Chapter 6

Cleora

"Cai. I'm hungry."

Those siblings might inherit their parent's wealth, but with every material of his project, on every defect and renovations, the wealth comes to an end. 

"Don't worry! I'll sell the scraps."

While on the way in the city, pulling a cart on the stone paths of the plaza cornered by the white column facades of buildings, he saw a university student holding a leather electrician tool bag come out from the municipal building. The student directly went to him.

"Hey! How much for all of these? I'll take it all."

Cairo's eyes widened. "This all? But you're just a student. How will you afford it?"

He laughed. "Who says I'm going to pay for it?" He drew a bank cheque from his pocket. "So how much is it?"

"This is supposed to be a hundred kilograms. Uhm…"

"How about a thousand Piloncitos?"

"Uhm. I think that's too much. What will you do with these, though?"

"I'm inventing a luxurious race car that you've never seen before!" he said while filling up his check.

"You mean, innovating," Cairo corrected. "So it will be super speed, huh? And less fuel? Less carbon emission and eco-friendly?"

"Uhm, no. Speed is still the same as well as fuel. I don't know what eco-friendly you're talking about. But the design is fantastic! You'll feel super rich when you ride it and all the rich customers will dream of this car!"

"And you call that innovation?"

The student tore the edge of the paper and gave it to him and gestured with a nod to the building behind him. "Just claim it there inside the municipal building." He then took over the cart. "Also, I'll take this cart as well, ah? It will be hard for me to travel without a cart."

Just as the student told Cairo, he went inside the municipal city to claim the cheque. The lady told him to wait so she could withdraw it to the bank. The indirect transactions were due to approve and record first all the expenses for this program of sponsorship of young innovators. 

"This sponsorship supports young innovators to create revolutionary technology for the world's future."

Hearing those words piqued his curiosity so he asked for more and the woman taught him the process of application.

And when he did on the second day…

"I know that you have a very high innovative thinking but, I don't think this flying transportation would be possible," the representative told him.

"That's why I need funds to make it possible!"

The man sighed. "It's not just about making your dreamy fantasy in reality. It's about the money you're spending on nothing but air."

"No! You should read more the details and the blueprint–"

"The papers you gave me are very unorganized! I barely understand it! This is why we only choose university students because they are more educated than a mere peasant like you! Look how dirty and smelly you are!"

Cairo stamped the table. "Hey! I'm not a peasant! I might stop attending school but I'm even more intelligent than those university students you called that only care about aesthetics yet he called it invention! When it's not even innovative! He just wants to fish stupid people to drain their money!" 

The man shouted back, "That's the point of this sponsorship! To generate more income from innovations! To become rich!"

He shouted with tears, "To become rich my ass! How about let's fly in the sky to meet those f*cking dead people to bring them back to the land and badly wanted to hug them again!"

"You delusional disrespectful brat! Then try to find someone who's an idiot like you to fund your project!"

"Yes! Just wait to see!" He walked out and slammed the door.

Cairo's routine had changed. In the morning, he works the actual model in the garage, welding the engine and fixing the wooden frame of the paper. Cleora loved to help, handling him the tools he needed, started doing laundry, farming and continued cooking. In the afternoon, after selling and buying materials, Cairo would search for the investors and present his papers and miniatures. But upon asking his educational background and how to generate funds with it, everyone was turning him down. In the evening, he continued to weld the human-sized flyer and revise his papers.

Until he finally finished it. Full of hope, he woke Cleora excitedly in the twilight to share the achievement and test it in front of her. But it barely moved. So he fixed it and ran it again. The engine exploded, the papers were burnt. He had to start from scratch, realizing he should've added a pedal like bicycle to help it move with mechanical force to run on the ground with more speed until it reached the ramp and fly.

But they realized they've nothing to sell anymore.

After the day, they were walking on the stone floor of the plaza square, into the facade of the building–the bank.

"Wait me here," Cairo said, holding documents. But Cleora gripped to his clothes. Cairo stopped, waiting for her words.

"A-Are you really sure you're selling our house? Won't Mama and Papa get angry?"

Cairo smiled. "Trust me, Cleora. We might lose something big but," he kneeled to level her face and patted her head. "It will all be worth it. We're going to see Mama and Papa."

Cleora smiled, felt comforted. "Okay, Cai. I trust you."

After selling all their properties, they rented a garage near the cliff. They finally got back to their routines again, not minding finding investors and revising papers to make it look profitable. But those days were only short. They've come to their end again, yet his project was still not working the way he was expecting.

He let down all his pride, worked harder with the papers first and begged every neighbor, went on different streets day by day, knocking house to house, just to find an investor to their idealistic invention. He nearly gave up, their bodies became too thin, barely eating anything while lacking sleep. Until one night when he came back home. His eyes were sparkling, hope and excitement rushing throughout his body.

"Cleora! Cleora! A professor from a university scouted my talent and said he wants to fund our project until the end! I can't believe someone will believe me!"

Cleora jumped in celebration. "Wow, Cai! You did it! You're really amazing!" 

"Does the surname Dutchel ring your bell? He said he was once our Papa's professor! Oh!" He grabbed Cleora's wrist and went to the grassfield, lying down, their body buried on the grass so they could stare at the skies full of stars.

A minute of silence came. "Cai. It's been a long time since we stared at the skies again. So I'm confused which of the stars are Papa and Mama."

"You're right. We've become too busy. But don't worry. We will meet them soon in the sky and bring them back home." The cold wind brushed the grasses caressing their skins, Cairo's eyes reflected on the colorful glittery of the heavenly above. "Just wait a little bit, Mama, Papa."

Present

Year 1913, Trojan City, Rajir

On the grassfield, with the same location of the past, a figure of a woman's body was buried on the tall grasses, brown eyes staring deeply on the skies full of stars. She squeezed her bomb stuff toys as her tears escaped to her cheeks.

"You liar!"

Suddenly, the face of a boy flashed on her mind, behind the blue skies, the sunshine kissed his warm smile, blood dripping on his head, whispering the words, "I made it."

She clenched her hands. "You made it–by leaving me alone. You made it not through these flyers–but through death!"

She stood up, pulling up the grasses around in rage. "I'll make them pay! I'll make them pay! I'LL MAKE THEM PAY!"

The woman then stopped, her brown eyes wrapped by the complete darkness, an eye of an abyss. "Tomorrow will be the finale." a smirk stretched on her lips, and giggles escaped from it. "Many people will die again because of you. Until your conscience devours you, I'll explode every part of your body piece by piece, while making you remember what you did to my brother."

She gritted her teeth for the last time, her hands clenched too tightly, nails biting her palm, drawing blood that dripped onto the grass. "I'll make you pay, Dutchel."

Suddenly, a static sound echoed with the breeze. "Cleora, can you hear me?"

Cleora rolled her eyes and grabbed the radio on her waist to his mouth.

"Just tell me your business!"

"There's a change of plans."

"I never said I'm going to cooperate with your f*cking plan! I have my own strategy!" She ended the call.

-inkofdeath