Agatha hugged Kiba from behind to denote he was no longer alone in this world.
She thought perhaps his parents have a reason for discarding him in slums, but she couldn’t think of any reason which would justify the act.
No! There was nothing in this world which could justify discarding a child in a slum. The slums are the true hell on Earth. Agatha knew the true conditions of the slum.
After the arrival of Evolution Comet in the year 1900, the era of mutants started. The new era was crueler than the previous era as far as the people at the bottom of society were concerned. The governments around the world started taking poor people for experiments as they tried to study the mutation around the world. Conditions of poor only got worse as the entire resources were spent on decoding the secrets of Evolution with them being forced to become a slave for the powerful mutant.
While the formation of the World Government in the year 1935 did stop the atrocities on poor in the open; the truth was even the World Government sacrificed more than a million people in their experiments. It was in the guise of employment overseas or mining incidents which would be used to justify the mass disappearance of people.
In the present year 2024, the weak and poor are forced to live in the slums with next to zero support from World Government or any other organizations. On paper, the World Government has given billions of dollars for the benefit of slums but in reality, those funds were embezzled by the officers.
To develop goodwill and increase publicity, the corporate would host annual charity events for slum people but that money was also embezzled. In this case, the money was embezzled by the powerful few in slums who are almost like overlords of the slum.
The lack of resources has made the slum a place of living hell. People would kill each other for a grain of food much less entire bread. Man would sell away their daughters or wives if it could bring food to their table. If one is orphan then the best case would be working for an overlord and the worst case would be used in human trafficking with a fate worse than death. The only chance of survival is having strong powers but even that require resources and hence making the life in slums a vicious cycle.
“I’m sorry for what you have suffered but now you are no longer alone,” Agatha said while continuing to hug Kiba from behind. She could feel his tears on her hands.
Kiba left her hug and turned his face towards her. He took a deep breath to calm his emotions.
“A few minutes ago, I couldn’t stop hugging you but now you are same as me,” Kiba said with his signature flirtatious smile.
Agatha gave a smile at his words. Her smile was more beautiful than any flower he has seen.
“If you continue to smile like this then I won’t be able to control myself,” Kiba said while thinking it felt good to open his heart with someone.
It was the first time he has shared his past with anyone in his identity as ‘Kiba’. The only woman who knew he has other identity is Eva but even she isn’t aware of his past in slum.
He felt something familiar from her when she hugged him but then he thought it was just his excitement for having someone who cared about him.
The words Agatha has spoken has planted a seed in his heart. They might be just plain words but for him they were special.
———————
“Agatha, if you want to leave… I will help you,” Kiba said.
“Leave? Where would I go then?” Agatha asked.
“Anywhere you want to go,” Kiba answered.
“Kiba, this prison is better than the freedom elsewhere. There are compromises I have to make but I have also benefited,” Agatha said with a sigh.
“It is your choice… I just want you to have freedom.” Kiba said.
“Kiba, you need to learn that the choices we have are not really choices. The freedom you think of doesn’t exist in this world; not even for the strongest in this world. The strong ones are worried about losing their strength and dreading the enemies who would take advantage of their weakness. I don’t even need to talk about weak ones who are ruled by the strong,” Agatha said.
Kiba was talking about her marriage when he said she could ‘leave’. The marriage was a compromise between two rivaled factions for stability. In the current era, rarely someone from the strong background is forced to marry against their will. Agatha was one of the rare ones who didn’t have any say in her own marriage. Same applied to Jack who is her husband. This is why their marriage was full of troubles.
Before marriage, she thought of running away but then her friend reminded of the conditions in the world. How could she survive in the world after offending her family and her future in-laws? They might not kill her but make her life a hell wasn’t impossible.
Even if they didn’t, she knew she couldn’t handle the dull lifestyle outside. She enjoyed the rich lifestyle she had. Her very backing became a chain for her. She couldn’t escape from the clutches of the vanity.
“True freedom is an illusion… You just need to learn it, my friend,” Agatha said.
“Illusion?” Kiba thought of her words. It was not like he didn’t know how freedom was a lie sold by the government to fool people but now it being addressed as Illusion still shocked him.
“There is no true freedom but only Illusion unless you can gain eternal life and break out of the shackles which bind us,” Agatha concluded.
“I guess you are right. Still, I would rather spend my life on chasing realistic dreams instead of illusory eternal life,” Kiba said.
He believed the present mattered more than the future. Future was illusory just like true freedom and eternal life. Why spend the entire life chasing after an illusion?
“Realistic dreams? What are your dreams” Agatha asked with curiosity.
She really wanted to know what could attract a man more than power and eternal life. For a person from a slum, the dreams of power and eternal life were even more inviting.
“I dream of simple pleasures of life and not something grand,” Kiba said with a smile.
“Just tell me no matter how simple they are,” Agatha said.
“I dream of enjoying every phase of my life whether it is as a student or as a professional or an old man waiting for his death.”
“My dream is to taste the best delicacies, drink every fine liquor, and making love with the most beautiful women out there. I want to enjoy the vanity which only the rich could afford. And lastly, I dream of stealing others wife for an affair while their husbands die of envy and shame! “
Agatha: “……..”
“Is this too much to ask?”
Agatha: “……”
