Them，Dimitriatdawnandsittingontheparkben🗀😝chdrinkingcoffee．Themfogturnedeverythingiaoawhitemass．ThereflesoftheswayingbraheweepingwillowsoilesswavesofLakeMerrittseemedtopersonifyadnguidwoman,half-yielding,half-resisting．Dimitriwasgroggyandsufferingfromahangroanedandsaidtohimself，"NowwhydidIhavetogoanddrinksomuight?Thatwasreallystupidofme．Butwhat’stheharmofanoccasionalfling?IwonderwhatAmaliaisdoingnow．Perhapsshesleepsonacloudandrefreshedfrht’srestisnowsittingbeforehermirror，bingherhairandmakingherselfbeautifulfortheday．IwohereisstillthedifferenceofsexesinHeaven．Ifthereis，isAmaliastilsiedinsexualintercoursewithmultipartnersasshewasoh?Perhapstheyallliveonclouds,lightlyfloatingalroundtheuniverse．Wheheywoulduniteinapassionateandcrushingembradmakeloveoherybuoyantcloud,theiriyandenjoymentincreasingwiththelullingandslightlyrogmovementofthecloudasitfluctuateswiththewind．Afterthatbriefunion，theywouldfloatapart，eachgoinghisownway.IfAmaliaisasiedinsexassheusedtobe，thatwouldbeidealforher．Oh，heavenlyresidentsmuststillhavesex，orAmaliawouldbeboredtodeath!”
ThenDimitri’smindbecamebnkayasthemmist,butafamiliartuteninhisyouthpersistentlycroppedintohissciousness🟣🞺🙉：
"Fa🜗🂓intbluemountains，faintredskies，
Faintduskfogbyfaintgreen🝮🎥📉pins，
Faint,fa🔷🅒intfeelingstanglinginthemind，
Likesl🚁eeasingfingersontheh🄜⚄arpstrings，
Iamayouthle🜈⛲arningtobedivi🝡🌨ne.”
Itreiterateditselfagainandagain，untilDimitricouldn’thelpsingingalongwithit．The👏🇷🝐mistgrad🈡⛛uallydispersedandthenoiseandcmorofcitylifebeganagain．
Acrossthestreet，severalteen-agerswaitingfortheirschoolbus,ughing,jokingande🔜🁠ngaginginhorsepy.Lookingonatthemenviously，Dimitrithoughtofhisownyouthwhichhadbeenenvelope🞌💳🕷dinapalebluemistofsorrowandmencholy．
"IfIcouldlivemylifeagain,Iwouldspenditinhappinessandenjoyment,happyandcarefreeasthoseteen-agers,”hethought．Nearhim,ayoungmotherandherone-year-oldboywerepyingtogetheronthegrasswiththeirgolderiever．Thelittleboy，justlearningtowalk,chedhischubbyfistsandmadeboxingmovements，whithisdotingmotherintopealsofmerriment．Suddeumbledandfell．Hismotherrushedtohisaid，buthesatonthegrassandugheduproariously．Thedograojointhefunandlickedhisface．Themotherpickedhimupandhuggedhimtightlytoherbreastsandhecspedhisarmsaroundhernedkissedhersmilingfacerepeatedly，hisughingeyesasbrightasthetwinklingstars．"IfIwerehe，hoy1wouldbe!”thoughtDimitri.“Icouldembracemymotherandkissher．Inprimitivetimes，thatlittleboycouldeasilyhavebeeapreyofwildbeasts．Mankindhasealon🖩gwaysihen,afteranarduousjourneyofbillionsofyear🔦🂸📧sofevolutioleone-year-oldboyisnowohresholdoflife，learningtowalk，butananimalofhisage，likethegolderiever，isalreadyabletoproliferate．Perhapstheheanimal，themoretimeitogrowup.”
Suddenly，golden-hairedMary，hertightbluejeansandwhiteblousecameontothese，carryingabackpadrunningtoherpanionsatthebus-stop,hergoldenhairflyinginthewind．Dimitrigazedatthefamiliarform,puzzled,searghismemoryforwherehehadseenherbefore．Suddenly，aseatthezoofshedintohismind.Itwasmany,manyyearsago,whenDimitriwasstillinhisearlyteens．OnedayhewenttotheOakndZootokilltime．Suddenlyheheardwomens🈻🃡🙒creamingandsawacrowdgatheringatthecageofthechimpanzee，jostlingandexg．Feelingcurious，heweoo．Thechimpanzeewasmasturbatinghimselfvigorously．Agirlinthecrowdcoveredherfacewithherhandsbutwasstillpeekingthroughherfihechimpanzee，whichheldsom🏧🜚🂮ewaterinhismouth，sprayeditather，wettingherfadhair．Justthen,theschoolbusarrivedaeen-agersscrambledoncallingtooher,jostlingandughingastheycrowdedthroughthesmalldoor．Thatgirtthezoowasthesplitt💔👤ingimageofgolden-hairedMary，butthenofcourseitcouldn’tpossiblybe，becausethree，fourdecadeshadpassedsihen．
Dimitr🚁isatonthebenchtalkingt♁ohimself.
"Amalia，Idon’treallyknowwhenmylifeonthisearthbegan，butit’sbeenalong，longtime．Myfleshcamefromyou，andwiththatbodycamefate，soul，thoughtandalltheotherattributes．Theseexistonlythroughandinapaofthefleshbody，withoutwhichfateaed．Withoutthefleshbody，alltheseattri🈐♇buteswouldbemeaninglessandinsignifit．Fate,forexample,hasalwaysbeenatroversiandunanswerablequestioralstatebetweeenta．Lookingbathepast，youwillfindanobviousbuthelessexistingtrack,whichyouthinkwouldbeentbeforeyoufindit．Fateandfleshbodyareactuallytwo-in-oneandone-in-two．Ah，Amalia!myfleshisyourfleshandmyblood，yourblood．SinceIamyourfleshandblood，Imustacceptthepainthatfatehasimposedonmyfleshbody．ButyourlifeisoneofsinandIwishIcouldusemyfleshbodytoatoneforit．OnlyIdon’tknowwhetherthatispossibleornot”．
“YouknowAmalia,Iwentbackseveraltimestothezootoobservethatchimpanzee．Sometimes，helookedsadandthoughtful，butatothertimesheseemedhappyandpyful．I’veetotheclusionthatheisphilosopher．Hemusthavefoughtlikeaeredbeastwhenhewasfirstcaptured．Butthen，hefoundmanwasstrohanhe，andthatescapetothewildwherehecamefromossible．Hegedhisattitudean🌯🂣dbecameaic．Iwasstruckbythesimiritybetweenus．Theretioweenhimandhiscellisthesameasthatbetweenmyfleshbodyandfate．Onlyhisassiveandimposedonhim，whileminewasactivelyimpose🌸🃵🜆donmyselfofmyownfreewill．Iwillinglyboundmyfleshbodysothatitwouldnotdoanythingmorallyoutoftracktoatoneforyoursins，Amalia.”
“Amalia,myattitudetowardsfateislikethatofwater,whichflowsoverthesurfaceoftheearth,huggingtheriseandfalloftheterrainwithoutpromisingitsownnature．Ifitmeetswithobstacles，itwillstop，detourandtakeah；b⚫🔕utwillstilltinueflowingtowardsitsdestination.Obedierebellious,thatisthesecretofgwithfate,heractivenorpassive．Thismayseemobscure，butinmylife，theyarepatibleainperfectharmony．Inmyobservationsofthechimpanzee，Irealizedthathehadgivenuprebellionandhisownfreewill．Hebowedtothefutilityofresistandsowasnolongerrebellious．Hiseyesweredocilebutsly．Tomakethebestofabaddeandfindjoyamidhardship,hepyedprac☯ticaljokesonhumans．Iwouldliketoreverttoman’snaturalprimitiveeaurntotheanimalstatewewereinbeforeevolution．ThatdoesnotmeanIwouldgosofarastomasturbateinpubliclikethechimpahatisimpossiblebecausemillionsofyearsofcivilizationhadpassedandIainstfateasthhlyashe．SoIhaveshapedmyownattitudetowardsfatelikethetheoryofwater，geamebuttenacious．Yourattitude，Amalia，istheexactopposite．Youwerelikefire，untrolbleaating．Thatisthemaindiffereweenyouandme．Oh，Amalia，tellmeho🗺♆🆈wIatoneforyoursins."
BythehaddispersedandthebrightsunlightshiningstraightonhimmadeDimitri,whohadfullyrecoveredfromhishango🔑ver,feeldizzy．Helookedupatthevastexpanseofclear🗶☟blueskieswithoutthetraceofasinglecloudandasuddenpaniccameoverhim．
"Wherearetheclouds?WherehasAmaliagoo?"Hegotintoahystericalfrenzyandranaroundshouting，"Amalia!Amalia!Whereareyou?"Buttherewasnoanswerfromtheskies，noclouds，noAmalia．Dimitrisatdowedlyonth🄱🁙🆍ebendthought．"WherecouldAmaliahavegoo?PerhapsshefellfromthecloudsbacktoHell.Heenvisionedawideexpanseofdesert，torrid，dryandshadeless，withtheraysofninesunsbzingdownonthered-hotsandsofironore．Amaliawascrawlihem，pantingwiththirstandhalfdeliriouswiththeheat．Dimitricouldolookandcried，"Amalia,areyousorrynowforyoursins?Youmustbe!"Butthen，herememberedherwords，"Don’tthinktwicebeforeyouaceathingisdone,neverregret.”No，Amaliawould．Theexpressiononherfaful，yetrebelliousandremorseless.AhAmalia!Repent!Perhapsyouattainabsolution．TellmehowIhelpyouleaveyourpainfulenviro．Perhapswhatyouneednowisagssofcejuice,buthowIgetittoyou?Thedimensionsseparatinguseasuredbytimeorspace．AhAmalia!HowIleaveyoutosuf🅖🆣👘fe🃨🚘rallone?"
Dimitriwentbacktohisb🚦endy🝡🌨downlistl🝃🈢⛪essly．Hethought，
"Iamgrowingoldinthespringbreeze．IfIhadknownhowhardlifewouldbe🖠，I’dh🄫aveledinmymother’swombforeverandneverhaveetothisworld．Itmusthavebeensnugandcozythere,hertoowarmnortoocold，likelyinghalfasleepandhalfawakeonahammock，swayinginthespringbreeze，lostidreams.”Later，Dimitrifinallyfoundhislonglostmotherandweledhertohismysterious🄭KingdomwhereshelivedhappilyeverafterwiththefilialdevotionandpanionshipofDimitriandhisbeauties．Butthatistobedealtwithintheepilogue．
Itwasgetting1ate．Thedaywasdrawingtoacloseandtheskiesgraduallydarkened．Dimitriytherezilyonhisbench．Hisdayhadgonebyhazily．Inhissubsciousness,hehadbeenawareofshadowsofpeopleingandgoing：Twomountedpoliceofficersambledbyandhadtiedtheirhorsesuheshadeofsometreeswhiletheytooktheirbreakbeforeresumingtheirpatrol．Amadol🎒🐝🀴dassedbymungonabunchofbananas，whichshepeeledonebyoossingtheskinsintothegarbagewhenshehadfinish🏈ed．Nooneeverknewhername．Wheninagoodmood，shewouldturnprankish，puttingapsticbagoverherfadmake😏🀛♇facesatpeople，ughinghappilywhenshefoundtheywerescared．Butwhenshewasangry，shewouldshoutandcussatthetopofhervoice，gesturingvehemently．Dimitriadmiredhergreatlyforherlifestyle，forabandoningherselffreelyairelytohermoodswings．Otherpedestrianshadpassedbytoo，butnowallweregonehekwhere．
Amistymoonpeepedoutfrombehindsomeclouds,graduallysendingouthertranslutrays．Onastrusite，rowsoflong-neckedes,sturdybulldozers，dredgersandrollersstoodsilentandmotionless．Fromafar,theyresembledtheenormousdinosaursthatruledtheearthbillionsofyearsago．Nowthesegiganticcreatures🞪hadlongdisappearedfromthefaceoftheearth．Inthespaceofanight，theworldseemedtohaveturopsy-turvy．Aretheseste🚺😚🁼endiroheirmodernter💐🐽🅓parts?Drowsily，Dimitrifelgainintohissweetdreams．
Chapte🚁r4LifeStoriesofAi🎣💺🖻sha,Stephanie,Angelica,
Lotus,S🎝💂🏆amantha,DornaandNatalie
KingDimitri’sWomen