Kimmers and Japple and anyone else; another continuing storyline...

[Ricochet21]

Jake was walking down the streets of Chicago one night, and he noticed something unusual. It was a strange light coming from the end of an alleyway. He should have known better, but he slowly stepped his way through the trash to find an unusual briefcase that was all aglow. He couldn't even tell if the the lights were coming from the inside or the outside of the case. After many futile attempts to open it, he decided to take it home with him where he had many tools.

At home, on the upper West side, he wedged a sharp chisel into small opening just near the lock mechanism. With his other hand he picked up his small sledge and gave it a good WHACK!! To his great surprise...

[kimmerspixelated]

1. The forest green briefcase began to pry apart!

He opened it find an array of sorted papers, including a magazine for anthropologists or very discerning worldly explorers. Jake turned it over to find that the subscription belonged to none other than a famous egyptologist he'd just heard about on the evening news.

[Kind of Blue]

2. Famed Egyptologist Farah Farouk was

found dead in her tent at a dig in Luxor. She'd claimed a few weeks prior that she had found the a vial of the elusive Philosopher Stone or Elixir of Life that generations of alchemist failed to produce. Here now, in Chicago, contents of the vial spilled in the briefcase and cast it aglow.

[japple]

3. Jake thought to himself, "Whoa, this is just crazy. What am I going

to do with this? I could just walk away and leave it, go get a pizza and a beer, and go home to bed." He paced back and forth and dithered about what to do. "I could be on the verge of a major discovery and my stomach is governing my senses. I think I'll just pack the whole lot of this into this garbage bag and take it over to to Chelsea's place," he reasoned. Chelsea, his best friend, was an adjust professor in Middle Eastern Studies and part time drummer with the band NEXT TIME. Jake punched her number on his cell and, receiving no answer, left a voice message asking her to call him ASAP. Then he went to Pizza Joe's for a quick bite while he waited for her to return his call.

[wovenpaint]

4. While Jake was at Pizza Joe's

he had the unsettling feeling that, wait-yes, he HAD brought the briefcase home to open it up. So, how did he and the case get back in the alley?
Thoughtfully munching his pepperoni with double cheese pizza, he pondered the mysteries of time... Suddenly, he jolted upright as his cellphone rang..er, "drummed" (a Chelsea riff).
Just as he said "Hey, Chels"...the garbage bag started to melt and the room LIT UP!

[japple]

5. "Chelsea, you're not gonna believe what I've found. You've got

to meet me right away." At that moment, a fiery hologram appeared before him and a face emerged--the image of King Tut. "Jake, Jake!!" Chelsea shouted. "Where are you? What is going on? Where can I meet you?"

[kimmerspixelated]

6. There was a rustling sound on the phone,

but still no word from Jake as to the location, so she turned the volume up and turned it on speaker, while she slipped on a pair of jeans and went to the bathroom to brush her long auburn hair. She dropped the brush when she heard, "O, My God!"...JAKE, JAKE she cried as she grabbed the phone...but it was no use, he wasn't there or the signal was fading..but then she heard in the distance a background announcement.. "Pizza Joe's order up Number 81, number 81!" So effectively, she had her heading.....

[Ricochet21]

7. What could this latest coincidence be?

Hearing Pizza Joe's order click up to number 81, how could anybody know that the band, NEXT TIME, was releasing their new single the very next day, entitled: "Number 82!?" I mean, Chelsea was talking to herself when she heard the new song on her car radio.

Things were just too weird. The chorus went something like this,
"Latest ting going down"
"Round the round, and upside down"
"Talk me into it, I'm just so blue"
"Take me over, Number eighty-two":hippie: :smoke: :crazy: :nopity:

[wovenpaint]

8. Chelsea heard the chorus again

as she burst into the pizza shop...

"Latest ting going down"
"Round the round, and upside down"
"Talk me into it, I'm just so blue"
"Take me over, Number eighty-two"

Damn, that's a kickass song, if I do say so myself, she thought... as she looked at an impossible scene.

Everything was gold, not gold plated, not gold paint, but pure unmistakable 24 karat gold (a girl just knows). Her blood ran cold as she realized that what she initially thought were statues, had been the shop's patrons. Huh, gold pizza??

But-where's....

[japple]

9. But where's Jake?

Chelsea looked around the shop until she found the form that most resembled her friend. She tapped on the forehead and called “Jake, Jake, is that you?” She thought she saw a faint movement behind the eyes, but nothing more. Her foot moved against the magazine that had fallen to Jake’s feet. She picked it up and, even though it was completely gilded, she could read that it was the most recent issue of Anthropology Digest. When she read that the subscription was in the name of famed Egyptologist,Farah Farouk, a shiver went down her spine.

Chelsea pulled herself together and sat down on one of the bar stools to think. “This is like a dream: first Jake calls, all excited about something, then I hear the pizza man call up order #81, then I hear the band’s song on my car radio when it won’t be released to the public until tomorrow, then I find the pizza shop entombed in gold and a copy of Farah Farouk’s magazine on the floor at Jake’s feet.” The last lines of the band’s song kept running through her head, "Take me over, Number eighty-two, take me over, Number eighty-two, take me over, Number eighty-two."

[Kind of Blue]

10. Jake's eyes slowly grew accostomed

to brightness that permeated the shop. He automatically dropped to his knees and clasped his hands around his gaping mouth, stifling a scream that would have erupted as he looked down at his own prone body staring up at him in petrified shock. Jake instantly noticed that his fingers were ablaze in golden light. He stood up quickly to examine the rest of his body and realized that he stood naked in a cavernous space. His newly lit form was the only source of light, as far as he could tell. He turned to look at his body again, and to his horror, found that it had vanished.

Before Jake could try to make sense of his condition, he heard the patter of feet slapping on the granite floor of the expanse, followed by the voice of a woman, calling "Ahlan!" "Ahlan!" "Hello!" "Hello," she called again in heavily accented English. As the footsteps and cries drew nearer, Jake instinctively searched for a place to hide and he found none. No one could say that Jake was a cowardly sort but right now he wished he had disappeared along with the body.

He summoned his courage and stood stock still to face his doom or rescue. Suddenly he saw another light in the shape of a woman. Certain he could take her down if he needed to. He waited for her. In utter shock and disbelief he instantly recognized the glowing naked beauty as Farah Farouk.

[Ricochet21]

11. Jake found himself aroused, and he was embarrassed.

it was quite noticeable. Farouk said, "You must have lots of quarters for parking or else you must be glad to see me."
Jake said, yeh, I guess you're right, that meter outside has been killing me lately. He stepped closer to Farah, "What stunning eyes you have", he said. "What breathtaking form you have." Farah replied, "What did you expect, chopped liver?"

[Kind of Blue]

12. I'm so immature but I've got to interrupt...

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl::rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl::rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Ricochet21]

13. I never knew chopped liver was so funny.

Kinda greasy stuff, actually.
Now, gather yourself.

[Kind of Blue]

14. Okay. Okay. I'm all collected

:D Onward!

[Ricochet21]

15. Do you think there is any way we can stay on the storyline?

It isn't easy. The first thing we always do is break all the laws of physics. :hi:

And why was Farah calling for Alan? Who in blazes is Alan?

[Kind of Blue]

16. LOLOL...

Okay. Sorry, Ric. I'm almost positive Ahlan is the Arabic word for Hello.

I can't figure out Number 81 and 82. What's the importance of those 2 numbers? :shrug:

[kimmerspixelated]

17. Jake scratched his head, as gold flakes

slowly kissed his eyelashes. The moment was beyond surreal. Things were going in and out of focus..
Chelsea, though, was now front and center, with her arms crossed, eyes shifting back between the luscious Farah, and Jake.

The whole time-well-maybe a minute at that, Jake was thinking that all the years he admired Farah, he never dreamed she would be jewish mother-like in her quick witted answers...and then he realized that although he admired the immense brain power she had, all he could think was va-va-va-voom baby! And subsequently, he really thought for another intense and crazy moment he was in the movie Goldfinger!

[Ricochet21]

18. Jake had to get his mind off of Farah hot bod, so he went to

play some cards with his buds. As he sat at the table with his friends, he asked what the ante was, "50 cents?" "No", replied Fred, it'll be 81 cents to you..." Have a shot?

[japple]

19. "I feel like I'm in two different places at the same time," Jake thought.

He was positively reeling and very nearly nauseous, feeling that if he moved so much as a centimeter, he would fall flat on his face. Chelsea, though, was the one to break the spell. "Jake," she cried, "are you alright? How did you re-materialize? Everyone else is still encased in gold?" Farah, who was surveying the scene, spoke up in her ethereal voice, "It is I who broke the spell! I have been alternating between universes for some time, now. I think my death has been reported on your Earth, but, as you can see, I'm still very much alive. Ever since I discovered the Elixir of Life, I have been hunted by multitudes of scientists and academic people. I had to fake my own death in order to escape. I even had to ride a Greyhound Bus into Chicago to elude those who were pursuing me..."

[japple]

20. "From the Greyhound Station, I took the #82 bus, and the 1st

stop was right here in front of this pizza shop."

Chelsea stood with her mouth open, then took a breath and said, "you took the #82 bus?"

[Ricochet21]

21. But Farah,

how could you have taken the number 82 bus when Fred, it's driver, was down the street playing poker? This really is getting confusing! "Latest ting going down, latest ting going down" It was stuck in her mind. What was with this band and this #82!?

[kimmerspixelated]

22. " Listen Honey, listen real closely,"

Farah said to the wide-eyed Chelsea...

"Numbers in your world are quite sacred if you know how to read them with intelligence."

"Well... What do you-"

"What does 8 plus 2 equal?"
"Uh...10."

"Break it down a little more."

"Huh?"

" 1 plus 0. "

"Well, 1..?"

"Exactly."

[Kind of Blue]

23. "Ah," Chelsea responded with growing awareness.

"The Number 1." Though an an adjunct professor in Middle Eastern Studies, some of her elective courses in Religions came back to her. "Focus, concentration, goal-oriented," she continued. "The number also implies action, independence, courage, will, the conscious mind and definitely positivity."

"Yes!" Farah responded. "Now, where do we go from here? Jake and I now have the ability to travel through time and universes and can't..."

"Wait a minute," Jake interrupted. "I haven't traveled anywhere but that cavern where I met you. You've been at this for weeks. And now all this numerology junk. Everyone needs to slow down and fill me in on what's happening!"

[Ricochet21]

24. "It all goes back to that stupid song", Farah said

listen closely
follow along

"Latest ting going down"
"Round the round, and upside down"
"Talk me into it, I'm just so blue"
"Take me over, Number eighty-two"

What could this "ting" be? We assume it means "thing", but what if it meant something else?
and this "round the round, and upside down".... "Around what?" I think it means Fred's bus route on the ole # 81!"
"Talk me into it, I'm just so blue"

"I'm just so overwhelmed, it's so mooooving."

[japple]

25. "Hi, Chelsea," said a bystander--a reed thin Chinese man who

was waiting patiently for his pizza. " "Hey, Sam," said Chelsea. "What are you doing in this neck of the woods? Everyone, this is Sam Song. He owns an art gallery." Sam nodded to the rest of the group, then asked Chelsea, "I heard you mention Ting. Are you talking about the Walasse Ting Exhibit that opened today at my place? His beautiful, colorful paintings have become all the rage. I even have the original of his blue cat in this exhibition! Here's a copy of the brochure."

Walasse Ting



Chelsea looked confused for a moment, then blurted "Your gallery is called Gallery 82, isn't it?"

"Quite right, my dear," said Sam

Jake was muttering to no one in particular, "Ting, blue, 82... Ting, blue, 82... Ting, blue, 82..."

[wovenpaint]

29. Ting, Blue, 82,

Jake felt that the rest must a code of sorts, maybe numerology, maybe not...

"Latest ting going down"
"Round the round, and upside down"
"Talk me into it, I'm just so blue"
"Take me over, Number eighty-two"

To distract his thinking from Farah's many charms, he stared into the painted cat's eyes, mesmerized. He had a vision of a bell-a blue bell! TING! That note! The sound vibration matched the vibration of his crown chakra...TIIIIIIIIIINNNNGGGGGGGGGGG!

And, once again, he was up and out-soaring away from "reality"...was number 82 taking over? If only that part could be understood...


"What now???, he thought".

[kimmerspixelated]

26. Jake, just relax...everything's fine,

but please be quiet...I need to understand this riddle...I feel the answer coming..."

"What, what?" Jake was wobbly and not interested in relaxing..but unable to really be erect, so he put his head in his palms...

As Chelsea patted his shoulder, Farah cupped his head with her hands, the hands with the long fuscia painted nails. One finger had an obvious ancient symbol..but Chelsea didn't want to ask about it just yet.

"Fred's bus route number...81...8 plus 1 is 9...9 is very sacred in Egypt..."

"Yes, that's right my dear.." Farah's eyes looked like flying saucers.

"9 (months)is the number for human gestation.... 9 underworlds for the ascent of man according to the mayans.."

" Oh, yes, yes,...go on..."
"Round and Round upside down....it's the Earth!"

" Darling, you are a natural detective!"

OH CRAP MUSTA POSTED AT THE SAME TIME. I LIKE THE TING STORY BETTER!!

" I'm so blue...space!"

"Tie it together..."

" We are sacred, we are about to be birthed into a new space in the galaxy."

" Yes, you've laid the foundation..." Farah whipped out a long cigarette holder and placed an already lit and smoldering green fag into the smokehole.

[kimmerspixelated]

27. Sorry Japple, I like your Ting story better!

musta posted at the same time..yep there's always that chance!

[japple]

28. No apologies. It just so happened that we posted at the same time.

Whoever takes up the thread next will choose where this story goes, and I'll bet it will be interesting!

[Kind of Blue]

31. Farah lit another cigarette and inhaled deeply.

Her mind was absorbing Chelsea's conclusions and watchful of Jake who shook whenever the bell over the pizzeria's door rang as customers entered and departed. Was it the painting of the cat mesmerizing him and the tings of the bell bringing him out of reverie that caused him to shiver? Obviously, he could not begin to fathom what was happening. And quite frankly she and Chelsea had only bits of information they were trying to make sense of, like an abstract puzzle. And like a puzzle, the three of them were important pieces - she felt that as the most significant clue of all.

The bell, the cat, sacred numbers. The bell, the cat, sacred numbers went round and round in Farah's head. Wait, she thought, I know how I somehow fit in this puzzle. And her friendship with Chelsea began in a course at the University of Chicago many years ago. Jake she did not know at all, but he was Chelsea's friend. The damn bell began to intrude on her thoughts and she stopped herself from getting up to pull it off its string. It was no longer musical - music, Chelsea - music. Chelsea a musician!

Farah's scalp began to tingle. She was not completely honest in telling the two she had faked her death. All those weeks she was in and out of this dimension, scurrying the briefcase to Chelsea as she tried to determine how to remain corporeal. The ting, a musical note. She realized that she was only able to maintain physical form when Chelsea arrived.

[Ricochet21]

33. So Chelsea got to wondering

why would a band called NEXT TIME write a song called "Number 82"? Hmmmm...... Just then the bell of the pizzeria clinged again. In walked a very, very old woman with a large shopping bag. She order a great big deluxe calzoni with extra pepperoni. She asked the cook if would kindly slice it in two so she could take half home with her.

Giovanni, the cook, said, "Sure Mildred." Maria was a regular customer. As she was waiting for it to bake, she started small talk with Giovanni, "Gio... wasssis all about Ima hear about dis Ting Ting?" Gio responded, "Ima know no about da tinga ting, vatsa dat?"
Maria said, "I dunno, itza alla over da radio, peopla wearin da T-shirt with words on it, "tinga me, tinga you"? "I thought youda know what da latest fad she waz. Imma know no." "One guys t-shirt hadda funny shez a looking blue cat on the back... youza know doze kids dese days."

Giovanni, "OK Maria, heresa u deliciousa calzoni, you better watcha your cholasteral at your age..."

[Ricochet21]

34. Typo: her name is Maria, not Mildred

[wovenpaint]

30. I just have to add

I feel everyone is outdoing themselves with this one!
:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :fistbump:

:silly:

[Kind of Blue]

32. Good grief, Wovenpaint! I'm trying to keep up!

crazy ride :crazy: but I'm loving it :fistbump:

[japple]

35. I must admit that I'm stumped--can't find a direction for this story.

Rick, you need to write some more lyrics to that song!

[Kind of Blue]

36. I was flowing in the direction you and Kimmers

have in posts 25 and 26. Thinking those are enough clues for the 3 characters, but I don't want to take over because I'm not sure where Rick wants to take the song clue. But I'm ready to move them out of the pizzeria to Jake's or Chelsea's place, so Farah could tell them what she's come up with that will get input from the others and set them in the direction leading to the forces at work and their destinies. Haven't worked it out yet :D but I know we can flow together if we know what Rick wants.

[Ricochet21]

37. And as we listen more...

Latest ting going down"
"Round the round, and upside down"
"Talk me into it, I'm just so blue"
"Take me over, Number eighty-two"

"Uh huh, uh huh, Yes Bitch, yes beeyach!, you know."

"Eighty-two times I've tried, and failing eighty-one"
"More and more I find you girl, you just ain't no fun"
"Leroy and the boys and my man Slick-J"
"We be headin over your good stuff, headin over your way"

"I just can't tell ya that glowin stuff does to my nose!"
"To my nose, to my nose, down way into my toes"
"I'm glowin, I'm free"
"What else you want from me?"

:shrug:

[kimmerspixelated]

38. As Farah took in the lyrics, closing her eyes briefly,

She caught a quick glimpse of Maria, the old woman..and something close to a heart attack ensued.
She used tremendous energy to run out through the back door of the restaurant.

Then Farah found herself in a dark alleyway, trying to look through any kind of window in the backroom to see if there was a possibility that the old woman had left yet.

The dimension problem had surfaced. Maria was not someone else. Maria was Farah in another time, which was folding around her like a burrito. Something very odd would happen if the two of them were to lay eyes upon each other.

[Ricochet21]

39. "Folding around her like a burrito"!!!!

I love it!!!! :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

anyone have any hot sauce!?

My God, trying to keep up with these Aquarian imaginations; forget it! :rofl:

[kimmerspixelated]

42. Thank you Rick!

I can't keep up with ya'll!

[Ricochet21]

47. Stop trying, just blab

[Ricochet21]

48. Stop trying, just blab

[Kind of Blue]

40. Just as I suspected, Farah thought.

All of the clues coalescing in an incredible wave upon us, because we, the players are together. Seeing Maria, jolted a memory during one of the phases in out of this dimension. She was in the expanse and planning and suddenly sending a version of herself, as Maria, to Mama Mia's Pizzeria. With the ability to traverse time and space, Farah had no precise memories of what was in the cavern or anything happening until Jake finally appeared. It was as if he woke her up. Now this memory of Maria. She had to recall all of it, but not now and not here. She sensed looming danger - they had to get away from this place. But a chilling thought stopped Farah from rushing back to hustle Jake and Chelsea out: Is it me? What if I am sending all of these clues to myself.

[Ricochet21]

41. And Farah was so confused.

She didn't know what to do. What was it exactly about Mama Mia's pizza place that was so weird. She couldn't quite...

That was it! It was the MOLD on the old crusts lying about, that was it, it was getting to her, it was her hallucinations.
"Someone, pour me a coke quickly!" Farah was coughing up her own green phlegm!

[kimmerspixelated]

43. Because the old woman-her alternate self-actually

had vacated, finally!...she could relax a little, but who can relax even a smidgen when you are practically vomiting up mutated looking seafoam green mucous?

Maybe it really WAS the mold...the scientist part of her mind tried to remember the breakdown of elements involved in mold.What were they? And for an instant she thought of the numbers and letters and wondered like hell if they had any freakin' thing to do with Jake, the pizza place, # 82, her old crony self, and the oriental artist!

For the first time in her long and lengthy history of cerebral life, she thought it would be nice to just press a button to give the command of letting her head explode!

[Kind of Blue]

44. Farah had to get a grip of herself.

She had never thrown-up such awful bile in her life. She wasn't sure if her body reacted to all of the dimensional traveling or to she and Maria being in the same time and space. Hopefully, it was just the mold, she thought as she held on to her churning belly and rushed back into Mama Mia's. She was confident that seeing Maria was the warning that the henchmen of her mentor, Dr. Mahmoud Mohammed, former director of the Cairo Museum were close by. He was fired after the uprising and he was the only one she'd told of the discovery of the Elixir of Life. The thought of the depths of his bitterness almost made her wretch again.

"Jake. Chelsea. We've got to get out of here to a safe place. They're coming," she said before passing out.

[japple]

45. Jake and Chelsea carried Farah out to the parking lot and were

trying to get her into the back seat of Chelsea's VW, when Sam Song appeared and said, "Let me help. I'm going to bring my vehicle around--it's much larger and your friend will fit easier into the back seat."

A moment later, Sam pulled up in a large custom-converted luxury van. The three of them easily pulled Farah inside. "Where to, folks?" asked Sam. Chelsea made a quick decision to trust Sam and briefly filled him in on the story about Farah finding the Elixir of Life, the "murder" in Luxor and the need for Farah to be removed to a safe place.

"We can take her to my gallery," said Sam. "There are living quarters in the basement, and the building is well-fortified, with security."

Chelsea looked at Jake who nodded his approval. "Okay" said Chelsea. "That sounds like the best thing to me."

[Kind of Blue]

46. Jake was besides himself with

worry. He unconsciously positioned himself in the back seat of the van to cradle Farah. Chelsea gave him a quizzical look that Jake did not notice. Even the stench of Farah's vomit-stained blouse did not cause him to gag as bodily stench normally would have. He listened to her shallow breathing, afraid she'd die, but her pulse was strong and steady. She drifted in and out of consciousness, her lovely brown pupils floated in tears that soaked her black lashes. "Farah," he whispered as Sam and Chelsea discussed in the front seats, "Come back. Please don't die," he caught himself say out loud. And he knew that he was more than smitten, he was in love.

"She's okay," said Sam. "Her energy, her chi, is ruptured. As soon as we get to the gallery, I'll get to work on her." Chelsea was impressed and looked at the older man with renewed interest.

"Mama Mia," Farah repeated again and again.
"Who's Mamia," Chelsea asked? Do you mean Pizza Joe's, Farah?"
"Mama Mia," Farah's voiced trailed off into unconsciousness.
"See," Sam said? "She's confused and understandably so. There's a lot going on in her head that she's trying to understand."
"Hurry," Jake pleaded. "You've got to help her, Sam!"

[Ricochet21]

49. Sam said,

"Hell, I don't know what to do! I don't have the foggiest!" "Help!"

"I'm calling Charlies Chi Ambulance" Sirens were intensifying in the air as Charlie screeched to a halt at the curb.
Charlie screamed, "Ok were is she, Charlie's here. Where is this Faruk?" "Farah," said Sam "correcting the professional accupunturist.
Callng to his assistant, Long Won, "Long, bring the whole packet and the folding table, we may have to hit all of her pressure points and give her a real jump start. We'd better wait till 1:30 to get started cause the Starself website said Uranus will
be at its most powerful, then we'll shake up her motor and her guidance system." "A-ok said Long, his trusty servant."

Sam said, "Hey buster, how much is this gonna cost me!" "Don't worry replied Charlie, we're the best, and we'll get the job done right!"

[japple]

50. As they pulled into the parking area behind Gallery 82, Sam was

hoping that his business partner would be able to help Farah to regain control of her life. The business partner, Omar, was a reiki master and skilled metaphysician who had powers that were beyond description.

Sam got out of the car and hurried to open the back door of the gallery. Then Chelsea, Jake and Sam carried Farah inside. "This way" said Sam, turning on lights as they rushed her down the the corridor and into a large suite of rooms. "Here, let's put her down on this sofa," said Sam. Just then, a very large dark skinned man entered the suite. "Omar, am I ever glad to see you!" cried Sam. "This young woman really needs your help." Omar walked over to Farah and lifted his hands over her body. "Yes, she has been fighting for so long to control those forces that would destroy her. Leave, and let me work with her for awhile."

Uh Oh!!! Looks like we had two people who were typing at the same time. Guess whoever continues this will have to choose the storyline they want to follow!!! It's getting crazy around here.

[Ricochet21]

51. Little did people know

that Omar's secret identity was from China where he was known as "Long Won". He pulled out a packet of sterilized needles with 300 needles and ....

[japple]

52. then decided, not to use them. Instead, he ran to his room and quickly

grabbed his kit--a rack containing Chinese herbs and oils and a mortar and pestle. He selected a few bottles, dumped the contents into his mortar and began to grind them into a powder. He added some of the oils and a plume of smoke started to rise from the container. He hurried to Farah's side and placed the smoking contents next to her. Then he raised his hands once more over her body and began to move them back and forth in a rythmic pattern which, in fact, looked like he was playing a piano.

Jake and Chelsea opened the door a crack and peeked in. "What's he doing?" Jake asked. "Looks like he's playing a keyboard." Chelsea answered.

Then Omar started humming a tune that was strikingly similar to NEXT TIME's new release, #82. Omar chanted and murmured sounds in a language that was unfamiliar to Jake and Chelsea. All of a sudden, Farah's eyelids fluttered and opened wide. She appeared to be relaxed and unafraid of Omar and of the ritual he was performing. After several minutes, she started levitating above the sofa on which she had been lying. Omar's hands were still hovering over her, moving rhythmically back and forth over her and he began singing, "Ting, ting, ting..." holding each note for what seemed like eternity.

[japple]

53. Chelsea and Jake were still watching was was going on, speechless

and seeminly in a trance. Then Chelsea started swaying and Jake, thinking she was going to swoon, held tightly to her waist.

Then Omar started moving his hands over Farah's mid-section. It appeared as though he was pulling something from her and casting it aside. Green and gold vapors began to emanate all around her body. Her eyes were still open and her face had the look of pure bliss.

Chelsea started singing, softly:

"Latest ting going down"
"Round the round, and upside down"
"Talk me into it, I'm just so blue"
"Take me over, Number eighty-two"

"Uh huh, uh huh, Yes Bitch, yes beeyach!, you know."

"Eighty-two times I've tried, and failing eighty-one"
"More and more I find you girl, you just ain't no fun"
"Leroy and the boys and my man Slick-J"
"We be headin over your good stuff, headin over your way"

"I just can't tell ya that glowin stuff does to my nose!"
"To my nose, to my nose, down way into my toes"
"I'm glowin, I'm free"
"What else you want from me?"

"Round the round, and upside down"
"Talk me into it, I'm just so blue"
"Take me over, Number eighty-two"

[kimmerspixelated]

54. "Ting, ting ting...NEXT TIME"....

Farah tried to vocalize, but it came out more like a whisper...or a gutteral gutterling..But she was feeling so wonderful and well-rested suddenly, so light, so ethereal...and her eyes opened even wider as she exclaimed (the way only beautiful, and sexy Egyptologists can), "Am I dead?..Is this heaven? But more importantly, is this Iowa?"

[japple]

55. Farah started to stretch her limbs and, for the first time in months fully

inhabit her body. She felt wave after wave of energy filling every fiber of her being. Suddenly she shuddered all over and a the vaporous form of Maria emerged in a golden glow. No longer the old crone from the pizza shop, beauty shone from all around. Maria began speaking in a voice that sounded like angel song.

[Ricochet21]

56. Farah stretched her body outward and stood up

"I feel so much better now." With that Farah decided to take a walk to clear her head. She headed over the nearby bridge and stared down at the water. After a few deep breaths Farah realized that she had unfinished business with Chelsea, so she headed back.

[kimmerspixelated]

57. But in the wildest of moments,

And in her recent life things could obviously get abundantly wild...she very methodically commenced to doing cartwheels. No just one or two, but literally started rolling, rolling rolling like the actual wheel she had become. If you looked closely, you see spokes that connected to all her chakras, but most people just saw a human wheel rolling past them, and shortly thereafter they said things like, WTF, or isn't that the dangest thing you've ever seen!

[japple]

58. She rolled over two thugs who were standing outside Gallery 82

flattening them, leaving only a greasy spot on the sidewalk. At that moment, Sam appeared at the door of the gallery and, seeing him, Farah came to a halt. "Sam," she said "the weirdest thing just happened to me." "Yes, I saw you. Come back downstairs." Maria and Omar said you left before your transformation was completed."

Farah meekly followed Sam back downstairs. Omar and Maria were still as they had been when she left, but Jake and Chelsea were sitting on the floor sharing one of Farah's green cigarettes, tapping the ashes into Jake's boot.

"What's this about transformation?" Farah asked Omar. Then Maria started speaking again in a beautiful, ethereal voice just like the Marian apparition in the movie, Song of Bernadette. "My child," she said, "you have been hearing the words to that song Chelsea's band is releasing tomorrow, but you haven't been paying attention. They apply directly to you, or I should say US since we are one and the same. Do you remember 81 lifetimes ago? We were a whole being, a fully integrated soul until you decided to end your life contract in a suicide over a young man. Your family wanted you to marry the prince of Persia but you killed US because you couldn't face being married to a man who was fond of cats and growing prize watermelons. Too dull you said. Now it's time for you to become a fully integrated soul once more, and Omar can make it happen."

[Ricochet21]

59. "Fine, fine, fine", said Farah

"Get this over with because I a gotta bone to pick with Chelsea, and I'm not talking about a chicken bone!" She surrendered to her treatment. "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh".

[kimmerspixelated]

60. Meanwhile the effects of the green cigarettes

...that smelled a lot like skunks, seemed to loosen the oilings within the worn out and beaten souls of the lovely Chelsea and disheveled Jake, but their veggin' time quickly turned into an emergency when it was discovered Jake's boot had caught fire.

[Ricochet21]

61. Where did the green cigarettes come from?

Jake found a nearby toilet, and plunged his boot into it. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

[kimmerspixelated]

62. Recently from Japples' #58, before that, not sure...

"Oh Great!", Chelsea snorted, " NOW what are you going to do with just one Italian made cowboy boot?!"

" Hush it, Woman!"

" Excuse Me!?"

"You heard me!"

" What's come over you? ...Been taking night classes in Assholes 101 in your spare time?!"

[Ricochet21]

63. Oh, yeh

"No, actually, I'm in Grad school! And they aren't Italian, I got em at Wal-Mart."

[japple]

64. Green cigarettes came from Kimmers post #26

" Yes, you've laid the foundation..." Farah whipped out a long cigarette holder and placed an already lit and smoldering green fag into the smokehole."

Carry on. I have to go to work now.

[kimmerspixelated]

65. My memory problem is becoming embaressing...

Farah laid extremely flat as Omar revived her. She held out one of her long fingers, artistic, made for piano playing or plucking the heavenlike strings of a harp, "I saw something...important...."

" What?" said Omar as he closed the flap on his medical bag.

"It was beautiful and it was meaningful..." Farah whispered with an obvious frog in her throat.

" Let me get you some water."

" Hurry back, I'm afraid I'll forget!"

[Ricochet21]

66. It was a white Grand Piano

but, instead of having the standard 88 keys, it only had 82!

[kimmerspixelated]

67. Omar gasped listening to Farah's description.

"The White piano........beautiful music...a bearded man with glasses...it was Him, I was actually talking to one of my favorite musicians..."

" Who? WHo was it?"

" John Lennon."

"What?..."

" He had a message...he said he had his white grand piano made specially on purpose with the 82 keys.. He said 8 plus 2 equals 10, and there's only one number there. One. "

" He said...we've got," ...to..Farah was getting woozy again..Omar was panicky. He massaged her temples and brought the lavender mint jasmine oil to her nostrils where they flared with awakening senses.

"...He said it's really quite easy...he said just to close our eyes and simply IMAGINE...so we can create exactly what we want. IMAGINE Paint it in your mind... WHAT YOU WANT TO CREATE."

[Ricochet21]

68. and so it was.