Heartbeats

Fourth edition of Short Stories. From pet to artist, from student to mature man. The facets of love encountered with five women in "Actress & Artist." As the man hunting for a female companion becomes the hunted, as Nimis attracts him to meet in London. In "An Icy Storm in a Midsummer's Day," the fascination with Nimis had subsided after she refused to sleep with him. He finds solace with the games his neighbour, a priestess of a church plays with him. Yet the face of his passed love appears in front of him repeatedly. In "Gargoyles," Sandra wants her home refurbished by Zarco, an architect with unusual ideas, recommended by Glens, his builder-friend. A party to celebrate the approved design turns into a nightmare for Zarco. He recovers from his spiked drink, but has to assist Sandra to save Hilda from drowning in her pool. The story of "Lie & Death" is all about Simone, who cannot make up her mind to sleep with Zsolt, who pursues her with love letters, poems and presents. Simone likes him a lot, but she is completely taken by her relationship with a girlfriend. When she visits Zsolt in his hotel, she is exhausted from socializing and drinks. She refuses to sleep with him, but she enjoys a foot massage on her request. Simone notices Zsolts arousal, but she decides to drive home. In front of a painting, titled 'Love and Death', he philosophizes about his life and decides to fly back home. Back in South Africa, he visits popular Mandela Square, where he seeks to recover putting a lid upon his botched love affair. "Writing Tools” is all about losing favourite ink-pens. Losing Anetha’s pens appears to Z as if he would lose another part of her, every time. Arriving at the last ink-pen, which Anetha gave to him during a family dinner, he guards the pen having turned fetish, with overzealous attention. Yet as he arrives in Athens’ summer, the unbearable heat has the better of him and he discovers a change in his life. “Myrta’s Eyes,” depicts a love story. Joe falls in love with mystical and sexy Myrta, a silversmith. Gudrun, a friend of hers wedges between the lovers as she appears suddenly in Myrta’s shop. On holidays with his spouse and her sister, Z seeks personal freedom and the company of Myrta. On a day when Gudrun is away on a tour, Myrto takes Zsolt to a forlorn hideaway beach. Like first man and woman they enjoy their unbridled love. Zsolt has to leave and he hands Myrta his letter and a poem for her. At the airport he purchases a CD with songs that remind him of Myrta. “Enquiry,” is about falling in love with a woman at an enquiry desk behind bullet proof glass. It is evident that customer and the racy woman consultant have developed great sympathies. Every time they meet through business and with the chance of him getting to her counter out of three, fate seems to be on the side of the lovers, separated through a sheet of glass. It becomes a challenge for him to meet her and express his love for her through this strange way, but she seems receptive. In “The Muses,” the door to his love Artemis closes and another to Vib opens. He calls her earth-mother, healing his pain of loss through her erotic love, perhaps dealing with a spot of an Oedipus complex at the same time. Between Elle, the Nordic streamlined woman and Vib, earth mother, his mood recovers and he feels great spurts of creativity forging his artistic output. In ”The Sacrifice” Zed muses about the direction his life had taken, although he was attracted to further his artistic talent at Fine Arts, his Mom had decided to steer him toward an architectural profession. Although he had fulfilled her wish, he had returned back to art, after his professional life had ended. Myrna had invited him to come to Greece, but when he makes plans to leave, she had embarked on a trip to an Aegean Isle. He flies to Heraklion, where Myrna welcomes him. Emotionally attached they make love as much as possible. He knows that he his sacrifice is his step into the plane.