The war for love.

One second, two seconds, three seconds four. Tick tock tick tock consumes Tom Barnes’s mind - echoing with a thud to his skull every beat. Sweat drips down the side of his face as he watches the prolonged hands of the clock move to that sweet sweet 5.00 pm release from the office. "Get me out of here! Get me out of here!" Yelled the seemingly never-ending mantra in his mind. He could feel the agitation building within the air as his co-workers desperately rushed around him to finish their final jobs of the week. Tom could almost see the words, "I need a vacation,” tattooed on their foreheads. The cigarette he had been smoking burns his fingers and snaps him into his reality - his supervisor's towering figure looking down on him.

“Tom? Tom? Hey is anyone in there? Snap out of it Tom. I need those papers on my desk by Monday. Do you understand? It’s Tesco. The decision to give you this account doesn’t come lightly. Don’t make me regret it.”

Tom’s supervisor was an old fashioned man with a cruel heart and a charming demeanour. He could sweep you into riches and power at any given moment and would love to dangle this over your head like a chew toy to a puppy. This used to excite Tom when he was fresh at the accounting firm, back when ambition for stable income in a new city was his leading drive. Young, full of life, full of hope for a brighter future than what his parents could provide for themselves after World War 3.

Despite the ruination of the world since then, Tom felt compelled to an adventurous life. This is why he fell into accounting on the other side of the world, he presumed. Though, Tom began to wonder if his parents were right after all: the quaint caravan in the outskirts of Adelaide in Australia seemed like a dream in comparison to the pressures of the London firm. His parents begged him not to go, out of their fear of what the world had come to. It was safe on the large far away island and easy to forget the destruction that had become of his parents lifetime. How naive he had been, maybe still is. As this dream for a brighter future met its reality something was changing within Tom: something was unsettled, unsatisfied lost even…

However, Tom assumed most people must feel such things and would usually brush off these thoughts as self-indulgent.

“Yes sir. Believe me, this opportunity is not one you will regret. I’m as excited as you are to have such an important account within the firm.”

“Very good. I don’t want any trouble or daydreams, ok?”

“Yes sir. Have a good weekend.”

“Not as good as yours will be, I’m sure.” With that, he left and the clock struck 5.00 pm.

Tom enters the crowded tube station feeling like a sardine in a can squashed within a fish oil of his civilians. The 5.15 pm train pulls up in the underground station of Kings Cross. The doors open to reveal a tighter jam of fishy increments. People squeeze through the open doors having to bash their way through,

“Excuse me.”

“Please move.”

“Get out of the way!”

People scream as they force themselves to freedom - sweaty and in need of fresh air. It’s the survival of the fittest within the station. Tom can’t help but imagine them as wild animals roaring, barking and hissing at each other as they brawl out of their cages. This isn’t natural, Tom thought to himself. But everyone around him continued their routinely trip home from work, unfazed by the continuous anxiety within the air.

Some would say there had been a decline of human warmth since the war; that people felt inclined to suppress compassion out of fear. Tom perceived the people of his time of 2065 to have one leading emotion that they fearlessly projected: anger. You didn’t have to look very far to see that.

Being born just after the wars revolution Tom could only fantasise about what the world could have been like beforehand: Skipping, lots of skipping and green fields with waterfalls, daffodils and dears. Like some kind of cartooned fairytale where the birds sing to you and land on your head. The stories suggested otherwise, but that didn't stop Toms bright imagination.

As he was about to squeeze his way onto the already packed tube he caught sight of a young woman edging towards the front of the carriage. She had bright pink hair with large headphones, a stylish black trench coat with knee-high socks and a pair of doc martins. Something about her felt oddly familiar. She looked up at him, her eyes meeting his. Tom moved away from the doors and let the others board, captivated by the young woman's stare. A bad feeling was arising in the pit of his stomach. His legs took control and moved towards her, manifesting from an impulse within his body rather than his mind. Time began to slow, everyone within the station seemed to disappear, leaving only Tom and the woman. Something within Tom's heart drove him forward without hesitation. Warmth and panic combined with ecstatic highs coursing through his veins and urging him to run.

The doors shut and the train departs allowing the arrival for the 5.20 pm to Picadilly. The woman moved closer to the edge of the platform. She took a deep breath and with one final step, she leapt off the edge of the platform to the front of the arriving carriage. Pulled back by her trench coat and falling onto the concrete into Tom’s arms. They lay silently, Tom held her tightly, afraid to let go as if they were falling onto the tracks together. People seemed ignorant to the events of their embrace, an occasional stare but otherwise left them to their business on the stations' floor.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” The woman finally screamed and pushed away Tom’s arms.

“Saving your life it would appear.”

“Well, no one asked you to.” She leapt to her feet and walked away into the crowd.

“Hey!” Tom yelled and began to follow pushing his way through swarms of people. The woman vanished and Tom desperately searched, spotting her on the stairs making her exit. He ran to catch up and exited up the stairs into the cool polluted air. He spotted her turning the corner and eventually made his way to her side.

“Hey! What was that about?”

“What was what about?”

“Trying to kill yourself? At peak hour in the tube?”

“You’re right, I should have found a more convenient time for these ignorants. Though, I wasn’t expecting to be disturbed.”

“You didn’t expect to be disturbed? At peak hour? There are at least 300 people down there.”

“Yes, and if there were 299 I would have gotten away with it. Must be my lucky day.”

“Well yeah, I guess so.”

The woman rolled her eyes and pulled out a cigarette. Lucky strike, they hadn’t been around for at least 20 years, Tom noticed the old branding from the cigarette company now called Legendaries. Where the hell did she find those? Tom thought. Even more, intrigued by this strange young woman, Tom wanted to know more.

“Ok, Mr hero you’ve done your bit now why don’t you bugger off?”

“Wait. I don’t want to just leave you like this, can I buy you a cup of coffee?”

“No.”

“Something stronger then?”

“You’ve sure got a messed up type if this is a move.”

“What? Oh no not like that-“

“Save it, bucko.”

“I just… I know how this world can be and if it was me after doing something like that I wouldn’t want to have no one to talk to afterwards.”

They stopped abruptly and she grabbed his face softly with her hand and stared intensely into his eyes. Tom had never experienced such an intimate human reaction and was afraid to stare back. After a moment of assessment, she released his face.

“Alright then.”

They sat in silence for a long time sipping on a beer in the back corner of the dinghy pub. The woman was fiddling with the roast placed in front of her and continued to stare at Tom intensely. It was like she could see the world within him and she was figuring out more than he ever could himself. It made Tom very uncomfortable and he decided to break the silence.

“What’s your name?”

“Nikita.”

“I’m Tom.” Nikita didn’t respond just continued to fiddle with her food and stare.

“So… Do you want to talk about what’s happened or should I take the small talk approach?”

“What’s there to talk about? You were there, you saw how it ended.”

“Why are you staring at me like that?”

“Does it make you uncomfortable?”

“To be honest, yes.”

“It usually does. People are generally scared of being seen. Makes them feel like they’ve got things to hide. Isn’t that sad though?”

“That we have things to hide?”

“No, that we are afraid of people seeing us. We’re so used to being unseen that when someone is present with us, looks us in our eyes and truly sees the person they are talking to we become terrified.”

“It just usually doesn’t happen when you first meet people is all, it’s very personal.”

“So we should just switch off until others have proven their trust? Everyone is out to hurt us, aren’t they? It’s safer to protect ourselves.”

“Is that why you did it?”

“Maybe. I see a lot.”

“Don’t we all?”

“I don’t think so. You saw the people in the tube, how many do you think noticed what happened? Or noticed it and decided to ignore it? We have seen too much. Something terrible has happened to us all from childhood to our present life and it stopped us from seeing. Peoples hearts have switched off.”

“Not everyone's.”

“You seem terribly optimistic for an accountant.”

Tom had to lean back in his chair at this comment.

“How did you know I was an accountant? Have we met before?”

“Maybe in a past life. You do seem familiar but I just have a knack for these things.”

“For guessing peoples jobs?”

“It’s not a guess. I can see it.”

“What do you mean?”

Nikita stood up skulled her beer grabbed her coat and began to walk away.

“Come with me.” She said as she made her exit.

Tom began to question his choices as Nikita led him down a dark alleyway not far from Kensington Gardens. He hesitated for a moment halfway down. Nikita was a few metres ahead of him.

“What?” Nikita asked turning around.

“Don’t worry I don’t have much to attack you with down here.”

“Yeah well, it is London,” Tom replied.

“Fair point. There’s a door down here that leads to my friends' club. Do you trust me?”

“Should I?” Tom asked suspiciously.

“That’s up to you I guess.”

“Based on what?”

“How much you want to know, are you curious?”

“About what?”

“Life.”

“Are you about to reveal all its secrets?” Tom said with regretfully a hint of sarcasm.

“I guess you’ll just have to find out... If you’ve got the guts that is.”

Nikita’s tone was tempting and truthfully Tom was curious. This night held more adventure than he had experienced in a long time. Fear was the one thing holding him back. This was crazy, he thought to himself, going through the events of the evening that led him here. This woman was crazy, wasn’t she? He just pulled her from the train tracks and now he was following her down a dark alleyway? Was he going mad? He could feel the sweat begin to arise within his palms. From his experience, it was rare to find someone you could trust in such a large city. Especially one that had lost most of its love since the war in 2035. People had forgotten how to feel such things… Yet there was a tingle within his stomach tonight that he didn’t think he would ever get the chance to experience in his lifetime. It excited Tom and he thought that if he dies tonight at least he was able to feel something nice beforehand. He spent a moments focus on this feeling and eventually the fear began to slip away.

“Ok, carry on then.”

Nikita smiled, walked over and gently held Toms hand leading him further into the darkness. Tom Began to see something around Nikita’s figure. A light or aura of some kind. He felt instantly comforted by her touch and an unexplainable warmth swept over his entire body. They reached the end of the alleyway and to Tom’s surprise there was a door illuminated by a green light, yet there were no bulbs. Nikita knocked and a large intimidating man opened the door. He stood for a moment assessing the two of them then a large smile spread across his face. “Nikita!” He boomed and wrapped his large arms around her. Taking her in a warm embrace he said, “ I wasn’t expecting to see you again!” Surprisingly a tear formed in his eye.

“I know,” Nikita replied.

“There was an unexpected change of plans.” She motioned towards Tom.

“Samual, I’d like you to meet Tom, an unexpected new friend of mine.”

Samual looked Tom up and down, to Tom's surprise, he wrapped his huge arms around him in a large embrace - so much so that he lifted Tom off of the ground.

“Our saviour! It’s my pleasure, Tom. I’ll let Madame know you’re here, I’m sure she’ll be excited to meet you.”

Tom followed them into a room filled with lanterns and a comforting orange glow. There was art from Asian dynasties placed throughout the walls and the smell of strong smoky incense filled the air.

“Take a seat darlings while I inform Madame of your presence. Would you like some tea?”

“Yes, please. Thank you, Samual.”

“Anything for you my dear.” He left the room and Tom took a seat upon a large blue velvet sofa next to Nikita.

“Where are we?” Tom asked.

“I told you, my friend's club. This is the back way in, very few people know about it.”

“What’s at the front?” Tom asked.

“They serve cocktails and have a DJ playing most nights. One of the very few places left that do.”

“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” Tom said.

“Welcome to the underworld.” Nikita paused suddenly serious then broke it.

“I’m just kidding. We are closer to heaven than we’ve ever been. This is where we find the answers.”

“The answers to what?”

“Everything. You’ll see when you meet Madame. They say she was chosen by the God’s to give us insights into our lives, the ones we lost long ago. You see, we used to know as much as she did… But along the way of history, we began to lose ourselves. Society began to reject individual growth and when the war hit we lost the majority of the generation that held the remaining knowledge of the truth, our connection to the Divine. She found me when I was young and all alone… Took me under her wing when everyone was gone. She taught me her ways, taught me my way.”

The aura that surrounded Nikita began to reform with hints of green light like Tom had seen at the door in the alley. Tom tried to blink it away but the light only grew stronger. Before he could question it Samual entered the room with a tray of tea.

“Madame will see you now. I’ll follow with the tea.” Said, Samual

“Thank you, Samual,” Said Nikita with a warm smile.

Nikita’s warmth was very endearing and made Tom feel surprisingly at ease in such a strange place.

Walking through a doorway with sparkling red beads they entered a corridor with a door at the end, again a green glow surrounding its frame. They opened the door to find an old woman of Asian descent looking out the window. She didn’t react to their entrance, rather continued to stare into the horizon. Samual placed the tray on the table in front of them and exited leaving them to their business. Nikita motioned for Tom to take a seat and they waited in silence.

Without turning around the woman said in a deep and powerful voice, “Tom Barnes, what a lovely surprise.”

Tom didn’t know what to say so he stayed silent.

“No need to be shy my dear, you are most welcome here.” She turned and Tom examined the wrinkles upon her face, he imagined the wisdom held within each fold - a new experience tattooed upon her flesh.

She walked over to Nikita who stood up to greet her with open arms. “You are alive!” She embraced Nikita for a long time. Taking in every part of her. The aura of green spreading around them both.

“What is that?” Tom asked.

“It is our energy.” Replied Madame.

“When people are purely connected to their true selves and the divine they illuminate. Though, not many people can see it anymore.”

“Since the war?” Tom asked.

“Even before then. Man’s struggle has been a long journey. But let's sit and drink tea we have much to discuss.” Madame made herself comfortable opposite Nikita and Tom.

“Why is there a light around the door?” Asked Tom.

“So people who can see such things know where it is safe. Places like these are powered by energies and you can recharge yourself and feel a certain comfort.”

Tom was sceptical but remained quiet as he did feel more at ease than he had in a long time.

“There is a lot to understand. If you are willing you will find the answers.”

“The answers to what?” Tom asked.

“Humanities inner truth. The core of us all, separate from the stress of our lives and our system today. Not the worlds expectations of us but our souls and spirit. That’s what you have been curious about, haven’t you Tom? What you were feeling at home in Australia and the office in London, that there must be more to life than this, that the world we live in has become so unnatural that we don’t even know what natural is anymore? These thoughts have led you to me, to Nikita too.”

“How?”

“We are all connected. If we listen close enough we can hear each other's prayers. We are designed this way. Though we have very much averted from our designated plans. Still, if you call the right people will come, Universal Spirit has a soft spot for that kind of thing.”

“Universal Spirit? What do you mean?”

“People have many names for it: God, The Creator, The Universe, The Divine, Holy Spirit, Yahweh, Energy. Take your pick just know you are loved and are connected to such a being.

“I feel like I’ve walked into a dream, no one talks like this.”

“Yes, it is sad how distant we have become. Nothing like a smack to the concrete to pull you into focus though!” Madame boomed with laughter.

“I do just love how Spirit works! I have to say thank you for saving my daughter.”

“Your daughter?”

“Madame adopted me when I was a child. My parents were leaders of the UK resistance in the war and didn’t survive.” Explained Nikita.

“Such a shame. Their intentions were so good but their choice of weapons was not. You cannot fight for a way of life-powered by love and nature with guns and knives, it is impossible.”

“So, you knew what Nikita was doing in the station?”

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you stop her? You’re her mother aren’t you?”

“We all have a plan bigger than ourselves. This was a part of Nikita’s. She is a very special young woman.” Madame placed her hand on top of Nikita’s and a warmth echoed through the room. Nikita took a deep breath and allowed tears to stream down her face without any resistance.

“Nikita was supposed to die today. But her death was not going to be unnoticed rather the beginning of a new life for us all. A wake-up call to what we have become. She is chosen to save us from the destruction we have caused, just as her parents wished to. However, this time we fight for love and nature with love as our weapon. When she enters the spirit realm fully she will be at the peak of her power and we will all be able to see the green light of our energies once more and our intentions will be good; we will be awakened.”

“But was suicide the way to do it?”

“So we thought. However, the Divine is telling us something different it would appear, and you’re a part of that.”

“How?”

“You tell us. It’s your journey too.”

“Don’t you already know? You seem to know a lot.”

“Maybe, but I have been wrong before. I am merely human. Nevertheless, I can assist you to find your place within this plan, Nikita too.”

“How?”

“You must remember beyond your physical life and connect to the spiritual. Come, lay down on the sofa and we will guide you.”

Tom was afraid. This was extremely abnormal for him. The events of the day flashed through his mind and the sweat in his palms began to form once more. Madame stood up and leaned over the table. She flicked him in the middle of the forehead and again began to boom with laughter.

“Ow! What was that for?”

“I’m snapping you out of your mind! There is no need to overthink or overwhelm yourself.”

Tom had to admit he did feel instantly at ease. He decided to surrender to what the day was leading him to and made his way to the sofa. Madame began to light some candles and incense Nikita knelt beside Tom and gently held his hand. She brightly glowed and was immensely beautiful. He could feel the depth of warmth and power she possessed within her touch.

“Thank you.” She said in a gentle tone.

“What for?” Tom asked.

“For your trust. For coming into my life at just the right time.” She leant over and kissed the centre of Toms forehead where Madame had just flicked him. It sent waves of energy throughout Toms body putting him into a state of deep relaxation. Madame chanted around them smudging sage over Tom’s body. He closed his eyes and allowed himself to drift into a deep sleep.

Tom was thrown into a vortex, falling amongst a swirl of colours and energy. He felt light and without fear, unlike most dreams that involve falling, he was undisturbed by the physical feeling. A green light formed around him arising from the centre of his chest and bursting to consume his entire being. The light led him to the surface. He shot out from this burst of energy and colour and floated down to land gently upon a path covered in sweet-smelling flowers.

Gardenias, frangipanis and jasmine filled the air and brought him to a reminiscent state of home. The flowers his mother grew in the garden were his favourite smells in the summer. He followed the path, the further he ventured the stronger, energetic and free he felt. He decided to live out his fantasy of a wonderful world and began to skip and laugh embracing the immense joy within him. Never did he feel so alive! Love erupted from his chest, the green light bursting from his heart centre, out of his head, fingers and toes. The further he skipped the more energy he felt arise within him, the sweeter the flowers smelt. He reached an archway covered with old ruins Tom presumed to be in ancient Hebrew. He entered the archway and began to fall once more landing into a crystal clear pool fuelled by a waterfall and surrounded by tropical rainforest. Tom dives under and opens his eyes seeing clearly all that is in front of him. At the bottom instead of rocks and moss, a motion picture played of Toms life from birth to his present day.

He saw his mother in the hospital, his father holding her hand. First coming home, crawling, walking and talking. Going to school. Playing football with his parents and learning to cook. Going through his years at school until graduation then to university. He saw the times he felt what he thought was love, what he knew was lust where he sprouted the urge to move away from home. His parents' fears and had doubts as they cried and said goodbye. His first home in London, a small dirty apartment he felt proud to live in. His first day at the accounting firm, how excited he was. He saw his progression of excitement turn to resentment. His bosses enchantment turn to intimidation. He saw when he met Nikita her green light illuminated throughout the day. When he met Samual and Madame and finally he saw himself as he was now. Lying on the couch with his eyes closed holding Nikita’s hand whilst she appeared to be meditating. Madame saying prayers and forming shapes upon his body with a crystal stick. The green light shone around them all.

Tom swam to the surface feeling the minerals of the pool further awaken his spirit. He swam towards the waterfall finding his footing on a rock and stared at the trickling water. He could see his own reflection within the waterfall - only a much stronger version of himself.

He began to see another motion picture form, yet this one was different. He was in Australia on the day he decided it was time to move. He witnessed a spirit of some kind greet him, it touched his heart centre allowing its light to transcend into Toms figure. Instantly the phone rang, on it was his boss at the firm in London offering him his job.

The vision changed again to this afternoon at the station when he saw Nikita for the first time. The green energy moving directly between them. As they landed on the concrete a direct light radiated between them the heavens.

He then saw what appeared to be what is to come. Tom and Nikita were at the London Bridge, they looked at each other holding each other's hands tightly and leapt from the edge. They hit the water and instantly energy fields of green exploded throughout the River Thames before shooting up into the sky. Everyone could see the light and stopped what they were doing. Cars crashed, some people pulled out their phones to video the events. Tom and Nikita floated from the river towards the skies caressed by the green light. There was a sudden eruption between them and this light consumed not only London but the entire world. Once the light settled a dark smog arose from every individual on the planet and was consumed by the clouds above. A haze of green floated down from the skies replacing the smog with its glow. Every person on the planet took a deep breath in and exhaled in unison. It was the beginning of a world united, connecting every individual and Divine energy. The fight for a world driven by love and nature that our parents fought for was over. The world was as it should be.

The vision ended, the pool began to drain. Tom dived into the water and allowed himself to be sucked down to the bottom and awoke from his vision on the sofa.

Madame brought over a cup of tea and a tray of fruit, cheese and bread passing it to Tom.

“Here, drink this my dear you're going to need all the strength you can get.”

Tom sat up and chugged the tea and began to eat not realising how starving he was, it had been a full-on day.

“Did you see that?” Tom asked with a mouth full of bread.

“Yes,” Nikita replied.

“Did it make sense to you?”

“Yes, I can see why I wasn’t meant to sacrifice myself alone. It would appear we need a balance of male and female energy to equalise the green light.”

“But why me? Why now? I mean… I’ve only heard of this stuff today, I’m hardly in a position to carry out what happens on the bridge.”

“All you need to do is trust. Don’t you see? You were chosen. When the Spirit approached you in Australia it used you as a host for its power. All you have to do is leap.” Nikita spoke in a soothing tone.

“We cannot fulfil what is needed for the world without you.”

“But why me? I don’t understand… Surely there’s a monk somewhere who’s known about this and trained all his lifetime or something.”

“Spirit works in mysterious ways. It must have seen something in you that is the missing piece of this journey.”

“This is a lot to take in.”

“I understand, it can feel like the literal weight of the world is on your shoulders. But, don’t you want a change? Can you see how much we are all suffering? We have caused so much destruction upon our earth, upon our Creator, it breaks my heart to see how much pain everyone is in as a result. We can make it better. We can help heal the world. Just like our parents tried to… We can do it right; with love and not hate.”

The glow of green light began to form around Nikita’s heart centre, she looked so beautiful and her energy soothed Tom. He then realised that his heart centre projected the same glow, a channel of light formed between them. All doubts and fears were forgotten and replaced with warmth and love. Tom could see The Divine’s Spirit plan urging encouragement for trust. Tom knew what he had to do.

It was nearly 6.00 am and the sun began to rise on that wondrous Saturday morning. Tom reflected upon how much can change in such a short amount of time if you are willing to allow it too, how relieved he was that it could. He gazed into the horizon and saw how beautiful London was for the first time in a long time. The sky burst with rich oranges, pinks and purples, the River Thames mirroring these colours; creating a looking glass of the heavens. The full moon becoming fainter with the glow of the sun. The buildings were powerful silhouettes that gave Tom the urge to pinch himself. He remembered that feeling when he first arrived; giddy that anything was possible in a city so large, so full of history, being a part of that. Nikita stood beside him gazing. She looked over to Tom and smiled, this time in preparation for the leap there were no tears in her eyes, only joy. Tom was ready. He held Nikita’s hand returning the smile and nodded. The green light radiated around them making Tom feel more alive than he ever thought he could.

Together they took a deep breath in, exhaled and lept off the London Bridge’s edge.