I see

I see

08/07/2024

'Hello, brother! Is everything all right? You sounded worried on the phone. Are Danny and Sierra okay?'

'Yes, yes, they're all right. Don't worry so much. I just had a rough day. How are you?' 

'Everything is alright. Should I brag to you? John waited for his brother to nod and only then continued, I will go on holiday. You know how long I've been waiting for this!

'The country doesn't need you anymore?'

'Of course, it needs me. You know I'm irreplaceable, John winked, even our mother kept saying I was the better son. And, where are we? I'm the president of Bassett, and you're still my brother and nothing more. 

They both laughed. Maury didn't seem offended by the remark.

'You're not even her real son, Mr. President.' 

'And you're not a President, so don't open your mouth too much.'

'If you say... and yet Mom loved me as much as she loved you. '

'I wish she'd stayed. She didn't even wait for you to graduate, young man.'

‘So what? Does being old make you more valuable?’

‘Well, that’s how it turns out to be.’ the big brother said. 

They both laughed again. Maury's laughter stopped before that of his brother, Basset's president. The younger son of the Mandell family put a deliberate face. He stared at his feet as if they were giving news on a small screen embedded in his sole.

'Are you sure it's all right?', John asked as his laughter subsided.

'Yes and no.', His brother replied.

'What happened?'

'Nothing. Listen, you know what I do, don't you?'

'Well, not quite.'

'But you have a general idea, am I right?'

'Yes.’

'All right. For reasons I can't share with you, I had to go to a small village. Yesterday.'

Mauri leaned forward and crossed his hands. He looked like a woman about to entrust her best recipe to her eldest daughter.

'And?', John asked impatiently.

'And it was so weird. I cannot explain it to you. I don't even know if I'm getting into nonsense.' 

'Just tell me. Only what you are allowed to say, of course. I don't want both of us to get killed, especially if it doesn't matter. Go boldly, young man!'

'I entered this village. I was alone and I saw a man, rather a boy. Maybe twenty. And, you know, I don't have to look up, so I decided to take on a role. I knew perfectly where I was going, but I approached him, even changed my gait to look like a confused tourist. I yell at him, “Hey, buddy, do you know where the library is? I have a date with a great chick and I have to get there in ten minutes.”'

'I don't think he believed you', John laughed. 'Is that why you're worried? The boy told you he didn't believe you had a date, did he?'

'No, for God's sake! Listen! He turns and looks at me with his big green eyes, he looks at me as if he knows me. I frowned at his gaze. He was terrible. He looks at me and says, “You finally came. At the last minute, but you came.” I asked about the library again. The boy held out his hand to me… Seriously, he raises his hand and waits for me to grab it. I tried to explain to him that I was in a hurry for the date. Do you know what he told me?'

'What?', John asked.

"Isn't it enough that you’re so late."

'What did you do?'

'That's the scary part. I felt guilty. And I took his hand. Something made me do it, I swear.'

'Did you kiss after that?', John asked with a wide smile.

'Thank God for the great President I have! No, we didn't kiss. He led me down a path. We were walking through the forest. He talked to me all the time. He knew who I was, who you were, he knew the names of my wife and my son. I'm telling you; this boy wasn't well.

'No, fool, you are the president's brother. Why are you surprised that someone knows who you are?’

'I'm willing to bet they knew who you were for me.’ Not the other way around. I was important to them. It doesn't matter now. He was talking to me about a woman. The one who was waiting for me. Not in front of the library, of course, he knew this was a lie. The one we were going to. I don't remember exactly what he told me. But it became clear to me that she was a fortune teller. She knew everything, the boy said. I don't know how long we walked, but I thought it was a lot. Finally, we entered a small house. It smelled of poverty inside. Of misery. A fat gypsy woman was sitting on a small chair, looking at me. And she told me she had been waiting for me for a long time.'

'What did she predict for you? A date at the library?'

'I'm glad you're having fun, really, but I didn't laugh then.'

'Okay, sorry. Finish.'

'As a matter of fact, she predicted almost nothing for me.' She did not say that I would get rich or impoverish. Do you know what her only words were?'

'I don't.'

"Eyes will bleed."

'Yes. Amazing. And you just left?'

'I don’t know. I don't remember anything.'

10/07/2024, Wednesday

The president of Bassett, a powerful and handsome man of forty-six, parked his car on the promenade. He could take advantage of his driver, but he loved the sense of freedom that driving brought him. He liked to press the pedals, to feel the handlebars in his hands.

He was finally on vacation. All alone. The feeling was great.

The residence where he was accommodated was entirely at his disposal. Its only occupants were staff - a young receptionist, several maids and a boy who was cleaning the pool.

He went up to his room on the top floor and out onto the balcony. He hadn't even unpacked the little luggage he was carrying. He lit a cigarette and closed his eyes. He took a moment to enjoy the fresh air, the light cool wind, and the silence that surrounded him on all sides.

His phone rang.

"Sierra"

It took him a few moments to remember who Sierra was.

'Yes? Hello?'

'John? Mauri! Dead! Help, John, what do I do? His eyes!'

*** 

Hello Mike! You've heard it before, haven't you? Thank you. Look, I have a question. You know what my brother did, don't you? Okay. I want you to tell me where he was supposed to go on Sunday. I need a village name. No, I don't know what area it's in. It's urgent, yes. Thanks, Mike. Yes, I'm holding on.

These were the orders John Mandell gave to his closest subordinate.

11/07/2024, Thursday

John was already on his way to Bromwich. There he was supposed to find the fat gypsy who had predicted the death of his only brother.

The president did not believe in such nonsense. He remembered their mother sitting on the kitchen sofa, with a towel wrapped around her head. She spilled cups of coffee and tried to read its messages. She boiled herbs, even bought a crystal ball with "great mystical power," from a garage sale.

However, their mother had never bothered to predict anything more important than the approximate electricity bill or the outcome of a risky situation in Dad's business.

He missed her more and more every day.

However, a woman unknown to him had ruled on the fate of his own brother.

What had she told him? Hell, he didn't even listen to his story carefully! How would he know that this would be their last conversation?

"Eyes will bleed."

Yes, they definitely bled. Sierra couldn't connect the words that came to her mind in meaningful sentences, but as it became clear later, the woman went home with their son, Danny. She had seen Mauri before that - nothing different from their usual mornings. Coffee, orange juice. He did not appear anxious, worried, or suicidal. John didn't need to hear from anyone, he knew there was nothing more important to Maury than his family.

When Sierra returned, she found Maury, young and always happy, lying lifeless on the floor in the hallway. He was dressed in a formal suit, as if he had just gone out to breakfast with an important business partner. At the door, however, he remembered that instead of going and having breakfast at a luxury restaurant, he could test his stamina. How? Taking a vegetable knife, one of those short and sharp ones that had always aroused some inexplicable sympathy in John. It was just a knife, but something in its shape made him smile inwardly. Until yesterday.

So, Mauri takes the little knife, opens his eyes wide, probably keeps them open with his hands, and starts cutting. First under them. Deep. Blood began to splash from his face. His - face covered in blood as if it had fallen from a fountain. What he has become himself. Then he started scratching with the knife. Under and over the eyes. In his eyes. One of his eyeballs, split in several places, flew out at some point. They found it under the shoe closet.

Then the president's brother died. Disfigured and dead Mauri, this is what his favourites Dan and Sierra found. The woman screams hysterically, not believing her eyes. The ten-year-old tries to be cool, he doesn't cry right away, he doesn't do it until the evening when an unknown woman, his mother calls her Melda, puts him to sleep. In his attempt to be strong, he did not feel when he fell to the ground, in the corner, he did not feel the warm liquid descending on his feet, he did not feel when he fainted and when he regained consciousness, while his mother mourned her beloved. Her husband, his father.

John must find this bad woman.

***

He arrived in the evening. He wasn't even surprised to see a man's silhouette a few steps after the "Welcome to Bromwich" sign. He carried a backpack and was skinny. Not knowing why, John was sure his hair was greasy.

She stood beside him and looked him straight in the eye. The young man held out his hand.

‘It won't happen’, the president said. ‘I'm not your boyfriend. Don’t touch me. Lead me.’

The stranger said nothing. He stared into the face of John, who had just noticed that the green color in the boy's eyes seemed to float.

He took his hand.

On the way he fell into a trance, drifting weightlessly to where the young man with the greasy hair was leading him. The journey was long, they walked through the forest.

The house the boy had left him in front of looked exactly as Mauri had described it.

He pushed open the door and entered the room he had already heard about. The woman was sitting there. It was as if he had known her for a long time. She had black, short hair.

'You're finally here.', she said.

'What are you?' You killed my brother! You will pay for it!

'Killed? Definitely not. I just foresaw it.' Her mouth was barely opening.

'Yes, you killed him. Why? What did he do?’

John felt tears streaming down his cheeks. He didn't want to whine in front of his brother's killer.

'You cursed him! He wouldn't kill himself! But did it for you!'

'Look, Mr. President, you can't say that someone would or wouldn't do anything. Your brother has always had problems. With himself. With his mind. There is no way to know. But I knew. I see. I knew you would come. I knew you would be angry, sad; I knew you would blame me. But on the inside, you know that I have nothing in common. And you know you didn't come by accident. You have a mission… I see, John.

Mission.

'What are you talking about? You're crazy.'

'You know.'

Yes, John knew that. Maybe that was the reason he came. To understand his mission.

She was not crazy. The madman was John. He could feel her influence on him. He did not object. He liked it.

13/07/2024, Saturday

I see.

Citizens of Basset Hound, compatriots, ladies and gentlemen! My name is Carmina Varsha. You will not believe what I will tell you. I don't expect it from you. But if anyone thinks about my words, if he pays attention to me, if he listens to my only advice, then do what I tell you.

Go to your loved ones today. Embrace them. Kiss your children and assure them that everything will be fine. Leave food in the bowls of your pets. Call all your friends.

And say goodbye.

God created the world in six days. He will destroy it for less.

Tomorrow.

It will all start with us, the humans. Whether we deserve, it or not doesn't matter.

I see.

***

Bob, who had spread out like jelly on the couch, snorted and grabbed the remote. He did not succeed. The fat woman with black hair was on all channels. His wife entered the living room.

'What's going on, Bob?' She asked.

'They fill our heads with nonsense!' The world would end tomorrow, imagine!

'Is that why my sister just called me?'

'Yes, your sister is one of those people who believe in Television, Internet forums and the power of zodiac signs. Everywhere they give some fat woman who constantly repeats that she can see. I see, I see, we will all die! I see it, friends.'

'Yes, I read somewhere that the president organized everything.'

'I'm telling you, there will be resignations tomorrow. Of course, if we're alive.'

Bob scored a bit of acting, a charming smile and a wink for the finale. His wife laughed. He turned off the TV, and she climbed on top of him and kissed him passionately.

The old woman's speech lasted about ten minutes. The presenters of the news program, who were interrupted by its sudden inclusion, described the situation as "disturbing, inexplicable and thought-provoking". Then they went on to analyse the day - four crashes, a victory for the youth national football team and the death of actress Lissa Deepak.

There were few people like Bob's wife's sister. Almost no one was patient to listen carefully, there were few who called friends and relatives.

They slept peacefully in Bassett tonight.

14/07/2024, Sunday

Lola, a Gray female pug, had just woken up. The silence in the house surprised her. Most mornings she was awakened by the sound of her mistresses' footsteps. The two girls, friends from the university, shared the apartment. They had bought Lola a year ago. Her dog's brain made her run to the girls' room.

The door was open. Lola came in and climbed on the bed. There was no one.

She couldn't guess what had happened - she was just a dog.

***

Flight number 384 of the company "BassetAir" was about to land at the airport in fifteen minutes. The lead pilot, Ryan, was relaxed in his seat. The thought dawned on him that his colleague had been suspiciously late in the bathroom.

'Well, everything happens…', he started saying. The next moment the cockpit was empty.

The plane would not land successfully.

***

Bob's wife woke up early. The place next to her was empty - strange because her husband liked to sleep. It was seven in the morning. Bob had nothing to do outside so early.

She deftly got out of bed and walked to the nursery. In the basket she saw the silhouette of her son, a handsome boy with blond curls. She felt the need to take a good look at him. She suddenly thought of the "breaking news" of yesterday. She ran to the little child and turned the lights on.

The bed was empty.

***

'If I do die, and I know I'm going to, I hope I meet Mom and Mauri. If it happens, I won't care what world I'm in. Ho - ho - ho, and let us all die!'

John sat in his office, talking in a strained voice. In front of him was a glass of premium whiskey and a box of cigarettes. He was going to die anyway, he decided to enjoy vices indecent for a president as a last resort.

'It's just a pity I missed my only vacation in years. Because of my little brother. When we meet, I will tell him that I am angry. I will even hit him.

He left the half-smoked cigarette in the ashtray.

He picked up a pen engraved with his name. He lifted it up, as if looking at it in the light from the window.

He stabbed it in his eye. Blood rushed.

Scream.

He took out the pen and saw with his other eye that it was half red.

Pierce him too.

Another scream.

He took the cigarette from the ashtray. Then put it in his bloodshot eye.

Third scream.

Several people in the corridor rushed inside. They knew who was there.

The president's chair was empty.

There was blood on the floor, a lot of blood. A pen floated in it, half white, half red. There was also a butt.

"What the...," said one woman.

The next moment, they all disappeared.

***

There were animal carcasses in the streets. There was no trace of the human race left.

The wind was blowing sand. The deserts took what belonged to them, one would say. But there was no one to say it.

***

The gypsy was sitting in her usual place in the cottage. She was looking at the boy with the greasy hair. They were leaning forward, holding hands.

‘I see.’

The boy smiled.