Windows to the soul

A companion

Chapter 8  Windows to the soul

Mike located the flower shop in a pedestrian mall in the south-western part of Sevastopol in the Crimea. However, he thought it cautious to sit in a cafe across the street and cultivate waiting.

Through the glass, he caught the sight of a lady walking and attending to her work. It stirred some powerful impulses in him, as if the intimation of her vision was starting to tell him what to do. It created a compelling drive for him to rush into the shop and meet her.

He recalled how he had told Charles about the hot chocolate story of the Seals training, that day in the Houston woods.

Charles had responded with,

“The purpose is not to deny the individual. It is to inform him that the reward is as much the training.”

Mike realized that as a Westerner, he had better control in matters of discernment of his logos experience. However, the Easterner was better at discerning the pathos. Both avoided testing the other on their areas of specialty. However, where a person was able to combine both with equanimity, it would be a wonderful experience of the ethos, sufficient to create a rhetorical sense in the gnosis.

After an hour, Mike went up to the shop.

He opened the door and entered. She looked up and smiled, but gave no sign of recognition. Mike walked up to the counter and said,

“How are you Adele?”

She smiled instantly and quickly brought her disposition into line with the situation. It is as if her heart searched and found instantly her relationship to this man from her past. In the meantime she maintained a straight disposition on the issues, as would be normal with someone forgetting something.

Mike realized that he never saw all these before and was grateful for the opportunity to do so today. It was the way with all women. He had come to accept it. It brought to him an understanding of the decorum a man applied to women.

“It's Mike.....Mike Flanders......Kosova.....2002.”

She brought both her hands together to her lips and came over and hugged Mike.

“How've you been?” she asked.

“Just fine,” he replied, feeling pleased with himself. It was the first time, with her, that he didn't feel he ought to have her and possess her as if she was a part of him. Having saved her life and that of her father in Kosova, may have had something to do with that.

“What are you doing in the Crimea?” she asked.

“Came to tie up some loose ends,” he replied. He figured right then that he'll keep up the notion that he was still in the service. It was the only iconic factor that kept the two of them together.

“Can we talk?” he asked. “ Are you free?”

“Yeah, sure,” she responded. “I could take an early lunch.”

She closed the shop and went across the street to the cafe. He inquired about her father and brother, when they had taken their seats.

“They are fine,” she said with a trace of the hurried. “Father is writing his memoirs.....he's trying to patch things.....you are here about Bosennica, aren't you,” she asked instinctively.

“I might,” he said.

“I'm glad it is you and not anyone else,” she said. Her eyes had grown crimson and her manner produced a shiver in her speech.

“I need you to help me understand,” he said. “Can you do that?”

She realized he was not the same Mike she had known before. Something had changed. It was personal.

“Khalid never had a normal upbringing,” she began, “ my mother had passed away when he was born and we were the only two children. He depended on me for everything....I was his mother....sister.....all rolled into one.”

“Would you say then that he cannot get along without you?”

“That's true,” she replied.

“Has he been in contact with you?” he asked.

She realized the obvious nature of the question. She nodded.

“You know something funny?” he asked her. Then continued uninterrupted,” In the Navy we get the best possible training to deal with situations....but everywhere....we depend on people to get our information and intelligence. Now here's the thing. Our readiness is only as good as the understanding we have of the situation.”

He paused to look at her.

“The only way we get the job done is to take the responsibility for what we do. If we ever stopped to ask anyone, we are lost. Where we lead, everyone follows. I just spent two years in India, learning how the social natures, in the world, look up to us to define and lead on the social issues. They take the definitions and live it and come back to us to have it refined. Thereafter, we incorporate that into our social living experience.”

“I wasn't trying to tell you how to do your job,” she responded. She appeared wild eyed and anxious.

Mike paused. He realized then, how a girl he thought was bright and bubbly was simply reflecting on his emotions and managing him completely. It occurred to him that anyone else he was saying these things to, would have stopped him and told him they didn't know what he was talking about, and that they have nothing to do with India.

“I need to send a message to Khalid. Can you do that for me?”

She nodded.

“Tell him I need to see him.”