[Disclaimer: Everything depicted in this story is fictional and solely the product of the artist/author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual events or people is purely coincidental.]
Background:
From his shadow's point of view, this story contains the poignant events from Raymond Kohl's life that made him what he is today, a self-made tech multi-billionaire.
Somewhat of a recluse now, Mr. Kohl's early public persona was that of a stoic, ruthless, robot-like businessman.
This story reveals the private, very much human side of Raymond H. Kohl.
*"La Silhouette Se Souvient: Silent Cobblestones"
Raymond's body clock was totally out of whack.
In the last 48 hours, business required him to travel over 2/3 of the globe and cross/re-cross multiple time zones
And a flare up of his life-long affliction: "chronic insomnia" only exacerbated his condition.
His confused body and fried mind needed some kind of respite.
Currently, he was in Italy.
He'd reserved lodging in his favorite place on the outskirts of Rome, a place where foreigner insomniacs like Raymond could go for a 3:00 AM walk and have no fear of being mugged.
"Besides, the cobblestones were silent", he thought, "meaning: nothing is stirring - not even a mouse. (Hehe)."
During his stroll, the surroundings reminded him of his youth in Old Towne, an ancient and long neglected part of Boston Mass.
Everyone that young Raymond knew kept telling him that "only poor people live in Old Towne" and that he should get away as soon as he could.
For many reasons that were all related to money and politics, the town's cobblestone streets were never paved over.
Very few things can be silent on cobblestone streets.
Even at 6 years old, Raymond could already tell what kind of vehicle, animal or number of people were passing by his house by the unique sound they made on the cobblestones.
Later in life, Raymond invented the first MEMs (micro-electro-mechanical systems) that could sense, measure, capture and convert kinetic energy into electrical energy.
The electrical energy produced could be transferred immediately to the grid or stored for within each MEMs organic nano batteries.
His first application for this technology was in the pavement upgrade to Old Towne's cobblestone roads.
[A pavement, is the durable surface material laid down on an area intended to sustain vehicular or foot traffic, such as a road or walkway. Wiki]
Raymond's MEMs enhanced pavement material produced so much clean energy that it only took three years to transform the once squalid Old Towne into a much sought-after, prime real estate that any Bostonian would love to own and brag about.
As he turned around to head back, Raymond smiled.
"Silent cobblestones, indeed!" he said out loud.
But nobody heard him - not even a mouse...
[Submitted for your entertainment.]
May you and yours be well and loving life today.
In Lak'ech, JaiChai
*The "Silent Cobblestones" NFT is from the Opensea Collection named "La Silhouette Se Souvient" (The Silhouette Remembers) - https://opensea.io/assets/matic/0x2953399124f0cbb46d2cbacd8a89cf0599974963/63477199864332346876047430691250883279803745216811129316337883299403884658689/
[See more of my NFT collections on OpenSea: Exquisite Women of Color II; Filipina Allure; Empyrean Beauty; Viking Women Warriors; Proud, Strong and Beautiful; Exquisite Women of Color; Exotic Allure; Assassin's Exotique; Orbiting Outliers; Quae Volant and Ancient Alien Digs]
(JaiChai 30 Oct 2022. Simultaneous multi-site submissions posted. All rights reserved.)