Set Voland--a homeless young man who attacked a child in the midst of hallucinations--has been caught by the police and sent to a psychiatric hospital. There, he's stricken by a meeting with a Shining White Being who will completely overturn his lif...
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23. DATING ITALIAN GIRLS
Joy to the world the King has come (...)
He rules the world with truth and grace
And glories of His righteousness (...)
And wonders, wonders of His love
(Joy To The World, Pentatonix)
At 5:30 on Thursday morning, the alarm went off, echoing from the digital clock set on the bedside table in the bedroom. Dee's eyes flung open. Feeling a weight on his chest, he looked down to find out that Maria was still sleeping over him. A satisfied smile curved his lips. His strategy to earn her trust had paid off.
Careful not to wake her up, he managed to slip off the sofa and hurried to shut off the alarm. When he got back to the living room, he found the girl still asleep. He pulled her legs up and placed a blanket over her. Maria murmured something but, as she turned around on the sofa, her eyes kept shut. He looked at her peaceful face for ten minutes, confirming that she was still lost in her dreams.
He decided to take the chance and placed a tracking device in between the outer leather and the tongue of her combat boots, deep down so that she wouldn't notice. Then, he moved on his daily routine.
Back in the bedroom, he slipped off his jeans and shirt to wear grey workout trousers and a white t-shirt. He quickly washed his face and pulled back his hair before heading again to the living room. There he wrote a post-it, sticking it to the entrance door and finally, he left for his morning run and exercises.
He came back at 6:30, finding the girl still asleep. He took down the post-it, crumpled it up and threw it away. He thrust his drenched trousers and shirt into the laundry basket and got into the shower. He consciously avoided whistling under the pleasant touch of the running water.
It took him less than ten minutes to get ready. It had been a good idea to choose Joe's appearance. Having his brows and hair back to his original color was far more practical, and he didn't need to waste half an hour on makeup, or be forced into wearing contacts all day. Also, it looked good.
He smiled at his reflection in the mirror.
Nobody knew his real appearance in New York and it would've been easy to disappear anyway. He slipped on a pair of light-blue jeans, a tight white t-shirt with a round neckline and an unbuttoned light-blue shirt.
When he peeked into the living room, he realized that after all the breakfast was up to him. Maria's blissful face and regular breathing didn't give any sign of an imminent change.
Dee headed to the kitchen and decided on preparing fresh fruit smoothie, omelet, toast, and coffee. When he was almost done, a cell phone's alarm filled the living room with a terrible metal song, followed by growling that culminated in a scream. He glanced at the wall clock—6:50.
