Cha🕁🆩pter1🜭TheDream-Maker
Nightfallslowlydesded.Dimitricouldn’tcealhisexhiration．N💅ightwasthehappiestti🜷meofthedayforhim，becausethenheakedreams．Dimitriwasahomelesspersonaosleepingwhereverhecould．Butnowhewasgettingolderaheneedofashelter.,soheputtogethersomediscardedoldboardsandtisandbuilthimselfamakeshifthomeinanarrowalley．WithcoldwindwhippingathisraggedovercoathepushedashoppingcartwhitainedallhisworldlypossessionsinfrontofhimandheadedtowardsafancyItaliaauraheariannaoftengavehimleftovers.Mariannathrustapaperbagathim,taininghalfasteakandsomepraasta．Dimitriwasetedandrushedhome，lookingforwardtoaluxuriousmeadreams.Joethebartenderlookedonwithjealousy．AfterDimitrihadleft,hesaidsarcastically，
"Whyareyousogoodtohim，Marianna?Heisonlyahumanscum，burrowingthroughthegarbagesl🞊💝ookingfor🔫foodandclothes.Heisabum,sittingtherealldayfeedingpigeonsbytheke.Hemaynotevenlikeyou.Heprobablythinksyou’retoofat！""Howdoyouknow?"snappedMarianna."Dimitrimaynotknowhowtoexpresshimself，butheisapoetatheart.He’samillioterthanagood-for-nothingdrunkardlikeyo🗖u!"
Marianna🜭firstmetDimitribeside🖉🐵agarbage.ThatdayDimitrifoundaursewhilehewasgoingthroughthegarbage.Ittaiwo-karatdiamand
3,000incash.Poorashewas,Dimitrididnotcovetwhatwasnothis.Hewaitedtherebythegarbageanyhourshopingtheownerwouldshowup.MeanwhileMariannahadfinishedherday’sworkandwasfranticallylookingforherpurse.Whensh🌃🟥🟍ecouldn’tfinditanywherei，sheintuitivelykhatJoe,whowasusuallyhalf-drunk，musthavethrownitin🎣tothegarbagebagtogetherwithth🁵egarbage.Sherushedoutsideandbeganrummagingthroughthegarbagebagsfromtherestaurant.
"Whatareyouupto?"asked⛴🞫Dimitriically.
"Iamlookingformypurse”repledMariannawithoutlookin🆖🏣🛹gup.“Joemusthavetosseditoutwiththegarbage🆁🌦🁗."
"What’sthepurselikeandwhat’🏈sinit?🌶🃣"Mariannastoppedshort,arayofhopegleamedinhereyesasshegavehimadetaileddescription.Dimitrihandedherthepurseandturogo.Mariannaranafterhimandtriedtopersuadehiminvain🍜🈺totakesomethingasareward.ToDimitri,worldlywealthdidnotmeananythingsohereplied,
"WhyshouldItakethissinceIdonotevenwantyandmohustheybecamefr🔊⚡💾iendsandshealwayskeptchoicebitsofleftoversfor🖫him.
Dimitriwasacuriousexampleofararespeanbeing:absent-minded，carefree，notknowingwhathewasabout，andsatisfiedwiththemerefactthathecouldstillthinkahe.Hewasahalfbreed，withsomesortofAsianbloodbutdidnotknowwh🗫ohisparentswere.Heseemedtorememberbeinginschoolforafewyears，butwasnotreallyliterate.Heworkedforawhilebutdidnotd🚳🗞omuchofanythihoughthewasmarriedothenmaybeheonlylivedwithawomanforawhil🈡e．Hewasnotsure．Hehadasocialsecuritynumberormaybehedidn’t．Hehadawidecircleofacquaintanoddingandsmilingtopeoplewhereverhewent，evenexgingjocurreMarks，buthedidn’thaveasinglefriend．
Hewasonlyawakeinhisdreams．OnsunnydayshewouldgoovertothelongabandonedwoodendockatLakeMerritt,filthyandsmellywithbirdexcrement.Buthedidn’tmind🛢．Birdstohimwereflyingm🐜🀩essengersfromheavenwhereallhishopeswere.Hewouldsitonthebehem，lettingthemflyaroundhimatleonhishead，shouldersandp．Hewouldstareatthemulti-coloredcloudsihroughthecracksofwhic🅸hleakedouttheughterofparadise.Whenduskwasnearhewouldgetupandgobacktohis,pushinghisshoppingcartinfrontofhim.
Thefirstthinghedidwhehomewastotakehisdirtyoldsleepingbagfromtheshoppingcartandspreaditoutatitsusualer．Theedhis"spoils"fromthegarbage．Apairofhalf-worntennisshoes，hissizeandstillserviceable．Whydopeoplethrowthesethingsaway?Hecouldn’tuand．Then，therewasashirt，quite．Yes，hecouldthrowhisdipidatedoneaway,andtomorrowhewouldputonhisnewshirtandshoesandfeelquitedebonair．Hepyasariwhohadjustmadeamilliondolrs．HelighteduphiskerosenecookingstovetoheatupMarianna’sleftovers，andafterthissumptuousmealwouldgotobed．Hislifewassosimple．Toputitintoaformu，itwouldbe：limitedmaterialsneeds＝unlimitedsatisfa．Thatw🈛⚪🔏asbecausethefocusofhislifewasnotwhenhewasawake，butwhenhewasasleep．Heytodaybecausehehadgatheredalotofmaterialtobewovenintohisdreams．Forhim，thiswasjustlikefeedinginformationintotheputer★tanizedandrepyedonthes．
Whilehavinghisdinner，heweheeventsoftheday：Thatmhepassedanimposingofficebuilding．AbckRolls-Roycestoppedsmoothlybeforeitandaliveriedchauffeurgotouttoopenthedoorforamaneandapipeinhismouth——obviouslyanold-fashioy．HewasallegedtobethepresidentofWorl♽🍷🌭dBank．"Sowhat?"thoughtDimitri，"Ibeoooinmydreams”．Thenhepassedahigh-cssshoestoreforwomen,sellingshoesandotherleathergoods．Apairofglitteringtoelesssilverhigh-heeledshoesdispyedinthewindowcaughthiseye．"Whatclotheswouldgowiththem？"hemused．"Astraplessroyalblueeveninggownperhaps，ingbi-skirt?Bothwoulddo”hedecided．Justthen，thesalesgirl’sarmreachedout📔🚨andtooktheshoesawayfromthewindowdispytotrythemonaer．Dimitriwascurioustoknowwhothewomanwas，sohewalkedtotheentraheshopandpeeredin．Thebrilliaoenailspeekingfromthesilvershoesmesmerizedhimandkindledfmesofprimitivelustfromwithinhimlikelightedmatch🃕🗪esthrownintoabarrelofgasoline．
"M☶ayIhelpyou?"avoicecoldly．It🖉🐵wasthestoremanageringtodrivehimaway．
"No🕁🆩wayyouhelpme”mumbledDimitriandpushedhisc👬artaway，thinkingmeanwhi🆪leabout"morematerialfortonight"．
Heimmediatelyydowntosleepafterhisdinnerandinnotimeheseemedtoseeanobscuremoonintheskyshiningonawindingmountainpath．Ashlitteringformsuddenlyemergedfromthewoodsarouhandstartedwa🂷lkingtowardsadarkaesehousefurtheron．I🇵🜽twasafreakish，ugly-lookingpygmywearingtheeborateesofthegDynasty．Hishatandcoatweremadeofmaterialwovenwithgoldthreadandwereshininginthemoonlight．thedoorofthehouse，whichletelydark，hedrewafoot-longkeyfromhispocketandtriedtofititintotheold-fashionedeselock．Hestoodontip-toesaledwiththelodkeyforalongtimebuttonoavail．Heflewihrewthekeyontothegroundandstompedonitagainandagain，makingsqueakysoundstoexpresshisflustration．Thenhecalmeddownabit，pickedupthekeyandtriedagain．Thistimeitworked．Hecarriedtheheavylockboriouslyintothehouseandclosedthedoor．Ititchdarkinside．Heopehetrunkothedoorandimmediatelytheroomlitupwiththebrilliahegemsirunk:pricelessdiamonds,rubies,pearlsandsapphiresallytherepiledinaheap．
Itwasargeregurroom,lihsturdytrunksonbothsides．Thepygmyjumpedaroundopeningthistrunkandthatuntiltheyen．Hejumpedontoadeskattheendoftheroomandlookedattheimmehspreadbeforehim．Sometrunksheldgoldingots，goldsandgolds，rings，bracelets；others，silver．Hecrossedhislegsetedlyand🆫💤shouted："HowrichIam!”Justthenahugepythonslitheredsoundlesslyoutfromtheerofthedarkroomandwounditselfroundandrouablewherethepigmysatcross-legged．Ohepython，thepygmyflewinteandscreamedshrilly，
"Wherehaveyoubeento?Youweresupposedththereguardireasures！Ihadtoopenthedoormyselfandalotoftroubleitcausedme!”Hegrewangrierashespoke．Onseeinghimsoa🁮ngry，thepythonuncurleditselfandturoaseductiveagnakedwoman，andlikeMedusa，shehadhairofsnakes．Shekbeforehimandaskedfivehepygmypulledoutawhipfromunderhisbeltandcrackeditonherinfury．Shecriedandkowtowedtobeghimforpardon．Redweltsappearedonhersnowwhiteskin．Shelookedathimbeseegly．Thepygmystoppedandturoacreaturewiththestrongmuscurbodyofamanbuttheheadofamonster．Oneeyewasinthemiddleofhisfadtheotheratthebackofhishead．Therewasarhinoceroshornoopofhishead．Hepulledthewomantoherfeet．Thegemsandtreasuresintheroomthenturomulti-coloredclouds，driftingandfloatingintheroom．Someofthemcametogetherandformedasoftmattressforthetwomoomakelove．Attheheightoftheirlove-making，theybothtransformedagaintohugepythowiogetherinaricableknot．
"Dimitri！Dimitri！！"🁙🆍Marianna’sboomingvoicetohisdream．Hewokewithastartle，hisbodystillglisteningwithsweat，tofindMariannashakinghim．Whenheopenedhise🅓🆊🍺yessleepily，theseductiveagfemalemonsterwasgoneandbeforehimwasMarianna’sfat，affabletenance．"You’redreamingagain!”shesaid．Dimitrismiled．Hefoundthathispantsithnoalemission．
"Howeyo🞊💚u🜭didogetyourdinight💾🗜?"
Nightfallslowlydesded.Dimitricouldn’tcealhisexhiration．N💅ightwasthehappiestti🜷meofthedayforhim，becausethenheakedreams．Dimitriwasahomelesspersonaosleepingwhereverhecould．Butnowhewasgettingolderaheneedofashelter.,soheputtogethersomediscardedoldboardsandtisandbuilthimselfamakeshifthomeinanarrowalley．WithcoldwindwhippingathisraggedovercoathepushedashoppingcartwhitainedallhisworldlypossessionsinfrontofhimandheadedtowardsafancyItaliaauraheariannaoftengavehimleftovers.Mariannathrustapaperbagathim,taininghalfasteakandsomepraasta．Dimitriwasetedandrushedhome，lookingforwardtoaluxuriousmeadreams.Joethebartenderlookedonwithjealousy．AfterDimitrihadleft,hesaidsarcastically，
"Whyareyousogoodtohim，Marianna?Heisonlyahumanscum，burrowingthroughthegarbagesl🞊💝ookingfor🔫foodandclothes.Heisabum,sittingtherealldayfeedingpigeonsbytheke.Hemaynotevenlikeyou.Heprobablythinksyou’retoofat！""Howdoyouknow?"snappedMarianna."Dimitrimaynotknowhowtoexpresshimself，butheisapoetatheart.He’samillioterthanagood-for-nothingdrunkardlikeyo🗖u!"
Marianna🜭firstmetDimitribeside🖉🐵agarbage.ThatdayDimitrifoundaursewhilehewasgoingthroughthegarbage.Ittaiwo-karatdiamand
3,000incash.Poorashewas,Dimitrididnotcovetwhatwasnothis.Hewaitedtherebythegarbageanyhourshopingtheownerwouldshowup.MeanwhileMariannahadfinishedherday’sworkandwasfranticallylookingforherpurse.Whensh🌃🟥🟍ecouldn’tfinditanywherei，sheintuitivelykhatJoe,whowasusuallyhalf-drunk，musthavethrownitin🎣tothegarbagebagtogetherwithth🁵egarbage.Sherushedoutsideandbeganrummagingthroughthegarbagebagsfromtherestaurant.
"Whatareyouupto?"asked⛴🞫Dimitriically.
"Iamlookingformypurse”repledMariannawithoutlookin🆖🏣🛹gup.“Joemusthavetosseditoutwiththegarbage🆁🌦🁗."
"What’sthepurselikeandwhat’🏈sinit?🌶🃣"Mariannastoppedshort,arayofhopegleamedinhereyesasshegavehimadetaileddescription.Dimitrihandedherthepurseandturogo.Mariannaranafterhimandtriedtopersuadehiminvain🍜🈺totakesomethingasareward.ToDimitri,worldlywealthdidnotmeananythingsohereplied,
"WhyshouldItakethissinceIdonotevenwantyandmohustheybecamefr🔊⚡💾iendsandshealwayskeptchoicebitsofleftoversfor🖫him.
Dimitriwasacuriousexampleofararespeanbeing:absent-minded，carefree，notknowingwhathewasabout，andsatisfiedwiththemerefactthathecouldstillthinkahe.Hewasahalfbreed，withsomesortofAsianbloodbutdidnotknowwh🗫ohisparentswere.Heseemedtorememberbeinginschoolforafewyears，butwasnotreallyliterate.Heworkedforawhilebutdidnotd🚳🗞omuchofanythihoughthewasmarriedothenmaybeheonlylivedwithawomanforawhil🈡e．Hewasnotsure．Hehadasocialsecuritynumberormaybehedidn’t．Hehadawidecircleofacquaintanoddingandsmilingtopeoplewhereverhewent，evenexgingjocurreMarks，buthedidn’thaveasinglefriend．
Hewasonlyawakeinhisdreams．OnsunnydayshewouldgoovertothelongabandonedwoodendockatLakeMerritt,filthyandsmellywithbirdexcrement.Buthedidn’tmind🛢．Birdstohimwereflyingm🐜🀩essengersfromheavenwhereallhishopeswere.Hewouldsitonthebehem，lettingthemflyaroundhimatleonhishead，shouldersandp．Hewouldstareatthemulti-coloredcloudsihroughthecracksofwhic🅸hleakedouttheughterofparadise.Whenduskwasnearhewouldgetupandgobacktohis,pushinghisshoppingcartinfrontofhim.
Thefirstthinghedidwhehomewastotakehisdirtyoldsleepingbagfromtheshoppingcartandspreaditoutatitsusualer．Theedhis"spoils"fromthegarbage．Apairofhalf-worntennisshoes，hissizeandstillserviceable．Whydopeoplethrowthesethingsaway?Hecouldn’tuand．Then，therewasashirt，quite．Yes，hecouldthrowhisdipidatedoneaway,andtomorrowhewouldputonhisnewshirtandshoesandfeelquitedebonair．Hepyasariwhohadjustmadeamilliondolrs．HelighteduphiskerosenecookingstovetoheatupMarianna’sleftovers，andafterthissumptuousmealwouldgotobed．Hislifewassosimple．Toputitintoaformu，itwouldbe：limitedmaterialsneeds＝unlimitedsatisfa．Thatw🈛⚪🔏asbecausethefocusofhislifewasnotwhenhewasawake，butwhenhewasasleep．Heytodaybecausehehadgatheredalotofmaterialtobewovenintohisdreams．Forhim，thiswasjustlikefeedinginformationintotheputer★tanizedandrepyedonthes．
Whilehavinghisdinner，heweheeventsoftheday：Thatmhepassedanimposingofficebuilding．AbckRolls-Roycestoppedsmoothlybeforeitandaliveriedchauffeurgotouttoopenthedoorforamaneandapipeinhismouth——obviouslyanold-fashioy．HewasallegedtobethepresidentofWorl♽🍷🌭dBank．"Sowhat?"thoughtDimitri，"Ibeoooinmydreams”．Thenhepassedahigh-cssshoestoreforwomen,sellingshoesandotherleathergoods．Apairofglitteringtoelesssilverhigh-heeledshoesdispyedinthewindowcaughthiseye．"Whatclotheswouldgowiththem？"hemused．"Astraplessroyalblueeveninggownperhaps，ingbi-skirt?Bothwoulddo”hedecided．Justthen，thesalesgirl’sarmreachedout📔🚨andtooktheshoesawayfromthewindowdispytotrythemonaer．Dimitriwascurioustoknowwhothewomanwas，sohewalkedtotheentraheshopandpeeredin．Thebrilliaoenailspeekingfromthesilvershoesmesmerizedhimandkindledfmesofprimitivelustfromwithinhimlikelightedmatch🃕🗪esthrownintoabarrelofgasoline．
"M☶ayIhelpyou?"avoicecoldly．It🖉🐵wasthestoremanageringtodrivehimaway．
"No🕁🆩wayyouhelpme”mumbledDimitriandpushedhisc👬artaway，thinkingmeanwhi🆪leabout"morematerialfortonight"．
Heimmediatelyydowntosleepafterhisdinnerandinnotimeheseemedtoseeanobscuremoonintheskyshiningonawindingmountainpath．Ashlitteringformsuddenlyemergedfromthewoodsarouhandstartedwa🂷lkingtowardsadarkaesehousefurtheron．I🇵🜽twasafreakish，ugly-lookingpygmywearingtheeborateesofthegDynasty．Hishatandcoatweremadeofmaterialwovenwithgoldthreadandwereshininginthemoonlight．thedoorofthehouse，whichletelydark，hedrewafoot-longkeyfromhispocketandtriedtofititintotheold-fashionedeselock．Hestoodontip-toesaledwiththelodkeyforalongtimebuttonoavail．Heflewihrewthekeyontothegroundandstompedonitagainandagain，makingsqueakysoundstoexpresshisflustration．Thenhecalmeddownabit，pickedupthekeyandtriedagain．Thistimeitworked．Hecarriedtheheavylockboriouslyintothehouseandclosedthedoor．Ititchdarkinside．Heopehetrunkothedoorandimmediatelytheroomlitupwiththebrilliahegemsirunk:pricelessdiamonds,rubies,pearlsandsapphiresallytherepiledinaheap．
Itwasargeregurroom,lihsturdytrunksonbothsides．Thepygmyjumpedaroundopeningthistrunkandthatuntiltheyen．Hejumpedontoadeskattheendoftheroomandlookedattheimmehspreadbeforehim．Sometrunksheldgoldingots，goldsandgolds，rings，bracelets；others，silver．Hecrossedhislegsetedlyand🆫💤shouted："HowrichIam!”Justthenahugepythonslitheredsoundlesslyoutfromtheerofthedarkroomandwounditselfroundandrouablewherethepigmysatcross-legged．Ohepython，thepygmyflewinteandscreamedshrilly，
"Wherehaveyoubeento?Youweresupposedththereguardireasures！Ihadtoopenthedoormyselfandalotoftroubleitcausedme!”Hegrewangrierashespoke．Onseeinghimsoa🁮ngry，thepythonuncurleditselfandturoaseductiveagnakedwoman，andlikeMedusa，shehadhairofsnakes．Shekbeforehimandaskedfivehepygmypulledoutawhipfromunderhisbeltandcrackeditonherinfury．Shecriedandkowtowedtobeghimforpardon．Redweltsappearedonhersnowwhiteskin．Shelookedathimbeseegly．Thepygmystoppedandturoacreaturewiththestrongmuscurbodyofamanbuttheheadofamonster．Oneeyewasinthemiddleofhisfadtheotheratthebackofhishead．Therewasarhinoceroshornoopofhishead．Hepulledthewomantoherfeet．Thegemsandtreasuresintheroomthenturomulti-coloredclouds，driftingandfloatingintheroom．Someofthemcametogetherandformedasoftmattressforthetwomoomakelove．Attheheightoftheirlove-making，theybothtransformedagaintohugepythowiogetherinaricableknot．
"Dimitri！Dimitri！！"🁙🆍Marianna’sboomingvoicetohisdream．Hewokewithastartle，hisbodystillglisteningwithsweat，tofindMariannashakinghim．Whenheopenedhise🅓🆊🍺yessleepily，theseductiveagfemalemonsterwasgoneandbeforehimwasMarianna’sfat，affabletenance．"You’redreamingagain!”shesaid．Dimitrismiled．Hefoundthathispantsithnoalemission．
"Howeyo🞊💚u🜭didogetyourdinight💾🗜?"