46 1 V/S THE WORLD

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.