Strangely, I began to gradually change.
This time, allowed fate to exist, I did not ignore that invitation to the evening of all "minds" and instead of spending my evening by reading or together with the Dreamer, I put on my dark green suit and began to collect my hair in a perfect ponytail.
When I looked at my reflection, I was pleasantly surprised.
The dark green suit sat on me perfectly. And that's not counting the black vest inside that slightly squeezed my ribs.
Catching the look of the Dreamer who was sitting on my bed, I stroked him on the back and he yawned lazily.
Taking with me that leather folder and a pen with the dragon's head, I checked once again that the Dreamer had water in the bowl and took the keys, left the house.
"Skye, finally! I thought you were going to call and tell me you weren't going to this party!" exclaimed Ikuta sitting in his car.
I sat silently in his car.
"How beautiful you are, " added Ikuta swiping his fingers through my hair. "You always look like you've come from a distant past and can't get used to modern fashion."
"Let's go, I'm not so glad that I took this invitation seriously."
"I don't get you. You're either too arrogant, or you're too introverted."
"I just love being alone."
"You know, you're right. After all, one who loves to be alone is able to love."
"What does love have to do with it?"
"Although your heart is very rich. The one whom you will love is very lucky one."
"And again, you're all in the back of this banal disease."
"Skye, I'm so glad you accepted the invitation. Or today I'd have to figure out a reason why you're not here again. I've always come up with a lot of reasons to prove to all of them that you're a very busy scientist."
"It's not necessary. Why would anyone have to prove something. They already know who I am."
And then Ikuta patted me on the back, and when the red light flashed before us, he turned to me and for a while just looked silently. His look even scared me a little bit.
But then he said quietly, "Skye, we've known each other for quite some time. If you ever want to tell me something or ask me something, then know, I'm always your friend. And nothing will change that."
I didn't know what he meant.
"What do you mean?"
"Forget it. It's just that sometimes I want to prove to you that I'm your friend," he said, and on this our conversation stopped until the car stopped in front of a luxurious building that was surrounded by lanterns.
"Oh no, he's here too," whispered Ikuta looking at an elderly man with a white beard. "Well, wish me patience today."
When we got out of the car, everyone's heads turned in sync in our direction.
Looking at me as if on some rare kind of animal, all at once began to whisper.
Women in luxurious dresses and men in exquisite suits looked at me with several emotions in their eyes.
"They noticed their only sun, " whispered Ikuta nodding to someone.
Having successfully passed everyone, we entered the luxurious ballroom where all the lights of candles were sparkling.
The theme of the evening is the 19th century.
In my eyes immediately rushed candelabra and glasses which shone with candles.
"Professor Skyemoone! How glad I am to see you!" suddenly I heard someone's voice.
I turned and caught the eye of an elderly man in a beautiful black suit and with perfectly gray hair.
If memory doesn't change me it was the writer who wrote the famous novel called "Under the Rain"
"Professor Skyemoone, what an honor to see you here. How many times have you refused us, and now you are finally here," he told me with his light hand on my shoulder.
It was worth this gentleman to talk as all those who were in the hall gathered around us at once.
"Is that Professor Skyemoone?"
"It's him!"
I heard their quiet voices and suddenly I felt funny.
There were a lot of people. And all of them were scientists or writers. Artists (there were only a few) sat in the farthest corner and peacefully talked about something.
"Professor Skye, there was no news from you. I guess you were busy writing the new book? Or just decided to be lazy?"
And this author of "Under the Rain" likes to talk.
Catching a murky look, I looked at him and said, "Being lazy, that's the secret of every thinker."
Then all of a sudden everyone laughed.
While the men were shaking in friendly laughter, the women almost in the same dresses had time to throw me a playful look and one even came to me so close that I had to step aside a little.
"Professor Skyemoone, Professor Ikuta was right, you have a sense of humor. Even though you rarely give signs that you are alive and that you are in our small society," added the young man whom I had just seen. I looked at Ikuta and he moved his lips, but I still don't know what he meant. "Have you not recognized me?" asked a young man whose eyes were bright by the light of lights.
Before I could say anything, he reached out to me and said, "My name is Sebastian. I'm a poet."
"And a very good poet! You should read his poem which touches on such important topics as love and suffering."
"Aren't these topics too banal to mention at all?"
The author of "Under the Rain" laughed loudly and again put his hand on my shoulder. "Professor Skye, I have only seen you a few times, but who would have thought that such a prominent and important person as you think against such ordinary things as love and suffering."
"I don't see the point in wasting my thoughts on such things. After all, it is clear that man suffers and at the same time wants to love," I replied, and I noticed Ikuta's happy look, as if a father who was proud of his son, nodded his head and looked at all around standing ladies and gentlemen.
The poet Sebastian, despite his too young age (maybe he was 18 or 19) took out of his pocket a cigar and squeezed it between his teeth.
Looking at his manner of movement, it could be said that he was in a hurry to become an adult and look as if he was already 40 years old.
The next second, the nasty smoke was dragging me out on all sides.
Without taking his gaze off, Sebastian came closer and said, "Professor Skyemoone, I have read almost all of your articles and books. And I have to say I'm a fan of yours."
"Very flattered."
"Tell me, have you really lost all hope in humanity? Do you really think that people are hopeless to such an extent that soon the whole Philosophy will simply disappear?""
I was surprised by such a question from this boy, and in response, covering my nose and mouth with a handkerchief, I asked, "Do you think that's not the case?"
"I think Professor Skyemoone is absolutely right. There is no hope in anything," added the woman who stood a little away from everyone.
"But what do you think, if Philosophy comes to collapse, then this world will lose all its paint," said Ikuta elegantly sipping wine.
There was a lot of opinion and each of them tried to insert his proposal into our incomprehensible strange conversation.
"Professor Ikuta is right, philosophy is like a lighthouse that stands in the middle of the ocean. And when we get lost, we see the light of this lighthouse," said a woman in a black trouser suit.
Approaching me, this woman with a wise smile and with a beautiful necklace in the form of stars, held out her hand to me and firmly squeezed my icy palm. She said, "I am Julia."
Julia and nothing else.
When everyone finally started talking to each other, Ikuta had time to whisper in my ear, "Julia, she's a professor of Physics, and besides, she wrote a terrific book on parallel universes."
Before he could get away from me, Julia came up to me again.
"Professor Skyemoone, why do you feel so sad," she said peering into my face. "Why do I feel like you're looking for someone?"
Smiling, I replied, "Sadness is probably the only pleasant emotion for someone who likes to think too much about this world."
«You are bored, am I right?»
"Right 100 percent."
"But you're not arrogant."
"And here you are right too."
Pointing to two chairs by the fireplace, Julia continued, "Professor, seeing you, I immediately wanted to make you happy."
"And why such a sharp and brazen statement?"
She laughed and put her hand on mine. Her long chestnut-colored hair twitched slightly.
"Probably it's because I liked you," she suddenly made a second statement. And here, any girl would envy her audacity and courage to confess her feelings like this.
"I like your sharpness. Despite the fact that in our time, people try to look as dead as possible."
And then she laughed again.
"Probably in some of the parallel universes, you're a very funny person," she added, giving an explicit hint that I would start asking her about her work.
"Perhaps in some of the parallel universes, I'm a farmer who grows watermelons."
Again a loud laughter and the attention of almost every woman riveted upon us.
Julia moved a little towards me and whispered, "Look at all these women, they're obviously jealous of me."
"Do you think so?"
"Yes. I'll tell you the secret, before you came, everyone was talking about you. Especially women. They wanted to see you and when you showed up on the doorway, even married women started nervously looking in the mirror."
"What were you doing at that moment?"
She bent her head even closer and then I noticed that she was not wearing a drop of makeup. Natural beauty.
"I looked at you, " she whispered.
"Professor Skyemoone!" suddenly someone shouted so loudly that I shuddered a little. The next second, a big man suddenly hugged me so hard that I couldn't breath.
I knew who this man was, it was the outstanding speaker who runs his own show called "Thoughts"
"It's so hard to see you. You don't answer my letters, you don't pick up the phone, and you don't seem to be in this world at all," he said while still holding me in his arms.
His name was Bruno.
"Bruno, look at his suit. He's obviously spent a fortune on it, be careful,' someone shouted but Bruno just laughed.
"So, tell me you're about to release your new book!"
"I'm just working on it," I replied, and saw Julia's face rolling her eyes and making a funny grimace that clearly mimicked Bruno's overly happy face.
Noticing her, Bruno winked at me and whispered in my ear so much that I felt his scorching breath from which I felt uncomfortable. "I see you are not alone. I'm not going to get in the way. But today, don't run away. I want to talk about something important with you."
"He's busy today!" cried Julia so loudly and immediately looked toward the women who were clearly unhappy.
"Professor Skye, I'm already forgetting what a popular man you are. Well, if you're going on a date and a fun night out, I'm not going to get in the way. But tomorrow you have to call me. I have one offer for you. It's about your last book."
'Don't be afraid professor, about the fun night, he's obviously joking,' said Julia returning to the chair.
The party started as soon as the orchestra started to play and everything spun in its rhythm of society.
Standing next to Julia, while catching myself thinking, "I wish I could get away soon," I stepped aside, but when everyone spun in the Viennese Waltz, she stopped me and reached out to me and said, "I want to invite you to dance."
To say I didn't dance would be very obvious on my part, and instead I just obeyed it.
To my surprise, I easily coped with the task and soon I began to enjoy the dance.
Her slender waist and feeling of her light weight, and I felt like I was dancing on my own.
"I dare say that none of these ladies would dare to invite you to dance. Although, look, they want to be in my place," she whispered in my ear and her lips almost touched my ear.
"You're exaggerating too much. I'm not that popular or beautiful."
"Are you serious about this? Professor Skye, you may not know, but you're a godsend. You are a man and you have all the qualities of a true person. You are smart, kind, well-mannered, restrained, beautiful, and also very modest and very gentle, you have all the qualities of both women and men. And this kind of combination makes a person a treasure. With you, any woman would feel comfortable."
I looked at her and her smile made me blush.
"With you, any woman would feel comfortable. With you, a woman wouldn't even have to argue from time to time to remind you that you are a man and should remember the boundaries between you and her. With you, a woman would just fly," said Julia, and slightly pulled me to herself. "You are like a delicate flower but at the same time you are like a knight who saves this world from stupidity. Do you think no one wants to keep such a person around?"
"You're clearly exaggerating."
"You're either pretending or you're very shy."
When the dance was over, I looked towards the orchestra and once again admired their impeccable play.
When everyone left the dance floor, everyone returned to his or her natural state and all of a sudden fell silent.
The ringing of glasses and the sound of forks touching the plates awakened my appetite.
"Can I get your phone number?" she suddenly asked, interrupting me from my reflection on "What would I eat?"
Before I could tell her, I was suddenly pushed from behind by someone so hard that I almost fell, but Julia caught me.
"Oh, these people. Why don't you be a little more careful!" she shouted, but no one said anything to her.
The next second, everyone was spinning back into the dance.
"What strange people are, " grumbled Julia by taking me aside.
Feeling like I had lost a pen with a dragon's head, I started looking for it on the floor.
"Have you lost something?"
"Yes," I said.
"Can I help?"
"No, it must have rolled under those chairs, " I said, and as if the strangest man in the world began to look for a pen that did not belong to me at all.
I looked under every chair and table.
"Skye are you looking for something?" Ikuta asked looking under the table.
"Yes. If you find a pen with a dragon's head, you'll give it back to me."
"Of course."
While the heels beat the rhythm on the tile floor, I almost walked on all fours under the tables and looked under the chairs not paying attention to the fact that there was someone sitting there.
"Professor, do you really need this pen?" shouted Julia from the other end of the room.
"Yes," I said.
"I'll buy you a new one! Come on, I want to dance again!"
Considering my attempts to find some kind of pen, I decided not to play these games anymore and just forget about the existence of that young man.
I got up and straightened my jacket.
I wanted to get away from where I was standing, but suddenly someone touched my shoulder slightly and when I turned, I saw him.
Dark green eyes caught me as the predator catches the prey. I was scared of those eyes. But as he moved his head slightly, a white yellow strand of hair covered his one eye.
His expression was sad and melancholic. His lips were compressed, and at times his sensitive nose shuddered at the sharp smells of women's perfume.
He was wearing a white suit perfectly seated on his slender body. Underneath the jacket, it was adorned with a black shirt that was slightly unbuttoned.
His right hand was in the pocket and the other hand was holding a pen with dragon's head.
"Have you lost it?" he asked. His voice sounded soft, velvety.
"Yes," I said, but that's not what I wanted to say.
"Professor, let's run away from here! I know one good place. You'll like it there," Julia said loudly as she stood in front of me. "It's too boring."
"I..."
"Don't say anything, let's go."