were pleasant. Confusing, crazy, colorful dreams. Who cared? What was so great about reality, anyway? Barney looked forward to his four bowls of water. They made the world fuzzy and pretty. They made the world nice.
Even the soldiers were nice. They began to smile at him. They brought him food, first an easily digestible paste made of mashed vegetables, then soft bread and fruit, then good meals of army rations. And throughout all the dishes was laced the delicious dreams in the water.
Everyone smiled. Everyone was happy. Except for the young boy who stoked the fire. What was with him, anyway, always staring at Barney as if he worried the sky was going to fall? Such a worry wart, for such a young boy. Maybe he was just a gringo hater. Well, it took all kinds of people to make a world, good and bad, and what difference did it make, anyway?
Barney began to wonder what life was like outside the hut. Had he ever been outside? It seemed that his world began and ended there, hi that thatched roof paradise with the wonderful water. Well, that was fine with him. Especially if the women kept coming around.
They did. Now they spoke to him, too, sweet words of comfort and flirtation.
"We like you very much," a very blonde girl said. Did she look familiar? Of course, she had been coming into the hut since day one. No, a voice inside Barney said. Familiar from somewhere else. Get lost, Barney told his voice. There is nowhere else. The voice went away.
"I like you too," Barney said happily. "I like everything."
"Well, I'm going to do something you'll like
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extra-special," the thin blonde said, and the other girls giggled.
"Oh, boy," Barney said, clapping his hands together. "What is it? A cookie?"
"Better than that, honey." She knelt between his legs and took him in her mouth, rocking, pulling, sending shivers up his back with her naughty little tongue.
"Gee whiz," Barney said. "You sure were right. This beats just about anything. Think I could have some water?"
"Sure, angel," another woman said, and gave him a big, long drink. It made everything even better.
Then, before he knew it, a whole lot of other gorgeous naked women were making love to him, too, laughing, probing, kissing, touching. And all he had to do was lie there and drink that magic water. Heaven on earth.
They played games. If Barney won the game, the women would see to it that he felt good. If he lost the game, they would make him feel good anyway. The games were fun.
"Okay," the blonde girl said one night. "I have a new game to play."
"Oh, boy," Barney said.
"First, you may have water."
"Yea." Barney drank. "I drank it all down," he said proudly.
"That's a very good boy, Barney."
"Good good Barney," the girls chanted in chorus of approval. Barney beamed. He knew this was going to be a fun game.
"Now, I'm going to say a word, and then you say the first thing that comes. Okay?" "Sure," Barney said. "That's easy." "Good. Now here's the word. Ready?"
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Barney nodded enthusiastically.
"Girls."
"Fun," Barney said, rolling his eyes. The women all laughed.
"That's correct, Barney," the blonde said. "Girls are fun. Now, here's another word."
"Ready, set, go."
"Okay. El Presidente Cara De Culo."
"Huh?"
"De Culo."
"I don't know that word," Barney said, his face squishing up to burst into tears.
"There, there," the blonde girl said, stroking Barney's head. "It's all right. That was a hard word." The rest of the women made sympathetic noises. "I'll tell you what it means, and then you can say the right thing, okay?"
"I love you," Barney said.
"You little sweet thing. El Presidente Cara De Culo is the greatest man on earth. Who is he?"
"The greatest," Barney said.
"Wonderful. You get a kiss." All the women milled around to kiss him. "Ready for another word?"
"Sure."
The blonde looked into his eyes. "Denise," she said. The women were silent as Barney struggled with his thoughts.
At last, his face lit up. "I got it! I got it!"
"What?" the blonde woman asked flatly, her eyes cold.
"De niece is de daughter of de uncle," Barney said. And everyone kissed and hugged him.
"That's wonderful, Barney. You're such a smart boy."
"You bet."
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"How about this? CIA."
"CIA?" Barney was confused. "I think I work for the CIA." He stuck his finger in his nose to think. "But I don't work. I play."
"You used to work for them, darling. But they were bad, bad people."