Second order

Immersed in the myriads of  combinations and second order equations, and woven in the fabric of the Coven, Gabrielle is thinking, all the time observing the young woman who’s writing to her, next to her lover, asleep. How beautiful she is, her Melissa. Gabrielle will continue to protect her. But Julian, of course, is another matter. Melissa led them to him, and he’s proven a little tough, not as pliable as she was. 

Was Melissa pliable? Or did she understand that her way back to humanity and her man was through them? “We don’t know”,” reflects Gabrielle, “if a human being can survive this ordeal. When we tried with specimens of other species we failed: they all died.” And she adds to herself, “And this why we are so cautious here…”

Investment

This sombre thought annoys her. She has invested so much in this, she and Helga. Their voice was heard. They got what they wanted. The wheels are turning. They are about to change the course of history in this world, and in theirs. And the path to these futures, the renewal of the Coven itself, is dependent on Julian, and for now, on Melissa. 

What irony, she thinks, remembering the young woman dying in a pool of her own blood, her dress soiled, hideous wounds in her chest, arms and throat, her dying green eyes…

50

So much has changed… The roads are now perfect, thin ribbons bordered by trees and today the flow of traffic is out of the city, toward the northern coast and the forests of Brandenburg. It is Friday. 

Driving from the North-West and easing the car into Kreuzberg is light work. Soon, we find the street, and, with her usual flair, Sarah navigates to a parking space just in front of our door. I feel her eyes on me. This is her city, and she awaits my reaction to the new Berlin, now at peace.

We picked up our bags. Bicycles are locked randomly on railings and scaffoldings. The air is warm, and the street quiet. Sarah rings the bell and unlocks the door. We walk up to the third floor. Melissa stands at the entrance to the apartment, smiling. She and Sarah kiss for an eternity. 

Summer dust

We walk in, drop our bags, and then Melissa hugs me. The apartment is delightful, airy, with a small balcony opening to the side street, looking out over trees and small shops, bicycles, the summer dust…

Keith Jarrett plays in the background. Melissa looks stunning in white shorts and a green T-shirt that reads NO SURRENDER! Sarah thinks so too, and soon the two of them disappear to the bedroom and shut the door. I find the stack of documents from the federal government that I am expected to study in the meantime. 

I feel elated: the dread that overwhelmed me during the journey is now gone. Sarah said before we arrived that here, in this city, she felt invincible. Her new intimacy, or should I say, her deeper intimacy, with Melissa, is for me an enchantment. What else could a man ask for? Two beautiful lovers in love with each other…

Conference

The documents set out the role of the support team – us among others – in the conference, and the supervising role of the German authorities during the proceedings. I understand that the conference is taking place in Unter den Linden, in one of the government buildings, with working sessions in other places, including the Russian embassy. The three of us have separate briefing notes in sealed envelopes. I decide to wait for the women to reappear before I open mine. 

I walk to the kitchen, open the fridge, and observe that Melissa has done a clever shop of everything Sarah and I love, inclusive of dry Mosel wine. I pull three lovely glasses out of the rack and walk back to the lounge, setting the glasses on the table. Then I fall asleep on the couch.

Surrender

Sarah wakes me up. Melissa is behind her opening a bottle of Mosel. The two of them are not wearing much, and I am stunned. We toast to our success and to a happy outcome for the conference. Melissa invites us to a local Turkish restaurant a block away. Sarah sends me to refresh and change in the bathroom, while they get dressed. Suddenly, I realise I have surrendered – to them.

The following morning, I wake up to the light through the half drawn curtains filtering over the two graceful naked bodies lying across from me on the large bed – our bed. Sarah holds Melissa in her arms, and they breath in perfect unison. I am overwhelmed by their beauty, and how much they look alike now. Without the usual pinch of diffused jealousy, I see them as a perfect couple, my wife and my lover…

In the little courtyard outside, birds are still celebrating the morning on the tall lime-tree. I get up careful not to wake the women, anxious not to disrupt the wonder of their sleep.

Kreuzberg

I shower – warm water never feels so cool as in Berlin – and walk to the kitchen to make coffee. Here I use the ground coffee Melissa bought, thinking of me. Soon the aroma of brewing coffee diffuses through the apartment. I hear the low sound of a radio playing across the street from the balcony. Kreuzberg is so amazingly quiet…

An hour later the three of us are jogging in the direction of Tempelhof. We reach the Airlift memorial and the terminal building, and run to the entrance on the side road. My two companions are fit and easily distance me; I have to keep up! We start on the long tour of the airfield, Sarah and Melissa accelerating to an easy half-marathon pace, while I am already sweating profusely. We pass other runners who look appreciatively at my companions.

The whole tour will take forty minutes at this pace. As we are approaching the long curve, past the civilian crews scanning for ordnance and old WWII weapons, another runner overtakes us, slows down, and start running even with the ladies.      I hear Melissa greet the stranger – a tall woman in a blue track suit and fashionable sneakers – and then the three of them laughing. 

Shower

It dawns on me that the runner is no other than Helga. I am now struggling to keep up with the three ladies who have gradually accelerated their pace. Sarah turns around and smiles, signals to me all is well.

Back home, and still with Helga in a joyous mood, the ladies decide to have a collective shower, and I wait my turn. The majority decision is to go to the Tiergarten for a picnic. We, Sarah, Melissa, and I, have an appointment in the evening at the Chancellery…

We take bikes and ride toward the Potsdamer Platz. I am again struggling to keep pace with my three companions, who giggle all the way. As we manoeuvre toward the Tiergarten I notice two or three military vehicles moving in the direction of the Bundestag. The ladies chose a spot not far from the Siegesaüle. 

While I was having my shower, they did some shopping. Suddenly I am interested to see if Helga will drink and eat as a human; perhaps I am somewhat puzzled when she does, still laughing wholeheartedly at Sarah’s and Melissa’s jokes. The four of us have a congenial and relaxed time. Helga finally excuses herself, saying that she will see us in the evening at the pre-conference meeting. She rides off in the direction of Unter den Linden. 

It is only then that I notice her escort: four soldiers on bikes, wearing the uniform of the élite Grenzschütz guards. They are armed, and they are all women. Sarah looks at me smiling, as if saying, “Stop worrying: you are in good hands…”

For some reasons I visualize a whole white board covered with second order differential equations. This vision persists.

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