Manhattan Reborn 1978

On the Pacific Ocean, Hawaii.

Evening~

North of Honolulu, the largest fruit plantation on the island.

Older people such as Mr. and Mrs. David and Mr. and Mrs. Malkin were sitting at a long table outside Kahala Restaurant, smiling and watching David leading the children to chase and play, while chatting in a relaxed manner.

David's mother, Sierra, looked at the happy look of Salonia, the elder sister of the Malik sisters, and said very happily to Susan's mother, Sarah, who was beside her.

"Look at little Johnny, he escaped cleverly again!"

"...Hmm!" Sarah, with a rosy complexion, looked at her son, Johnny, who was being chased by David and protected by her daughter Susan, and responded with a smile~

On the other side of the table, Old David took a sip of freshly squeezed mixed pineapple juice, and couldn't help frowning and joking to Old Malkin beside him.

"This stuff is much worse than ginger ale!"

"Oh?"

"You own a ginger ale factory... and you still hate it?"

"Nonsense~"

"According to your logic, does the person who sells Coke have to like to drink Coke? Does the person who sells chili have to be able to eat spicy food?"

"Hahaha~" Old Malkin laughed and raised his juice cup, shaking his head.

"I finally understand that David is so eloquent..."

Old David showed a trace of pride on his lips, shrugged and smiled even more happily~

Old Malkin's wife Serna led her eldest daughter Manqi out of the restaurant. Seeing the children playing happily, she also smiled and walked to sit down next to her husband and asked.

"Let's play a little longer and then go back?"

"Hmm~"

Old Malkin turned his head and glanced at his eldest daughter Manqi, who had been "weird" in recent days, and exchanged a few glances with his wife Sena calmly.

Old David also noticed that Manqi was out of "condition" in recent days, but he didn't ask anything.

Because he knows this kid Manqi~

Only family matters would make her appear "unconscious".

. . .

The sun sets~

The restaurant’s Hispanic owner and Mexican owner’s wife served everyone a very sumptuous fruit + seafood feast~

On the plantation road, several cars slowly drove into the parking lot.

Ludy, who seemed to be rushing back just in time for dinner, smiled and led his family + brother Zach + housekeeper Ackleide, maid Chasida + lawyer George's family + Cui Yingying, Polly and others to get off. After getting out of the car, he said hello to the restaurant owner, added a few more tables, and looked like he was ready for a big meal~

David smiled and handed the children around him to Susan to take care of, and walked towards George and his family to say hello.

When George's parents and younger brother saw the boss David in George's mouth, they all suppressed their surprise and said a few very polite words.

Dinner started with everyone talking and laughing~

. . .

At this moment~

In the southeastern part of the island, the lawn restaurant of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.

Lilith took Tilda Swinton and sat across from Deborah and Neria. She took the menu to the waiter and ordered dinner for herself~

Deborah put down the tableware with a smile, glanced at Neria, who was also smiling, and asked the two of them.

"Where have you been all afternoon?"

"Shopping~" Lilith picked up the water glass and took a sip, pretending to be tired, shaking her head and smiling.

"Yes!" Tilda continued happily.

"David said: Now that we have got the key to the vacation house, if we don't like staying in a hotel, we can first pick out a vacation house we like and simply decorate it and move in~"

"The rest...it won't be too late to do it when we get back from our trip to the big island~"

"Oh~ Then how long do you plan to spend this vacation?" Deborah asked Tilda, holding back the smile on her lips, as if "unintentionally".

"Uh..." Tilda, who had never considered this issue before, was speechless~

Lilith, who was sitting next to her, gently held her little hand, smiled and said, "As long as you are happy, you can play for as long as you want!"

"...Hmm!" Tilda felt the heat coming from her palms, turned her head to look into Lilith's eyes, and nodded in response.

Nariya silently saw the intimate behavior of the "sisters", put down the tableware, and smiled at Deborah.

"Tomorrow morning, I will rush back to Houston."

"So fast?" Deborah asked in surprise.

"Yes~"

Neriya wiped the corners of her mouth with a napkin, looked at Lilith and said, "Professor Barclay's post-operative recovery is very good."

"The cruise ship he is on will arrive at the port of Galveston, Texas the day after tomorrow."

"So I have to get ahead of them and arrange the solemn arrangements in Houston to welcome them~"

"...Okay!" Lilith maintained her smile and nodded lightly.

Deborah looked at the "distance" between the two helplessly, threw a look at Tilda, stood up and said.

"Then let's go back to the room and have a rest first, and we'll rush there later..."

"Are you attending the welcome party?" Neriya also stood up and asked with a smile.

"Yes~"

"Haha~ Forget it."

"I still have a lot of things I want to talk to you about!"

"Huh?" Deborah didn't know why Nariya suddenly changed her mind. She looked at her doubtfully and waited~

Neriya didn't seem to want to give an explanation right away, so she reached out and held Deborah, waved to Lilith, and left.

Tilda, who was new to the world, felt very strange as she watched Deborah leave, then turned to Lilith and asked.

"It was me...did I say the wrong thing?"

"No~" Lilith patted Tilda's little hand gently, took a deep breath, and smiled hard.

"Let's eat first, don't keep David and the others waiting~"

"...Okay!" Tilda nodded with some vague understanding, and looked at the two people who slowly disappeared into the hotel lobby again, feeling a trace of depression in her heart.

----

new York.

It's approaching midnight~

42 Eighth Avenue, at the intersection of Eighth Avenue and 660nd Street, Manhattan.

Osevia Art Store.

Zina, who had just attended a large social gathering, opened the store door smelling of alcohol.

Lawrence, the head of the DA security company who had been waiting for a long time, waved to the somewhat surprised Zina and smiled.

"Hi~"

"Um...why are you here?"

"Hehe~"

Lawrence walked up to Zina and explained with a smile: "I'm going to leave New York for a few days and go home to see~"

"David, Rudy and Polly are all on vacation..."

"So, I wanted to come over and say hello to you before I leave."

"You go home?"

"Then I must choose some gifts to bring to your family!" Zina had already heard about some of Lawrence's experiences, and happily pulled Lawrence towards the stairs.

Lawrence smiled and did not refuse. He motioned to the two soldiers who came to help with security and followed Zina up the stairs. .

. . .

Twenty minutes later.

Three floors.

Zina was a little unsure and placed a lot of carefully selected gifts in front of Lawrence, spreading her hands.

"How many children do you have? Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"What about the parents? What gifts would they like?"

"Would your wife like this necklace?"

"It is..."

"She will, Xena!"

"Thank you!" Lawrence, who was very moved in his heart, couldn't bear to see Zina struggling any longer, so he thanked her very seriously~

"Tsk, tsk~ How can you learn to be polite?!"

Zina waved her hand very "boldly": "Forget it, you don't have to choose~"

"Bring all of these with you!"

"Forehead.."

Lawrence looked helplessly at the pile of gifts in front of him, took out a beautiful silver pocket watch, shook his head and said.

"How do I feel... I'm not choosing a gift, but I'm here to buy something from you?"

"Hahaha~" Zina laughed, sat down next to Lawrence, patted his shoulder hard, and said with a smile.

“Very good~”

"You actually learned to be humorous?!"

"Hehe~"

"I've always understood humor~" Lawrence joked, gently holding the pocket watch.

"Hahahaha~" Zina was amused by him and laughed even more happily~

. . .

The two chatted and laughed for a while.

Zina found a lot of gift boxes and bags, and after packing all the gifts, she suddenly remembered something and said to Lawrence.

"I went to attend the meeting today and met Mayor Hardman again~"

"Hardman?"

"What did he... take the initiative to talk to you about?" Lawrence repeated the name and asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes~"

Zina quickly walked into the kitchen, holding two glasses of water in her hand, shrugging her shoulders and smiling: "He is now the most active person in the New York social circle~"

"In the past, many people looked down on him or were unwilling to associate with him~"

"Now, I have to hold my nose and greet him with a smile..."

"So every time I see him, I have to hide a little bit to avoid being secretly remembered by some people."

"Oh~" Lawrence, who could not fully understand what Zina said, nodded and asked again.

"Is there anything I can do to help you?"

"Thank you!"

Zina raised the water glass and signaled to Laurence: "If you are not in a hurry to go back... I happened to drink a little more today and was just looking for someone to talk to~"

"Okay~ I'm happy to oblige!" Lawrence raised his glass of water in a gentlemanly manner and said with a smile.

"Hehe~"

Xina took a sip of water, half-leaned on the sofa with a lazy look, and waved her hands gently.

"In my opinion, the biggest difference between our new Mayor Hardman and his predecessor, Mayor Lynch, is..."

"Lynch Colson knows how to be patient and take advantage of situations, and how to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages and make choices."

"He is very suitable to be a... selfish + ruthless politician with extremely low bottom line!"

"And what about our Mayor Hardman?"

"He~"

Zina deliberately made a long note, smiled and shook her head slowly: "In recent times, he prefers to stand in front of people, stand in the spotlight, show his charm, and actively express his position and attitude. .”

"Hardman is very smart about this!"

"Because he stepped on someone's shoulders and back and was forcefully pushed to the position of mayor..."

"So he must immediately show some of his tendencies and make some people feel relieved and satisfied, so that he can secure his position as mayor."

"But~"

"It is also his intelligence that allows him to expose some shortcomings that people have not seen before!"

"For example: Compared with Lynch, he showed a more radical attitude on the city council, which will definitely make many people feel resentful~"

"Also~ when he nominated young Matthews to serve as NYPD director, he also invisibly touched the bottom line of many people~"

"That's why he makes himself more active and appears in front of more people."

. . .

After midnight.

Lawrence filled the gift bags with both hands and drove away~

Zina walked into the bathroom a little tired, preparing fried eggs to wash away the alcohol smell on her body, and then went to sleep~

But when she had just turned on the hot water and had not yet taken off her clothes, a rapid ringing of the phone rang.

"Bell bell~"

"Hello~?."

"it's me!"

"Oh~Rosenlow."

"It's so late, what can you do?"

"What? Tomorrow morning?"

"But.."

"..ok, I get it."

"What time are you coming to pick me up?"

"..Um!"

"See you tomorrow morning." Zina put down the phone, frowned and walked into the bathroom, muttering to herself.

"What is Rosenlow doing?"

. . .

Manhattan.

In a bar on 33th Street.

David Romano, who came over from Naples, Italy, looked at Rosenlo Sidric at the bar and put down the microphone, and asked with some confusion.

"Do you want her to come with me?"

"Ok!"

Rosenlow glanced in the direction of the bar, sat down and pondered for a while, then whispered.

"Old Malkin and Ludy can answer all your questions."

"..." Romano nodded helplessly at the boy's "concise words" and asked again.

"What about you? Won't you come with us?"

"No!"

"Rudi will pick you up at the airport, I have things to do in New York!"

"matter?"

"you want..?"

"It doesn't matter to you."

"..." Romano, who was frustrated again, was completely speechless for this kid~

He picked up the wine glass and took a sip, smacked his lips a few times, stood up and said, "I'll go back first. Will you pick me up tomorrow morning?"

"Ok!"

"Okay~ let's go!"

"..."

. . .

Romano, let's go.

"Wooden Man" Rosenluo sat down and looked down at the time, thinking quietly.

The sudden appearance of David Romano is not a good sign!

The last time this guy came to New York unexpectedly, he was almost killed by his enemies and came here on the run~

----

On the Pacific Ocean, Hawaii.

also ~

North of Honolulu, the largest fruit plantation on the island, in the open space outside Kahala Restaurant.

Several strong young men wearing a simple "apron" skillfully waved a torch and performed a traditional Hawaiian dance for David and others: the fire dance!

"Wow~"

A short and sturdy young man used a torch with flames burning at both ends, acting like a fire fighter. Several people sitting in the first row of the audience couldn't help but marvel.

David was eating a fruit dessert of coconut meat + white pineapple + papaya, tilted his head and smiled at Carnes who came over with Lilith and Tilda.

"Hey~ you want to come up and play too?"

"Why don't you go?!" Kanes asked while rolling his eyes while eating the dessert with relish.

"Tsk tsk~"

"That's playing with fire! I'm afraid I'll wet the bed at night..."

"Bedwetting? What do you mean? Are they related?"

"Hehe~" David smiled evilly, looked around behind him, and whispered into Karnes's ear.

"According to scientists' research, when people feel strong stimulation at close range, they will most likely dream about what they experienced during the day when they go to sleep at night. Because they have experienced the stimulation again, they cannot control their sphincter...wetting the bed!"

"what?"

"What scientist would study such a thing?"

"You made it up?"

"Tch~ you actually don't believe in science?!"

"Go and try it, won't you know?"

"I dont go!"

"You must be lying~"

"nonono! I never lie~"

Kanes ate the dessert consisting of pineapple + honey + pepper + mango in his hand, stared at David with suspicion for a few seconds, and then shook his head decisively.

"You go find someone else~ I don't want to wet the bed either.. It's so embarrassing!"

"Hahaha~ What's wrong with bedwetting? It's not like you've never peed before..." David laughed with contempt in response to his "childishness" and mocked.

Karnes curled his lips and raised his middle finger at him, then turned his head and ignored him~

After David laughed, seeing that the boy was not "fooled", he could only turn his head to look at Susan on the other side, and asked with a smirk.

"You know what? Just playing..."

"You don't need to say anything, I'm not going!" Susan immediately raised her hands, said with a straight face, staring at "Hot Wheels" intently.

"Uh...you misunderstood!"

David said in a low voice, dumbfounded, "Why would I let you play with fire?"

"You wet the bed at night...what if you rush me away?"

"..." Susan gritted her teeth and held back her laughter, rolled her eyes at David fiercely, and ignored him.

David was bored and could only look at Cui Yingying sitting behind him.

Cui Yingying held Sela's mother's arm with a smile, made a gesture with her fingers, and whispered.

"I know how to use acupuncture to treat bedwetting..."

"Uh... forget it! I don't need it!"

"Hahahaha~"

Sierra's mother laughed and kicked her son with her foot, and gave Cui Yingying a thumbs up~

. . .

The welcome party originally prepared for Neriya ended with everyone’s laughter~

On the way back to the hotel.

David sat in the back row, tilted his head and looked at the bright crescent moon outside the window, and asked Lilith beside him.

"Have you heard... the story of light and shadow?"

"No... yes~" Lilith tilted her head and thought for a while, then shook her head.

"Hmm~"

David raised his hand, looked at the bright moonlight "flowing" through the gaps between his fingers, and whispered.

"Legend has it that light has never seen its own shadow~"

"It's so curious!"

"So it found God one day and hoped to ask him for help to see what its shadow looked like."

"After hearing its wish, God smiled and shook his head and said: Where there is light, there will be shadows - but light itself will not have shadows."

"Guang was very puzzled and asked: Why? Why am I the only one without a shadow?"

“God waves his shadow and says: Because you are the light!”

"When you shine light on an opaque object, part of the light is blocked and cannot pass through, and a shadow is formed."

"So, you can only see other people's shadows!"

"Just hearing this answer makes me very depressed~"

"After he went back, he thought about it for a long time, and finally found God again one day and raised a new question."

"I don't want to see my own shadow anymore, I want to... look at what it's like without me!"

"God smiled, pointed at the light and said: After you left, darkness came to me and asked the same question."

"But you are naturally opposed to it..."

"When you meet, you will unconsciously want to devour each other~"

"So... do you still want to see it?"

"Guang said to God seriously without any thought: I think!"

"God smiled and shook his head, waving the light behind him and said: It is just like you, you are everywhere~"

"But you can only see part of it, and it can only see part of you."

"Go back, do what you should do, and don't worry about it anymore!"

"Light, seemed to understand and left~"

"God turned back and looked at his back, smiled and whispered: How is it? Do you have any questions?"

"The darkness hidden in the shadow of God remained silent for a long time before saying: I feel like there is a part of light in my body... right?"

"God seems to have known that he would ask this question a long time ago. He nodded and said: Not only will you instinctively want to devour the other party, but you will also instinctively influence the other party and reveal part of the other party's characteristics."

"Just like... there are times when the light is very dim, and there are times when you are bright!"

"An, feeling that he understood, he slowly left the shadow of God and said: Thank you for clarifying my doubts, I have no more questions~"

"After God watched the darkness leave, he lifted up the light and dark parts with his hands, slowly fused them together, and created ashes."

"Then God said to the newly born ashes: Your parents are light and darkness!"

"But you never see them all~"

"You can only see parts of them as long as you ensure that you won't be swallowed up... Do you understand?"

"The confused Hui staggered away from God's hand, babbling and shouting at God... and then ran away happily~"

"But God knows that one day the child of light and darkness, Gray, will come back like its parents and ask similar questions."

"So, after careful consideration, God took away most of Gray's wisdom with a wave of his hand, leaving only the simplest instincts."

"That is: choose to embrace the light, or blend into the darkness!"

. . .

David’s story is finished~

Lilith, who was leaning on his shoulder, quietly looked toward the bright moonlight through the window without saying a word.

The jackal in the driver's seat glanced at the two of them in the rearview mirror and bit his tongue before telling David what to say. . Get “bullshit” stories out of your head~

Light, dark, gray~

And the God who created them. .

Perhaps only a "fool" like David would have time to think. .Such an annoying problem, right? !