by Ayman Ghalit
The preordained husband, let out a pitying chuckle, and responded, “There is plenty of fish in the sea.” Then, he told someone to a company him. Jack was grunting in deep pain, but he knew that this is his end, for that, he made it a goal not to beg those bastards his life. He closed his eyes and laughed out loud, saying, “Fuck you, loser. You will end up a creep who only lurks in the shadows.” And when he sensed their footsteps approaching him, he opened his eyes to see a big boulder above his head. He stuttered in fear and disbelieve, because it was a familiar sight. It was exactly the same as Olivia’s boulder!
They levitated it high enough for an instant kill, and let go of it to fall on Jack. The boulder permanently shut down Jack’s brain with one hit. Later, they dragged him to be burned with his beloved deceased one. And before the boulder crushes his skull, the same question that Kaiser and Gael had, crossed Jack’s mind as well…
Reincarnated Desire
Carl felt awfully bad after hearing about Kais, Jack, and Gael. But ones’ death had never grind the wheels of time. He graduated from the medical school with excellent grades, and several months later, he found a job in a small hospital in Planet Phoenix, located in Blazer Solar System, 300 light hours from Earth. The hospital was in a small, vacant, and boring tribal village in the middle of a desert, with a population of roughly five thousand. But it was quiet, calm, peaceful, and money-saving experience for him. Work was routinely-easy thanks to the advanced medical technology.
One lonely, and extremely boring year slowly passed. In that time, Carl started to think deeply about the meaning of life, (why are we here? What is the purpose? What is beyond death? Who was the first, and who shall be the last? All these creatures spread throughout the universe, are they all the result of a coincident? And if it happens to be all by coincident, does that mean its meaningless? All those uncountable people blindly doing their daily boring tasks, for what purpose?) He tried hard to get rid of these gloomy thoughts, but with no interesting one to talk to there, he found it difficult to do so.
Once, a noisy buzzing sound woke him up in the middle of the night. It was an insect that he searched for to silence it. The culprit was a hand-sized and a bizarre-looking beetle that he found inside a fake-decorating tree. He brought a big wooden spoon and picked it up, gazed upon it for a moment or so, and asked himself questions; “What is the purpose of this insect? Is its existence essential for this whole universe in general, or even to this planet in particular? If I squished it with my foot right now, is it going to affect the natural balance as they claim? Or is it going to result in a devastating outcome in the distant future?” He took it outside, hesitated at first, and squished it.
Three months later, he felt awfully depressed, anxious, and unhappy with his life. Everything was the same. Repetitive, colorless, and boring work, day, after day, after day. He felt insignificant and useless. His existence literally doesn’t matter. He was expecting that the world will be his. He thought the future will be active, intense, and joyful. He thought that he will have it all …but he is stuck in this village where no one cares about his presence, nor will they ever notice his disappearance. His work is not firmly appreciated, nor was it necessary, thanks to the advanced medical robots. He thought about this to conclude, “It is not the villagers fault to not recognize you. It is you! Who the fuck you think you are? A doctor you say!? Well, guess what! There are billions of doctors just like you, and you are not so special.” He surrendered to the reality as he hardly swallowed the fact that he is just like everybody else…
Once, in a cold boring night, he was checking the gallery of his phone, and stumbled upon the photos that he took in the Phugwak planet: Mort’s ship, his friends, the bloody rain, the twins, and the planet when they were about to leave and the selfie he took outside of Mort’s ship. It did bring warm and sad nostalgic memories. He remembered the days where he was truly feeling alive. He kept sweeping through the gallery, till he stopped at the dashboard photo that was revealing the coordinates that leads to the Phugwak planet. He hesitated at first, but then realized that this discovery will soar him up to be with the Human Elite. The prove of an outer, intelligent, and free willing lifeform is between his palms...!
He thought about the gruesome consequences which will likely happen to the Phugwaks, but he forced his self to care not, saying, “Emotions didn’t, and will never run the gears of advancement.” He made up his mind, and decided that after three months, he will take a long vacation, and a big loan for his journey to search and prove to the universe that we are not alone. The discovery that will change the way of thinking and contradict the believe of most of the human around the galaxy.
Two weeks later, Carl, who was the only available doctor that day, got an emergency call, and rushed to the hospital to find that the Tribe’s Sheikh needs an urgent medical attention. The Sheikh had a heart attack due to an artillery blockage. He thought that the medical robots will do the trick, but somehow, the medical robot malfunctioned. Though, he was not specified in heart surgery, but he did a dozen of successful ones throughout his medical career. At first, he hesitated to accept the patient, but he didn’t like to appear as an unprofessional doctor who is unworthy of the name. He convinced himself saying, “It won’t be hard, Carl. Accept the ill Sheikh. This is where you prove yourself… and they might handsomely reward you after that!” He wore the green medical gown, the mask, professionally cleansed his hands, and wore the surgical gloves while entering the emergency room with full confidant after accepting him. He started the surgery to widen the patient’s heart artilleries or replace them if needed. The operation succeeded, and everything went smooth till the end. But when Carl was about to sew the last stitch, something happened! The blood gushed out through the stitches. Carl tried so hard to stop the bleeding, but it all went to failure. The bleeping heart-rate-monitor started to decay by the second till it went all bleep!
Carl was looking at his blood-soaked shaking palms in confusing. The words spread instantly revealing that the Sheikh has died due to a medical error from an unauthorized doctor. The tribal men swiftly surrounded the hospital and was demanding the doctor’s head, for he is the one who killed their Sheikh. A male-nurse came to Carl who was in worrisome fear, and advised him to escape this place and wait till thing get clear. He then led him to a secured route.
The sight of an absconding doctor crouching and hiding in fear behind the decorating bushes, was pitiful indeed. A sight akin to a dog in fear. Carl was so close to escape the hospital, but one of the tribal men pointed at him and cried, “There is the murderer!” Carl stood, and ran as fast as he could, but none of the tribal men bothered to chase him, because the know very well that no human is faster than a bullet. A marksman shot him in the spine disabling him for good. Carl fell hard on the ground and couldn’t feel a thing after that. He tried so hard to move, but couldn’t move a limb except for his neck. Gritting his teeth in pain, he knew that this is the end. He looked at his right to see the bizarre-looking beetle hanging on a branch of one of the decorating tree. Shortly after, the tribal men gathered around him and threw lots of negative words at him.
“I am not a murderer,” he grunted.
“Why run if you are not then!” someone roared.
Carl looked at the one saying that, and got quaked in disbelieve and puzzlement. The one who asked him was exactly the same as the two mad-twin, Alston and Alton, whom Gael shot in the Phugwak planet! He was a twin to another next to him with the same pupil displacement. Carl stuttered in fear and couldn’t say a word. One of the twins suggested, “We better leave him be to suffer.” The other disagreed, “No, we must avenge our father.”
He approached Carl and pointed his gun at his face. Carl closed his eyes waiting for the merciful bullet that will cease his existence. One bullet ended his life, and ended the proven lead to the other intelligent-lifeform for good. And before the bullet penetrates Carl’s skull, the same question crossed his mind as well.
Cursed
Morton Morgan returned to the toilsome taxi life of his by hunting the travelers for a cheaper price. He told lots of his peers about his journey in the golden planet, but everyone he had told shut him up by ridiculing and disbelieving his tale. He tried to contact Gael to tell him that he is in desperate time, but that didn’t happen.
Life slowly pass for and old struggling man. He, as the taxi driver who steals traveler from the big transportation companies, frequently faces negative verbal assault. One time, in front of a lot of people, he had been aggressively pushed back and accused of being a good-for-nothing old loser from a young couple that he impeded. That did worsen his day and made him return home early. In his car back to home, he thought about this jinxed life of his, and wondered if it was all fated? Is the preordained plan that Gael pointed at is real? Why the poor get poorer and the rich get richer?
The car’s condition, messy interior, and stench added a salt to his injury. And when stopped at a traffic light, he reached the car’s glove box to spray the car with a perfume that he remembers storing there. He opened it to be shocked by a sight that vanquished all his negativity that day. His hands were shaken when he witnessed two big chunks of gold and diamond! He recalled storing it here when first landed on the Phugwak Planet!
An aggressive car honking made him return back from his joyful moonstruck. He apologizingly smiled and waved his hand to those who were behind him, muttering while feeling really happy, “The curse is surly being lifted now.”
He returned home with the company of two eye-pleasing items that he hid under his bed, and started to bolt up the doors every time he goes out or sleep. Onetime, he even rechecked the door lock five times to be sure! He abandoned his taxi life, and began to search for a buyer in the deep web. He found a safe and guaranteed one who offered him a good untaxed price worth of 10 million Sez! Mort knows that the diamond alone worth more than that, but he agreed saying, “Am too old to negotiate, let me enjoy life while I still can.”
They agreed to meet up in a small war-torn planet called Dan-150, not fare from Earth. The guy, whom Mort agreed to deal with, was a well-known honest man who never deceived a dealer. For that, he sat-off toward that planet with confidant and carefree mind. And when landed, his mind quacked by a riddling sight. He paused in a shock for a moment or so, as he found the guy who is supposed to escort him to the meeting place looks exactly the same as Mendoza of The Phugwak Planet!
The witting guy calmly asked, “You are Morton?”
Fear and hesitation embraced Mort at first, but he regained his confidant, and answered him “Yes, I am.”
He escorted him to a ruined and abounded hotel-like building where three men in black suites were awaiting. “Show me the money,” Mort started his conversation.
One man chuckled, and said “Monkey business is not our way of dealing... Alright, here is the money, and we will be more than patient if you want to count it whole.”
They handed Mort a brown leathery suitcase. He cautiously opened it to see stacks of well-aligned red paper money, and checked it to find it genuine and true. He then handed them the gold and the diamond rocks, they checked it, and got impressed by how pure the items were. They smiled at him, and shook his hand saying, “Pleasure doing business with you.”
They packed up and left, and before they cross the door’s threshold, the Mendoza-looking guy pulled out a gun, and within seconds, and without wasting a bullet, he shot all of them in the back of their heads… killing them all! Then, swiftly, he pointed his gun at Mort’s face, who began to tremble in fear, “Please… you don’t have to this.”
“Fortune Favors the Bold,” he replied.
He shot him in the face, grabbed the money suitcase, the diamond and the gold, and ran out to leave Mort rot in that ruined building for good. His beloved ship, Amoon, got stolen after being parked for too long … And that same question, crossed Mort’s head before he dies.
Melancholic Solitude
Piece by piece, despair nibbles in Bob, who completely lost hope in life after the sorrowful death of his friends. The only remnant of joy and kindness was in the merciful palms of his parents, but sadly that didn’t last. They passed away by a car accident, six years after Kais’s death.
Bob’s melancholy began after that. His innocent dream of pairing with a girl, slowly, and painfully died out inside of him. Loneliness chained him to the core, resulting him to try taking out his own life by lots of means, but he couldn’t succeed. He tried going out once or twice, but it was difficult to gain new friends in that age and shape. And as he couldn’t stand the gruesome judgmental eyes, he abandoned that idea once and for all.
By the money he inherited, he made the ultimate man-cave in his basement, with cutting-edge computing and videogame systems, big ultra-high definition screen, high-end virtual-reality helmets, high-quality audio devices, and more importantly, an easy-accessible toilet… That was the only way he found to survive his painful loneliness. He made it his way of life, caring not about peoples advises and opinions.
He completely disappeared from the outside world. And what made him continue this way, is that no one asked for him, nor did anyone care. The only physical human beings that he encounters, were those who deliver him food. And after noticing that no one cares about him, nor will they ever do, he swallowed the reality, saying, “life is done with you, Bob.”
He began to spend more the sixteen hours straight on video games. Eating fast food, drinking soda, and not exercising made him rapidly gain more weight by the time, but he cared not and went on with his habit.
Nations rose and fell, wars sparked and dimmed while Bob was still playing videogames in his basement. And at the age of 33, easy life tasks such as walking, using the water cycle, showering, and wearing clothes became too difficult for him. His knees grew painfully weak, his back always hurt, and he heavily pants wherever he does any kind of simple physical-activity. One day, he managed to stand naked in front of a mirror just to take a glimpse at his disastrous looking shape. He was completely bald-headed, with a messy long beard. He ruefully wept after seeing his reflection that shows his dangled huge belly that reaches his knees and hides his forgotten genital organ. His big saggy breasts, and his unsightly puckered arms and thighs. In the lonesome basement, he wept, and cursed his life for more than half an hour. He heaved when he remembered the days of the Phugwak Planet, his friends, and that remarkable adventure that made him feel alive despite how dangerous it was. After that, he managed to dress up again, and return to his massage built-in big cushioned recliner that he even sleeps on.
Two weeks later, he was playing a Massively-Multiplayer-Online-Role-Playing-Game. His character level was maxed at 999. He created it to be a fit, muscular, and a badass man. He didn’t randomly create it, rather he spent hours sculpting the human shape he always desired. He played for 10 hours straight, drinking from a big-sized soda and eating potatoes chips from a family-sized bag.
While still dominating the game, an online player joined the game with a leveled 999 characters as well. Most of the player’s level in that game were barely reaching the level 600, except for two, Bob and that guy, whom was extremely good at the game. He noticed Bob character, and challenged him into a duel. Bob accepted the request and fought him. He easily managed to balance the battle to his favor, but moments later, that online player sent a massage to Bob that reads, “Why did you lie to me? I waited for your call that never came.”
Bob felt puzzled, and asked, “Who?”
That player answered, “Am Kathleen.”
“Kathleen?”
“The one you wrote her number on your palm.”
Bob felt confused at first, but he remembered that girl in the Phugwak Planet whom he used to prove to Jack that he is the beautiful. “That’s impossible!” he muttered. And when his fingers reached the keyboard to reply, a sudden, and an awful pain branched across his chest. It was like as if someone was repeatedly piercing his heart with a dagger. He grunts in deep pain, and tri
ed to cry for help. He tried so hard to shout and scream, but couldn’t. Slowly, his breaths grow heavy as the lights dim in his eyes… It dimmed, till it went all dark.
Bob died due a heart attack. They found his body a week later, and the one who found out about him was the food delivery guy who noticed his prolonged disappearance. They found him slightly covered in maggots, with stiff limbs and terrifying death stare. The basement reeks with a horrible smell. And ironically, in the screen, where the game was still running, a message that reads,
“You have been disqualified due to inactivity.”
His condition brought pettiness and scorn to the onlooker who gathered around him, led by the flashing lights and the loud sirens of an ambulance and a firefighter trucks that broke the wall to reach Bob, who died as a sad lonely one in this universe of many ... And before he gasps his last painful breath, that question popped up in his head as well.
They all felt the one who asked the sudden question was from the Phugwak Planet. A tall man, with featureless face, wearing a jet-black robe, asking, as if he was pitying them,
“For Whom You Lived?”
The End
AUTHOR’S NOTE
You know what! I really don’t know what to right in here, but I sincerely thank you for reading The Phugwak Planet. I hope you have enjoyed it. It is my first novel, and it took almost two years for me to write down. There will be more coming, and I will be more than happy to read you reviews and listen to your feedbacks.
