I chuckle since I know exactly what happened. While on the phone, Psyrah likes to sit on a small bench in her highly organized apartment while curling her frizzy black hair around her finger. I guess the bench had equal difficulty dealing with Psyrah’s enthusiasm. Psyrah the calm and Psyrah the frantic. It is as if she has two personalities.
From the few words I was able to actually understand, I deduct the context. She is talking about the Didelian show. Still, I don’t understand her excitement. We don’t have tickets.
Neither Psyrah or I have ever seen the show in real life, and tickets are very hard to get. To acquire them you have to participate in a state lottery. The Didelians were in Minnesota a very long time ago, and we hadn’t won any tickets then, nor did we get tickets this time for Wisconsin. For us, the Didelian show will remain a childhood fantasy.
“Psyrah, I know they are in Wisconsin, but we are not going.”
“What do you mean, we have tickets? How?!”
“Oh no! Really? Your poor uncle, what are the chances? Having a funeral in Kentucky on the same day… That’s ultimate bad timing. But what about your cousin Marge? Doesn’t she want them?”
“Ah yeah, of course, that whole side of the family will be in Kentucky. And Jeff?”
“No, of course, I want the tickets! What do you think? But everyone in your family would want them. I don’t want to take something that’s not rightfully mine. Imagine, we might get attacked by one of your crazy cousins!”
“OK. Yeah. I understand. So, it’s for real. We have… Didelian Show tickets…”
When I realize what’s happening, my brain goes on a slight strike. I suddenly understand the magnitude of the situation. Now Psyrah’s frenzy makes more sense.
Chapter 7
Minneapolis, Minnesota
October 23rd 2014
Psyrah's Luck
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When Psyrah calls, she has a feverishly excited tone in her voice and is tripping over her tongue. I can’t make any sense of what she’s saying. Psyrah, who is such a quiet and composed young woman, has lost it.
“Cool down!” I laugh. “What on earth is going on with you?”
“Didelians! Didelians in Wisconsin!!”
She says more but I have to move the phone away from my ear. Her words are more comprehensible that way. Suddenly, I hear the sound of breaking wood, a loud thump, and then all is silent.
Later, Discovery Channel had verified his stories. Wild animals indeed come from outside of the Arena into the ring and performed with the Didelians. After finding no rational explanation for this phenomenon, Discovery officially denominated the Didelians ‘the Wild-Life Whisperers’.
The animal phenomena started rumors in the seventies that Didelians were diabolic hypnotists. The church forbade Catholics to see the show. The pope had even devoted a part of his Easter Speech to it from the St. Peter Square, in Rome, in 1986. Since then, there have been a good amount of fanatic anti-Didelian activist groups throughout the world.
I remember Fox News, in the nineties, making statements. They hypnotize us! We have to protect our children against brainwashing! The Didelian shows started major discussions about the true intentions of the culture and their magical powers. Some people seemed to favor the idea of banning the Didelians from the United States, but luckily this never happened. In the beginning of 2003, the United Nations released a statement in which they reminded governments worldwide of the status of the Didelians. They are protected as refugees and have been granted the freedom to perform without restrictions in all the democratic nations of Europe and the U.S.A. Still today, the American and European governments are expected to assist the Didelians when needed. When I asked morfar why the governments don’t question this UN ruling, he said no government wants involvement in such an obscure and heated international matter. I asked him why and he avoided a straight answer. I am not sure he knew either.
Psyrah’s news hits me like a bomb. We are we going to see… the Didelians.
I have known about the Didelian shows since I was a little girl. The only people I know that have ever gone to the show are morfar and mom. They went years before I was born. Ever since, morfar has talked about ‘The Magical Show of Didelis’ to anyone who would listen. When I was young, morfar told me stories about the phenomenal acrobatics, the indescribable colors, the enchanting music, and the unbelievable towering Arena. He had tried to describe the show to both my brother and me. For us it was our favorite bedtime story.
“The lights, they come from out of nowhere!” He had said. “And the music! The music comes from the underworld creatures in the center of the earth, and it travels all the way through the Arena. Eventually it even comes from the chairs!” The animals were my favorite part of the Didelian show in morfar’s stories. “Every time, every single time they perform,” morfar would say, “wild animals come from the woods and join the performance.”