THE SWORD AND SICKLE

CHAPTER FOUR: CONVERSATIONS WITH ALINDA

THE SWORD AND SICKLE

PART ONE

CHAPTER FOUR

CONVERSATIONS WITH ALINDA

"Hurry, I've gotta piss," was his reply.

No doubt, that was her Levi and she felt relieved. "Okay Levi, come on in. I am finished and when you are finished, I want to talk to you.

Levi finished and walked back to the front room, sitting down across from Laida; he said, "Okay, Judy, I'm here. Let's talk, and then get down to business."

"Levi. What do you think about the name Laida Myrtle Bastion? I am going back to my maiden name."

"That is an old name; you don't hear any more, but I like it. Did you know that your middle name is the name of a type of tree, and it's a beautiful hardwood, and Aphrodite's favorite tree? I think it means loving."

"God damn it, how do you know so much? Shit, forgive me... uh... forget; I said that."

"No, that's fine; I can be a know-it-all sometimes. Ever since I started having these sleep hallucinations about Alinda, I have studied everything I could get my hands on about Aphrodite. That is when I learned it was her favorite tree. The rest I picked up during life."

"I don't know what I want or what I am saying, Levi. I think I want to change my middle name to Myrtle and my last name back to Bastion."

"Well, it is a pretty name, and you are certainly a loving person; that is for sure. I can't decide for you, but it's totally up to you. I really liked the name Laida, I always have, and Laida Myrtle sounds good. I could call you Myrtle the turtle."

"Quit that, Levi Turtle Jackson!"

"Okay, that was easy. How else may I be of help to you this beautiful morning?"

"Oh God, what should... shit, forgive me; God... Fuck! I can't talk. I am all tongue-tied."

"Slow down, Laida, take a deep breath, and just spit it out."

"You mentioned Alinda. What does she look like when you see her?"

"Usually, she appears to me with long dark hair, brown eyes, quite tall, and she is the most loving woman you'll ever meet. Why?"

"Well, I think I saw her this morning."

"You mean you had a hypnagogic experience this morning?"

"Hypnagogic. My fucking eye! This was real. I saw her. I touched her. And I could touch her.

"The hypnopompic hallucination sure feels real; doesn't it? Hell, I even believed she turned on my radio one night when I was going to bed. I was listening to the radio, which I didn't turn off and..."

Laidainterrupted by standing up and pulling down her pants and showing her butt and said, "NO! Levi Turtle Jackson, I mean, she is real! Just look at my ass!"