Standing on the edge of the magnificent Vuma cliffs, I couldn't help but pause to admire the beauty of the landscape underneath the midnight moonlit sky. The dark waters of the ocean were calm, but still, they relentlessly came to the beach before pulling back in an eternal, ethereal dance. The cliff was closed to visitors, given that it was a hazardous area at night.
The warm breeze from the dark glittering ocean blew past me, rustling my clothes and raising goosebumps on my skin. I took a deep breath, enjoying the rare moment of tranquility which was, of course, cut short by my brother. Even though he was bound and gagged using multiple means, he did not give up fighting for his life. I did not understand why he was making a fuss when he couldn't even see his impending doom.
Mercy pushed him further on the ground, causing him to fall face-first into the ground. Nobody made a move to help the poor man who was now obstructing the only method he had left for breathing. Instead of assisting him, Sunshine put her foot on his neck, pressing his face further into the ground, and was finally successful in stopping the noise. The fact that his protest had become louder and louder before finally stopping was a great effort on his part. Mercy had tied at least three different scarves around his mouth, not counting the piece of cloth that was shoved in his mouth. The mere fact that he was audible at all spoke of a great deal of effort on his part. My dear brother was fighting for his life with everything he had.
I motioned forward, and they dragged my brother with a great deal of difficulty to the edge of the cliff making sure to be extra rough with him. Sunshine held him down while Mercy set about removing his restraints and gags. Once he was free, Sunshine let him go, and we all took a step back. He remained frozen for almost a full minute before making a run for it. We had positioned him so that he was facing the edge of the cliff. True to his instincts, he stumbled towards the cliff, and we had the pleasure of listening to his echoing screams with pained exclamations every time he hit a shrub on his way down.
There were plenty of shrubs along the face of the cliff, which significantly lessened the impact of the fall. When he finally landed on the beach, he moved his body around, dazed and in pain, before slipping and going completely still. As soon as he fainted, we piled into my car and high-tailed it out of there as fast as we could. We picked up some takeout on our way and sang pop songs to the house. Mercy came back with three wine bottles in hand while Sunshine laid out the pizza and deep-fried chicken in the living room.
The next few hours passed by in a blur as the television droned on with its usual programming. We needed to keep an eye out for any breaking news with regard to my brother; if anything went wrong, we would know from news reports. Mercy had a search running with a few keywords to alert us if any information appeared online before any new pieces got to it. In the true new era of technology fashion, Mercy got a hit a good three hours before a news station reported it. The details of the case were vague and in pieces, but the running theory was that he fell from the edge. The shrubs would have done a great job of camouflaging any wounds that may have been flagged as suspicious.
When we finally dragged our tired bodies to bed, it was almost noon the next day. I went to bed deeply exhausted but feeling much lighter than I had since the beginning of this ordeal. We needed to keep our eyes and ears on the ground until the case was concluded. Although our success was still far from reaching distance, and there was a minute possibility that it could all backfire in our faces and leave us in jail, I still felt relatively happier.
When I woke up, the moon was shining bright in the sky and its reflection painted beautiful moonlight streaks in the dark ocean, and I was again in awe of how truly wonderful nature was. Its beauty lay not in the intricacy of its designs but in the simplicity of its chaos. One moment, the calm and beautiful ocean could turn into a weapon of mass destruction, the likes of which cannot be stopped or controlled. The ocean took just as much as it provided, and it felt like a befitting reflection of everyday life. For every moment of laughter, there was a corresponding moment of tears. That was the duality of life.
The house was deathly quiet. Mercy and Sunshine were still knocked out in bed. I made myself a cup of coffee, carried it to my terrace, and settled down to watch the waves. I felt my mind anxiety skyrocket, without anything to keep my mind occupied, I felt it slowly slipping into the fantasy space, grasping at the only available distraction.
Before I could alert someone, the intruder who was approaching from the opposite end was quickly tackled by two of our men, whom I had not noticed before. The entire incident was over in no more than an hour, but it left me feeling elated. This was the very time we had taken a stand against our numerous enemies, the first time, and we emerged victorious.
That night, as our men celebrated their victory with a huge feast I funded, he pulled me away and led us to the guest house further down the compound. I saw the flashing mood lights before we opened the door. He exceeded my expectations because not only had he turned the guest living room ethereal using fairy lights, but he also went above and beyond. The floor was covered with rose petals, and numerous balloons were suspended against the ceiling. There were several candles laid out across the floor, creating a romantic sanctuary.
He led me to a table on the far right of the room that I had not noticed before. A smaller version of the meal our men were having was neatly laid out on the table with additional appetizers and a bottle of wine that was chilling in a bucket of ice. I felt a stirring of what felt like happiness blossom in the pits of my stomach. The emerging butterflies were quickly drowned in the memory of loss and pain, and just like that, the romance that he had tried to curate fizzled under the weight of a harsh life, but despite feeling awful, I still gave him a wide smile grateful for the effort he had put into it.
"I wasn't sure what approach to take with this, so I went for romantic and hoped it was something you were into. This is a celebratory dinner. We finally stood our ground, and it paid off, which is great, but it also means that from today going forward, we are going to see more attacks that will be more organized and better equipped than what we witnessed today. Having a stronghold means having the proper means to protect yourself, but it is also a target. I am planning on doubling our men and tripling our arsenal. There will be construction going on in the near future, and until further notice, the panicroom will be our new room. I am going to do everything I can to protect you, and in order to do so, I need to make arrangements, so I will be very busy and will probably not be able to spend every night with you."
"I understand," that was all I gave in reply, causing his eyebrow to shoot up questioningly. "I just want all this to be over" I answered his unspoken question