2

 Hi, honey," Linda shouted from the doorway, before she even saw him.

Hobbs ran out of the room and looked at her with wide, terrified eyes. He ran to her and hugged her tightly, nearly breaking her in half. He picked her up and began showering her face with kisses. He spun her around, set her down, and pressed his lips to hers as if he'd been waiting a million years for that kiss. Surprised by this outpouring of tenderness, she stared wide-eyed at his face as they locked in a passionate kiss. But she liked it.

"Oh, someone's really missed you," she said with amusement when he finally released her and allowed her to take off her jacket. She felt dizzy and blushed.

Rob looked at her as if he were about to cry—as if he were seeing her for the last time in his life.

"Is something wrong, honey?" Linda asked, looking at him fearfully.

"I don't know..." he sighed heavily. "Just the thought of losing you..." he began, then stopped.

"Teddy bear..."

She walked over to him and hugged him.

"I love you," he whispered. He sniffed.

"I love you too, teddy bear..."

She stood on tiptoe to kiss him.

"Shall we order pizza?" she asked cheerfully, trying to dispel the melancholy that had gripped him.

"OK... Pizza..." he sighed and managed a weak smile.

She went to the kitchen to order a pizza over the phone. He disappeared into the bathroom for a moment.

On a premonition, Hobbs went to the bedroom and picked up the alarm clock from the bedside table.

He looked at it. Again, only strange characters, illuminated in green, danced on the display.

"Look at this alarm clock," he asked Linda after she had finished placing her order and hung up the phone, "and tell me: does this clock work?"

Linda looked at him in surprise. She took the clock from him and, ruffling her brow, read the time.

"I think so..." she said. "Maybe he's a minute late... What?"

Rob took it from her. He glared at it with hatred. Nothing but incomprehensible green markings.

"No..." he groaned. "No..."

He slammed the alarm clock against the doorframe. Linda jumped back, terrified, as he banged it furiously against the wall. The glass first dented, then cracked, and finally crumbled to the floor. And Hobbs kept banging it until the clock shattered in his hand.

***

He walked through the park as rain poured down from the sky. But Hobbs paid no attention to it. He walked heavily, panting, and the water dripping down his back plastered his hair to his face. He hadn't brought an umbrella, though it was already raining when he left the house. He didn't care. He didn't have time to look for an umbrella.

He had to find Samuel Jones.

He didn't know what he was going to do: would he just punch him, or would he pin him down and make him bark every word? He didn't know. He had an irresistible urge to beat the living daylights out of him, but he also had something to say, and he wondered what he would do first and what he would do next. Or maybe both? Would he slap him and punch him in the face in time?

"Whack," Jones laughed. He appeared behind him and punched him between the shoulder blades.

Rob whirled around and blindly swung his clenched fist.

He missed.

"You son of a bitch..." he rasped, spitting out the rain that was pouring into his mouth, and it was the mildest word he could think of. As a lyricist, he had amassed an astonishing vocabulary.

"I knew you'd be back," the tramp said calmly. "It's good to see you again. Come on, we'll go over there, under the roof." It's not comfortable for me to be soaking wet here." He winked at Hobbs. He pointed to a small diner on the edge of the park, about fifty yards away.

Rob looked at Jones suspiciously. He motioned for Jones to go ahead of him. The homeless man shrugged and walked, Hobbs following, still contemplating the idea of a beating. They crossed a small wooden bridge over a stream. The boy was right behind the homeless man.

He brushed his hair back from his face. The rain was picking up, and Rob was already completely soaked.

He wiped his face with his sleeve when they finally stopped under the overhanging roof. The walk through the rain had worn him out. He wasn't in the best of shape.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Samuel asked. "Unless you only came here to kick my ass.

" "You know I don't.

" "Maybe I know, maybe I don't. So what's this about?

" "The same thing as yesterday."

"Do you believe me now?

" "I'm going crazy," Hobbs gasped. "It's like that dollar bill trick. I wrote something on the paper, looked away, and when I looked again, it was written something else. Similar, but not the same. And I still don't know what time it is. And Linda insists it's like eighty-something. It doesn't make sense. It's so fucked up I can't comprehend it. And either I'm crazy, I'm crazy, or you're right. But you're wrong, because I can play. I can play guitar, I can sing, I can write songs. You can't tell me I can't.

" "Because it's a dream, and you just don't know you can't. You think you can, and that's what your imagination gives you: visions of you being able to play. You play... Beautiful songs, I'll give you that. That last one you wrote today, not bad. Polish it up, and it'll be great." But it's just a dream, my dear.

"And Linda?" Rob asked defiantly, tilting his head.

"She's pretty. I congratulate you on your imagination, and your taste.

" "She's real. I can't believe it's just a dream. I wouldn't feel a thing. And she kisses me so hard, my legs go weak."

"Well, then, congratulations. A girl like a dream... Or a dream. Just a dream.

" "No!" Hobbs roared. "You can't convince me! No... No... I remember like it was yesterday when we met six years ago, and I remember almost every day we were together as if it were still before my eyes. I remember walks in the park. I still feel the belching from the garlic pizza. Just like I remember recording our first album. I remember the concerts. You can't tell me that all of that simply wasn't there.

" "It was," Jones admitted. "But only in your head. It's some kind of amalgamation of your memories. You saw something, somewhere, once, and now it seems like you did it.

" "But it's so real... Tangible... Or this rain!" Hobbs took a step to the side and stood in the torrents pouring from the sky. "I can see every droplet, I can feel it wet and cold. I'm shivering because I'm soaked and cold.

" "Then make it stop raining and make the sun shine."

"What?" Hobbs grimaced.

"What you heard. It's your dream. You might not know this, but you can do more than just dream a dream. You can create it... You can control everything that happens in it." Jones stepped out from under the awning and stood in the rain. "Nothing's stopping you from changing the weather."

"Okay, then show me," Hobbs said challengingly, raising his eyebrows.

"Oh no, I can't do miracles like that. But you can. Try.

" "Sure!" Rob snorted.

"Make the sun shine."

"I can't! I won't! This isn't a dream. This is real, and I can't! I'm not a miracle worker!" the boy roared. The

thunder boomed .

"Ohohooo!" the tramp laughed. "You're good! Really good!

" "What did I do?"

"You're so afraid of being right that instead of doing what I asked you to do, you did the opposite," Samuel explained with a smile. "You were so reluctant to make the sun come out that instead it started pouring and thundering! You did it!

" "No way!" Rob yelled, clenching his fist.

In one second the rain subsided, and the next it stopped completely.

The homeless man rolled his eyes. He looked up at the sky with a smile. Then he turned to Hobbs.

"Coincidence?

" "I did it?" the boy asked in surprise.

Samuel nodded approvingly.

"And can I really make the sun come out?"

Rob looked up at the sky. The clouds dispersed, and his face lit up with a golden glow.

"You can do anything. It's your dream, and you're the lord and master of it." The homeless man shrugged.

"Can I make you disappear?

" "No." Jones grinned maliciously. "I'm just a little nightmare in your dream. I'm your clown, your squire, my king. I won't hurt you, but I won't leave you alone."

"Get lost, or I'll hurt you!" - Rob growled.

"You won't hurt me. But okay, that's enough for now. I'm leaving. I'm gone now. But we'll meet again. And you'll come to me, not me to you. In the meantime, come. Have fun. While you can

Shall we go to the park?" Linda asked. "Such nice weather.

" "I don't feel like going to the park," Rob said.

They sat opposite each other in beige fabric-upholstered armchairs. Hobbs lounged back in his like a faded nobleman, and Linda sat upright, sipping her tea. She propped her feet on the table.

Suddenly, the boy looked at her closely—and she noticed.

"What, honey, got you into the mood for cuddling again?" she asked, raising her eyebrows coquettishly.

"Come to me."

She put down her tea, stood up, gracefully walked around the table, and straddled Hobbs. She massaged his shoulders.

"So what are you going to do to me now?" "

I want to look at you.

" "You like me, don't you?

" "Bah!

She was pretty—in that understated way he liked. She had fair skin and straight, blond hair. She wore no makeup. She wasn't a cover girl—thankfully. And she had the sweetest lips in the world.

"What do you like about me?" Linda asked curiously. Her eyes widened, like a child expecting a present.

"Lips!"

She leaned over him as if she wanted to kiss him with those sweet lips. But she stopped two centimeters from his mouth.

"And what else?"

She clearly enjoyed this game.

"Your nose.

" "Go on, go on...

" "Hmmm..." Rob feigned contemplation. "Legs... Butt...

" "Go on, go on...

" "And eyes!" he stated firmly. "Eyes!

" "Eyes, you say?" she said seductively. She widened those eyes at him, which was a bit comical, but also alluring.

She had beautiful eyes, with a strange pattern and an indefinable color that only added to their charm. He never knew if they were still hazel or already brown. She herself claimed it was the latter, but when he looked into them, he saw green and even thin gold veins.

He wondered what she would look like with blue eyes. Not a grayish, murky, pale blue—but a bright, blue, almost glaring one.

She closed her eyes for a moment, and when she opened them, they were... blue. Blue. Like tropical lagoons. The sight gripped him in his seat. He widened his eyes.

"Wow, I didn't know it was that bright!" Linda said with amusement. Now her eyes were green.

And now brown. Now hazel.

Black. Gray.

He only had to think, and her eyes would change color: violet, pink, gold, silver, navy blue.

When they turned red, he was startled. He realized he'd overdone it. He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, hers were back to being something between green and brown. And beautiful.

Have fun, the tramp told him.

"Beautiful," he said.

"And tired," Linda added. "I'm sleepy. Come on, let's go to bed.

...have fun—while you can.

" "What?" he asked, ruffling his eyebrows as if she'd said something terrible. Her innocent words chilled him.

"It's getting late."

Rob glanced toward the window. The sky outside was a deep blue. It worried him. He thought that if he lay down, he'd fall asleep. And if he fell asleep in his dream, the dream would end. And he didn't want that. He wanted to be here, with Linda—to have her in his arms and kiss those sweet lips.

He looked at her, then back at the sky outside. He ruffled his eyebrows.

The landscape outside brightened. The trees outside the window were green again, and the world was blue. The sun was shining.

"It's not late at all," Hobbs said with a smile.

"But..." Linda looked out the window and was almost speechless. "...it was... just... night...

" "Not anymore. It's day now," the boy reassured her.

"But how?

" "Because it's just a dream.

" "My dream.

" "No. Mine.

" "What?" She ruffled her eyebrows.

"I'm dreaming all this.

" "Oh, honey, you're on to something." Linda smiled indulgently.

"Listen... Would you like to have long, curly hair?

" "Of course! Always! But what does that have to do with it?

" "Please.

" "What: please?" Linda said in surprise. Only after a moment did she feel the curly tresses unwind and fall down her back. "Wow!" she sighed. She took a strand of fine, blond curls in her hands and wrapped it around her finger. "Is that mine?"

"Yours, yours," Hobbs said, nodding. "They can be red, if you want. Or black."

To confirm his words, the lush mane of curly hair turned carrot red and then jet black.

"Let it be blond," Linda said after a moment's thought. "But... but how did you do it?

" "I already told you. It's just a dream.

" "I can't believe I'm dreaming this.

" "I told you, you're not dreaming, I'm dreaming."

Linda looked at him in disbelief

. "But I'm real," she said. "And you too... right?

" "Yes, this is absurd. We're both real. I can touch you, feel your skin and your warmth under my fingers, smell your perfume. I pinch myself and feel the pain. But it's a dream... just a dream..."

Linda shook her head violently, as if to shake the negative thoughts from her mind. She stood up from the armchair where she had been straddling Hobbs and gasped.

"You know what? Let's go for a walk. Since it's daytime and the weather is so nice, it's a shame to stay here.

" "You're right. Let's go."

Linda was lacing her shoes at the end of the hall. Rob looked at her pityingly. He closed his eyes, and when he opened them, they were already on the street, and he was wearing his favorite Fido Dido T-shirt and sneakers. Linda was holding his arm. She was wearing brogues, not sneakers, which she was lacing up.

As they passed Hobbs's car, Hobbs glanced at him and decided it needed a wash.

In an instant, the car gleamed as if it had just rolled off the assembly line.

Rob eyed him critically. He changed the rims. He laughed when he thought of putting a Mercedes badge on the hood. But he did it. And changed the car's color from brown to metallic burgundy.

Linda rolled her eyes, and when he

 looked at her, she shook her head as if scolding a troublesome child.