by Daniel Olas
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Nate was at his studio recording the beats that he will be using in one of the hottest party that would be hosted in the city. Nate has for the last three years been the hottest disc jockey and has climbed his way up to the top, rolling with the celebrities of the time. The college that is hosting this year “All Fun Night” used to be Nate’s college where he graduated from some six years ago. He has always being in love with music and everything that booms—strong hip-hop beats. Against his parent’s dissuasion of him being into music, he chose to ignore a banking job that was offered to him after his college. Having read Banking and Finance, he made his A-grade and came out with first class. But the true passion for music that burns fiercely in him won’t allow him to sit duck on one office chair making accounts for money he never get to spend. It was hard; those first two-three years, being away from his family who has spent a lot to invest into his future. The breakdowns and the melancholies, the emotional wars and the constant fierce battle of his thought on choices to make. The furrows of worries and anxiety that litters his face during those moments made him to chose what that has now defined his character and feeling. One thing that has re-sharpened his believes and re-moulded his philosophies; one thing that he’s now determined to get back at, damning the consequences or the aftermath result—love!
But isn’t it funny how we humans often reason? Isn’t it absurd to want to take revenge against something that lies within our soul? Something we can’t touch nor harm… one thing that we were all being made to believe to have shaped and formed the world we live in today. But if we may question the lie in the truth—the age-long fallacy, can we ask thus: where’s the love they said that moulded the world? Hiding somewhere or resting her tender cheek on her velvety palm and starring at us as we all enjoy the sweet pains she had created? Or perhaps, she’s long extinct! Love of course is long extinct and the peace that intertwined with it is also long dead living us stranded on a pilgrimage journey to the hallucinated wonderland of delusions and ultimately ebbed us into pains—ones that have the power to re-construct our feelings and emotions. We only hope we don’t become die hard players in case the said true love decides to return from her exile and extinction. We only hope!
“Nate… Nate…” Willy bellowed as he banged the door opened. Nate was forced to removed his headphones and put an abrupt end to the beat he was mixing.
“What the heck is wrong with you man? Why are you screaming my name like that?” Nate demanded furiously starring at Willy irritatingly.
“Relax bro! I didn’t scream your name… I only shouted…” Nate cuts in. “It makes no difference. You’ve just interrupted my beat!” Nate concluded sounding frustrated.
Willy sighed.
“I’m sorry man… screws me I didn’t know you are… but how the hell am I suppose to know you doing a beat…” Nate cuts in more exasperatedly.
“The hell you should know… For crying out loud, this’ a studio… any crazy thing can be happening in here at any time… I can be doing music production and all those sort!” Nate concluded eyeing Willy naughtily. He walked across the room and took his seat in one of the sofa placed at the far end of studio room. The wall and the roof of the room were padded. The wall however was adorned with frames of arts courtesy of Willy.
He motioned to Willy to come over who was still starring at Nate in disbelieve. He walked gently over to him and sat down adjacent to him on another sofa.
“I’m sorry I scolded you like how your dad used to do when you were still seven!” Nate said jokingly and smirked.
Willy chuckled and shook his head in affirmation.
“So, what brought you to my Masonic dome of crazy music production…?” Willy cuts in. “Please, please, please… spares me those never-winning-Grammy-grammars of yours! You call this a dome or a hole… a rat hole for whistling and noise production!” Willy slammed. They both looked at themselves and burst into laughter.
“You got me there man! Nice one!” Nate said giving Willy a thumb up. “Excuse me please!” He stood up and walked towards the chest of drawers that was meant to keep files and music records. He opened the second one and brought out a wine and two wine glasses. He waived the wine at Willy and smiled. Willy chuckled and smiled back. “Pardon that drawer if it does not chill the wine the way you want it to; it’s not a refrigerator you know!” He said and was still smiling while he works the wine-opener around the bottle cover. After twisting the opener here and there, the cover fell off and some of the content popped up foaming and streaming down the bottle’s trunk.
“Sometimes, a glass of wine can bring the craziest and the strongest beat ever listened to in this city. So, I have to keep one with me always!” Nate added as he poured the wine into the two glasses. Willy seems to be lost in the world of Nate. He’s quite enthusiast this evening. Was it the game he told him about in the morning? Or the college party that he’ll be the one throwing the beat and dictating the dance steps? Or the two combined? Willy nodded and said to himself—“That’s one hell of an inspiration!”
“Pardon?” Nate requested as he sips his wine!
“No… not you!” he sighed and drained his own content of the wine. He poured himself another one and gulped it down to half. He dropped the wine glass and let out a deep sigh. Nate noticed his friend’s angst but kept quiet. He allowed silence to reign for some moments and then he decided to wrestle power from it.
“What’s wrong with you? What’s the problem with you? You got any?” Nate asked curiously starring into Willy’s eyes.
“Yeah! I think I just got myself into some sort of games I never planned well.” Willy said and sighed again.
“Good… it’s not too late now that you’ve consulted the master game player!” Nate said and smirked while he sips his wine again.
“I think I will need your help at tonight’s party in the college. It’s not really a game, it’s a charade and I’m out there to prove something you guys believe to be false to be true!” Willy said starring back at Nate.
“That sounds interesting! What kind of charade is that? And with whom are you playing it with now that you want to question some of my philosophies that I’m yet to be aware of… Let’s get it rolling from here… Who is the she?” Nate asked with all candour as if he’s into something professional.
“She works in a modelling agency…” Nate cuts in. “That’s wow… she must be hot then. I can’t wait to see her at the party!” Nate concluded and looked more serious this time around. These are the things that spark his adrenaline most, after music; love games!
Willy sighed. He looked at the padded roof, shook his head out of frustration and finally speaks out—
“Her name is Ella!”
V.
The idea of playing tricks on love is not a-just-nonexistent-fictitious-expression that exists only in the abyss of love’s victims minds. The gospel of playing love pranks has continued to engulf the contemporary society and has extended its philosophies even to the ones who had never experienced the pains of love. When you see someone who is not just ready to commit himself to a relationship and enjoys flirting as part of his own way of catching fun and freeing himself from the bounding chains of love is not only a true believer of this gospel but an ardent follower! Why do you think the victims of love have decided to shy away from the sheer emotional-spasm that engulfs many when the word love is mentioned? Why do you think those who never had the cause to cry over what was meant to bring them joy also decided to join the crusade? We need not read any book to answer this question. They all share one fear in common. They all dread the same pain that comes with loving—Heartbreak! The degree at which individuals can handle heartbreak differs and varies depending on the kind of relationship such was into. If you’re the type that believes in “we-will-die-together” sort of relationship, then there’s all tendencies that when you get heartbroken; suicide, exile, self-ostracism and emotional unstableness would all be your order of the day.
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sp; However, this fear only exists in a paranoiac mind of an individual who thinks every relationship will ends in heartbreak (let this not appears as a conflict of thought). Because for every optimistic individual who just got his/her heartbroken, s/he is always looking forward to meeting another person who’s going to make things right by even making a squared pegs fit in perfectly in a round hole! From here, we may tend to ask, why the pessimistic attitude of the other? Why can’t they just be optimistic the way other people are? Why can’t they just put away the fear and fall in love for love sake? And that last question looks absurd! That takes us back to the core subject of this debate (if I may use that word); everyone is looking for the long gone true-love! Now, the feeling that true love is no longer in existence—based on the experiences that individual must have had—brings the fear that the end point of any relationship that’s not based on true love is often heartbreak! And that’s just a scratch to the real reason. At this labyrinth juncture of confusing thoughts, let’s ask ourselves this seeming paradoxical question, “What of the true love(s) that used to end not just in heartbreak but sorrows, anguish and an eternal separation?” still confused? Lets flash our movie memory back to this classical movie of the passing decades; the seeming real but fictitious idea of the writer—Romeo and Juliet is a model example. Does the end depict to us a good ending of true love(s)? Maybe it’s just the tragic-romance genre that exists deep in the writer’s school of imaginations? Right? Maybe then; the now players are all afraid of the ‘maybe’ that exists in our answer! Let’s say if Romeo had been a player and a believer of playing tricks on love, he wouldn’t have killed himself irrespective of the circumstances that cloud him. Maybe he would have gone to live a fulfilled life afterwards. But how is he going to handle the guilt that’d drenched his heart later in life? Guilt at this point might be concisely defined as the wrong you admits it’s wrong in your mind. If it’s right based on your discretion, there’s no need therefore to feel guilty! “Those that kill and still pray to God for more strength to do so are in no way guilty of their action so far their conscience pricks them not!” The society however has the power to label some actions morally right and wrong, but in our contemporary world, it’s only a question of state of mind! Against the mores and values and norms of the society, an individual might choose out of personal conviction what seems right to him and that which is wrong. After all, what made up the societal values and norms today are product of human’s idea! But do we stand a chance of defending ourselves against a colossally-labelled criminal action? No! Not against a society of organized set of rules and laws. However, playing pranks on love; stepping backward at the edge of heartbreak (damning the feelings of the other in the process) is no crime that the society can hold us guilty of! Hence, the guilt that comes after is no guilt if our conscience feels right about it!
