The empty plane soared through the sky as it made its way to
Canada. I felt relieved without too many people around me. But on the other
hand, the other two individuals accompanying me were equally cataclysmic as
the mob. The one sitting across me was the owner of the this private jet,
Priscilla. the one sitting at the bar, sipping on bourbon since nine in the
morning was my wife, Kiyomi. To say that the situation was concentrated with
acid would be an understatement.
The world I had created with my own two hands was crumbling
in front of me. I did it with my past, and I did it for my present. I looked at
Priscilla, who was deep into her phone, and reminded myself of the illusion I created
for her before leaving. Not all actions I took were noble, but they were
appropriate. Then again, I did make an illusion for Blessing before I left her.
it didn’t work that well, simply because of Amaan.
It had been three days since I recited the past that me and
Amaan shared. Brad was shocked to say the least. He always had his suspicions
around me, but it cemented that even if I left her, I wanted the best for her.
but it didn’t change the fact that the final driving force between our split
was based on lust.
Priscilla, on the other hand, was indifferent. She told me that
her encounter with Kyo in the rooftop made her numb to me. She didn’t care for
me in the slightest, but it was because of Kyo’s request that she whipped out
her personal jet for our travels. If she’d be joining us for our future endeavours
was still unclear.
Amaan was still Amaan. she didn’t show any regretful traits
after I outed her for her sadistic pleasures and her lack of knowledge of how
to treat a fellow human being. She giggled all the time we sat at the bar. But
an immediate change was noticeable after her brief chat with Kyo. It happened
two days ago, and she had not bothered any one for those two days.
As for Kyo, I don’t know what is going on through her head.
She had not talked or spent a single second with me for the last two days. Priscilla
had some speck of respect for her, and Amaan had some sort of regret that she
inflicted. Brad was the only one who was indifferent, and thus was appointed of
giving her food. She spent the last two days locked in her room, with specific conditions
that didn’t allow me to enter. When I told everyone that I’d like to leave as
soon as possible, there were many questions. At last, I had to tell them that
there were two more individuals who were in the same situation as them.
One of them was in Canada right now.
She had her own retail stores.
She lived alone.
But she was not alone always. She had a husband once.
She had me, too.
Everyone disagreed with my decision to take Kyo, but she
made her own mind to accompany me and Priscilla. it was because of her that I was
sitting in this luxurious private jet. It was because of her that Pricsilla
decided to bear me. It was because of her that everything with Amaan went okay.
You can even say that everything that was happening to me,
was because of her.
Priscilla stood up and walked to the bar, grabbed a glass of
scotch and turned to look at me. She signalled me with a nod to follow her. I obliged.
We entered the bedroom located at the end of the plane. It was
a simple one. One king sized bed, red bedsheets, two pillows, and million of CDs
on the floor. some of them were her own demos. Others were her recorded features.
“You still do the recording the classic way, huh?”
“More like obsolete,” she said with a chuckle.
I closed the door behind us and said, “ You have changed,
Priscilla.”
Priscilla sat on the bed and sipped on the scotch, with a
sharp gaze at my face.
“No thanks to you, ex girlfriend.”
I tried to shake the mood immediately and cut to the chase.
“What are we doing here?”
“I,” She took a pause,” I think you need to have a chat with
Kiyomi. Its clear as day that whatever she has experienced in the past couple
of days had affected her. And it has also been clear that she has not been in a
nice place ever since you recited that little fairy tale between you and Miss Sadistic.”
I was shocked. Not shocked at what I was hearing, but who I was
hearing from. The woman who had tried her hardest to make my life hell, was
trying to sort it out for me. I had half expected that she was going to stab me
in alone. And with the circumstances this fucked up, I’d doubt even Kyo would
have minded.
“Priscilla-“
“Don’t. Please, don’t,” She dangled her glass in front of
her face in denial. I felt bad for the scotch that landed at our feet.
“I am not doing it for you. And I am not trying to play cupid.
I am doing it for myself.”
Sometimes, you need to do the thing you hate the most for
self-satisfaction. That is how human beings work.
“What is in for you?” I asked.
Priscilla downed the whole glass of scotch and threw the
glass on the bed. then she said,” A favour repaid. That is what I need.”
“…..”
“For the longest time, I thought you were the bad guy,
Madonna. And I made that my motivation for everything. I based my music on it. I
based my eating habits on it. I based my life schedule on it. But, not anymore.”
Priscilla wiped her face before continuing. But I noticed
her hand going across her whole face, as it she was wiping her eyes off too.
“I was in love with you, Madonna. And the changes you
embedded with me were for the better. even after the success you put in my pocket,
I hated you. There was no goodbye, there were no messages. No shared flowers. None
of that. you just up and left. And I was left with everything that I worked
for. Still, I longed for a person who I loved from the bottom of my heart. And
by changing everything in my life, I was letting you control me. You influenced
me even when you were not with me. I guess that is the power of love.
But you know what, I have let you go. For years I asked for
permission from myself. Was it okay for me to sing the songs you wrote for me? Was
it right for me to sing the song I sung for you the first time? was it okay to
enjoy the meals that we shared on rainy nights? I longed for those answers, and
I longed for you. But I never got an answer. I didn’t get it in cocaine, I didn’t
get in Hennessey. I didn’t get in sex. I got it from Kiyomi.
A human being can mean so much more than an object of love. He
could feel like an abstract painting. He could be a feeling. He could be an
emotion. He could be anything you want, and for me, Kiyomi was a permission.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Doesn’t matter. Now, if you need to stay on this plane you
need to talk to her. and I am going to get some shut eye. Since you are two
people and there is a bedroom right here, I’d be sleeping here. There is a couch
outside. Feel free to sort out and talk for as long as you want. This room is
soundproof. And don’t forget, we’ll be landing in Vancouver in approximately sixteen
hours.”
I exited the room, leaving Priscilla alone. Yeah, she had
changed alright. And the person who deserved all the credit sat in front of me,
sipping on champagne. I walked in her direction and sat two barstools away from
her. Bartender turned to face me but I asked him to excuse us. He nodded smilingly
and disappeared behind the bar.
I turned towards Kyo, who was still not ready to look at me.
“Kyo, baby...”
“Please, don’t join any suffixes or prefixes to my name. I shall
be referred to as Kyo or Kiyomi,” her response was immediate.
“No, you are my wife. And I can refer to you as such.”
“Why the indifference Mad? The only difference between me
and Priscilla, or me and Brad, Or me and Amaan is that we have tied a knot. We are
bound in a holy matrimony, is that it? I mean, do you like Japanese more? Like…”
“Shut up. Just, shut up. are you stupid? What are you even
saying? Of course not. You are so much important to me babe.”
“Why? Tell me why. Explain why my company is better that
Priscilla’s? Or Blessing, who you leeched off for more money. Or Amaan, who
supported you in the time of your troubles?”
“Amaan was manipulative. If she would have never interjected
between me and Blessing, it would have been different.”
“What the hell does that mean, Mad?! You are a grown woman. But
you need those excuses to evade your own self? You did those things. You left
Priscilla all alone, and you gained a fortune. You left Brad, and you left with
millions. And I do remember you said you were cozy enough with Amaan before she
showed her true face.”
The volume was increasing rapidly. Kyo’s grip was also tightening
around the champagne glass by the second.
“Kyo try to understand. There is a difference between them
and you.”
“Please enlighten me, my wife.” Kyo said mockingly.
I struggled for a long second before sitting still.
“Exactly. There is no difference between me and them. We are people. Those who inhabit your past and
your wife. And the child you are trying to bear. We would all be people with
our own feelings. the only difference is that you have hurt them, and you are hurting
me. And you will hurt our child when she comes into this world.”
I sat there in shock. HER?
“Kyo, are you, by any chance, pregnant?”
“No,” Kyo’s voice was cracking. I knew by her facial
expressions that she was on the brink of breaking down.
“I am not. But I had thought about it. How she’d come home
in her school uniform. The little girl trotting happily hand in hand with you
and me. We’d go fetch her from the school every day. We’d walk our way through
the market, looking for toys or drawing books, coloring books or dolls and plushies
for her. how’d she ask for ice cream and we’d say no. how she’d glee when she got
two ice creams from both of us. How we’d come home, smiling. Just the three of
us in our tiny home, in our small world.
I’d go to kitchen, and you’d sit with our daughter in front
of television, fishing million channels for her cartoons. How we’d fight
amongst ourselves to feed her. how we’d fight to hug her when we went to bed.
just me, you and our daughter, under the chilly air from air conditioner. How we’d
tightly hold her and make her wear million clothes during winters.
We’d see her outgrowing her clothes. How her tastes would
change from skirts to jeans to dresses. How one day she’d bring home her
boyfriend. And how we’d support her all the way through her teens to her twenties
and her thirties, until she is ready to move on with her life partner.
How one day she’d bring her girlfriend, and we’d be super
excited about her embracing her sexuality. How we’d support her through the
biased society and all the lessons we’d give her to tackle this rigid and misunderstanding
world. How we’d welcome her wife one day, or how we’d give her away and bless the
married women with our experience and love.
Ofcourse I’d be happy if we had a son, and one day he’d
bring his boyfriend home too. The beautiful part would be to see them struggle
and find their own way through this world, with us as their backbones. I thought
of all that, Madonna. And now, I don’t think of anything.”
The vivid picture Kyo had painted in front of my eyes made
me sink in my own shame. It seemed too good to be true. But it never is. Grooming
a child is what any human being lives. And I had imagined all of these things with
my wife. But it was a flawed logic. I had not seen the mirror of self deed in
so long I fooled myself I was back in the garden of Eden. It was not as pleasant
anymore. And through all this dirt, I dragged my wife. If not for Priscilla, nothing
like this would have ever happened.
“I hope you never give birth to our child, Madonna.”
I looked up, shocked. Pained. The sharp pain entered my body
as naturally as a heart beat. It was to the rhythm of my heartbeat. Every moment
I was alive felt heavy.
“Please, don’t ever say that, Kyo. I have not done anything
to deserve this. Please.”
Ah, I broke down. I had started begging. What a waste was my
life.
Kyo turned to face me and swung the glass at me. It missed
my face and landed on the wall behind me. The remaining champagne rebounded and
spilled all over my shoulder.
“No, you have not. But you need to realize that you have a
small heart. You have not loved anybody, have you? You need a little bit bigger
heart to love. And you have not learned that, Madonna. I don’t want such
self-fulfilling woman to bear my child,” Kyo said as she stood up from the
stool. But her legs had no strength, and she collapsed on the floor.
I rushed to support her. thankfully, she didn’t resist.
I lifted her and dragged her to the couch. I carefully laid
her down and looked at her wet face. I extended my hand to wipe all the tears
away when she caught my hand and opened her tired eyes to speak once more.
“Madonna,” she muttered through her weakened lips,” You
never lost your memories, did you?”
I heard thunder cracking all around our jet.
I looked up through the window and caught the glimpse of
another thunder making its way through the clouds to the ground below.
Ah, it’s going to rain today.
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