„We’re home,“ I hear Sabine’s voice and a dog runs into the living room. I stare at him for a while, but as he jumps at me and starts licking my face I recognize my beloved Scotty.
„Hey, come on, you beast, you aren’t lost after all? Give me a kiss, just give…“ I clutch to him, happy as a kid. Scotty is jumping around, licking my face as much as he can and I’m rubbing his head happily, suddenly forgetting everything and everyone.
„Hey, you’re already awake?“ Sabine walks into the living room, dropping the leash and muzzle on the cabinet. She stops and stare at us in disbelief. „You’re behaving like you haven’t seen each other for years. We were out only for a half an hour.“
I calm Scotty down, but I don’t know what to say, so I figure I should at least say hello not to look like a moron. „Hi, Sabine.“ I wait to see if she starts talking but she goes to the kitchen without a word.
„Would you like to have a cup of coffee?“ she asks me shouting and I suddenly realize that coffee is probably the thing I need the most at the moment.
„Yes, that would be lovely!“ I shout back through the whole flat and return to the bathroom.
I should go and find some clothes, but first of all I have to do something with my hair and eyes. I switch the hair dryer on and try to make something meaningful out of that bush on my head. I’m trying my best, but it’s difficult. My hair is shorter now and each lock is of a different length, that’s really weird, why do I have to always come up with something new, now I can’t even do my hair. I’ll have to find a current picture of myself to see what it should look like. I look like a hay-stack, but what the hell. I apply some black eyeliner along my lashes. I’m not going out anywhere, so there’s no use doing full make-up with smoky eyeshadow and stuff.
I go in search of some clothes. The kitchen is open so there are only three doors left to try, there has to be a bedroom or at least a cloakroom behind one of those doors. And of course I walk into a toilet…
I try another door right next to the first, but it’s locked, so I open the last door and I walk into a beautiful bedroom. Luxurious furniture, a king-size bed, all clearly my style. It must have been definitely me who designed this room, so I’m finally home.
I open the big wardrobe on the left and search for something to put on. Wow, there are lots of everything, obviously I’m well supplied. One after the other I take out a pair of boxers, socks, a T-shirt and a pair of jeans and start to put them on. It’s all designer stuff, so I’m probably still rich enough to buy such things, that’s great. I’d be really pissed if I had to wear some cheap clothes of poor quality.
„Coffee is ready,“ Sabine shouts and looks into the bedroom. I had just taken the robe off, pulling on the boxers. I panic and almost fall over.
„Oh, I am so sorry, I went searching for you in the living room and, I didn’t guess you were here getting dressed,“ Sabine blushes, shutting the door closed quickly.
I sit on the bed annoyed. Oh, what a klutz. Luckily she only saw my back. But hang on, this is weird… If there was something going on between me and her, she wouldn’t mind seeing me naked and apologize, she would rather wonder why I freaked out. Looks like we’re just friends. I have to find out the truth, but I have no idea how.
I quickly put the rest of my clothes on and go straight to the kitchen. The coffee is on the table. I take the mug with my name written on it in gold. At least one thing is clearly marked…
There are some fresh pastries in a small basket in the middle of the table and I suddenly realize I’m starving. I open the fridge and examine thoroughly its content. Wow, the fridge is pretty empty, considering the fact that a woman lives here.
„What are you looking for?“ Sabine looks puzzled. „You haven’t done shopping all year, so there’s only some jam in there. I’ve already checked that. If I hadn’t brought something for breakfast, you would have starved to death. You should take care of yourself better, you are still so terribly skinny,“ she scolds me just like a housewife would do.
I take out a small, sad-looking jar of jam and sit down at the table. I spread a thick layer of jam on a roll, put some sugar in my coffee, no milk today, because there wasn’t any in the fridge. I bite into the fresh bread roll and suddenly have an idea. „Did you buy any newspapers?“ I ask Sabine.
„Yes, they are in the hall, in my bag under the rack,“ she replies.
I stand up from the table and go fetch them. Maybe I’ll find something useful in there; I have to get familiar with the present time slowly.
I glance over the tabloid news section, but there’s nothing worth noting. The date corresponds, but these are Berlin newspapers, so it looks like I probably live in Berlin now, wow. The first change in life. I was so happy in Hamburg, I don’t like this realization too much, but what can I do? Berlin is the capital, everything is near and the stars should live in the center. But I don’t know whether I’m still famous.
Shit, I made it so difficult for myself. I still don’t have the new memory recovered and I’m stuck with this trouble with no clue what to do next. But then I get another idea how to make Sabine tell me what she’s doing here without it becoming obvious.
„Your photo in my wallet is quite old, shouldn’t we take a new one?“ I’m waiting for her reply impatiently.
She peers at me oddly. „It hasn’t been even a year yet since you took it. I think it still works well for the camouflage; when you pay for something, everyone can see the picture and recognize me there. But I can pose for you if you want.“ She grins and strikes a pose. Camouflage? What the hell does it mean? This is going to be tough.
Sabine drinks up her coffee, peeking at her watch and rising from the table. „I gotta go, Scotty has been walked, he ate, the neighbours have seen me, so could you walk me out?“ She disappears in the corridor while talking and putting her shoes on.
I get off the chair and still don’t know what to do, so I follow her to the hall. I try putting on a pair of shoes that are by the door, feeling relieved they fit me. I slip into a jacket and I am ready to go out with Sabine.
She turns to me, asking: „Won’t you take your keys with you?“
„Yeah, sure I will, but I sort of don’t know where I put them…“ I look around the hall, I try a pocket, but there’s nothing in there.
Sabine stretches towards the rack and gives me some keys, which were hanging there all the time. „Here you are, you silly,“ she smiles. Oh, what a cheeky girl. I will need to re-pay her that self-assured behavior. Maybe later. Nobody’s gonna make fun of me. Not until I have my new memory back.
We pass the garden and I follow her obediently as she walks out to the street. She stops in the middle, waiting for me, and then puts her arm around my waist. I don’t know what’s going on here, but I put my hand on the small of her back and we go to the gate together. We stop in front of it and we both stand there, silly-looking. She stares at me uncomprehendingly and then pulls the keys out of my jacket.
„Are you all right today?“ she asks. „You look dazed, do you think the gate can open on its own?“ She finds the right key and opens the gate. „Lock it afterwards so you won’t get stolen, you diva.“ She smiles at me softly. „Well, a peck please, the neighbours must have the freshest info about our intimate life and then I’ll leave,“ she says, waiting for the kiss with her eyes theatrically closed.
I get closer to her hesitantly and give her a quick childish kiss. „For God’s sake, kiss me like a man, nobody’s gonna buy this little brother-sister kiss,“ she grabs me by the neck and kisses me deeply.
I feel out of it, but she pulls away immediately, waving and saying: „Say hello to Tom.“ She gets into a car, turns the engine on and she’s gone in a second.
I walk out to the street to have a better look where I am, but I never knew Berlin very well, and evidently we aren’t in the center. There is an iron-plate mail box next to the gate. It’s quite huge, with a Kaulitz sign on it. Nothing more, nothing less. At least my name is still the same. I release a breath with relief, locking the gate and going back to the house.
Finally I can look around the place properly. It’s an old and quite splendid villa. On the ground floor there are big French windows with a terrace and there is a balcony on the first floor over there. It looks like there are two flats in the building. A curtain on the first floor moved, so somebody must live there. I hope it’s not a grumpy old woman, who would bitch about loud music. That would suck.
I start going through the information I’ve just received. Sabine called me a diva, which could mean I’m still famous, and told me to say hello to Tom, meaning I meet him more often than she does. Well, that’s not that much information, but what could I expect, I’ve only been here just a while after all.
I go back to the front door with no rush, looking for the right key. It takes a while, but when I finally manage to open it I go up the stairs leading to my flat, realizing I have the same problem there. Luckily I find the right key at first attempt, maybe the new memory worked on it. Or it’s just pure luck. I slam the door shut, taking off my jacket and shoes, hanging the keys back on the rack and walking straight to the kitchen.
I clean away the breakfast dishes, putting them into the dishwasher. I pet Scotty a little, that old bard is fast asleep again, and I go exploring my flat. I’ll probably find most of the things which could provide me with some further essential details of my new life in the living room; some photos, documents and stuff, where else could it be.
I open the door, take a step in and I almost have a heart attack! Tom jumps from behind the sofa. He was lying there hidden behind the back rest not to be spotted. He always did that, we had fun doing it back when we were kids. I stand here, frozen as a statue, staring at him in disbelief, still not completely understanding what he’s doing in here. What the fuck, how did he get here?
„Oh fuck, you scared the shit out of me, what’s going on?“ I’m angry from all the shock. Instead of being happy that he’s alive, I’m pissed.
He’s evidently happy that he outsmarted me. „What, what? We got frightened, my love?“ He grins at me with childish joy and I feel terribly relieved. So everything came out right. He called me ‚my love‘. You don’t say such things to your brother. I’m happy as a clam, standing frozen to the same spot, unable to say a word.
I must look displeased because Tom comes to me, making puppy eyes, putting his arms around my neck. „Don’t be mad, you know how I love doing that,“ he whispers in my ear, slowly moving across my face to my lips. He looks into my eyes for a while, kissing me softly.
My heart is thumping frantically. I stop breathing. My dream has come true, he’s kissing me, and I, I, I… I’m standing as if I was turned to stone. I have to do something. I hug him; pulling him closer and kissing him back. His lips are as soft as velvet, the most beautiful lips I’ve kissed in my entire life. He slowly forces his way into my mouth with his tongue and I meet him halfway. There is tenderness in this kiss but also so much passion.
His palms slide all the way down my back and I start to feel slightly dizzy. Oh my God, it’s so wonderful; never, not even in my wildest dreams, could it have been more amazing. I can feel dizzying arousal and pressure in my boxers building up. Jesus, it’s so overwhelming, I’ve never done anything like that with a guy in my life, only in my dreams and it has always been a fantasy of Tom. Shit, I’m a total virgin in this matter, I realize, horror-struck.
Suddenly I’m scared. Tom seems to be really aroused, he’s probably ready to take me all the way to the bedroom, but it’s too soon for me.
Extremely reluctantly, I end the beautiful moment. Tom can sense it, so he pulls off. I take my hands off of his waist, grabbing him gently by his temples and pulling his head a little bit closer to be able to look in his beautiful brown eyes and I say: „Not now, love, it’s too early.“
He stops stroking my butt, looking puzzled. „What do you mean early? It’s nearly noon…“
I can’t do anything but laugh. He didn’t get what I was trying to say, we’ve lived together probably these entire seven years and now I’m telling him it’s too soon for sex. He’s staring at me, unable to understand why I’m laughing at.
„Forget it, you wouldn’t get it now, anyway“ I answer him, giving him a tiny peck. He looks pretty confused, but he respects my wish and leaves me there standing alone. I guess he’s used to my ever-changing moods; he finds the remote control on the table and switches the TV on, relaxing on the couch easily and immediately browsing through the channels to find something to watch.
