REQUIEM FOR THE THOUSAND

And I was relentless to leave this once flamboyant town; I hated to see it go down and being eclipsed by the monstrous growth of Chelsea. Some of my comrades thought of it as if I was selling out. I thought, "Not so, this place has already been used by too many people and now we needed a new warren. I have several visions, but this one was rather unexpected for me. That’s why I said it was tough for me to let go. I stood very bravely and saw what would be considered as just ruins. It was a broken heart or an open wound.

"My heart has joined the Thousand, for my friend stopped running today."

I was quoting Watership Down again.

I joined SoHo in the first years of the last decade. I had a misconception of the place, yet I stayed merely by caprice. I could sense the decadence of the bohemian charm that every single artist expects to be surrounded by, at least once in their lives. And though it seemed like a sort of risqué activity to live entirely on art, I always had a plan B. Eventually I did find this noble warren; a place where I felt blessed, and wanted. There’s always been a cosmic energy that I can’t quite explain; you can’t see it, smell or touch it, but you can feel it. Thus I became invaded by it and I created uncontrollably. I started doing works for other people because you can’t expect to have an exhibition as soon as you walk of school; so don’t bet on it. That’s why the needy, the unknown street artists became my most powerful allies, until I began to hang out with other crowds. Then it was all about being a larger family.

And in a way, after Janie and M, and the rest of these bizarre creations of suburbia crossed my path I sit and listen patiently to their concerns. Now my feelings have become more obscure, for last night’s dream showed that I have assumed the role of a leader; a responsible one. My momentary lapse of madness several weeks ago had no excuse. Wherever I would go I would conquer.

The needy will still hop with me and follow me dearly, that I am aware of.

The night went by quite smoothly; just me and Edith and a couple of close friends. There was Chloe and Sam; always had some interesting topic to muster to get me off the routine.

"You know, we haven’t seen each other since that damn Halloween night, remember?"

“Oh yeah, my bad,” I said as I clutched another glass of that red, red wine. “Truly ravishing, wasn’t it?”

Chloe seemed rather stunning that night. She helped me out lots of times to get out of anonymity, long before Feivel was around. I never forget my oldest friends. She was always very radiant and impeccable, but last month on October she wasn’t her usual self. So it occurred to her wear a tight corset. This time of the year is the perfect excuse to do the things you can’t do in real life.

I frankly didn’t know what to say; to his partner Sam it seemed rather astonishing. I had fashioned an outfit that consisted of a rabbit’s head and I had my torso naked most of the time. But I still wasn’t enough to grab attention. However Chloe found it charming and after a couple of nice drinks she found some comfort and spent a great deal of the night with me. I felt kind of compassionate because she had a lot of things bottled up, but it seemed they landed on the wrong place and the wrong time. Of course, being a gentleman, I pretended I had no recollection of these events.

"Oh, absolutely, just like old times. Oh, dear Adrian...when did I lose you to that wretched Feivel?"

And I responded, "you haven´t lost me; the greater I become, the more you´ll be able to appreciate of me."

"Words of wisdom, man, words of wisdom," said Sam rather timidly.