A tree grew far from the forest, in the fields. The farmer wanted to remove the tree from his land, but he had no axe. So, he removed all leaves and all buds from the tree. When fresh leaves grew, he removed them too. The tree grew weak and soon, the farmer could take it out of its roots.

Legend Of The Forest

Sleeping together in the same bed has proven to be by far not as easy as I thought. In the first night, I let him sleep to the outer edge of the bed, while I slept close to the wall, but when I had to go for the 3 AM train, I had to wake him, to get out of the bed. The second night, it was also not as I wished. We were so afraid not to touch each other, not to wake-up each other, that sleeping was anything but easy. We were concerned not to make noise, not to move. We tried to sleep back to back, face to face... And an even greater challenge was because sometimes we wake-up during night and smoke. How to do that without waking the other one? I was at the point to recommend that we should sleep back each one in its own bed, but I preferred to go quiet. This is an important step in our relation. I know that in classic relations, the couple sleep together and even have sex from the first night, but we are sfenists. We are completely different then other people and that's the way things go.

During the second week, things started to settle a bit. We got used to this. We built a small shelf on the wall, so he could put there an ashtray and a pack of cigarettes. I also have a small table near the bed, where I always have an ashtray and cigarettes, ready for the night. At some point, we placed a box between us, with an ashtray, lighters and cigarettes... but during night, we moved and made all the ash and filters fall on the bed.

During the third week, things settled even more. It was no longer a problem if we touch during the night. Even more, we started to touch our pantyhosed feet. In one night, Alia - Atan even proposed that we should try to sleep in reverse position, he with the head towards my feet. And during the night, we spent some time holding and touching our legs. During another night, we held our hands for long while we were sleeping, until one of us changed position.

Then, comes this interesting night... I was dreaming. I was dreaming that I needed a cigarette. And then, I was smoking. But was the dream real or not? Somehow, a cigarette was moving to my mouth and back. Well, when I managed to wake-up a bit, I could see that someone is really doing this. Alia is putting a cigarette between my lips. He is awake and giving me smoke.

"What a..." I whisper.

"You were saying that you want a cigarette", he says.

"Really?" I ask, realizing better what is going on.

"Nicotiana, you asked twice".

"Did I ever do that before?"

"Yes. But I was in the other bed".

"And you gave me to smoke?"

"I never dared to go to your bed".

Well, I know my addiction is beyond any acceptable border, but I never imagined that I ask for cigarettes while sleeping.

The next night, I tried to put a cigarette in his mouth, while sleeping, but it didn't work. But I managed to slowly blow smoke to his nose, to make him somehow inhale while sleeping. It worked, only that in the morning, he remembered there was so much smoke in the room and we should open the window before going to sleep. As I hear this, I take a deep inhale and take my mouth close to his, then I slowly exhale. Amazingly, he tries to breath my smoke. That is cute! We try this again, in the evening. Then, the next day, in evening, I wait him from work.

After we eat and change, we dress. It is time for Atan to become Alia, like in every evening when he comes from work. Outside, it is getting hotter. The winter is long gone, the spring is ahead. So, we chose lighter clothes. I take a white and green dress, while he takes a black, brown and green one. We both have shiny, light-brown pantyhose. And we sit on top of the bed. We light a cigarette. Then, I turn on the laptop and go to YouTube, to see some smoking videos. I go to what little is left from the Camelboys, boys in the gym, doing workout and smoking. Well, we soon see a linked video, named smoky kiss. Two persons, a man and a woman, seem to be kissing, but in fact they changed smoke from one to the other.

"That is interesting", says Alia. "They recycle smoke!"

"Close to what we did in the morning", I say.

"And we didn't knew it".

"I knew this exists".

"You did, Nicotiana?"

"Yes. And there are several variants".

I show him another video, this time with two smoking women. They exchange smoke between their lungs. Sometimes, they touch their lips, sometimes not.

"I think I can try this", says Alia. "But I don't know if you are ready... not sure even if I am ready, anyway".

"We could try. If you feel this is too much for you, just say so and we will stop".

"The same, if you need to stop, Nicotiana".

"Ok. Let me try first".

I take a deep inhale. Then, I come with my lips close to him. We touch our lips like in a kiss, but this time with another purpose. I blow the smoke inside his mouth. He first opposes me, but then accepts. Then, he exhales it. Well, I almost cannot believe this. My smoke, getting out through his mouth! So incredible! A part of me got inside his body!

We try again. This time, he takes a drag and comes to my lips. We touch our lips, then I slowly open my mouth and prepare to inhale. The smoke enters my mouth and my throat. It is far less strong then when you directly inhale from a cigarette. Also, it is warmer and more moisture. Then, as I exhale, there is a small trail of smoke getting out of my mouth. So incredible! For the first time, something that was in his body, now is inside mine.

So amazed, I look around. It is something I long wanted to do, but was too afraid to try. No guy ever came this close to me without a massive punishment.

"Are you ok, Nicotiana?" he asks me.

"Yes, I think so", I say.

I take another deep inhale and try again. Our lips touch, then open a channel. I hear the smoke moving between our mouths. As our lips move again, a small cloud of smoke gets out of my mouth, but far more gets out of his.

He takes a drag and we try to do this again. We touch our lips again and I can hear the smoke getting inside me. When our lips move away and I exhale, there is not much smoke in me, much more in him.

"I think I am not doing it right", he says.

"You are bigger then me, your lungs are bigger", I say. "Try not to take the smoke so deep in you".

I try again and take a double drag, to get as much smoke as I can inside me. Then, our lips touch again and I gently push the smoke inside his body. It is too concentrated and he hardly avoids a cough. Then, he takes like me, a double drag. The first drag gets deep inside him, the second, which he almost coughs out, then is poured into me. I take the smoke and feel it, much stronger then before. I take it all, deep inside my body. He then exhales the remaining smoke, while I let his smoke out of my own body.

"Wow!" I say. "It is much deeper then a kiss".

"Two planets exchanging their atmospheres", he says.

Then, I take another deep drag and we touch our lips again. I pour the smoke in his mouth. But before he can exhale, I say:

"Wait!"

And I take my lips back to his lips. He gives the smoke back into my body. I feel it. Almost no strength left in it, but it is warm and full of moisture. Then, he takes again an inhale of smoke and touches my lips. I take the smoke inside my lungs. It has some strength. Before I can exhale, he puts his lips on mines, so that he can take the smoke back.

At this moment, I look inside his eyes. He is very pleased of this. I see pleasure, much affection and some passion, but by far not the passion I've seen in the eyes of most guys. I don't see those sinful eyes, I don't see the flares of hell burning inside him. It is the fire of a lighter or a candle, not the fire of a burning forest. I can handle this.

"This is a trillion times more powerful then a kiss", he says.

With his hands, he also touches my feet. Well, actually my left knee and my right toes, given my position. I feel his hands and slowly move one hand, to touch his feet. I didn't even realize that our feet were touching all this time. Then, he takes one hand, to take his cigarette.

We take a few smokes, without trying the smoky kiss again. Then, I say:

"Let's do this again!"

And he takes an inhale and takes his lips to mine. I touch his lips and open mine. The smoke moves between us, making a little noise as it passes through our mouths. I let the smoke out, then take a deep inhale from my cigarette. My lips meet his and I start pouring the smoke to his mouth and body.

We finish our cigarettes. This was an experience far beyond anything I ever tried. And it was not a kiss. It was not a declaration of passion and love, not a hidden burning erotic desire. Maybe, it was a bit, but there is something else. It is completely different. We shared each other, we exchanged smoke between us. We united our hearts, our bodies, maybe even our souls.

"The smoke that went inside you", I say, "went in your body, even in your heart. And then, inside of me. I took inside myself a small drop of your heart".

"Now, I have a droplet of your soul inside me", he says. "Yes, I've been taking pieces of you by passive smoking, but this is far beyond anything".

I feel his hand still touching my toes. I touch his hand with my hand.

"Now, a bit of my feet are inside you", I say.

He feels my heart and has a small twitch of his body.

"Are you ok?" I ask.

"Yes, Nicotiana", he says. "You are the princess of nicotine and you can transform anything into smoke".

"Thank you", I say.

We talk about this experience, then the radio signals. Night train is coming. I need to go to the station. I let Alia in the room. Some sort of powerful energy flows through my body. I almost run to the station, where I light another cigarette.

"What is happening to me?" I ask my shadow.

"You know well the answer", my shadow answers.

"Am I in love? Like this?"

"Sure you are, you know well this. Just look at you".

I am in a state of happiness, almost shaking. I didn't even notice the cold night.

"Yes, Ana, you are in love. And you've gone so far, the furthest in your life".

"What if my body will stop this? What if I will hit him like all the others? I am afraid!"

Thinking of this, I take a triple inhale from this cigarette. I try to keep the smoke in me as long as possible. As doing this, I almost cry. "Will I kill him? Will my body reject him like all the others?" I didn't feel the same. Maybe a bit. Yes, a bit, there was something telling me to stop. But he didn't touch my critical points. I don't support anyone to touch me above my breasts and on my neck. But there is something different. Is it the touch that triggers all this? Or is the eyes? The sinful fires in the eyes. That's it! But my body needs to breath. I kept the smoke too much inside me! I let it out.

It is starting to rain. A cold rain, with rare drops of water. Tomorrow will be a cold and wet day. The train is approaching, I hear it. Then, I see the lights. Yes, it is coming. I take another inhale, thinking about what might be if we are pushing the limits too far. What if our bodies are not ready for this? Will I beat him? Will I attack him? Will I even kill him? The train is here. I go fast inside the station, to radio signal upstream and downstream stations. Then, I come to the platform and signal the train to go. It has one wagon for passengers and about 30 wagons for coal. I don't see any passengers inside.

The old diesel engine makes a long beep, then starts moving. A cloud of smoke is above us, with a smell of burned engine oil. I know, people will say that these trains are living their last days, but it is not true. When an engine has major problems, it is repaired, with whatever improvements can be made. New spare parts are brought only when the old one are destroyed beyond recovery.

As the train passes away, my shadow says: "If this old, rusted engine can climb to the mine, you can carry your weight too. The gods will strengthen you when needed".

I return to the house. We try to sleep, but fail for a long time. The experience of exchanging smoke was far too much for both of us. Yes, I really think we are progressing too fast.

The morning comes and Alia becomes Atan and goes to the mine. But I can tell from his face that he didn't sleep enough. I also have a lack of sleep. As the train comes, we hug and he climbs aboard. I watch the rusted wagons going away, vanishing from my sight. Well, since I am alone, time for some gardening! Time to see all my plants what are doing. I don't have many tobacco seedlings for sale. The season is almost over. Well, they've been sold a bit better then last year.

I move to each plant and remove all unwanted weeds from around it. Like always, I take most care of tobacco plants. I gently touch their young leaves, knowing that I will be smoking them the next year. The sky is cloudy and it is pouring a rare rain. But, then, the radio beeps. The morning train is returning from the mine. I go to the station and check the lines. Everything is ok. The train passes downstream, stops here to take a few passengers and drop one. I signal the train to go.

The passenger is a 13 year old girl. She comes to me, with a very shy look.

"Ana?" she asks, almost shaking.

"Yes, that is me", I answer.

"Please, I need your help", she says.

"Ok. Come to the house".

We go to the 'good room', as we tell it. Each house here has two rooms: one is the 'good room' that we keep for guests and to store goods and one is the 'daily room' where we stay and sleep. To enter both rooms, you need to go through a small room where we take down our shoes. I look at her. She is young, with a natural brown-to-black hair, dark eyes. Not fat and not thin, she is about my size (a normal size for her age, I am shorter then other women because of underage smoking) and with a pink dress. Her bare feet have red nails, unlike mine, which are covered in pantyhose.

"Who are you?" I ask.

"Kumit", she says. "I am from Ganymede".

"I am here to help you. Please, tell me".

"Ana, I need your help. I know you can talk to Actit".

"Actit is good with everyone and will help you, but only if you want her help".

"There is a guy, who comes to our house. He is looking for me. And I think my dad wants to force my hand", she cries. "He tried to kiss me a few days ago".

I see the look in her eyes. Is this really happening?

"With who?" I ask.

"Fakih, who works with Abdul, from Beyond The Sands. He wants to get me for Abdul".

What? I get shocked. That rich Muslim guy who tried to seduce me? I know he has a harem and is very rich. He made is fortune by wood extraction. And he still carries wood along a nearby railway. I know him. He tried to get to me, but I attacked him.

"Are you sure this is about Abdul?" I ask her.

"Yes, I am. And I am scared to death!"

I start moving my hands around her head.

"You must be stronger. Not even mountains, not even rivers, not even the great storm can move you".

"Please Ana, you have to stop him!"

"Not me! You!" I say, moving my hands and shaking them a bit. "Actit will give you all the strength. You can do this. You have the power inside. And that over-cursed infidel will have no chance to stop you. Actit will not let her children suffer".

"But my dad talks with Fakih!" she says, crying.

"Cry, Kumit. As you cry, you will take away the cute girl that you once were and a new woman will be born into you. You are to be strong".

She cries.

"Kumit, you must do as I say. Actit has given me a sign that you will not go to Abdul, but you must also do your part. When you go back home, say to your dad: 'I will not go to Abdul. If you force me, Actit will bring a whole life destruction to you and all of us. She gave me a sign'. You must say these words with as much authority in your voice as you can. Say them one by one, with little pauses between each word. If he tries to say anything, repeat the words exactly the same way. If he tries to say something about, don't let him. Repeat these words again. You got the words: 'I will not go to Abdul. If you force me, Actit will bring a whole life destruction to you and all of us. She gave me a sign'. Now, repeat, Kumit!"

"I will not go to Abdul. If you force me, Actit will bring a whole life destruction to you and all of us. She gave me a sign", she repeats. "But what if they ask me what sign?"

I fast look outside and see a ray of light. Is it a sign from Actit? Well, I felt that the goddess is answering me somehow, but could this be?

"Just look outside. Wasn't it raining? But you can see a ray of sunlight on the window, don't you?"

"Yes, Actit has given us a sign", she says amazed.

"Don't tell them about the ray of light. It is only for you and me. Just tell them that you've seen something here".

"And my dad will not give me to Fakih?"

"If he tries, repeat this over and over. You are strong, Kumit", I say while moving my hands. And if Fakih comes, repeat this over and over to him".

"Will this help?"

"Yes. You know the unwritten law. Parents are not allowed to give you against your own will".

I move my hands around her head, then around her body. I just try to give her all my bioenergy. All! She needs so much help. How could a parent do such a thing?

"Mom is against this. She said she will hide me".

"She is on your side, but she cannot fight alone. Stay on your feet, in front of your dad. Tell this and sharp. Now, say it again, in front of me".

"I will not go to Abdul. If you force me, Actit will bring a whole life destruction to you and all of us. She gave me a sign", she repeats again.

"Stronger", I insist.

"I will not go to Abdul. If you force me, Actit will bring a whole life destruction to you and all of us. She gave me a sign", she repeats again, with much force in her words.

"Again, but this time not with a hard tone. Say it with authority, with breaks between words. Again".

"I will not go to Abdul. If you force me, Actit will bring a whole life destruction to you and all of us. She gave me a sign", she says, with a new voice.

I move my hands around all her body, with a huge tension inside me. Stronger! Come on, Ana! You have to give her all your bioenergy! She needs it! Then, I open a drawer and take some dry ground power. I softly pour it above her head.

"This is ground from the shrine where Actit holds her body. Now, her power is above you and she is covering you. But, if you don't fight with your own strength as hard as you can, she cannot do anything to you. She can do wonders, she can change rivers to go upstream, she can break iron gates and she can turn clouds back, but only if you want to. Only if you show with all your power that you want her to help you".

"I do! I want Actit to help me! And I will do whatever it takes".

"You are a warrior, Kumit! And you have the blood of a warrior! We have been living in these mountains for 10000 years. Empires raised and fallen, but we are still here. And you are strong enough".

"You think so, Ana?"

"I was face in face with Abdul when he tried to seduce me", I say. "And I think you know what happen. Actit gave me the force and I almost killed him. And I am a woman, just like you. Don't doubt you are. Don't think you are strong. Know you are. You are, Kumit! You are stronger then that infidel! He is just a fat piece of meat, waiting to die and be eaten by worms, while you are a child of Actit. You have the Altar inside you. You are a creation of the gods, while he is a creation of Satan and nothing more!"

"Will I be as strong as you are?"

"Just say 'I am as strong as Ana is' and hear yourself".

"I am as strong as Ana is".

"And Actit gives me strength", I say.

"And Actit gives me strength".

"I am a child of the gods and Abdul is a child of Satan. Say it, Kumit!"

"I am a child of the gods and Abdul is a child of Satan".

"I am strong".

"I am strong".

"Even if Abdul comes to you", I say, "don't worry. Just say him what I said. And if he forces you, hit him with all your power. Between his legs and in the eyes. Don't worry, you are strong enough. Have no mercy, he is the son of Satan. Actit will give you all the strength, but only if you do your best on your side".

"I am stronger, Ana. I am powerful!"

"Yes you are, Kumit!"

"I am powerful and Abdul is a piece of rotten meat!" she screams. "Actit is with me and I will kill him!"

"Now, when you go back home, just keep repeating what I told you. And you will get more and more strength with each word you say. Nobody can stand now in front of you!"

I take my pack of handmade cigarettes and offer her one.

"Do you smoke?" I ask her.

"I tried to sneak cigarettes from my mom, but Fakih hates smoking girls. So, my dad tries the best to prevent me from smoking".

"Kumit, then you have to smoke. Believe me, from all offers I gave to Actit, the best she accepts cigarettes".

She takes my cigarette and lights it. I see she is not quite a smoker. She coughs a bit.

"Each time you take smoke into your body, say: 'This will make me stronger' and you will be stronger".

She takes another inhale, this time better. And she blows a small cloud of smoke from her small lips.

"I give you four packs. Just keep on smoking, at least one each day. It is a medicine. Each day, smoke one. And when you do so, think that this makes you stronger. This will transform you, from a girl into a woman. Girls listen to their parents, women take their lives into their own hands".

"I am a woman", she says, after taking another inhale. "And I am as strong as Ana is".

"Yes you are strong. And if you fight with all your strength, Actit will help you".

We smoke together.

"I will not go to Abdul. If you force me, Actit will bring a whole life destruction to you and all of us. She gave me a sign", she repeats each time after she lets the smoke out of her body.

"You are a warrior, Kumit", I say to her.

"When my dad will find out that I smoke? What should I do?"

"Don't stop. And if he takes your cigarettes, come to me. I will give you others".

"I will not stop. And I will fight. I will not go to Abdul, because Actit gave me a sign!"

Now, it is time to search for a few things, for Stromboli.

"Kumit, can you tell me something?" I ask her.

"Sure. What is it?"

"Have you seen people planting something different?"

"Like what, Ana?"

"Well, like the tobacco seedlings that I sell. Other seedlings or other plants, but that are not familiar to you?"

"No", she says. "I only seen vegetables and tobacco seedlings".

So, no sign of weed or other weeds even worse. Now, time to use this question for her help.

"So, you've seen no palm trees, banana trees, coffee trees or vodka trees in here".

She laughs.

"Vodka trees?"

"Yes, trees that have bottles of vodka instead of fruits. Have you seen such trees?"

"No", she answers, laughing and finishing her cigarette.

"If vodka trees were to grow in the gardens, all alcoholics would be very happy. But you know that alcohol is the blood of Satan. So, such an abomination will not exist. If one day a vodka tree will exist, lighting will fall over it and will burn it".

She laughs.

"What your dad wants is like planting a vodka tree. If that tree gets planted, it will spread its seeds through the mountains. And not only you, but many girls will go to suffer in a harem. But if you fight back, you will put Abdul to silence, just as I did when I were in your position".

She listens very careful.

"You have all the strength you need. All the power was already in you when you came, but you didn't know it. You can go back home. On the way back, repeat what I told you. When you return home, tell it in face of your dad each time he talks about Abdul or when you think he thinks about that. When Fakih comes, repeat this in his face. If they scream at you, repeat this as you move away. If your dad beats you, repeat again. Repeat and run. Don't let them beat you, but let them know it. If he tries to convince you, repeat it again in his face. Say it also to your mom. No talk, no argue, no nothing. You are not to argue with your parents as long as they think you can go to Abdul. No nothing. You are to save them from the terrible sin they are about to do. Cause of they give you to Abdul, they are cursed for their entire lives".

"Thank you, Ana! I will!" she says. "How can I pay you?"

"No need to pay me", I say. "Pay Actit for her help".

"How should I do that?"

"After you succeed. It will not take too long until your dad will stop, because he cannot cross the unwritten law. At that time, say 'thank you' to Actit. That is all she needs, your gratitude".

I watch how Kumit goes out of the house. She moves on the railway, since it is the most easy way to walk around these mountains. The unwritten law prohibits such things. Children are sacred. A parent who does not take care of its children, is cursed with a life-long harm and destruction. On the other hand, I am happy that I convinced someone to smoke. May her lungs be happy!

People come to me from time to time. They think I am a witch. Well, not quite. I know that I can give them strength to pass over harsh situations. Actit might help and she helps anyone who is opened for her help, but the most important thing is human strength. The power of your own heart. If you do nothing, nobody will ever be able to help you. If you are lost in the sea and someone throws a lifeline or a lifeboat, you have to swim and grab it. If you just stay in water and scream for help, nobody will ever help you.

Secretly, this is how I work for Stromboli. I ask people that come to me. Simple questions, that they cannot understand why I am asking: Have you seen unusual plants? Have you seen seedlings of a plant you've never seen? Have you seen unusual people walking around? Have you seen some new types of seeds, but that are very well paid? Then, I go to the house and turn the laptop on. How do I speak with Stromboli? People use Facebook or Yahoo Messenger, but I never do that. I have no account on any of then. I do have a Google account, but it is not mine. It belongs to a former user of this laptop (I have no phone, how could I possible have a Google account?) Well, how do I keep contact with Stromboli? And how does he keep contact with his teams? In the most unexpected ways. I know well, because once, he was trying to seduce me, to make me his girlfriend... but he paid for this.

We use the most unexpected ways. For example, we both comment on a site about cartoons. With another person, he keeps contact by commenting or sending messages through a site dedicated to sports. A third link is made with a completely different person by using a site made as a night coffee hangout. One person posts a picture, the other one adds a comment. And if things require it, we use private messages on that site. No phone, no mail. And everything is coded. For example, now, I wrote to Stromboli the following message: No lonely trees close to the river towards the spring... and I post this on a picture showing a river. A few days ago, I wrote: The train moved two stations down. No bush in the large plain, no sign of a lonely tree... on a short video about a train. Both the picture and the video are not posted by me or Stromboli, they are posted by other people. However, since we are friends on that site, we can see comments (activity) made by each of us.

To my messages, Stromboli answers, by commenting to a recently uploaded picture of a camel: The sand is blowing and the desert is expanding, but for now, the oasis is green and out of sand. Nobody but me knows what he is talking about.

Everything looked ok, until one day, when I receive a message from Stromboli. It is on a song. There, he comments: A bee has spoken. A lonely tree might grow to the South. Most people might say that this is an insane comment, but I know the gravity. I need to investigate. Time to take Alia - Atan to the valley that lies South to ours. I have to do this.

The best way to get rid of a tree is to prevent the seeds from reaching the ground. If that fails, it is good to cut it down while it still is small. Then, if it is large enough and you cannot cut it, you have to remove all its leaves and buds.

Well, I need to prepare for this. A reconnaissance mission. I need to take Alia - Atan and do our best. We have to find out what is going on there.