Amok: An Anthology of Asia-Pacific Speculative Fiction

by Dominica Malcolm

  Damian stood up when he saw the two talking and laughing. Mission accomplished. The target fell in love with the client, forever.

  §

  “So how are you, Sir?” Sunet asked.

  “I’m fine.” Damian replied.

  “I’d say that’s a lie by the way you look, Sir.”

  “Just couldn’t get any proper sleep.”

  “Really? And Carmelo calls you Sandman for all the sleep you’ve been doing.”

  “I don’t care what Carmelo says.”

  “Of course you don’t, Sir,” Sunet fixed the eyeglasses on the bridge of his nose, licked his hands, and turned some leaves of the record book. “But keep in my mind that he’s your senior.”

  “For as long as I am in probation. I’ll be a full Cupid after this.”

  “You think so? I see you’re very confident, Sir.”

  “Why shouldn’t I? I deserve it.”

  “Too cocky, Sir, but we’ll see.” Sunet skimmed through the log of Damian’s missions, from those two elementary students to the old woman who paid a lot of money to secure the young businessman’s love. Misses, failures, and delays gave him demerits and harsh criticisms. Perfect missions earned him nothing except the chance for immortality.

  “Overall, you’ve done a good job, Sir,” Sunet said. “We can forgive all of your previous mistakes and for staying stubborn about using a slingshot instead of the customary bow and arrow. But before you graduate, we have one more mission for you, just to make sure you deserve Cupidity and immortality.”

  “The big bosses won’t make it any easier for me?”

  “Never mind the big bosses, Sir. It’s all for the agency’s benefit.” Sunet handed a sealed brown envelop to Damian.

  The contents were the same for any mission envelope: a piece of paper and a 4R picture. On the paper were the target’s basic information (name, age, height, complexion, occupation and present residence), additional details, and instructions for the hit. Information about the client was missing. He asked for anonymity, either for safety concerns or, most likely, for unbearable shame in dealing with Cupids.

  “Is this the agency’s idea of a joke.” Once Damian saw his target’s name, he did not need to see any other personal detail. Only the picture would do for she had changed after four years, a shorter hair, dyed reddish brown, and a more slender body. She maintained the beautiful face he had fallen in love with.

  “Based on your reaction, Sir, I’d say it proves the agency is doing the right thing.” Sunet smiled and waited for Damian to answer.

  The silence turned to a high pitch whistle that almost made Damian’s ear drums explode. One punch could split open Sunet’s lips and destroy his devious smile. Damian kept his cool. Hitting an innocent messenger was useless.

  “Your last mission is to make Sarah Cortez fall in love. Do it and the big bosses will raise you to a full Cupid. And, as we have agreed, you will be immortal,” Sunet said.

  “Part of our agreement was to take Sarah out of my life. I didn’t want to remember her. But you failed.” Damian slapped Sarah’s photo on the table. The sound reverberated in the room and made Sunet jerk.

  “Interesting. The dreams went not only to your head but also to your heart,” Sunet said.

  “How did—”

  “I know everything, and I never fail, Sir. The moment I learned about your dreams I knew what the reason was. It’s all because of this.” The messenger pointed to Damian’s chest. He whispered the words as if it was top secret. “You still love her.”

  “I don’t love her,” Damian’s words were a futile and worthless attempt to deny his feelings.

  “You do. And the big bosses know, Sir. This is the perfect mission for you. Make her fall in love, and you can move on. Forget about her, be a Cupid, be immortal. The agency can force love to any heart, but we cannot take it away. It’s like death, only worse.”

  The words pierced Damian to the bone. Sunet’s eyes sent a creeping fear all over his body. The old man’s smile froze his heart and his soul. Damian always saw Sunet as an old man, but at that moment, he feared Sunet.

  “You will do this, Sir,” Sunet continued. “Because if you don’t, you’ll break our contract, and as you already know there is no place for an ex-Cupid, even one in training, in the world of mortals. The agency will make sure hell reserves a special place for you.”

  §

  “I want red wings when this is all over.”

  Rain poured down on the city. Ankle deep flood sunk the city roads. The water sliding on the windshields made the city outside appear it was under a wild current of ocean. Damian was getting bored waiting and had started talking about all the things he wanted as a Cupid.

  “And no one can force a bow and arrow on me, I’ll keep Y,” Damian continued. “I’m more troubled with immortality. I don’t know what I’ll do forever besides missions.”

  “You’ll soon figure that out,” Carmelo replied. The senior would assist Damian in his final mission, but Damian thought it was more of a precautionary measure for the agency.

  “There are a lot of things you can do,” Carmelo said. “You’ll live forever right? You can actually just keep on thinking what to do, and you’ll still have infinity to do it once you’ve decided. In that aspect, immortals are blessed. Mortals need to rush and decide what they’ll do. If they don’t, they’ll die the next day without even accomplishing anything.”

  “Really? Cupids have the luxury of not dying?” Damian asked. “Then I wonder why I’m here. As far as I know, the agency needs five Cupids. There are four of you, what happened to the one before me?”

  “Look here kid,” Carmelo said, “Cupids are immortal, but if you ever find forever to be overwhelming, you can always decide to spend eternity in darkness and silence, in short death. That happens all the time.”

  “So we have that choice, huh? I never thought of that. Why did the last one decide to die?”

  “He never decided to. It just happened.”

  “He got killed? He’s immortal. He can’t be killed.”

  “Unless he falls in love, love for a day and death for eternity. Demetrio never regretted it though. I saw it in those dying eyes of his.”

  “Love and then death? Talk about going from bad to worse,” Damian said.

  Sunet laughed, “I think you got it the wrong way around, Sir. Although the sequence is right, the severity is wrong. Love is always worse than death. Dying is an escape from love’s tortures.”

  “So that’s why the agency is making me do this,” Damian said. “I can’t become a Cupid if I’m still in love with Sarah.”

  “Yes,” Sunet replied. “You can lie all you want. If the agency turns you into a full Cupid even with a single hint of love for Sarah still in your heart, you’ll die in an instant. And that would be just a waste for the big bosses. They need to be sure first. Finding new trainees are not hard though, so you better make this.”

  Sunet parked the car on the sidewalk. The wind blew rain to almost a horizontal. Gust shook the buildings.

  “Make this quick, Sir.” Sunet said. “You know where she is. Do it. Then go back immediately. This storm is not that much of a problem. Sir Carmelo, go to the skies when I signal all clear, and carry Sir Damian to the top of that building there. The view will be perfect for him.”

  “Okay, Boss,” Carmelo replied. “I love rain. I like getting my wings wet.”

  After a few short breaths and a long blank stare ahead, Sunet told them it was fine to get out. A splash of water greeted Damian. The strong wind took his balance off, and the flood made it impossible for his feet to grip the pavement. He was falling down. Before Damian took the impact, the ground fell further from him.

  Carmelo took Damian under the arms. They flew above Sunet’s car. Dark purple wings almost twice Carmelo’s span forced its way against the violent gust. Its thick feathers and frequent flaps broke the rain’s continuous pour. No mortal noticed this; the surrounding was all rain for them, no flying
man with big wings, no Cupids.

  The building’s rooftop gave a good view of the 32nd floor of the adjacent building where Sarah was working. Sarah sat in front of her computer. Men occupied each cubicle around her. If Damian shot her then, the first man she would see could be any of them. He had specific instructions on the hit time. Damian looked at his watch.

  “Five minutes,” Damian said, “I better get ready.”

  “I’ll just watch here. I’m enjoying this storm in flight.” Carmelo said.

  Sarah’s heart had a bluish glow that indicated she was not, at that moment, in love. It assured Damian of what he was about to do.

  “Carmelo? Why are you here?” Damian asked.

  “To look over you, of course,” Carmelo replied.

  “Don’t lie to me Carmelo,” Damian said and faced Carmelo.

  The Cupid kept his head raised, looking straight to the sky, allowing the rain to wash over his face.

  “You only accompany me on heart break missions,” Damian continued, “I know why you’re here.”

  “I am the heart break Cupid indeed,” Carmelo enjoyed the shower heaven gave him. “Still, why would it matter anyway? Just do your mission, kid. Then you’ll be like me. If you don’t like my job then you can always turn down hits like this.”

  “What if I don’t do it?” His hesitation contradicted the loaded and stretched slingshot aimed at Sarah’s heart.

  “Do you really have to be stubborn about this?” Carmelo’s face was blank.

  The Cupid slid his hand through his long dark hair and took a strand. After whispering a prayer, the hair curved and took form, spreading like a piece of darkness in Carmelo’s hands. A dark bow as long as Carmelo’s span materialised in his hands. It was not the first time Damian saw Shadow’s Crown. Rain and wind dispersed as Carmelo swung his right arm and Shadow’s Crown, the gust unable to withstand the force of the act.

  Carmelo plucked a feather from his wings. Blood dripped in a diagonal line that ended to a sharp tip. He kissed the purple quivers and licked the red shaft of his arrow up to its tip then shook the rain off it.

  “Three minutes,” Carmelo notched the arrow, drew, and aimed for Sarah’s heart. “If you don’t do it, I’ll do it.”

  “And that’s why the agency sent you,” Damian returned his attention towards Sarah’s heart, “if there really is an agency. Next question, who is Sunet? Why did you call him Boss?”

  “I was stupid to make that slip. You know he can hear our conversation, right?”

  “Yeah. And I want him to hear all of it.”

  “What the hell; you’ll learn it anyway. Sunet is the agency, the big bosses, everything.”

  “So he is the God of love?”

  Carmelo’s laughter drowned the roar of thunder, “That’ll amuse him. Not really, he’s just who he is, eternal and mysterious. He doesn’t have a real name. He’s everything, life, knowledge, love, despair, dreams, destruction, growth, and death. I have to tell you, he’s enjoying this conversation.”

  “Who wants to break Sarah’s heart?” Damian asked.

  “I do.” Damian recognised Sunet’s voice echoing in his head.

  “Why, Sunet?” Damian asked.

  “To test you if you still love her. You can’t be a Cupid if you do,” Sunet said. “But don’t worry. I’ll assure you the pain of the heartbreak will not last long. I made arrangements with my Angels of Death to give her an eternal rest after a couple of months. I hope that doesn’t complicate your mission.”

  Damian could imagine the devilish smile on Sunet’s wrinkled face, “No. No complications whatsoever.”

  Damian’s focus had never been so intense, only a minute left until hit. He needed his full concentration to make sure he would do it right, no mistakes.

  Thirty seconds, Damian’s heartbeat slowed. He could see every detail of the storm, the raindrops, the spaces in between, the amount of water in each, and the momentary crown of splashing water on the concrete rooftop.

  Ten seconds, Damian could see Sarah busy with her work. From the corner of his eyes, he could see Carmelo’s silhouette tensed and poised to take a shot the moment Damian failed to do so. Below, Sunet waited for the mission’s completion.

  In the last second, Damian bowed his head, lowered his arms, and loosened the sling. When Carmelo saw this, he let go of the arrow. It flew through the air unaffected by the rain and the wind’s resistance.

  The arrow broke in half when a pebble struck it in mid-flight. Damian turned to face the surprised Cupid, took a sharp stone from his pocket, loaded it in his sling, aimed straight at Carmelo’s heart, and let the stone loose while he leapt backwards. The stone pierced through Carmelo’s chest.

  Damian was falling head first towards the pavement. The short glimpse of Sarah’s smile was the best thing he saw before he died. She was safe from Sunet’s grasp. The pavement and death approached him. His only wish was to embrace Sarah for one last time, even for a second.

  Moments before the impact, Damian saw Sunet standing on the sidewalk, and shaking his head from side to side. This is how I want to spend forever, old man, Damian thought. In eternal rest.

  * * *

  About Recle Etino Vibal

  Recle Etino Vibal (born in the Pispis, Maasin, Iloilo, Philippines) spent his childhood and currently lives in Mayondon, Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines. A son of an Ilongga and a Bikolano, he is proudly Filipino. He obtained the degree of Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering at the University of the Philippines Los Baños, but works with numbers that are zero percent chemical and 100% financial engineering. He balances reading, writing, and living, a daily juggling act on a high tension wire a hundred meters above the ground. He manages to survive such a stunt, read, learn, write, and live for another day. Learn more about him at ibongtikling.wordpress.com.

  Dreams

  Tabitha Sin

  ~ (New) Hong Kong ~

  There is a new love in my life. When I place it inside me, its soothing touch lingers, coursing through my veins. It helps me sleep, humming white noise against my ears. I feel warm and sated, my limbs heavy, my breath even. It leaves me complacent, and when I curl into a foetal position, I start to dream.

  There is a new love in my life because it helps me bring the old one back from the dead.

  §

  I prayed every day to one of the gods, to any of them that would hear me. I prayed to the old ones from our past that the government had tried so hard to make its citizens forget, but our parents had kept them well alive within us. I prayed to the new ones who always promised salvation. I prayed: Please, please. Do not let the sun rise.

  But gods never listen when you want them to. As the sun chased the moon from the sky, its rays peeking through the pale blinds of her hospital room, I knew she would be lost to me forever. She had never shown any improvement, but still I stayed with her, separated by the oblong glass case that held her deteriorating body. I tried to tell her of a story about everlasting love because that’s what she enjoyed best.

  “The ghost and human,” I said, “had loved each other very deeply. But their love for each other was against the rules of nature. They tried to fight against those higher powers, but in the end, they had to say goodbye. The only way they could be together was to hope that one day, their reincarnated souls would find each other.”

  “Did they find each other?” she asked me.

  She turned her head to face me, and the skin from her scalp laid limply on her pillow, black tendrils left behind. Nothing on her face registered pain.

  “Of course,” I said, steadying my voice.

  She had lost half of her hair when we realised something was wrong with her.

  The corner of her pale lips rose, her eyes rheumy. “You were always a terrible liar.”

  §

  The designer drug offers a way for users to control their dreams. We slip into an almost catatonic state, one where nothing can hurt us, and we feel as warm as we once did in our mother’s womb. I
t is the elixir of dreams that our country could never really let go.

  I had navigated the streets of the floating city to get just a small dosage. The place that deals the new strain of opiate is as close to the edge of our world as we know it. The seedy building looks like it has been shabbily constructed, almost keeling into the waterfall that marks the edge. The boats are tethered to the ports of New Aberdeen so that it won’t float down the waterfall and into what was the original Kowloon Bay.