by Mani, A.
“Thank you very much!” she bowed to the sounds of the cheering crowd.
“Almas, you are back!” she shouted with joy.
“How was your first day in our dump, Diamond?” I asked with a smile.
“Don’t ask!” she stated.
“But I am asking. By the way, I loved your singing, thank you for sweetening our time”.
“My pleasure! Almas, I have not found anything about my case online. Can you believe it?” she asked with despair.
“Give it time, Diamond. You need to be grateful nobody has used your identity in a crime scene. It is very common these days”, I explained to her.
“What? So now I am a convict?” she yelled.
“No”, I laughed together with Leonard who had just entered the house, “All I am saying, there are worse situations out there when it comes to ID stealing”.
“Speaking of stealing, where did you get this gorgeous, long hair of yours? Don’t you look at me like that, I know you cannot afford it”, she pointed her finger at me.
“It’s real!” I stated and noticed Leonard could not stop laughing.
“What?” she shouted, “Girl, you are one lucky mama!”
“Your hair is nice too, Diamond”, I said to her.
“It’s a wig! Thank you Almas for bringing that up”, she stormed to her room.
“I didn’t know. Sorry Diamond…” I turned to Leonard, “I swear, I didn’t know…”
We both laughed.
The next day I decided to drive to town earlier. This way I would have more time to talk to Sag, Eve and my sister before the club would be filled with guests.
“What are you hoping to accomplish Almas?” Leonard asked me.
“I am not sure. Something tells me this place has all the answers I need”.
“Nineteen eighty- four… she must have lost all hope”, he said.
“I will bring it back to her Leonard!” I stated.
“I know you will. Good luck my love!” he greeted me as I left the house.
“How is your father? I asked Eve and waved at Daria who was practicing her dance on the pole.
“He is dead!” Eve answered with sarcasm.
“Very funny. I am afraid even the devil wouldn’t welcome a traitor as your old man!” I mocked her.
“Is that so?” she smiled her devilish smile, “Speaking of traitors, why don’t you tell us what you did with the wild cats!”
“That’s enough!” Daria yelled at her and pulled me away.
“Daria, why did you stop her?” I asked her as we sat down the round table, “Don’t you want to know?”
“I already told you my sweet sister, I have no interest in the knowing”, she said quietly.
She still seemed tired as she did yesterday and I could tell she was hiding something from me, so I just kept gazing into her eyes, hoping she would surrender to my yearning.
“I already know Almas”, she whispered without looking, “I watched you mourning over each and every one of them. The dark demons, the angelic tigers... You skipped nobody. You cried over them and hugged them. Your grief was heart breaking. I was very worried about you but knew I shouldn’t interrupt. I knew this was your last moments with them so I just watched you from a distance. I held little Adam on my arms and made sure you were fine. And then it happened. I thought I was imagining things due to lack of sleep but I was not. They woke up. They were alive and unlikely, they didn’t make a sound. They didn’t roar as if they were trying to keep a secret. They just surrounded you and then allowed you to lead the way. I thought you had special powers. I didn’t want you to leave us. I wanted my sister with me but I knew you were happy in a place you belonged. I didn’t share what I knew with nobody. When the wild ones woke up they thought you had buried them all and left in order to deal with your sorrow. They thought you would be back but I knew you wouldn’t.”
“Daria, I am so sorry”, I cried.
I didn’t realize the big grief I had put everyone through. I was selfish and I only concentrated on my own sorrow.
“There is nothing to be sorry about. We were all victims of the circumstances”, she hugged me.
“You do know I have no powers”, I laughed, “They just had a longer sleep than us right before they became immortals themselves”.
Daria looked deep into my eyes. She didn’t have to say anything; I already knew what she was thinking and secretly nodded. I could suddenly see a spark of hope in her eyes.
Our planet was about to lose the most precious wonder of all: the wild cats. They were declared as an extinct kind by the ones who had hunted them for decades. Unfortunately, humanity could not appreciate their glory so over the years we created a domestic version of what we couldn’t handle. Only in life, when you cannot handle the light, prepare to be facing the darkness.
“Did you know I run an animal’s shelter in the valley?” I asked her.
“That’s wonderful Almas”, Daria smiled at me.
“I also run a boarding house…”
“So you have gathered all the helpless around you?” she laughed.
“To be honest, I am not sure who is the real helpless in that house”, I sighed.
“What about Adam, Daria? Where can I find him?” I asked her quietly.
“In the streets of sins”, she answered with despair.
The provokers were the young immortals of Anomaly who committed crimes just to provoke the system. They hated the fact we were followed around by authorities. Every step we made was documented by street cameras and by the documenters, who worked for the cyber police. It was easy to identify the ones wearing helmets but there were others who carried hidden technology. Our verdict and our fate were in their hands. So when they committed a crime of murder in front of the watching eye and made the police arrive only to find out there was no evidence to it, they provoked the system. They distracted it and made it waste its resources over nothing. After all, the authorities could not investigate a murder case with no dead body. Every time I heard about their crimes, I wasn’t sure whether they had provoked the system or their legacy. Our children didn’t appreciate their immortality and blamed us for their doom.
“I’ll bring him back you Daria!” I promised her.
She smiled, got up and walked towards her dressing room.
“Almas, I have to prepare myself. Will you be okay by yourself?”
I nodded.
I decided to walk towards the bar and noticed someone was already sitting there.
“Sag? Is that you?” I hesitated, “Sag! You old dog!” I raised my voice.
“Diamond, my beautiful Yellow Diamond, I cannot believe you are here”, he jumped with joy.
“How are you my dear friend?” I hugged him.
“Well, you know your old friend, always accompanies with his two best friends- music and alcohol!” I could see he was already drunk just as I remembered him.
“Some things never change…” I laughed.
“Nothing changes Almas, nothing!” he pounded on the bar with his fist, “Do you know how many times I had run into a beautiful girl and thought this was my beautiful Emerdi? Do you know how many times I thought this was you? It is like nothing changes and we’re just walking in circles”, he smiled.
Despite his smile, I could sense he was hopeless just as the rest of us.
“Here, see this girl. She looks exactly like Daria!” he pointed at my sister who was practicing her dance.
“Sag, this is Daria!” I laughed.
“Oh, forgive your old friend. I think I have been drinking too much”, he apologized.
“You old fool…” I mumbled with joy.
“And what about him?”, he pointed his finger at a young man sitting in front of us, “I know he is wearing shades but I ran into him in the men’s room and let me tell you, he had Dark beast’s eyes”, he whispered in my ear.
“What are you talking about Sag?” I asked him but he had already got up to his band.
I stared at
the young man who sat at the other side of the bar. According to the technology he was carrying, he was a major network guard and was probably at duty. He didn’t look like a club member. This club hosted politicians, businessmen and celebrated people while this outcast was pale, skinny and looked as he had just graduated from computer geek’s school.
I got up and walked towards him. Could it be? Was that my son? I was standing right in front of him when suddenly he grabbed his things and was ready to leave.
“Leo…” I mumbled.
“I am sorry, were you talking to me?” he asked politely.
“Sorry, you looked familiar; I thought we knew each other…” I searched for his eyes.
“I am afraid we don’t”, he smiled and hurried out.
I ran after him but he was faster than me. I got out of the club and searched the streets for hours until it was time for me to catch the last bus home.
“Ladies and gentlemen, shell we start?” I asked our dear residents with a smile.
It was an early morning hour and I loved to exercise with them to the sounds of a cheerful music. It was important to move your body a little during the day, especially at their age.
“Almas, will you dance for us this time?” one of them asked me.
“Only if you behave”, I made them laugh.
The music started and I began moving in front of them, trying to motivate them with loud cheers.
I could easily tell, they were jealous of my youth just as I was jealous of their ability to complete their circle of life. I was a mother with no son, a breathing creature with no heart and a running path with no ending line.
“She sure knows how to move!” Diamond woke up to the sounds of the loud music.
“Yes, that’s my Almas”, Leonard breathed deeply and smiled.
“Why don’t you join us?” I asked her.
“No thank you. I had a rough night taking care of your crazy cats!” she turned to the kitchen.
“Diamond would you join me to the community center this afternoon? I need your help with something”, I approached her after morning practice.
“Sure. What else do I have to do around here?” she smiled and walked back to her room with her cup of coffee.
“Almas, I don’t want you to get high hopes about it”, Leonard expressed his concern.
“I have to be sure!” I stated.
“Did you get his name right?” he asked me.
“His name tag stated ‘Liam Wild’, I don’t know if that’s his real name yet, I’ll check the network and see what information I can find there”, I explained to him.
I walked towards the shower but could feel his worried eyes behind me. He didn’t want me to be disappointed again.
“So, what are we looking for?” Diamond sat in front of the computer.
“All I have is a tag name and what I remember of his face”, I explained while she typed his name.
“Well, these are all the people online carrying that name so we just need to go through their pictures and hopefully you will recognize one of them”, she tilted the screen towards me.
“I don’t know… he was wearing network glasses…” I mumbled.
“Network glasses? Why didn’t you say girl?” she raised her voice, “It means we need to look for him at the system network and that narrows our search results down to… one…?” she looked at me with wonder.
“Bingo!” I smiled at her.
“Well, do you want the bad news or the good news?” she asked me.
“What is it Diamond?” I asked with concern.
“Well the bad news are, this is a system member’s profile and you can not join this network nor get any real information about its members”, she explained.
“And the good news…?” I asked with anticipation.
“I don’t know. I didn’t think you would ask me after I gave you the bad ones”, she tried to cheer me up.
I sighed.
“What is it Almas? Why are you after this skinny geek? Are you leaving sugar Leonard?” she whispered, “Hey, not judging, just asking!” she stated after I gave her my angry look.
“I need to get to him. Get his address or at least find another clue that would lead me to him”, I explained to her.
“Almas, you were very kind to me when I needed help. I can try to find something but it would take some time”, she explained.
“Well, take all the time you need Diamond”, I smiled at her and she immediately started to work.
“Mmm… that’s weird…” Diamond mumbled.
“What is it?” I jumped from my sit. Diamond was working for so long that without notice I fell asleep in my chair.
“It’s not much but still… I found out where he lives, which was kind of obvious. All major network guards live at ‘Youth Towers‘. The system provides them with luxurious accommodations to keep them loyal to it. Then I tried to learn more through other profiles that may have connected with him but found nothing. It is as if the guy is a lonely tiger… he has no friends and all I have found are these messages that he got”.
“What messages?” I looked at the screen.
“See, these came from his operator that probably was trying to reach him about work matters but according to the location it wasn’t anywhere near the city or where he lives. And you can see it is systematic”, she explained.
“What’s the location?” I asked.
“It’s in the valley, not too far from here”, she wrote all the information in my notebook.
“What do they have to look for in an area that is all filled with old residents who have no connection with any network, not to mention supporters?” I wondered aloud.
“That’s a good question, Almas. What are you going to do?” she asked.
“Diamond, would you be kind and help Leonard with dinner?” I asked after a long pause.
“What?” she yelled at me and made all of the library guests look our way.
“I will make it up to you, I promise”, I kissed her cheek and ran out.
I found the place easily. It was an old house with a neglected garden and a little dog that sat in front of the old gate. It didn’t bark and just stared at me as if it was waiting for my arrival and even though I was eager to know what was inside, deep down I was terrified. An old house for an old resident could only mean one thing. The thing I feared the most.
I entered the gate and walked slowly towards the house. I knocked at the door and it opened by itself. It seemed as an abandoned house filled with dust and flies. I searched around and saw an old sofa, a bed and a wooden closet.
I opened the closet and saw three little drawers in it. I opened the last one and my heart froze. There was an old picture of the young man I had met at the club, a black and white picture of Liam. I picked it up and found some newspaper cuttings of Dark beast, running for the governor office.
My heart was pounding. I couldn’t breathe nor think and I started running around the house.
‘Who lives here?’ I thought to myself, ‘And why are they storing pieces of my life in here?’
My eyes were filled with tears and I couldn’t find my way out. Eventually I found an old back door and rushed outside to get some fresh air.
I fell on my knees and tried to catch my breath, I started chocking and felt I was about to throw up. I tried to steal some fresh air into my lungs, I opened my mouth and my eyes and there she was; just as I had remembered her.
On that moment, I felt every drop of rage that was accumulated in me throughout the years was about to burst out in the most vicious way that was possible. I became the angry lioness and I didn’t care about the outcome of my deeds.
I jumped on her from behind and started hitting her with my fists. I noticed she wasn’t even trying to defend herself. She only held her black cover tight and made sure it didn’t fall off.
“Look at you…” I screamed as I stopped hitting her, “Look at you! All you care about is your stupid cloak! I have just unveiled your biggest cr
ime and all you care about is that your face will not be exposed. You are pathetic Sia! You are a miserable, devilish witch!” I mocked her.
“You stole my son!” I screamed my lungs out after a long pause.
“You stole mine!” she finally responded.
“What did you say?” I held myself from striking her again.
“What did you expect Almas? That you will try to kill me, steal my son’s heart and get away with it?” she answered with her old voice.
“So you stole my baby? You destroyed the life of an entire family for your stupid revenge? Why am I not surprised Sia? Isn’t that what you always do? Play with people’s life?” I yelled at her.
“You are not a victim Almas. You are just paying the price of your crimes”, she answered apathetically.
“And what about your crimes Sia? Do you ever look in the mirror? You stupid cloak may hide your face but it can never hide the truth. God, I swear I would have killed you if I could!” I raged.
“But you can’t”, I could feel her smile even though I couldn’t see her face.
“How come you are immortal?” I yelled at her.
“That, my child, is a very long story”, she sat down the ground.
“Well, I have all the time in the world and for the last time, I am not your child!” I urged her to speak.
The old witch took a deep breath in and began with her story.
“At first, I didn’t understand it myself. Here I was, lying under the collapsed walls of Didam- Valley and I was very much alive. I could breathe. I could move. How could it be? I got out and decided to stay close to the valley for a while. Then it hit me. During the days we had been preparing ourselves for the battle against the Nomadic tribes, I used to snoop around their camps, in hope to find a clue to what they were after. I found nothing but some old potions that I didn’t recognize and decided to take them with me. I am a witch after all”, she sighed.
“So this was how we had turned into immortals? The Nomadic tribes held the formula for eternal life?” I asked.