Chapter1🞖🔇T🔋heDrea🐀m-Maker
Nightfallslowlydesded.Dimitricouldn’tcealhisexhiration．Nightwasthehappiesttimeofthedayforhim，becausethenheakedreams．Dimitriwasahomelesspersonaosleepingwhereverhecould．Butnowhewasgettingolderaheneedofashelter.,soheputtogethersomediscardedoldboardsandtisandbuilthimselfamakeshifthomeinanarrowalley．Withcoldwindwhippingat🅣🈜⚵hisraggedovercoathepushedashoppingcartwhitainedallhisworldlypossessionsinfrontofhimandheadedtowardsafancyItaliaauraheari🈀annaoftengavehimleftovers.Mariannathrustapaperbagathim,taininghalfasteakandsomepraasta．Dimitriwasetedandrushedhome，lookingforwardtoaluxuriousmeadreams.Joethebartenderlookedonwithjealousy．AfterDimitrihadleft,hesaidsarcastically，
"Whyareyousogoodtohim，M🛴☿arianna?Heisonlyahumanscum，burrowingthroughthegarbageslookingforfoodandclothes.Heisabum,sittingtherealldayfeedingpigeonsbytheke.Hemaynotevenlikeyou.Heprobablythinksyou’retoofat！""Howdoyouknow?"snappedMarianna."Dimitrimaynotknowhowtoexpresshimself，butheisapoetatheart.He’sami🝑llioterthanagood-for-nothingdrunkardlikeyou!"
M🂄🌍ariannafirstmetDimitribesideagarbage.ThatdayDimitrifoun🐞🁁🂹daursewhilehewasgoingthroughthegarbag🔿🆖e.Ittaiwo-karatdiamand
3,000incash.Poorashe🕐was,Dimitrididnotcovetwhatwasnothis.Hewaitedtherebythegarbageanyhourshopingtheownerwouldshowup.MeanwhileMariannahadfinishedherday’sworkandwasfranticallylookingforherpurse.Whenshecouldn’tfinditanywherei，sheintuitivelykhatJoe,whowasusuallyhalf-drunk，musthavethrownitintothegarbagebagtogetherwiththegarbage.Sherushedoutsideandbeganrummagingthroughthegarbagebagsfromtherestaurant.
"Whatareyouupto?"ask🕐edDimit🃝😭riically.
"Iamloo🂉kingformypurse”repledMariannawithoutlookingup⚕.“Joemusthavetosseditoutwiththegarbage."
"What’sthepurselikeandwhat’sinit?"Mariannastoppedshort,aray🄞⚗👥ofhopegleamedinhereyesasshegavehimadetaileddescription.Dimitrihandedherthepurseandturogo.Mariannaranafterhimandtriedtopersuadehiminvaintotakesomethingasareward.ToDimitri,worldlywealthdidnotmeananythingsohereplied,
"WhyshouldItakethissinceIdonotevenwantyandmohustheybecamefriendsand🖒shealwayskeptchoicebitsofleftoversforhim.
Dimitriwasacuriousexampleofararespeanbeing:absent-minded，carefree，notknowingwhathewasabout，andsatisfiedwiththemerefactthathecouldstillthinkahe.Hewasahalfbreed，withsomesortofAsianbloodbutdidnotknowwhohisparentswere.Heseemedtorememberbeinginschoolforafewyears，butwasnotreallyliterate.Heworkedforawhilebutdidnotdomuch⛕🚎💏ofanythihoughthewasmarriedothenmaybeheonlylive💺dwithawomanforawhile．Hewasnotsure．Hehadasocialsecuritynumberormaybehedidn’t．Hehadawidecircleofacquaintan⚄🎷🕯oddingandsmilingtopeoplewhereverhewent，evenexgingjocurreMarks，buthedidn’thaveasinglefriend．
Hewasonlyawakeinhisdreams．OnsunnydayshewouldgoovertothelongabandonedwoodendockatLakeMerritt,filthyandsmellywithbirdexcrement.Buthedidn’tmind．Birdstohimwereflyingmessengersfromheavenwhereallhishopeswere.Hewouldsitonthebehem，lettingthemflyaroundhimatleonhishead，shouldersandp．Hewouldstareatthemulti-coloredcloudsihroughthecracksofwhichleakedouttheughterofparadise.Whenduskwasnearhewouldg🐌etupandgobacktohis,pushinghisshoppingcartinfrontofhim.
Thefirstthinghedidwheh🐤omewastotakehisdirtyoldsleepingbagfromtheshoppingcartandspreaditoutatitsusualer．Theedhis"spoils"fromthegarbage．Apairofhalf-worntennisshoes，hissizeandstillserviceable．Whydopeople🂬👴🍁throwthesethingsaway?Hecouldn’tuand．Then，therewasashirt，quite．Yes，hecouldthrowhisdipidatedoneaway,andtomorrowhewouldputonhisnewshirtandshoesandfeelquitedebonair．Hepyasariwhohadjustmadeamilliondolrs．HelighteduphiskerosenecookingstovetoheatupMarianna’sleftovers，andafterthissumptuousmealwouldgotobed．Hislifewassosimple．Toputitintoaformu，itwouldbe：limitedmaterialsneeds＝unlimitedsatisfa．Thatwasbecausethefocusofhi🃂slifewasnotwhenhewasawake，butwhenhewasasleep．Heytodaybecausehehadgatheredalotofmaterialtobewovenintohisdreams．Forhim，thiswasjustlikefeedinginformationintotheputertanizedandrepyedonthes．
Whilehavinghisdinner，heweheeventsoftheday：Thatmhepassedanimposingofficebuilding．AbckRolls-Roycestoppedsmoothlybeforeitandaliveriedchauffeurgotouttoopenthedoorforamaneandapipeinhismouth——obviouslyanold-fashioy．HewasallegedtobethepresidentofWorldBank．"Sowhat?"thoughtDimitri，"Ibeoooinmydreams”．Thenhepassedahigh-cssshoestoreforwomen,sellingshoesandotherleathergoods．Apairofglitteringtoelesssilverhigh-heeledshoesdispyedinthewindowcaughthiseye．"Whatclotheswouldgowiththem？"hemused．"Astraplessroyalblueeveninggownperhaps，ingbi-skirt?Bothwoulddo”hedecided．Justthen，thesalesgirl’sarmreachedoutandtooktheshoesawayfromthewindowdispytotr⚨ythemonaer．Dimitriwascurioustoknowwhothewomanwas，sohewalkedtotheentraheshopandpeeredin．Thebrilliaoenailspeekingfromthesilvershoesmesmerizedhimandkindledfmesofprimitivelustfromwithinhimlikelightedmatchesthrownintoabarrelofgasoline．
"MayIhelpyou?"avoiceco🐤ldly．Itwasthestoremanageringtodrivehimaway．
"Nowayyouhelpme”mumbledDimitriandpushedhis🈪cartaway，thinkingmeanwhileabout"morematerialfortonight"．
Heimmediatelyydowntosleepafterhisdinnerandinnotimeheseemedtoseeanobscuremoonintheskyshiningonawindingmountainpath．Ashlitteringformsuddenlyemergedfromthewoodsarouhandstartedwalkingtowardsadarkaesehousefurtheron．Itwasafreakish，ugly-lookingpygmywearingtheeborateesofthegDynasty．Hishatandcoatweremadeofmaterialwovenwithgoldthreadandwereshininginthemoonlight．thedoorofthehouse，whichletelydark，hedrewafoot-longkeyfromhispocketandtriedtofititintotheold-fashionedeselock．Hestoodontip-toesaledwiththelodkeyforalongtimebuttonoavail．Heflewihrewthekeyontothegroundandstompedonitagainandagain，makingsqueakysoundstoexpresshisflustration．Thenhecalmeddownabit，pickedupthekeyandtriedagain．Thistimeitworked．Hecarriedtheheavylockboriouslyintothehouseandclosedthedoor．Ititchdarkinside．Heopehetrunkothedoorandim🐑⚱🕉mediatelytheroomlitupwiththebrilliahegemsirunk:pricelessdiamonds,rubies,pearlsandsapphiresallytherepiledinaheap．
Itwasargeregurroom,lihsturdytrunksonbothsides．Thepygmyjumpedaroundopeningthistrunkandthatuntiltheyen．Hejumpedontoadeskattheendoftheroomandlookedattheimmehspreadbeforehim．Sometrunksheldgoldingots，goldsandgolds，rings，bracelets；others，silver．Hecrossedhislegsetedlyandshouted："HowrichIam!”Justthenahugepythonslitheredsoundlesslyoutfromtheerofthedarkro🙡omandwounditselfroundandrouablewherethepigmysatcross-legged．Ohe🐮🃍🖢python，thepygmyflewinteandscreamedshrilly，
"Wherehaveyoubeento?Youweresupposedththereguardireasures！Ihadtoopenthedoormyselfandalotoftroubleitcausedme!”Hegrewangrierashespoke．Onseeinghimsoangry，thepythonuncurleditselfandturoaseductiveagnakedwoman，andlikeMedusa，shehadhairofsnakes．Shekbefo🞦🖙📃rehimandaskedfivehepygmypulledoutawhipfromunderhisbeltandcrackeditonherinfury．Shecriedandkowtowedtobeghimforpardon．Redweltsappearedonhersnowwhiteskin．Shelookedathimbeseegly．Thepygmystoppedandturoacreaturewiththestrongmuscurbodyo🚊👭famanbuttheheadofamonster．Oneeyewasinthemiddleofh🐞isfadtheotheratthebackofhishead．Therewasarhinoceroshornoopofhishead．Hepulledthewomantoherfeet．Thegemsandtreasuresintheroomthenturomulti-coloredclouds，driftingandfloatingintheroom．Someofthemcametogetherandformedasoftmattressforthetwomoomakelove．Attheheightoftheirlove-making，theybothtransformedagaintohugepythowiogetherinaricableknot．
"Dimitri！Dimitri！！"Marianna’sboomingvoicetohisdream．Hewokewithastartle，hisbodystillglisteningwithsweat，tofindMariannashakinghim．Whenheopenedhiseyessleepily，🖝theseductiveagfemalemonsterwasgoneandbeforehimwasMarianna’sfat，affabletenance．"You’redreamingagain!”shesaid．Dimitrismiled．Hefo🗤un📫dthathispantsithnoalemission．
"Howeyoudidogetyourdin🐤ight?"
"Bu⚷🖀🏟tIdid．You💦🔆gavem👣📣eshrimpsandsteak．"
"Thatwasthedaybeforeyest🐚🀘erday．Aren’tyouhungry?"
"What！I”vesleptforsolong？Nowthatyoumentionit，I’mstarved!”saidDimitriandheheardhisstomachgrowlinprote😬st．Mariannahandedhimacupofhotchocote．
"Thereisfrieddhamsandwithebag．Heatitupa．🛏Why’tyoustayawakeandfindsomeworktodoinsteadoflivinginyourdreams?"shescolded．"Whydon’tyoueandliveinmygarage?Youwon’tbeinanybody’swayandyou’llhaveadetroofoveryourhead.”
"N🜟🃘o，thankyou，ma’am．Thanksfortheoffer，butI’musedtoithere．Tomethemostimportantthingistokeepupmyvitality．Thankstoyou，Iha🚪veenoughfoodtosustainmyphysicalhealthandkeepupmybrainactivities．Therestissuperfluousandmeannothingtome．"