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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"Why don't you lock me up with joy and kisses?
Lock me up with Love?
Chain me to your heart's desire
I don't want you to stop."
The Cab, Lock Me Up
When Set stepped in the apartment, the loudest sound his ears could pick up was his breath. The idea of Sybil still being out increased his uneasiness and gave birth to a twisted sort of annoyance—an illogical feeling that was alarmingly close to possessiveness. Set slammed the door, kicked off his shoes and stomped into the living room.
Scrumptiously curled up on the sofa, Mikhail waggled his ears and threw him a suspicious glance. Set stiffened, his heartbeat speeding up as the cat's vertical pupils followed his steps—they kept eye contact all the while he crossed the room. To be honest, it wasn't the sinister gleam in the feline's blue-green eyes that made his heart twist, but the weight of the paper bag he was carrying.
Set forced his gaze away and dashed to the guest room. He thrust the gun in the second drawer of his bedside table, at the very bottom of it—hidden behind the underwear Maria had bought him—even if he was sure that nobody would look for it. After shutting the drawer he stepped back cautiously, his heart finally pacing down.
With a deep breath, he ran a nervous hand through his floppy hair. He had been sweating more than he cared to admit. A good bath would soothe his nerves and relax his muscles too.
He stopped in front of the bathroom's door when he heard the pouring of water in the tub, his heart racing once again. Holding the doorknob, his fingers slightly pushed the door open, careful not to make a sound.
Sybil plunged in the sunken bath, his gracious hands pouring water over his head as he chanted some mysterious prayer. His lean body was enveloped in milky steam as the silvery snakes crowning his head slithered in the water, embracing his back like fairy creatures dusted in glitter.
"...Oh, Lord! Have me purified—be the one washing me so that I'll be whiter than snow," the Oracle said.
When silence fell, Set became suddenly aware that he had been eavesdropping and carefully pulled the door closed. Still, he couldn't resist the urge to get Sybil's attention.
"Are you in there?" His words sounded rushed and lower than he intended, unable to conceal his accelerated breath.
Sybil's soothing voice came muffled from inside. "You know I am."
