Nikita didnt risk turning around, though a low growl could be heard behind him. His nerves gave out.
Lets not discuss horror movies anymore, he asked his chat companion.
Dont tell me youre more attracted to magazines with lecherous pictures than to classic horror, Athenais said.
Nikita had a few pornographic magazines lying around, but how would she know that? You cant look into his desk drawers through the chat room and check whats in them.
While Nikita was thinking about what to answer, Athenais had already received the next question:
Which is safer: pornography or horror movies?
Pornography molests, Nikita typed diplomatically.
And horror movies can make you go crazy, Athenais parried.
They are not mystical ones, thrillers about maniacs. For some reason, theyve started calling them horror movies in modern distribution, even though the genre is more of a criminal one. There are no ghosts, no vampires, no demons, just violence and carnage. These films used to be called thrillers. They could make you sick. And beautiful demons are romance. Like Lermontovs poem of the same name.
Called The Demon?
Yes, it is! Nikita was pleasantly surprised that Athenais knew Russian classics. For a star, she is unusually educated and literate. Her text comes out without a single mistake and a typo. Miracles in a sieve! Or rather, miracles in the chat room!
And do you want me to prove to you that mystical movies about demons can make it worse than violent thrillers? Athenais asked a question that sounded like a trick.
In what case is it?
It is in case the demons come off the screen.
Like you did?
Yes, it is
Is it only in the chat room? Its safe. Even if you are a demon, you cant hurt me through chat.
Nikita remembered a sadistic movie where the victims ghost killed through a chat room. Athenais died in a terrorist attack, too, after all. What if her soul had mastered the same technique as in the movie? What if mystical movies are just a cast of reality?
There you go! Shes confused him. How can you believe that a star has become a ghost or a demon. No matter what the star says. When have actors ever been sincere? And why is he so eager to believe in Athenais honesty? All she does is play with him at night. In a chat room!
Where are you now? He typed out the question.
I am on the Internet.
Isnt that what I mean? What country are you in? America? Europe? Russia?
Is the fan interested in my geographic location?
The question sounded like a joke.
I am not a fan!
Then what are you?
She roused his conscience.
Im a fan of your beautiful pictures, Nikita confessed.
I need an interlocutor, not a fan.
There you go! Shes got him stumped again. They go around and around. But the chat is interesting, you dont want to turn off. Even if an ugly picture of a monster popped up instead of Athenais face, it wouldnt cool him off. Hes communicating with a mystery.
Ill be your interlocutor, your friend, your personal free psychologist whatever you want.
Even a victim? Athenais teased him.
And thats for his sincere confession! When you tell a pretty girl whats in your heart, shes bound to spit in it.
So you want to be my victim?
Nikita fell into a stupor. A noose tightened around his throat.
Youd make a wonderful victim, Athenais continued.
What a joke! Or is it?
What really happened at the Blue Lotus Cinema? Nikita typed.
There wasnt an answer for a long time.
Tell me about the terrorist attack. Or what happened there? How did you survive? And why were your fans burning temples? I mean, you played a deity. Arent deity worshippers supposed to respect temples?
Gods come in all kinds of ways.
Over the top of the chat room, the message about the call buzzed. Athenais called. Nikita responded instantly. The video chat opened. Athenais appeared to be looking at the laptop that lay in her lap. The image was slightly shifted upward. The winged beauty looked down at Nikita. The dark wings, interwoven with glittering chains, were most likely held on those chains. They couldnt have been real!
Behind Athenais loomed the same walls painted with hieroglyphs. The room she was in was very dark. The only light came from the laptop.
You have nice watercolors on the walls, Athenais remarked.
Theyve been here since high school, Nikita muttered. He was embarrassed by his drawings. How come Athenais noticed them and didnt notice the large claw scratches on the wallpaper next to them. Or had she deliberately missed them? After all, they had strangely appeared in the apartment at the same time Nikita had engaged in a chat with her.
Is it possible to hurt her physically through a chat room? He guesses he can, if theres a real angel or demon sitting on the other side of the chat room. Can you kill through chat? Its definitely possible to seduce. Nikita gazed greedily at the gentle angelic face in the video window. Athenais had golden eyebrows and eyelashes, graceful cheekbones, a regular facial oval, lips as delicate as rose petals, and lingering blue eyes. Or were they emerald eyes? They seem to change color from time to time.
You dont have any icons in your room, Athenais pointed out.
No, I dont. They were left by my grandmother, but I gave them away to the needy.
Did they make you feel negative?
No, Im just an atheist. I dont like to keep religious symbols at home just as a souvenir. My mom brought a statue of goddess Kali from her business trip to India. She must still have it in her bedroom.
I knew Kali.
So youve seen her statuettes, too?
Athenais suddenly laughed softly.
Youre funny.
What do you mean?
You are very naive.
And you are very beautiful.
I know!
Athenais had a rigid self-esteem with no pluses and no minuses. Compliments couldnt buy her off. How would she feel about a bouquet of roses?
You couldnt buy roses on a student scholarship, but Nikita worked as a courier during the summer and saved up some money. He would gladly spend it on a lavish bouquet and a box of chocolates for Athenais, if she would agree to a date.
She went out on video chat. Thats already progress. Probably the next step will be a date. All we have to do is get her talking, and maybe shell set a date herself.
Athenais looked about sixteen or eighteen. He wouldnt want to get a felony conviction for seduction of a minor. Nowadays a lot of people look out of their age. Judging by the biography posted on the Internet, Athenais had already managed to act in dozens of movies, where she played not a child, but an adult heroine. So she is definitely twenty to twenty-five years old.
I wish I were a poet, or I would have written poems about your beauty.
Many have been dedicated to me: sonnets, odes, madrigals, ballads, even chants and prayers More valuable than odes to me is communion with you, a living person. Thank you for your friendship.
Athenais put her hand to her lips and sent him an airy kiss. Her fingers slid right across the screen.
Thats how the Orientals, like the Arabs, thank you for your friendship on Facebook. Nikita was told about their way of communicating by her neighbor, who learned foreign languages well. She conversed with people from the Emirates, Indians, Turks, and guys from Sri Lanka. It was all for an opportunity to practice linguistics. She was the one who told Nikita that he could find a girlfriend on international sites.