Adonis Diaries

A winter “mushroom trip”, Part 1.

I am a public servant attached to the ministry of energy (electricity to be specific).

My job is to pay visits to new owners of properties and suggest remedies for saving on energy.  One of the owners was to be a writer.  I met the two ladies Astrolabe and Alienor.  One was very beautiful and the other was obviously a retarded person:  She didn’t get up, and kept eating while I was visiting.

It was winter and cold in the old and small apartment beneath the attic with glass roof.  I suggested remedies to saving energy, but the beautiful girl declined all of them on the basis that they cannot afford to pay electricity bills.

The girls were wearing three layers of parka.  The beauty reluctantly accepted to cover the roof with transparent plastic cover to cut out cold air from infiltrating in the apartment, if I brought the cover.

I search for the books of the author with the exquisite name of Alienor:  She had four books published.  The latest book of Alienor that I read was relatively violent but good.

On my second visit I asked the beautiful girl for her autograph and she said: “Alienor, this guy needs you to sign your book”.  Alienor suffered from the rare gentle autism called “autism of Pneux“. This kind of autism renders the individual totally defenseless against any kinds of aggressions:  They cannot perceive aggressions as bad, but just as a curiosity.

Alienor view dirt and being dirty as an amusing phenomenon: Astrolabe has to wash Alienor and give her baths.

Alienor writes with great difficulty and Astrolabe has to take dictation of a language that only her can decipher.  Astrolabe is de facto the intermediary between Alienor and the outside world, particularly with the publishers; and she refuses to part from Alienor for even an hour.  The particular case of Alienor is that she can only feel aggression when she writes, but never in her daily life.

Anyway, Astrolabe accepted my small electric heater, but never plugged it on:  I was expecting that the heater would keep me warm as I intended to concoct excuses to visiting with Astrolabe more often.

On one of my visit, I was kissing Astrolabe and Alienor came very close to observe the event, with wide eyes:  This behavior was sort of “reading material” to Alienor; she was observing details for her stories.

I had this ingenious idea.  I asked Astrolabe to expect me this Saturday morning to bring in breakfast, and suggested they eat nothing before I arrive.  That morning I brought dry hallucinogenic Guatemalan mushrooms and the CD of Aphex Twin (Zigomatic 17).  (To be continued)

Note: This story is from the French book “The winter  trip” (Le voyage d’hiver) by Emilie Nothomb