Chapter 8: Jig-Saw Puzzle
There are definite drawbacks with being perceived as divine. The primary one is that others get really pissed off as you are raining on their parade.
Being a magician is OK. You are a sideshow. A carny act. Being a divine is something else entirely. The first thing is that it seems that everyone has a vested interest in proving that the claim is bunk. And so I have to send the dogs on a very nasty and false trail.
The first dog contacts Amelae only an hour after she returns home. It is a text. Where is your Master?
I am standing next to her as she types, Hindi ko alam1.
How to you know him?
He just appears out of nowhere. I cannot summons him. I have not seen him for a while. All I know is that he takes care of my Nanay.2
Why does he do that?
He said, ‘Sell me your soul and I will take care of your Mother until she dies.”
You see him after that?
No.
What he look like?
Smoke.
That it? Just smoke?
Oo3.
What else he say?
He say, “God” is not real God. He say there is no Devil. All silly talk. He say, no heaven, no hell. He not give life. He not take life. He can only make life a little easier for some. Soul is a vapor at the end of life, not life eternal. He collects vapors. Nothing else.
What else he say?
Never lie about this. If someone ask you to lie, I will know and they will be hurt.
He really say this?
Oo.
What else he say?
Wala na4.
When you pray, does he answer you?
Hindi5. He just takes care of my mother. That is all.
Thank you for your answers.
The volley of texts ends. I am not relieved, but I think the answers will cause both some confusion and a desire to sweep it under the rug. Their bullshit God is selling life eternal. So a competitor, who is not competing for money and is not offering salvation is not a divine they really want to acknowledge. There is nothing to fight. The ‘being is Smoke’ and not walking on the earth. How do you jail, much less kill Smoke? On top of that, this being is doing real ‘miracles,’ giving money instead of taking any money. How do they fight that?
A new text arrives. You must never mention this ‘Master’ again. Your life is a risk.
I am prompting her on her answers.
Why my life at risk? Who want to kill me?
Believers in our Savior.
OK. I not mention the Master, but what happens when he do things? Are you telling me to lie?
Yes, you not know who I am so I cannot be hurt.
I think you are wrong. He is powerful. I worry for you and your family now.
You are a stupid girl. Do as I say.
Tell me that tomorrow. I do not think you understand. Do not text me again until then.
And Amelae turns off her phone. She just doesn’t want to see any more texts. The reality that the texts may be continuing doesn’t seem to connect.
Amelae turns to me. I am sorry for what I say earlier.
Yes I know. There is only one thing you need to know now. I am not angry with you. You are still mine. You are not in trouble with me. Allow me to deal with the others. I need to be alone for a while now.
I get a look that I can only describe as a mix of fear and awe. And then she leaves me, and she enters her bedroom.
I work the connections from her phone back through the logs. I can see a matrix of messages between two priests, a city official and some ranking PNP officers. I can see all the messages of each of them going back for months. It is time to have some fun.
One of the Priests is having an affair with a parishioner. The woman’s husband doesn’t know… or at least he didn’t know until now.
The other is blackmailing another Priest about a matter of incest. … Ooops. The Priest who is being blackmailed just now got informed that if his blackmailer doesn’t die tonight, his secret will be out in the public.
The PNP Captain’s wife is fucking around on him. I warn her that she had better disappear tonight and never return as he will learn of her adultery in the morning. A local newspaper also gets a scoop on how this guy is running drugs as a side business.
The city official has a problem with accepting bribes. A list of them just and, gee wiz by accident, falls into the hands of those who lost bids due to the bribes.
It has taken me a while, and it is late but I am done. Let’s see what the morning brings.
I wander out to grab a bit only to find both girls sitting at the table. Neither is talking. Both look ashen.
It is Mirafe who finds her voice. Master, you hear the news?
No. What is it?
Many things. First, Dany and his mother are dead. Killed. They say others dead too. But no names. No word about Erlyn. Maybe they not know her name.
I see. Is there more?
Yes, much more. It is just now reported. Two Priests were murdered tonight.
Wow. Do we know them?
Amelae know both. They are from her mother’s parish.
Huh. OK. Well that is a lot of news.
Not all.
There is more?
Yes. It just reported, the vice mayor dead from suicide. Also just now Amelae get a text. ‘Tell your God to stop! We not cause any more trouble for you!’
I see. Do you want to answer that?
We did. We say, ‘We not know about this and no way to tell Master to stop. He warn you. I warn you what he say. Now no choice. You not like what Master do? Ask your God to stop it and see if that happen. Then tell me, which is stronger.’ … Master, you did this? You say you not kill.
I can’t and I didn’t. Others did. I didn’t tell anyone to kill anyone. All I did is give others reason to want to kill, or hurt, or forgive. It was up to each one to make a choice.
Amelae is crying. This my fault. I sorry.
This is not your fault. There was no reason to threaten your life. They did it to themselves. They threatened violence, violence found them. It is as it needed to be. It is balance.
But they not threaten you. Only me. You do all this to protect me? Why? When I die you get my soul. Why not now for you?
Amelae, I want you to die of old age. Not before. I will protect you until that time. Then we can both be happy about what I collect.
See, Master, that why I pray to you. Truly, I do.
I didn’t get lucky finding the dirt on those guys. Like I said before, we get the souls of Priests most of the time. They and murderers are the most reliable groups we have. Right behind them are politicians and policemen. Drug dealers, burglars, rapists and lawyers are further down on the list. I would have been far more surprised if I didn’t find anything on any one of those guys.
My best guess is that we will have no other issues in this regard for a while. The word will get out locally to not mess with Amelae’s Master. My concern now is what happens when the word spreads. But that won’t be for a while. Anyway I will monitor some communications just in case.
For a while tonight I just sit on a couch with the girls on either side of me. My arms holding them close. They have missed their teleserye tonight. We turn on the local news only to see reports of that which we have been discussing. In all of it, there is no mention of me or Amelae, or of Erlyn for that matter.
Mirafe asks me what is like to be a god.
I am not a god. Nothing I did today, is something that anyone with the skills I have, could not have done.
Ha! Mortals not have your skills.
No, Mirafe, some do. This is true. I did nothing a human cannot do. I am not a god. I never told you I was a god.
True, you say you are Master. Not Juan. Not Dodong… no, you are Master. Amelae is right to pray to you. May we be with you tonight?
No. I have work to do. You two go to bed. I will see you in the morning.
They do go to bed and I choose the next girl.
This kid has been mind-fucked by a priest, who has her convinced that her heart is filled with such sin that if she doesn’t do as he directs her, she will burn in hell forever. She’s a nervous wreck and is unable to eat without puking.
This priest is pissing me off. I decide it is time to intervene. I send two SMS messages. One to her, supposedly from his phone, telling her to meet him at a specific bench in a park tomorrow at nine in the morning. I send him a text. The number +39-06-698-84300 will display on his phone. It is a number for the Vatican. The message says, ‘His Holiness wishes to inform you that it is required that you stop any and all contact, and all activities with and regarding, young women immediately. There must not be any exception.”
That ought to make things interesting.
I retire for the evening.
I enjoy the early morning. It is cool, and quiet. I catch up on the doings of the previous evening. I have time to think without disturbance. The girls are rarely up before five and often not until a half hour later than that.
There has been not a peep from our obnoxious priest. Nor has there been a peep from our girl. Did she get the text? Yes, I am sure she did.
I see no interesting activity regarding the mess we had with Erlyn. That network, while not silent, has other fish to fry. I see nothing related to the mess we had with Amelae yesterday, other than confusion. None of it is pointing back to us.
I do see one thing of note. I need to speak with Mirafe.
I think I need a passion fruit.
Good morning Master.
Mirafe, come sit by me.
Master?
I have some news. It is not good news, but it is unwise to keep it from you. … I believe your father is in trouble.
But you take care of the taxes on the land!
Yes. That in an odd way is connected to this. Now that the land is safe, your father has been drinking very heavily every day. He is spending all the money your family has for rice. His liver is going to fail. There is nothing I can do for him. But before he dies, he will leave your family without food or money. And he will once again not be paying the land taxes. I cannot help the next time.
I understand. I need to go back home.
Yes, I agree. I want to see you back here by tomorrow night. Understood?
Yes, Master. Master?
Yes?
Thank you for telling me.
I am not sure I did you any favors. There are no good answers. Maybe only less bad ones.
I understand. I know I am only seventeen and maybe a child still to my family. But they need to make a choice. Just as you cannot help them, I cannot do this for them. Still they need to be told. They need to choose. Do I understand correctly?
Yes.
OK I go. I know maybe I not make a difference. My life is not with them. But I can tell them what they need to hear. It then up to them. It is Free Will.
After all that, I get a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
Amelae shows her face fifteen minutes later. She is not bubbly today. The events of yesterday have drained some of that from her.
Girls, I am going to see if we can add Aina. Any questions?
Mirafe asks, When?
I meet her in a little more than two hours.
Oh! OK if I am not here?
Yes, you need to go to your family’s home. Amelae, you look like you want to speak but I do not hear anything.
Master, will there be any more deaths?
Not from what is occurring with Aina.
Good. Master do you know how many die in the past three days?
Yes. It is sad, but it does happen. It is not something that makes me any happier than it does you. … Will you accompany me today?
Really? You want me there?
Yes. This girl is sick. We must bring back her health before she joins with me. She is scared and alone. I need you today. Will you come?
Yes. Of course yes! Master, you not ask. You tell. That is enough.
At nine in the morning, Amelae and I approach the bench. Aina is already there. We sit down, with the girl between us. I have given Amelae the opening lines. After that I figure we will wing it.
He’s not coming Aina.
I know you. Amelae, correct?
Yes. The priest is not coming.
How you know he not come?
Because the divine one, the Master of all, he was the one to send you the message. The Priest will never speak to you again. The Master, he decide it must be this way. He say you have suffered far too long. He say you have no sin to atone for. He say you need to be loved, cherished and made healthy again. He say there is nothing bad in you. He is angry with the priest for scaring you. The Master say, if you believe in him there will never be a hell. You will not burn for eternity. The Master promises this. He says, no sin can make you unworthy. You are worthy, no matter what you may have in your heart. He say he not care if you sin, so long as you accept the Master. The Master say, it is evil for a man to scare you like the priest do. The Master hates such evil and loves sweet hearts like yours.
Who is this Master?
He is the true divine one. He is not a false god who makes you feel pain and fear. But he say, before you know more, he wants you healthier, happier. He wants you more at peace. Then he will allow you to feel the power of the Master. The Master wants you to know these things. There is a soul, but there is no life after death. There is no eternal. Your soul is the perfume of your essence, but it is not you and not your consciousness. The Master will care for your soul when you pass from the earth. But there is no heaven, no hell and no sin. There is only acts of good and bad. Master knows you have done only good. Master say it is only the acts that count. It is time for you to come with us Aina. There is no other path for you.
Will the Master hurt me if I do bad?
No. The only one that hurts you if you do bad, is you.
The priest will be angry. I cannot.
Try to call the priest.
She does try. And someone does answer, but it is not the priest. She asks to speak to him. She is told that the priest has been ordered from the highest of high, that he is not to ever speak to her again. The call ends.
Aina, it is time to go. You need to enter the world of the Master. He has set a place for you. Your time of suffering is over. He has heard and ends it.
She turns to me. Who are you?
I, am the Master.
She faints.
But just for a moment, and then she just seems bewildered. Amelae, takes her elbow and gets the girl to stand. Aina is not stable on her gams but we are able to get her into the Everest for a trip back to the house.
It really didn’t go in a manner I would have preferred but as I was the one to enlist Amelae and give her the speaking part, I don’t have a lot of room to complain. I do have a contract prepared for Aina at the house. At this point I have no idea if she is fully of compos mentis to sign it.
When we reach the house, I see someone slouched down by the side of the gate. Whoever it is seems to be in bad shape. As I was not there, and the guard does not know the person as having rights to enter, the result is what we see.
I roll down the window to speak to the guard as the gate opens. Whoever it is, gets up and moves towards the vehicle. The guard gets between us in an effort to protect me if needed. I cannot see a face, but I hear a voice.
Allow her in, Abner. I know her. I drive into the lot, parking the Everest under the car port.
Amelae and I are assisting Aina out of the vehicle and toward the front door, when the other girl grabs me by my legs, prostrates herself at my feet and kisses them!
English Novel - Soul by very well aged
Re: English Novel - Soul by very well aged
Chapter 9: Parachute Woman
Get up Erlyn! You are here and safe. You don’t need to kiss my feet.
Master, you save my life. You know you do. I know you do. I am alive because you will it. Why I not kiss the feet of my savior?
Get up and come inside.
Amelae already thinks I am a divine being. This crap is just reinforcing that. Aina is in a vulnerable state. She was confused, but I suspect, had sincere and deep doubts about this divine hoo-hah. But now?
I get the assembled inside which only scrambles Aina’s head further as both girls disrobe once the front door is closed.
I can see that there are two problems with Erlyn. For one thing, she is filthy and I do not just mean dirty. I mean filth. The other is that she has what appears to be a flesh wound. It looks like it was caused by a bullet.
Amelae! Take Erlyn into the shower and clean her up now! I am going to call a doctor. She needs help with that wound.
Amelae and Erlyn, naked as they be, leave us. I am left with Aina. I ask her to sit down. She does, as I go to the kitchen and pour both of us a tall cool glass of pineapple juice. I hand Aina a glass, and take a sip from mine.
She say you save her life. She call you her Savior, but you are not Jesus. How are you a Savior?
I am not. I know Erlyn thinks I am. I am not.
I think Amelae think the same thing.
She thinks I am divine. That is different from “Savior.” I have never claimed to be divine. I do collect souls and I will protect you while you live. I cannot give or take life. There is no heaven and there is no hell, so there is no way I can be a savior.
But you saved that girl’s life. She say it.
I know she thinks it. That does not make it true. What is true, is that you are safe. There is no sin. You are a good person. I will protect you, if you sell me your soul.
She takes a sip of the juice. I not talk about my soul. This tastes good. Thank you.
Will you excuse me? I want to call a doctor to look at Erlyn. And while the doctor is here, I want him to look at you. You are painfully thin. I know you haven’t been eating, but I think a check with a doctor is needed.
I cannot afford it.
I am paying. So no problem.
Why you do this?
Because I want to make sure you live a long time.
Why that, if you want my soul?
Because a soul from someone who has lived a long life is the best type of soul there is.
That gets a surprised look. I take my leave of the girl as she sips the juice.
The call doesn’t take long. The doc won’t get here for hours, but at least he is coming. I return to where Aina is and keep up a casual and desultory conversation about her family, life goals, fashion, and her friends, while I put some food out on the table. It is too early for lunch, but I suspect neither Erlyn nor Aina has eaten for quite a while. As we chat I toss her a lakatan banana. Without thinking, she peels and eats it, while keeping up with the conversation we are engaged in.
Why do they think you are a god? You seem normal to me.
You mean other than the bit about collecting souls?
I get a laugh. Yes, other than that!
Oh, it’s complicated, but after a while you will sort it out.
She looks at the remains of the banana, the peel, at the empty juice glass and then back at me. You just did that, didn’t you?
Do what, Aina?
This the first time I eat and happy in a long time. How you do that?
I didn’t do anything. You were hungry and you ate a banana. What is more normal than that?
Is it a trick?
No, no trick. I didn’t do anything. It just happened. That’s all.
She is just looking at me. I smile back. Amelae and Erlyn reenter the room. The wound on Erlyn looks nasty, but not in any way life threatening. I tell her the doctor will be here this afternoon.
Amelae is giving me a hard look. Master?
Yes?
I think you have some explaining. How you do what you do?
Just what are you talking about?
You save Erlyn’s life.
I didn’t.
You say you don’t lie. Why you lie now?
I am not lying. Erlyn, I didn’t save your life. You saved your own life.
No! I not able, I stuck. I am hiding behind a tricycle. There is a door behind me but a big lock is on it and I cannot open the door. I am already hurt by a bullet, but no one know it. They are coming my way. They will see me. If they do I will die. Just like you tell me, if I go, we all die. I see Dany die. I see them kill my mother. I know, I am next. They coming. I know there is truth in you. I know you try to save my life but I am too stupid to be a good girl and listen to you. I know you not punishing me. I know I do this to myself. I know you are the only real god. All the others are kwak-kwak1. I pray to you to save me. When I do that, the lock falls open. I sneak into the building and they not find me. I hide in there for a long time. I afraid to come out until the sun is down and it is dark. I have no money. It take a long time to walk here and I am hurt. That make it slow too.
Once again Amelae has that damned look on her face. So why you lie?
I am not lying. Maybe the lock opened because a stray bullet hit it. I don’t know. Erlyn you are very lucky. Even if I had opened the lock, that on its own didn’t save Erlyn. It required the bad guys to not test the door. It required that the wound was not too bad. There was a lot of luck in this.
But you opened the lock, Master.
You do not know this Amelae. You want it to be true, but you do not know how the lock opened.
Master, you make miracles. This is not the first. You make money appear in my mother’s account at the hospital. Not once, not twice, no three times! Three men die because they threaten me. You know about what people are telling me before I even get the text. And you know what I text someone without seeing my phone. Do not say you are not divine. Do not say there are no miracles. Do not lie.
Aina has been listening to this. Po, I am taught that God wants us to bow down and supplicate ourselves to him. We are to beseech him to protect us. You are saying, no, do not pray to me. Do not say I am a god. But I think it is clear you are God. I am confused.
I am not God. Your “god” is a lazy asshole. I am not “a god.” Gods give and take lives. I do not do that. I am prohibited from both actions. I can give you a happy life if you want it. But to do that you must give me your soul. I am not sure you want to do that.
They did it, right? (She is referring to Amelae and Erlyn.)
Yes they have.
Erlyn disobeyed you but you saved her life anyway. Correct?
No. She did disobey me. But I did not save her life. She did that.
You unlocked the door. Stop being difficult.
I can’t stop you from believing it. I am not admitting it.
What I do to sell my soul?
At the moment, I will not take it. You need to eat, gain weight and get healthier. I find your condition scary. Once you are healthy, I will allow it.
Am I supposed to remove my clothing?
Not before I take ownership of your soul. Stay dressed until then.
Am I supposed to call you Master?
Call me Ninong for now. Amelae, take Aina to your bedroom, she needs to sleep and eat and sleep, for a few days.
Yes, Master. And those two leave the room. I grab two more bananas and toss one to Erlyn.
Erlyn, what am I to do with you? She is grinning a little bit.
Use me anyway you want. I am your girl now Master. There is no other way. And she takes a good sized bite of the banana.
I just nod. She means it. It took losing everything she had before she figured it out, but she has.
So now I really don’t need Aina here, but I suspect she will stay. At the moment I have two who need medical attention and bed rest, one away and only one who is not otherwise unavailable. It takes four to have one. It explains a great deal as to why marriage is such a bad option.
Erlyn are you sure you don’t need some time just to process the loss of your family?
What you think I doing since they killed? They choose that life. Maybe my mother live longer, maybe not. But she get Chona and that boy killed because she not there to run the drugs. So maybe I stupid. Maybe I am selfish and not see truth. Maybe I should be gone from them and let them live or die without me. Maybe I not hear what you trying to tell me. I hear it now. … I need to not let love hide evil. I do that. You try to tell me that, without being mean. I think you mean, but it not true. You not say to me, ‘why I am stupid, loving evil people.’ No you just say you cannot help Dany, but if I stay away maybe my mother, even though she is evil, she will live. Yes that what you tell me, but you nice about it. Still I am stupid and I not listen right. So now I know. Now I know to listen to you. You say important things. Just like you ask Amelae and Mirafe, who should die. They not think what that means. Now they do. Now they know. I think if there something wrong, it you too nice.
There’s a criticism I never thought I would hear. And I sure as hell never expected to hear it from Erlyn. I toss her another lakatan. She just smiles as she catches it. It true, see you are too nice. I am tired, Master. OK if I go to bed?
It’s a good idea. See you later. Erlyn limps off to the bedroom as Amelae exits it. Thank you for saving her life, Master.
Will you stop it, please? I do not know why the lock came loose. I can do many things. That is something I never claimed to be able to do.
When the doctor coming?
I don’t think we will see him earlier than three and maybe not until far later. … There will be four of you. I need to split you up between two bedrooms. Who do you want to be with?
We all be together for now. Maybe we do that later. I will let you know. Master, that priest was evil, what he do to Aina.
Yes, he was. Priests are a real problem in that way. In another, we get all their souls. But I wish it wasn’t so easy with them.
I not understand. You want all of us who don’t or can’t give ourselves to this ‘god,’ to give our souls to you, but you don’t like evil.
The other side uses a con to get souls. It is the promise of life after death. Christians, Muslims, Hindus all do that. With the Hindu it is re-incarnation but he gets them all if they really buy the bullshit. It drives us crazy. It’s a lie. … We get those who don’t believe and those who think they aren’t good enough. Yes sure we get real creeps too, but that doesn’t mean we have to like the creeps. … We just want the average soul from the average person. There is nothing evil about us. Look at it this way, maybe I have lost the priest. Maybe he thinks it is God who was warning him and his soul goes the other way. We get Aina. So even if it is just an even swap. I figure we won.
You know I hear what Erlyn tell you. Maybe you are too nice! And she giggles.
Come with me?
Where we going, Master?
To my bed.
I have never had one of them in my bedroom. It is in a part of the house she has never had a chance to see before, as it is beyond a locked door that opens on to a hallway. My bedroom, library/study, and office/work area are all back here. Once in the hallway, I lock the door behind us. I lead her down the hallway and around a corner, before entering my bedroom.
It is spotless, Master. It only you here, di ba?
Yes it is only me.
Who care for you?
Me.
That not good. I want to do that. OK na2?
Yes, but I will allow Erlyn to assist too.
Oh! You have decided something about us I think.
Hop up on the bed. I will be right back.
I return to my work area. I want to take a quick look at SMS traffic. There is nothing about Erlyn. There is nothing about Aina, or Amelae. All this is good. But there is traffic about Mirafe’s family. There is nothing I can do. It is time I rejoin Amelae.
I am removing my clothing. Amelae asks, Are you going to take me here?
Yes and no. We are going to take each other. There will be no pain. We can take our time and just enjoy each other.
Master, is this not making love?
This is real caring. It is what we will have with each other.
Not love?
Love is what killed Erlyn’s mother. This is caring. And with that I cup Amelae’s left breast in my right hand. We are not off to the races. We are beginning a slow, leisurely exploration of each other. I find out where she is ticklish. She discovers that I am not ticklish in the least. She grumbles, that makes it so very unfair. I am simply in no rush. We just need to be together. She sees me as a god. I am not a god. This will hopefully make that clear.
Not that I can’t perform. It’s just that my body is simply a body. As we spend the time together, she will hopefully learn that while I am to be respected, I am safe to approach, to touch, to tease.
We roll around on the bed. I am more than a good foot taller than is she. I weigh close to double what she weighs. Still it all works and eventually I slide into her as she mounts me from above. She starts giggling.
What? I ask.
I am riding a God! For real!
OK, well, the plan isn’t exactly going the way I wanted it! Why do you keep on calling me a god? I am not a god.
Oh yes you are. And she giggles again. You are a shy God! You are embarrassed to be a God! Why that? She asks as she grinds her cunt into me.
Master, can you really give me human children.
Yes.
Will they have any of your powers?
Any human can have my powers.
Answer the question!
That will be up to them.
All through this she is bouncing up and down on me. I can see it is getting her off. I reach up and pinch a tit. Sure enough, she likes that. I give both her tits a pinch and she smashes down on me hard, driving my ass into the mattress.
As much as it is getting her off, it isn’t doing much for me. I roll her over and just pound her cunt for all I am worth for a few minutes before giving her the dessert I suspect she desires.
Master, maybe I can be here some nights with you?
Maybe. We will see. I go to bed late and get up very early.
How early?
Normally around four in the morning.
When you go to bed?
Around midnight.
Wow. Not much sleep! OK I see that not work. Better in the day!
Yes, better in the day.
Master, why you start with us? Why now?
I guess it was the lies of the soliciting. It was one con too many. It ticked me off. I see churches solicit all the time. OK they do it, and I ignore it. But you were going around lying about why you needed the funds and the church had told you to do it. It was just one con too many.
They still doing it.
I know and I want to make an example of them.
When I join you, I think I am protecting the church. Now I see why you are angry with them. What we do?
Get up Erlyn! You are here and safe. You don’t need to kiss my feet.
Master, you save my life. You know you do. I know you do. I am alive because you will it. Why I not kiss the feet of my savior?
Get up and come inside.
Amelae already thinks I am a divine being. This crap is just reinforcing that. Aina is in a vulnerable state. She was confused, but I suspect, had sincere and deep doubts about this divine hoo-hah. But now?
I get the assembled inside which only scrambles Aina’s head further as both girls disrobe once the front door is closed.
I can see that there are two problems with Erlyn. For one thing, she is filthy and I do not just mean dirty. I mean filth. The other is that she has what appears to be a flesh wound. It looks like it was caused by a bullet.
Amelae! Take Erlyn into the shower and clean her up now! I am going to call a doctor. She needs help with that wound.
Amelae and Erlyn, naked as they be, leave us. I am left with Aina. I ask her to sit down. She does, as I go to the kitchen and pour both of us a tall cool glass of pineapple juice. I hand Aina a glass, and take a sip from mine.
She say you save her life. She call you her Savior, but you are not Jesus. How are you a Savior?
I am not. I know Erlyn thinks I am. I am not.
I think Amelae think the same thing.
She thinks I am divine. That is different from “Savior.” I have never claimed to be divine. I do collect souls and I will protect you while you live. I cannot give or take life. There is no heaven and there is no hell, so there is no way I can be a savior.
But you saved that girl’s life. She say it.
I know she thinks it. That does not make it true. What is true, is that you are safe. There is no sin. You are a good person. I will protect you, if you sell me your soul.
She takes a sip of the juice. I not talk about my soul. This tastes good. Thank you.
Will you excuse me? I want to call a doctor to look at Erlyn. And while the doctor is here, I want him to look at you. You are painfully thin. I know you haven’t been eating, but I think a check with a doctor is needed.
I cannot afford it.
I am paying. So no problem.
Why you do this?
Because I want to make sure you live a long time.
Why that, if you want my soul?
Because a soul from someone who has lived a long life is the best type of soul there is.
That gets a surprised look. I take my leave of the girl as she sips the juice.
The call doesn’t take long. The doc won’t get here for hours, but at least he is coming. I return to where Aina is and keep up a casual and desultory conversation about her family, life goals, fashion, and her friends, while I put some food out on the table. It is too early for lunch, but I suspect neither Erlyn nor Aina has eaten for quite a while. As we chat I toss her a lakatan banana. Without thinking, she peels and eats it, while keeping up with the conversation we are engaged in.
Why do they think you are a god? You seem normal to me.
You mean other than the bit about collecting souls?
I get a laugh. Yes, other than that!
Oh, it’s complicated, but after a while you will sort it out.
She looks at the remains of the banana, the peel, at the empty juice glass and then back at me. You just did that, didn’t you?
Do what, Aina?
This the first time I eat and happy in a long time. How you do that?
I didn’t do anything. You were hungry and you ate a banana. What is more normal than that?
Is it a trick?
No, no trick. I didn’t do anything. It just happened. That’s all.
She is just looking at me. I smile back. Amelae and Erlyn reenter the room. The wound on Erlyn looks nasty, but not in any way life threatening. I tell her the doctor will be here this afternoon.
Amelae is giving me a hard look. Master?
Yes?
I think you have some explaining. How you do what you do?
Just what are you talking about?
You save Erlyn’s life.
I didn’t.
You say you don’t lie. Why you lie now?
I am not lying. Erlyn, I didn’t save your life. You saved your own life.
No! I not able, I stuck. I am hiding behind a tricycle. There is a door behind me but a big lock is on it and I cannot open the door. I am already hurt by a bullet, but no one know it. They are coming my way. They will see me. If they do I will die. Just like you tell me, if I go, we all die. I see Dany die. I see them kill my mother. I know, I am next. They coming. I know there is truth in you. I know you try to save my life but I am too stupid to be a good girl and listen to you. I know you not punishing me. I know I do this to myself. I know you are the only real god. All the others are kwak-kwak1. I pray to you to save me. When I do that, the lock falls open. I sneak into the building and they not find me. I hide in there for a long time. I afraid to come out until the sun is down and it is dark. I have no money. It take a long time to walk here and I am hurt. That make it slow too.
Once again Amelae has that damned look on her face. So why you lie?
I am not lying. Maybe the lock opened because a stray bullet hit it. I don’t know. Erlyn you are very lucky. Even if I had opened the lock, that on its own didn’t save Erlyn. It required the bad guys to not test the door. It required that the wound was not too bad. There was a lot of luck in this.
But you opened the lock, Master.
You do not know this Amelae. You want it to be true, but you do not know how the lock opened.
Master, you make miracles. This is not the first. You make money appear in my mother’s account at the hospital. Not once, not twice, no three times! Three men die because they threaten me. You know about what people are telling me before I even get the text. And you know what I text someone without seeing my phone. Do not say you are not divine. Do not say there are no miracles. Do not lie.
Aina has been listening to this. Po, I am taught that God wants us to bow down and supplicate ourselves to him. We are to beseech him to protect us. You are saying, no, do not pray to me. Do not say I am a god. But I think it is clear you are God. I am confused.
I am not God. Your “god” is a lazy asshole. I am not “a god.” Gods give and take lives. I do not do that. I am prohibited from both actions. I can give you a happy life if you want it. But to do that you must give me your soul. I am not sure you want to do that.
They did it, right? (She is referring to Amelae and Erlyn.)
Yes they have.
Erlyn disobeyed you but you saved her life anyway. Correct?
No. She did disobey me. But I did not save her life. She did that.
You unlocked the door. Stop being difficult.
I can’t stop you from believing it. I am not admitting it.
What I do to sell my soul?
At the moment, I will not take it. You need to eat, gain weight and get healthier. I find your condition scary. Once you are healthy, I will allow it.
Am I supposed to remove my clothing?
Not before I take ownership of your soul. Stay dressed until then.
Am I supposed to call you Master?
Call me Ninong for now. Amelae, take Aina to your bedroom, she needs to sleep and eat and sleep, for a few days.
Yes, Master. And those two leave the room. I grab two more bananas and toss one to Erlyn.
Erlyn, what am I to do with you? She is grinning a little bit.
Use me anyway you want. I am your girl now Master. There is no other way. And she takes a good sized bite of the banana.
I just nod. She means it. It took losing everything she had before she figured it out, but she has.
So now I really don’t need Aina here, but I suspect she will stay. At the moment I have two who need medical attention and bed rest, one away and only one who is not otherwise unavailable. It takes four to have one. It explains a great deal as to why marriage is such a bad option.
Erlyn are you sure you don’t need some time just to process the loss of your family?
What you think I doing since they killed? They choose that life. Maybe my mother live longer, maybe not. But she get Chona and that boy killed because she not there to run the drugs. So maybe I stupid. Maybe I am selfish and not see truth. Maybe I should be gone from them and let them live or die without me. Maybe I not hear what you trying to tell me. I hear it now. … I need to not let love hide evil. I do that. You try to tell me that, without being mean. I think you mean, but it not true. You not say to me, ‘why I am stupid, loving evil people.’ No you just say you cannot help Dany, but if I stay away maybe my mother, even though she is evil, she will live. Yes that what you tell me, but you nice about it. Still I am stupid and I not listen right. So now I know. Now I know to listen to you. You say important things. Just like you ask Amelae and Mirafe, who should die. They not think what that means. Now they do. Now they know. I think if there something wrong, it you too nice.
There’s a criticism I never thought I would hear. And I sure as hell never expected to hear it from Erlyn. I toss her another lakatan. She just smiles as she catches it. It true, see you are too nice. I am tired, Master. OK if I go to bed?
It’s a good idea. See you later. Erlyn limps off to the bedroom as Amelae exits it. Thank you for saving her life, Master.
Will you stop it, please? I do not know why the lock came loose. I can do many things. That is something I never claimed to be able to do.
When the doctor coming?
I don’t think we will see him earlier than three and maybe not until far later. … There will be four of you. I need to split you up between two bedrooms. Who do you want to be with?
We all be together for now. Maybe we do that later. I will let you know. Master, that priest was evil, what he do to Aina.
Yes, he was. Priests are a real problem in that way. In another, we get all their souls. But I wish it wasn’t so easy with them.
I not understand. You want all of us who don’t or can’t give ourselves to this ‘god,’ to give our souls to you, but you don’t like evil.
The other side uses a con to get souls. It is the promise of life after death. Christians, Muslims, Hindus all do that. With the Hindu it is re-incarnation but he gets them all if they really buy the bullshit. It drives us crazy. It’s a lie. … We get those who don’t believe and those who think they aren’t good enough. Yes sure we get real creeps too, but that doesn’t mean we have to like the creeps. … We just want the average soul from the average person. There is nothing evil about us. Look at it this way, maybe I have lost the priest. Maybe he thinks it is God who was warning him and his soul goes the other way. We get Aina. So even if it is just an even swap. I figure we won.
You know I hear what Erlyn tell you. Maybe you are too nice! And she giggles.
Come with me?
Where we going, Master?
To my bed.
I have never had one of them in my bedroom. It is in a part of the house she has never had a chance to see before, as it is beyond a locked door that opens on to a hallway. My bedroom, library/study, and office/work area are all back here. Once in the hallway, I lock the door behind us. I lead her down the hallway and around a corner, before entering my bedroom.
It is spotless, Master. It only you here, di ba?
Yes it is only me.
Who care for you?
Me.
That not good. I want to do that. OK na2?
Yes, but I will allow Erlyn to assist too.
Oh! You have decided something about us I think.
Hop up on the bed. I will be right back.
I return to my work area. I want to take a quick look at SMS traffic. There is nothing about Erlyn. There is nothing about Aina, or Amelae. All this is good. But there is traffic about Mirafe’s family. There is nothing I can do. It is time I rejoin Amelae.
I am removing my clothing. Amelae asks, Are you going to take me here?
Yes and no. We are going to take each other. There will be no pain. We can take our time and just enjoy each other.
Master, is this not making love?
This is real caring. It is what we will have with each other.
Not love?
Love is what killed Erlyn’s mother. This is caring. And with that I cup Amelae’s left breast in my right hand. We are not off to the races. We are beginning a slow, leisurely exploration of each other. I find out where she is ticklish. She discovers that I am not ticklish in the least. She grumbles, that makes it so very unfair. I am simply in no rush. We just need to be together. She sees me as a god. I am not a god. This will hopefully make that clear.
Not that I can’t perform. It’s just that my body is simply a body. As we spend the time together, she will hopefully learn that while I am to be respected, I am safe to approach, to touch, to tease.
We roll around on the bed. I am more than a good foot taller than is she. I weigh close to double what she weighs. Still it all works and eventually I slide into her as she mounts me from above. She starts giggling.
What? I ask.
I am riding a God! For real!
OK, well, the plan isn’t exactly going the way I wanted it! Why do you keep on calling me a god? I am not a god.
Oh yes you are. And she giggles again. You are a shy God! You are embarrassed to be a God! Why that? She asks as she grinds her cunt into me.
Master, can you really give me human children.
Yes.
Will they have any of your powers?
Any human can have my powers.
Answer the question!
That will be up to them.
All through this she is bouncing up and down on me. I can see it is getting her off. I reach up and pinch a tit. Sure enough, she likes that. I give both her tits a pinch and she smashes down on me hard, driving my ass into the mattress.
As much as it is getting her off, it isn’t doing much for me. I roll her over and just pound her cunt for all I am worth for a few minutes before giving her the dessert I suspect she desires.
Master, maybe I can be here some nights with you?
Maybe. We will see. I go to bed late and get up very early.
How early?
Normally around four in the morning.
When you go to bed?
Around midnight.
Wow. Not much sleep! OK I see that not work. Better in the day!
Yes, better in the day.
Master, why you start with us? Why now?
I guess it was the lies of the soliciting. It was one con too many. It ticked me off. I see churches solicit all the time. OK they do it, and I ignore it. But you were going around lying about why you needed the funds and the church had told you to do it. It was just one con too many.
They still doing it.
I know and I want to make an example of them.
When I join you, I think I am protecting the church. Now I see why you are angry with them. What we do?
Re: English Novel - Soul by very well aged
Chapter 10: Valley of the Shadow
Four females. Each of them diminutive, and one, just about, wasting away. It’s not exactly an impressive army, but I don’t need an army. As I have nothing planned at the moment, I don’t really ‘need’ a single one of them.
Is this just an excuse to distract me because I miss my daughter?
I do feel her absence intensely. Her mother has been gone for so long that she is but a ghost of a memory. A memory of a memory. Her legacy is no ghost. She is flesh, blood, and part of me. She is what remains. Love blinds. It blinded me. Why had I not seen what was coming? I could have. I should have. It is what makes me, me. And yet I was blinded. She is gone and I could have prevented it.
I will never make that mistake again. I will never love again. Just as Erlyn has learned her lesson, I learned mine. But for me, Francine remains. She is both an anchor for me and a never ending reminder of my failure.
Be it Amelae, or Mirafe, or Erlyn, each might have been able to find love in my heart at one point. But not now. Not ever again. Still even though I will not let love in, I will not allow anything to happen to them. So long as they want that, which I am, to them, I will protect them.
That is not to say they will not be disappointed on occasion. They will. They will have scrapes and bruises. Right now I have two that need medical attention.
The doctor is not expected for a few more hours. Amelae sleeps in my bed. I need Erlyn and Amelae to see the office/work area as it might give them a sense that what is happening is not the acts of god. I wanted to hide this before, but the balance has tipped too far in the other direction. It is a difficult balancing act. I need them to believe I am collecting souls for this to work, but I don’t want to be the basis of some new religion.
I stroke Amelae’s hair and she murmurs a bit, gently waking up. Come girl, let’s eat a bit and see if the other two are awake and desire some nourishment.
Rather than get up, Amelae rolls on to me and kisses me on the lips. I don’t care if you come to bed late and get up early. I want to be here.
I see. I will consider it. Now it really is time to get up, Amelae.
When the two of us enter the dining room, I am witness to both Erlyn and Aina sitting at the table, with plates that show the evidence of a meal eaten. I am both happy and a little concerned.
Aina, I am pleased that you have found your appetite, but am concerned that if you eat too much, too fast, you will not be able to hold the food down, as your body won’t be able to handle it.
Aina cracks up laughing. As I fail to see that I said anything humorous, I wait for an explanation.
I am sorry, Ninong. I do that right? I supposed to call you Ninong? Yes? OK, Yes, good. Ninong, this Erlyn tells me the same thing as I start putting food on my plate. She say, slow down. There is always food here. Do not take too much right now.
Thank you Erlyn. … Yes Erlyn is telling you the truth. For now, stay away from the pork. Stay away from chips, and nuts. Eat rice, gulay1, fruit, and fish. Drink tubig2 or buko3 or pineapple juice only. If the doctor tells you different, listen to him and not me.
Why not you? A doctor is not better than God!
OK… now listen to this and believe it. I am not God. There is to be no more of this nonsense about that in this house!
Erlyn who has been attacking a Marang with gusto, has her own take on this. We not say it, but we think it and believe it. You do not punish for thoughts. Di ba?
Erlyn, you clearly have a brain. Use it. If I was a god, there would be no reason for a doctor at all.
If you used all your powers, this is true. But you always say, we humans must live our lives without divine interference as much as possible. The only exception you make is for the purchasing of souls. So, see, we need to see a doctor. Yes, I use my brain. OK?
I load up a plate with some cold rotisserie BBQ chicken, rice, and chunks of very sweet pineapple, sit down and lick my verbal wounds. They just won’t give up.
Talk swirls around me, but I am ignoring it. Amelae’s phone indicates a text message. Master, you need to see this.
I look at the message on her phone. ‘My wife and children have left me. I am being investigated for selling drugs. Please tell your Master, I will stop praying to Lord God Jesus. I will pray to him. Just please stop this!
I tell her to text back. What is done is done. It cannot be undone. I cannot ask the Master for anything. That is not how it works. You are the one who threatened me yesterday. I warn you then. Yesterday you say I am stupid. Just be thankful you are still alive.
Amelae has sent the message, but she is unhappy.
OK, girl, what’s the problem?
Please fix this for him.
I can’t.
You mean you won’t!
No, Amelae, I really can’t. Let me explain. His wife is the mistress of another man. She has left him and will not return. There is nothing I can do to make her return to him. The information about his illegal drug activities has been turned over to others. I cannot remove what others now know. Once informed, based on actions he really took, I cannot change reality. Just like I cannot bring the other three back from the dead. … I am telling you that I am not a God. I tell you the truth. For me, what is, is, and cannot be changed. I can ring a bell. But I cannot un-ring it.
The conversation ends. A few minutes later, Amelae suggests they go watch TV. Showtime is on.
The doctor shows up at three-thirty and examines the two girls. Erlyn gets fixed up a bit. She has prescriptions for topical antibiotics, and a pain killer. We will need some gauze and tape.
Aina gets a list of things she can eat, instructions to eat modest but frequent meals. The types of food are pretty much in agreement with my list. He says, no milk products. I hadn’t thought about that. He wants her to weigh herself every day at the same time and keep a record. He also wants her blood pressure tested twice every day. He is concerned with the stress on her heart from her malnutrition.
By five, he is gone and Amelae has gone out to fill the scripts. I have picked up a book that I have been promising myself, I would get through even though it seems to put me to sleep every time I pick it up. Maybe by reading when I have no excuse to be tired, I can knock down a few pages.
I get only forty-five minutes of reading before Amelae requests my undivided attention. Two priests and a bishop are at this very moment sitting in her mother’s house. They have been questioning the woman, somewhat intensely. Of course her mother doesn’t know squat, and that, it seems, has become clear to the three Men in Black.
They ask for directions to Amelae’s home, but her Mother doesn’t know that either and says as much. While this is going on, her mother is texting Amelae. They ask to speak to the woman’s daughter, but the woman, with some justification says she does not have the load in her prepaid cellphone for such a call. They ask for her daughter’s cell number and it is given.
By now I am with Amelae. Her phone rings and she puts it on speaker.
Sina to?
This is Father Lorenz. Is this Amelae?
Oo. Bakit4?
Child, I would think that is somewhat obvious, is it not?
It is not.
I see. Well, we want to talk with you about this thing you call ‘Master.’
Why? Why it your business?
We have two dead priests here. I think that makes it our business.
Your priests were killed by others. You know this. Why you bother my mother and me?
Child, your Master is the Devil and you are in grave danger.
There is no such thing as the Devil. It is made up to scare ignorant people. You are either a fool or a liar. Leave me and my mother alone.
I am afraid we cannot do that. Our Savior requires we fight the Devil wherever we find him.
You haven’t found him. I do not know where the Master is. All you are doing is bothering decent people who have not done any harm to anyone.
How does he give you the money to pay the hospital bill?
He doesn’t.
Are you saying that the bill is not being paid? Do not lie! We know that it is paid.
You are a fool. You asked how the Master gives me money. I tell the truth, he doesn’t. The Master do that. I do not.
How?
I do not know. It is true. I do not know.
You tell this Master how much you owe?
No. I tell the Master nothing. Now stop bothering me! Leave my mother alone.
We need to meet you.
No.
I am afraid I must insist.
I tell you to leave me alone. It is safer for all of us that way.
Are you threatening me?
Me? No! I am worried for you. Truly. But I mean you no harm. I am a simple girl. I threaten no one. … I think it is necessary that you think about what you are asking. If you still want to talk to me in two days, maybe I will consider it. For the next two days, I recommend you pray to your Savior for guidance.
Amelae, ends the call and turns off her phone. I kiss her forehead and excuse myself.
Tracking the phone call back to the sending number is no problem. It is also no problem determining the numbers of the other priest and the bishop. From there I can build a matrix of associations and work through a myriad of relationships. I ignore the priest who called for the moment and concentrate on the Bishop’s actual family. I can also see some things related to his lay staff. There will not be any deaths, I hope. Five things are going to go off the rails on three continents within just a few hours of each other. Marriages will be at risk. Land will be foreclosed upon. Two children will be expelled from school for essentially the same thing on two continents. I send a fax message, to the bishop’s fax machine, in his office, with names of all those who have been touched. Let his staff call him with the curious information. The fax is sent hours before those folks know they have been touched. The number that appears to be sending the text will be one from the Priest who didn’t call but was there.
It is late. The girls are in bed. I grab a bite and return to my work. This time I am looking at the priest, whose number I used in the fax to the bishop.
I find that I can break into the Bishop’s secretary’s computer. From there I find the access to personnel records. It turns out that our priest is a pedophile and the Bishop has correspondence related to this. I send his personnel file to four different news organizations and using the Secretary’s Facebook account, I share it with family members of the victims. I “cc” a copy of the file to both the priest and the bishop.
When the bishop contacts his secretary regarding the personnel records, he will learn of the fax, even if he didn’t know of it before.
It’s close to midnight when I quit and go to bed.
When I awake and check the doings, it appears that our good bishop has not slept a wink. He has had a very busy night. It looks like the priest I targeted has been summarily discharged from his duties of assisting the bishop. Where that priest is now is not clear. He hasn’t responded to anything since two this morning.
I make myself a pot of coffee and relax with a mango, while I read the news sites. There is nothing I need to do.
The coffee is gone from the pot and the last remnants are in my cup. The mango is a distant memory, as is a banana, and a small cheese puto5.
Erlyn is up first and she says nothing. All she wants is a cup of Milo, a banana, and a puto.
Aina follows close behind her and mimics Erlyn’s choices. We are not talking. I am not sure they are fully awake yet.
Twenty minutes later Amelae finally appears. She goes to the coffee pot and proceeds to make a fresh pot. Once the pot is working its way toward some fresh coffee, she sits down by me, just about slaps her phone down on the table, and just stares at me.
As my cup is empty, I ask, Will there be enough coffee for me to get an extra cup when the pot is ready?
That it? That all?
Excuse me?
That all you have to say, Master?
Huh. Yes, I guess it is? Why?
What you do to them?
Who?
WHO? You know who! What you do?
What has happened Amelae? Why are you upset?
The bishop, he come to my mother this early morning. He drop to his knees and beg ‘it to stop!’ She tell him he is crazy. She not know what he is talking about. Then the priest who call me yesterday, he call me now. He say, why is this happening? What I ask my Master to do? I tell him the truth. I not ask anything. … He say, how I know about who the bishop is? How I know the other priest. I tell him, I not know the names because Nanay not tell me. He say, then how this Master know? I tell him the truth, I do not know. He ask me to ask my Master to stop. I tell him I cannot. I tell him, he should stop and maybe that will end it, but I not know. … Master, what you do?
Is anyone threatening you now Amelae?
No.
Is anyone threatening your mother?
No.
Good.
What you do?
I make sure no one threatens my Amelae or her mother. That is what I do.
But… Erlyn breaks in and yells, Amelae, shut up! He protect you. That all you need to know!
Amelae’s phone is ringing. She doesn’t recognize the number. Sino to?
Is this Amelae?
Yes, who this?
I am Bishop Diez. Please, your Master has injured many innocent people. It must stop!
You come after the Master and come after my family. I do not know the Master’s mind. I do not know what the Master do. Truly I know nothing, but I tell you this. Anyone who come after me, or my family, or the Master, will suffer. Others will suffer. If left alone, no one suffers. It is up to others, what will happen. Master told me the time I meet him that your god and your Jesus are false. But he will do nothing against them so long as you leave us alone and do not lie about why you collect money.
We all collect tithes. Is your Master demanding that this stop?
No. But there is another church that lie about the collection of money. That he will stop. Your way he not stop, even though it for a false god. Now you must stop and leave us alone. What is done, it is done. It cannot be undone. I do not know if all that has been done, is known to you. I not know what is done. If you stop, nothing additional will be done. If anyone do something new, I not know if it will not hurt you again.
Wait, someone is talking to me… ‘what is it Father?... he patay6? Oh dear Jesus, no!’ Amelae! One of my priests commits suicide! Please stop!
I can’t. I not do this! I not want any death. Truly. Amelae is crying. She ends the call.
Master! Why?
I didn’t kill anyone. I didn’t ask anyone to die. Amelae, I told you that priests are often evil. Sometimes that evil is too much to handle. I do not do that. They do that.
All this because I talk to the cashier! All these dead. It my fault.
No, it is not your fault. You didn’t create a false god and a scam that needs to be protected by all and any means including death. Amelae, if they thought they could stop this by killing you or your mother, they would. They are evil. The fact that they are vulnerable is a new concept to them. They are used to being the ones who can force others to do what they want. But they have feet of clay and that is why they die.
No more, Master!
I am sorry Amelae. I cannot promise that as I have never killed anyone. Those that die, do not die by my hand.
Four females. Each of them diminutive, and one, just about, wasting away. It’s not exactly an impressive army, but I don’t need an army. As I have nothing planned at the moment, I don’t really ‘need’ a single one of them.
Is this just an excuse to distract me because I miss my daughter?
I do feel her absence intensely. Her mother has been gone for so long that she is but a ghost of a memory. A memory of a memory. Her legacy is no ghost. She is flesh, blood, and part of me. She is what remains. Love blinds. It blinded me. Why had I not seen what was coming? I could have. I should have. It is what makes me, me. And yet I was blinded. She is gone and I could have prevented it.
I will never make that mistake again. I will never love again. Just as Erlyn has learned her lesson, I learned mine. But for me, Francine remains. She is both an anchor for me and a never ending reminder of my failure.
Be it Amelae, or Mirafe, or Erlyn, each might have been able to find love in my heart at one point. But not now. Not ever again. Still even though I will not let love in, I will not allow anything to happen to them. So long as they want that, which I am, to them, I will protect them.
That is not to say they will not be disappointed on occasion. They will. They will have scrapes and bruises. Right now I have two that need medical attention.
The doctor is not expected for a few more hours. Amelae sleeps in my bed. I need Erlyn and Amelae to see the office/work area as it might give them a sense that what is happening is not the acts of god. I wanted to hide this before, but the balance has tipped too far in the other direction. It is a difficult balancing act. I need them to believe I am collecting souls for this to work, but I don’t want to be the basis of some new religion.
I stroke Amelae’s hair and she murmurs a bit, gently waking up. Come girl, let’s eat a bit and see if the other two are awake and desire some nourishment.
Rather than get up, Amelae rolls on to me and kisses me on the lips. I don’t care if you come to bed late and get up early. I want to be here.
I see. I will consider it. Now it really is time to get up, Amelae.
When the two of us enter the dining room, I am witness to both Erlyn and Aina sitting at the table, with plates that show the evidence of a meal eaten. I am both happy and a little concerned.
Aina, I am pleased that you have found your appetite, but am concerned that if you eat too much, too fast, you will not be able to hold the food down, as your body won’t be able to handle it.
Aina cracks up laughing. As I fail to see that I said anything humorous, I wait for an explanation.
I am sorry, Ninong. I do that right? I supposed to call you Ninong? Yes? OK, Yes, good. Ninong, this Erlyn tells me the same thing as I start putting food on my plate. She say, slow down. There is always food here. Do not take too much right now.
Thank you Erlyn. … Yes Erlyn is telling you the truth. For now, stay away from the pork. Stay away from chips, and nuts. Eat rice, gulay1, fruit, and fish. Drink tubig2 or buko3 or pineapple juice only. If the doctor tells you different, listen to him and not me.
Why not you? A doctor is not better than God!
OK… now listen to this and believe it. I am not God. There is to be no more of this nonsense about that in this house!
Erlyn who has been attacking a Marang with gusto, has her own take on this. We not say it, but we think it and believe it. You do not punish for thoughts. Di ba?
Erlyn, you clearly have a brain. Use it. If I was a god, there would be no reason for a doctor at all.
If you used all your powers, this is true. But you always say, we humans must live our lives without divine interference as much as possible. The only exception you make is for the purchasing of souls. So, see, we need to see a doctor. Yes, I use my brain. OK?
I load up a plate with some cold rotisserie BBQ chicken, rice, and chunks of very sweet pineapple, sit down and lick my verbal wounds. They just won’t give up.
Talk swirls around me, but I am ignoring it. Amelae’s phone indicates a text message. Master, you need to see this.
I look at the message on her phone. ‘My wife and children have left me. I am being investigated for selling drugs. Please tell your Master, I will stop praying to Lord God Jesus. I will pray to him. Just please stop this!
I tell her to text back. What is done is done. It cannot be undone. I cannot ask the Master for anything. That is not how it works. You are the one who threatened me yesterday. I warn you then. Yesterday you say I am stupid. Just be thankful you are still alive.
Amelae has sent the message, but she is unhappy.
OK, girl, what’s the problem?
Please fix this for him.
I can’t.
You mean you won’t!
No, Amelae, I really can’t. Let me explain. His wife is the mistress of another man. She has left him and will not return. There is nothing I can do to make her return to him. The information about his illegal drug activities has been turned over to others. I cannot remove what others now know. Once informed, based on actions he really took, I cannot change reality. Just like I cannot bring the other three back from the dead. … I am telling you that I am not a God. I tell you the truth. For me, what is, is, and cannot be changed. I can ring a bell. But I cannot un-ring it.
The conversation ends. A few minutes later, Amelae suggests they go watch TV. Showtime is on.
The doctor shows up at three-thirty and examines the two girls. Erlyn gets fixed up a bit. She has prescriptions for topical antibiotics, and a pain killer. We will need some gauze and tape.
Aina gets a list of things she can eat, instructions to eat modest but frequent meals. The types of food are pretty much in agreement with my list. He says, no milk products. I hadn’t thought about that. He wants her to weigh herself every day at the same time and keep a record. He also wants her blood pressure tested twice every day. He is concerned with the stress on her heart from her malnutrition.
By five, he is gone and Amelae has gone out to fill the scripts. I have picked up a book that I have been promising myself, I would get through even though it seems to put me to sleep every time I pick it up. Maybe by reading when I have no excuse to be tired, I can knock down a few pages.
I get only forty-five minutes of reading before Amelae requests my undivided attention. Two priests and a bishop are at this very moment sitting in her mother’s house. They have been questioning the woman, somewhat intensely. Of course her mother doesn’t know squat, and that, it seems, has become clear to the three Men in Black.
They ask for directions to Amelae’s home, but her Mother doesn’t know that either and says as much. While this is going on, her mother is texting Amelae. They ask to speak to the woman’s daughter, but the woman, with some justification says she does not have the load in her prepaid cellphone for such a call. They ask for her daughter’s cell number and it is given.
By now I am with Amelae. Her phone rings and she puts it on speaker.
Sina to?
This is Father Lorenz. Is this Amelae?
Oo. Bakit4?
Child, I would think that is somewhat obvious, is it not?
It is not.
I see. Well, we want to talk with you about this thing you call ‘Master.’
Why? Why it your business?
We have two dead priests here. I think that makes it our business.
Your priests were killed by others. You know this. Why you bother my mother and me?
Child, your Master is the Devil and you are in grave danger.
There is no such thing as the Devil. It is made up to scare ignorant people. You are either a fool or a liar. Leave me and my mother alone.
I am afraid we cannot do that. Our Savior requires we fight the Devil wherever we find him.
You haven’t found him. I do not know where the Master is. All you are doing is bothering decent people who have not done any harm to anyone.
How does he give you the money to pay the hospital bill?
He doesn’t.
Are you saying that the bill is not being paid? Do not lie! We know that it is paid.
You are a fool. You asked how the Master gives me money. I tell the truth, he doesn’t. The Master do that. I do not.
How?
I do not know. It is true. I do not know.
You tell this Master how much you owe?
No. I tell the Master nothing. Now stop bothering me! Leave my mother alone.
We need to meet you.
No.
I am afraid I must insist.
I tell you to leave me alone. It is safer for all of us that way.
Are you threatening me?
Me? No! I am worried for you. Truly. But I mean you no harm. I am a simple girl. I threaten no one. … I think it is necessary that you think about what you are asking. If you still want to talk to me in two days, maybe I will consider it. For the next two days, I recommend you pray to your Savior for guidance.
Amelae, ends the call and turns off her phone. I kiss her forehead and excuse myself.
Tracking the phone call back to the sending number is no problem. It is also no problem determining the numbers of the other priest and the bishop. From there I can build a matrix of associations and work through a myriad of relationships. I ignore the priest who called for the moment and concentrate on the Bishop’s actual family. I can also see some things related to his lay staff. There will not be any deaths, I hope. Five things are going to go off the rails on three continents within just a few hours of each other. Marriages will be at risk. Land will be foreclosed upon. Two children will be expelled from school for essentially the same thing on two continents. I send a fax message, to the bishop’s fax machine, in his office, with names of all those who have been touched. Let his staff call him with the curious information. The fax is sent hours before those folks know they have been touched. The number that appears to be sending the text will be one from the Priest who didn’t call but was there.
It is late. The girls are in bed. I grab a bite and return to my work. This time I am looking at the priest, whose number I used in the fax to the bishop.
I find that I can break into the Bishop’s secretary’s computer. From there I find the access to personnel records. It turns out that our priest is a pedophile and the Bishop has correspondence related to this. I send his personnel file to four different news organizations and using the Secretary’s Facebook account, I share it with family members of the victims. I “cc” a copy of the file to both the priest and the bishop.
When the bishop contacts his secretary regarding the personnel records, he will learn of the fax, even if he didn’t know of it before.
It’s close to midnight when I quit and go to bed.
When I awake and check the doings, it appears that our good bishop has not slept a wink. He has had a very busy night. It looks like the priest I targeted has been summarily discharged from his duties of assisting the bishop. Where that priest is now is not clear. He hasn’t responded to anything since two this morning.
I make myself a pot of coffee and relax with a mango, while I read the news sites. There is nothing I need to do.
The coffee is gone from the pot and the last remnants are in my cup. The mango is a distant memory, as is a banana, and a small cheese puto5.
Erlyn is up first and she says nothing. All she wants is a cup of Milo, a banana, and a puto.
Aina follows close behind her and mimics Erlyn’s choices. We are not talking. I am not sure they are fully awake yet.
Twenty minutes later Amelae finally appears. She goes to the coffee pot and proceeds to make a fresh pot. Once the pot is working its way toward some fresh coffee, she sits down by me, just about slaps her phone down on the table, and just stares at me.
As my cup is empty, I ask, Will there be enough coffee for me to get an extra cup when the pot is ready?
That it? That all?
Excuse me?
That all you have to say, Master?
Huh. Yes, I guess it is? Why?
What you do to them?
Who?
WHO? You know who! What you do?
What has happened Amelae? Why are you upset?
The bishop, he come to my mother this early morning. He drop to his knees and beg ‘it to stop!’ She tell him he is crazy. She not know what he is talking about. Then the priest who call me yesterday, he call me now. He say, why is this happening? What I ask my Master to do? I tell him the truth. I not ask anything. … He say, how I know about who the bishop is? How I know the other priest. I tell him, I not know the names because Nanay not tell me. He say, then how this Master know? I tell him the truth, I do not know. He ask me to ask my Master to stop. I tell him I cannot. I tell him, he should stop and maybe that will end it, but I not know. … Master, what you do?
Is anyone threatening you now Amelae?
No.
Is anyone threatening your mother?
No.
Good.
What you do?
I make sure no one threatens my Amelae or her mother. That is what I do.
But… Erlyn breaks in and yells, Amelae, shut up! He protect you. That all you need to know!
Amelae’s phone is ringing. She doesn’t recognize the number. Sino to?
Is this Amelae?
Yes, who this?
I am Bishop Diez. Please, your Master has injured many innocent people. It must stop!
You come after the Master and come after my family. I do not know the Master’s mind. I do not know what the Master do. Truly I know nothing, but I tell you this. Anyone who come after me, or my family, or the Master, will suffer. Others will suffer. If left alone, no one suffers. It is up to others, what will happen. Master told me the time I meet him that your god and your Jesus are false. But he will do nothing against them so long as you leave us alone and do not lie about why you collect money.
We all collect tithes. Is your Master demanding that this stop?
No. But there is another church that lie about the collection of money. That he will stop. Your way he not stop, even though it for a false god. Now you must stop and leave us alone. What is done, it is done. It cannot be undone. I do not know if all that has been done, is known to you. I not know what is done. If you stop, nothing additional will be done. If anyone do something new, I not know if it will not hurt you again.
Wait, someone is talking to me… ‘what is it Father?... he patay6? Oh dear Jesus, no!’ Amelae! One of my priests commits suicide! Please stop!
I can’t. I not do this! I not want any death. Truly. Amelae is crying. She ends the call.
Master! Why?
I didn’t kill anyone. I didn’t ask anyone to die. Amelae, I told you that priests are often evil. Sometimes that evil is too much to handle. I do not do that. They do that.
All this because I talk to the cashier! All these dead. It my fault.
No, it is not your fault. You didn’t create a false god and a scam that needs to be protected by all and any means including death. Amelae, if they thought they could stop this by killing you or your mother, they would. They are evil. The fact that they are vulnerable is a new concept to them. They are used to being the ones who can force others to do what they want. But they have feet of clay and that is why they die.
No more, Master!
I am sorry Amelae. I cannot promise that as I have never killed anyone. Those that die, do not die by my hand.