Ch👿apter1TheDream-Make🇮🛹r
Nightfallslowlydesded.Dimitricouldn’tcealhisexhiration．Nightwasthehappiesttimeofthedayforhim，becausethenheakedreams．Dimitriwasahomelesspersonaosleepingwhereverhecould．Butnowhewasgettingolderaheneedofashelter.,soheputtogethersomediscardedoldboardsandtisandbuilthimselfamakeshifthom🝉einanarrowalley．WithcoldwindwhippingathisraggedovercoathepushedashoppingcartwhitainedallhisworldlypossessionsinfrontofhimandheadedtowardsafancyItaliaauraheariannaoftengavehimleftovers.Mariannathrustapaperbagathim,taininghalfasteakandsomepraasta．Dimitriwasetedandrushedhome，lookingforwardtoaluxuriousmeadreams.Joethebartenderlook🗱🝴edonwithjealousy．AfterDimitrihadleft,hesaidsarcastica🇸🝙lly，
"Whyareyousogoodtohim，Marianna?Heisonlyahumanscum，burrowingthroughthegarbageslookingforfoodandcl🕐🈴othes.Heisabum,sittingtherealldayfeedingpigeonsbytheke.Hemaynoteve🅇🄙nlikeyou.Heprobablythinksyou’retoofat！""Howdoyouknow?"snappedMarianna."Dimitrimaynotknowhowtoexpresshimself，butheisapoetatheart.He’samillioterthanagood-for-nothingdrunkardlikeyou!"
MariannafirstmetDimitribesideagarbage.ThatdayDimitrifoundaursewhilehewasgoingthroughtheg☓⚧📮arbage.Ittaiwo-karatdiamand
3,000incash.Poorashewas,Dimitrididnotcovetwhatwasnothis.Hewaitedther🏢🛱☢ebythegarbageanyhourshopingtheownerwouldshowup.MeanwhileMariannahadfinishedherday’sworkandwasfranticallylookingforherpurse.Whenshecouldn’tfinditanywherei，sheintuitivelykhatJoe,wh🃌🖜📚owasusuallyhalf-drunk，musthavethrownitintothegarbagebagtogetherwiththegarbage.Sherushedoutsideandbeganrummagingthroughthegarbagebagsfromtherestaura🛋🚵nt.
"Whatareyo👏🇷uupto?"askedDimitriically.
"Iamlookingform🁻y🝄🈦purse”repledMariannawithoutlookingup.“Joemusthavetosseditoutwiththegarbage."
"What’sthepurselikeandwhat’sinit?"Mariannastoppedshor🎨t,arayofhopegleam🛵edinhereyesasshegavehimadetaileddescription.Dimitrihandedherthepurseandturogo.Mariannaranafterhimandtriedtopersuadehiminv♖aintotakesomethingasareward.ToDimitri,worldlywealthdidnotmeananythingsohereplied,
"WhyshouldItakethissi🇮🛹nceIdonotevenwantyandmohustheybecamefri🄃🞅👰endsandshealway🚄🐵🄎skeptchoicebitsofleftoversforhim.
Dimitriwasacuriousexampleofararespeanbeing:absent-minded，carefree，notknowingwhathewasabout，andsatisfiedwiththemerefactthathecouldstillthinkahe.Hewasahalfbreed，withsomesortofAsianbloodbutdidnotknowwhohisparentswere.Heseemedtorememberbeinginschoolforafewyears，butwasnotreallyliterate.Heworkedforawhilebutdidnotdomuchofanythihoughthewasmarriedothenmaybeheonly🍕🈀🞠livedwithawomanforawhile．Hewasnotsure．Hehadasocials🎑🐚🀜ecuritynumberormaybehedidn’t．Hehadawidecircleofacquaintanoddingandsmilingtopeoplewhereverhewent，evenexgingjocurreMarks，buthedidn’thaveasinglefriend．
Hewasonlyawakeinhisdreams．Onsunnydayshewouldgoovertoth🁈elongabandonedwoodendockatLakeMerritt,filthyandsmellywithbirdexcrement.Buthedidn’tmind．Birdstohimwereflyingmessengersfromheavenwhereallhishopeswere.Hewouldsitonthebehem，lettingthemflyarou🃬🚻😨ndhimatleonhishead，shouldersandp．Hewouldstareatthemulti-coloredcloudsihroughthecracksofwhichleakedouttheughterofparadise.W🁮henduskwasnearhewouldgetupandgobacktohis,pushinghisshoppingcartinfrontofhim.
Thefirstthinghedidwhehomewastotakehisdirtyoldsleepingbagfromtheshoppingcartandspreaditoutatitsusualer．Theedhis"spoils"fromthegarbage．Apairofhalf-worntennisshoes，hissizeandstillserviceable．Whydopeoplethrowthesethingsaway?Hecouldn’tuand．Then，therewasashirt，quite．Yes，hecouldthrowhisdipidatedoneaway,andtomorrowhewouldputonhisnewshirtandshoesandfeelquitedebonair．Hepyasariwhohadjustmadeamilliondolrs．HelighteduphiskerosenecookingstovetoheatupMarianna’sleftovers，andafterthissumptuousmealwouldgotobed．Hislifewassosimple．Toputitintoaformu，itwouldbe：limitedmaterialsneeds＝unlimitedsatisfa．Thatwasbecausethefocusofhislifewasnotwhenhewasawake，butwhenhewasasleep．Heytodaybecausehehadgatheredalotofmaterialto🔋⚬bewovenintohisdreams．Forhim🎖👅，thiswasjustlikefeedinginformationintotheputertanizedandrepyedonthes．
Whilehavinghisdinner🕱🍘，heweheeventsoftheday：Thatmhepassedanimposingofficebuilding．AbckRolls-Roycestoppedsmoothlybeforeitandaliveriedchauffeurgotouttoopenthedoorforamaneandapipeinhismouth——obviouslyanold-fashioy．HewasallegedtobethepresidentofWorldBank．"Sowhat?"thoughtDimitri，"Ibeoooinmydreams”．Thenhepassedahigh-cssshoestoreforwomen,sellingshoesandotherleathergoods．Apairofglitteringtoelesssilverhigh-heeledshoesdispyedinthewindowcaughthiseye．"Whatclotheswouldgowiththem？"hemused．"Astraplessroyalblueeveninggownperhaps，ingbi-skirt?Bothwoulddo”hedecided．Justthen，thesalesgirl’sarmreachedoutandtooktheshoesawayfromthewindowdispytotrythemonaer．Dimitriwascurioustoknowwhothewomanwas，sohewalkedtotheentraheshopandpeeredin．Thebrilliaoenailspeekingfromthesilvershoesmesmerizedhimandkindledfmesofprimitivelustfromwithinhimlikelightedmatchesthrowni🆐🎯ntoabarrelofgasoline．
"Ma🏼yIhelpyou?"avoicecoldly．Itwasthestoremanageringt🐹🄮odrivehimaway．
"Nowayyouhelpme”mumbledDimitriandpushedhiscartaway，thinkingmeanwhileabout"morematerialfortonig🅚🖒ht"．
Heimmediatelyydowntosleepafterhisdinnerandinnot🂳💳imeheseemedtoseeanobscuremoonintheskyshiningonawindingmountainpath．Ashlitteringformsuddenlyemergedfromthewoodsarouhandstartedwalkingtowardsadarkaesehousefurtheron．Itwasafreakish，ugly-lookingpygmywearingtheeborateesofthegDynasty．Hishatandcoatweremadeofmaterialwovenwithgoldthreadandwereshininginthemoonlight．thedoorofthehouse，whichletelydark，hedrewafoot-longkeyfromhispocketandtriedtofititintotheold-fashionedeselock．Hestoodontip-toesaledwiththelodkeyforalongtimebuttonoavail．Heflewihrewthekeyontothegroundandstompedonitagainandagain，makingsqueakysoundstoexpresshisflustration．Thenhecalmeddownabit，pickedupthekeyandtriedagain．Thistimeitworked．Hecarriedtheheavylockboriouslyintothehouseandclosedthedoor．Ititchdarkinside．Heopehetrunkothedoorandimmediatelytheroomlitupwiththebrilliahegemsirunk:pricelessdiamonds,rubies,pearlsandsapphiresallytherepiledinaheap．
Itwasargeregurroom,lihsturdytrunkson🐺bothsides．Thepygmyjumpedaroundopeningthistrunkandthatuntiltheyen．Hejumpedontoadeskattheendoftheroomandlookedattheimmehspreadbeforehim．Sometrunksheldgoldingots，goldsandgolds，rings，bracelets；others，silver．Hecrossedhislegs🍟etedlyandshouted："HowrichIam!”Justthenahugepythonslitheredsoundlesslyoutfromtheerofthedarkroomandwounditselfroundandrouablewherethepigmysatcross-legged．Ohepython，thepygmyflewinteandscreamedshrilly，
"Wherehaveyoubeento?Youweresupposedththereguardireasures！Ihadtoopenthedoormyselfandalotoftroubleitcausedme!”Hegrewangrierashespoke．O🟅nseeinghimsoangry，thepythonuncurleditselfandturoaseductiveagnakedwoman，andlikeMedusa，shehadhairofsnakes．She🝒💏kbeforehimandaskedfivehepygmypulledoutawhipfromunderhisb📿♄eltandcrackeditonherinfury．Shecriedandkowtowedtobeghimforpardon．Redweltsappearedonhersnowwhiteskin．Shelookedathimbeseegly．Thepygmystoppedandturoacreaturewiththestrongmuscurbodyofamanbuttheheadofamonster．Oneeyewasinthemiddleofhisfadtheotheratthebackofhishead．Therewasarhinoceroshornoopofhishead．Hepulledthewomantoherfeet．Thegemsandtreasuresintheroomthenturomulti-coloredclouds，driftingandfloatingintheroom．Someofthemcametogetherandformedasoftmattressforthetwomoomakelove．Attheheightoftheirlove-making，theybothtransformedagaintohugepythowiogetherinaricableknot．
"Dimitri！Dimitri！！"Marianna’sboomingvoicetohisdream．Hewokewithastartle，hisbodystillglisteningwithsweat，tofindMariannashakinghim．Whenheopenedhiseyessleepily，theseductiveagfemalemonsterwasgoneandbeforehimwasMarianna’sfat，affabletenance．"You’redr📰🞤🖈eamingagain!”shesaid．Dimitrismiled．Hefoundthathispantsithnoalemission．
"Howeyoudidoge💇tyourdinight?"
"ButIdid．Yougave🝄🈦meshrimpsandsteak．"
"Tha♝twasthe👰🌡daybeforeyesterday．Aren’tyouhung🛐🛟ry?"
"What！I”vesleptforsolong？Now🔣thatyoumentionit，I’mstarved!”saidDimitria🕎🈣⛵ndh🚒💸eheardhisstomachgrowlinprotest．Mariannahandedhimacupofhotchocote．
"Thereisfrieddhamsandwithebag．Heatitupa．Why’tyoustayawakeandfindsomeworktodoinsteadoflivinginyourdreams?"shescolded．"Whydon’tyoueandliveinmygarage?Youw⛶🞽🙥on’tbeinanybody’swayandyou’llhaveadetroofoveryourhead.”