Dreamland

At the edge of the terrace was a simple wooden table with two plank benches on the sides. I walked on the soft grass and plopped down on one of the benches.

The air was a little cooler than it had been in Matt's garden, even if it was pleasantly sunny without a cloud in the sky.

Waiting for them to bring their musical instruments, I enjoyed the view and thought about our earlier conversation while chewing on some of my precious food and letting the sun warm my feet.

The new information didn't change much in my understanding of the events. Yeah, OK, some AIs did some super-duper programming, but that didn't explain the ripple effects it had in the real world. I call nonsense on that theory of infection of the human brain. No, I still thought my explanation about unleashing the witch genes made more sense. Yes, maybe the programming done by the AI was something that helped facilitate it. Mike interrupted my thoughts.

“We've been invited to play at Stavros again in the coming week. We should be the main course after another band tries a few songs. What do you say? That comes with an offer of two hundred for each of us.”

He looked around and saw grinning faces. Tom expressed our agreement:

“Two hundred for each of us? Not bad! What are we going to sing? Are we singing the same songs again?”

Well, that was the question. Matt wrinkled his nose and spoke with hesitation in his voice:

“I don't think we should just do a repeat. We might want to add some hits. I have several ideas to remake a couple of older hit songs. What do you think about this one?”

*

Hew sighed, looking at Matt. He had hoped but also feared that they would be asked to sing again. It was great that they were asked to do it; it meant that they had been appreciated, but now they had no ace hidden in their sleeves. What should they sing? A plain repeat with nothing new would be a weak performance.

It seemed Matt had thought the same, but he also had worked on a contingency. As Matt handed over the manuscript he had been working on, Dolores grabbed it. Hew groaned, unhappy that she had taken it before him but watched with curious eyes how she literally transformed once she had the paper in her hand. His eyes went round.

“This girl lives for music!” - he thought, forgiving now her hastiness and watching her traits with interest.

It was as if he was finding himself in front of a different person. The cheeky warlord became a shy beauty in an instant. Her movements were no longer those precise, fast and effective cuts but smooth and elegant swipes as she scrolled the manuscript. As if she would incorporate the music in her veins.

She nodded, holding the manuscript in her hands: “Oh, yes, this might come out really good!”

Matt wondered: “Do you think you could sing it like that? Would it not be too difficult?”

She seemed dumbfounded that he was questioning her abilities.

She snorted and raised a brow: “Sure! We could try right now!”

Matt nodded and turned towards the others: “Cool! Can we try some of my ideas before I have to leave?”

Tom grinned: “We can make it full blast here; we do not disturb anybody! But we have only two soft guitars, Hew doesn't have his organ, and some of Mike's drums are missing!”

“Let's try it. Soft guitars should do it. I'll drum the table and the chairs and whatever I feel like when needed. The problem is Hew.”

“I have my harmonica and a synthesizer!” - said Hew shrugging it off - “We can go for it.”

She watched them as they took their places, and then Mike drummed a rhythm. She closed her eyes, and her divine voice gave him goosebumps.

Hew closed his eyes. The way it sounded, the way it filled his heart, her voice could only be considered divine.

She was not loud, more a whisper at the beginning, and then her voice grew slowly stronger. The guitars came after a while, and Hew nodded appreciatively. What Matt had done here was genius. It was an old famous song, but now it sounded even better, as if a beautiful butterfly would transform itself into the king of all butterflies!

He focused on not missing when his turn came; that would be a real sin. He felt with his soul as the melody slowly unfolded, and his heart beat stronger.

Wow, the original creators will be at the same time proud and envious when they will hear this. It was so much better than the original, which was a masterpiece at its time.

After they finished, they just stood there for a while, staring at each other in amazement.

In the end, Mike nodded happily:

“Wow, that was good!” - he turned to Dolores - “You added some of your own modifications?”

“Yes.” - she agreed with a shy smile - “Was that not OK?”

“Oh, that was good. You understood where I wanted to go and went even further!” - said Matt with a grin.

They continued with renewed enthusiasm to further elaborate older songs for several hours, and then Tom rose.

“I need some exercise. Would you mind if I do my katas?”

Hew agreed:

“No, it is good to make a break. I'll stop the recorder, and we can analyze what we produced so far to choose for the next performance.”

Dolores hesitated:

“Hm, would you mind if I joined you, Tom? I'm also learning some karate katas and would like to copy the work of an advanced player if possible?”

The gracious maiden was again a cheeky warrior. Hew sighed.

She was not beautiful; she looked rather plain. She had an average face, actually. Why did she look so marvellous when she sang? Probably that passion that made her eyes shine...

“Well, why not? But don't interrupt me, OK? Would you not have a problem with your bare feet?”

“Sure, master. The grass is OK for the lowly apprentice!” - Lores nodded, grinning.

“Sensei!” - said Tom with a wink.

Sensei... Hew chuckled. It was funny to watch them both. He sighed. He had to revise his opinion again. She was certainly not plain. The way she moved, the way she copied his movement and executed, was... refreshing? No. Perfect? Almost, but that was not the point... Gracious? Well, a certain grace. The gymnast's grace, not the ballerina's. Not gymnast's... ninja's? Something like that...

He had the feeling she was doing the movements somehow better. Could that be? After repeating the two katas, Tom nodded.

“You are not bad, lady; your movements are good. Kumite? Do you trust yourself for a small sparring match?”

Dolores shrugged.

“Why not?”

Tom grinned:

“Cool. No contact to face or neck, just stop one centimetre before, but hands legs and body are fair game... OK, I won't hit to break yours, trust me.”

Dolores answered with a sweet smile:

“OK, me neither.”

Tom snorted.

“Rei.” - said Tom - “This means bow!”

“Oh, OK”

“Yoi!”

She raised a brow:

“Did you hurt yourself?”

“No, silly, this means ready, and hajime means to attack or begin. Hajime!”

They stepped forward.

Tom had the size advantage, but she was faster and nimbler. He attacked, and five seconds later, he was on his knees, trying hard to breathe, holding his belly with a pained face.

“You got me. Huch! Beginner's luck!” - said Tom forcing himself back to stand on his feet.

Mike wondered: “Maybe it was not such a good idea?”

The three boys were no longer talking music, watching the sparring fight with interest.

Matt sighed: “Please, have pity on him!”

Tom gave him a stinky eye, and Dolores rolled hers. Mike turned to him:

"Do you know something that we do not know?"

She avoided the next attack with a simple step to the side. Tom followed up with a yoko-geri – a sidekick. She either was too slow or underestimated his reach as his foot made contact with her stomach pushing her two steps backwards.

“Ha! One to one!” - said Tom with a happy grin - “Do you need a break?”

She seemed unconcerned:

“No, I'm OK”

“Sure? That was hard?”

“Sure!”

He raised a brow. He tried again a similar attack using his long legs, but this time she blocked him with an age-uke (rising block), sending his leg high and followed up with a kick to his other leg.

It wasn't a heavy blow; however, he lost his balance coming with both feet in the air. He landed hard on his back as she knelt down and dropped her fist to his stomach. She didn't hit him; she just put him there with a perfect move and a grin.

“Huch. You tricked me; you are a black belt! Why did you not tell that?” - said Tom as soon as he was able to talk, looking now angry at Matt, then he turned to her again - “would you like to visit our dojo?”

Dolores shrugged.

“Sure, if it is possible? I'm mostly self-taught and would like some feedback from a specialist.”

“Self-taught? When we have time, we should organize it!”

“Hey guys and lady, I need to leave.” - said Matt standing up with a sigh.

Hew wondered: “Can't you stay longer? Would it help if I went talk with your mother?”

“No” - said Matt shaking his head - “She's mad at you too, you know for last night...”

“Last night?”

“You covered for me, and she knows something was fishy about it”- Matt shrugged, then turned to Dolores - “I'll give your clothes to Hew.”

“Oh, cool, thanks! This sport raised my appetite. Are you OK with us finishing the food?” - Dolores asked with a famished look.

Matt rolled his eyes, and Mike only laughed whilst Hew slapped his face, not believing it.

“This girl eats more than my fat sister...” - he thought.

Tom, however, agreed:

“I'm hungry too!”

Hew rolled his eyes:

“Sure, I'll bring some more food for the evening and maybe some drinks.”