The Golden Bond

Chapter 18

Everything had changed now. Since coming to Rome, more things had happened in a couple of days than would normally happen in two months. My life had suddenly been turned upside down. Previously I had been dealing only with my job and sometimes with the house. I hardly ever went out and didn't meet up with any men. Travelling was out of the question because I always had to take care of the shop. I loved my business but in some ways it isolated me from the rest of the world.

Today I was in a different country, Wanda was running the shop and I slept in the same room as him. Of course, we had separate beds, but just his presence by itself was so strangely annoying.

William. This mysterious man was the reason for all this. In these past few days I'd managed to get to know him a little bit better, but he still kept surprising me. Whenever he opened his mouth he'd say something that totally shattered my previous ideas about the world. I'd been flexible in every way, but this was a bit over the top... like, for example, on the day after our arrival. He took me outside and began his training pretty harshly.

"I have to do something to help you understand how it all works, Sofia," he said, "and I'm sorry but it's going to hurt."

Shortly after that a terrible headache started. It came on slowly, sneakily, but became gradually stronger and stronger up to the point where I had to hold my temples.

"Defend yourself," he commanded, "don't let the pain paralyse you."

Is he doing this to me? Jesus Christ...The world was spinning round. We were sitting opposite each other on a park bench in the centre of Rome, I was face to face with a man who was apparently able to induce excruciating headaches at will, or he was letting someone else hurt me. I didn't know what to do. He probably knew that, but didn't let up.

"Instinct, Sofia. What does your instinct tell you to do?"

Instinct? In that moment, my instinct did what I wouldn't be able to consciously do myself. Out of the blue, my hand flew out and I hit William right in the face. I hit him hard. He didn't expect it and looked baffled for a moment. The pain began to wear off.

He rubbed his jaw, looked at me, narrowed his eyes and the headache began again, even more intensely this time. "Not physically, Sofia. That won't help. People like me can hurt you from a distance, too. You won't always be able to hit them." Apparently I hit him squarely on the jaw as he still held his chin.

So what the hell am I supposed to do?That headache became unbearable. After all those days when I was totally exhausted from the incessant cramps, I could really do without entertainment of this kind. I began to lose interest in the world and was falling into a state similar to fainting. His voice came from far away.

"Shut yourself in, Sofia. Imagine that there is something rather like a bubble around you that protects you. Everything that's coming toward you from the outside world bounces off it. Only what you want to let through can get in. It's something like a protective membrane, something like a shield. Create it, Sofia, quick!" He rushed me as if he knew that if I didn't make it quickly and he didn't stop or protect me with his own shield, my head would explode. Which is exactly how I felt.

Then it stopped. For a short moment, I was surrounded by complete silence, as if someone had switched off the whole buzz of one of the biggest cities in the world by remote control. Click.I opened my eyes but I didn't see anything unusual. I could only feel that bubble with my senses, as if something was surrounding and protecting me. It was like a real multi-coloured bubble from a bubble blower, bigger than you and you're suddenly in the middle of it.

I stood up from the park bench and looked around. I felt great. No headache. I smiled at William and he watched me searchingly. He was probably wondering whether I'd actually succeeded and whether or not I'd really blocked off all the pain.