At The Tip Of Your Fingers

- Chapter 2 -

The next day, I got up at dawn, determined to find a new place to live. Which to be honest was going to be very complicated, if not impossible. I had no money or warrantor to ensure my solvency. I had kept contacts in the publishing world and sometimes I was still sent manuscripts for proofreading, but the salary I was paid barely allowed me to eat decently. So my options were limited and I didn't have to be difficult. So I went to the cybercafé around the corner to check the classified ads sites, I entered my search criteria or rather the one and only criterion: that the rent correspond to the tiny size of my purse. So I found three results corresponding to what I was looking for, I conscientiously noted the phone numbers from the ads. Unfortunately the first two studios had already been assigned. I tried to get a chance with the last one on the list, the man on the phone told me that it was vacant and I could come and visit it in the early afternoon.

It was only 11 o'clock in the morning and my appointment would not take place until at least three hours later, so I decided to go to the cultural centre a few blocks away. The current exhibition was simply stunning, they were huge canvases on which the artist had made complex collages of photos and the whole formed the image of a magnificent landscape. Before my amazed eyes laid a splendid snow-covered mountain range, a heavenly beach or an erupting volcano ready to burst forth. I managed to overcome hunger in the face of the beauty of the exhibition and congratulated myself for my initiative. As I was standing in front of a huge fresco depicting a turquoise atoll, I heard a strangely familiar throat clearance.

- You are definitely following me everywhere. At least today you kept your clothes on.

I turned around to discover a laughing Thomas dressed in a suit that suited him in every way. When I told you that this man must be in a museum. Yesterday, after the scene in the kitchen, I thought the sun had gotten to my head, that I had sunstroke and that I had imagined everything. In any case, the part about the Apollo falling from the sky to spy on us, we simple creatures of the shallows. But I was not mistaken. The man in front of me was still as handsome as ever, you could see the muscles of his bandaged arms under the thin fabric of his shirt. I have always been jealous of these people whose beauty was above all else. And by the way, how could one be so splendid? Did it involve selling your soul to the devil or taking fresh blood baths with each full moon? Seriously, I was convinced that it was illegal to have such a smooth and symmetrical face. Ken himself would be complexed by the absolute regularity of Thomas' features. When I finished contemplating the geometry of his face I concluded that it was perhaps time to answer his question. Just so he would not think I was a goldfish out of its jar.

- I, uh, what are you doing here?

- I am walking around, what about you? Did you ever want to see me again?

- Absolutely not. I have to visit a studio in the area, I am waiting for the time of my appointment.

I returned to the contemplation of the canvas because I would rather not dwell on the details of my physical condition. I had actually walked through the doors of the cultural centre to escape the mouth-watering smell of food that invaded the streets at lunchtime. I had received money from the publishing house that morning in exchange for a technical text that I had corrected. The length and complexity of the task had allowed me to receive a much higher salary than usual. However, I preferred to keep the money for the first few months of rent and the security deposit I would have to pay to move. I looked up at Thomas and saw that he was still staring at me.

- Do you like it?

What?!! What the hell was he talking about? Was he seriously asking me if I found it to my liking? A new heat wave invaded my face as I tried to keep my composure. He let a slight sneer escape before coming back to the charge.