by Rabia Rahou
“Thank you, Konu. I was thinking all this time about what you did. It was incredible!”
“What we did, ‘pretty face.’”
“What?”
“That’s what we called you, me and Oina – ‘pretty face.’”
Laughing, we felt rested, happy, and content for the first time in our lives. It was a rare and cheerful moment with my best friend.
“By the way, you remember you gave me a task a while ago, to look for a person who went into a coma because of some psychedelic cocktail from some startup? And that was the only case – remember that?”
“And!!??”
“Yeah, he is here, on this island.”
“What? That’s a big fat coincidence.”
“Is it, Konu? You talk as if entering the Arc from the main gate, as the most wanted man in the empire, wasn’t?”
“What do you mean?”
“I feel like you are too much lucky and coincidences are lined up for you, like to be present in the day and the night simultaneously is normal for you. You remember on the boat that night? You woke up from a coma, weak, wanted, finished. The next day, that situation turned upside down.” He said
“I remember how a rare breed of warrior took on his shoulders a wounded friend, lashed out in an act of revenge in its purest form, through a mastery of war. And I never in my life had seen someone attacking an AI platoon in solo mode. And I still remember when you looked at me and told me. ‘Listen, stay here. You are wounded.’ That was the only time in my entire life someone defended me. We did it together. my friend, the three of us.”
“Those were glorious, good times.”
“Dismar, the good times are now. Those were the tough times.”
“I don’t know, Konu. It feels like I’m not that person, the father-type, I mean...”
“Then, you are not. What is the problem?”
“I miss the struggle, Konu, Am I sick?”
“A wise man said once that the greatest sight ever is to see a great man struggling against adversity.”
“I see what you mean.”
“Now, do you want to come with me? If so, make a decision. You don’t have to go back home. I mean it!”
Dismar just stood there looking at me, shockingly excited, but I knew he wouldn’t do it. He just needed the doors to stay open. Keeping his freedom is vital for him, and once that is acquired, everything will be peaceful in his heart, and he will be a faithful and a loving being. I’m sure about that.
Dismar thought for a while, and then said, “I will let you know in the morning,”
The next morning, Dismar went with me to the beach, in his flip flops, his girl on his shoulders, and as a loving father that seemed to be happy. He gave me a hug, I gave him Oina’s and my written meditations. I told him it was me who freed him from prison, and anything he reads inside about him or anything else is the truth. I told him that I love him like the brother that I never had and asked him to always keep that with his memories, just for the sake of it.
We were not looking for any recognition or fame or a red carpet for defending and saving the world. We did it as defiance, with our power of will, love, and camaraderie, against the natural order itself. The one that dictates each one’s destiny hatefully, the one that enslave the poor and elevate the wealthy, the one that opens margins for self-destruction, the blind stupid one who made the survival as the ultimate goal for any living being. We stepped on that one as he was stepping on every poor suffering creature, with vengeance.
Crying, he asked me to keep in touch with him. I promised him that I would.
I sailed for a bit, then I heard him screaming, “Konu! What if we are still in the machine’s time bubble?”
I stood up in the boat, turn around towards the shore, and shouted back to him, “It doesn’t matter, as long as it’s peaceful.”
The End
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About the Author
Rabia Rahou is a computer graphic artist known in the industry for his unique work in lighting and concept art. After a long international career where he collaborated in crafting the visuals of the best blockbuster movies and AAA video games around the world, he decided to enter the writing arena as an author.
His first book, Konu: The Masterpiece, is highly regarded by many philosophical sci-fi followers as the spinning point of the genre.
Rabia is now residing in Tokyo, where he is a senior designer for the Final Fantasy video game series.
