Brittany looked way healthier than she was last time she had met Hari. She was still pale and thin, but her eyes had life once more, she was sparkling. Her hair was the God-given brass-blonde of yesterday, like the first time they met, at the Royal Conservatory.
"Hey there, my Warlock.", she laughed when she saw Hari coming.
"Hey, fair Lady.", he replied, hugging her. "So, young brat, how are you?"
"Surviving. The worst part of it is gone, praise the Lord above. The arms still hurt a lot, but oh boy, ain't them longing to hold my old bass once again! I am missing the stages, the lights, the life out there!"
They walked outside the ward, going to the garden of the clinic. "I don't really miss the shots", she said. "Funny, isn't it? But I don't really. I was so in it, and now it's gone. Hari, I dare to say you saved my life."
"Come on, be serious."
"I mean it. That game could cost me more than I could pay for it. Am I sounding cheesy or something? Just tell me. This life here can really damage your brain cells. Worse than the cold turkey!"
Hari smiled at her. "You're always the same, ain't you, Britty?"
"Am I? Does it really matter?"
She stopped and sat down on a bench. "So, Winston Harrison. How are you? Breaking all the hearts all around the world?"
"How I wish.", he said.
"Come on, guy. You're drop-dead gorgeous. Okay, so you need to cut your hair. And for sure watch your manners once in a while. But you are a man that's worth fighting for. There's always a lonely soul waiting."
He sat down. "Now you said the truth. But the lonely soul doesn't need me. She needs someone who can stay by her."
"You talking about Eleanor? Well, guy, tell you this secret - she had never forgot you. Always wished that you were there for her, even after she married Jamie. God bless him. But she had never, ever forgot her Saviour."
"Oh Britty, if I could only tell you who am I. You'd see I never left her."
"Well, then who are you, Hari? I really want to know."
"Do you?"
"Yeah."
He looked up. " Shall I tell her?"
"She has the eyes of the sparrow. She can see more than it is allowed by the human body. Go on. She's able to understand."
He stood up. He needed to prove who he was. So he would.
"Seeing that stone there?"
"Yes."
"Watch out."
He closed his eyes, and slowly the stone began to float in their direction. Brittany watched, completely dumb-founded, the rock coming to her hands, and morphing into a rose.
She turned to him, and began to stutter words. "Who...or what...what the hell are you? Some kind of magician or sort? How did, did you do this?"
"My name, my real name, is John. John Winston. I came from way too far to help you. I was sent to guide you through the troubles and save your life. I am a kind of angel."
She stood there, thinking. "John Winston, John Winston...where have I heard these words before?", she began to say. And then the answer hit her. She stood up, not knowing if she should smile or shout.
"Fucking Lord! John Winston...how come I didn't think about it? You are John Winston, yes you are... John Winston Lennon!"
"I was", he said, sprinkling sadness on the voice.
"How come I didn't guess it? It was so bloody obvious. The stories you told, the way that you acted...the way that you sang. Man, it was at my face all the time! Oh man, this is beyond my knowledge. Why didn't you tell us? Why you kept it as a secret? If you are really...an angel or whatever, why didn't you tell us so?"
"How would you react if I did? You'd probably think I went nuts."
She thought it over. "Yes, you're right. Man, but who would say. You working for the same God that you refused!"
"It's because of it that I am back on Earth."
"Didn't get it."
"Because of all small things, that all together weighed more than a ton. Things that hurt people, and that I knew that hurt but I went on doing. I paid my dues, or so I started...but December came and...well, you know it. And since then I am doomed to come back from time to time, to fix the business I left hanging. One of these things was guide you and the folks to the top. Eleanor and I, we have some strange connection."
"Because she was born on the morning after your death."
"Because of that, and because of her own sin to pay, she carries a part of me."
Brittany sat down again. "And I am in love with her", he sighed. "It was against all odds, against all plans, against all rules. A person like me can't love, lust is a crime to the angels...and that's what I feel near her."
"Commit a sin, to make someone happy for a second that it is, is that a crime?", Britty squeaked. "Love a girl, for a few months that is, knowing that it won't last but knowing you will make her happy for a few months, man, is it a crime? John, Hari, whatever or whoever you are, listen up. I am sure God won't doom you for another hundred years of slavery, just because of this love. They said it's the highest feelin someone can be blessed to feel...is it a crime? Go for it!"
Hari went for a hug, he was needing it. Comprehension of his trouble. "Please, keep my secret with you. Don't tell anyone."
"Alright. Besides, who would ever believe if I say that John Lennon is my best friend?"
He began to laugh. "You got a point there."
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