Evanescent Mayfly [A Collection of Flash Stories]

Special Occasion

Lights, camera, action!

A high-pitched voice of a young woman standing behind the cameras filled the room up. The light went out all over except a small ark full of action and movements. In that darkness behind the scene, her silhouette was vague and indistinguishable from other dark shapes like hers, although there was something special in her. Something that could catch one's eye immediately when they came in the room. It wasn't that piece of plastic hung on her chest which said "Director", no, something deeper and more arcane... Some sparks full of life in that thoughtful gaze while she was watching her creation rising up slowly from the darkness.

"Damn you, Dean. You had travelled through the whole states several times in your life, driving trucks, cars, and even a locomotive, but you couldn't handle an ordinary car?" A gray-headed, man in his old age, querulously blurted out, stepping out of the car upon the sodden blacktop.

Cladded in his white suit, the old man turned towards Dean, gazing straight at him. He even didn't try to conceal his irritation, the opposite – he raised his voice, semi-crying, semi-screaming at Dean, who seemed to be much younger than him.

"I finally invented something that works and one time, damn you, only one time I trusted it to you and you... you wrecked it! You've wrecked my car!"

Dean didn't seem to care at all, he laboriously examined the hood and fender, raised his head up and calmly said, "Just a minor fender-bender, Doc, nothing will be able to destroy your precious DeLorean" he said, suddenly smashing his fist against the hood of the car which brought Doc to the edge of madness, the words stuck in his throat and all he managed to say was, "Wh~?"

"You see? No dent." Dean slowly circled around the car towards Doc with a genuine smile on his face. Smile, that firstly irritated the old man a lot, for he considered it to be a smile that usually only arrogant men from the government had.

"We got what we had been looking for all this time. The World Passport, the thing with which we are allowed to travel no matter wherever we want, whenever we want, and, with whomever we want!" he laughed, it was one hearty laugh a man can only laugh when he achieves the life goal.

Doc's face got covered with a smile as well, making the face seem as if there hadn't been any anger in it, and, at the moment when Doc wanted to reply, another man in an old, ragged black suit stepped out of the shadow cast by the tree in which DeLorean had hit against. He looked woefully scared.

"Can you hide me from them?" He gaspingly managed to ask for help.

"From whom?" Doc replied, looking unusually worried.

"Soldiers. They're on my tail."

Doc and Dean exchanged looks, and simultaneously nodded, "You have won the lottery, man. We are about to go home, it's over there" Dean pointed aside at a little but cozy building opposite the road, "What's your name?"

"Ravic. But you can call me Lud, pal."

They shook each other's hand and headed to the house, closing the DeLorean beforehand with the key. As only their silhouettes appeared on the front porch, the door cracked and swung open. A pretty young kid was standing in the threshold, staring at wanderers.

"Haven't recognized us, my boy?" Doc stepped in front, putting his hand in boy's hair and patted him, "Lud, come on here. This is Oliver, he was out living on the streets some weeks ago, and we made a call to give him a shelter." Ravic made a step forward to shake the boy's hand, but he only shrank back and ran away.

"Don't take it personally. He's still very self-conscious. Don't worry, he will be okay. Probably already playing toys and teaching Kafka to do the twist"

"Kafka?" Wondered Lud.

"Yeah. Another boy Doc adopted. He is Japanese, though, and has little knowledge of English" said Dean.

They slowly walked in the house, proceeding their pace into the living room, where two boys were dancing to the music. Another boy, apparently Kafka, was pretty clumsy at it but didn't seem to be willing to give in.

The whole room was decorated in some beautiful, bright Christmas lights. In the furthest corner of the room, where the boys were dancing, was a Christmas tree near the fireplace. A great deal of tinsels hung down from branches of it. Dean and Doc called the boys to come to the festive table where they had been sitting with Ravic already.

A joyful, happy chatter filled the room up. For the first time in his life, Oliver seemed to be happy, for Kafka managed to put a smile on his face after one week of gloomy expression on it. A lapse of time passed, they had eaten till they were full when, in two hours after the feast started, out of the blue, a sound of someone knocking at the door distracted them. Dean headed towards the door, opened it and ran into a strong man cladded in uniform.

"If you give me your name, I'll make you the freest," the Nameless Monster said with some eerie voice, and a woefully vicious grin appeared on his face. He put a hand on Dean's shoulder while he was just standing there, motionless, scared to death.

"Shall we come in?" And, in a moment, the door shut behind them.

Cut!

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Words count: 914