me?â
âYes.â
Alok took his first bite of spinach pie, and pointed at the pie with his fork, as though the pie had figured him out.
âWhen I began to notice these changes, I looked on the Internet to see if maybe it was a common thing. But it isnât.â
âMaybe you tamed the dragon without even knowing it. Do you have any crystals at home, lying around in the eastern and northern extremities? Do you chant, as a rule?â
âAlok, shut up for a minute.â
âCertainly.â Alok gulped the final bit of his wine just as the woman with large spectacles set down their second half-litre. âThank you, my love.â
Stanley pushed his plate and glass away. âI have powers.â
âAm I allowed to ask questions?â
âYes. Sorry for telling you to shut up.â
âIt was very rude. Very Alberta of you.â
âShut up.â
âWhat sorts of powers, Stanley?â
He was embarrassed, all of a sudden. All this fuss. âItâs probably nothing.â
âCome on.â
âI seem to have acquired a touch of superhuman strength.â
âKeep talking.â
âAnd I can hear thoughts.â
âReally?â
âReally.â
âAll right.â Alok closed his eyes and placed his index fingers on his temples. âWhat am I thinking right now?â
Stanley saw what Alok was thinking in a series of flashes: sex with Frieda, as she was in the 1980s. Poofy hair, tight jeans. âYou prick.â
âSweet Susan. You got that?â
âI did.â
âWow. Wow. How do you do it?â
âNo trick. I just hear and see, if I want to hear and see.â
âWhy? How?â
Stanley shrugged.
âHence the plane ticket. Iâll consider this very seriously, Stan, using each area of my expertise. How is Frieda, by the way?â
âTwenty years older than your fantasy.â
âDo you think sheâs still mad? At Kittyâs funeral she wouldnât even look at me.â
âSheâll be all right.â
âWhat does she think of your mind reading?â
âShe doesnât know about it. I mean, I donât even know about it. Is this something that happens to cancer patients, by chance, just before they die?â
Alok took another bite of spinach pie while he considered Stanleyâs question. The server with the large spectacles was staring at Stanley from behind the counter, as she had been throughout their meal. Finally, she walked over, pulled up a chair, and sat down. âMay I?â
âIf you could give us another moment,â said Stanley.
âI was wondering,â said the woman. She smiled, shook her head as though embarrassed, and removed her glasses. âI was wondering if I could see you sometime.â
âOh. Iâm married.â
âNot that way. Necessarily. I just feel Iâd like to talk to you. These things have happened in my life. Itâs like this mould has grown over everything. In a couple months Iâll be forty-nine, and what have I accomplished so far?â
âWell,â said Stanley.
Alok pulled out his wallet and stood up. He dropped sixty dollars on the table and beckoned Stanley out the door witha head tilt. âSo sorry,â he said to the server. âMr. Moss is very tired. Perhaps weâll return and you can talk then.â
âButâ¦â
âGood night.â
Outside, in the warm night air, Alok rubbed his hands together. He led Stanley around to the rear of the New York Bagel Café.
âAlok, did you eat enough? We left a lot of wine on the table. I could have spoken to that woman afterward.â
âForget her. Letâs see something.â
âLike what?â
âSomething. Whatever you can show me. Your superhuman strength.â
During the Fringe Theatre Festival, Old Strathcona was the most densely populated piece of land in Canada, but it was currently
Kathi Mills-Macias
Echoes in the Mist
Annette Blair
J. L. White
Stephen Maher
Bill O’Reilly
Keith Donohue
James Axler
Liz Lee
Usman Ijaz