Solitude: Chapter Ten – Hole in my Heart
Crescent High School – September 25th, 2011
I have a question.
Hm?
How old are we?
Ah. I am centuries old. I cannot remember an exact date or an exact year. Physical, we are sixteen going on seventeen.
How is this possible?
There comes a time when our physical bodies must die. If people are still loyal to our countries we will be reborn that same day. Surely we can remember the last time America died because we were there. Of course we were only one.
A beautiful bright young man was holding us. He smiled and kissed our cheek. "It's my turn, Ivan. See you in the next life." He put us down on a desk so that we were facing a wall. We closed our eyes as a gunshot sounded. We waited until we heard a cry to open our eyes and crawl around to the edge of the desk and peek down at a young blond baby who was wailing loudly. He looked at us with his brilliant blue eyes and winked. We giggled. Two guys walked in right then. One picked us up and the other retrieved the crying one. "America," he sighed as we left.
Oh.
That was 1995. Ours was in 1994. We had lived through the entire Cold War and our bosses decided it was time for us to start over. What is Alfred like in this life?
I do not really know. He does not speak to us much. I know he has to take medication and gardens.
Anything else?
He has a dark side. He has bred plants to be black. He even has a black sunflower growing.
Hm. That is very strange for him. It may be left over from the Cold War.
Hm. I will ask Toris to find out why he does breed them.
Lithuania. He is a good person to ask.
Toris passed by at that moment. "Toris?" Ivan called out.
"Hello, Ivan."
"Hi."
"Is there anything you need?"
"Da. Do you know why Alfred breeds black flowers?"
"His depression. He doesn't know why he has it. He has said something about the number 42. I asked if he was referring to the meaning of life and he laughed and replied that he meant 42 years. So I asked 42 years of what. He said I will remember someday. I don't know why he said that, Ivan. I haven't been alive for 42 years."
I told you so.
I did not doubt you.
"Thank you, Toris."
So America remembers. We need a chance to speak to him alone.
Can you say filler much? Something was important in there though.