Years

That kick-started the mundane life that I have ahead of me, really.

Once I started dedicating myself to other things happening in my life, I'm beginning to forget the many tragedies I had to endure in the past. When I started to work under Jimmy, the stress of it all started to become a reality. Before I knew it, my life had been spent talking to associates, forming a family, and being a good member of the community rather than thinking about some depressing stuff. It's not at all a better life, but it sure is a happier one. Work has been hell, but for the first time in a very long time, I can finally see myself drinking with coworkers with a genuine smile on my face. For once, I found myself hanging out with my boss, not because I forced myself to do it for the betterment of my career's future. Not to mention, the pay Jimmy is giving me is enough to make me feel like the sleepless nights are worth it.

I really am grateful for Plural Heights because of the many things that they had given me, and for the future that they made possible because of their help. More than anything, I was happy to have the love of my life. Well, I am not really quite sure as to what I feel about her—is it love, or is it just me forcing myself to make my relationship work with the woman I accidentally impregnated? Nonetheless, if you go home to see a clean room, a great meal, and a beautiful woman there to greet you, then no amount of confusion could ever falter a man into believing that he's at least living in a life that he loves. If not the woman itself, then the world she gave me is great enough for me to realize that I am finally ready to devote myself to her. Besides, the way he worked hard for me every day is enough for me to realize that she is more than willing to submit herself to me if it means that she could worship me for just an hour. It is what a man like me deserves to see in a woman: quiet, subservient, beautiful, and obedient.

Of course, I never really forgot my duty in Plural Heights even though my life has finally started to shine its brilliance for once. Veronica is right when she said that Jimmy would willingly allow me to leave the work if the group ever needs me. Sometimes, the chores that Plural Heights demands me to do can be quite demanding, such as going to different shelters all over the world and feeding the homeless. Sometimes, the chores can be very mundane, like ensuring the member's safety during a weekly event—when those chores come, I always say that it's one of those good days! However, as time goes on, the chores would start to be on the demanding side more often, which I don't really mind at all because I am doing it all for the betterment of the group, but it can really affect my performance at work. I am just happy that I share a company with a bunch of understanding folks who understand my needs because they're all members of Plural Heights like me. I also cannot stop thanking my wife for always being understanding when I come home late and always leave her alone in my dark and lonely apartment room.

Thus, I decided to be a better man to inspire the people I'm handling and to give my wife a better place to stay.

I have to be better for the child that had just arrived in the world today when my wife finally gave me the best thing that had been given life in the world.

I have to be better to prove to the world that the house I had just bought today with the help of Veronica is something that I deserve to have, albeit I sometimes think that it is a bit too much for a man like me to have.

I have to be better, so when Jimmy promoted me today, I can tell him that he made the right decision to give me more opportunities to further my career.

I have to be better...

Better...

I...

In my quest to be a better man, I lost track of time and realized that three years have passed by before my very eyes without my knowledge.

I managed to save enough money to buy my wife a large house in a great neighborhood in a residential area in LA, but the cost is that I worked extra harder in my job, so my body got thinner, and I feel like I aged ten years more than my current age. I was finally able to land in a position higher than the one where I started, but it just meant less time for me to meet my wife and my kid while they waited for me anxiously at home. For so long, I could now call myself the father of a beautiful child that I am more than proud of for being very bright although she's still a baby. Still, the catch is that I couldn't even play with her for so long because I would always need to bury my head in my work, which sometimes makes me feel like maybe my life would turn into a real-life rendition of Cat's in the Cradle if my relationship with my daughter stays this way. 

However, even after all that, I am thankful.

I am thankful to Jimmy for giving me a career opportunity that I am proud of to the point where I could finally show off myself to other people just because of how fucking great my job is. There's nothing more I can say to my wife other than my undying gratitude for always being there for me, always being patient to me, always staying there by my side whenever I need her, always giving the effort of exercising to make herself look good every day for me to admire day and night, and always being the best parent for my child. In essence, I could never ask for more from her. I am thankful to Veronica for supporting my decisions economically or personally without reservations and without needing payment as long as I fulfill my role in Plural Heights. The Mother gave me my life, gave my child a future, and gave me my career.

My life is not perfect, but it is one that I will never ever forget, and my heart will always be filled with gratitude for those who have placed me here.

I couldn't ask for more.

Thus, when the Mother personally called me in her office in New York to have a personal meeting with her regarding my excellent performance in Plural Heights, there's nothing else I said other than an essay-length reply that shows my enthusiasm to go.

"I am doing great, Mother, all because of you!" I said with a lazy chuckle, trying my hardest to appear nonchalant when I wanted to explode for so long now that I had seen Mother's voice again for so long. Nicole must have seen the look of my face, for she went straight to me while rubbing my shoulder as she quietly listened to my voice. "My chores have been doing well, Mother. Remember last month when I went back to the PH nursing home? A lot of people there really appreciated the efforts I did as a volunteer. Oh? You've heard of it? Oh man, Mother, should I really say it? I'm getting so embarrassed now. Okay, well, if you insist." I giggled along with Nicole as I placed the phone near her ear so we could listen to Mother together. I then pulled her waist closer, which made Nicole blush. "Remember that old man Jensen? Yes, that guy, he poops a lot, right? Well, the people there don't really know what to do with him since they don't want to get dirty, but I've lived in an environment like that, so I really pulled it off well like a champ! Oh, yes, yes, I see that you've heard about Mr. Cruz, yes, I'm sure his soul is on the other side now. Oh, don't worry about it, Mother, I took care of the incineration process since he doesn't have any living family members anymore. Yes, you have nothing to worry about, Mother. I saw through the entire process. I was even the one who threw him to the incinerator. I think it's just fair for me to do that to him since he had been very good to me.

Mother really loved hearing replies like that from her devout children, and she sent me a short response that tells me my next instructions before the meeting in a way that makes me feel happy because I can see her glee through her concise sentence.

"Wait for my tweet."

I immediately showed it to my wife Nicole, and she started jumping in joy with me as we both looked at her reply as if we had been granted a divine artifact that will transcend our soul into nirvana.

"Wait for my tweet."

To be fair, now that I'm rereading it with Nicole, I can finally see that perhaps it was not hyperbole that her short but beautiful reply truly is a work of divine entity. I mean, who else could make something as beautiful as this with just such simple and short words? Perhaps this is really a sign that the Mother is finally ready to strengthen my soul and show my very eyes what lies ahead of this mortal realm. When I reiterated these thoughts to Nicole, the only thing she told me is a few words of agreement and how much she's proud of me of finally getting the Mother's attention again after three years.

I consider myself a long-time member of Plural Heights now, so I know what Mother meant when she said that message to me. I quickly hopped into my office and visited Mother's Twitter account right away. By the time I saw her empty Twitter profile—so empty in fact that it doesn't even have a profile picture and the account itself is not following anybody, but she had almost 200k followers—I started to refresh her feed over and over again in hopes to see her tweet that contains her beautiful instructions. I was there in front of my PC with my back hunched into an arc while my middle finger tapped the refresh button every three seconds, sometimes even just a second, to see if her message arrived. After precisely one hour, thirteen minutes, and seventeen seconds of refreshing her account vehemently, I finally saw Mother's tweet, her grand instructions to me.

"plural heights

L4, R9

only member 15436"

That's it! That's the tweet! It meant Mother wanted me to go to the nearest Plural Heights branch around me, go to level 4, find room 9, and wait for further instructions. The tweet also specifies that the only one the Mother expects to see is the member that owns the membership ID 15436. THAT'S MY MEMBERSHIP ID! I can't believe she remembers it; she truly is the very icon of perfection itself!

Such format in our tweets is how members like me usually call other members for help in our chores if we ever need one or if a Plural Heights director like Mother and Jimmy has special announcements to specific members of the group like in my case.

I quickly liked the tweet by the time I saw it, and before I knew it, the tweet was already removed, signaling that the Mother had acknowledged that I had understood what she meant. By the time I saw that the Mother's Twitter account is empty again, I quickly wore proper clothes, take all the essential things I need—keys, wallet, phone—inside of my bag, kissed my beautiful Nicole in the lips and my cute little daughter Carla in her forehead, and bid them both goodbye for the Mother is expecting my very presence right at this very moment. I hurriedly hailed a cab once I found one. By the time I arrived at the only Plural Heights mall in Los Angeles that now became my second home, I started running towards the groto to see if the Mother had finally arrived.

I ran there like my life depended on it, like a million predators had been chasing after me. When I got there, my entire body was already covered with so much sweat, I was out of breath, and my face was beet red, but a beaming smile still rested on my face with nothing but excitement accompanying it. I looked up at the groto, expecting great news from it, but I found nothing written on it.

I frowned with one of my eyebrows sticking upward. This is strange. This is the only way for members like me to know if the Mother had finally arrived on the premises, and it's also the only way for me to know if the Mother would cancel the schedule. Since there's still nothing coming out of it, I just sat on the dusty tiled floor of the mall's hallway without taking my eyes off the groto. I just stared at it with a bored look on my face, but my eyes stayed at that stone groto, admiring its very beauty for it is one of the many creations that the Mother herself had given to us here in the LA branch of Plural Heights. I started to chuckle to myself as I realized that this is the only thing that has Mother's essence in it. In fact, this is probably the only thing in this establishment at the moment that I could safely call as Mother's mark, Mother's body, and Mother's blessing—in a way, this very groto that I am staring at right now is Mother herself.

With that thought in mind, I started to utter Mother's tweet in my head slowly as I gradually crawled towards the groto. "Plural Heights. L4, R9. Only member 15436." I kept repeating those things as quietly as I could, so others would only think that I'm merely uttering wordless gibberish, for none of them deserves to know her instructions other than me, 15436.

When I finally arrived at the foot of the groto, I started licking the ground in which it stood and repeatedly uttered the words that Jimmy told me whenever I wish to feel Mother's presence without her physical form.

"Mother knows best," I said with a wide grin on my face as I started licking the ground nonstop, tasting it's sweet concrete taste and imagining that Mother had once stood on this very floor when she was creating this groto with her very own hands. It sent shivers down my spine, making me wish to utter those blessed words once more to remind myself that Mother lives in me. " Mother knows best. Mother knows best. Mother knows best. Mother knows best. Mother knows best. Mother knows best. Mother knows best."

After a few more kisses on the ground, I then began to gently whisper three familiar words that I have long accustomed of doing, "Faraqha, sharvhaza, dheze!" I uttered each syllable as firmly as I can to show my utmost devotion and love to the Mother. "Faraqha, sharvhaza, dheze!"

I would have licked for all eternity if I didn't hear the groto's whirring sound, signaling that the groto is finally ready to give me the message it contains. My heart pumped faster compared to when I was running earlier as I felt my lips contorting into a wide, wide, wide smile—the corners of my lips almost reaching my ears, and my jaws dropped, revealing the darkness that lurked from within my mouth. I stood up and fixed myself up as I read the groto's message with a giggle.

"Mother has arrived."

I quickly ran towards room nine on the fourth floor of the mall. On my way there, I saw the janitor holding a dirty mop and a bottle of bleach. I was so happy today that I struck a conversation with him, something that I rarely do. "Where ya heading to, old man janitor?"

With his usual stern expression, the janitor merely looked at me while pointing the bleach in his hand using his jaw. "Will clean the groto on the first floor."

"That's great, janitor!" I said with a hearty laugh as I ran upward. I then shouted at him with an excited yelp, "I will be meeting the Mother! FUCK YEAAAH!"

I quickened my step as I ascended from one floor to another, and finally, I stood right in front of room nine on the fourth floor. It was a closed store, but the metal folding door of it is partially open, so it means that someone else has entered this place and that they're expecting me to come.

When I squeezed myself into that tiny space, not wanting to move it even for a little bit because that might be how Mother intended it to look like, I finally saw what lies inside of the abandoned store. Inside is a dimly lit room with eleven people inside. In the middle of the room is Mother with a tabletop lamp sitting on her lap as she sat ever so graciously in a luxuriously modern-looking black velvet chair. Mother then beckoned me to approach her with her fingers. That was when I saw the faces of the ten people lining up behind her, five men and five women. They were all standing straight like a group of trained soldiers. Among them stood Jimmy with his usual gentle tone. He looked at me with a wink, and I slightly bowed at him in response.

"Do you know who these people are?" Mother uttered as she moved the lamplight gently above her to illuminate the faces of the people standing behind her.

"I believe they are your vice presidents, Mother," I said with a timid look on my face as I tried my hardest to find the confidence in me to reply with such a powerful-looking audience.

"Correct!" Mother screamed, almost making me jump up as she pointed the lamp at my face. "They are my stars—the people who have seen what lies beyond the mortal realm. These people are the ones with souls strong enough to do every bit of chores that the Plural Heights demands of them because their souls are strong enough to take it! I call them my icons!" Mother then chuckled as she slowly placed the lamp back into her lamp. "But you can call them your goal!"

"I am very grateful to have met all of you," I said with eyes filled with vigor while looking at all of them. I smiled at all of them, wanting to approach them all to shake their hands, but I could not do so, for I do not have the courage to step at the three feet radius around the Mother. I then simply waved my head awkwardly, but Jimmy was the only one who waved back at me; heck, he's the only one who's smiling at me. They all looked like brutes, ready to maul everyone who would disrespect the Mother.

"You see, there are people out there who stood above the rest of the other people in the world. Talented people, beautiful people, rich people, and so on and so forth, these people have a one-of-a-kind soul that only they possess, thus making them stand at the very top of humanity's food chain. For you see, if our species are already on top, I'm pretty sure that we would already start seeing the crème of the crop, the leaders among the leaders, the top among all the number 1s! These people I speak of, my son, are the people you are looking at right now, these fine people behind me and me. And I want you to be a part of us, my child!" Veronica said as she dropped the lap onto the floor. The sound of the lamp hitting the ground echoed throughout the darkened room. She then stepped on the lamp, breaking its bulb once and for all before standing up. Now that the place is finally covered in utter darkness, Mother continued to speak. "But I am not sure if you're man enough to handle what it means to become an icon."

Suddenly, the sounds of many matches lighting up echoed all over the room, and when I finally realized what was happening, I saw that all ten members of Mother's icons are each holding a candlestick, lighting up the room further and making me know that this room looked like a copy of the one behind the Clockwork shop. Still, the walls are all torn up or scratched by the gigantic claws of what I could only describe as a beast that does not exist in nature.

"Are you ready to do your first chore, son?" Mother spoke further as she took a piece of paper between her massive pair of breasts.

"Yes, Mother!" I hurriedly uttered with an excited look on my face. "I am more than ready to make you even prouder of me!"

"Good!" She then walked towards me, which was enough to make my heart go crazy in excitement and fear, for this is the first time I will be seeing the Mother again as close as this for three years. Usually, I would only be able to have the opportunity of seeing her from afar. When she's finally standing before me, she swiftly grabbed my hand and placed the piece of paper on my palm. I closed my hands right away when I felt it touching my skin, which made it hard for the Mother to pull her hands away because I wouldn't let it go. Needless to say, she still managed to take her hands away with a cocky smile that tells me I need more spiritual training if I wanted to beat her in a battle of strength. "Go on now, read it."

I quickly opened the now crumpled paper in my hands and was shocked at the words I saw written on it. "Err... Mother, I think you made a mistake in my chore?"

"Oh?" She said with her forefinger touching her cheek. "Is there a typo in it? Let me see." She slowly moved to my side to read what the paper wished me to do, making me whiff the sweet raspberry smell of her perfume. It was enough to make me squirm and pull my soul away from my fleshly body, but it quickly returned inside of me when I heard Mother speak again. "There's nothing wrong with this, my child."

"What!? But this is..." I said as my hands started to shake, creasing the paper even further.

Mother's eyes then sharpened as she placed her hand on my shoulder. "It's exactly what we want you to do."

I then looked at the paper again to reread the simple instruction listed on it. Wait a minute; I'm so confused, why is something as horrible as this written in a chore that Mother herself had personally given me? This is... I am so lost; I feel like I cannot breathe somehow. Is this a dream? I hope this is all just a stupid nightmare. I wanted to pinch myself, but I can't move my entire body; I can't even find a way to move my fingers just a little bit, so my eyes just kept staring at the dreaded words written on the piece of paper that Mother had given me. I could feel the Mother's presence exuding out of my side as I stuttered as my thoughts whirled out of control. I couldn't do it—what else can I do?

I read the paper again in hopes that my eyes are just playing tricks on me, but the words remained the same.

"Kill your wife."