Mr. Ody

Suddenly, Bruno is heard off in the distance barking loudly, with a force of his body that signifies danger or something completely strange or unexpected. He barks even louder as the both start to move faster toward him. Andre starts to lag behind his dad as they both begin to become a bit unsettled by the barking created by their dog. They come to a clearing, but Bruno is off in a different direction, around a corner of the trail that is hidden from their view. They speed up another trail to their left, following the sounds of the dog, both extremely perplexed by the situation. Andre mentions to his father than he smells something burning in addition to the din of the dog. His father also begins to smell the odor of a fire, perhaps a small fire. Next, they both see smoke rising in the direction of Bruno’s barks, smoke that resembles a campfire conceived by Boy Scouts on an overnight camping trip. It is very apparent that Bruno has stopped his chase and is barking at a standstill. This fact is confirmed when Bruno appears around the corner, in his continuous loud barking accompanied by a jumping motion, back and forth in front of where the smoke is seen. Bruno does not stop his “war dance”, even at the arrival of his companions to his spot of no retreat. They both slow down in anticipation of something that is unknown, something that might be feared, and something that requires caution. Bruno does not acknowledge their arrival, and father and son suddenly stop in their tracks. There is a small opening, surrounded by rocks on one side and a conclave of oak trees on the other, a spot where one might seek shelter during a down pouring of a wintry storm, or find comfortable warmth during a cold, dark night in the mountains. They are amazed by what they see. They both stop in total shock and then Andre moves closer to his father for consolation and protection. In front of them, by the rocks, with Bruno still barking, next to a small fire of twigs and brush branches, sits a man, bearded, dark, middle-aged, very worn out, completely NAKED, WET LIKE HE HAS BEEN AT SEA FOR DAYS, trying to get dry and warm from the fire. Still, in a state of amazement, the boy grasps the arm and left leg of his father, and steps back behind his left side, hoping that dad will make the first move and discover who and what this creature is doing here. The man’s skin is extremely wrinkled, as if he has been bathing for hours and he continues to stay too long, falling asleep in the warm water that soothes his skin and soul. This man is shaking with the coolness of the water that saturates his entire corpus. There is not one small patch of skin on his body that is not dripping with water, and his beard and head of hair look almost laminated with a bristling substance that produces a strange effect upon all the hairs in sight, including chest hair and hair under his arm pits. At first, the man does not notice them as he is turned in a direction off in the distance, staring at the sunlight and stretching his arms out to help the drying process hurry along. Alex realizes that he must take the initiative and approach the naked gentleman. There is a beastly quality about the stranger, almost like he has lived in the wilderness for years, and probably will jump up on his fours to respond to any intercession. Leaving Andre of to the side, Alex moves directly in front of the naked creature, so that the man must acknowledge his existence. The man slowly looks up to see Alex and only looks away as if he really doesn’t see him. Alex crouches down, bending his knees, so that he is just about at eye level of the person in question. The man continues to stare off into the distance. Alex very cautiously begins to speak. He is very confused by these two issues: the absence of clothing and the presence of a plethora of water on his body. As he gets closer, he can smell salt, like the man has been marooned at sea for days, and is completely waterlogged and soaked through and through with salty water. Alex hesitates, but finally finds the courage to speak. He does not know what to expect. “Are you all right, Sir? Are you lost? How is it that you are so wet?” At first, the man does not respond to the questions, but continues to look off into the distance. “Sir, are you okay? Is there anything my son and I can do to help you?” We live very close to here, down the mountain. You can almost see our house from here,” states Alex. Andre stays back and lets his father handle the entire situation. Bruno has stopped barking when he sees the reaction of his two masters. Alex waits for a response. The naked stranger begins to softly utter a few words. “I am the man, the resourceful man whom the Muse sang about, the man who roamed the wide world after he had sacked the sacred citadel of Troy.” Alex turns his head in complete disillusionment. “Uh….could you repeat that again, Sir? I did not quite understand everything you said. You do know that fires are illegal in Los Angeles County, especially this time of year. It’s fire season and has been for a while in the Santa Monica Mountains.” The man looks at him with a blank look. “A man always needs a fire to dry off after a long journey. Besides, I need to make an offering to the gods for their protection and their generosity in bringing me to land safely after my journey. One must always be mindful of the gods and give them proper reverence and respect.” Alex begins to understand the man’s speech a bit better and also notices a slight British accent. Alex does not know what to say next. Here they are, in the middle of the Santa Monica Mountains, about seven miles from the Pacific Ocean, and they discover a naked person, sitting by a fire, completely drenched in what looks like seawater, and talking in riddles about muses and gods…..and Troy ? He begins to suspect that this person is living in some delusions of grandeur that perhaps he needs to be under some medical care or psychiatric therapy. The man stammers: “What kind of a place has he sent me to this time? A country where there are laws against fires?”