"Why not you?" Is what Ponleak answered.
"Come on. Don't give me that mumbo jumbo crap of an answer. Why me?" I asked heatedly.
After all I have been through so far. Dreaming as if our lives were intertwined somehow. How could he tell me that reverse psychological crap of an answer.
"Okay. I will tell you the truth." Ponleak said calmly. "I saw in you a strong quality of morals and principles, that not all humans have. You, of course, have not led a totally righteous life, but when it comes right down to it, I believe, your conscious will make you act in the proper manner concerning the amulet."
"Thank you. I guess." I replied. Thinking he was trying to give me a compliment somehow. "But after holding on to it for so long yourself, why give it up now?"
"There always come a time when a King must hand over his thrown to his sons. Be it through death or abdication. An old President, of any business venture, must make way for a younger Vice President with fresh aggressive ideas or the company will become stagnant." Ponleak was explaining. "It came time to see if the human race is ready to handle power of the amulet."
"What if we aren't?" I asked ingenuously. "You know, that I know, that you and your kind have been the movers and shakers behind the human race for centuries. I cannot believe you haven't noticed our knack for destroying ourselves and killing what is good in this world. It all stems from coveting what our neighbors have."
"What do you think happened on Atlantis? Or what you call Mars today." Ponleak said sadly. "We had one million years on Atlantis, or a little less than two million of your Earth years, to build a world and expand into the solar system. But what did we do as a species? We subjugated most of our people and let the few have everything. We let them have all the power, riches, and freedom. Instead of expanding into the solar system, we made laws to limit the amount of children a couple could have if they were not among the elite."
Ponleak quieted down for the moment, as the waitress came back for the second time, asking frustratingly, "Are you ready to order yet?"
Ponleak looked at me, and I understood I was to order first. Which I did. Then he ordered for himself and Tiny.
We waited again, before speaking, as the waitress quickly came back with the coffee pot to fill our cups. Once she was done, he began again.
"Over time, the few enacted law after law to ensure their family lineage would never loose power. They enacted laws so no one could climb above their inherited station in life. The few became richer and more powerful. Everyone else, became poorer."
"Let me ask you this then?" I asked, staring straight into Ponleak's eyes. "If you were born and raised as one of the elite, how come you rebelled against your supposed inherited station in life?"
"It was a well keep secret among a few powerful people." He replied. "My father had fallen in love with my mother whose station in life was far below of his. He saw a special beauty in her and an intelligence way above her level. So he made a deal with the previous Board of Directors and became the most notorious Chief of Security Atlantis has ever seen. Taking down people who made power plays against the Director. Making sure he always stayed in power, so the true story of where the woman he loved came from, was never told to the masses."
I thought about it, then said, "You rebelled out of love for your mother then?"
"Yes."
"You wanted to change your society. Your whole way of life, so to speak?"
Ponleak put his head down, seemingly talking to the table top.
"I wanted everyone on Atlantis to have a fare shake in life. A chance to move up in the world if they deserve it. Or down if they were not worthy of the position they were in."
Neither of us said a word after that, as the waitress came back with our meals.
Tiny immediately jumped all over his food. I ate mine and Ponleak picked at his, deep in thought.
Without the menus, we still tried to cover our conversation by talking with a fork full of food in front of our mouths, or the coffee cups just inches away from our lips.
It was bugging me so much I had ask Ponleak, "What happened on Atlantis? I almost saw it in my dreams, what happened on those final days, but I was awoken before it was revealed to me."
Ponleak put his head down even further. Dropping his fork onto his plate and holding his face with both hands. Covering up the shame, or his fright, or his tears. I don't know.
I will never know for sure because Tiny picked me up with one hand, knocking over half the contents on our table, waving a finger in front of me, as if to say no, no.
The only noise came from the waitress, who didn't back down from Tiny's size at all, saying, "If you are going to fight, take it outside, or I will call the cops on you guys, right away."
Tiny, still holding me in the air, got up, off his seat in the booth, and took me outside without me ever putting my feet on the ground. He held me there until Ponleak came outside and told him to put me down.
Then he said, "I paid for our meals and left a hefty tip. But I believe Tiny's little display of strength has not gone unnoticed. I believe it is time for us to leave.
With that a black limousine pulls up and Tiny throws me into the back seat.
To Be Continued....
Next Thursday.
This is,
Never Been In A Limousine Myself,
Jim Hauenstein,
And,
“In New York there is always something to look at, but it is all infinitely more interesting through a window in the backseat of a limousine.”
- Anna Godbersen, -
- Anna Godbersen, -
That is my story and I am sticking to It!
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