Prometheus by Marieta Maglas (i can read book club txt) 📕

had already thrown in the towel because they didn’t see or get the

results they expected.

Becoming frustrated, they find that it is easier to give up than to

face the challenge. The mind is always a very powerful entity.

Sometimes people need to be perfect. But the perfection and the guilt

that follow can keep most of them out from their real goals.

Consistency is the human aspect that can make or break their final

solution. It is not about what they make or don't make in keeping them

from reaching their goals, it is about what they consistently do or

don’t do .That will eventual get them to their goals. This is not

perfection but progression toward the goals.

Sometimes we need to help others. By helping others I do believe we

learn to help ourselves. When we empathize with others, we can gain a

better understanding about who we are and what we can offer.

After I had finished the article,I had the desire to know which would

be your reaction while reading it. I began to dream of my own life. I

began to think of what others would say about me or about my own life.

I had learned to cope with my new life reflecting about my dreams and

gradually accepting your wishes. I had always dreamed of working at my

own printing press but the time wasn't so right for me . I'm still

waiting for the right time to take my destiny into my own hands.

Chapter 3

Alexander and Ella Met Michael

We often walked in the rain and we could not see anything else but umbrellas and hurried steps. ''It is a town with rushing people, '' you said.

''You cannot ever see anything on their face. Their eyes are always very rigid and they have tired lips. When they walk on the streets they look like doll-puppets straight out of shop windows. Sometimes they seem to be wax statues. ''

''Yet, it is a place where nothing ever happens; nothing happens by pure chance either,'' I told him smiling. ''Sometimes I ask myself how it might be to meet you on the street by chance, ''you told me once."

''How would you have reacted?'' you asked me.

''I don't know,'' I replied.

'I would have invited you for a coffee,'' you said.

''To talk about what?'' I asked you smiling again. ''About the stars!'' you said. ''Interesting!'' I said looking right into your eyes. ''Maybe it would have depended on the star I had chosen, ''you said and caressed my hair." No, it depended on what you could have told me." I said.

''Everything and nothing at the same time!''You replied. I had already gazed at you when you tried to tell me everything, but you abstained from speaking. I felt that everything depended on my words. You kissed me. It was like the first time, a sweet kiss. I felt a thrill. ''I felt a thrill,'' you told me. ''It's coming from our star,'' I replied. It was an escape from reality surrounding us and we slipped into the reality of living self. Suddenly, we became fugitives. We walked quietly on the street holding our hands.

Suddenly, we stopped and we turned around to look at the theater. With screen venues in the surrounding area, the theater became an enormous building housing many professional offices. Even if it had a modern extension, the building was a listed historic monument and the original building facade, the entry foyer and the saloon on the first floor had to be preserved. There were some announcements informing the people that the theater operates on Friday and Saturday nights only with two showings plus a Sunday afternoon matinee.

The auditorium had a capacity of five hundred seats and an indirect lighting for the foyer and the lobby. The flooring in the lobby was a terrazzo composition and the seats were made of green plush upholstery. The drapes around the proscenium of the stage were made of green velvet. ''You work in a wonderful place. Someday you will be a great actor, Alexander!'' I told him.

Suddenly, we heard a voice behind us. It was Michael, our friend. ''Hello, how are you?" Alexander asked him. They shook hands. Michael was an actor just like Alexander. ''Let's drink some coffee somewhere,'' Michael said. We entered the cafe, and we sat on the corner near the window. The bartender brought us the coffee.

She was wearing a short black skirt and a low-cut white blouse. Michael and Alexander started a conversation.'' The theater has always been created for a sacred purpose, usually for a myth or a sacred story,'' Michael said. ''Yes!'' Alexander said. ''The theater has always been created for a ritual; it had to incorporate elements of invocation and purification or it could mean nothing.''

''I agree with you about the myth,'' Michael said. ''By the way, try to think of the myth of Sisyphus where the human condition is basically meaningless. We are human beings with meaningless lives trying to understand the universe. But the explanation of the universe is beyond its reach and this is the reason for seeing this world so absurd, because people think that they know the universe'' Alexander tried to explain.

''Try to understand why the sense of the bewilderment and the anxiety is conveyed in an inexplicable universe sometimes,'' Michael continued. ''We don't have a suitable acting elemental play yet. When I see one, I will begin to think of the absurd theater.''

''Most of the plays in which our actors play need motivated characters.'' Michael seemed to be very thoughtful. ''What can you say about the play when the dialogue degenerates into a meaningless babble?'' I said smiling. Michael laughed.

''They start the dialogue at an arbitrary point and seem to end it in the same arbitrary way. The play turns into a scandal.''

''The play must be understood and played with the performing actors but, because we don't have good actors, it becomes much more a buffoonery than a real play,'' I said. ''An anti-theater!'' Alexander said, smiling. ''Ha, ha,'' Michael laughed again. Michael left them wanting to return home.

Chapter 4

Michael and Nora Have Problems with Their Family Responsibilities

Michael and Nora lived in a luxurious apartment, a combination of two outstanding luxurious Florence properties. This bi-level apartment had some interior stairs and an elevator. It was newly renovated and upgraded with contemporary furnishings. It had a living room and a dining room where the generously floor plan sparkled with style. The gleaming parquet floors, the floor-to-ceiling French windows and its marvelous stone fireplace made this superb space to be amazing. In the evening, the sofas and the comfortable stylish chairs made the fireplace to be a real delight. The apartment had a view onto the magnificent courtyard situated below the building. The kitchen was fully equipped with a range, two microwaves, a big dishwasher, an enormous refrigerator, a modern coffee machine, two tea kettles, a toaster, all cutlery, pots, pans, kitchen utensils, and everything that was necessary for a family. The bedroom was charming and nicely furnished with two single beds which could be assembled to form a queen-size one. The other bedroom had two large single beds which could be turned into a king-size one. Michael and Nora lived there with Mary, their daughter.

Nora was a dentist. Her husband,Michael, was a very tall man having very black round eyes. His hair was always very dry and unmanageable. Looking at his round face for the first time, everyone could say that he had passed through many negative experiences in his life. Going through problems in his life, he didn't overcome them and even he had set good goals before graduating from the University, he couldn't achieve them because he practically was a dreamer. He was a good fighter. His soul was tortured by love and by pain. He was an extreme introvert and this is why he needed time to recharge himself.

Nora told him, "Can you help Mary to learn her lessons instead of listening to her prate for two? She wants to feel a little more important. She's only eighteen and this is the reason why she's exacerbating her tensions sometimes. You said that sometimes she needs to compensate the absence of her real father. Give her the opportunity to stop exacerbating her tensions. You might find out that you like her more than usual!"

"She can do better than that appearance. You must help Mary keep her mind engaged and active, despite her problems. In fact, she's my step daughter." Michael became furious, but Nora continued, "There are a lot of activities that you can do together to help her to enhance her fine and gross motor skills. The first thing you need to learn is to calm down and to get past the nervousness. Try to play chess with her. For example, you can try different chess strategies and chess openings. That might give her some cool points with her friends for knowing to play chess better than before," Nora tried to stay calm.

"Just tell her that her dad is going to do something very important. I will go to my room, I'll shut the door and I will read a book. Whatever! I need some peace and quiet." Michael tried abruptly to end the conversation.

"You can invite her to discuss the news already published in the local newspaper, " Nora suggested. After that, she continued,"She might feel more connected with you, if she gets to understand new interesting ideas. Or, maybe you can take her to go to an indoor rock climbing gym. Do something, Michael, she's against this marriage."

"It's a waste of time. She doesn't like me. She doesn't accept me as a father, Nora! " Michael exclaimed being completely out of his mind.

"She has the mind of an eighteen year girl. She's still a child. First of all, she needs to understand us."

"Unless she's remarkably immature for her age, she's old enough to understand the situation. You know I love to be a part of your life and I love to hear about all the things that you're doing and thinking about. I'm glad that we're becoming so close. But your daughter can destroy everything in our relationship."

"Maybe she needs more time to be with you and maybe you cannot appreciate what she really does, but maybe she will be able to be your daughter in time. As long as she needs a father, she won't be capable of hurting you. Be reasonable, Michael."

"She is your own child, she's not mine and you and only you must be interested in all that she needs to say - not me. And if your daughter can pick up your apathetic attitude and she can bridge the gap between you two, it is because she's still a fighter. But she won't fight any longer ,if you don't help her. Don't let her do everything on her own."

"I don't know why you blame her all the time. Your mind works differently and you have different needs but I know that you want to build a stronger family relationship. You don't realize that all she needs is love. Love is a real force in the act of forming the family."

"Love? " Michael looked straight into her eyes." Love and always love."

"When we fall in love we need to lift the veil of time in order to understand if we really have eternal life or not, although we theoretically know that we are the eternal children of the eternal God."

"We are so transient, my dear. We experience only the wonder of love. God knows our hearts better than we do." He touched her.

He continued on looking seductively at her. She broke down because of all tensions. She didn't say anything any longer and she began to look at him. Suddenly, they became both very excited. He moved very close to her. He became very