Piece of Mind 15
Piece Of Mind
Finale
“Hey Old friend…”
I smile at her. I haven’t seen Tonnet in 40 years. Most of the others were destroyed. She is so much older. We kept in contact more than most of the other sewer lineage members. Tonnet looks beautiful even in her late years. She has on some yoga pants and when she walks across the room she still glides with an ease and sophistication that only she can have.
“Another game of chess?”
We are in the park right now.
“Of course,” she replies.
I pull out all my pieces and put them on the board in front of us, “What color you going for now?”
“I guess I’ll take white. It doesn’t matter. White or black.”
I smile at her. Yeah. It never really mattered what color we chose.
I align my pieces. I put out all the pawns first, then I put out the rooks, then the bishops, then the nights, then the queen. Then as always I hold onto my king. I protect my king. I keep my king close because this piece was the most important piece of them all.
And I wait until my King is guarded before I place him on the checkered board.
Tonnet makes the first move. She does it with her mind. Even after all these years and even after all the Ambrosia is long gone and destroyed we can still use our psychokinesis. She moves one of her pawns two spaces up.
I’m standing there and I smile at her, “How have you been?”
“Well so well. Just visited the old site. You know where Antietam and the Small Queen got into it with each other. All these years and there is still a burn in the pavement.”
The humans called it the clash of the titans. No one knew what happened back in those days. The sky had lit up when Antietam battled Victoria. The two raped the sky together, tossing entire buildings at one another. No type of power had been seen like that before and no type of power would be seen like that again…or so I thought.
“It was a checkmate after all.”
The two women cancelled each other out. They expended so much energy that in the end no one won. Both Antietam and Victoria just stopped fighting. They just dropped dead. Every year around this time the members of the Sewer Lineage would come back and convene about the day until slowly we began to die off. Old Man Keeper was killed off by old age a decade ago. Prall ended up dying from cancer. It was kind of sad but both lived happy full lives.
“Mal Tiffany asked about you,” Tonnet states, “She wonders how you ’re doing. We all worry about you.”
Mal Tiffany and Tonnet fought on the Clash of the Titans. In the end they gained a mutual understanding through the war. They bridged their friendship somehow. Kenicky of course seemed someone resentful about this but faced with the power of the combined twins she never really did stand a chance.
“I’m fine. I promise.”
“You just seem so lonely all the time.”
“I have him…I’m never lonely.”
I know what Tonnet is thinking when she lets out a loose sigh. I can already tell what she is thinking. It’s been so many long years and she’s tried to get me out of this state of mind for a while. It never worked. I never cared about what she had to say.
“Jamison, Piece has been asleep for 40 years now. Maybe it’s time to pull the plug on him. You know? Maybe you should let him have some real rest…”
“You want me to kill Piece?” I ask her.
She has suggested I move on with my life and find love somewhere else multiple times. She suggested I even put Piece in a hospice. Tonnet never suggested that I kill him though. I can feel the anger rising up even at the thought of it.
Tonnet had gone on to have everything she wanted. She had a family. She had grandchildren. She had the relationship with her sister. All I ever wanted was Piece and now she was telling me that I should kill him.
“Maybe it’s for the best,” she responds.
“The best,” I nod shaking my head, “Yeah and how do you think I should do it? You think I should put a pillow over his head while he sleeps? Is that your fucking idea? I love that man. I’ve talk to him every day…”
“And he never answers back.”
“He’s with me. He hears me…”
“Ok. Ok,” she gives up at that moment, “I’ve never been a fan of Piece but you’ve always been a dear friend of mine. I don’t want to upset you but you took care of that man your entire life. You have placed your entire life on hold. You might as well have drunk that ambrosia with him. You might as well have been asleep for forty years yourself.”
I sigh a little bit moving one of my knights and taking out her pawns.
“I’ve taken care of him for 40 years. That’s true. I’ve watched him as he’s hooked up to that machine. There have been many men who’ve caught my eye. That may be true as well.”
“You’ve caught their eye as well. Back in your day you were desired, Jamison.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I respond, “I loved a man. And you may see it as wasting my life but I don’t see it as that. I sleep with him every night. I cuddle up close. I speak to him and even if he doesn’t reply I know he listens. I know you may think it’s an obsession, but I just think its love. It’s a different kind of love. But just because my love story is different doesn’t make it any less of a love story.”
Tonnet smiles…weakly.
“Old man Jamison,” she responds, “Look around you. Look at all these young lovers. The thing about love is that when you kiss your lover. You want them to kiss back.”
“He does kiss me back.”
“You use psychokinesis to force his lips up and you know it. I’ve seen you…”
I turn the other cheek in embarrassment. She doesn’t understand the love that Piece and I have. She never has.
“He’ll wake up one day Tonnet. He’ll wake up one day…”
“But will you be around when he does?” she smiles at me, “Time isn’t slowing down Jamison. You aren’t getting any younger. Why don’t you go find real love that is returned to you without you using psychokinesis? Before it’s too late”
She isn’t focused on the game. I’ve beaten her…again.
Her king is defenseless on the board.
“Checkmate,” I declare.
She sighs a little bit, “Till next year old friend? You know you can’t protect your king forever.”
I ignore her sharp tongue. I’m used to it. I just smile and begin clearing the board.
I walk back to my house. I use a cane. My back gave out a few years ago. I look at the young kids all around me. Every year after Tonnet leaves I feel the same feeling. I feel that loneliness that she wants to instill in me as I walk home from the park.
Right outside of my house I see a gay couple. They are young maybe in their late twenties. One boy kisses the other boy hard on the lips. He presses him up against the wall.
The rain is starting.
I use psychokinesis to form a barrier over me so that the rain doesn’t touch me. The human gay couple doesn’t have that ability though. They are getting drenched in rain. I watch hoping not to look like some type of pervert as the couple kisses under the rain. They are so wet and they don’t care. They are in love. This is true love right now. Not even the elements can pull them apart.
They will make love in the rain but be in love in the sun.
I find myself crying.
All of a sudden one of the boys stops.
“You ok old man?” he says.
He looks at me. They probably think I’m pitiful standing out in the rain breaking down. They probably feel sad for me in the same way that Tonnet felt sad for me.
The two boys walk over to me with a concerned look in their eyes. They are handsome. Young and they hold hands even as they walk. They don’t want to spend a second away from each other. The love between them is something that I understand. It’s something that I remember.
“I’m fine. I’m fine, Just an old man reminiscing.”
“Can we walk you somewhere?”
“No I live right over there,” I tell them, “I’ll be good. Worry about yourselves. Be in love you understand. And you there…”
I’m talking to the more dominant one. He was the one who had the other up against the wall. He was holding his hand now leading him.
“Yes sir?” he replies.
“Never let that love go. You hear me? Never let that spark go and never let his hand go.”
The two boys look at one another. There is a purity in their heart right now. They may think it’s just ramblings of an old man. They may think its good advice.
Either way they smile respectfully.
“I won’t,” he promises…squeezing his hand tighter.
I walk away and hear them whispering. I hear one of them talking about how weird it was that I wasn’t wet. It’s cute. It’s even cuter when I use psychokinesis to push them together. They don’t expect it and when I look back they are stuck there like glue kissing again in the rain.
I enter the house that I have.
“How was your day sleeping beauty?” I ask him.
His face has wrinkles on it just like mine. The sleep hasn’t changed him at all. I use my mind to have him sit up a little bit and open his eyes. He’s so beautiful to me even now.
I start undressing the way I do every day.
I put on the television the way that I do every day.
“My day was good,” I respond at that moment, “Tonnet thinks I’m crazy still because I’m taking care of you. She doesn’t believe you can hear me. It’s ok. Our love isn’t for everyone. Shit. It never has been. I saw the cutest couple outside today. They reminded me of us. Of course they weren’t having sex like we did back in the day. Kids these days don’t have as much backbone as we did. But they were so damn cute. When you wake up we can go people watch all day. That’s my new favorite thing to do, you know Piece?”
Piece Aniston sleeps next to me.
I can hear his slow breathing. I’ve taken care of him the exact same way you would take care of someone in a coma. I went to nursing school just so that I knew how to properly care for him. I couldn’t keep him in a hospital. They’d ask too many questions.
How do you explain that the love of your life overdosed on a drug because it was the only way to disarm a bomb that would have destroyed civilization?
The bomb was gone now…but so was Piece.
Sometimes I would imagine him talking back to me. Hell. Maybe I was losing it. After a certain age though it’s all really the same. It didn’t matter. This was my home with Piece even if he was asleep. I was there for him even if it was just me.
I carried on our love…all by myself.
I grab his hand at that moment. I squeeze Piece’s hands. All of a sudden as I’m squeezing his hand, I hear something in the living room.
It sounds like someone is in there.
“Hello?” I’m saying.
No one answers.
I get up off the bed and take my cane. There have been break-ins in the neighborhood. If that’s what was happening now they definitely chose the wrong house to break into. There was nothing I wouldn’t do to protect Piece and I would do whatever it took.
I find myself going into the living room and almost losing my breath by what I saw.
Everything in the living room is COMPLETELY upside down. It’s been moved. The couches are turned over. The chairs are upside down. Everything is backwards…completely backwards.
“What the fuck is going on?”
Someone is here. Someone who has psychokinesis.
A strange thought pops into my head. What if Victoria Cass survived somehow? What if the small queen was back for revenge for me stopping her plan? What if she was back for Piece?
I am panicking all of a sudden and moving back to the room. I didn’t think an old man like myself could move that fast. When I get back to the room however my mouth drops as I realize that Piece isn’t in his bed any longer.
He’s just not there!
“I’ve missed you…”
“AHH!”
I scream so loud that I damn near give myself a heart attack. Right by the door out of my view is a figure standing there. It walks out of the shadow and into the light. It’s Piece…my Piece. He’s awake.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you,” he tells me.
“Is this some sort of trick?” I ask slapping my face a few times, “Am I dreaming?
He is talking. He is moving. He is awake. I’ve dreamed of it before. I always woke up before. Why am I not waking up this time? What kind of trickery is being played on me?
“I can feel your heart. You’re nervous,” he says to me, “It’s me though Jamison. I’m here. I’m awake. You look so handsome…”
He laughs. It’s that Piece snicker that I’ve missed so much. I barely recognize the voice.
“It can’t be…”
“Touch me. Feel me…so you know it’s real.”
I hesitate as I make my way towards him. I’m touching his face. I’m touching his lips. I’m touching his heart. I’m touching every part of him. There is something so different about him and it’s not just his age. There is a power exuding from him.
He lets me run my fingers along the sides of his cheeks. He lets me feel on his wrinkles. His sharp features are still just as sharp. His eyes are a little droopy now but they are still his. It’s Piece. It’s definitely my Piece and he’s alive. He’s well.
“It’s been 40 years…Piece.”
I want to cry. I want to smile. I want to laugh. I want to do so many things but right now I’m just staring at him in disbelief and I’m feeling all over him.
What is different this time is that Piece moves his hand and he feels me back.
“I can feel the time,” Piece explains.
“What do you mean?”
He takes a deep breath. I’ve missed that thinker that Piece was. He is concentrating right now the same way that I concentrated earlier playing chess against Tonnet. He is paying so much attention to his surroundings right now.
He looks so interested but then he stops and he said the oddest things.
“Remember when I told you how you have to feel something in order to move it. You actually have to feel it. I feel everything.”
I smile a little bit, “You did take more Ambrosia than anyone ever. No one thought you would survive. No one thought you’d ever wake up.”
“No one but you.”
He’s smiling. I could die right now. I could die happy right now to see Piece’s smile at that moment. He stares at me and there is true love in his eyes. There is nothing forced about it. I am not making him smile using psychokinesis. He’s doing it on his own
“I’ve waited for you for 40 years,” I explain to him, “I never loved another. I never kissed another. My whole life was dedicated to you waiting. And I knew somewhere that you were listening to me and that you’d make your way back to me.”
“I didn’t hear you,” Piece tells me.
My heart is crushed.
Jesus Christ.
“All those years you never heard a thing Piece?”
He shakes his head, “No. No I didn’t.”
I’m breathing heavy right now.
“It’s ok …you’re here now.”
Piece turns around at that moment. I want to hold him. I just want him close but he walks to the window. He looks out of the window. He seems to be blown away how much the world has changed. It looks so different from the world we lived in.
I sneak up behind Piece holding him the way that I used to so many times.
“I can feel your breathing Jamison…I can feel everything. I can feel the breeze. I can feel the time. I can feel everything. I can feel your heart.”
My heart.
I wondered what Piece was seeing. I wondered what the effects of the Ambrosia were on him. The way he was reacting right now was almost as though something drastically had changed in him.
I turn Piece around and put his hand on my heart, “You once told me that in order to move something you have to feel it. Well here it is.”
“I love you Jamison,” he smiles.
“I love you too Piece.”
“Kiss me.”
“Only if you promise to kiss me back.”
I lean over and kiss Piece. We are so old but my eyes close and in those moments we are young again. The world seems to fade into black.
I feel so young again as I kiss him.
For a moment, I’m transported into the rain.
But then I realize its actual rain.
“What the…” I say my eyes drenched with rain.
“Let me help you,” Piece offers.
He wipes the rain out of my eyes and I see something I think is impossible. Piece is looking back at me but he isn’t an old man anymore.
He’s the young Piece, the Piece that I remembered 40 years ago.
“How did you…”
“Look at your hands my love,” Piece directs me.
I look down at my hands. They aren’t old wrinkled hands anymore. Piece and I are outside. I look at a puddle at that moment. And it’s real! I’m young again. I’m a 20 something year old firecracker standing in the rain.
“What happened?” I ask him, “How did you…”
“I felt time.”
The ambrosia must have given him the ability to do this.
I am smiling all of a sudden, “You turned back the hands of time Piece?”
Piece grabs my hand, “All that time we lost I want to have it back. I want to live a lifetime with you Jamison Reid. And now we have nothing but space and time.”
“Can I really live my life again with you?” I ask him.
“Anything you want to do. Just name it and it’s yours.”
I believed him. He just turned back the hands of time. He could move anything. Piece would move mountains to be with me…literally!
“Let’s make love in the rain. Let’s be in love in the sun. Let’s grow old together Jamison…”
Piece has tears in his eyes. My heart pounds more excited than I’ve ever been before.
“I have a better idea. Follow me.”
“That’s what got me into trouble in the first time.”
He smiles.
“You loved every minute of that trouble Jamison.”
I reach forward I grab his hand.
In the next minute I’m cold. I’m so fucking cold. Piece and I aren’t in Chicago anymore. There is a blanket of snow all around us.
“Is this?”
“Yes it is,” he replies.
Antarctica
There is a heavy snow falling.
“I still want to be in love with you in the sun. But lets make love in the snow instead…” he tells me.
I smile at that moment grabbing the love of my life and holding him close. Yes.
This boy was trouble….and I loved every minute of it…
Make sure to read the next story by Staten Krown called Semester in Space on www.crushedcrown.com and NIFTY