Soul

Copyright © 2016, 2018-2020 by VeryWellAged

Back to Chapter 4

Author's note: This chapter is NOT a stand-alone...The story starts here.

Pleased to meet you.

Master?

Good evening, Amelae.

Yes, good evening to you. What you do Mirafe?

Why do you ask?

She say she think she love you.

Huh, I can see my talk with her didn’t help a bit!

From behind me I hear, Yes it did! You can’t admit love, but you do love.

Mirafe, I do not lie.

Maybe not intentionally. Maybe you not understand what you are feeling because you are not human.

I never said I wasn’t human.

You never said you were human! And you not say it now because you not lie!

Not saying is not an admission of anything.

See Amelae? See? Master loves us, but he not know what love is.

Enough of this nonsense, girls. It is time to eat. After dinner, both of you have things that need to get done.

The girls make no comments on the quantity or quality of the food. They have come to accept that this is now part of their world. However, that doesn’t mean the girls are silent.

Friend, did Master tell you he not interfere to stop or cause death?

Yes. He say that it a violation of the rules of the game. We humans are not to be killed or kept alive. We live and die as we are supposed to live and die. Why?

Your Nanay is very ill, di ba?

Ah yes, I know she will die. But she will live a bit longer because she has medical care. Master can do that! And she is not in as much pain because Master gave money for her medications. So Master cannot keep Nanay alive, but he does everything he is allowed to do. He says there are no miracles. That is not true. He do miracles. He just not make or take life. I think that is a good thing.

Girls, that is technically true, but this next project is going to show you that it isn’t as clean as all that.

Amelae looks at me, and in the quietest of voices asks, Explain please.

Your friend Erlyn’s family is in trouble.

Yes, Master, I told you that.

Amelae, you do not know even a small part of how serious the trouble is that they are in.

Master, her brother is sick, he needs help to get off the Shabu¹. It will kill him. How more serious can it be?

It is far more serious, dangerous, and deadly. Tell me, is this girl worth keeping alive?

Master?

Is there reason that she should survive this coming week?

You say that you cannot give or take lives! Why is this?

I cannot change nature. But most assuredly, if it is a matter of bullets, knives, or bombs, then there are things that can be done, within limits. Any human can do this with enough knowledge and access. That does not violate any rules.

You say she will die?

Most likely, she will perish in two days as will her brother.

You can save her and her brother?

I can save her, if she sells her soul. If I try to save her brother, there is a strong possibility that he will die anyway, as will her mother. Both are souls we will get in any case. It doesn’t change any balance for me, but if I don’t try to protect her brother, and he dies now, her mother may live for years. If I save your friend, and not her brother, someone else will end up dead. There will still be a death, just not her. And that person might not deserve to die, just as your friend does not deserve to die now. So tell me, is it important to save her?

There are no smiles or happy faces near me now. All of a sudden, the nature of the consequences when interfering as they have asked me to do, are made very clear. I have asked them to choose, not if someone should die, (maybe an easier question,) but rather who should die.

Master, do we know, who will die, if Erlyn not die?

Why should that matter?

Sige, sige. You are correct.

Mirafe has been quiet, but clearly something is bothering her?

Master, is it you who will do these killings?

Ah, I see… No, Mirafe, I do not ever kill. It will not be me. It will be the world that family operates within. The people with whom they associate. It will be from their own choices. Choices they made long before I was aware of them.

Even the innocent ones, like our friend?

Yes, to a certain extent, that is true. When you associate with bad people, bad things may happen to you.

But our friend does not choose to associate, it is her family. Would the other person be a family member?

No.

Then I say, save our friend!

Master, I agree with Mirafe. Please save our friend.

I will give her the option of living or not. She will have to decide, just as you two have made choices, so will she. Do not tell her of this discussion, but invite her to meet us at the mall tomorrow.

Not here?

Absolutely, not here. Do not mention this place to her. Now, I understand you have a teleserye ² you both like to watch. Go now. I will see you both in the morning.

There is work I must do to prepare for tomorrow. It is a tricky business with a number of options. None may be put in motion until I meet with the girl. I will need to bring an Android tablet with me to access a few Shell files in a Bash environment. Each Shell file will activate a different option I have designed. I can trigger it while still talking with the girl as needed. We will see how it plays out.

My screens are filled with the timestamped links between dozens of cellphone SMS logs. I can see who is talking to who. The texts reveal a complex and highly hierarchically structured interplay of individuals within an illegal drug network. I do not know the names of most, but I can see what they do, whom they control and who controls them. It’s a nasty business and I am happy to stay invisible to all of them.

I wonder how much Erlyn actually knows. The texts to and from her phone to her mother and brother indicate she is mostly clueless. Is she?

Good morning, Master! Why do you sleep alone?

Mirafe, I work late and get up early. There is no reason to disturb you by being in the same bed. … I gather your friend texted you last night that she has agreed to meet us at ten this morning.

How you know this? I just turned on my phone and read this now. I not receive it last night!

Yes well, she did agree, so you two must be ready to leave here at nine-thirty. And by the way, I am glad you told her to pack a small bag as you want her to stay over. If she agrees to sell her soul, she can’t go back home for a few days. Thank you.

Master! How you know this?

Get Amelae ready and have some breakfast.

I’m not hungry now and we have hours before we need to go. You will do me again, maybe? Or maybe you prefer Amelae? She willing too.

This is not a good time. Today’s seed is for your friend, if she agrees. If she does not agree, then you will get the seed later.

Why you not know if she will agree?

Because humans really do have free will. Yes, it is possible to apply stimulus to achieve an outcome, but it still requires the agreement of a human with free will. It is also a matter of what a person chooses to believe. No matter how many facts you put in front of a person, if they choose to not believe the facts, there is little that can be done to overcome that belief. In this case, I have no idea what your friend will choose.

Master, we find a plastic crate filled with nail polish, clippers, nippers and cuticle nail pushers. May we use these?

Yes.

Who these belong to?

You.

No, who bought them?

They are for you. Use them. There is also a carton filled with powders and compresses. Use those on various parts of your body as you are always to be without clothing in the house. Make your body more lovely. You can assist Amelae and she can assist you in this matter.

She just looks at me, at one level, understanding and at a deeper level, completely confused.

I have done all I can do. After a breakfast of fruit and coffee, I retire to read a book until it is time to go.

It appears the girls have given themselves manicures and pedicures in the intervening hours. They are dressed and are ready to leave the house with me.

This is not a setup where Erlyn is thinking she is going to solicit money. My girls have told her, they have met someone who can potentially help her, but there will be no promises. However, it may require her to stay away from her home for a few days and to pack a small bag.

I saw a photo of the girl on her Facebook page. She is good looking, but is not going to stop traffic anywhere. Her age is sixteen. Her brother, who is in deep trouble, is fourteen. I have no doubt that she loves him intensely. That’s the problem with love. It blinds you to reality.

We enter the mall a few minutes after it opens at ten and find seats in a large open area in front of a National Bookstore. Texts are exchanged. Erlyn is on her way. The jeepney she is on, is still moving slowly through traffic.

My tablet is in my hands, but I have not turned it on. It looks like Erlyn will not get here for another fifteen minutes. I tell the girls to wait here, while I go to Bo’s Coffee for a few minutes. Sure I like the coffee, but it also gives me a way to look at a few current SMS logs. Ones that have deadly connections to our girl and her family. There are tables and chairs both inside the café and out of the doors on a terrace. I am sitting on the terrace, and away from the wait staff.

What I see is not good news. We have only four or five hours. If the girl does not come with us, she may well not live to sleep soundly tonight. It’s a good thing I didn’t put this off another day.

I still have a sizeable amount of coffee in front of me when Amelae texts to say Erlyn has arrived. I tell them to bring her to me, here outside Bo’s.

She is shorter than I expected. Probably no taller than 4’9” or 145cm. She is as cute as her photo suggested. Based on her Facebook photos, she takes after her mother, which does not seem to be a problem as far as looks go. Her mother’s choices in life are another thing entirely.

Amelae brings her to me and introduces, Ninong, this is Erlyn.

Nice to meet you Erlyn. Please be seated.

Po, what is your name?

You should call me Ninong.

Excuse me? This is your name?

It is Ninong for you at this time.

I do not think this is right. What is your name?

Erlyn, you have these options. You can call me Ninong, or Po, or you can leave. I really do not care which. Your friends asked me to help you. I may be able to do that. But I have no obligation in the matter. Choose.

Why are you rude? I will leave.

Please do. And I take a sip of my coffee. Erlyn is getting up and my girls are grabbing her tightly, arguing with her.

Erlyn pulls away from my girls, and turns to me. My friends tell me that my life is in danger and you may be the only one who can save me. Why do they say this?

Sit down and be respectful and I will discuss it with you. Stand over me and I have nothing more to say to you.

She doesn’t want to, but she does sit. OK? Now, why do they say this?

Arjun and Eryl are on their way to kill your brother and you tonight.

That stops her. How you know their names? I never say these name to anyone! Never! How you know? I only tell Amelae and Mirafe my little brother addicted to Shabu and needs help!

Yes, that is what they told me. But it isn’t why you are scared. He lost those packets last week and he can’t cover the cash for it. You know this.

How you know?!!! How?!!!

Quiet, we do not want to attract attention. You and your brother are to die today. I can save you, but saving your brother is not a good idea. Do you want me to save you?

No one want to kill me, you lie!

Arjun’s boss Rykel knows your brother told you about it. If he kills your brother, Dany, and leaves you alive, he doesn’t like the risk.

A number of things are happening. The blood is draining from Erlyn’s face and tears are beginning to appear. Amelae and Mirafe are just staring at me. I think ‘dumbstruck’ is the right term.

Ninong, what do I have to do for you to help Dany and me?

For me to help you, I need your soul. There is little I can do for Dany. If I save him today, worse things will happen in two or three days from now and more people will die. You may lose both Dany and your mother.

Wait! Wait! Too much information. What you mean I may lose my mother.

Dany is doing the running of the packets now because your mother stopped. She is in this, but Dany told Arjun, she doesn’t know about the matter of the packets. If I move to protect Dany now, your mother will probably become a target.

I don’t believe you. My mother has nothing to do with this! You are a liar!

She is trying to get up but Amelae is not allowing it to happen. She is whispering to Erlyn. I cannot hear most of it. I do hear, ‘not human.’ Erlyn struggles and looks at Mirafe. Mirafe leans her head in and there is more talking. The struggling has ended.

My friends say you are God. I not believe them.

They are wrong. I am not God. Even God is not God. There is no ‘God.’

Yes, they say you tell them this, but they see what you do and they not believe it. If you not God, then you are the Devil.

I am not the Devil. There is no Devil. And while we are on the subject, there is no Heaven and no Hell.

So why you want my soul?

My boss is a collector. I am just an agent.

You save Dany and me. I will sell you my soul for that.

I can save you. I can keep Arjun and Eryl from killing Dany. I can make Rykel no longer a problem.  But I can’t stop what will happen if I do.

If you stop those two, Danny is safe. No problem!

That is not true and you need to understand that I am not promising that Dany will live out this week. I am promising that you will live. All I can do is give Dany a few more days. But if I do that, there is a real chance that your mother dies. I cannot stop that.

That it not true! You are just trying to stop me from saving Dany!

Erlyn, I really do not want to help you. I do not like your attitude. The simple truth is that I do not lie.

You will kill Arjun and Eryl?

No, I will not. But they will die if I have your soul. To save you I also have to deal with Rykel.

You guaranty it will happen?

Yes, I will. It will be in the contract you sign. Your soul returns to you if that does not occur. If it does occur, not matter what else happens, your soul is mine.

I sign a contract?

Yes.

There is no time!

There is plenty of time for this. The contract is in my hand and then on the table. There is a spoon on the table and next to it now is the nib pen.

Stick out your finger. We need a little blood. Once you sign this, you are bound to me and your soul is mine for eternity. You must understand this. It is real. Read it.

She does read it. Slowly and completely. As she works her way through the document she looks over at me and the back to the document more than a couple of times.

Give me the pen. She signs.

I lift up the document, inspect the signature and note that it is misspelled. This will not do. You tried to cheat by misspelling your name. The signature is not valid. Go!

Wait! I will sign correctly.

This time the signature is correct. The contract is in my hand, and up in the air, as I state to Erlyn, From now until you die, you will call me Ninong in public and Master when in private. The other rules will be explained to you after we leave here. For now and forever, you are mine!

I twitch the wrist of the hand that holds the document and in a flash it is gone. Erlyn turns white again.

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Chapter 6