Chapter 5: Pleased to meet you.
Master?
Good evening Amelae.
Yes, good evening to you. What you do Mirafe?
Why do you ask?
She say she think she love you.
Huh, I can see my talk with her didn’t help a bit!
From behind me I hear, Yes it did! You can’t admit love, but you do love.
Mirafe, I do not lie.
Maybe not intentionally. Maybe you don’t understand what you are feeling because you are not human.
I never said I wasn’t human.
You never said you were human! And you won’t say it now because you don’t lie!
Not saying is not an admission of anything.
See Amelae? See? Master loves us, but he doesn’t know what love is.
Enough of this nonsense, girls. It is time to eat. After dinner, both of you have things that need to get done.
The girls make no comments on the quantity or quality of the food. They have come to accept that this is now part of their world. However that doesn’t mean the girls are silent.
Friend, did Master tell you he can’t interfere to stop or cause death?
Yes. He say that it a violation of the rules of the game. We humans are not to be killed or kept alive. We live and die as we are supposed to live and die. Why?
Your Nanay is very ill, di ba?
Ah yes, I know she will die. But she will live a bit longer because she has medical care. Master can do that! And she is not in as much pain because Master gave money for her medications. So Master cannot keep Nanay alive, but he does everything he is allowed to do. He says there are no miracles. That is not true. He do miracles. He just not make or take life. I think that is a good thing.
Girls, that is technically true, but this next project is going to show you that it isn’t as clean as all that.
Amelae looks at me, and in the quietest of voices asks, Explain please.
Your friend Erlyn’s family is in trouble.
Yes, Master, I told you that.
Amelae, you do not know even a small part of how serious the trouble is that they are in.
Master, her brother is sick, he needs help to get off the Shabu1. It will kill him. How more serious can it be?
It is far more serious, dangerous, and deadly. Tell me, is this girl worth keeping alive?
Master?
Is there reason that she should survive this coming week?
You say that you cannot give or take lives! Why is this?
I cannot change nature. But most assuredly, if it is a matter of bullets, knives, or bombs, then there are things that can be done, within limits. Any human can do this with enough knowledge and access. That does not violate any rules.
You say she will die?
Most likely, she will perish in two days as will her brother.
You can save her and her brother?
I can save her, if she sells her soul. If I try to save her brother, there is a strong possibility that he will die anyway, as will her mother. Both are souls we will get in any case. It doesn’t change any balance for me, but if I don’t try to protect her brother, and he dies now, her mother may live for years. If I save your friend, and not her brother, someone else will end up dead. There will still be a death, just not her. And that person might not deserve to die, just as your friend does not deserve to die now. So tell me, is it important to save her?
There are no smiles or happy faces near me now. All of a sudden, the nature of the consequences when interfering as they have asked me to do, are made very clear. I have asked them to choose, not if someone should die, (maybe an easier question,) but rather who should die.
Master, do we know, who will die, if Erlyn not die?
Why should that matter?
Sige, sige. You are correct.
Mirafe has been quiet, but clearly something is bothering her?
Master, is it you who will do these killings?
Ah, I see… No, Mirafe, I do not ever kill. It will not be me. It will be the world that family operates within. The people with whom they associate. It will be from their own choices. Choices they made long before I was aware of them.
Even the innocent ones, like our friend?
Yes, to a certain extent, that is true. When you associate with bad people, bad things may happen to you.
But our friend does not choose to associate, it is her family. Would the other person be a family member?
No.
Then I say, save our friend!
Master, I agree with Mirafe. Please save our friend.
I will give her the option of living or not. She will have to decide, just as you two have made choices, so will she. Do not tell her of this discussion, but invite her to meet us at the mall tomorrow.
Not here?
Absolutely, not here. Do not mention this place to her. Now, I understand you have a teleserye2 you both like to watch. Go now. I will see you both in the morning.
There is work I must do to prepare for tomorrow. It is a tricky business with a number of options. None may be put in motion until I meet with the girl. I will need to bring an Android tablet with me to access a few Shell files in a Bash environment. Each Shell file will activate a different option I have designed. I can trigger it while still talking with the girl as needed. We will see how it plays out.
My screens are filled with the timestamped links between dozens of cellphone SMS logs. I can see who is talking to who. The texts reveal a complex and highly hierarchically structured interplay of individuals within an illegal drug network. I do not know the names of most, but I can see what they do, who they control and who controls them. It’s a nasty business and I am happy to stay invisible to all of them.
I wonder how much Erlyn actually knows. The texts to and from her phone to her mother and brother indicate she is mostly clueless. Is she?
Good morning, Master! Why do you sleep alone?
Mirafe, I work late and get up early. There is no reason to disturb you by being in the same bed. … I gather your friend texted you last night that she has agreed to meet us at ten this morning.
How you know this? I just turned on my phone and read this now. I not receive it last night!
Yes well, she did agree, so you two must be ready to leave here at nine-thirty. And by the way, I am glad you told her to pack a small bag as you want her to stay over. If she agrees to sell her soul, she can’t go back home for a few days. Thank you.
Master! How you know this?
Get Amelae ready and have some breakfast.
I’m not hungry now and we have hours before we need to go. You will do me again, maybe? Or maybe you prefer Amelae? She willing too.
This is not a good time. Today’s seed is for your friend, if she agrees. If she does not agree, then you will get the seed later.
Why you not know if she will agree?
Because humans really do have free will. Yes, it is possible to apply stimulus to achieve an outcome, but it still requires the agreement of a human with free will. It is also a matter of what a person chooses to believe. No matter how many facts you put in front of a person, if they choose to not believe the facts, there is little that can be done to overcome that belief. In this case, I have no idea what your friend will choose.
Master, we find a plastic crate filled with nail polish, clippers, nippers and cuticle nail pushers. May we use these?
Yes.
Who these belong to?
You.
No, who bought them?
They are for you. Use them. There is also a carton filled with powders and compresses. Use those on various parts of your body as you are always to be without clothing in the house. Make your body more lovely. You can assist Amelae and she can assist you in this matter.
She just looks at me, at one level, understanding and at a deeper level, completely confused.
I have done all I can do. After a breakfast of fruit and coffee, I retire to read a book until it is time to go.
It appears the girls have given themselves manicures and pedicures in the intervening hours. They are dressed and are ready to leave the house with me.
This is not a setup where Erlyn is thinking she is going to solicit money. My girls have told her, they have met someone who can potentially help her, but there will be no promises. However, it may require her to stay away from her home for a few days and to pack a small bag.
I saw a photo of the girl on her Facebook page. She is good looking, but is not going to stop traffic anywhere. Her age is sixteen. Her brother, who is in deep trouble, is fourteen. I have no doubt that she loves him intensely. That’s the problem with love. It blinds you to reality.
We enter the mall a few minutes after it opens at ten and find seats in a large open area in front of a National Bookstore. Texts are exchanged. Erlyn is on her way. The jeepney she is on, is still moving slowly through traffic.
My tablet is in my hands, but I have not turned it on. It looks like Erlyn will not get here for another fifteen minutes. I tell the girls to wait here, while I go to Bo’s Coffee for a few minutes. Sure I like the coffee, but it also gives me a way to look at a few current SMS logs. Ones that have deadly connections to our girl and her family. There are tables and chairs both inside the café and out of the doors on a terrace. I am sitting on the terrace, and away from the wait staff.
What I see is not good news. We have only four or five hours. If the girl does not come with us, she may well not live to sleep soundly tonight. It’s a good thing I didn’t put this off another day.
I still have a sizeable amount of coffee in front of me when Amelae texts to say Erlyn has arrived. I tell them to bring her to me, here outside Bo’s.
She is shorter than I expected. Probably no taller than 4’9” or 145cm. She is as cute as her photo suggested. Based on her Facebook photos, she takes after her mother, which does not seem to be a problem as far as looks go. Her mother’s choices in life are another thing entirely.
Amelae brings her to me and introduces, Ninong, this is Erlyn.
Nice to meet you Erlyn. Please be seated.
Po, what is your name?
You should call me Ninong.
Excuse me? This is your name?
It is Ninong for you at this time.
I do not think this is right. What is your name?
Erlyn, you have these options. You can call me Ninong, or Po, or you can leave. I really do not care which. Your friends asked me to help you. I may be able to do that. But I have no obligation in the matter. Choose.
Why are you rude? I will leave.
Please do. And I take a sip of my coffee. Erlyn is getting up and my girls are grabbing her tightly, arguing with her.
Erlyn pulls away from my girls, and turns to me. My friends tell me that my life is in danger and you may be the only one who can save me. Why do they say this?
Sit down and be respectful and I will discuss it with you. Stand over me and I have nothing more to say to you.
She doesn’t want to, but she does sit. OK? Now, why do they say this?
Arjun and Eryl are on their way to kill your brother and you tonight.
That stops her. How you know their names? I never say these name to anyone! Never! How you know? I only tell Amelae and Mirafe my little brother addicted to Shabu and needs help!
Yes that is what they told me. But it isn’t why you are scared. He lost those packets last week and he can’t cover the cash for it. You know this.
How you know?!!! How?!!!
Quiet, we do not want to attract attention. You and your brother are to die today. I can save you, but saving your brother is not a good idea. Do you want me to save you?
No one want to kill me, you lie!
Arjun’s boss Rykel knows your brother told you about it. If he kills your brother, Dany, and leaves you alive, he doesn’t like the risk.
A number of things are happening. The blood is draining from Erlyn’s face and tears are beginning to appear. Amelae and Mirafe are just staring at me. I think ‘dumbstruck’ is the right term.
Ninong, what do I have to do for you to help Dany and me?
For me to help you, I need your soul. There is little I can do for Dany. If I save him today, worse things will happen in two or three days from now and more people will die. You may lose both Dany and your mother.
Wait! Wait! Too much information. What you mean I may lose my mother.
Dany is doing the running of the packets now because your mother stopped. She is in this, but Dany told Arjun, she doesn’t know about the matter of the packets. If I move to protect Dany now, your mother will probably become a target.
I don’t believe you. My mother has nothing to do with this! You are a liar!
She is trying to get up but Amelae is not allowing it to happen. She is whispering to Erlyn. I cannot hear most of it. I do hear, ‘not human.’ Erlyn struggles and looks at Mirafe. Mirafe leans her head in and there is more talking. The struggling has ended.
My friends say you are God. I not believe them.
They are wrong. I am not God. Even God is not God. There is no ‘God.’
Yes they say you tell them this, but they see what you do and they not believe it. If you not God, then you are the Devil.
I am not the Devil. There is no Devil. And while we are on the subject, there is no Heaven and no Hell.
So why you want my soul?
My boss is a collector. I am just an agent.
You save Dany and me. I will sell you my soul for that.
I can save you. I can keep Arjun and Eryl from killing Dany. I can make Rykel no longer a problem. But I can’t stop what will happen if I do.
If you stop those two, Danny is safe. No problem!
That is not true and you need to understand that I am not promising that Dany will live out this week. I am promising that you will live. All I can do is give Dany a few more days. But if I do that, there is a real chance that your mother dies. I cannot stop that.
That it not true! You are just trying to stop me from saving Dany!
Erlyn, I really do not want to help you. I do not like your attitude. The simple truth is that I do not lie.
You will kill Arjun and Eryl?
No, I will not. But they will die if I have your soul. To save you I also have to deal with Rykel.
You guaranty it will happen?
Yes, I will. It will be in the contract you sign. Your soul returns to you if that does not occur. If it does occur, not matter what else happens, your soul is mine.
I sign a contract?
Yes.
There is no time!
This is plenty of time for this. The contract is in my hand and then on the table. There is a spoon on the table and next to it now is the nib pen.
Stick out your finger. We need a little blood. Once you sign this, you are bound to me and your soul is mine for eternity. You must understand this. It is real. Read it.
She does read it. Slowly and completely. As she works her way through the document she looks over at me and the back to the document more than a couple of times.
Give me the pen. She signs.
I lift up the document, inspect the signature and note that it is misspelled. This will not do. You tried to cheat by misspelling your name. The signature is not valid. Go!
Wait! I will sign correctly.
This time the signature is correct. The contract is in my hand, and up in the air, as I state to Erlyn, From now until you die, you will call me Ninong in public and Master when in private. The other rules will be explained to you after we leave here. For now and forever, you are mine!
I twitch the wrist of the hand that holds the document and in a flash it is gone. Erlyn turns white again.
English Novel - Soul by very well aged
Re: English Novel - Soul by very well aged
Chapter 6: Every cop a criminal, all the sinners saints.
You three go walk around the mall for a bit. I want to finish my coffee in peace.
I will enjoy Erlyn today, but this will be an object lesson for Amelae and Mirafe. Right now I need to start the tablet again and put some things in motion. Dany will get a text, sending him on a snipe hunt along with his mother. I need to get him out of town. At fourteen, it is far easier to make that happen if ‘mother dearest’ is part of the package.
Our two potential murderers have their own problems. There are others who have been looking for them and their boss. A few well designed text messages, allegedly from numbers the others know, will work just fine. Spoofing outgoing caller ID’s is easy enough if you can access a PBX using a PRI outbound line.
It takes twenty minutes, but the work is done. Now we wait for the result.
I text Amelae. I forgot to tell her to confiscate Erlyn’s phone. She needs to do it immediately. Once that is done, they are to meet back with me. It is time to go.
I get a text back almost immediately from Mirafe. Erlyn is fighting with Amelae. The girl is refusing to give up her phone. I text back. OK just keep her busy for a couple of minutes and stop trying to take the phone. Just don’t let her use it. I will text back soon.
I know her number and I stole her IMEI1 when she was with me at Bo’s. Logging in through the Talk ‘N Text servers. I find the right code and essentially brick both her phone and her SIM card. She will be unable to use the phone on the Talk ‘N Text network. She would need to buy another SIM from a different network. She can never get her old number back. It takes ten minutes, but it is done.
I send another text to my two stalwarts, OK just come to Bo’s with her.
Two minutes later, they are approaching, and Erlyn is screaming. I just do not like this kid. When they get close enough I can tell that she is accusing the girls of damaging her phone.
Erlyn, do you want to die today? Do you? Because if you keep this up, I will allow it to happen. Neither of these two, who at least were your friends before you started acting like an ass, damaged you phone. I bricked it.
What?! How?!
You need to learn some lessons. The first is that I am not to be disobeyed… ever! If I am, you will suffer. I told the girls to take your phone because I didn’t want you using it for a few days. You refused and so I killed the phone myself. … You have two minutes to convince me not to just walk away from you.
You can’t! The contract!
The contract allows me to release you and your soul whenever I want. You are bound to me. I, Erlyn, am not bound to you. You have used up thirty seconds of your time.
Tell me how you kill my phone!
No. … Amelae, Mirafe, let’s go. I have had enough. She isn’t worth saving. At this moment, Erlyn doesn’t know that she won’t be killed as soon as we leave her here. She has no way of knowing what I have done. My two know not to argue with me and they fall in as I walk away.
We get to the second floor of the parking area garage before I hear the footfalls of Erlyn running towards us. I ignore it. As we approach the Everest, my fob unlocks the doors and I get in as do three girls.
Turning around toward the back seat, I speak my mind. Erlyn, you need to get out.
I need your help, Po. Please.
It is no good. You are either unable or unwilling to submit. I do not need to bother punishing you as you will be dead soon anyway. There are many souls I can gather. I don’t need to bother with yours.
No more problems. I promise. I will be good. I will do what you say. Please save my brother.
I told you earlier that even if I keep him alive for a few days, he will surely die. There is nothing I can do about that. So he will not die today. But he still will die in a matter of days. So will your mother. I told you this. It was only you who would live a long life. You chose to ignore my warning and sign your own mother’s death warrant. I kept my part of the bargain. If you do not seek them out, right now; if you stay away from all of them and of the others, whose company they keep, they will live a few more days. But if you go to them, you will now all die.
Po, Ninong! I was stupid. I sorry! Truly. Please help me. No more problems. I promise. Just please take care of Arjun, Eryl, and Rykel.
I already have.
What? How?
How, is none of your business. Just as how I bricked your phone is none of your business. Are we clear on that?
Po, you never left Bo’s coffee. But you do all that?
Yes.
May I stay with you please?
Maybe you need more time to understand the power that exists. We will go back into the mall. Amelae and Mirafe will stay with you for the next hour. After that we will meet to eat a lunch here at the Mandarin Restaurant at noon. That may be enough time. There is to be absolutely no use of any cell phones. No exceptions. OK girls, out!
I go back to Bo’s, order more coffee and read the news online. It’s as good a way to kill time as any other and costs far less. I am also watching some of the SMS traffic via logs. It seems that things are about to get bloody.
I am not a fan of the Mandarin, but it is one of those places that doesn’t get super busy with a lunch crowd. That affords us some privacy during the meal. The Mandarin is one of those restaurants that sells Chinese food that really isn’t Chinese. How do I know that? Here’s the first clue. They have General Tao Chicken on the menu. Go figure. So what do the girls order? Chicken Chow Mein, sautéed vegetables that includes broccoli. Whatever.
The food won’t make you sick and it is quiet in there. At least it is quiet for forty-five minutes. But at that point both Amelae and Mirafe’s phones go nuts. There are five people dead just two streets away from the Church. The messages say that they were killed in a shootout with the police. The girls know the place. It is the street Erlyn lives on. Photos are sent over Facebook messenger. None are Dany or Erlyn’s mother. When Erlyn looks at who is dead, she stops eating and starts shaking.
Erlyn, three of them, Rykel and the other two, are the three we spoke about before. The other two are your friend Chona and a young man who runs packets for your mother, correct?
Erlyn cries out, There can’t be a shootout! Chona not have a gun! The Police kill her?
Those police run shabu too. It is a rival group. Rykel thinks theirs is spiked with strychnine and it is killing people. In this case Rykel was the good guy.
How? How? You know them? How you know this?
No. I have never seen them. Never. And how I know things is none of your concern.
But you know why Chona and the boy dead?
Your mother asked them to deliver shabu for her and Dany as they had to leave town.
How you know?
Erlyn do I have to tell you again. I am not going to explain. I told you I would do as you asked in payment for your soul. It happened. Your soul is mine.
Erlyn doesn’t need to know I was watching her mother’s text messages while sitting at Bo’s. For her, it is seeming to be magical. And for her, it better be as she is a handful of difficulties all wrapped up in a 4’ 9” package. The next days will be instructive for Mirafe, at least. I am no longer concerned about Amelae at all.
Still it is Amelae who speaks. Last night you said that if you saved Erlyn, another would die. You said we had to choose, Erlyn or someone else. It seemed easy last night. But, Master, I know Chona. She is a friend. I not know she do this shabu, but she is a friend. Last night, we did not know Chona would die. Now I know. By saving one friend, I killed another. It like you say. You don’t kill. But interfering with one death by violence may simply lead to another. I not know what to think. I am glad, Erlyn is not dead. But I maybe killed Chona.
Amelae, all those who swim in those waters are asking to die early. You asked me to save Erlyn. I did it. Chona chose to run shabu and didn’t ask for help. That was her choice. You did not kill her. But it is important to remember that asking me to save a life that will be lost to violence is not something you should do without understanding the consequences. Also, this is not over. The only way Dany and Erlyn’s mother will live is if they never return. Even then, I can’t be sure they will survive. If they return, they will die. Of that I am sure.
Now it is Erlyn who asks, You will kill them?
I kill no one. I just cannot stop those who want your mother and brother dead. I can do many things. But I cannot do that. The only one I can keep alive right now is you and I was only able to do it because Chona would die in your place. I am not allowed to kill and with the exception of some very narrow guidelines, I am not allowed to help someone in harm’s way of a bullet. Even you, Erlyn, may yet die unless you do exactly what I tell you to do without exception. One mistake and you will die in spite of what I have done. Using your phone just once will be enough to tip the scales against survival. Is that clear.
Yes, Po. It is clear.
Is it also clear that your soul belongs to me?
Yes, Po. It is clear.
Is it clear that from now on, until the day you die, you, Erlyn, belong to me?
Why that?
Because, for me to control and own your soul, I must control the vessel that contains it. Think of your soul as water. That is what you have sold me. Can you give me the water without the glass that contains it?
Oh! I not understand that part of the contract where it talk about the possession of the vessel. I am the vessel?
Yes, you are the vessel.
So when I sold my soul, I sold myself?
Yes.
That is a trick!
Even if it was a trick, what were your other options? Do you want to leave? I will relinquish the hold on your soul and you can leave.
Yes, I see. I not like, but I see. I will not leave.
So are we clear now?
Yes Po. I am yours. It clear.
OK. Let’s go home.
Things are silent inside the Everest as we traverse the streets. Each of the three has a lot to chew on. For me, there is less now. The only question revolves around Erlyn. We will see.
Entering the house, Amelae and Mirafe immediately disrobe and instruct Erlyn to do likewise. The girl is just not wanting to get with the program. I am about to do something drastic when Amelae slaps the girl across the face and tells her that she is to do as told or Hell will really break loose and it will not be a saying. You will be the real damned, you fool!’ Don’t you get it? He is not human!
Of course I am human. And of course, I am not the devil. But they seem to have no other way to categorize me. I can say there is no God and no Devil. I can say it for all eternity. It makes no difference. It is how their minds work.
And so, Erlyn does disrobe. She is then pulled into the bedroom to be ‘prepared.’ As they drag her along, they are telling her what comes next. In that process, she swivels around to look at me just before the door closes behind her.
It takes a good forty minutes before the three appear. Erlyn looks none too happy. The girls place her on the table. Mirafe drapes the cloth over her head.
I signal to two to walk away from Erlyn. I take a moment to give them instructions. Each is to suck on a breast, massage a temple with one hand and cooperate with each other as they play with Erlyn’s clit. I get no pushback.
The music blares. The incense fills the room with aromas of vanilla, cinnamon and sandalwood. Oil is applied but I avoid the breasts. My phallus is well lubricated and I enter deep into virgin territory, yet again. All this is totally new to Erlyn. The sensations are so many and so varied that she is having real trouble sorting out what she is feeling. All that is clear is that she is being stimulated in a way that defies description.
A river is pouring from between Erlyn’s legs. We push her on and on, until it is clear that she is going to be unable to sustain much more. I deposit my seed and back off.
The two know the drill. I hear them telling Erlyn what happens next. As they move toward the bedroom, Amelae turns, a bit, to say, We will come out for supper, Master. And then the bedroom door closes.
I set up a trap on both Amelae and Mirafe’s cell phones. It’s not that I don’t trust them. I am worried that Erlyn will grab one and send a text of her own. I need to know it, if she does. If she wants to kill herself, OK, I can’t stop her, but I do not want bad guys coming here.
I continue to monitor the SMS traffic in the network that Erlyn’s family swam in. There is great confusion and anger. Someone is asking where Dany and Erlyn went. Had they set Rykel and his guys up to be killed? It sure seems that way to some of them. Others are saying, why would they do that? The answer comes and it is a story about the packets that Dany lost. They don’t know about Erlyn, but they now connect Dany and his Mom. If those two show up, they are dead.
I text the Mom, spoofing Erlyn’s now dead cell number. All are looking to kill you and Dany. I am in hiding. Do not come back. Never come back! Do not look for me. If you do we all die. Last text! I am removing the SIM and smashing the phone so no one ever sees this. Love you. Bye forever!
The Mom answers but she will not get a reply.
The supper food is laid upon the table and all three girls join me. Erlyn is fidgeting. I gather it is because she is naked. The others tease her. It isn’t helping but I doubt it is hurting. I ignore it.
Po?
Erlyn, when in this house you will call me Master and nothing else.
Master? Are Dany and my Mother OK?
I do not know.
Are they alive?
Yes, for the moment they are alive.
How you know this?
Erlyn, stop asking me questions like that. I am not going to tell you how I know things, or how I do things. All you need to know is that I tell you the truth and if I don’t know something, I will tell you that too.
She is quiet for a bit, but she is far from happy.
The rest of the meal is eaten in silence. There is the beginning of an idea, possibly between Amelae and Mirafe, that it was a mistake to step in. No, it is not that they hate Erlyn. It’s just that we can’t really help her. Erlyn is not fitting in and in the end she will most likely leave and then subsequently die. I haven’t said a word about this. But I can see it in their continence.
After dinner as the girls excuse themselves so that they might watch the teleserye, Mirafe whispers that Erlyn is in no condition for another fucking tonight.
I guess I am not surprised. As it is, I am not wanting any of them at the moment. I retire to a book and the screens that are tracking the SMS traffic.
There is a frantic search going on for Dany and his Mother. One person is asking about Erlyn. Right now, no one else is echoing that.
I am pretty sure I know how this is going to end.
I pick up a book that I have been reading and try to relax. My shoulders are tight, I am edgy and just uncomfortable. I pour myself a brandy and return to the book. But I can’t concentrate. My mind wanders to thoughts about my daughter. How would I feel if someone wanted to kill her? What would I do? Would I violate my own rules and ethics?
I try reading again. Maybe I can relax enough to get through a few pages.
I hear a ping. Mirafe has texted someone. I look at the log. It wasn’t Mirafe who sent the text.
You three go walk around the mall for a bit. I want to finish my coffee in peace.
I will enjoy Erlyn today, but this will be an object lesson for Amelae and Mirafe. Right now I need to start the tablet again and put some things in motion. Dany will get a text, sending him on a snipe hunt along with his mother. I need to get him out of town. At fourteen, it is far easier to make that happen if ‘mother dearest’ is part of the package.
Our two potential murderers have their own problems. There are others who have been looking for them and their boss. A few well designed text messages, allegedly from numbers the others know, will work just fine. Spoofing outgoing caller ID’s is easy enough if you can access a PBX using a PRI outbound line.
It takes twenty minutes, but the work is done. Now we wait for the result.
I text Amelae. I forgot to tell her to confiscate Erlyn’s phone. She needs to do it immediately. Once that is done, they are to meet back with me. It is time to go.
I get a text back almost immediately from Mirafe. Erlyn is fighting with Amelae. The girl is refusing to give up her phone. I text back. OK just keep her busy for a couple of minutes and stop trying to take the phone. Just don’t let her use it. I will text back soon.
I know her number and I stole her IMEI1 when she was with me at Bo’s. Logging in through the Talk ‘N Text servers. I find the right code and essentially brick both her phone and her SIM card. She will be unable to use the phone on the Talk ‘N Text network. She would need to buy another SIM from a different network. She can never get her old number back. It takes ten minutes, but it is done.
I send another text to my two stalwarts, OK just come to Bo’s with her.
Two minutes later, they are approaching, and Erlyn is screaming. I just do not like this kid. When they get close enough I can tell that she is accusing the girls of damaging her phone.
Erlyn, do you want to die today? Do you? Because if you keep this up, I will allow it to happen. Neither of these two, who at least were your friends before you started acting like an ass, damaged you phone. I bricked it.
What?! How?!
You need to learn some lessons. The first is that I am not to be disobeyed… ever! If I am, you will suffer. I told the girls to take your phone because I didn’t want you using it for a few days. You refused and so I killed the phone myself. … You have two minutes to convince me not to just walk away from you.
You can’t! The contract!
The contract allows me to release you and your soul whenever I want. You are bound to me. I, Erlyn, am not bound to you. You have used up thirty seconds of your time.
Tell me how you kill my phone!
No. … Amelae, Mirafe, let’s go. I have had enough. She isn’t worth saving. At this moment, Erlyn doesn’t know that she won’t be killed as soon as we leave her here. She has no way of knowing what I have done. My two know not to argue with me and they fall in as I walk away.
We get to the second floor of the parking area garage before I hear the footfalls of Erlyn running towards us. I ignore it. As we approach the Everest, my fob unlocks the doors and I get in as do three girls.
Turning around toward the back seat, I speak my mind. Erlyn, you need to get out.
I need your help, Po. Please.
It is no good. You are either unable or unwilling to submit. I do not need to bother punishing you as you will be dead soon anyway. There are many souls I can gather. I don’t need to bother with yours.
No more problems. I promise. I will be good. I will do what you say. Please save my brother.
I told you earlier that even if I keep him alive for a few days, he will surely die. There is nothing I can do about that. So he will not die today. But he still will die in a matter of days. So will your mother. I told you this. It was only you who would live a long life. You chose to ignore my warning and sign your own mother’s death warrant. I kept my part of the bargain. If you do not seek them out, right now; if you stay away from all of them and of the others, whose company they keep, they will live a few more days. But if you go to them, you will now all die.
Po, Ninong! I was stupid. I sorry! Truly. Please help me. No more problems. I promise. Just please take care of Arjun, Eryl, and Rykel.
I already have.
What? How?
How, is none of your business. Just as how I bricked your phone is none of your business. Are we clear on that?
Po, you never left Bo’s coffee. But you do all that?
Yes.
May I stay with you please?
Maybe you need more time to understand the power that exists. We will go back into the mall. Amelae and Mirafe will stay with you for the next hour. After that we will meet to eat a lunch here at the Mandarin Restaurant at noon. That may be enough time. There is to be absolutely no use of any cell phones. No exceptions. OK girls, out!
I go back to Bo’s, order more coffee and read the news online. It’s as good a way to kill time as any other and costs far less. I am also watching some of the SMS traffic via logs. It seems that things are about to get bloody.
I am not a fan of the Mandarin, but it is one of those places that doesn’t get super busy with a lunch crowd. That affords us some privacy during the meal. The Mandarin is one of those restaurants that sells Chinese food that really isn’t Chinese. How do I know that? Here’s the first clue. They have General Tao Chicken on the menu. Go figure. So what do the girls order? Chicken Chow Mein, sautéed vegetables that includes broccoli. Whatever.
The food won’t make you sick and it is quiet in there. At least it is quiet for forty-five minutes. But at that point both Amelae and Mirafe’s phones go nuts. There are five people dead just two streets away from the Church. The messages say that they were killed in a shootout with the police. The girls know the place. It is the street Erlyn lives on. Photos are sent over Facebook messenger. None are Dany or Erlyn’s mother. When Erlyn looks at who is dead, she stops eating and starts shaking.
Erlyn, three of them, Rykel and the other two, are the three we spoke about before. The other two are your friend Chona and a young man who runs packets for your mother, correct?
Erlyn cries out, There can’t be a shootout! Chona not have a gun! The Police kill her?
Those police run shabu too. It is a rival group. Rykel thinks theirs is spiked with strychnine and it is killing people. In this case Rykel was the good guy.
How? How? You know them? How you know this?
No. I have never seen them. Never. And how I know things is none of your concern.
But you know why Chona and the boy dead?
Your mother asked them to deliver shabu for her and Dany as they had to leave town.
How you know?
Erlyn do I have to tell you again. I am not going to explain. I told you I would do as you asked in payment for your soul. It happened. Your soul is mine.
Erlyn doesn’t need to know I was watching her mother’s text messages while sitting at Bo’s. For her, it is seeming to be magical. And for her, it better be as she is a handful of difficulties all wrapped up in a 4’ 9” package. The next days will be instructive for Mirafe, at least. I am no longer concerned about Amelae at all.
Still it is Amelae who speaks. Last night you said that if you saved Erlyn, another would die. You said we had to choose, Erlyn or someone else. It seemed easy last night. But, Master, I know Chona. She is a friend. I not know she do this shabu, but she is a friend. Last night, we did not know Chona would die. Now I know. By saving one friend, I killed another. It like you say. You don’t kill. But interfering with one death by violence may simply lead to another. I not know what to think. I am glad, Erlyn is not dead. But I maybe killed Chona.
Amelae, all those who swim in those waters are asking to die early. You asked me to save Erlyn. I did it. Chona chose to run shabu and didn’t ask for help. That was her choice. You did not kill her. But it is important to remember that asking me to save a life that will be lost to violence is not something you should do without understanding the consequences. Also, this is not over. The only way Dany and Erlyn’s mother will live is if they never return. Even then, I can’t be sure they will survive. If they return, they will die. Of that I am sure.
Now it is Erlyn who asks, You will kill them?
I kill no one. I just cannot stop those who want your mother and brother dead. I can do many things. But I cannot do that. The only one I can keep alive right now is you and I was only able to do it because Chona would die in your place. I am not allowed to kill and with the exception of some very narrow guidelines, I am not allowed to help someone in harm’s way of a bullet. Even you, Erlyn, may yet die unless you do exactly what I tell you to do without exception. One mistake and you will die in spite of what I have done. Using your phone just once will be enough to tip the scales against survival. Is that clear.
Yes, Po. It is clear.
Is it also clear that your soul belongs to me?
Yes, Po. It is clear.
Is it clear that from now on, until the day you die, you, Erlyn, belong to me?
Why that?
Because, for me to control and own your soul, I must control the vessel that contains it. Think of your soul as water. That is what you have sold me. Can you give me the water without the glass that contains it?
Oh! I not understand that part of the contract where it talk about the possession of the vessel. I am the vessel?
Yes, you are the vessel.
So when I sold my soul, I sold myself?
Yes.
That is a trick!
Even if it was a trick, what were your other options? Do you want to leave? I will relinquish the hold on your soul and you can leave.
Yes, I see. I not like, but I see. I will not leave.
So are we clear now?
Yes Po. I am yours. It clear.
OK. Let’s go home.
Things are silent inside the Everest as we traverse the streets. Each of the three has a lot to chew on. For me, there is less now. The only question revolves around Erlyn. We will see.
Entering the house, Amelae and Mirafe immediately disrobe and instruct Erlyn to do likewise. The girl is just not wanting to get with the program. I am about to do something drastic when Amelae slaps the girl across the face and tells her that she is to do as told or Hell will really break loose and it will not be a saying. You will be the real damned, you fool!’ Don’t you get it? He is not human!
Of course I am human. And of course, I am not the devil. But they seem to have no other way to categorize me. I can say there is no God and no Devil. I can say it for all eternity. It makes no difference. It is how their minds work.
And so, Erlyn does disrobe. She is then pulled into the bedroom to be ‘prepared.’ As they drag her along, they are telling her what comes next. In that process, she swivels around to look at me just before the door closes behind her.
It takes a good forty minutes before the three appear. Erlyn looks none too happy. The girls place her on the table. Mirafe drapes the cloth over her head.
I signal to two to walk away from Erlyn. I take a moment to give them instructions. Each is to suck on a breast, massage a temple with one hand and cooperate with each other as they play with Erlyn’s clit. I get no pushback.
The music blares. The incense fills the room with aromas of vanilla, cinnamon and sandalwood. Oil is applied but I avoid the breasts. My phallus is well lubricated and I enter deep into virgin territory, yet again. All this is totally new to Erlyn. The sensations are so many and so varied that she is having real trouble sorting out what she is feeling. All that is clear is that she is being stimulated in a way that defies description.
A river is pouring from between Erlyn’s legs. We push her on and on, until it is clear that she is going to be unable to sustain much more. I deposit my seed and back off.
The two know the drill. I hear them telling Erlyn what happens next. As they move toward the bedroom, Amelae turns, a bit, to say, We will come out for supper, Master. And then the bedroom door closes.
I set up a trap on both Amelae and Mirafe’s cell phones. It’s not that I don’t trust them. I am worried that Erlyn will grab one and send a text of her own. I need to know it, if she does. If she wants to kill herself, OK, I can’t stop her, but I do not want bad guys coming here.
I continue to monitor the SMS traffic in the network that Erlyn’s family swam in. There is great confusion and anger. Someone is asking where Dany and Erlyn went. Had they set Rykel and his guys up to be killed? It sure seems that way to some of them. Others are saying, why would they do that? The answer comes and it is a story about the packets that Dany lost. They don’t know about Erlyn, but they now connect Dany and his Mom. If those two show up, they are dead.
I text the Mom, spoofing Erlyn’s now dead cell number. All are looking to kill you and Dany. I am in hiding. Do not come back. Never come back! Do not look for me. If you do we all die. Last text! I am removing the SIM and smashing the phone so no one ever sees this. Love you. Bye forever!
The Mom answers but she will not get a reply.
The supper food is laid upon the table and all three girls join me. Erlyn is fidgeting. I gather it is because she is naked. The others tease her. It isn’t helping but I doubt it is hurting. I ignore it.
Po?
Erlyn, when in this house you will call me Master and nothing else.
Master? Are Dany and my Mother OK?
I do not know.
Are they alive?
Yes, for the moment they are alive.
How you know this?
Erlyn, stop asking me questions like that. I am not going to tell you how I know things, or how I do things. All you need to know is that I tell you the truth and if I don’t know something, I will tell you that too.
She is quiet for a bit, but she is far from happy.
The rest of the meal is eaten in silence. There is the beginning of an idea, possibly between Amelae and Mirafe, that it was a mistake to step in. No, it is not that they hate Erlyn. It’s just that we can’t really help her. Erlyn is not fitting in and in the end she will most likely leave and then subsequently die. I haven’t said a word about this. But I can see it in their continence.
After dinner as the girls excuse themselves so that they might watch the teleserye, Mirafe whispers that Erlyn is in no condition for another fucking tonight.
I guess I am not surprised. As it is, I am not wanting any of them at the moment. I retire to a book and the screens that are tracking the SMS traffic.
There is a frantic search going on for Dany and his Mother. One person is asking about Erlyn. Right now, no one else is echoing that.
I am pretty sure I know how this is going to end.
I pick up a book that I have been reading and try to relax. My shoulders are tight, I am edgy and just uncomfortable. I pour myself a brandy and return to the book. But I can’t concentrate. My mind wanders to thoughts about my daughter. How would I feel if someone wanted to kill her? What would I do? Would I violate my own rules and ethics?
I try reading again. Maybe I can relax enough to get through a few pages.
I hear a ping. Mirafe has texted someone. I look at the log. It wasn’t Mirafe who sent the text.
Re: English Novel - Soul by very well aged
Chapter 7: Have some sympathy, and some taste.
The text itself isn’t going to cause me any trouble, but it does set things in motion. I know what is about to happen, and I have a pretty good guess of how it will end.
There is nothing I need to do now, and no one I need to contact. I swirl the brandy in my glass. The mostly flat wide bottom and the gradually curved sides provide my hand a comfortable way to gently warm the liquid, and the sides keep it on the lower reaches of the glass as it swirls, releasing its aroma. Its essence. The taste is not harsh like that of even the best whiskies. It is mellow. The alcohol is only 80 proof. But I don’t drink it to get drunk. Why some seek a high proof is beyond me.
The distilled wine slides over my tongue and down my throat without complaint. The warmth of it does still my previously uneasy aspect. Things are settling. Not as one might wish, but rather as it needs to be.
Accepting reality, and accommodating the results, allows for both compassion and understanding.
I finish a chapter before deciding it is time to sleep.
I am up and about at four in the morning. That is early enough the watch Erlyn slip out of the bedroom, clothed and make her way to the front door. She does not see me. She does not know I have removed the security measures that would have inhibited her from leaving. She makes her way out, and is gone.
I am still on my first mug of coffee. The sun has yet to rise.
I am on my second cup when Amelae appears from the bedroom. She looks a bit panicky. She is looking around and in a moment of surprise sees me rather than the girl for whom she was searching.
Sit down. You can stop your search. Erlyn is gone.
You allow this?
I do not force anyone to stay. Each of you is fully informed of the consequences of your choices. Each of you then chooses. It is called Free Will. Each of you has that. But Free Will does not make the consequences plastic to your desires. Consequences are real and often immutable. … We all operate in this world in that manner. Erlyn was fully informed on the matter. She, never-the-less, chose a path that will probably see her killed. That she is hoping that she will live, and that she will see her brother again, is driving her in spite of what she has been told. She just doesn’t ‘believe.’ She is sure that all I have done are tricks and once she is gone, she can control the outcome.
She will die?
Yes, I think she will.
So we chose the wrong one! We killed Chona for no reason!
It is not clear how long Chona might have lived. Death in her line of work is more than an occupational hazard.
I know this is weird, but I need to feel you inside me. I feel empty, scared.
I understand and I am more than willing to take you, but you have not thought about Mirafe.
Why? She sleeps.
And when she wakes? You are not to be found. I am not to be found. Erlyn is not to be found? Erlyn’s clothing is gone. What does she think? How does she feel? What will she do?
Oh. I not think. What we do?
Wake Mirafe. Be close to her and tell her what has happen. Then if you still want, I will be here in the house.
Amelae returns to her bedroom. I retrieve my tablet. I can see enough from that for now. Erlyn has no cellphone. She can text no one. Her mother is a different story. She can and is texting. What she does not know, cannot know, is that she is texting the very people who want her and Dany dead. By the time she and they meet up, Erlyn will be with her. I am not all knowing. Maybe the family survives this, but if I was a bookmaker, the odds would be heavily against that outcome. I would have better odds of winning a superfecta[1], by throwing darts at a board while blindfolded.
I can see what starts as a trickle of text messages, becomes a volley of confirmations in regards to a suggested plan. And then the messages are silent. What will likely occur has been agreed to by the actors. All now go about their lives without further comment.
For me, there is the need to add another girl, here. She, who will be the third. I have four possible candidates. It is time to look into each one. I do not need another Erlyn.
An hour later, I know I have two possible candidates and two I just don’t know enough about. For those, I need more information and it is not clear that the girls will be able to enlarge on what I have now. Still there are the two and I really only need to add one more. And, maybe I really don’t need to add any more at all. I suspect Mirafe will now not be a concern for me. Possibly the only reason to add a third, is because I told the girls I would and to change my mind now might suggest I was fallible. That is something I ought to avoid at the moment.
I concentrate on the two possible ones and am still digging when the girls tap my shoulder.
Yes? It looks like they have both been crying.
Amelae inquires, Any news?
About Erlyn?
Yes, Master.
No, and I don’t expect any until this afternoon.
What then?
Then there will be news. I haven’t had any breakfast yet, have you girls eaten?
No, Master.
OK, let’s have a bite.
After, may we be with you? Will you fill us? We both need this.
I am not sure how I fill both of you, but yes, after we eat, we will see how this works.
Do I enjoy sex? Sure. Yes. Am I a satyr? No.
In truth I didn’t select these girls to be a harem as much as to see what it might take to get them to see that all they believe is pure bunk. At each step along the way, I have been over playing the thing, while trying to stay in character. Still, rather than getting them to slowly perceive the craziness of such beliefs, it appears that I have become a deity.
I initially hoped that I could get three girls to grasp the craziness of such beliefs. I hoped they might be my assistants in defrocking the charlatans. That will not happen.
I have progressively allowed them to see that I am the one setting the table. That they smell the incense because there is a fan. I thought by the third time they saw a contract disappear, that they would have figured out I was using flash paper.
In the beginning I didn’t want to walk away from the role and hid some of that because I was afraid of the angry backlash. Now? Now I am afraid of what I will do to their psyches. These two seem to be convinced that I am not really human. Telling them I am will have no impact. Them seeing me starting the fan or setting the food out doesn’t seem to matter. They will not believe that I am not a real deity.
So what am I to do with these girls now? Am I to found a new religion?
I read once that the problem with satire is that it actually doesn’t work for those you are skewering. They think the satire is truth. Satire only plays to the folks who are already inclined to make fun of that which is being satirized. It happened to me as a student journalist. I wrote a broadly over the top piece. What happened? I won an award from the very folks I was poking fun at. It was not a small award. It was a national award.
Maybe I should have remembered that before I started all this. But my concern is a little too late. I had better eat a bunch of Durian. They say it is an aphrodisiac. It looks like I am going to need all the help I can get. I sneak a DriveMax pill when I go to the bathroom.
Our breakfast is a quiet and sober repast. The girls are thinking about Erlyn. I am really not. I am trying to sort out who the next girl will be. Sure, I am sad for Erlyn, but she is fully responsible for each of the three deaths she will cause today. No one in the world will be more to blame than she is. Even the guys who kill her are not as much to blame, at least for the potential loss of her life as she is. And as to the loss of her mother’s life, she too is the proximate cause of that already. Even if that death was not to happen today, it was going to happen because of her choices. I can feel sympathy. But I feel not a scintilla of responsibility. And so my mind is on two other girls. Ones I have never met.
As the meal ends, Amelae receives a text. Her mother needs her. They need to go back to the hospital. Her mother is having an adverse reaction to a drug that was prescribed at the last visit to the hospital. Her uncle still has money for additional meds. Nothing is needed in that regard. I tell Amelae that she is to call me before any trip to the cashier. She simply doesn’t put two and two together. She simply acknowledges that she will do it.
Twenty minutes later Amelae is gone and I am alone with Mirafe. It wasn’t that long ago that Mirafe was really pissed with me for jamming her up regarding the family taxes. Now?
Master will you lie down with me?
I take Mirafe to her bedroom, disrobe and join her under the sheet. I bring her to me, just to hold her and comfort her. She is enjoying it, but snakes her hand down to my penis. I am hard but not rigid. She strokes me, bringing forth desire and need.
I slide into her, eliciting sighs of pleasure and contentment. We have no clock on us and no appointments we need to keep. I am in no hurry. Mirafe needs to feel a connection. That is what I am providing. It is a physical connection. It is a meaningful connection. There is a reality to it. It doesn’t require an act of faith.
This is the first time we actually make love in a normal fashion. It is not a ceremony. There is no music or incense. There are no clamps. It is just the two of us, on a mattress, fucking away, if not like rabbits, then at least like lovers.
I am not trying to ‘get her off.’ I am trying to ‘be with her.’ To give her a sense of safety, before a girl, who slept in her bed last night, gets gunned down today.
Mirafe’s arms are around me. She needs to feel me firmly against her small body. Her fingers almost dig into my flesh, as she grasps me to her. Small noises escape from her that bear no resemblance to language.
We rut on and on. We burn through the time, taking no notice. But eventually both of us feel a need for completion. I sense it in her, and possibly she in me?
My cum enters her and she seems at peace with that fact. There is no fear of an unwanted pregnancy that so animated her before. We rest in each other’s arms.
Master?
Yes?
Is this want you mean when you say you care for us? There is a giggle that follows. I say nothing. I kiss her forehead.
A few minutes later I tell her I have work to do. I ask her about one of the girls that I am researching. The answers match what I have been seeing. It is time for me to get up and I do, telling her to rest. That is good for my seed if she does. She only smiles and says, Yes Master.
I see to a lunch meal and then check the SMS traffic. I have some catching up to do. All remain alive for the moment. I spend a little time checking some additional aspects of the girl I spoke to Mirafe about. Maybe she will be the one. It looks promising.
I notice some new SMS traffic just as a text comes in to my phone. Amelae has just received the note to take to the cashier.
It doesn’t take more than two minutes to get the money into the correct account and log out. I text back… Just saw the message, please tell your Mother that she has my attention. See you this afternoon?
Twenty minutes later I get her reply. I will be back before four. Everything goes OK. Funny thing today. All OK. I will tell when I get home.
I wonder if I can see who logged into her Mom’s account and when. I log back in. I can see the account access history in the administrative logs. There were four logins to her Mom’s account. The first one was about ten minutes before I got the text. It was the person posting the charge. Then a second access from the cashier’s PC about a minute later. It is three minutes before Amelae texts me that she is about to go to the cashier. Next I see my previous login which is only a minute after the text I received. Finally a four minutes later I see the cashier again.
I can’t wait to hear how Amelae processed what happened today.
My mind shifts to Erlyn. For the first time since I met the girl, I have the sense that she believes that she failed in so many ways. There is no SMS traffic at the moment. All is silent. It is happening… right now.
I leave the screens, and return to Mirafe rejoining her on the bed. I put my arms around her and rest. Mirafe snuggles in.
We eat a late lunch before she excuses herself to watch some of Showtime. I return to my book. Neither of us wants to know what has happened with Erlyn and her family. It is best left alone.
I am still reading and Mirafe is still watching TV when Amelae returns. She is ebullient, plopping down on my lap and giving me a kiss, something I certainly did not expect.
OK, why the happy stuff?
You! You!!! Ha! Why the fools pray to a false God? You are God!
I am not God. That guy is an AssWipe! So what happened?
The Cashier. Master, she see me before they hand me the bill, and decide she will see what I have put into the account. They already posted the bill before they give it to me. She see that I have a charge to pay. She watch me the whole time from then on to see how I make the bill go to zero. But, of course, I not do anything! That is you! When I get to the cashier, she is sneering, and say I have a bill to pay. I say I do not, that it is paid! She call me a liar. She say she has already checked. I say, ‘you check again.’ She do and then she scream. She say, ‘not possible!’ How it done? How I trick them. I say I not trick anyone. I say it is the work of the divine. I say you protect me and my mother because my soul is in your hands. She cross herself. I laugh and say, ‘Ha, that a false God!’ and walk away. Everyone moves away from me. Some kneel down! The doctors who treat my mother say, ‘No more bills. You come and we will take care of you. Just do not get angry with us.’ I say OK.
And that is how religions start. Yup, sure enough, that is no different from when we had Jesus do the water and wine trick. It doesn’t take much. And Amelae? Will they see her as a disciple? How many miracles does it take?
Master, my Mother say she will pray to you, but not know your name. I tell her to pray to the Master. She say OK. From now on, no praying to God. She will pray to our Master. Someone hear us and ask, ‘If I pray to your Master, will I go to heaven?’ I tell him, ‘Master say that there no heaven, and no hell. It just a con. The thing is to be good here. Here is what matters.’ That right, Master? I say right?
You said fine. I don’t think I could have said it any better. I couldn’t, but my life is now in danger. It’s not the drug lords who will kill me. It is the Church. They will need me dead and dead soon, before it becomes too late to stop the results, even if I am dead.
Amelae, it is good news that they will not bill your mother. That means you do not need to go back there. It is a good thing because I am fearful of what the priests will do to you if you return.
Oh! I have not thought of that. OK. I understand. Like Jesus, right?
Yes, exactly.
I do wrong?
No, but we need to be more careful.
Yes, Master. Thank you for not being angry with me for the sin of my pride.
Amelae, there is no sin. I am happy you are proud. It is just that in this case, it might have bad results for us. I am not angry, because there is nothing to be angry about. You obeyed me entirely.
And that gets another hug and two more kisses. There are definite benefits to being a divine.
The text itself isn’t going to cause me any trouble, but it does set things in motion. I know what is about to happen, and I have a pretty good guess of how it will end.
There is nothing I need to do now, and no one I need to contact. I swirl the brandy in my glass. The mostly flat wide bottom and the gradually curved sides provide my hand a comfortable way to gently warm the liquid, and the sides keep it on the lower reaches of the glass as it swirls, releasing its aroma. Its essence. The taste is not harsh like that of even the best whiskies. It is mellow. The alcohol is only 80 proof. But I don’t drink it to get drunk. Why some seek a high proof is beyond me.
The distilled wine slides over my tongue and down my throat without complaint. The warmth of it does still my previously uneasy aspect. Things are settling. Not as one might wish, but rather as it needs to be.
Accepting reality, and accommodating the results, allows for both compassion and understanding.
I finish a chapter before deciding it is time to sleep.
I am up and about at four in the morning. That is early enough the watch Erlyn slip out of the bedroom, clothed and make her way to the front door. She does not see me. She does not know I have removed the security measures that would have inhibited her from leaving. She makes her way out, and is gone.
I am still on my first mug of coffee. The sun has yet to rise.
I am on my second cup when Amelae appears from the bedroom. She looks a bit panicky. She is looking around and in a moment of surprise sees me rather than the girl for whom she was searching.
Sit down. You can stop your search. Erlyn is gone.
You allow this?
I do not force anyone to stay. Each of you is fully informed of the consequences of your choices. Each of you then chooses. It is called Free Will. Each of you has that. But Free Will does not make the consequences plastic to your desires. Consequences are real and often immutable. … We all operate in this world in that manner. Erlyn was fully informed on the matter. She, never-the-less, chose a path that will probably see her killed. That she is hoping that she will live, and that she will see her brother again, is driving her in spite of what she has been told. She just doesn’t ‘believe.’ She is sure that all I have done are tricks and once she is gone, she can control the outcome.
She will die?
Yes, I think she will.
So we chose the wrong one! We killed Chona for no reason!
It is not clear how long Chona might have lived. Death in her line of work is more than an occupational hazard.
I know this is weird, but I need to feel you inside me. I feel empty, scared.
I understand and I am more than willing to take you, but you have not thought about Mirafe.
Why? She sleeps.
And when she wakes? You are not to be found. I am not to be found. Erlyn is not to be found? Erlyn’s clothing is gone. What does she think? How does she feel? What will she do?
Oh. I not think. What we do?
Wake Mirafe. Be close to her and tell her what has happen. Then if you still want, I will be here in the house.
Amelae returns to her bedroom. I retrieve my tablet. I can see enough from that for now. Erlyn has no cellphone. She can text no one. Her mother is a different story. She can and is texting. What she does not know, cannot know, is that she is texting the very people who want her and Dany dead. By the time she and they meet up, Erlyn will be with her. I am not all knowing. Maybe the family survives this, but if I was a bookmaker, the odds would be heavily against that outcome. I would have better odds of winning a superfecta[1], by throwing darts at a board while blindfolded.
I can see what starts as a trickle of text messages, becomes a volley of confirmations in regards to a suggested plan. And then the messages are silent. What will likely occur has been agreed to by the actors. All now go about their lives without further comment.
For me, there is the need to add another girl, here. She, who will be the third. I have four possible candidates. It is time to look into each one. I do not need another Erlyn.
An hour later, I know I have two possible candidates and two I just don’t know enough about. For those, I need more information and it is not clear that the girls will be able to enlarge on what I have now. Still there are the two and I really only need to add one more. And, maybe I really don’t need to add any more at all. I suspect Mirafe will now not be a concern for me. Possibly the only reason to add a third, is because I told the girls I would and to change my mind now might suggest I was fallible. That is something I ought to avoid at the moment.
I concentrate on the two possible ones and am still digging when the girls tap my shoulder.
Yes? It looks like they have both been crying.
Amelae inquires, Any news?
About Erlyn?
Yes, Master.
No, and I don’t expect any until this afternoon.
What then?
Then there will be news. I haven’t had any breakfast yet, have you girls eaten?
No, Master.
OK, let’s have a bite.
After, may we be with you? Will you fill us? We both need this.
I am not sure how I fill both of you, but yes, after we eat, we will see how this works.
Do I enjoy sex? Sure. Yes. Am I a satyr? No.
In truth I didn’t select these girls to be a harem as much as to see what it might take to get them to see that all they believe is pure bunk. At each step along the way, I have been over playing the thing, while trying to stay in character. Still, rather than getting them to slowly perceive the craziness of such beliefs, it appears that I have become a deity.
I initially hoped that I could get three girls to grasp the craziness of such beliefs. I hoped they might be my assistants in defrocking the charlatans. That will not happen.
I have progressively allowed them to see that I am the one setting the table. That they smell the incense because there is a fan. I thought by the third time they saw a contract disappear, that they would have figured out I was using flash paper.
In the beginning I didn’t want to walk away from the role and hid some of that because I was afraid of the angry backlash. Now? Now I am afraid of what I will do to their psyches. These two seem to be convinced that I am not really human. Telling them I am will have no impact. Them seeing me starting the fan or setting the food out doesn’t seem to matter. They will not believe that I am not a real deity.
So what am I to do with these girls now? Am I to found a new religion?
I read once that the problem with satire is that it actually doesn’t work for those you are skewering. They think the satire is truth. Satire only plays to the folks who are already inclined to make fun of that which is being satirized. It happened to me as a student journalist. I wrote a broadly over the top piece. What happened? I won an award from the very folks I was poking fun at. It was not a small award. It was a national award.
Maybe I should have remembered that before I started all this. But my concern is a little too late. I had better eat a bunch of Durian. They say it is an aphrodisiac. It looks like I am going to need all the help I can get. I sneak a DriveMax pill when I go to the bathroom.
Our breakfast is a quiet and sober repast. The girls are thinking about Erlyn. I am really not. I am trying to sort out who the next girl will be. Sure, I am sad for Erlyn, but she is fully responsible for each of the three deaths she will cause today. No one in the world will be more to blame than she is. Even the guys who kill her are not as much to blame, at least for the potential loss of her life as she is. And as to the loss of her mother’s life, she too is the proximate cause of that already. Even if that death was not to happen today, it was going to happen because of her choices. I can feel sympathy. But I feel not a scintilla of responsibility. And so my mind is on two other girls. Ones I have never met.
As the meal ends, Amelae receives a text. Her mother needs her. They need to go back to the hospital. Her mother is having an adverse reaction to a drug that was prescribed at the last visit to the hospital. Her uncle still has money for additional meds. Nothing is needed in that regard. I tell Amelae that she is to call me before any trip to the cashier. She simply doesn’t put two and two together. She simply acknowledges that she will do it.
Twenty minutes later Amelae is gone and I am alone with Mirafe. It wasn’t that long ago that Mirafe was really pissed with me for jamming her up regarding the family taxes. Now?
Master will you lie down with me?
I take Mirafe to her bedroom, disrobe and join her under the sheet. I bring her to me, just to hold her and comfort her. She is enjoying it, but snakes her hand down to my penis. I am hard but not rigid. She strokes me, bringing forth desire and need.
I slide into her, eliciting sighs of pleasure and contentment. We have no clock on us and no appointments we need to keep. I am in no hurry. Mirafe needs to feel a connection. That is what I am providing. It is a physical connection. It is a meaningful connection. There is a reality to it. It doesn’t require an act of faith.
This is the first time we actually make love in a normal fashion. It is not a ceremony. There is no music or incense. There are no clamps. It is just the two of us, on a mattress, fucking away, if not like rabbits, then at least like lovers.
I am not trying to ‘get her off.’ I am trying to ‘be with her.’ To give her a sense of safety, before a girl, who slept in her bed last night, gets gunned down today.
Mirafe’s arms are around me. She needs to feel me firmly against her small body. Her fingers almost dig into my flesh, as she grasps me to her. Small noises escape from her that bear no resemblance to language.
We rut on and on. We burn through the time, taking no notice. But eventually both of us feel a need for completion. I sense it in her, and possibly she in me?
My cum enters her and she seems at peace with that fact. There is no fear of an unwanted pregnancy that so animated her before. We rest in each other’s arms.
Master?
Yes?
Is this want you mean when you say you care for us? There is a giggle that follows. I say nothing. I kiss her forehead.
A few minutes later I tell her I have work to do. I ask her about one of the girls that I am researching. The answers match what I have been seeing. It is time for me to get up and I do, telling her to rest. That is good for my seed if she does. She only smiles and says, Yes Master.
I see to a lunch meal and then check the SMS traffic. I have some catching up to do. All remain alive for the moment. I spend a little time checking some additional aspects of the girl I spoke to Mirafe about. Maybe she will be the one. It looks promising.
I notice some new SMS traffic just as a text comes in to my phone. Amelae has just received the note to take to the cashier.
It doesn’t take more than two minutes to get the money into the correct account and log out. I text back… Just saw the message, please tell your Mother that she has my attention. See you this afternoon?
Twenty minutes later I get her reply. I will be back before four. Everything goes OK. Funny thing today. All OK. I will tell when I get home.
I wonder if I can see who logged into her Mom’s account and when. I log back in. I can see the account access history in the administrative logs. There were four logins to her Mom’s account. The first one was about ten minutes before I got the text. It was the person posting the charge. Then a second access from the cashier’s PC about a minute later. It is three minutes before Amelae texts me that she is about to go to the cashier. Next I see my previous login which is only a minute after the text I received. Finally a four minutes later I see the cashier again.
I can’t wait to hear how Amelae processed what happened today.
My mind shifts to Erlyn. For the first time since I met the girl, I have the sense that she believes that she failed in so many ways. There is no SMS traffic at the moment. All is silent. It is happening… right now.
I leave the screens, and return to Mirafe rejoining her on the bed. I put my arms around her and rest. Mirafe snuggles in.
We eat a late lunch before she excuses herself to watch some of Showtime. I return to my book. Neither of us wants to know what has happened with Erlyn and her family. It is best left alone.
I am still reading and Mirafe is still watching TV when Amelae returns. She is ebullient, plopping down on my lap and giving me a kiss, something I certainly did not expect.
OK, why the happy stuff?
You! You!!! Ha! Why the fools pray to a false God? You are God!
I am not God. That guy is an AssWipe! So what happened?
The Cashier. Master, she see me before they hand me the bill, and decide she will see what I have put into the account. They already posted the bill before they give it to me. She see that I have a charge to pay. She watch me the whole time from then on to see how I make the bill go to zero. But, of course, I not do anything! That is you! When I get to the cashier, she is sneering, and say I have a bill to pay. I say I do not, that it is paid! She call me a liar. She say she has already checked. I say, ‘you check again.’ She do and then she scream. She say, ‘not possible!’ How it done? How I trick them. I say I not trick anyone. I say it is the work of the divine. I say you protect me and my mother because my soul is in your hands. She cross herself. I laugh and say, ‘Ha, that a false God!’ and walk away. Everyone moves away from me. Some kneel down! The doctors who treat my mother say, ‘No more bills. You come and we will take care of you. Just do not get angry with us.’ I say OK.
And that is how religions start. Yup, sure enough, that is no different from when we had Jesus do the water and wine trick. It doesn’t take much. And Amelae? Will they see her as a disciple? How many miracles does it take?
Master, my Mother say she will pray to you, but not know your name. I tell her to pray to the Master. She say OK. From now on, no praying to God. She will pray to our Master. Someone hear us and ask, ‘If I pray to your Master, will I go to heaven?’ I tell him, ‘Master say that there no heaven, and no hell. It just a con. The thing is to be good here. Here is what matters.’ That right, Master? I say right?
You said fine. I don’t think I could have said it any better. I couldn’t, but my life is now in danger. It’s not the drug lords who will kill me. It is the Church. They will need me dead and dead soon, before it becomes too late to stop the results, even if I am dead.
Amelae, it is good news that they will not bill your mother. That means you do not need to go back there. It is a good thing because I am fearful of what the priests will do to you if you return.
Oh! I have not thought of that. OK. I understand. Like Jesus, right?
Yes, exactly.
I do wrong?
No, but we need to be more careful.
Yes, Master. Thank you for not being angry with me for the sin of my pride.
Amelae, there is no sin. I am happy you are proud. It is just that in this case, it might have bad results for us. I am not angry, because there is nothing to be angry about. You obeyed me entirely.
And that gets another hug and two more kisses. There are definite benefits to being a divine.