27 - An Irrevocable Commitment

When Oud Ramonides, learned kabbalist,  meets poet-philosopher, Abdul Hasib ibn Burd, there is an instant rapport. In the noon-time sun, the two men sit in the shade of a purple rhododendron in the garden of the Frabjous Tea Rooms, drinking clove tea and discussing the ideas of Albert Einstein. At the next table, Leporello Swinson is showing his new tattoo to café owner Wilfriede Organdy. Hasib whispers to Oud, ‘A tattoo is an irrevocable commitment to eternal youth.’ Oud nods. Unfortunately it turns out that Oud has an unusual reaction to clove tea. As he peers at Swinson’s tattoo, the shapes swirl into elastic forms and glow with vivid colours.