Lloyd yawned as he tapped his computer keyboard,disconnected from the database of Hong Kong Securities and ran a hand over his balding head. The square gold clock sitting in the bookcase chimed midnight. Upstairs, his wife stirred in her lonely sleep. He only registered the time.
"The witching hour," he chuckled to himself. "Just right for some trolling before bed."
Lloyd thought about the women in his favourite chat room. No, tonight he wanted someone new. He clicked on his personal internet chat program -- talk one on one or with a group you choose, the advertising had told him and it hadn't lied. Lloyd entered the virtual white pages and scrolled through the names. This entry looked like a beauty and what an unusual name.
Koi. Interests: Fantasy and Vampires.
Into his mind swirled a vision of a petit, gentle oriental eager to fulfill his every wish. He had practised Aikado as a hobby in his younger days, she might like to hear about it. Lloyd tapped the white letters of his "Hi!"
"Bigman requesting a chat with Koi," blinked the grey bar at the bottom.
A centre bar showed her E-mail address, Koi@hot.com. Instead of a
university or private server, she used an anonymous Internet E-mail, the virtual equivalent of a real time post office box. A
good sign. Her background glowed red.
"Good Evening," appeared in black at the top of the bottom screen.
"Do you have a microphone?"typed Lloyd. "I'd love to hear your voice."
A seductive "Yes," purred out of the speaker. A shiver ran down Lloyd's back.
"Your voice is so sexy," he said.
"And so is yours."
"I like your name. Is it Chinese?" asked Lloyd.
"No. Japanese, Bigman-san."
"You're talking from Japan?"
"Perhaps. Where are you from?"
"American. Chicago."
"Ah. The Windy City."
"What does you name mean? It's so pretty. Is it pronounced like toy?"
"Yes. It means a little fish. A beautiful fish like the kind found in Japanese gardens."
"I've never heard of that before."
"It's a name from the Floating World."
"The Floating World?" wondered Lloyd as an odd image of an aquarium of guppies and goldfish flowed into his mind.
"The place where the courtesans lived in old Japan."
"Is that like a geisha? Are you one?" Lloyd couldn't believe his luck.
"I'm coy. Let me keep my secrets."
"O.K. How old are you, Koi?"
"Too old for you, I think."
"Come on, how old?"
"A lady shouldn't reveal her age."
"You're a lady? Not a woman."
"You've been indoctrinated to call all ladies women, I see."
"You're funny Koi." Lloyd chortled to himself, thinking of his wife's prickliness whenever he slipped and used "girl," "lady," or heaven forbid, "chick." She hated him watching Baywatch as well, frowning and muttering in a sarcastic tone, "Babewatch," whenever he turned on the T.V. show. "O.K. I'm guessing you're 35."
"Good guess, Bigman-san. You should work at the state fair."
"I thought you were older because you sound intelligent. The younger ones aren't too bright, if you know what I mean."
"I do. Let me guess. You're 22?"
"No. Surprise I'm 40. So you're not too old for me after all."
"Well. Well. And what does your name mean? Is it what I think? I'm grinning."
"Yes. I'm big all over. Six feet. Blonde, blue eyes," lied Lloyd.
A generous person would say that he topped five foot, seven and what still remained of his hair had dissolved into pepper gray and mousy brown. His wiry muscles had long ago rendered themselves into the flab of middle age. In the sexual equipment department, his wife, even on a good day, would not have described him as Bigman.
"And what are your hobbies?"
"Sex."
"That I figured out, Bigman. Your other hobbies."
"I practice Aikado. Do you know what that is?"
"Some kind of fighting? Like judo?"
"Yes. But part of it's with sticks."
"Ah. Describe it to me."
"You have to use your Ki. It's very spiritual. Do you know what Ki is?"
"Like a spirit or life force?"
"Yes. Sort of."
"Do you know what a kami is?"
"No."
"It's the spirit of a thing. Rocks, trees. Even computers have them."
"Like the Indians."
"Sort of. I am a kami and you have Ki. We match. So nice. Tell me about your fighting with your Ki."
"My Ki is very strong. I've defeated guys much bigger than me. 200 to 250 lbs. But my master is a little old man and nobody has defeated him yet. Incredible ki. Then last week I fought him to a draw. He bowed to me, a great moment."
"I'd like to watch you fight. Describe one and I'll pretend I watch."
"Using Ki means that you have to move as one with your opponent. It flows back and forth. Both of you moving together, in unison. Becoming part of each other as you fight."
"I can feel your Ki. And how well you move. Dropping your opponent. Thrusting with your weapon. How surprised he feels. You come over to me afterwards. I stare up with at you with admiration. You lean for a kiss."
"I kiss you, grab your ass and squeeze it." Lloyd knew where things were headed and became aroused.
"I undo your cloth belt and pull open your loose jacket." Her voice oozed like cold honey. "You unwrap my kimono. Coloured silk rustles to the floor. I stand naked before you. My breasts are ripe peaches waiting for your mouth."
"I grab your tits and rub them"
"I murmur with joy at your touch and press my body against you as my lips join yours."
Their conversation floated into the waters of cybersex. Koi described all the pleasures of a prostitute of the floating world. Lloyd found he had to grab the box of Kleenex much sooner than he expected.
"You roll off me and lay back on the fighting mat. You feel so relaxed," murmured Koi. "Your Ki surges. I hover over you. You stare up from my nakedness into my brown eyes. They remind you of a field freshly turned to the plow. You fall into them, down, down to where the comforting earth warms and covers you." Her voice droned hypnotically. Lloyd closed his eyes and drifted. "You don't notice the sudden pain in your wrist as my fangs sink in. To you, it's just the annoyance of a pin in clothing. I begin to suck your blood. Our Ki fight then join. I'm feeding on your Ki. Taking your life as all women do. Can you feel it?"
"Yes," whispered Lloyd.
His wrist ached. A pain shot from his heart, down his arm. His life drifted out and down, down to the wrist resting on his keyboard, into the computer. Sudden pinprick lights dashed against the insides of his shut eyelids. The room swirled.
"I stop, satiated and remove my fangs. I move to your lips. I give you my dark kiss and you taste your own blood. Sayonara, Lloyd-san. You were a big man. So full of life force. Thank you. And I am too old for you. By two hundred and thirty years."
An eerie laugh engulfed the study. The computer screen blanked. Lloyd slumped in his chair, his head lolled back. He had stiffened into rigour mortis by the time his wife found him in the morning. Heart attack the doctor said. Saw it more and more, especially in sedentary men who spent a lot of time in front of a computer. Even in healthy men of forty.
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