Glad To Be Of Service

“Flying Carpet Taxi Service, Rita speaking, how can I help?” A melody of panpipes swings in the background while the operator plays with the djinn facepalm sticker she just bought. It is dark outside, almost midnight. Light boxes on the walls send waves of brightness into her workplace, more like a living room than an office. Her table accommodates a computer, a keyboard, a mouse, and a magic lamp. Her toga is a bit ruffled as is the makeup on her face. Several carpets float just below the ceiling, waiting to be called upon.

“I need a ride. Fast!”

She rolls her eyes and has a hard time letting go of the djinn but forces herself to concentrate on the computer. “Where are you and where do you need to go?” “Iceland to Germany” “I’m sorry. Our marathon carpets are out on a trip, one moment please.” “Could you please hur..” Rita puts the call on hold and removes her headset. “Giovanni.” The carpet in the left corner stretches every single one of his fringes, then begins his complete cycle of furling, finishing with a barrel roll. This embodiment of woven patterns lowers himself towards Rita, who stops playing with the sticker.

“This is the moment you’ve been waiting for. How’s your rough patch? Did Peter stitch you up?” Giovanni hovers towards a board on the wall between the lights. “YES! Itches a little, yes and I’m ready.” Rita watches him pick words and phrases from the panel; considers the way he moves to make sure he is in truth. She didn’t know about his secret passion for acting classes.

“I’ve got a solution”, Rita says into her headset. “It’s about time!” yells the soon to be fare. She lights her incense sticks, lets him cry and shout, then plays with the sticker again, contemplating where it fits best in her office. She looks at the table, at the computer, at the area next to the curtain door until the voice has calmed down and she returns to the call.

“Where exactly are you? I need latitude and longitude of both your position and the place you wish to go.” “63°-50’-5.8194”” N, 21°-3’-45.648”” W to 52°-30’-59.7594”” N, 13°-23’-38.7594”” E.” Rita scribbles the coordinates on a sheet of paper while the scent of vanilla and strawberry fills the room. She grabs the magical lamp. The screeching noise of the screw-top turns her eyebrows into magnets. She lights up the note with the blaze of an incense stick. A slight tremble shoots through Giovanni and he moves towards the fire a little too eagerly without Rita noticing. Just behind his fringes there’s a rope-like diamond woven into his upper corner; he begins the process of untangling to reveal it while she puts the burning note into the magic lamp. Smoke emanates from it while it spins in circles. It stops, shakes, releases more smoke, spits a flash and – bang!

“Your ride will be there in a few minutes”, says the operator to the fare.

“Thank you.”

She stands up, takes the magic lamp and pours glittering confetti into Giovanni’s now half open diamond. In a split second he furls, then vanishes. “Where did you send him? He wasn’t ready!” asks Peter who just entered the room with a pale face. His black beard spikes to support his state of shock. “Germany, somewhere in Berlin”, Rita replied. He looks at the map, “are you crazy? They’re burning books and he’s not stable enough to keep away from fire. Don’t you remember what fire does to him?” Peter opens the notebook in his hands, he turns a few pages and shows them to Rita. On them there are tables, sketches and lines of poor handwriting describing behaviors in specific flying situations after the incident. “He moved in truth, Peter. When I asked him if he was ready, there was no sign of any doubt.”

“He doesn’t know that. He can’t evaluate what he’s ready for or not.”

“And you can?!” Rita shouts. Her toga shudders as does her face. “What do you expect when you constantly restrain him, when you constantly tell him what he is ready for or not? Do you think he would even have the slightest chance to build any shred of confidence at all if someone persistently tells him no, you can’t? No, you’re not ready. No, it’s impossible. No, you could relapse. No, you could implode. No, you could get too close to the fire. Do you even think about what you’re doing to him? He engages in risky behavior out of frustration. Out of defiance. There was no sign of doubt, Peter, and I believe in him.”

“Because you didn’t see the burn.” Tears fill Peter’s eyes, his voice trembles. “You didn’t see what I saw. You didn’t see what he was able to do to himself. You didn’t see the fire. It was as if he was drawn to it, as if it was ingrained into his fabric even though he knows it kills him.” Peter sits down on the couch next to the door. He puts the notebook next to him and his face into his hands. “I still ask myself what happened to him. How he could do that? Why I couldn’t prevent it?” He starts to cry. Rita lets him and stays silent. The scent of vanilla and strawberry dissipates while the screen saver masks the desktop. The words Flying Carpet Taxi Service drift from one side to the next while the wind plays with the curtains and a new day dawns. Rita peeks at the djinn facepalm sticker. A piece of paper next to the couch catches Peter’s attention. He grabs it and moves towards Rita. “Is this yours?” he asks. She looks at the advertisement. Method acting for beginners and beginning professionals. “No” she says. Her body shrinks like a balloon losing air. No amount of makeup could hide her face turning paler than his. The phone rings. Both Peter and the operator look at it.

“Flying Carpet Taxi Service, this is Rita speaking, how can I help?”

“What’s the name of the carpet you sent me?”

“Giovanni”

“There’s a kind of courage ingrained in his fabric I’ve never seen before. He helped us to put out the fire that blind, ignorant people set to burn books because they wouldn’t understand. Thank you. We’re in your debt.” Rita smiles. She gives a nod to Peter, permission to feel relieved. He leans back on the couch.

“We’re glad to be of service. Please be so kind to send him back to us by letting him go. He can show you how. Thank you and have a pleasant day.”