Soul
Copyright © 2016, 2018-2020 by VeryWellAged
Author's note: This chapter is NOT a stand-alone...The story starts here.
Jig-Saw Puzzle
There are definite drawbacks with being perceived as divine. The primary one is that others get really pissed off as you are raining on their parade.
Being a magician is OK. You are a sideshow. A carny act. Being a divine is something else entirely. The first thing is that it seems that everyone has a vested interest in proving that the claim is bunk. And so I have to send the dogs on a very nasty and false trail.
The first dog contacts Amelae only an hour after she returns home. It is a text. Where is your Master?
I am standing next to her as she types, Hindi ko alam1.
How to you know him?
He just appears out of nowhere. I cannot summons him. I have not seen him for a while. All I know is that he takes care of my Nanay.2
Why does he do that?
He said, ‘Sell me your soul and I will take care of your Mother until she dies.”
You see him after that?
No.
What he look like?
Smoke.
That it? Just smoke?
Oo3.
What else he say?
He say, “God” is not real God. He say there is no Devil. All silly talk. He say, no heaven, no hell. He not give life. He not take life. He can only make life a little easier for some. Soul is a vapor at the end of life, not life eternal. He collects vapors. Nothing else.
What else he say?
Never lie about this. If someone ask you to lie, I will know and they will be hurt.
He really say this?
Oo.
What else he say?
Wala na4.
When you pray, does he answer you?
Hindi5. He just takes care of my mother. That is all.
Thank you for your answers.
The volley of texts ends. I am not relieved, but I think the answers will cause both some confusion and a desire to sweep it under the rug. Their bullshit God is selling life eternal. So a competitor, who is not competing for money and is not offering salvation is not a divine they really want to acknowledge. There is nothing to fight. The ‘being is Smoke’ and not walking on the earth. How do you jail, much less kill Smoke? On top of that, this being is doing real ‘miracles,’ giving money instead of taking any money. How do they fight that?
A new text arrives. You must never mention this ‘Master’ again. Your life is a risk.
I am prompting her on her answers.
Why my life at risk? Who want to kill me?
Believers in our Savior.
OK. I not mention the Master, but what happens when he do things? Are you telling me to lie?
Yes, you not know who I am so I cannot be hurt.
I think you are wrong. He is powerful. I worry for you and your family now.
You are a stupid girl. Do as I say.
Tell me that tomorrow. I do not think you understand. Do not text me again until then.
And Amelae turns off her phone. She just doesn’t want to see any more texts. The reality that the texts may be continuing doesn’t seem to connect.
Amelae turns to me. I am sorry for what I say earlier.
Yes I know. There is only one thing you need to know now. I am not angry with you. You are still mine. You are not in trouble with me. Allow me to deal with the others. I need to be alone for a while now.
I get a look that I can only describe as a mix of fear and awe. And then she leaves me, and she enters her bedroom.
I work the connections from her phone back through the logs. I can see a matrix of messages between two priests, a city official and some ranking PNP officers. I can see all the messages of each of them going back for months. It is time to have some fun.
One of the Priests is having an affair with a parishioner. The woman’s husband doesn’t know… or at least he didn’t know until now.
The other is blackmailing another Priest about a matter of incest. … Ooops. The Priest who is being blackmailed just now got informed that if his blackmailer doesn’t die tonight, his secret will be out in the public.
The PNP Captain’s wife is fucking around on him. I warn her that she had better disappear tonight and never return as he will learn of her adultery in the morning. A local newspaper also gets a scoop on how this guy is running drugs as a side business.
The city official has a problem with accepting bribes. A list of them just, and gee whiz by accident, falls into the hands of those who lost bids due to the bribes.
It has taken me a while, and it is late but I am done. Let’s see what the morning brings.
I wander out to grab a bit only to find both girls sitting at the table. Neither is talking. Both look ashen.
It is Mirafe who finds her voice. Master, you hear the news?
No. What is it?
Many things. First, Dany and his mother are dead. Killed. They say others dead too. But no names. No word about Erlyn. Maybe they not know her name.
I see. Is there more?
Yes, much more. It is just now reported. Two Priests were murdered tonight.
Wow. Do we know them?
Amelae know both. They are from her mother’s parish.
Huh. OK. Well, that is a lot of news.
Not all.
There is more?
Yes. It just reported, the vice mayor dead from suicide. Also just now Amelae get a text. ‘Tell your God to stop! We not cause any more trouble for you!’
I see. Do you want to answer that?
We did. We say, ‘We not know about this and no way to tell Master to stop. He warn you. I warn you what he say. Now no choice. You not like what Master do? Ask your God to stop it and see if that happen. Then tell me, which is stronger.’ … Master, you did this? You say you not kill.
I can’t and I didn’t. Others did. I didn’t tell anyone to kill anyone. All I did is give others reason to want to kill, or hurt, or forgive. It was up to each one to make a choice.
Amelae is crying. This my fault. I sorry.
This is not your fault. There was no reason to threaten your life. They did it to themselves. They threatened violence, violence found them. It is as it needed to be. It is balance.
But they not threaten you. Only me. You do all this to protect me? Why? When I die you get my soul. Why not now for you?
Amelae, I want you to die of old age. Not before. I will protect you until that time. Then we can both be happy about what I collect.
See, Master, that why I pray to you. Truly, I do.
I didn’t get lucky finding the dirt on those guys. Like I said before, we get the souls of Priests most of the time. They and murderers are the most reliable groups we have. Right behind them are politicians and policemen. Drug dealers, burglars, rapists and lawyers are further down on the list. I would have been far more surprised if I didn’t find anything on any one of those guys.
My best guess is that we will have no other issues in this regard for a while. The word will get out locally to not mess with Amelae’s Master. My concern now is what happens when the word spreads. But that won’t be for a while. Anyway I will monitor some communications just in case.
For a while tonight I just sit on a couch with the girls on either side of me. My arms holding them close. They have missed their teleserye tonight. We turn on the local news only to see reports of that which we have been discussing. In all of it, there is no mention of me or Amelae, or of Erlyn for that matter.
Mirafe asks me what is like to be a god.
I am not a god. Nothing I did today is something that anyone, with the skills I have, could not have done.
Ha! Mortals not have your skills.
No, Mirafe, some do. This is true. I did nothing a human cannot do. I am not a god. I never told you I was a god.
True, you say you are Master. Not Juan. Not Dodong… no, you are Master. Amelae is right to pray to you. May we be with you tonight?
No. I have work to do. You two go to bed. I will see you in the morning.
They do go to bed and I choose the next girl.
This kid has been mind-fucked by a priest, who has her convinced that her heart is filled with such sin that if she doesn’t do as he directs her, she will burn in hell forever. She’s a nervous wreck and is unable to eat without puking.
This priest is pissing me off. I decide it is time to intervene. I send two SMS messages. One to her, supposedly from his phone, telling her to meet him at a specific bench in a park tomorrow at nine in the morning. I send him a text. The number +39-06-698-84300 will display on his phone. It is a number for the Vatican. The message says, ‘His Holiness wishes to inform you that it is required that you stop any and all contact and all activities with and regarding young women immediately. There must not be any exception.”
That ought to make things interesting.
I retire for the evening.
I enjoy the early morning. It is cool, and quiet. I catch up on the doings of the previous evening. I have time to think without disturbance. The girls are rarely up before five and often not until a half hour later than that.
There has been not a peep from our obnoxious priest. Nor has there been a peep from our girl. Did she get the text? Yes, I am sure she did.
I see no interesting activity regarding the mess we had with Erlyn. That network, while not silent, has other fish to fry. I see nothing related to the mess we had with Amelae yesterday, other than confusion. None of it is pointing back to us.
I do see one thing of note. I need to speak with Mirafe.
I think I need a passion fruit.
Good morning Master.
Mirafe, come sit by me.
Master?
I have some news. It is not good news, but it is unwise to keep it from you. … I believe your father is in trouble.
But you take care of the taxes on the land!
Yes. That in an odd way is connected to this. Now that the land is safe, your father has been drinking very heavily every day. He is spending all the money your family has for rice. His liver is going to fail. There is nothing I can do for him. But before he dies, he will leave your family without food or money. And he will once again not be paying the land taxes. I cannot help the next time.
I understand. I need to go back home.
Yes, I agree. I want to see you back here by tomorrow night. Understood?
Yes, Master. Master?
Yes?
Thank you for telling me.
I am not sure I did you any favors. There are no good answers. Maybe only less bad ones.
I understand. I know I am only seventeen and maybe a child still to my family. But they need to make a choice. Just as you cannot help them, I cannot do this for them. Still they need to be told. They need to choose. Do I understand correctly?
Yes.
OK I go. I know maybe I not make a difference. My life is not with them. But I can tell them what they need to hear. It then up to them. It is Free Will.
After all that, I get a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
Amelae shows her face fifteen minutes later. She is not bubbly today. The events of yesterday have drained some of that from her.
Girls, I am going to see if we can add Aina. Any questions?
Mirafe asks, When?
I meet her in a little more than two hours.
Oh! OK if I am not here?
Yes, you need to go to your family’s home. Amelae, you look like you want to speak but I do not hear anything.
Master, will there be any more deaths?
Not from what is occurring with Aina.
Good. Master do you know how many die in the past three days?
Yes. It is sad, but it does happen. It is not something that makes me any happier than it does you. … Will you accompany me today?
Really? You want me there?
Yes. This girl is sick. We must bring back her health before she joins with me. She is scared and alone. I need you today. Will you come?
Yes. Of course yes! Master, you not ask. You tell. That is enough.
At nine in the morning, Amelae and I approach the bench. Aina is already there. We sit down, with the girl between us. I have given Amelae the opening lines. After that I figure we will wing it.
He not coming, Aina.
I know you. Amelae, correct?
Yes. The priest is not coming.
How you know he not come?
Because the divine one, the Master of all, he was the one to send you the message. The Priest will never speak to you again. The Master, he decide it must be this way. He say you have suffered far too long. He say you have no sin to atone for. He say you need to be loved, cherished and made healthy again. He say there is nothing bad in you. He is angry with the priest for scaring you. The Master say, if you believe in him there will never be a hell. You will not burn for eternity. The Master promises this. He says, no sin can make you unworthy. You are worthy, no matter what you may have in your heart. He say he not care if you sin, so long as you accept the Master. The Master say, it is evil for a man to scare you like the priest do. The Master hates such evil and loves sweet hearts like yours.
Who is this Master?
He is the true divine one. He is not a false god who makes you feel pain and fear. But he say, before you know more, he wants you healthier, happier. He wants you more at peace. Then he will allow you to feel the power of the Master. The Master wants you to know these things. There is a soul, but there is no life after death. There is no eternal. Your soul is the perfume of your essence, but it is not you and not your consciousness. The Master will care for your soul when you pass from the earth. But there is no heaven, no hell and no sin. There are only acts of good and bad. Master knows you have done only good. Master say it is only the acts that count. It is time for you to come with us Aina. There is no other path for you.
Will the Master hurt me if I do bad?
No. The only one that hurts you if you do bad, is you.
The priest will be angry. I cannot.
Try to call the priest.
She does try. And someone does answer, but it is not the priest. She asks to speak to him. She is told that the priest has been ordered from the highest of high, that he is not to ever speak to her again. The call ends.
Aina, it is time to go. You need to enter the world of the Master. He has set a place for you. Your time of suffering is over. He has heard and ends it.
She turns to me. Who are you?
I, am the Master.
She faints.
But just for a moment, and then she just seems bewildered. Amelae, takes her elbow and gets the girl to stand. Aina is not stable on her gams but we are able to get her into the Everest for a trip back to the house.
It really didn’t go in a manner I would have preferred but as I was the one to enlist Amelae and give her the speaking part, I don’t have a lot of room to complain. I do have a contract prepared for Aina at the house. At this point I have no idea if she is fully of compos mentis to sign it.
When we reach the house, I see someone slouched down by the side of the gate. Whoever it is seems to be in bad shape. As I was not there, and the guard does not know the person as having rights to enter, the result is what we see.
I roll down the window to speak to the guard as the gate opens. Whoever it is, gets up and moves towards the vehicle. The guard gets between us in an effort to protect me if needed. I cannot see a face, but I hear a voice.
Allow her in, Edgar. I know her. I drive into the lot, parking the Everest under the car port.
Amelae and I are assisting Aina out of the vehicle and toward the front door, when the other girl grabs me by my legs, prostrates herself at my feet and kisses them!