europa, city of cakes and trams, captain mission floats high above the rooftops, he scans the street, the cafe society whispers in codes,, he reads the labyrinth with his extra vision and urban shamanism, the girls of this city smile back, the girls of this city have style and grace, they have the seven ethnic army dna encoded in the space between their eyes, the girls all smell good and talk softer, the carry words well, effortlessly, they wear individuality like a visible cloak.
i descend into a strange gothic world, long boots, black jewellry, a nightclub attached to a clothing shop, they like the artwork, i like theirs, i smile at the girl, she's unconvinced at my gothic nature.
'why i am an origional goth.' i say.
'well you're to dark to be a goth.'
'actually origional goths inhabit the darkness visible.'
'well i never met anyone like you, you're old for starters.'
'yes. i am about 4500 years old, i was there when jesus died...'
'do you drink blood?'
'no i am not really a vampiyre, i'm an origional goth, although i do have a good understanding of certain vampyric sexual rites, but there's no blood drinking in them.'
i throw her a smile.
she smiles back.
'mmm, where do you live.'
'i live in sydney. would you like to have a few cds, see if you can sell them.'
'what do they sound like?'
'trans dimensional pop.'
'wow, is that like goth?'
'no, it's origional goth, beyond a genre.'
'can i dance to it?'
'yes, i dance all the time. but it's dark.'
'mmm yeah i think i get it, you man like sisters of mercy.'
'mmm why don't you just play it, see what you think, it's no big deal, i don't really care what you call it. i know what it is.'
'i'll play it in the club tonight, do you want to come in later and i'll introduce you.'
'no thanks, i will be in bed by about 8ish.'
'that's not very gothic/'
'i'm an ....'
we both finish the line.
opposite the gothic nightclub boutique is the haunted bookshop where a enigmatic man hosts tours of haunted melbourne, but right now mission haunts his shop looking for obscure alchemical texts and a nice necklace but finding nothing reveals itself.
he wanders these streets like a strange character from an imaginary novel, a writer who falls in love with a prostitute he meets on a tram, they visit the aquarium and find nice places to drink coffee and eat cakes, she is very feminine and intelligent whereas he is introverted and quiet until gradually through the story he becomes more and more extrovert . they both wander the streets following a trail of red string and at the end of the novel they find the red string connected to their hearts.
captain mission is an original gothic romantic. his fantasies lead him astray and he comes undone.
europa has seduced him, it's easy transportation, it's flow and feng shu, it's vibrancy and originality, architecture and art. yes it's eccentric enough for him to feel at home.
the sun streams down through the layers of city scape, the ground level here works for me, although there's more altitude, slopes and hills, therefore water flows, everything follows gravity, it's a well thought out city, planned in terms of space, certainly from the cbd area.
in another store a guy takes a few cds on consignment, he looks at the cover, 'is this you?'
'yeah.'
'mmm, where's your beard?'
'on the floor, swept away, gone baby gone, but it will return.'
'what type of music is it?
i have to go through this ritual several times, it's okay, i don't mind as long as i don't have to talk about myself.
in another store the woman says, 'are you on the radio?'
'in sydney.'
'well are you on the radio in europa?'
'nope.'
'you need to be on the radio before we can stock you.'
'okay.'
he writes down the names of two stations, he instructs me to contact them, he points at his assistant, 'mark here has been in a band for ten years, struggling away, he can't sell his cds, they won't play his stuff on the radio.'
'okay.' i say.
i exit by walking up some stairs, into the sun, i meet an indian man in a marvin the martian t shirt, he has a big beaming face and a wide smile. he looks very jolly and is talking about how he nearly crashed because all the girls are wearing summer gear. i smile and walk past him, it's true, all the girls in europa look good.
captan mission lays on his bed, he reads his book, nearly finished the strange story of a man with horns, it's a great story to start with, but somewhere in the middle it takes a turn and then right when you think it's about to be unfinished it returns to a point where it's redeemed itself, a lot like the story. i really kinda thought it was okay, but not quite my standard, but better than his old man, steven king whom i think has not written a good book since 'christine.'