by Ayman Ghalit
With sincerity, he replied, “Yes, and you will always be a Hero to me.”
Empty Hands
The guys spent half a day awaiting the ship in an office-like room. Some passed the time by nabbing, and some by chatting to another. Later, the soldiers escorted them by the same bullet train to the ship. Mort, who was the first to behold it, angrily pursed his lips after seeing it empty, dismantled, vast in the inside, and wrecked. The golds that Mort hanged his hopes on are gone. The ship was well vacuumed, not a mite, nor a golden dust they left behind. He mumbled, “Fuck this, I’m truly cursed and jinxed.” Gael patted his right shoulder when he got in, saying, “Take it easy, at least we are still alive”
Mort looked him with a disgusted loathed face, and said, “look who is talking, a Crimsonton.”
The soldiers told them to set tight, for the ship will soon be levitate by a crane. They rechecked them, and left. Morton took the opportunity to search and look for any piece they might left, but disappointment was awaiting him. He then tiresomely sighed and slumped down on his chair gazing at the eye-paining dashboard. Nothing works except for the radio and a hand-sized navigation device they’d installed to heed them to their solar system. Bob wanted to ease Mort’s sorrow, but got startled by a loud impacting sound coming from above. It was the crane’s magnet that levitated the ship and placed it in one of the Push-By-Light cannons that its bore is about 10 meters in diameter. Then, an amplified, robotic-female voice ordered them to sit tight, for they will be sent by the lightspeed the moment the cannon fires them.
The Push-By-light cannon is designed to use a plate coated with a luciphobic substance which will be placed behind the object intended to be pushed. Then, concentrated beams of light will be shot toward the plate, pushing it by lightspeed. These types of cannons are widely used in battles, for it mostly uses non-costly objects such as asteroids and space rocks.
They informed them that the speed will decelerate to almost zero after being teleported to the other side of Cotharam’s Wormhole. From there, they will be able to reach the Earth with ease. After that, the robotic voice started to countdown the shooting.
Cotharam’s Wormhole
Many wormholes the human had discovered were useless. In other words, it will teleport you to nowhere. Cotharam’s Wormhole was on of it. A rift in the uneven fabric of the universe that starts 100 light hours from Earth’s solar system and end up in vacuous empty spot.
After 5 Light hours, Mort’s ship entered it. Moments after, and while its speed drastically decrease, it wrapped out of it in one peace. Mort, who was in an unpleasing mood, took control of the ship, looked at the small navigation system and concluded that it’s going to take them ten earthly days to reach their solar system with half-light speed. The rest woke up with just the hope of going home. Mort murmured in profaned language as he struck the hollowed dashboard with its dangling cords. And while angrily gritting on teeth, he said, “I was a fucking rich man for moments. look at me now, am a dirt poor old geezer, there is no place for me anymore.”
Jack patted his shoulder and said, “Take it easy man, we are all in this loss together.”
“Shut the hell up!”
“Cheer up Mort,” said Bob, “at least we are alive. Just remember what we have been through to realize how unbelievably lucky we are.”
Mort didn’t respond, rather, he lent forward and put his hands over his face. He disappointingly heaved when looked at the dashboard again. He paused still, and turned on the radio which was the only thing that is functioning. The first station crossed was narrating verses from a holy book, read by male with a calm and soothing voice:
“Is it they who apportion thy Lord’s mercy!?
We have apportioned among them their livelihood in the life of the world, and raised some of them above others in rank that some of them may take labour from others; and the mercy of thy Lord is better than that they amass.
And were it not that mankind would have become one community, we might well have appointed, for those who disbelieve in the Beneficent, roofs of silver and stairs whereby to mount. And for their houses doors of silver and couches whereon to recline.
And ornaments of Gold. Yet all that would have been but provision of the life of the world. And the hereafter with thine Lord would have been for those who keep from evil.”
Mort kept silent thinking about the substantial mean of being a rich old man. He then let out a defeated sigh as he turned the radio off. He stood, and went to the kitchen to prepare a distasteful meal for them to eat; which was shredded cold cheese sandwiches and tea. No one did complaint, nor did anyone judge the food in this disappointing aftermath. Mort adjusted the ship direction toward Earth, sent pulsating probation beams while counting down its time via the navigation device clock.
Later, with questioning facial feature, they beheld Carl mount a chair close to the window and reached one of the air vents where he hid his phone. Mort asked what’s the matter, but the phone sight was a much more eloquent answer.
“Hmm? That didn’t cross my mind.” Mort mumbled. “How cleaver! You sure you didn’t hide any piece of gold up there?”
“No, sorry. This actually worth more than gold to me.”
A thinking moment paused the sound in the ship. Mort disrupted it by sarcastically wowing while looking at Gael, “A Crimsonton! What a surprise.”
“It seems that you got a problem with that?” he replied.
“No, no, not at all… but a Crimsonton, who is certainly drowning in money, happen to be the one who strongly opposed my fair apportion? How cheap one can be?”
“It got nothing with being cheap. It is your pathetic trickery that I refuse to fall for. You are the greedy one who wanted to devour it all.”
“Oh, I had better to avoid this useless argument.”
Bob hummed, and asked, “Why didn’t you say to us that you are a Crimsonton? Though, I don’t know what’s that, but do you suffer from trust issues or something?”
“It’s a long story that am not going to bother telling. But its short version is that if I said so, then the whole world would turn to a disgusting and hypocritical masquerade that I can’t behold.”
“How profound!” Carl responded.
“Yea... Frankly, it depends on the person’s point of view. For me I despite being positively judged based on the amount of money that I have access to.”
Mort pityingly chuckled, “Spoiled kids, indeed. Just enjoy your life for God’s sake. Buy what others can’t, marry the fair maiden that others will never even lay a sight on. Choose, god damn it! Just enjoy being rich.”
“As I told you, it depends on the person’s point of view.”
Moments of awkward silence passed, Carl, who somehow found himself involuntarily focusing on minding his manners after knowing Gael’s powerful origin, curiously asked him, “Pardon me, but I have a mind-etching quarry. You might find it absurd, regarding you as a Crimsonton.”
“Feel free to speak up your mind.”
“Am pretty sure that you had heard about those conspiracy theorists... fear not, am not one of them, nor do I believe what they claim, but sometimes they bring up cohesive stories that puzzles the mind, and they back it up with some solid-ground evidence.”
Gael cracked a smile, and jokingly said, “Don’t worry, I am not a three-eyed shape-shifting lizard that came from the outer space.”
He chuckled, and cleared, “No… I want to ask you: is it true that you control the galaxy and shape its fate? Is it true that you are allied to another group of wealthy and powerful people who have a secret hideout in which you plan how to wage wars against those who may pose a threat to your interest? Or do you have those scientists who do their illicit research underground trying to provide you with exclusive medicines or the Eternal-Life elixir?”
Gael faintly wowed, and replied, “And I thought you were the smartest! …No, we don’t do anything from the formers, and what is the need for a secret underground hideout when you don’t even
know what is happening in the house next door!? But for wars, yes, we do sometimes interfere ‘financially only,’ and that’s only if one of the sides will likely pose a threat to us if he wins. But it is not us who wages it, we only side with the one who is most likely to win. Am pretty sure everyone will do the same if they got the chance.”
Another silent moment paused in the ship, Mort, who was nodding in thoughts, hesitated at first, and asked Gael, “Look! am not going to change my personality, nor will I lick your boots knowing that you are a Crimsonton. Fuck this whole depraved family in general. See! not masquerading shit, no?... besides, it won’t work, for you know exactly my true self.”
“Head to the point.”
“It is plain to see how messed up this ship is. For that, I want you to give me its repairing money… Not because am Mort, nor is it because you’re a Crimsonton! Nay, it’s because of the good ol’ days. What you say we start over from the beginning?”
Gael paused silent for a brief moment, then nodded in agreement, saying, “Alright, am thinking about buying you a new ship, not because you are Mort, nor because of the none-existing good ol’ days. Nay! I have to repay you the price of Olivia’s stone that I led them to it... It was surprisingly nice of you to keep it this long.”
“Oh! Yea, yea the stone. Alright, it is a deal then. I won’t forget this, though, so no slacking off.”
After half an hour filled with mixed emotions between remorse, relief, and joy, the ship was ready to set-off to home. Kaiser was too silent and sincerely hoping that this is the trip to home.
Apologetic Parting
After 10 days, the ship stopped not far from Jupiter. They woke up with a visible sight of the Earth’s distant sun, the Milky-Way’s nebula, and the guiding rings through which some of the ships were traveling.
“Home sweet home, at last.” Bob sighed.
Kaiser added, “True, I had never thought that I would feel nor will I fully understand this phrase.”
Mort ventured forth, and after 6 long hours, they finally landed on earth. They hopped out of the ship to be extremely shocked, confounded, and puzzled in the terminal! According to the calendar showing there, a year had passed since their journey! They all put their hands over their head in disbelief. Headache, Carl felt after trying to figure out how did this happen?
With slightly shaking hands, Kaiser was in a deep concern, thinking, “My disappearance must’ve caused a lot of trouble to my family. Damn, I must haste to them… am sure they had considered me dead!”
With frowning face, Gael looked Mort hard in the eyes, but before he spells a word, a group of men in black agent suits courted him. “Are you alright, sir.” One of them asked.
“Yes… yes, I am.”
“Your father is burdened with concern as his mood went sorrowful the moment you disappeared. You better haste and come with us…hurry up and ease his heart.”
“I will, just leave me bid my friends farewell.”
The agent approached Gael’s ear and whispered to him saying, “Look, sir. I am the one who found you. Please, don’t forget to tell your dad this. Look at this *folding up his sleeve* I am the one with this scar on his right wrist, please don’t forget this.”
“Worry not, I promise, I will.”
All of the guys were in hurry as they were concerning about their families. They bid each other farewell, and before they part ways, Gael asked Kaiser for a privet word. Kaiser followed him, and when they reached a distant were other ears can’t hear, he said, “I hope my words find its way to erase any hatred and loosen any grudge that you may hold against me. I do confess that I odiously treated you that day. I let envy and jealousy grab hold of me in a way I never thought of… To cast your reel and search for true love in that planet was an idea that I thought you would never do. You were brave, and I did envy your sight when you held her hand. I sinned, Kaiser. And... I really wish that you grant me absolution. Am sorry for your loss, I am really sorry.”
“Trust me, there is no hard feeling nor a grudge that I hold toward you. Besides, you weren’t the one who split us apart. Death; the joy killer, was the one. You don’t have to be sorry about it.”
“Thank you... I really do hope the best for you. We will meet up in the near future, I assure you this.”
“I will be waiting for that. I wish the best for you too, and I do hope that you get along with your dad.”
They shook hands, and before they leave, Gael told one of his butler to take their addresses and contact info. After that, they parted. Jack asked Kaiser about that, but he told him that it was nothing.
Joy Killer
At about 9PM, Kaiser reached his house to be tightly grabbed by a strange flow of feelings. He felt something wrong, something is not right. He hasted, and knocked the door to be opened by his mom whom her tired mournful eyes slowly widen in disbelieve. She paused still for a moment, then she clutched him and joyfully wept on his shoulder thanking god for this. He tightened his arm around her, and as he kissed her head, he said, “Am so sorry, mom.” They got in the house and sat in the living room. It was dim and quite except for some chirping insects outside. He asked about his little sister, and his mom told him that she is sleeping in her room. And when he asked about his dad, her eyes teared up again. Weeping and sniffing made it hard for her to speak, but after calming her, she mournfully answered, “He died.”
“How?” he asked, while tears gathered in his eyes.
“His temper killed him.” she answered. “He bought a soda from a vending machine, but it got stuck. He knocked and kicked it couple of times trying to get it off, but it didn’t... then, he lost his temper and pulled it toward him so the soda may fall, but… the vending machine badly fell on him.”
Kais, who kept silent as tears started to flow, asked, “Was he waiting for me?”
“No, it was three days after your left.”
“Did he suffer?”
“He stayed in the hospital for three days… and died later. He recorded a video for you. You better watch it alone, I might lose myself to grief again... I should make you dinner, you must be hungry.
“No, mother. I just want to sleep for now.”
“You sure?”
“Yes, thank you so much… Just bring me the recorded video please.”
His mother brought him the video, which was in a small memory card. And while joyfully tearing up, she hugged him again, saying “You don’t know how happy I am right now.” He went up to his room, the calm and comfy one, but strangely, it wasn’t any more... He turned on his dusty computer, inserted the memory card, and turned on the video. His father, Austin Miller, showed up on a white sheeted medical bed, with plenty of medical wires and tubes on his body. He was grunting in pain and hardly breathing. The sight of once a strong fearful man broken and weak, brought up grieving sadness to Kais’s heart. Rapidly, his tears flowed when his dad coughed trying to speak with an ill and broken voice tone, “Son… am sorry… I am really sorry. I couldn’t be the man that I supposed to be. I failed you, and I failed your mom and sister. Am sorry for cutting your hair, am sorry for yelling at you the other day, and am sorry for mistreating your mom. *faintly chuckled* Karma did a number on me, no? ...God, how piteous I am.
Son… you will reach a point in life where there will be nothing left for you to do. In that time, you will be looking at your past of this worthless short life of ours, and you will remember your long-forgotten dreams that never came true. When that time come, don’t bother looking back, ignore it and move forward, for it will provide nothing but haunting depressing thoughts. I was running away from myself, I hated the fact that I am a living failure. I tried so hard, I truly did, but I couldn’t surpass that state.”
His mom was grieving in the background as his father teared up. Austin paused silent for a moment, sniffed, cleared his voice, and asked, “Do you know what brings a man to his knees, son? ...It is the gloating laughter, of those who he had trusted, spark on him when tumble and fall.
&n
bsp; I am surly dying, son. I hope the best for you. Please forgive me, and take care of your mom and sister.”
Kaiser, who couldn’t help but to turn off the video, grievingly wept for a while. Then, he laid on his bed for minutes that made his tears wet the sheet. He somehow managed to sleep with chest filled with sorrow and remorse.
***
As for Gael, his reconciliation with his father was apologetic and tearful for both of them. But the ice thawed later as they got along with each other just fine.
***
Jack, Bob, and Carl returned home as they also eased and vanquished their families’ anxious concern.
***
As for Mort, Gael kept his promise and bought him a brand-new high-tech spaceship. But he sold it and repaired his former ship by a small amount of its money. Several weeks later, he miraculously survived a collision with an asteroid that badly damaged his ship, forcing him to spend what left of Gael’s ship money on its repair. He then disappointingly said, “Seems poverty won’t let me be!”
***
As for the Phugwak Planet, defection rumors spread far and wide revolving around the sudden and the unsolved disappearance of Alfred, Schneider, and Ludwig. The rumors provoked lots of General to defect and decline the Emperor’s order. Months later, the Emperor and his whole family got assassinated by orders from the top rich and powerful oligarchies after realizing that the Emperor defeat is inevitable. But that move badly backfired on them as disorder and chaos spread throughout the planet making it lawless, save one law that they agreed to subdue to, which was the laws of the jungle “Kill or be Killed.”
Death swept his scythe from east to west and from north to south till death became frequent and somehow normal! Murder, rape, and servitude became the fate of those who can’t fight back. Peace and prosperity became too difficult to achieve as lots of lowlife alpha-male warlords started to chop a land or two, proclaim its dominion, paint their flag, and declare it an independent state.
