Humor Of The Hour

Pain? There are many ways to define it. Each person bears a different definition. So many opinions, so many notions. But at the end of the day, we all come to the same conclusion. Pain, changes everyone who's had a taste of it for better or worse. No doubt about it. To grow in conscience, you need to hurt. And to hurt, you need to explore yourself by exploring the world. That is the requisite for knowing more of oneself. Even so, what if one day pain comes knocking at your door in all shapes and sizes of your fears you never could even fathom you had? In a way, that is exactly what happened to me. But there was this kind of pain along with them, that kind of pain which made your heart ache for one person, you know unimaginable forms of chaos would take no time in seeping in your life as you keep giving that soul more and more of yours. Everything becomes nugatory. Like a foolish moth drawn to flame as if it's the most beautiful thing in the world, only to burn till ashes remain. Well, let's just say I was that unfortunate moth.

Now considering the current situation I was in, I was in no mood to play Mr. Good Guy. Either Delran may have meant that Loralie is still alive and not decaying in her mahogany coffin or I'm sending him back to where he originally belonged once...which is not a very nice place. The cosmos may try its best to hold me back from knowing the unknown but this time, my will to discover is larger than its forces and I'm willing to bear any expense for it...even sell my soul to the devil if I have to.

"Look around you, Delran. There is nothing but snow. Even if I spill your blood all over the place, mother nature will cover it up pretty soon...as if nothing ever happened and your body will be stuck in the ground forever. So I am being very polite and tolerant with you. Answer me this. Is Loralie dead or alive?"

His mouth parted as I strangled him by his neck, desperate for oxygen. If I kept this going for three more minutes, he would die for sure but not before he discloses something. That look of astonishment never left his eyes which amused me a lot.

"What's with that look, Delran? You seem really terrified of me right now. Did you actually think I would stay the same feeble boy I once was? It was the likes of you that tainted me to become someone like this. I had to leave everything I ever had for this power. Surely now, a little barbarity does my eyes no harm. So tell me before I return the same uppercut you gave me a moment ago. But you see unlike yours, my hits can be fatal enough to shatter your vertebrae. I'm going to let you go now, so you better choose your next words carefully."

I slowly loosened my grip on his neck and struck him on the nose. That would hurt him and give him less time to recover from the strangling.

"Aargh!"

"Time is ticking. Elwyn, hold him straight for me. Use all the strength you have."

With all his might, he ran to him and held him with his hands behind his back.

"Blaine, he's bleeding. Do something!"

"Let him bleed. I won't hesitate to kill him if he won't tell me. You've made me spend too much of my energy on you."

Elwyn looked no less that stupefied.

"You wouldn't actually kill him, would you Blaine?"

"I'll go to any length to get what I want."

With glowering eyes as blue as the oceans, he glared at me before answering, "She died. She's dead. And even if she were alive, what would you do? Go and beg her for forgiveness because you abandoned her when she needed your trust the most? Confess your undying love which you never had the guts to do? What could you possibly do? Fine, go ahead and kill me. Maybe then you'll know you will get nothing out of this."

"Wait a minute."

Elwyn pushed his palm in Delran's trouser pocket and pulled out the shiny metallic device, now vibrating.

"Who else have you brought here with you?" I asked.

"Blaine it's the third Aita, Montel!" Elwyn uttered showing me the screen of Delran's phone which displayed the name Montel Aita. He then slid his finger over the screen, and put the phone on loud speaker mode.

"Delran, what gives? Why is it taking you so long? You know we can't be seen by any of the townsfolk and yet you don't bother! We need to get back home as soon as possible. We must hasten to prepare for her arrival, brother. You know she hates it when someone's late. Hello? Hello? What is-"

The call disconnected due to poor signal and my anger only spiked.

"Who was he talking about?"

"Mother."

"Whose mother?"

"Mine."

"I know about your parents. You never had a mother." I said loudly.

"How did you know about that?!" He raged.

"I have my ways. You just lied to me. Brace yourself." I announced, and landed a punch in his stomach.

"Don't you dare lie to me. Tell me who it was and I might let you walk out of here alive."

He seemed hesitant for a few seconds but rather gave a very strange answer.

"It was Montel's mother. She took me in after I graduated high school. The Aita brothers and I live in the same place. I was planning to pay my respects here and board a flight to London as I was told that she would be visiting us."

Why this sick, twisted brat. Entertained by his loyalty for falsehood, what started as a small chuckle from my mouth ended with a deep laugh.

"What's wrong with you? Man, you're scaring me!" Elwyn yelled.

Everything went wrong with me a long time ago. Call me mad if you will, but innocence, sanity and purity are not a part of me anymore.

"Sorry. It was bad timing, I agree. What did you say, Delran? The Aita brothers' mother took you in? Wow that's fantastic! Then I bet she also told you how she died giving birth to Montel."