or the USSR in general?"
"Is Palestine an autonomous republic for Jews or for Arabs?" Lara asked. "I thought that since Mordechai was president that it would be predominantly Jewish, but if so many people speak Arabic--"
"Palestine does have a lot of Jews living there, but there are a whole lot of Arabs who live beside them too. They've been getting along with each other for centuries, as Mordechai mentioned so its a moot issue. Any other questions?"
"Are we actually going to get to meet Mordechai's nephew in Moscow?"
"Hopefully we'll meet Ibrahim as well as Mordechai's son, David." Aeryn answered. "I know them both from school."
"That makes them cousins, right?" Lara asked.
"Da." Aeryn confirmed.
"Are they cute?" Naomi asked. Lara chuckled and Aeryn just shook her head.
"You people are incorrigible. I should only hope that neither one of you corrupt me with your decadent bourgeois ideas."
"Especially when it's your job to corrupt us with your Bolshevik ideas, right?" Naomi laughed. Aeryn nodded, not without a trace of irony.
"Quite right. We better go back and find out what the others are doing."
"Yeah, my brother's probably already driving poor Chris nuts." Naomi agreed.
"Of course if we go back, he'll drive us ALL nuts." Lara-Su pointed out.
"It's a risk, I know. But it comes with being a sister." Naomi sighed.
"Such I suppose, is life." Aeryn said wryly. "At any rate, dinner should be served relatively soon."
"Good, I hate traveling on an empty stomach." Lara-Su said.
"You hate doing ANYTHING on an empty stomach." Naomi reminded her.
"Your point?"
"Never mind. Let's just go get the boys." Naomi sighed as they got up and left.
"Say, Aeryn?"
"Yes Lara?"
"I was wondering...Why did you invite us now? I mean, what's so special about April?"
"Nothing actually, but May is another matter all together." Aeryn said. "Most of the major Soviet holidays happen in May."
"Oh? Like what?" Lara said, her interest perked.
"Well, you have to understand that we celebrate holidays from our history and from his world too. So there are some that reflect events in Mobian history, and some that reflect human history."
"Such as?" Naomi asked.
"Well let's see. We celebrate a LOT of Marxist holidays from my father's home world, Earth. For example: May 1 is International Labor Day, May 4 is the date of the Chinese Student Movement and the Haymarket Affair, May 5 is Karl Marx's birthday, May 7 is the anniversary of Dien Bien Phu's fall to the Viet Minh, May 9 is the anniversary of the old USSR's triumph over Nazi Germany, May 16 is the anniversary of the 1968 French general strike, May 19 is Ho Chi Minh's birthday, and May 25 is Marshal Tito's birthday."
"Yeesh, you weren't kidding about May being full of Soviet holidays."
"Yeah, May is Marxist Month." Lara-Su chimed in.
"When you add in Mobian Marxist holidays, the list grows longer." Aeryn agreed. "On Mobius, May 1 is the Anniversary of OUR revolution. This will be the Fifteenth Anniversary you'll be arriving for. May 5 is the founding of the Soviet Union, that is OUR Soviet Union, and May 9 is the anniversary of Robotnik's final defeat."
"We celebrate Robotnik's downfall too." Naomi said. "There are fireworks and celebrations that last for days." Aeryn nodded.
"It is much the same with us. And May 25 is someone else's birthday besides Marshal Tito's."
"Whose?"
"My father's. It isn't an official holiday, but that doesn't stop people from celebrating it. They just say they're celebrating Marshal Tito's birthday." Aeryn rolled her eyes and chuckled. "My father hates it that people celebrate his birthday, he isn't one for big ceremonies to celebrate himself."
"I don't know," Lara-Su said. "I think it'd be kind of nice to have all those people celebrating and having fun on account of MY birthday."
"Maybe, but you aren't my father." Aeryn noted.
"Well I should HOPE so!" Lara said in all seriousness. "That would be just plain weird, being someone you're not. I mean there are times when I don't quite feel like myself, but the rest of the time I'm me. You know what I mean?"
"No." Aeryn said bluntly. "Let's go eat before we dive into the realm of metaphysics and I, quite frankly, am not in the mood to argue in circles."
"I don't blame you." Naomi agreed. "Before we go to dinner, there's one last thing I'd like to know."
"Which is?"
"Just where will we be staying when we're in Moscow?" Aeryn blinked.
"Why, in the Kremlin of course. My parents agreed to put up with you in our apartment for a few days. It's no palace, but I think we'll manage."
"Oh." In all honesty, it never occurred to Naomi that she'd be spending a few nights under the same roof as the most powerful leader on Mobius, besides her mother anyway. She paused to think that over. From everything she had heard of Aeryn's mother and father, Nikolai Odezvan and Mira Wolf, they were the strangest couple on Mobius; A human revolutionary and a she-wolf who was no reactionary either. The rumors she heard placed them as either being a pair of courageous freedom fighters and lovers or a pair of ruthless demagogues and tyrants. "I'm sure this will be great." Naomi gushed, wishing she was half as confident as she sounded.
* * *
How's this for an opening chapter? I kick off the story and insert a little bit of cultural diversity while I'm at it. I've been meaning to write something about the Middle East for sometime now but could never find the time. So I decided to add in some of my feelings into my Sonic fics. Here's originality for you, how many Sonic stories talk about Jewish or Arabian Mobians? This is also a message of peace for the Middle East. Jews and Arabs, historical cousins, brothers, friends, sit down and talk peace. Sorry, I tend to get a bit political in my writing. Hence the message. Even I was a bit surprised at my decision to make Aeryn Jewish, but there you go. This isn't going to get religious, there isn't going to be any mention of Judaism or Islam; I'm strictly secular in my writing. I'm not here to kick up religious tensions. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this fic as Aeryn and Chris show their friends around the new Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. It's also a tour into different cultures and histories.
What can I say? I like to teach as I write. Enjoy!
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-TEL AVIV, AUTONOMOUS SOVIET REPUBLIC OF PALESTINE; UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS, 3255
"It's too hot!" Nick whined. "I think I can feel my fur sweating!"
"That's what you get for wearing winter clothes in the desert!" Naomi shot back, not feeling the least bit sorry for her brother. "I told you we were meeting Aeryn and Chris in Palestine!"
"You also told me to dress warmly for Russiya!" Nick retorted.
"Does this LOOK like Russiya to you?! No, this is Palestine! Meaning we're in Arabia, which is mostly desert. Now stop whining, you're giving everyone a headache."
Nick grumbled a bit and moodily stomped away. Naomi just shook her head at her departing brother. Truth be told, it WAS hot even though she was only wearing a tank top and a pair of shorts, along with her shoes and a pair of sunglasses. She rubbed the back of her hand against her forehead, wiping away the sweat. Even with her sunglasses Naomi still felt the hot Tel Aviv April sun beating down on her. She could see that the rest of her friends weren't doing that well either.
Nick was still whining and Lara-Su simply sat underneath an umbrella, trying to beat the heat by doing and saying as little as possible. Even the normally unflappable Thomas was obviously feeling the effects of the heat, his normally neat hair looked frazzled and misshapen. He wasn't even breathing so much as he was panting in the hot desert. Just when Naomi was about sure she was about to collapse, she spotted two figures heading towards them.
She was pretty sure it was a mirage until one of them was close enough to shake her out of her trance.
"Naomi?" She blinked.
"That you Aeryn?"
"Who else would it be? Forgive me if I'm prying, but why is your brother wearing a parka in the middle of Tel Aviv?"
"Let's just say he fell asleep during geography." Naomi said succinctly.
"I see." Aeryn said, trying not to laugh. "You didn't have to wait over here you know. We've been waiting at the train station for an hour. It's only three blocks from here."
Naomi winced. "What's the Russian word for 'oops?' " Aeryn just shrugged.
"It's as you say 'no biggie,' the train doesn't leave for another fifteen minutes. Come on, Christopher and I will help with your bags."
"Thanks." Naomi said. "Come on guys, let's get going!" The group picked up their belongings and marched over to the train station.
"Welcome to the Red Arrow Express." Aeryn said as they climbed aboard. "I chose to have us take a train in order for us to get a better look at the country as we go past. Planes just can't show the same kind of beauty and detail that trains can." Nick snorted.
"I bet someone was just afraid to go flying." He muttered sullenly, looking at Christopher who just flushed and moved away. Aeryn gave Nick a stern look that would have melted steel, but said nothing.
"We should arrive in Moscow by the Twenty-eighth."
"Three days." Naomi said. Aeryn nodded.
"It COULD go faster, but this particular train is for relaxation and sight-seeing, not just transportation." She explained. "I arranged for two compartments for the six of us. We should stow our bags there before the train starts moving."
Aeryn showed Naomi and Lara-Su their compartment while Christopher did the same with Thomas and Nick. After they put their stuff away, Aeryn was showing Naomi and Lara the observation car. It was mostly empty, save for one middle-aged mouse looking out the window. Naomi saw that Aeryn seemed to recognize him.
"Uncle Mordechai?" She asked.
"Aeryn?" The mouse answered back. "Gevalt! I didn't know you were in Tel Aviv."
"I'm picking up some friends. This is Princess Naomi of Mobotropolis and Lara-Su of the Floating Island."
"No kidding? You all going to Moscow?" He asked.
"Yes, we have some other friends who are around here somewhere."
"Is that kangaroo boy with you? The one than always hangs around with you?"
"Christopher? Yes, he's here. Why are you going to Moscow?"
"Not for the verkakte weather, I can tell you that. I just need to talk with your father about some things."
"Ah," Aeryn noticed the confused expressions on her friend's faces. "This is Mordechai Chaim Moyzl, President of the Autonomous Soviet Republic of Palestine. He's an old friend of my father and a former freedom fighter leader."
"You give an old man far too much credit." Mordechai said as he rolled his eyes.
"You were a freedom fighter?" Naomi asked, who for the life of her couldn't remember the name Mordechai Moyzl. He nodded.
"Years ago. I was with a little band of Jewish freedom fighters called the Frayovekh Freedom Fighters. I somehow ended up going along with Aeryn's father crazy idea of a revolution and the next thing I knew, I was sitting in an office in Tel Aviv. President no less! Oy, the headache this job has given me." He griped. It was Aeryn's turn to roll HER eyes.
"Oh please, you wouldn't trade 'this job' for anything." She retorted, amused. "Besides, none of your fellow freedom fighters wanted it."
"Can you blame them? Half my staff speaks Yiddish or Hebrew and the other half speaks Arabic. It's enough to drive anyone meshuggeh!" Aeryn said nothing, but simply raised an eyebrow.
"How is that any different from talking to your family?" She asked. To her friends she explained, "His sister married the leader of a band of Arab freedom fighters called the al-Buraq Freedom Fighters. He also happens to be President of the Democratic Republic of Arabia, meaning that he and Mordechai are brothers-in-law."
Mordechai snorted. "We're a crazy mixed up family. A fine metaphor for Palestine if ever there was one." Seeing Aeryn's critical gaze he shrugged. "I'm kidding. I love my brother-in-law like a--well, like a brother." He shrugged again. "Jews and Arabs have lived side by side for over five hundred years, and probably will continue to do so for another five hundred. In fact, one of the reasons I decided to go to Moscow myself instead of sending an envoy was to spend time with my nephew Ibrahim, who goes to school in Moscow."
"He's a classmate of mine." Aeryn said. "I hope to introduce him to Naomi and Lara."
"That's good." Mordechai said as he yawned. "Forgive me, I need to go lie down for a while. You kids go, enjoy your youth while you have it. Trust me, it goes all too quickly. Shalom, Aeryn."
"Shalom, Uncle Mordechai." Aeryn returned as he turned to leave.
"Interesting fellow, isn't he?" Lara commented after he left. "Is he actually your uncle? Or is it just a sign of familiarity?"
"Sign of familiarity." Aeryn answered. "He and my father are old comrades, not to mention that they're both Jews."
"I never knew that." Naomi mused. "Never heard of a Jewish overlander. Oh that's right, he's 'human,' whatever that is." She corrected herself.
"That's right." Aeryn nodded. She then pulled a thin necklace out from beneath her shirt, on it was an star. "This is a Magen David, Mordechai gave this to me at my Bat Mitzvah."
"Your what?" Naomi asked.
"I'll explain later." Aeryn sighed as she put the necklace back. "Any questions about Moscow or the USSR in general?"
"Is Palestine an autonomous republic for Jews or for Arabs?" Lara asked. "I thought that since Mordechai was president that it would be predominantly Jewish, but if so many people speak Arabic--"
"Palestine does have a lot of Jews living there, but there are a whole lot of Arabs who live beside them too. They've been getting along with each other for centuries, as Mordechai mentioned so its a moot issue. Any other questions?"
"Are we actually going to get to meet Mordechai's nephew in Moscow?"
"Hopefully we'll meet Ibrahim as well as Mordechai's son, David." Aeryn answered. "I know them both from school."
"That makes them cousins, right?" Lara asked.
"Da." Aeryn confirmed.
"Are they cute?" Naomi asked. Lara chuckled and Aeryn just shook her head.
"You people are incorrigible. I should only hope that neither one of you corrupt me with your decadent bourgeois ideas."
"Especially when it's your job to corrupt us with your Bolshevik ideas, right?" Naomi laughed. Aeryn nodded, not without a trace of irony.
"Quite right. We better go back and find out what the others are doing."
"Yeah, my brother's probably already driving poor Chris nuts." Naomi agreed.
"Of course if we go back, he'll drive us ALL nuts." Lara-Su pointed out.
"It's a risk, I know. But it comes with being a sister." Naomi sighed.
"Such I suppose, is life." Aeryn said wryly. "At any rate, dinner should be served relatively soon."
"Good, I hate traveling on an empty stomach." Lara-Su said.
"You hate doing ANYTHING on an empty stomach." Naomi reminded her.
"Your point?"
"Never mind. Let's just go get the boys." Naomi sighed as they got up and left.
"Say, Aeryn?"
"Yes Lara?"
"I was wondering...Why did you invite us now? I mean, what's so special about April?"
"Nothing actually, but May is another matter all together." Aeryn said. "Most of the major Soviet holidays happen in May."
"Oh? Like what?" Lara said, her interest perked.
"Well, you have to understand that we celebrate holidays from our history and from his world too. So there are some that reflect events in Mobian history, and some that reflect human history."
"Such as?" Naomi asked.
"Well let's see. We celebrate a LOT of Marxist holidays from my father's home world, Earth. For example: May 1 is International Labor Day, May 4 is the date of the Chinese Student Movement and the Haymarket Affair, May 5 is Karl Marx's birthday, May 7 is the anniversary of Dien Bien Phu's fall to the Viet Minh, May 9 is the anniversary of the old USSR's triumph over Nazi Germany, May 16 is the anniversary of the 1968 French general strike, May 19 is Ho Chi Minh's birthday, and May 25 is Marshal Tito's birthday."
"Yeesh, you weren't kidding about May being full of Soviet holidays."
"Yeah, May is Marxist Month." Lara-Su chimed in.
"When you add in Mobian Marxist holidays, the list grows longer." Aeryn agreed. "On Mobius, May 1 is the Anniversary of OUR revolution. This will be the Fifteenth Anniversary you'll be arriving for. May 5 is the founding of the Soviet Union, that is OUR Soviet Union, and May 9 is the anniversary of Robotnik's final defeat."
"We celebrate Robotnik's downfall too." Naomi said. "There are fireworks and celebrations that last for days." Aeryn nodded.
"It is much the same with us. And May 25 is someone else's birthday besides Marshal Tito's."
"Whose?"
"My father's. It isn't an official holiday, but that doesn't stop people from celebrating it. They just say they're celebrating Marshal Tito's birthday." Aeryn rolled her eyes and chuckled. "My father hates it that people celebrate his birthday, he isn't one for big ceremonies to celebrate himself."
"I don't know," Lara-Su said. "I think it'd be kind of nice to have all those people celebrating and having fun on account of MY birthday."
"Maybe, but you aren't my father." Aeryn noted.
"Well I should HOPE so!" Lara said in all seriousness. "That would be just plain weird, being someone you're not. I mean there are times when I don't quite feel like myself, but the rest of the time I'm me. You know what I mean?"
"No." Aeryn said bluntly. "Let's go eat before we dive into the realm of metaphysics and I, quite frankly, am not in the mood to argue in circles."
"I don't blame you." Naomi agreed. "Before we go to dinner, there's one last thing I'd like to know."
"Which is?"
"Just where will we be staying when we're in Moscow?" Aeryn blinked.
"Why, in the Kremlin of course. My parents agreed to put up with you in our apartment for a few days. It's no palace, but I think we'll manage."
"Oh." In all honesty, it never occurred to Naomi that she'd be spending a few nights under the same roof as the most powerful leader on Mobius, besides her mother anyway. She paused to think that over. From everything she had heard of Aeryn's mother and father, Nikolai Odezvan and Mira Wolf, they were the strangest couple on Mobius; A human revolutionary and a she-wolf who was no reactionary either. The rumors she heard placed them as either being a pair of courageous freedom fighters and lovers or a pair of ruthless demagogues and tyrants. "I'm sure this will be great." Naomi gushed, wishing she was half as confident as she sounded.
* * *
How's this for an opening chapter? I kick off the story and insert a little bit of cultural diversity while I'm at it. I've been meaning to write something about the Middle East for sometime now but could never find the time. So I decided to add in some of my feelings into my Sonic fics. Here's originality for you, how many Sonic stories talk about Jewish or Arabian Mobians? This is also a message of peace for the Middle East. Jews and Arabs, historical cousins, brothers, friends, sit down and talk peace. Sorry, I tend to get a bit political in my writing. Hence the message. Even I was a bit surprised at my decision to make Aeryn Jewish, but there you go. This isn't going to get religious, there isn't going to be any mention of Judaism or Islam; I'm strictly secular in my writing. I'm not here to kick up religious tensions. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this fic as Aeryn and Chris show their friends around the new Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. It's also a tour into different cultures and histories.
What can I say? I like to teach as I write. Enjoy!
* * *