Experiment: Let's write a (TB) story!

[Michael Jewels]

Rose pushed the button to summon the porter; he showed up almost instantly.

"Is there place to get a cup of Maxine on this train?" Rose asked the porter.

"A CUP OF WHO? - WHAT?" replied the porter with his own question.

"I'm sorry, my mind must be somewhere else; I meant is there somewhere I can get a cup of coffee on this train?" Rose rephrased her question with exhaustion in her voice.

"Yes, M'am; the dining car is two cars to the rear" replied the porter.

"Thank you," replied Rose.

Rose was extremely tired; using her mind control ability always worked, but it always left her in need of sleep.

She sat and debated whether it was worth the energy to walk back the two cars to get some coffee, and perhaps an apple turnover or a ring ding.

The decision for food won the battle. But Rose's mother wouldn't consider coffee and ring dings real food - that was a snack at best. Rose always thought about her mom when she was away from home.

Rose rose from her seat, and headed back towards calories. Calories had never been a problem for Rose; here she was, 27 years old, and she still had the figure of a teenager. This is why men were always trying to dog her.

AHA! TARGET IN SIGHT! The target was the coffee stand where you could sit, and Rose was approaching it fast.

"Can I help you?" asked the young girl behind the counter.

"Yes, can I have a cup of black Max...umm, a cup of black coffee, and a package of ring dings, please?"

Rose couldn't believe she almost slipped by calling coffee Maxine; it was supposed to be a private joke between she and M, but after all, she was tired.

"No ring dings, lady, but we do have devil dogs, Yankee doodles, yodels and apple turnovers," said the girl.

"An apple turnover," Rose replied.

Cafe negro, and a pastry made from the fruit which got mankind expelled from paradise was to be Rose's snack.

"Are you getting off at Barstow or are you going all the way to Needles on the Arizona border?"

"WHAT?!? WHO ASKED THAT??? WHO SAID THAT???

Rose knew there was no one sitting anywhere near her, and became frightened at the question uttered by a voice so clear in her head.

So clear in her head?

Her fears vanished like a debtor who suddenly saw his lender on the other side of the street; it was Jimmy!

Jimmy was the only other person beside M who could communicate with Rose telepathically. And since he was talking to her within their minds, he had no speech impediment caused by his missing teeth.

"I'm going to Needles, Jimmy; actually a lot farther than Nee...Hey Jimmy, where are you anyway?

Jimmy popped up from behind a chair on the other side of the car. He walked over towards Rose with his toothless smile.

He decided to keep the conversation sans air sounds molded by tongue.

"So you already knew you have to go on past Needles, huh Rose?" Jimmy asked Rose in her mind.

"Yes, but how did I know, Jimmy?"

Jimmy replied, "We can communicate telepathically, but since you're so tired, you didn't realize that I was delivering another message to you from M, so it just appeared as a suggestion in your mind. You didn't hear the whole message."

"Well what is the whole message?" asked Rose.

Jimmy replied, "Stay on train past Needles. Travel many hours until you see the blue tower at night. But beware, danger in Blue Tower. Will contact you again as soon as possible. Get some sleep"

"How did M know I needed sleep?," Rose thought to herself.

"M can read your mind, Rosie," Jimmy said without words.

Rose finished her coffee and forbidden fruit turnover and returned to her seat.

"Lady, LADY! It's time to get up Lady. "We're a long way past Needles, Lady; That's where you were supposed to get off." The conductor said to Rose.

But how did he let Rose sleep part of the night, the entire next day, and into the beginning of another night without waking Rose sooner?

Yup, M. M controlled the conductor's mind, and made him let Rose sleep until she unblocked his mind.

It was now just after sunset of the next day, and Rose got off the train, although she didn't know where she was.

But there it was; The Blue Tower!

Rose proceeded with caution...

 

[Jay2U]

looking up to the bluishly lit tower, which she had 'seen' before, telepatically transmitted by M. Now she saw it for real. "Where's Jimmy", she thought. "Wherever he is, he'll manage". Not having a plan, nor controlling her direction, she approached the tower. Her mind being obsessed by this undescribable dark, royal blue, she didn't notice BoB's probe. The tower was a known object within the world BoB had created. He also knew that this world ended just some streets past this tower. His fingers reached for keyboard, mouse and the drawing device, in order to fix this part of the world. Otherwise Rose might find out about the nature of this world. "First draw a high wall or something to keep the construction work out of sight, then fix streets, buildings, nature...", he thought. His fingers were already busy with the wall. His mind played with the idea of copying and pasting an existing suburb. Meanwhile Rose...

 

[Michael Jewels]

Had been trying to get closer to the tower.

From the train station, the tower had seemed no more than 10 city blocks away, and Rose had thought it would be no more than a 10 minute walk to reach the tower, but this was not to be.

Rose had walked about 6 blocks, but while crossing the street, a big truck seemed to come out of no where and BAAAAAAP! blasted her with its diesel horn scaring her out of her wits, and temporarily disorienting her. The sound was so loud, and it seemed to come from inside her head, as well as from outside.

But when she regained her senses, the tower was now the same distance it had been when Rose first saw it from the train station.

But Rose was still on the same street where the truck had startled her. How could this be?

Determined, Rose continued on.

Rose kept a steady pace, and the tower kept getting nearer as it should, but again, when it seemed that the tower was about 6 blocks away - AARRFF, ARRF, ARF, ARF!!! a huge dog, snapped her out of her quasi trance. Rose froze in terror.

This was the biggest dog she had ever seen; it must have been close to 150 pounds, and it was foaming at the mouth like the dogs in horror movies, but there was one other thing: It had a look of evil in its eyes.

Not the look of an animal, but the look of a human enraged to the point of murder. This is what scared Rose the most.

Then, the dog broke its glare with Rose, turned and looked directly at the tower, and then turned back to stare at Rose with its life-sapping glower. Rose could not think or move.

"REX! REX!!! GET OVER HERE YOU DOPE!

"Geeze, I'm sorry, lady, Rex has never done anything like this before. I was walking him, and then something distracted me for a moment, and I didn't see where he'd gone 'till I heard him growling at you. Can I get you anything; maybe some water?

Rose couldn't answer with her voice, but answered with her eyes that everything was OK.

"Again, I'm sorry, lady. You have to forgive Rex; he's just a big baby. He wouldn't hurt anyone. Bad boy! You're not getting any treats tonight, scarring this poor lady nearly out of her skin. Come on, boy, let's go home." And with that, the man and the dog were gone.

And the tower was again at its original distance. She was no closer to it than she had been at the train station.

Twice Rose tried to reach it, and twice had she been made no progress. But she was now almost the distance from the station to where the tower should have been.

She began walking without thinking towards the tower once again, this time very slowly.

She walked one block, and the tower appeared one block closer.
She walked a second block; the tower appeared another block closer.

And a third, and a fourth, and both times the tower complied.

Rose just might reach the tower this time.

Then, the flashing lights from both a police car and an ambulance distracted Rose to her left. There had been a car accident, but neither the car, nor the passengers looked in too bad a shape. Altruistic as was her nature, Rose asked one of the police officers if there was anything she could do to help, but he replied, "We have everything under control here, Lady, but thanks for asking." He smiled, and walked away.

Rose almost missed it, but as she was turning back to resume her walk she saw the name on the side of the ambulance, and almost screamed: Tower Hospital.

The ambulance was painted blue.

Rose looked up...

The tower was again as far away from Rose as when she had first seen it. Rose was now trembling, unable to comprehend what was happening. She just stared at beautiful blue tower, and trembled.

BEEloop. BEEloop. BEEloop. Rose answered her phone before it rang the fourth time. She didn't recognize the number on the screen, but answered it anyway. "Hello?"

"Hello, my dear Rosie, it's good to see you again, and hear your voice. You are having a bad night, no?"

"SVETLANA? IS THAT REALLY YOU?"

It was Svetlana Svelt, Rose's friend from college. She was thin.

After what she had been through in the last few minutes, the sound of an old friend's voice was welcomed.

"Where are you, Svetlana?"

Svetlana answered, "I am right below you, Rosie. You cannot see me?"

It was then that Rose realized she was on a low overpass, and sure enough, about 30 feet below her, on the corner was Svetlana.

"Come, down; we will go to bar and discuss what happened to you tonight," Svetlana said.

Rose closed her phone, and began down the stairs to meet her old friend.

 

[Jay2U]

Svetlana's grandparents originally came from Sweden. She only knew a few words and sentences like: "Jag inte talar Svenska" (I don't speak Swedish). Rose remembered this short sentence from many years ago. They met at the base of the stairs. "Do you know this City?", Rose asked. "Yes", Svetlana answered...

 

[Michael Jewels]

"I will explain as much as I can; let's go to a place I know for a drink."

They entered Charlie's, a nice cozy bar that had a limited menu.

"Hey, Dale," said Svetlana; "this is my friend Rose; she's from out of town."

"Hey, Svelty, and how do you do, Rose?" replied Dale, the bartender. "What can I get you girls?"

"A triple, Stoli with a twist of lime for me, and you, Rose?" asked Svelty.

"Um, a Blue Moon, no fruit, and can I see a menu?; I'm kind of hungry," replied Rose.

Dale went to get a menu for Rose, as Rose drew closer to Svelty to say something in private: "A triple Stoli? Do you drink that much all the time, Svelty?"

"Oh, don't worry, Rosie, old girl; I only have one of these. In my way of thinking, it's better to order one big drink rather than to be constantly looking for the bartender for a refill if the place gets busy. Plus I always have something to throw in someone's face if they get fresh with me." answered Svelty.

"Oh, Ok; if you say so," said Rose.

Dale returned with a menu, and without on overly long perusal, Rose chose the cheese and cracker plate, because she liked cheese and crackers, plus it came with a 50% off coupon for the Bronx Zoo.

50% off for the Bronx Zoo? A question was forming in Rose's mind.

Dale took the menu back, and proceeded to get Rose's order.

"So, what do you want to know first, Rosie, where you are?

"Yes," said Rose.

"You're in Queens, New York. You weren't asleep on that train for a day; you were asleep for almost 4 days. M thought it easier to just bring you here, as far away from Bob's influence as possible rather than ask you. As always, if you want out, that can be arranged easily."

"Four days; Wow! I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't know M."
Rose smiled as she thought of M's forte at strategic planning.

"So what's going on with this tower? Why can't I get near it, and why..." Svelty interrupted Rose - "Well, in a nutshell, there's something very bad going on in that tower. And why can't you get near it?
We don't know; no one knows, but it's a kind of blessing in disguise. He who can't get close to the fire can't get burned. You're staying at my place tonight, and I'll accept no argument."

Rose didn't argue.

AH, Rose's food had arrived!

"You eat, girl; I'm going outside for a cigarette," said Svelty.

"You still haven't given up smoking, Svelty? Don't you know how bad that is for you?" asked Rose with disgust in her voice.

"I know, Rosie, I know. I'm trying, plus I'm down to only 5 or 6 a day," answered Svelty.

Svelty went off to have her smoke, while Rose began to attack her food.

As Rose was eating, she was replaying the scenes of the night in her head; how she could get so close to something, be distracted, and then end up further away three times was very unsettling, even if it was for her own good. Rose also checked her phone; no new messages from Jimmy or anyone else. In some ways no news was good news.

Rose was finished with her food. She had eaten almost everything, except two broken crackers and a few small bits of cheese.

Dale had disappeared as bartenders always seem to do, but Rose didn't care how long her empty plate stayed on the bar, and she still had more than half her drink left.

As Rose was putting her phone back in her bag, she thought she saw something out of the corner of her eye, then again, maybe not.

There it was again, A MOUSE!

Dale was nowhere to be found, and there was no one else in the place right now. Rose wasn't overly squeamish about mice, but she just thought they were dirty vermin that shouldn't be seen. She picked up a napkin, not to squash the tiny creature, but to try to pick it up and throw it off the bar.

She failed once, failed twice, but it looked like she had its rhythm down, and would succeed the third time.

Boom! That was close - almost got it.

Then, she heard a tiny, almost inaudible voice: "Please, lady, please! I'm so hungry. Let me eat the small bits of food you're about to throw out. It's garbage to you, but it's life or death for me! Please, I haven't eaten in five days!"

Its plea was so pathetic, yet so honest. Only someone or something starving would risk its life for these scraps.

The mouse, only two inches long stared up at Rose with the look of a child that's begging not to be beaten. She could have sworn that she saw a tear in its eye. She must have been right, because now there were tears in her eyes.

"OK, ok, you can have the scraps; I'm not going to hurt you," said Rose.

"Thank you, lady, thank you; I am very hungry, I have almost no strength left. Maybe I can repay you someday."

Rose let the poor little guy eat on the edge of the plate sitting on his hind legs, and holding the small bits of cheese and tiny crumbs of crackers as mice do.

Ten minutes later, Dale was still no where to be found, and Svelty still hadn't come back from her smoke. The mouse had eaten all the food that Rose hadn't; it was quite a lot of food for a little mouse, but he was really hungry.

"Is that better, mousey?" asked Rose.

The mouse nodded as he wiped his face with both front paws repeatedly as some animals do after they eat.

"Well, you go back to where you were, and I'm going to find my friend and leave here, it's getting late, and..."

"No, please take me with you!" begged the mouse so sadly.

"Take you with me? A mouse? Why would I take a mouse with me?"

"Because, if you leave me here, I'll die."

"You'll die, how will you die?" asked Rose with aggravation in her voice, as if she were being played by a con artist.

"The cat. The owner's cat. He's outside right now, but when he comes back in, he'll get me for sure. He killed my mommy this morning". I'm a good mouse, I won't cause any trouble, Please! I can find small things for you when you drop them on the floor and all kinds of other cool stuff. I don't eat much. I won't be a burden. Please, don't leave me here."

The same sad, pathetic, but honest look meet Rose's eyes again, and again, the same tears began to flow from her eyes.

She didn't say another word. She picked up the mouse very gently, and placed him into the velvet-lined pocket of her hand bag.

She left enough money on the bar to cover her meal, and went outside to find Svelty.

 

[Michael Jewels]

As Rose walked outside, there was Svelty in the arms of Dale!

How convenient!

"Hey, Rosie, how ya doin'?" asked Svelty with Dale standing in back of her, his thumbs locked inside Svelty's belt as he gently nibbled on her neck.

"Here are the keys to my apartment; I'm going to stay at Dale's tonight."

"Oh, really?" said Rose, giving Svelty a look of both dissatisfaction and approval in one.

"If there's any mail in the lobby, just bring it upstairs for me; I should be home tomorrow sometime, I hope - A-hahahaha!" Svelty let out an involuntary laugh as Dale bit Svelty's ear.

"Whatever. It was nice meeting you, Dale; I'll see you whenever, Svelty." Rose winked at her friend, but Dale said nothing as he stood behind Svelty in the classic High school prom pose. He bewitched by her.

Rose reached Svelty's apartment in a couple of minutes, collected her mail, and walked up the two flights to the apartment. Once inside, Rose opened her bag to find her furry passenger curled up and asleep. She became wet eyed again thinking about his story and gently put down her bag as not to wake him.

She took a shower, and got into Svelty's bed, and as tired as she was, thought she'd read for a little while.

Svelty had a pretty impressive library with a little of everything in it.

 

[Michael Jewels]

Rose awoke early with the book she had chosen lying next to her on the bed.

The first thing she did was to check on her little mouse friend, but when she looked in her handbag, there were only a few mouse hairs were he had been sleeping.

Rose was neither happy nor sad.

She looked in Svelty's pantry, and it was pretty well stocked for a single girl. There were boxes upon boxes, and cans upon cans of cereals, snacks, pasta, soup, canned vegetables and meats all arranged by category: meats with meats and so on.

Rose picked up a box of corn flakes and looked in the fridge for milk; yes, there was milk. Svelty was well prepared food-wise.

Rose estimated that for one person eating sensibly, there was enough food in this apartment for about four months.

Rose sat down to a breakfast of cornflakes and milk. But something was missing - a spoon.

Rose fetched a spoon from the utensil drawer, and when she turned around...

"Oh, there you are my little friend!"

The mouse was sitting on the table looking well-rested, and less stressed out than the night before.

"And just where have you been all morning?" asked Rose.

"I was checking out the building; there aren't any other mice here, but there's a friendly colony of ants in the basement." said the mouse.

"Friendly ants?" Rose was puzzled.

"Yea, some ants and other animals are friendly, and some are not; just like humans." answered the mouse.

"I didn't know that; I guess you learn something new everyday." said Rose.

"Could I please have..." before the mouse could finish, Rose spilled a few corn flakes on the table in front of the mouse.

"No wait, honey." Rose took an index card and placed it on the table to use as a small eating area for the mouse.

About six or seven hundred cornflakes with some milk in a bowl for Rose - five dry cornflakes for the mouse. Rose then took the top of a soda-pop bottle, and poured a little milk in it for the mouse."

"Thank you." said the mouse.

They both ate their breakfasts in silence.

It has been said that when it's quiet during a meal, the food is good.

 

[Michael Jewels]

The mouse finished his breakfast first, and began his post-meal mouse grooming.

"You called me my little friend, and then you called me honey. Does that mean you like me?" asked the mouse.

The question caught Rose off guard. "Yes, yes I do." answered Rose.

The mouse seemed to smile, at least that's what Rose thought.

"I like you too; you're a nice lady like my mommy..."

The temporary happiness the mouse was experiencing ended with that one word - Mommy. He curled up in a ball, and seemed to be crying.

Rose didn't know what to do. She tried to coax him out of his sadness by asking him if he wanted part of a cookie, but he just remained there curled up.

At that moment Rose realized that she had instinctive maternal feelings towards the little guy who had just been orphaned. She wanted to pick him up and hug him, but he was so small. She really didn't know what else to do, so she broke up a chocolate chip cookie into about a dozen pieces, and placed one near his nose. After a moment, he stirred, and began to nibble on it.

She heard a tiny "Thank you." drift up from where he was.

Rose began cleaning up, and went about getting dressed.

She had just pulled her sweatshirt over her head, when she saw the mouse on the dresser. He was pushing her watch over towards her, and then her rings and then her earrings.

He was saying thank you for her kindness.

He was as he had said; he was a good mouse, he was a good boy.

 

[Jay2U]

"Hey, do you have a name, mouse?", Rose asked? "Names are useless in my world, we would run out of it anyway.", the mouse answered. "Shall I give you a name?". "What do you have in mind?". "I'm thinking of Topolino". "Topo-what??", the mouse asked. "Topolino, Italian for little mouse.", Rose answered. "Okay, Rose, I'll get used to it". This stunned Rose. "How on earth do you know my name?". "Simple, the inscription in one of your rings says: 'For Rose, from M'", Topolino answered. "A talking and reading mouse... This kind of knocks me off my feet", Rose said.

 

[Jay2U]

"Maybe I went a little too far", BoB thought. "But she accepted a talking mouse, so why not reading as well?"

 

[Michael Jewels]

Rose couldn't help but notice that the mouse seemed very young.

She didn't want to question him too much regarding his mother, as it upset him very much whenever he or she mentioned her name: Mommy. She thought she'd ask a few simple questions, but back off as soon as he seemed to be getting upset.

"How old are you, honey?", asked Rose.

"I don't know." replied the mouse.

"Did your mom.., um do you remember how many birthday cakes you had?"

"No." replied the mouse.

From his answers, and the manner in which he spoke, Rose concluded that he was about 9 or 10 years old - if he were a human child. This was enough questioning for now.

Rose and her new friend got along very well, and the mouse delivered on every promise he had made the night he begged Rose to take him out of the bar.

He didn't eat much, he was always finding small things she had dropped on the floor, he didn't cause any trouble, and he certainly wasn't a burden at all. In fact, Rose was beginning to think of him as an adopted son, though she had a hard time admitting this to herself.

It had been over a week since Rose had taken Svelty's keys and stayed at her apartment for what she thought would be one night. Rose wasn't worried though: Svelty was a free spirt, and a bit of a flake; she'd disappeared half a dozen times before and would always come back, usually with some very interesting stories, and sometimes expensive jewelry her male friends had given her.

Plus, Rose was enjoying this little hiatus from all those mysterious messages and unwanted, last minute train trips.

She could enjoy this little vacation a little longer, but thoughts of the tower were still a daily occurrence.

 

[Michael Jewels]

It had been almost two weeks now since Rose had become the guest in Svelty's apartment.

In was becoming a rather pleasant routine: Wake up in the morning, have breakfast with mousey, read, go for walks, take the train into the city and visit a museum or go to a bookstore, return home and have dinner with the mouse, watch a little TV or listen to the radio, then go to bed.

Sometimes mousey slept on the night table next to her,
sometimes in the valet on the dresser and sometimes he would disappear for the entire night exploring the building.

He was starting to build a relationship with the ants in the basement. He also seemed to tire more easily than when she had first met him.

"Who would have thought that a month ago I'd be friends with a mouse, who would in turn be friends with an ant colony? What's next? I'm going to open a home for wayward pigeons?" Rose thought to herself and laughed.

Rose also noticed something odd: She was still only about 10 blocks from the tower, but on the other side of it in relation to the train station. She also couldn't see the tower from where she was, as some buildings blocked her view of it. It also occurred to her that she was going out almost exclusively during the day, and staying in all night.

Still no messages from anyone - GOOD!

But each day Rose thought more of trying to reach the tower or at least getting closer to it than she had.

She thought that in a few days she might try to reach it again by night.

 

[Jay2U]

She remembered a book called The Blue Tower, written by Thorarinn Eldjarn, from Iceland. Mybe she should go to a library and ask for it. It might give her some clues. "Where's Topolino, my little mouse?", she thought. As if she had called him, he turned up instantly. "Been to a birthday party of an ant's aunt.", he said. "How do you communicate with them?", Rose wanted to know. "That's complicated, they share some kind of common sense or awareness. Difficult to explain, but they more or less communicate as a group. It goes like: 'It's our aunt ant their birthday today.' Always plural, you see? They simply don't know the concept of the individual." "Amazing", Rose replied. "By the way, do you, your relatives or the ants have knowledge of that blueish lit tower over there?" She pointed in the direction of the tower...

 

[Michael Jewels]

And just then, the mouse passed out.

"Honey, hey, honey, are you OK?" asked Rose with a motherly concern.

The mouse slowly opened his eyes. It took a few moments, but then he nodded that he was OK.

And then he promptly passed out again.

Rose couldn't rouse him, but saw that he was still breathing, so she put him on a soft napkin, and let him sleep. She was very worried, and began looking through the phone book for veterinarians. She'd try to schedule an appointment to have her little friend checked out as soon as possible. She thought to herself that she might look dumb taking an ordinary mouse to see an animal doctor, but as soon as this thought entered her mind, another one was right on its heels: she realized she loved the little guy as a son.

She found three vets in the area, but being that it was after business hours, she'd make an appointment first thing tomorrow.
Then, she saw her little friend sitting next to her on the table.

"Are you alright, honey? Mom...er, I was very worried about you. Has this happened to you before?," asked Rose.

The mouse nodded yes. To which question was this an answer?, Rose thought to herself.

"You feel better now? Has this happened to you before?", Rose asked again.

The mouse again nodded yes, and in his barely audible voice said, "I have a prolymittafav."

"You have a what, honey?," asked Rose.

"My mommy said I shouldn't run a lot, because I have a prolymittafav." answered the mouse.

Rose was trying to think what the mouse was trying to tell her, given that he was only a child. She rolled prolymittafav around in her mind, until she realized, he had mitral valve prolapse.

Her little friend had a heart condition!

She would get him to a vet as soon as she could.

As for the tower - it could wait for now.

It could wait forever as far as she was concerned.

 

[Michael Jewels]

Rose then heard a key in the front door.

After much jangling, a head popped in; it was Svetlana's.

Hi, Rosie, how've you been?

"Well, if it isn't my long-lost, wayward, wandering, can't-pick-up-a-phone friend, Svelty! exclaimed Rose.

The two exchanged an embrace known only to old friends.

"You dog! It's been almost three weeks! Where have you been, and what have you been doing?," asked Rose, with the interest of a 14 year old girl who's trying her best to find out if her best friend got her first kiss, albeit stoically.

"Oh not much; I just went home to see my mom and dad, and to see how my brother in Afghanistan is doing. Other than that, not much at all.," answered Svelty.

Rose looked at Svelty with a coy smile. "Alright, Ms. Secretive: don't tell me where you really were, and with whom! See if I care!.", answered Rose, still smiling.

"What do you mean, Rose? I really did go home to see my parents.," answered Svelty.

While not malicious, Rose knew that Svelty was a natural born and very convincing liar when she had to be, as she had demonstrated several times in collage. On one occasion in their sophomore year, Svelty had convinced the dorm security guards that Rose's boyfriend was not in her room after curfew, when indeed he was. Rose was then, and is now still thankful to Svelty for covering for her.

"Do you want something to eat, Svelty?", asked Rose.

"Yeah, girl. Two Sigmund Freud fried eggs on an English muffin and a cup of tea would hit the spot right now; they had nothing but stale peanuts and pound cake to eat on the plane. I'm so thankful it's only a two hour trip to my parents.", answered Svelty.

Two Sigmund Freud fried eggs; my old friend, Svelty, has not lost her talent for bad puns, Rose thought to herself, and laughed. Within a few minutes, there were two eggs times two on two English muffins, a cup of tea, and a cup of coffee on the table. Rose would not let her friend eat alone.

There was silence for more than half the meal, which again meant that the food was good. Then Svelty, who was an avid animal lover, and not afraid of anything that crawled or swam or flew said, "Rose, there's a mouse sitting next to you."

Rose looked down, and her gaze focusing on the mouse said, "Oh, that's my little baby that I rescued from the bar. His name is Topolino, but I sometimes just call him mousey." Rose was going to mention the fact that he had recently been orphaned, but didn't want to take the chance of upsetting the little guy.

Svelty looked at Rose, then at the mouse, and then back at Rose as if she were going to laugh, when Topolino's tiny, childish voice said, "I have a prolymittafav; I'm not supposed to run much."

Svelty's body then went into what might have looked to the uninformed like mild convulsions, while she began laughing only while inhaling as some women sometimes do.

"A talking mouse with a what?" Svelty then progressed into a more typical inhale/exhale type of laughter.

"A proly... he has mitral valve prolapse; he has a heart condition. It doesn't seem to be bothering him too much, but I'm going to take him to the vet as soon as I can.," answered Rose.

Svelty's face was now composed of three circles beneath her dirty blond hair; two blue eyes sitting atop an orb that very slowly became a smile.

"Oh, man, this is a trip. This is like a story that you would see at Talkbass, in the off topic section," Svelty said.

"Where did you get this mouse?," Svelty asked.

"At the bar," answered Rose.

"At what bar?," asked Svelty.

"Charlie's. The bar you took me to the night I couldn't get close to the tower." answered Rose.

Svelty returned a question marked, but honest stare to Rose.

"Charlie's! The bar that Dale works at? Don't you remember, Dale? The bartender who I found holding you like he was never going to let you go outside the bar after you never came back from your cigarette break? Don't you remember?"

With the same face, Svelty's reply was laconic:"No."

Svelty, who didn't sit at the same table and break bread with the truth often seemed to be sitting there now.

No tower, no bar, no Dale, and no going away with Dale. Just a banal story of going home to see her parents; that's all that Svelty could offer regarding her whereabouts for the last three weeks.

Interesting.

 

[Jay2U]

It was like Svetlana had been reset, re-programmed. "I've seen her in the bar", the mouse supported Rose. "And I also recognise her voice". "Who wouldn't", Rose thought. Just to be certain, Rose asked again: "Dale, that guy from Charlie's, you should recall him, don't you?". "I cincerely don't know to whom you are referring. I certainly would remember if the guy has become intimate with me." "Then your memory must be stacked like the yellow pages", Rose thought. "Anyway, let's go to sleep. It might refesh your memory", Rose replied. "But not before we had our secret orange with you-know-what drink!", said Svelty.

 

[Michael Jewels]

Svelty poured Gran Marnier into two large brandy glasses; she then dropped a Hershey's chocolate kiss into each glass. This was a drink from back in their collage days, the inventor of which had been long forgotten. Rose and Svelty had both liked it. As the chocolate melted it quietly complimented the orangey taste of the Gran Marnier.

Svelty finished her drink in two big gulps, while Rose watched the chocolate kiss slowly dissolve in hers, as she had always done.

Svelty was always proud of the fact that she could drink Rose under the table, but Rose could never figure out why anyone would relish a so called talent such as this.

Svelty insisted that Rose continue sleeping in the bedroom; Svelty would take the couch, which was itself very comfortable. The couch was also right next to the spirits.

Oh, Svelty! Svelty, Svelty, Svelty! 80 proof Svelty!

Rose awoke at 7am, as she had an appointment with a veterinarian that was only a few blocks away. She had chosen this doctor for two reasons:
1.) He advertised mouse tune-ups for $49.99
and
2.) He had a nice name: Dr. Simon Mensch.

Rose showered, and quickly dressed, as she wanted to be first in the vet's office. She even skipped breakfast.

She put Topolino in his velvet-lined traveling pocket of her handbag, put on her coat, and gently picked up the empty brandy glass, which was next to the empty Gran Marnier bottle, which was next to her sleeping friend, Svelty, and put them in the sink. She exited the apartment, locked the door behind her, and went down the two flights to the front door. She left the building, and took out the piece of paper upon which she had written the address of the vet's office. She began walking towards her destination, when she realized that she was walking towards the tower. She couldn't see the tower from any window of the apartment, and hadn't even glimpsed it on the street in over a week as she was leaving or returning to the apartment, but she realized something else: it wasn't there anymore.

Rose knew she was looking in the right direction, but the tower was gone.

The blue tower Rose had first seen from the train station was gone, but in its place was a building slightly slimmer, and slightly taller, but it wasn't blue. It looked like any of the other buildings near it, and it looked as though it had been there as long as the other buildings around it.

Rose wasn't happy. Rose wasn't sad.

 

[Jay2U]

So she didn't have to visit the library for the book. It didn't keep her too busy, as she was anticipating the appointment at the vet's. What in the name of tragedy could he do to fix this poor mouse? Pills, powders, potions? It kept her occupied. She entered the building and went over to the information desk. It appeared to be a building in which many offices were located. She asked for doctor Mensch.

 

[Michael Jewels]

Dr. Mensch's office was just off to the right.

Rose had arrived early, and was the first one in the office.

She checked in with the receptionist, filled out some forms, and naturally, was told to wait until called. The wait wasn't long, because Dr. Mensch was an early bird, and liked other early birds. He didn't keep people waiting as some doctors do; if you were there, Dr. Mensch would see you asap.

The receptionist told Rose to go into the examination room.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Mensch. I see by the chart that we have a mouse that's not feeling too well today?"

"Yes, Doctor, that's right." answered Rose.

"You indicated that he has mitral valve prolapse, correct? How do you know this?" asked Dr. Mensch.

"I know this sounds crazy, Doctor, but he told me himself." answered Rose.

"I see." answered Dr. Mensch with no expression.

"How long have you had the little guy as your pet?" asked the Doctor.

"Less than a month. Look, you don't think I'm crazy telling you I have a talking mouse, do you?" asked Rose.

"No, I do not. You have a tiny pet, which you obviously love, and that's all that matters to me; I try as best as I can not to judge people. You have brought your little guy here for my help, and I shall do my best to help him." Dr. Mensch gave Rose a shy smile of confidence. Dr. Mensch really was a mensch.

Rose opened up her handbag, and mousey climbed out. Rose told him to do what the nice Doctor said. Topolino nodded in agreement.

The Doctor picked up mousey and brought him over to what looked like the tube that's left after you finish a roll of paper towels with a conveyer belt and some electrical boxes attached, and put mousey on it. It was a mouse-sized MRI machine Dr. Mensch had built himself!

"Don't be afraid, my little friend; we're going to go for a ride through the magic tunnel, and when it's all over, I'll give you some nice cheese." said The Doctor.

Mousey complied, and within a few moments he was out of the tunnel. He hopped off under his own power, and ran blurringly fast back to Rose.

"Honey, you shouldn't run so fast!" Rose said sternly almost raising her voice.

"I'll be right back; just let me analyze the data, and I'll be right back." Dr. Mensch then went into the next room.

Rose sat and waited nervously for the Doctor to return.

Rose looked down at mousey, and in his very soft voice said, "I feel a lot better. I'm not tired like before."

Rose thought he was just saying that to make her feel better, and just then, the Doctor returned.

He came through a different door than the one he had exited through, but before he closed it, Rose saw something in the other room that disturbed her very much, but the Doctor didn't notice the almost shocked look on her face as he was too absorbed looking at the results of the MRI, and literally scratching his head.

He sat down still not looking at Rose, and said, "This is quite unusual, but good. The results show heart damage that was previously there, but has somehow been healed. I've never seen anything like this in my practice or in medical school. I've never even read about a healing such as this taking place. The only word I can use to describe this is miraculous!"

Dr. Mensch was smiling as he looked up at Rose, but upon seeing her disturbed look said, "My dear, didn't you hear me? This is very good news; your little friend has no problem at all, in fact he's as healthy as a lion, so-to-speak. Why the sad face?"

Rose answered without hesitation, "No, Doctor, I heard you just fine, and I'm very thankful to you, and to God for the news you've just told me. But is the name of the dead dog I saw on the table in the other room, Rex?"

"Why, yes it is. He was one of the biggest, healthiest dogs I had in my practice. His health declined very rapidly in the past three weeks; I suspected poison, but this was not the case. I don't know why he died so suddenly. His owner brought him in last night, and he passed quickly. The morgue hasn't yet arrived to take him away. I'm sorry you had to see that. Did you know his owner?" asked Dr. Mensch.

"Can I have my cheese now?" asked mousey.

 

[Jay2U]

The telephone rang. Dr. Mensch answered it: "Yes?" A while silence, then the doctor replid: "Nein, leider nicht, aber es gibt hier eine hübsche Kundin. Ich ruf' dich nach 'ne Viertelstunde wieder an". "Sorry, where were we", Mensch asked.