The Tiny Beyond

Murder in North-Chapter 3

In every Thursday afternoon, Anna was excited to fly to North. The accumulated fatigue and stress during the week evaporated as soon as she sat in the taxi with her weekend baggage. She took the flight at 9 p.m., Martin picked her up just before the midnight at the airport. Upon the arrival to the house, Anna always found Benji's cute messages and small drawings at the vestibule, he excused himself for being asleep by the time his certainly exhausted commuting mother arrives. "Seeya tomorrow morning, mum", he ended the notes with a smiling Atom boy flying over the endless cloud somewhere in the galaxy. Martin's initial cheerfulness to see Anna during the first hours would rapidly sunk into his usual mode of shrugging on pretty much everything she tells. In the bedroom, he declared he was tired and fell asleep without willing to notice Anna's I-am-crazy-about-you look in her eyes.

On every Friday morning, Anna wished Martin would make love to her as a token of her newly commuting life where the boredom was supposed to surrender to the excitement of seeing each other every fifth day instead. Not one single time since two months they move to North, Anna found Martin lying beside her in bed when she woke up. Anna was instead greeted by the smell of tea, fresh bread, almost inaudible but joyful noise of Martin and Benji's morning routine before they headed to Benji's school that was on the other side of the city. By the time Anna embarked in the kitchen, the inseparable duo already finished their breakfast. Benji hugging Anna warmly wished a good day, while Martin scrolled his phone, already sitting in the car without looking at Anna. He would drop Benji, pass by the grocery store before coming home for the lunch. Anna felt, after all and once again, the huge wave of happiness, walking behind Benji to the car and kissed Martin on his dry lips under his evading gaze.

It was during those first days of house hunting Martin met Rob for the first time, just the day before the Viking escorted him to the house that he bought. Rob was the brother-in-law of Martin's buddy, Tim, one of Martin's few friends since thirty years, and Tim introduced them to each other. Rob had come to North for 20 years ago, working for an international giant company at the middle management level, traveling all over the world according to Rob's own proud description. What Rob was doing exactly at the middle management traveling all over the world was mostly obscure to Martin, as much as totally uninteresting. Tim thought Rob could guide Martin around the city to find a suitable house with all those surrealistic requirements that Martin refused to define as his requirements. Martin was, in his own mind and assertion, a simple and humble individual without any exigency of a luxury life. Funny though that Martin never heard of Rob until then, considering the number of years that he had known Tim and his wife Rachel, who most of the time came along with Tim for their gatherings with the other four buddies and their wives. 

"So there is a brother-in-law in North, how come you never mentioned about him?", asked Martin. Not out of any particular curiosity about Rob, but definitely more of strange annoyance that someone else from his country discovered North before himself. 

"Well, there is not much to tell", said Tim. "Rob is a kind of invisible guy, you know", tailed Tim off without giving any specifics. 

"No, I don't know", Martin replied, impatiently bothered. But when Martin met Rob, he understood what Tim meant by the invisibilia. The guy was that typical i-don't-disturb-you-and-you-don't-disturb-me boy in a classroom, so invisible and subdued that he goes even under the radar of the worst kind of bullies who chase systematically the weak ones to bully. The very invisible one whom nobody would pay any attention to. Neither harmful nor useful in any circumstances, staying in a flock but always alone without bonding to anyone, neither talented nor retarded, but remin as an obedient boy by lack of anything else rather than the ambition of being loyal to given situations. Rob was an embodiment of averageness in all senses, which Martin despised more than any other defects in human beings. Martin drank two bottles of heavily sugared chocolate drink in irritation by predicting Rob's perfectly ill-fitted ardor to become a friend to him and his family. The last thing Martin needed was to hang out with a compatriot who wants to speak the same contentless language with him. Rob opened the dilapidated Lonely Planet and flipped through the book as to give Martin a city tour. "Jeeez, that guide book still exists, huh?" Martin couldn't disguise his sarcastic tone toward this outdated guy. Rob seemed fully unaware of Martin's unwillingness to get along and become the best buddy in no time. "I had this book at all times when I came here for 20 years ago".  Fascinated by Rob's insensitivity, Martin succeeded to decline a longer walk through the city.  Rob offered Martin should call at any time for anything he might need to settle down in North, one can be awfully lonely, depressingly isolated in this country of cold and darkness. Martin just shrugged, forcing himself to say a thank-you. Rob was constantly making an uncomfortable sound of exhalation, pushing a neurotic smile while he was talking. Martin finally added that being alone, and not be disturbed by people whom he didn't have to maintain any relationship was precisely what he came for to North, and in a cold climate, he won't feel any sweat and bad smell, which counts more than all those 1000 of hot trendy restaurants he had no use of in his native city. It was not intentional, but Martin noticed the frigidity in his voice that benumbed Rob instantly. 

They shook hands before departing, Martin stod for a while on the same spot watching Rob who slowly disappeared into the crowd at the central station. Martin realized suddenly how tall Rob was, and even though his athletic broad shoulder was sealed by dull clothes in two size too big, he could see Rob's masculine body. His allure however portrayed impeccably a man with zero self-confidence as if he had to excuse himself for existing on the planet, walking with the curbed back and feet pointing inward just like a little uncertain boy. Martin saw a fairly large patch of  bolding skull, which he didn't see earlier. As if Rob sensed Martin's gaze from a distance and wanted to cover the cold area of his head, he ran his fingers through otherwise beautiful thick hair.  Martin couldn't decide if he would feel sorry for the guy or continue to be annoyed.      

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