What Kaija Saw-Part 2

Part 2: THE BEGINNING

I was born in Middleton with 5 other siblings under a family called the Barkinsons. My mother was a pure bred Black Labrador but I was born yellow. That’s because, according to my mother, my father was a Yellow Lab all the way from a country called Japan. The Barkinsons family, who were famous musicians, was visited by a Japanese ambassador and his family, and my father belonged to his daughter. When my mother met him, it was love at first sight. They managed to get acquainted and mated before my father went back to Japan, thus my siblings and I were born.

When I was about 6 weeks old, my mother said that it was time for us to leave her and go to other homes to have new Mommies and Daddies. I cried and told her I didn’t want to leave her, but she told me that that’s life and I have to learn to adapt to it. She even told me that one day I shall meet the right Mommy or Daddy to be with and know they will be one even though we’ve only just met. It’s what she called ‘doggy instinct’, and when that time comes, I wouldn’t need her that much anymore. I refused to believe her, but little did I know that she was going to be right.

Soon, I watched my siblings leave to new homes one by one. Two brothers were sent back to Japan as a gift for the Japanese ambassador, and I was a little envious because they get to hang with our father. Another brother the same colour as me was sold to a very rich chef and was named ‘Salad’ the minute he set eyes on him. I soon heard from a phone conversation between Mrs. Barkinsons and the chef that Salad was doing really well and was spoiled rotten by his three beautiful part-time model daughters. My only sister was sold to a lady who lived at a town called Upperton, which was quite a long way from Middleton, so it was no surprise that we never heard of her again. Although I was glad I wasn’t sold yet, but I knew it might happen one day eventually.

That day was when I met Daddy Ron. The Barkinsons were having some sort of party and Daddy Ron and his family were invited because they were sort of a distant relative of Daddy Ron’s father. I noticed Daddy Ron wasn’t having a lot of fun at the party. In fact, he looked bored. I didn’t know why, but there’s something about him that kind of attracted me paternally. I suspected it to be the ‘doggy instinct’ my mother told me about, but I was in self-denial. Still, I couldn’t take my eyes off him.

Then he saw me. Or to be more exact, Daddy Ron’s pet saw me. The naked mole rat got out of Daddy Ron’s pocket and was curiously regarding me. I barked at him in delight—it was the first time I saw friends other than the cat next door and the birds on trees. Daddy Ron was all over him, thinking I was going to attack him, but I made him think otherwise by jumping onto Daddy Ron and giving him countless kisses. I didn’t know what prompt me to do this, but all I knew at that moment was that I wanted to go home with him.

I guess I kinda grew on Daddy Ron, for almost immediately Daddy Ron asked Mrs. Barkinsons if he could buy me. His father protested at first because he said he was allergic to animal fur, but Daddy Ron assured him that he was buying me as a present for his girlfriend. After much negotiation, Mrs. Barkinsons agreed to let Daddy Ron buy me for $50. I soon bid my mother goodbye and got acquainted almost immediately with Daddy Ron and his pet Stepbrother Rufus.

Valentine’s Day was the day I met Mommy Kim. Daddy Ron put me into a basket tied with a red ribbon and covered me with a warm red cloth. I couldn’t see a thing with the cloth over me but I could hear and feel everything around me. I felt the earthquake-like bumps and jerks as I was carried by Daddy Ron to goodness-knows-where and I could feel Daddy Ron’s leg occasionally hitting softly on the basket I was in. I could hear Daddy Ron saying “We’re almost there” as he knocked on the door and a woman’s voice inviting him in. then I heard Mommy Kim running towards Daddy Ron. A smooching sound indicated that they had just kissed. Finally I heard Daddy Ron say “Happy Valentine’s Day”.

That was my cue. I popped out my head and Mommy Kim gave a cry of surprise. She was the most beautiful human I have ever seen—with her reddish hair, full lips and dark green eyes. I liked her as immediately as I liked Daddy Ron with his golden hair and brown eyes. I barked and wagged my tail, brining the rest of her family to see me.

“Oh, isn’t he adorable!”

“It’s a ‘she’, Mrs. Dr. Possible.”

“Cool! A pure-bred Labrador!”

“Where did you get her, son?”

“Just someone related to my dad. Don’t worry, Mr. Dr. Possible. She’s fully vaccinated. No rabies, no nothing.”

“Why the gesture, Ron?”

“Oh, you know, KP, since I have Rufus, I thought maybe you needed a pet of your own. I mean, I always thought of getting a dog instead of Rufus before I knew Dad had fur allergies, so I was hoping a joint custody might work…”

“Hey!”

“Don’t worry, Rufus ol’ boy. You get to take care of him too, like your own little brother. You’re still my favourite.”

The wash of human exclamation and conversation came in folds, but I wasn’t really paying attention to any of them. I was staring at Mommy Kim and Daddy Ron, the most appealing ones among the humans around me. There was something I couldn’t understand clicked between them and me. It’s like they were meant to be my new Mommy and Daddy and that life with my mother was a thing of the past. Suddenly I felt as if I didn’t miss my mother that much anymore, and I was sure that I’d settle in nicely with my new family.

Darn, I hate it when my mother is right.

As if confirming my thoughts, Mommy Kim smiled and gave Daddy Ron a big hug, thanking him over and over again for the present and saying that I was just what she needed. Despite her father having doubts about her responsibilities of taking care of me, she took me in and planned to name me all the same. After much bickering and random checks on books, Mommy Kim and Daddy Ron decided to call me ‘Kaija (pronounced Kai-yah)’, the name of a very beautiful Red Indian human princess from some tribe I couldn’t pronounce, because they thought I got the human princess’s eyes.

Mommy Kim did not let me down. She bathed me, fed me, walked me and played with me regularly and Daddy Ron did his share whenever he got the chance. They nicknamed me ‘their lovechild’, which was quite cute. She would protect me from being used by her twin brothers as an experiment guinea pig—although sometimes they succeeded in doing so when she wasn’t looking—and let me sleep by her feet on her bed. She brought me along when she and Daddy Ron had to go on crime-fighting missions and I had my share of adventures as I helped fight bad guys together with Stepbrother Rufus using the skills they’ve taught me. Villains like Dr. Drakken, Shego, Duff Killigan, Monkey Fist and D.N. Amy were no stranger to me. I had a few misgivings and jealousy spats with Stepbrother Rufus before, but we soon came to a brotherly understanding that Daddy Ron would love us either no less. Mommy Kim would tell me stories about her and Daddy Ron’s childhood and the lives they’ve been through together. And, of course, the prom night that decided their relationship was more than just friends.

I got to meet Sister Monique, who was Mommy Kim’s best friend and Brother Wade who never seemed to be in person. They’re nice but I don’t see them often, unless there was an upcoming exam where Mommy Kim, Daddy Ron, Sister Monique and Brother Felix—Daddy’s best guy pal on wheels—get together and study, or when Brother Wade offered up another crime-fighting mission. I noticed the secret admiration between Sister Monique and Brother Wade, especially there were times when Sister Monique had to assist in the crime-fighting when all our hands and paws are tied. Mommy Kim and Daddy Ron were equally surprised too, since they’re totally opposites of the brain level, but despite that, we ganged up together and played Stupid Cupid to pair them up, which was a success, by the way.

Sad to say though that good things must come to an end someway somehow. Despite the fact that Mommy Kim and Daddy Ron had been dating (and mating) for the rest of their senior years, a letter tore them apart. It was that fateful day when they applied for college. Mommy Kim got an unexpected letter from Denmark giving her a full scholarship to study in one of their most prestigious colleges. The Dean used to be one of Mommy Kim’s rescued victims from an assassination and he said it was the least he could do to repay her. Mommy Kim had always wanted to study abroad but she didn’t want to leave Daddy Ron behind in his upcoming Upperton college life. He was so looking forward to go there with her.

It wasn’t that Mommy Kim never tried to pull some strings. She begged the Dean to give Daddy Ron the same offer he gave her but the college funds were limited and the remaining funds was only enough to cover hers. Mommy Kim had no choice but to break the bad news to Daddy Ron when he came to visit her with the Upperton College acceptance letter.

“KP! KP! Look! I got accepted by Upperton! We’re going to UC, baby! Booyah!” Daddy Ron nuzzled me and said, “Ooh, there’s my little dear ol’ lovechild. You’re a good girl, yes, you are!”

“Actually, I want to tell you…”

“That you’re accepted too, aren’t you? Come here, let me see that letter…Uh, KP…? What is this…?”

Mommy Kim broke the news. Daddy Ron was upset that the Dean didn’t let him go under full scholarship and that she didn’t turn the Dean down. He accused Mommy Kim of not loving him enough and that no one ever pays attention to sidekicks anyway. They soon got into a heated argument neither I nor Stepbrother Rufus could pacify and yelled to each other that they were through. It hurt me to see Mommy Kim cry and Daddy Ron leave, but there’s nothing we pets could do. All I could do was comfort Mommy Kim and give her a few kisses, assuring her that I would never leave her side no matter what.

Finally Mommy Kim decided to leave Middleton and go to Denmark as soon as possible. After getting me vaccinated and checked up, I followed her throughout the long plane hours to reach there. That was when I met Stepdaddy Josh. He just so happened to be another one of those full scholarship students studying in that college and he and Mommy Kim soon hooked up together. I didn’t like Stepdaddy Josh at first. He was an uninteresting guy with a weird streak of pale yellow across his brown hair and pale blue eyes, and he wasn’t as fun as Daddy Ron. It was he, too, that made Mommy Kim decided to quit crime-fighting and live the normal life. I heard that the position was given to another teenager by the name Norman Trouble and sidekick Betsy Probable. Brother Wade was reluctant to switch sides, but again, there’s nothing to be done. I had to accept Stepdaddy Josh as my new Daddy. No one can change the hard-headed Mommy Kim.

I began to miss Daddy Ron.

After college, Mommy Kim was married to Stepdaddy Josh. A week later after that, we attended Sister Monique and Brother Wade’s wedding. Since that day, we got to see Brother Wade in person more often. Mommy Kim moved on from college to become a fashion designer while Stepdaddy Josh became a traveling artist. Although both their jobs involved traveling, it wasn’t as exciting as before. Nothing could compare the thrill of traveling to the other side of the world to bust crime. Seeing Norman Trouble and Betsy Probable in the news didn’t help either/ to make matters worse, Stepdaddy Josh got into a car accident on his way to a neighbouring city, making him blind in one eye and infertile. Because of his infertility made mating between them uninteresting, Mommy Kim decided to have an affair, and with her archenemy Senor Senior Jr. nonetheless!

Uncle Senior Jr. wasn’t exactly a villain anymore. He thought life as a villain was troublesome and boring, so he decided to take his inheritance in advance and moved out, leaving his father to do his hopeless dastardly deeds. He became a model for Mommy Kim’s company. He never forgot about Mommy Kim being his anemology soul mate—his Blue Fox—and wished to pursue a relationship with her in spite of her married status. Since she and Stepdaddy Josh wasn’t much into their mating life, she accepted his pursuit. Wherever her job took her, he’s there, and Stepdaddy Josh was too engrossed in his arts to pay attention to this affair. All I could do was watch as Mommy Kim led her double-life as Stepdaddy Josh’s wife and Uncle Senior Jr.’s lover, and I was almost glad that I was a dog and that no one understood me even if I barked out everything. But I also wished that they understood me, because that way I could persuade Mommy Kim to end this affair before it’s too late or make Stepdaddy Josh catch them in the act at the least.

What was done was done. Mommy Kim and Uncle Senior Jr. got married when I was 4 years old. They assumed that I was happy for them, but the truth was I wasn’t. I may be wagging my tail when they exchanged vows and kissed in a Las Vegas parish, but I wasn’t happy. I was forcing myself to pretend to be happy. I may not have a lot of affections for Stepdaddy Josh, but I had it the least with Uncle Senior Jr., which is why I wouldn’t look at him as another Daddy. I knew that unlike us dogs, humans cannot have more than one mate at the same time, and what Mommy Kim did was called ‘bigamy’, if I’m not mistaken. Somehow I knew it was wrong, and I felt worried for her. And I thought only male humans did this sort of thing.

I missed Daddy Ron even more.

Just when I thought I would never see Daddy Ron again, fate stepped in. mommy Kim had a new design of winter wear and had access to do her fashion shows at one of Middleton’s most exclusive hotels. Uncle Senior Jr. couldn’t show up because he had to attend Senor Senior Sr.’s funeral (that old bag of bones finally died by the hands of Norman Trouble and Betsy Probable), so I was glad he wasn’t around Mommy Kim for once. It’s been a long while since we’ve been in Middleton and it brought back memories, mostly about Daddy Ron. After a successful fashion show, everyone dug in to the food catered by Bueno Nachos. And that was when we met Daddy Ron.

Oh, how happy I was to him! Although his freckles were gone, his hair longer, his body tanner and more built and him wearing glasses, I recognized him immediately. He had the exact same smell the first time I met him. He was there to check in on the catering when I saw him and I pounced on him the same way I did when I was a puppy. I kissed him over and over again and I was glad that Daddy Ron recognized me too. He was rater taken aback to see Mommy Kim again, but he was old enough to keep his cool.

We sat outside a restaurant to have a drink and a chat. Turned out that Daddy Ron had quit halfway through college and decided to work in Bueno Nachos. His reputation for making new and better recipes for the company earned him a job in the high places, and he’s now the head chef and head caterer of Bueno Nachos Industries. Stepbrother Rufus had already died of old age and the new naked mole rat occupying Daddy Ron’s pocket was his grandson Roofie.

More meetings of chance occurred during her fashion shows throughout Middleton and Upperton, and with Uncle Senior Jr. out of the way, old flames were rekindled, with a little help from Roofie and I. One night, during dinner at their childhood haunt, Daddy Ron began apologizing for not understanding Mommy Kim’s feelings and being all childish over a stupid college application. Mommy Kim also apologized for being selfish and overlooking their relationship that was supposed to be bright and dandy. They felt sorry for giving each other up and wanted to give themselves another try at this. Needless to say, that night Roofie and I were stationed at the verandah of Daddy Ron’s condo as old flames burned into a familiar fiery passion.

Mommy Kim soon made the decision I have always been waiting for. She said while we were eavesdropping on their pillow talk that she decided to break it off with both Uncle Senior Jr. and Stepdaddy Josh and move in with Daddy Ron. Roofie and I high-fived. We were so glad about it that we never suspected what was coming for them.

Uncle Senior Jr. didn’t take it so easily though when Mommy Kim brought in the divorce papers. He cried and begged and almost threw a tantrum but she was adamant. She said that she would divorce Stepdaddy Josh too as soon as the fashion show was over. She gave him back her wedding ring and excused him from the office.

If only she had seen the rage in his eyes as he gave her one last look before slamming the office door.

Mommy Kim’s decision came with a bad price. Somehow Uncle Senior Jr.’s rage over the divorce had brought out the true villain in him. When we came home from the fashion show, we were shocked to see Uncle Senior Jr. planting bullets on Stepdaddy Josh. Mommy Kim tried to stop him but when she saw Daddy Ron’s lock of hair held in his hand, she went all weak, shocked and unable to fight. Uncle Senior Jr. said no one gets the better of him and that if he couldn’t have Mommy Kim, no one would. That’s when I knew from that lock of hair that he had killed my Daddy Ron.

Rage took over. I was infuriated. How dare he kill my Daddy? How dare he take the life of the only Daddy I’ve ever loved? My crime-busting instincts kicked in and I made for his hand that held the gun before he could shoot me. We struggled and fought. I tasted the metallic flavour of his blood and I felt punches landing on my body, but I held on. I would never forgive him for killing Daddy Ron. If it meant dying to avenge his death, so be it. When I heard gunshots and felt Uncle Senior Jr. stopped struggling, I looked and saw Mommy Kim holding his smoking gun with shaking hands and tears in her eyes. I let go of his bleeding arm and walked slowly towards her, whining and whimpering as she took me in her arms and wailed.

Stepdaddy Josh was lucky. Even with multiple gunshot wounds, he was still alive but in a coma. Daddy Ron’s death and Uncle Senior Jr.’s attack was all over the news. News of Mommy Kim’s bigamy went everywhere. I was by her side when she was being questioned by men in suits. They said that before Daddy Ron breathed his last, he managed to type a message on his computer for her and it read:

I may not be able to see you anymore, but remember this: I love you…I love you…

Those were the saddest last words we have ever heard. Even before his death Daddy Ron still thought of Mommy Kim. His love for he never ceased and was never gone, even in his dying breath. I cried as I thought of Daddy Ron’s last words and watched helplessly at Mommy Kim being sentenced to jail for her crime as a bigamist. She may have hired the best lawyer money can buy, but what she did was still a crime and she had to face the consequences. Sister Monique took care of me while she did her time and her family was real nice to me, but not a day went by without me wondering how Stepdaddy Josh was doing and how life was in prison for Mommy Kim.

The day Mommy Kim was released from prison was the day Stepdaddy Josh woke up from his coma. The first thing she did when she got out was giving me a hug and a kiss. She apologized for all the trouble I had to go through because of her deeds and would make it up to me. She didn’t need to. I was just glad she’s OK and that she’s with me again. I missed her so much. I could tell that she was sorry for what she had done and regretted ever dragging Stepdaddy Josh into this whole mess. She vowed that she would take care of him and love him as much as she could to make up for her bleak past.

I was happy for her.

On the way to the hospital, Sister Monique told her that though the doctors couldn’t do anything about the infertility, Stepdaddy Josh had finally received a new eye from the donors’ list. Due to the trauma, he couldn’t remember anything about the attack and had no clue about her cheating on him with other men or about her going to jail. He was due to have the bandage removed that day to give his new eye a test drive. Mommy Kim begged Sister Monique not to reveal her in front of him. She’d rather if Stepdaddy Josh’s impression on her remained as it was before. Sister Monique agreed. I didn’t have to. He wouldn’t understand me anyway.

Stepdaddy Josh was in perfect shape when we saw him. He had a thick bandage around half his face and was in all smiles. Mommy Kim hugged him and gave him a light kiss. She still looked guilty but she was trying hard to be calm and collected about it. Soon the doctor stepped in. He congratulated Stepdaddy Josh on his recovery and told the nurse to bring in the mirror while he removed the bandages. We waited patiently as layer upon layer of it was taken down from his face. First, the nurse held the mirror in front of his face to let him look at himself first before taking in the rest of the big picture.

I’m now lying in a cardboard box, weak of starvation and dehydration. I know I’m going to die. I can tell. Like my mother said, ‘doggy instinct’. As I slowly let myself succumb to the silent invitation of death, I try to recall the last thing that led to Mommy Kim’s suicide.

“It’s really good,” I remember Stepdaddy Josh’s satisfied tone. “I can see perfectly well. Although the colour looks kind of weird together with my original one.”

“It was the only one that actually have a match with your blood,” the doctor replied. “But don’t worry, Mr. Mankey. You’re not alone. Plenty of eye transplant patients have different-coloured eyes.”

“I guess that’s the price I’ll have to pay to be normal again.”

The nurse put down the mirror for us to see the results. Mommy Kim gasped in horror and fell on her knees. The doctor and nurses, Stepdaddy Josh and Sister Monique asked what was wrong but they got Mommy Kim’s sobs for a reply. I finally remember what pushed Mommy Kim off the cliff. One look at Stepdaddy Josh and I knew then that the past would never go away that easily. No matter how much Mommy Kim tried to overcome it, it would always come back to haunt her day and night, reminding her of what she did and that there was no escape from it. It tormented her for years until it drove her to take her own life.

For taking the place of Stepdaddy Josh’s blind eye was unmistakably the hazel-brown eye of Daddy Ron.

What Kaija Saw-Part 1

Created: 2-22-06

Part 1 - THE END

I sat there as I watched Mommy Kim swing slowly from side to side by the rope hanging around her neck. I watched as her green eyes slowly lose their colour and her skin growing pale. I stared at the beautiful light blue dress and her white high-heeled sandals and her ponytail dangled lazily over her shoulder. It was the same outfit she wore in the picture she showed me on her prom night. She looked so beautiful then. Now? Minus the position she’s in, she’d be even more beautiful than before.

I soon heard Stepdaddy Josh calling for Mommy Kim. I didn’t move from my spot. I didn’t want him to see Mommy Kim dangling from the ceiling with the rope around her neck, slowly bruising it. I went over to her and licked her toes. They were cold and hard and tasted a little like pee, but I kept on licking them. Either I wanted her to wake up or to say goodbye, I wasn’t sure. I was feeling rather giddy and disoriented still from the sight of her death. Right now, I just felt like licking her toes and giving her a few kisses before Stepdaddy Josh sees her this way.

Stepdaddy Josh came into the room. Chaos ensured. I watched him pacing to and fro with tears in his eyes, muttering “Oh, my God” over and over again. I went over to the cordless phone and fetched it for him. He stopped pacing and took the phone from my mouth to call for help. He was talking to Sister Monique. I could tell from the tone of his voice that he was blaming me a little for not saving Mommy Kim. I did. Of course I did. I wanted to save Mommy Kim with all my heart. I really did. But when Mommy Kim said goodbye before she stuck her head through the noose, I knew that she didn’t want to be saved. She didn’t want me to run to her and bark and bite and pull at her arm or tug her dress so that she would get off the chair like my fellow friends did saving their Mommies and Daddies on TV. She wanted to die. She wanted to go away and she didn’t want to be rescued. I love Mommy Kim and I always listened to her and did what she said, no matter how bad the command was.

I heard Sister Monique in the phone telling Stepdaddy Josh that she would be coming over and for him to call the ambulance. Stepdaddy Josh did just that. After the very desperate and emotional 911 call, he came up to Mommy Kim and tried to take her off the rope. As he lay her down on the floor, I tried to give her a kiss, but he forbade me to do so. Moments later, I heard sirens blaring. People in white came rushing in with all that human medical stuff I didn’t understand and carried Mommy Kim on a stretcher. Sister Monique came in later and had her hands on Stepdaddy Josh’s shoulders, trying to comfort him. He didn’t say anything. He just got up from the bed he was sitting on and followed behind the people in white into the huge red and white ambulance. Sister Monique took my collar—the precious red and blue collar Mommy Kim bought for me—and whispered for me to come with her. I didn’t want to leave. I wanted to stay and wait for Stepdaddy Josh to bring Mommy Kim home, no matter how far-fetched that idea seemed. I wanted Mommy Kim to come home.

But I knew she would never come home. As Sister Monique coaxed me to get into her car and as we left the beautiful double-storey bungalow, I knew I would never ever see Mommy Kim again.

Just like I would never ever see Daddy Ron again.

--:--

I woke up to the sound of crickets outside the house. I sat up and looked at the window that let in the soft light of the moon, trying to remember why was I lying on a rug in the living room of Sister Monique’s house. Oh, right, I remembered. Sister Monique had decided to take me in because Stepdaddy Josh didn’t want to have anything to do with me anymore. Sister Monique had told him that he needed the company of man’s best friend at these mournful times, but he didn’t want to. He said something about me reminding him of Mommy Kim’s death and told Sister Monique to take me out of his sight. So she did.

I didn’t blame him. I never did. It’s only human for him to assume that I should’ve saved Mommy Kim beforehand, so it’s also only human for him to blame me for Mommy Kim’s suicidal death and to get rid of me. But I truly wished that I could tell Stepdaddy Josh about what I saw in Mommy Kim’s eyes. If only I could speak human language, I’d tell him everything. I wanted to tell him that Mommy Kim wanted to go. I wanted to tell him that she wanted to die, and that she didn’t want my help to save her. I wanted to. I really do. But I guess it was not meant to be.

I got up and went up the stairs into the bedroom where Sister Monique and Brother Wade slept. They were in each other’s arms, snoring peacefully and in full blissfulness. I smiled as much as my doggy lips would allow it before I went off to check on their kids—twins Michael and Wanda. They weren’t asleep, but they were too busy trying to hack into some secret NASA project to pay nay attention to me peeking on them at the door. Like father, like pups, my old mother used to say.

I continued to ponder about this family as I trotted down the stairs back to the living room. They’re so blissful, like a one big happy family with no troubles in the world to think about. Sister Monique is doing well as the new president of Club Banana and Brother Wade and the twins are practically flourishing in their career as the brains behind the crime fighters. They’re positively too rich and too happy to have me around to complicate their lives. After all, I belonged to an owner who committed suicide and whose husband disowned. I might bring bad memories for them. It would be better for them if I just left. And that’s just what I did. I scrambled out of the house through the half-open kitchen window and out into the dark night.

As I walked on wondering where I should go next, I began to recall my past, just as if it had only happened yesterday…

Whiskey Lullaby

Created: 8-8-08

WHISKEY LULLABY

The sky was dark and gloomy, hanging low above the roof of Middleton Amethyst Chapel as it drizzled heaven’s tears onto the earth. Dozens upon dozens of cars were parked right outside the chapel and the people occupying those cars came out in groups. They were all dressed in black or dark-coloured clothes and were waiting to be seated. Most of the immediate family member of the deceased were there seated on black velvet-coated chairs that were decorated with rings of funeral flowers. The rest who were not exactly related to the deceased in blood, especially the reporters, media and paparazzi, were required to stand at the sidelines or remain outside as there was not enough room in the chapel to fill everyone, and that included thousands upon thousands of fans standing or sitting outside crying, sobbing and wailing over the loss of the world’s most valuable duo Middleton could ever have.

Apparently, it was a funeral occasion and those who would be buried six feet under to be returned from ashes to ashes, dust to dust were Kimberly Anne Possible and Ronald Kennedy Stoppable. The whole family of Kim Possible including Mr. and Mrs. Possible, Jim and Tim Possible and Nana Possible, were seated on the right, while the whole family of Ron Stoppable including Mr. and Mrs. Stoppable and baby Hana Stoppable were seated on the left. Friends of the family were all seated at either side, namely Wade Load (who came in person instead of his hologram or mini portable TV), Monique, Bonnie Rockwaller leading the cheerleading squad, Brick Flagg leading the football squad and Yori Kansumi and the Master leading the Yamanuchi school (dressed in normal citizen’s clothes to preserve their school’s secrecy, of course), just to name a few. They were all either sobbing quietly or comforting each other with soothing touches and soft eye contact, with a bit of crying in between. An occasional camera clicks were heard throughout the chapel as the media took pictures of the goings-on of the funeral service. Lucky for them, everyone was too grievous to pay attention to the media clicking and recording away in the background.

Soon, a hush ran through the chapel as the priest came up to the altar in a grave expression, accompanied by the Bible boy who passed him the Holy Book to him.

“We are gathered here today to mourn the passing of the darling of Middleton: Kimberly Anne Possible and Ronald Kennedy Stoppable,” the priest began his funeral sermon, his voice echoing down the chapel. “It is a tragic loss for us all that they had to leave this world so young. They have contributed so much throughout the society, saving countless lives, changing other people’s lives for the better, and managed to aim for school valedictorian. They had a fruitful life and they were great saints and saviours to the community. They were role models of the younger generation, the pride of older generations and they struck fear among the wicked, and thus the Lord loved them so much that He took them back into His embrace to serve Him for eternity…”

As the priest continued on and recited his prayers, everyone in the chapel had a bout of mixed feelings in their hearts. Everyone knew that suicide was a blasphemous act regardless the religion, and those who were religious, especially Ron’s Jewish extended families, knew that to be so. Most of those present knew that both the Possible and the Stoppable parents had tried to find clergies willing to bless and bury the two tragic lovers together but due to the nature of their death that was sinful in their eyes, no priest, pastor or rabbi (not even Ron’s family rabbi) was willing to help them, no matter famous or heroic they were when they were alive. Surprisingly enough, it was Bonnie who came to Middleton Amethyst Chapel along with Monique and Brick Flagg after finding out that the priest was one of Kim’s many people whom she had rescued and bullied the priest’s conscience into conducting the funeral service.

It’s the least you could do for her, Monique remembered Bonnie saying to the priest coldly before leaving him alone to sleep on the decision.

“And now, we would like to invite anyone who would like to say a few last words of our beloved teenage heroes,” the priest said as he took his leave off the altar. The first person to come up was Ron’s father, Mr. Stoppable.

“My son,” Mr. Stoppable took off his glasses to clean them, but not exactly for the reason that it was dirty, before putting them back on and continued, “was a good boy. Even when he did what he did, I still believe that he was a good boy. I think that it is justifiable in his actions, no matter how the society sees it. If I were in his shoes, I would probably have done the same thing if I thought I had lost my wife the same manner he thought he lost Kim.

“Kim and Ron were inseparable. Ever since they met in pre-K, they were never seen without the other. They ate together, went to school together, played together, went on missions together and soon, fell in love together. I have never seen a better-matched couple than the both of them. Even when they have grown older and have their own set of lives to live, they were never far away from each other. It was almost a ritual thing in the dinner table to ask about Kim whenever we talk about how Ron’s day was, or else our day would never be complete.

“Ron had changed so much since he began his relationship with Kim. Before Kim came into his life, he was weak and vulnerable. He couldn’t survive two minutes outside without having the presence or reassurance from his mother. He almost drove my wife crazy when he made at least 10 calls daily, if we were lucky, back home begging her to take him home from Camp Wannaweep. He spent more time in his room baking cookies and pastries than any other average boy who would be roughing and toughing playing soccer and tag and baseball at his age at the time—though I must stress that I have nothing against him being interested in kitchen life—but since he knew Kim, he had turned from a boy to a man both physically and mentally. He had become strong and slowly was able to face anything life could charge at him. He still had a few flaws here and there, but overall, he was a new person because of Kim, and perhaps it was because of her he had found his true strengths. When he thought she was gone, his strength gone as well, and that was what pushed him to the end…but no matter what you may think of him, I am proud to have him as my son.”

After that, Wade came up to the altar to give his eulogy, “Ron and Kim had been the best friends I had ever had ever since I graduated from college. I never had any true friends and I never had anyone who truly appreciates me as I am until I met them. Well, technically I was the one who made them employ me for their technical supports, but as we followed through, our friendship got closer and closer, to the point where they actually managed to persuade me to leave that enclosed dark room of mine and participate in life outside my virtual one.

“I blame myself for the failure of their mission that caused them to seek such drastic ends. Dr. Drakken and his fiancé Shego was trying their usual world-domination plans but it seemed that experience fighting with our teenage heroes had taught them to be smarter and tougher, which was something that I did not anticipate from. I have underestimated their power and by the time I managed to send in backup to rescue them when they self-destructed their latest lair, I was only able to save Ron because of the tracking device I implanted on him. I made the mistake of not equipping the same tracking device on Kim because I thought…” Wade hesitated, trying to blink back tears, “Because I thought…she could do anything.

“I forgot that Kim, no matter how good she was, was still human, and humans have limits. My expectation—our expectations—was so high on her that we tend to ignore the fact that she was just a normal teenager who just wanted to have a normal life. It’s our fault, mostly mine, that caused them to pursue the unthinkable. If given the chance, I wish I could take their place in that coffin. That’s how badly I want them back…”

The boy genius let out a depressed sigh as he left the altar, unable to continue any further. After a few seconds, Monique soon stepped up to the altar to give her two-cents.

“I have known Kim and Ron since the first day I moved into Middleton. We were like two sisters and a brother when we’re together. I share an equally common interest either Ron or Kim or both. Occasionally there are times where I actually participate in their missions, but most of the time I gave them moral support ad sometimes gloat with the fact that I have close connections with the world’s greatest and most famous teenage crime-fighters, but that’s not what I’m here for.

“Wade cannot blame himself fully for this tragedy. I also have a wrongdoing in this. When Ron came back after that mission, I received a frantic call from Wade asking me to let him bunk at my place. He was so badly hurt that he couldn’t even move, and Wade didn’t have enough connections at the time to get him straight to the hospital, but while Wade called for the ambulance, I could tell when I was nursing him that Ron was more than just physically hurt—his mind was just as traumatized as his body at the thought that Kim did not survive the explosion that stupid blue and green cowards did to escape.

“When he was recovering, he was in a catatonic state. He didn’t respond to anyone and he was always staring out the window or in space as if waiting for Kim to come back. He still ate, slept and breathed barely, but his talking was totally cut off. I’ve heard stories from nurses saying that while he was in ICU, he woke up screaming Kim’s name every night and wouldn’t stop crying until he was sedated. Those were the only time anyone had actually heard anything come out of his mouth. He stopped going to school altogether and just sit on his bed at home all day, staring out at the window and giving everyone the silent treatment and the cold shoulder.

“Maybe it was my good nature or adaptability that made me got over Kim’s so-called death, or maybe because I had faith that Kim was still alive and kicking out there, but whatever it was, I was confident that Ron understood my feelings too and that he would have accepted the fact eventually. But I didn’t count that Ron’s love and grief for his loss over Kim had barred him from all reason. So when I came to his house to do my weekly visits as a school rep, I did not expect to see Ron and Rufus…on the floor…lying on so many pictures between him and Kim…and…his wrists…I have never seen so many red…”

Felix came up to the altar to escort her down back to her seat because she was too weak with grief and guilt to stand properly. Another moment of silence later, Mrs. Possible came up to the altar and delivered her eulogy.

“I do not need to stress how great our Kimmy was. I do not need to repeat Mr. Stoppable’s words either our Kimmy had changed both Ron and the world and I do not need to justify whatever she had done. No matter what you would say about our Kimmy, I stand strong just like any other mother to their child that my Kimmy was the best daughter I had ever had the privilege to give birth to.

“For those who didn’t know, let me shed some light to explain how Kimmy went from allegedly killed in action to being here. Two days after Ron had passed on, our Kimmy came knocking on our doorstep along with a pair of fraternal twins. They are not here right now at the moment, but what we heard from them when they aided Kimmy into our home was that they found her barely alive face down as she floated down the river towards their secluded cabin in the outback. She had suffered a serious head injury that caused her to lose her memory, most probably from the explosion during her and Ron’s mission. They took her in, taking good care of her and treating her like their own family until they saw the news on TV about her so-called death and decided to bring her back home to us.

“When she came home, she could barely even recognize us, but her attitude towards us was still exactly the same as when she had not lost her memory at all. It was as if she had no idea who we are, but at the same time, she knew us as well. She knew how to behave in front of us, like her subconscious mind still remembered us and tried to reach out to us in a subtle way. The fraternal twins suggested that Kimmy should go visit Ron to trigger her memory more, not knowing that Ron had already passed on. We tried to tell Kimmy the truth, but somehow, Kimmy seemed mysteriously excited, possibly since her subconscious mind remembered Ron and was perking her interest in wanting to meet him, so as much as we did not want to, we allowed her to find out the truth for herself.

“We didn’t know what happened next, but when Kimmy came home with the fraternal twins, she was distraught, devastated and tear-filled. She claimed she remembered everything—like a huge jolt of electricity through her brain with the memory come crashing down on her—and was at a state of remorse, blaming herself for the death of Ron. After seeing his body in morgue, she got worse. She locked herself up in her room and didn’t come out for the rest of the day. We gratefully sent the fraternal twins off and tried to look after Kimmy the following weeks, but out of grief, her body slowly deteriorated and had to be bedridden all day.

“Like Ron, she no longer talked and would spend most of her days in bed staring at pictures of her and Ron over and over again. Jim and Tim tried to help her cope with her health and her grief by buying her journals so that she could write on to distract herself. She seemed fine with writing on them at first but she never allowed us to look at it. Said that it was her personal letter to Ron. We—more accurately I as a brain surgeon—didn’t think it bad, if that could help her cope, and allowed her to continue doing what she did, until that rainy night…”

Mrs. Possible paused for a while. Mr. Possible looked at her questioningly if she needed any help. She shook her head and continued, “That rainy night, when I sent Jim and Tim to bring her dinner, her room was surprisingly locked. We didn’t know how she did it since she was so weak to move from her bed, but she managed to take away all the spare keys to her bedroom and locked and barricaded her door so that we couldn’t enter. Jim and Tim tried going into her room using the window and had the shock of their lives—so shocked they were that they—the fearless and born-with-an-iron-stomach pair in the family—actually fainted. When we climbed in after them, we found Kimmy on bed lying on all the pictures they had together just like the way Ron died, only she had mixed her drink with the mothballs from her closet and wardrobe that she somehow collected and pounded into fine powder. We tried to get her to the hospital to get her stomach pumped, but coupled with her already weak body, she didn’t stand a chance. She was already dead long before we found her.

“I would not say that what our Kimmy did was the right thing, but like how Mr. Stoppable felt, I believe she did the justifiable thing. She did what anyone who had lost the most dearly love of their life would’ve done. She was at her weakest moment and no one but Ron could give her the strength to make her believe she could do anything. In the end, the only thing that separated her and Ron was death, and if death is the only way to reunite them, so be it.”

After a few more other eulogies from other people who knew Kim and Ron well, the priest said his final prayers for the Dynamic Duo’s body. Everyone came to their coffin to have a last look and to pay their last respects for them. Both of them looked so peaceful in their coffin, as if they were only sleeping and not dead. As requested by their parents, their coffin was custom-made so that it could fit both of them together. They lay together side by side in their junior high prom clothes—the clothes they wore on the night that ended their friendship and started their love—with Rufus laying on top of Ron’s chest. Ron had one hand on Rufus, holding it close to him and his other was holding Kim’s hand in an eternal clasp. No one had ever seen a more beautiful sight than this.

Finally, the coffin was closed and was carried to the cemetery a few miles away from the chapel. The procession was long and the atmosphere was grim, and the sky seemed as if it was crying along with everyone present at the funeral. They all crowded around the grave which was dug by the gravediggers previously and laid their white roses and lilies on the coffin before it was lowered into the six-feet under grave, the small choir group singing their funeral hymn and the priest reading out the scriptures from the Bible.

As soon as the coffin was lowered, a quiet commotion sounded in the midst of the crowd. They made way to reveal a pair of fraternal twins holding hand in hand. They both wore the same black body-fitting turtleneck long-sleeved shirt and black jeans. They both had silver-blonde hair that shimmered under whatever light was around and had piercing blood-red eyes framed by their ghostly-fair skin. If it weren’t for the sister wearing her hair long all the way down her waist, they could really pass off as identical twins.

“Illust! Illumai! You’re finally here!” Mrs. Possible exclaimed quietly. “I thought you would never come. I thought you wouldn’t know…”

“We never left,” the sister named Illust replied.

“We had a sort of foreboding feeling when you sent us off,” the brother Illumai noted, ignoring the flashes of cameras from the media.

“So we cancelled our flight and stayed around the area.”

“Didn’t think she would end this way.”

“It means so much to us that you’re here, kids,” Mr. Possible said as he ushered them to stand with them. “We cannot repay you enough for what you’ve doe for our Kimmy cub when she was alive.”

“If I may be so bold…” Illumai noted, followed by Illust as all twins do when they finished each other’s lines.

“…to suggest that…”

“…we sing a song…”

“…for both of them?”

“By all means,” Mrs. Possible gestured. “It’s the least we can do.”

As the gravediggers buried the coffin, the crowd made way in a hushed silence as the fraternal twins stood in front of the grave. Looking at each other for a cue, they soon lulled a lullaby as an opening before they started to sing:

(Illumai sings) She put him out like the burnin' end of a midnight cigarette
She broke his heart he spent his whole life tryin' to forget
We watched him drink his pain away a little at a time
But he never could get drunk enough to get her off his mind
Until the night

(Both sing) He put that bottle to his head and pulled the trigger
And finally drank away her memory
Life is short but this time it was bigger
Than the strength he had to get up off his knees
We found him with his face down in the pillow
With a note that said I'll love her till I die
And when we buried him beneath the willow
The angels sang a whiskey lullaby

(Sing lullaby)

(Illust-chan sings) The rumors flew but nobody knew how much she blamed herself
For years and years she tried to hide the whiskey on her breath
She finally drank her pain away a little at a time
But she never could get drunk enough to get him off her mind
Until the night

(Both sing) She put that bottle to her head and pulled the trigger
And finally drank away his memory
Life is short but this time it was bigger
Than the strength she had to get up off her knees
We found her with her face down in the pillow
Clinging to his picture for dear life
We laid her next to him beneath the willow
While the angels sang a whiskey lullaby

(Sing lullaby)

After they were done, they bowed to the Possible and the Stoppable family before the priest gave a silent prayer to complete the funeral session. Slowly, everyone dispersed one by one back to their vehicles as they left the cemetery. The Possible and the Stoppable families were the last to leave.

“If you don’t mind me asking, Mrs. Possible,” Illust stopped the mother of Kim Possible in her tracks. She turned to look at them sadly.

“Yes?”

“You said she wrote in journals,” Illumai voiced out his sister’s question.

“What did she write?” Illust ended.

Mrs. Possible considered the question, then fished out a small pocket-sized journal from her purse and passed it to the sister before wordlessly leaving the twins standing there alone at the Dynamic Duo’s grave.

The twins opened the journal. Line after line on every page till the end, there was only one sentence repeated over and over again in it.

I’m sorry, Ron…

When I Was Sleeping

Created: 8-15-05

WHEN I WAS SLEEPING

Lightning flashed at a distance, followed by a rumbling thunder. Rain soon came in, showering itself down onto the buildings of the entire Middleton Town.

Kim opened her eyes slowly at the sound of slow beeping. The first thing that registered through her mind was her whereabouts. She tried to stretch her lazy bones but realized that there was no room for her to move. Everywhere she touched was cold and hard. Her surroundings were rather misty and the only thing she saw was the pale ceiling above her. She reached up to feel the air only to be barred by the icy touch of glass. She began to panic. Where was she? Why was she trapped like this? Why was everything she touched so cold? Was she captured? Kidnapped? Buried alive? Or worse…?

“Good morning, Mrs. Stoppable. Had a nice sleep?”

At the sound of the familiar robotic greeting, Kim calmed down almost immediately. It was when she finally realized that she was sleeping in an oxygen pod and not in a glass coffin she thought she was in. She heaved a sigh of relief and said in a raspy voice, “Yes, RX-25. I had a nice sleep. You can open for me now.”

The glass lid opened with a loud hiss, emitting huge wisps of mists in the process. Kim coughed as she slowly let herself up. She rubbed her throat painfully. How long has she slept? It seemed as if she hadn’t been using her voice for a very, very long time. It felt as if she was talking with sawdust in her throat. The first thing she wanted to do was to have a tall glass of ice cold water.

Kim almost tumbled out of the pod as she tried to get up. Seems like her body was still not ready to wake up yet. That was when she noticed that there were wires and tubes all over her body. She just sat there, surprised as she stared absentmindedly at those red, blue and black wires and tubes stuck on every inch of her body possible. Where did these come from? She didn’t being sick of anything. Why were these tubes on her?

As she tried to figure out what was going on, her eyes laid upon a picture frame on a desk beside her pod. It was the wedding picture of her and Ron at Middleton Chapel. She was wearing a bridal gown of snowy white and Ron an equally white wedding tux, with Rufus in his left pocket holding a rose high above his head. Kim smiled as she remembered the day Ron proposed to her. It was after the famous Team Possible succeeded another day of busting Dr. Drakken’s plan to conquer the world. Despite the fact that Drakken had aged and had actually made a family of twins with Shego, his dreams to conquer the world never ceased. Anyway, as the police took Drakken and his family away (both his kids kinda inherited their parents’ evil temperament), Ron suggested that they should go to Bueno Nacho to celebrate another job well done. Kim sighed in boredom. They have been going to that fast food restaurant ever since the franchise came to Middleton when they were 1st grade. But what she didn’t know was that Ron had already planned with the worker there (I forgot his name) to prepare a naco with his proposal ring in it. So when Kim ate the naco and accidentally bit the rock-hard 20-carat diamond ring, she had the shock of her life as Ron knelt before her while she held that mustard-covered ring in her hand. 2 months later, they were officially Mr. and Mrs. Stoppable.

Kim could tell that it was night judging by all the lit lights in the house. She slowly tore all the wires and tubes on her body and went for the wardrobe. All her clothes inside were wrapped perfectly in plastic and looked as good as new. She didn’t remember keeping those clothes in plastic, nor did she remember her or Ron being a neat freak. She shrugged and pulled out a bathing robe to wear before slowly—a little painfully even—making her way to the kitchen.

Everything was the way she last remembered. As she poured herself a drink from the fridge, her mind began to clear and slowly, she remembered what had happened to her. It was the biggest battle ever. Senor Senior Sr. and his son were the ones who started it. They used their wealth to draw every villain in the world to them, including old villains Duff Killigan, Monkey Fist, Drakken & family, Gill and D.N. Amy, and formed an evil coalition to attack and overthrow every politician in the world. They would’ve succeeded, if it weren’t for ours truly Kimberly Anne Possible and Ronald Kennedy Stoppable. After a hectic fight, they were able to bring the coalition down and behind bars, but Kim had sustained multiple injuries in the process, including fractures, bleeding and bruises. The 20-feet fall did it. The last thing she remembered was Ron subduing his powers and holding her in his arms, calling out her name…

“Must have been a really bad fall…” Kim whispered to herself after draining her glass. Suddenly she felt hungry, as if she hadn’t been eating for a long, long time. Come to think of it, probably she never ate since her supposed coma. Her body must’ve been fed by the supplements through those tubes. She searched the cupboards for anything edible, but all of them were bare and dusty, save one cupboard storing instant noodles in a big pressure container. Why would instant noodles be stored in that container anyway? That’s the weirdest storage she had ever seen.

“I guess this will do,” Kim sighed and turned on the stove. The wonders of the future. Science and technology have created the perfect device that needs neither gas tank nor electricity. As long as the batteries in the contraption are fully charged under solar power, the stove can be used whenever it’s needed. Seemed like Ron had finally remembered to charge the batteries this time, Kim thought, smiling to herself. I wonder where he is though. At work, maybe?

With the bowl of steaming hot instant noodle, Kim moved to the sitting room. The sofa still felt as comfy as ever. Kim took a long whiff of the curry-flavoured noodle and dug in. As she savoured the taste, she noticed a number of mini-discs on the table. On the surface of the discs were dates and numbers, some of them date way back when they were pre-K. She searched for the remote control and decided to give the TV and disc player a try. As the machinery turned on, she slipped in the first disc, the one dated when they were pre-K, and the first thing she saw were their mothers trying to get them ready for Halloween. Mrs. Possible was laughing at how Ron danced and pranced around in his ballerina tutu while Mrs. Stoppable attached the sheriff pin on her cowboy vest. Kim remembered the embarrassment she felt when she walked down the streets side by side with a fluttering Ron while the other kids giggled and snickered at them, and the usual phrase Ron used whenever they reached a house for trick-or-treating.

“Trick-or-treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat,” Kim said those words the same time the pre-K Ron on TV said it, before giggling to herself. She would’ve said “Jinx, you owe me a soda” if she wasn’t facing the TV instead of the real Ron. Ron always lost when it comes to jinxing.

As she switched from disc to disc, memories from long ago began to return to her. She remembered the very first day she met Ron in the daycare centre when she tried to fend some bad-looking kids off him. She remembered the website she had created online, with a little help from Ron, to earn some extra pocket money. It supposed to be a normal website based on babysitting, but somehow the quote ‘I can do anything’ had led her to the crime-fighting business. She remembered being discovered by Wade Load through a webcam chatroom and soon formed an alliance with him to help save the world from practically anything that endangers it. At first, she never thought that Ron would even accept this position as sidekick and face the risk of death everyday, but he surprised her by saying to Wade on that fateful day: If KP is going, I’m going. Just remembering him say that sent a warm, fuzzy feeling in her heart. His volunteering words proved to be the best results she had ever had, although his moves are slightly wackier than she hoped. It still surprised her as to how she ended up being like this since she had a rocket scientist for a dad and a brain surgeon for a mom, but not that she’s complaining. Not much, really.

Then came the villains. The discovery of Dr. Drakken, the main mad villian and his association with her father in college, Shego with her glowing killer hands, Gill and his eternal grudge with Ron, golf-obsessed Duff Killigan while she was working alongside with Agent Will Do from Global Justice (not a very pleasant partnership, but a job well done, nonetheless), D. N. Amy and her weird animal experiments, evil tycoons Senor Senior Sr. and Jr., Monkey Fist and his weird primate features and many, many more she could hardly recall. She had to both fend them off from the world and complete her assignments on time and manage a dozen clubs, including the cheerleading team at the same time. She could even still make time for social life like hanging with Monique and Ron, dining in Bueno Nacho, making friends online or just laze around home spending quality time with the family (nothing quality about The Tweebs, though). Then she remembered the day Ron was called to Japan on some mysterious circumstance, not knowing that Ron had discovered the shocking news about being destined as the Master of Tai Sheng Pek Quar and have to go through rigorous but nevertheless hilarious training. She remembered the aching feeling when she saw the Japanese girl called Yori Kansumi giving him a peck on the cheek. She never thought she would feel jealous at someone else who had a liking for him. Back then when he was being kissed at Camp Wannaweep by Tara and the time he tried to woo the heart of the girl in the movie ticket stand, she hadn’t felt anything. That was the first time.

When she saw the scene on TV where she and Ron were doing a little fund-raising campaign at school, sharing a booth with Josh Mankey, a small wave of guilt went past her. She remembered the days when she went all ga-ga over Josh despite the fact that Ron was there watching her. She felt a little bit awkward after recalling the incident 3 weeks after the prom. It was on the exact day during the fund-raising where she realized the harsh truth: Josh already had a crush with someone else from Latin class. The dance with her that night was just to humour her, to make her happy. His feelings for her weren’t anymore than pure friendship. As she sat at the stairs in front of the school entrance musing about her unfortunate loss, Ron was there by her side to comfort her and tell her that there are other fishes in the sea than Josh alone. She wasn’t too grateful then but she was now. Come to think of it, when she had locked braces with that Nelson guy, Ron was the one to have Mrs. Stoppable drive them to the orthodontist. He had always been by her side no matter what. There wasn’t a time when he wasn’t there to help her out with both her crime-busting and daily life. She often felt sorry for her oblivious behaviour back then, especially when she left him locked in the janitor’s closet, but seeing that they were officially husband and wife was enough to tell her that Ron had never held those grudges against her.

Then the scene came when she was fending the camera off while she raced down the steps to meet up Ron for the prom. She remembered coming home in a hurry after stopping Dr. Drakken with his Diablo plans and fighting Shego and his evil sythodrone Erik and that it was those nosy Tweebs who flashed the videocam at her in her burnt prom dress. Lucky for her, it was only the end of her dress the Diablo robot had totaled. She couldn’t believe she would fall for a pretty boy in the first place and totally ignore Ron and his feelings. The time when they were captured after the reality of Erik’s betrayal struck her, she had never expected Ron to confess his feelings to her. She didn’t think the person that was so right for her was just by her side, aiding her through thick and thin. The kiss they shared during the dance was the night they knew that they would be together forever. Then came the wedding event. She saw her putting on the dress and a makeup artist standing beside her ready to beautify her face. Her mother and Monique were sitting on the bed looking both dreamy and proud. Monique couldn’t stop complimenting her dress and how she knew that they were ‘so meant for each other’, and her mother couldn’t stop crying over how her little Kimmie had grown, with her father standing at the doorway giving her the look of reluctance, like he wasn’t ready to let his Kimmie-cub be in the hands of his future son-in-law Ron. Kim in the TV was rolling her eyes at their dramatic woes while the makeup artist began to apply eye-shadow on her lids. Bonnie was leaning against the wall looking at her rather grudgingly, and only muttered a few congrats before leaving the room. The rest of the cheerleading squad rushed in to watch and admire the makeup artist’s handiwork. Kim in real life also rolled her eyes. She couldn’t believe she let herself be persuaded by Monique to invite Bonnie to the wedding when they were already mutual enemies in school, but maybe Monique wanted her to do that just to spite Bonnie. She had heard from Monique that after the prom, Bonnie had ditched Brick Flag for good, and despite being famous in her career as fashion designer, she had remained a spinster till now. Trust Monique to have the juiciest gossips of all Middleton.

The scene switched to Ron’s side of the preparation. The person who videoed them must done a little editing and she had to admit, it was pretty good. She could see Ron fumbled nervously with his tie and his father coming over to help him, with Rufus giggling in the background. Brick Flag, Josh Mankey and even Wade Load were there. That was the day that they actually and finally met Wade in person. Wade was laughing at Ron’s nervousness and told Brick to pour him a glass of champagne before shoving the contents into Ron’s gut. Kim frowned. No wonder Ron looked a little flushed when she was walking with her father at the aisle. Soon, the scene turned to Middleton Chapel where Kim was escorted to the back of the church and Ron ushered to the front. She noticed the amazed look on Ron’s face when she and her father walked the aisle in her snowy-white bridal gown. Almost everyone in Middleton was in the chapel, including the paparazzi. It’s not always you get to see the world’s famous teen heroes getting married to each other, you know. Wade was Ron’s best man and seemed honoured to be there. The familiar long prayer and good wishes from the priest and the vows were made. Kim swooned as she stared at Ron reaching over to claim her lips as soon as the priest gave him the cue. That was the best day of her life and she would never trade it for anything else.

Kim glanced towards the clock that was on the wall. 6.45. Is it a.m. or p.m.? It didn’t seem like the clock was ticking. Kim sighed. Didn’t Ron notice this before he went off to work? By the way, where is Ron? If he’s at work he should be back by now. After graduating high school and college, Ron had decided to take a job in the Bueno Nacho business and was working his way up to the top, hoping to succeed as Bueno Nacho’s El Presidente. Kim, on the other hand, started her own business online as a fashion consultant and greeting cards wholesaler, with Monique as her partner. Aside from the occasional crime-fighting, life as Mr. and Mrs. Stoppable was OK. They even planned to start a family before Senor Senior Sr.’s evil coalition started. While she was thinking about where Ron could be, she absentmindedly put in another mini-disc, the last one on the stack.

The image of Ron appeared. He looked rather old in this scene, with shoulder-length hair and tired-looking eyes. His face seemed like it needed a good shave. Wade was standing beside him. He, on the other hand, looked thinner and not as smart as he used to look back then. Behind them was the oxygen pod where she slept in. Judging by the sound of the heartbeat machine and the tubes that were all over the floor, leading towards the inside of the pad, her suspicions were confirmed. She had been in a coma after that 20-feet fall accident. What’s going on? Why are they looking like this? Has her coma devastated them so much? How long exactly has she been asleep to make them look like this?

“Hey, Kim sweetie,” Ron spoke to the camera. “If you’re watching this, I’m sure you’ve realized that I’m not here anymore. A lot has happened while you’re asleep, Kim. The doctors assured me that you would never wake up but I’m positive that I will soon see your beautiful green eyes again. You have no idea how I stayed by your side and prayed, hoping that one day you will come out of your slumber and call my name again. Not a day went by without me wondering when you’re gonna wake up, or whether you’re gonna wake up ever again.

“Like I said, Kim, loads have been happening while you’re asleep, Kim. Your parents…they…well, I hate to be the one to break it to you but…ever since you slipped into that coma, your father began to slip up in his job. He couldn’t concentrate anymore. He quit his job and began drinking. Your mother didn’t really fare too well either. She got jealous of those patients who were able to walk away healthy and free while you are still in that pod never seeing another light of day. Her jealousy turned to hatred and she began to kidnap patients, storing them in the underground basement your father built for her and…well…to put it gently, ‘experimenting’ with their bodies. Tortured and killed more than 36 patients before she was found and arrested. She’s in the Upperton Institute for the Criminally Insane as we speak. Your brothers were of no help either. They decided to join Dr. D and use their scientific talents to help with his deeds. As for your dad…he…he drank himself to death…”

Kim was speechless. She stared wide-eyed as she listened to every word that came out of Ron’s mouth. Her father intoxicating himself to death? Her mother becoming a sadistic murderess? The Tweebs joining forces with Drakken in his quest for world domination? How could this be true? How could this happen to her family? She had seen depressed families suffering from post-tragedy, but never like hers.

“Don’t worry,” Ron continued with his message, “my parents are a-OK. They died peacefully out of old age. Since your coma, I was the only one left to bust the crimes of the world. It’s about time I break the news to you since I’ve received permission from the sensei. Kim, I’m destined to be the Master of Monkey Kung Fu. You may not know it, but the very day I received the powers from that monkey statue, my destiny was written. That’s the reason why those monkey ninjas have been hanging around me last time. That’s also the reason I went to Japan and was with that Yori girl. I’ve been destined to fight a force greater than any evil that we have ever encountered and…I’m afraid the time is now. Dr. D’s kids have accidentally unleashed a forbidden being from another dimension—maybe even from Hell itself—into the world and they and their parents got killed in the process. Many people have died because of that forbidden being and this calls for me to stop it.

“It’s about time for me to go to battle. Wade’s coming along with me, so I won’t be alone. Before I go, I need to tell you something. I—or more importantly, Wade—had finally discovered the way to bring you back. It’s just the matter of healing all your broken parts again. It’s like repairing a machine back as good as new, like pressing a rewind button so that your body will seem as if it had never been broken before. It’s like creating a whole new you again. The only thing is that…well…that process will have to take at least 1000 years or less…

“I know it’s stupid. I know by then I wouldn’t be alive to see it…but it has always been my lifelong wish to see your green eyes again. Wade had persuade me against this but…maybe I get to see your green eyes in another lifetime…maybe we might meet again 1000 years from now…”

“Ron, the disturbance is getting worse in the northern region. We must get there quick,” Wade exclaimed in the background. Ron nodded at him before getting up and away from the camera. He came towards the pod and clicked a few buttons, revealing a virtual screen. He stared at it long and hard before Wade came towards him and asked, “Ron, are you sure of this? If you are, by pressing that YES button you will start activating the protection shield around this apartment.”

Ron didn’t reply. He continued staring at the virtual screen before tentatively reaching his hand over the YES button. Above the YES and NO button were the words: PROCESS WILL TAKE A MILLENIUM. PROCEED? Ron then took a deep breath and touched the YES button. The entire atmosphere around him began to light up and illuminate both Ron and Wade before fading into the normal lighting. Ron sighed and got up. He walked up to the camera and said his final words, “It is done. I love you, Kim. Forever.”

The TV screen became blank, indicating the camera being turned off and the disc taken out. Kim stared and stared at the screen, utterly speechless, her instant noodle forgotten. How could this be? A forbidden being unleashed to terrorize the world? Her family dead in such tragedy? Ron being the Master of Monkey kung fu? A healing process that takes a thousand years to complete? Ron is gone? Forever? This cannot be happening! A thousand years had not passed! It couldn’t have been a thousand years! She couldn’t have slept that long! This is all just a joke, right? Or is this all just a dream which she will wake up seeing Ron staring down at her?

Filled with denial, Kim ran towards the blinds and pulled it, expecting the bright sunny sky but was greeted with a horrific scene. It was raining outside and the entire Middleton was like in a complete blackout. It was so dark and cold and the occasional lightning only gave enough light for her to see bits and pieces of what was left of Middleton. She raced out of the apartment and into the streets, only to realize that the apartment was the only one standing. The rest were all reduced to dust and rubble, including Middleton High and their favourite haunt Bueno Nacho. The cinemas, Club Banana, Smarty Mart…all were gone. There was no intact building in sight. Kim couldn’t believe her eyes. What’s going on? How could this be? Has a thousand years really passed? What happened to all the buildings and houses? Have they lost to the force of the forbidden being? No! Ron would never lose! He couldn’t lose! This cannot be happening! This cannot be happening to her!

“Hello! Anyone out there? Hello? Can anybody hear me? Is anyone out there!”

There was no answer. Isn’t anyone out there? Aren’t there any survivors of this tremor? Isn’t there anyone—even a single soul—that still linger in this place? Could it be that they’ve…? No, no, no! It cannot be! Kim began to run despite the fact that her body was still not ready for vigorous movements and that her bare feet began to bleed over the sharp stones she stepped on. As the raining beat heavily on her, drenching her from head to toe, she ran, frantically calling out for anyone to hear.

“Ron! Wade! Tweebs! Anybody! Someone please answer me! Where is everybody!”

She didn’t know how long she ran and how long she shouted. All she knew was that she had to find someone, anyone who could tell her what had happened to Middleton, or even the world. She wanted to know the truth about all this: what was going on, what had happened when she was asleep, what had the forbidden being did to this place, or at least find out that everything happening here is not real and she will be back in her room with Ron sleeping beside her, sharing their body warmth together. Suddenly, she tripped and landed face first in a muddy puddle. She coughed and spluttered, spitting out the mud that went into her mouth. She rubbed her eyes off the grime before these few words appeared before her eyes:

HERE LIES RONALD KENNEDY STOPPABLE,

LOVING HUSBAND & BEST FRIEND

MAY HIS 25 YEARS IN LIFE BE WELL REMEMBERED…

“R…Ron…? It can’t be…” Kim breathed her words as she traced her fingers on the engraved tombstone. She looked around and found herself in an unmarked abandoned graveyard for those who had died in war. She saw other names like Monique, Brick, Wade, Josh, Tara and even Bonnie, but none of them compared to the shock she saw in front of her eyes.

“Ron…You couldn’t have died, have you?” Kim forced a smile as she continued tracing her fingers on and around the tombstone. “You said it before, you’re the Master of Monkey Kung Fu. You’re destined to fight things more evil than our previous adventures. You couldn’t have just died without a fight, have you? Remember the days we were together in our missions? You and I often get away without so much as a scratch…you can’t die like this, can you? That’s so not you, Ron…

“You said you wanted to see my green eyes you loved so much again…you said you love me forever and we would meet again…you said you wanted to start a family, have a kid or two…You can’t die just like that without fulfilling your promise now, can you? Come on, Ron. Tell me this is not true. Tell me you’re somewhere hiding. Let me hear you say ‘Booyah’ again, just like old times, huh?”

Silence. Nothing greeted her. No smiles. No ‘Booyah’. No Rufus in his pocket. No familiar colour of his clothes and his hair and his freckles. No Ron. Kim balled her fists and pounded them onto the tombstone until they bled. All the while she screamed and cursed like she would never stop.

“It’s not fair! How could you do this to me! How could you leave me like this! If you knew that you’re gonna die before I wake up, why did you go ahead with it! Why the shit didn’t you listen to Wade! If you knew you were fighting a losing battle, why didn’t you come back to me and let me die with you! How could you! How could you let me live while you die! I’m all alone here without you! Everyone’s dead and I’m all alone! You said you love me when you leave me here to fend for myself! You bastard! You could’ve at least asked Wade to freeze you or something so that I can revive you as soon as I wake up! How could you fucking leave me here! Why, Ron! Why can’t you just let me die with you? I love you, Ron! I love you more than life itself! My life is nothing without you, Ron! How could you do this to me! RON!”

Under the pouring rain, Kim cried…

Because at a thousand years later,

When I don’t exist in this world,

I cannot feel the smoothness of your hand or kiss your soft forehead,

Don’t wait a thousand years later,

When I’m forgotten in this world,

It’ll be like the desert on a red sunset,

That can never replace a thousand years of loneliness…

—Translated from the chorus of JJ’s song ‘A Thousand Years Later’

The Ultimate Confession

Created: 4-27-03

THE ULTIMATE CONFESSION

Ron just stormed back to his hostel from a very heaty argument with Kim. It was their Graduation Ballroom Night and Kim was heads over heels trying to get Josh Mankey to go with her to the ballroom night. Ron was, of course, jealous. They have come all the way through high school and he spent day and night studying like crazy so that he could go to the same university as Kim. He heard about Kim earning a scholarship and an offer letter to study in Geneva and he had to get there at all cost. He knew Kim was as active in her cheerleading activities as much as she was smart in her studies, and he knew his IQ could never match hers unless he gave it more than 100% effort.

When he received the letter of approval from Geneva Valedictorian University, he felt as if he was in heaven. Kim was quite surprised to see him in that university but was also glad that she’ll save all the trouble contacting and waiting on him for their next mission. Ron thought he would have the chance to pull their best-friend relationship a little closer, but he was dumbstruck and crushed to the bone when Kim happily informed him that Josh Mankey was also studying in the same university as they were.

Seeing them together and Kim drooling over Josh was a nightmare to him. Yes, he had his blissful moments when he and Kim hung out at the cafeteria and during their missions battling demented villains, but that was not enough. He wanted to go out with Kim on real dates, not only on dangerous missions where they could lose a life sooner or later. He wanted Kim to drool over him, not the brown hair with a yellow-white streak Josh Mankey! Sure, he had a few good terms with Josh but he still didn’t like the idea of ‘sharing’ Kim with him. Besides, he had seen Josh dating other girls before. When he knew that Kim was trying to ask Josh to the ballroom night, that was the last straw.

“KP, I don’t wanna sound mean on you but,” Ron folded his arms across his chest, “I don’t think you should go out with Josh.”

“Why not?” Kim asked.

“Well, to tell you the truth, I don’t like you being with Josh. In fact, I don’t like it at all. I hate it. And I’m sick and tired of you being so puppy-eyed about him when I don’t think he gives a damn about you at all.”

“Why? You’re jealous or something?” Kim looked at him slyly.

“No! Not even close!” Ron was going pink, blushing through his freckles. “I…I just don’t want you to be hurt, that’s all. I don’t think Josh is your type.”

“Right. And you’re suggesting that I should go to the ballroom night with you? Get real!”

“What’s so bad about going to the ballroom night with me, may I ask?” Ron was quite offended. “We’ve been going out to our school dance a few times!”

“You mean all the time! We’ve been going to school dance since we’re pre-school. Only when we’re in the middle of high school, after Josh Mankey appeared, then we stopped going to school dances or any other dances, for the matter of fact. Do you know how much embarrassment you caused every time we go on school dances? I should be the one being sick of this!”

Ron was pretty ticked off at this point, “Well, fine then! If one day, just one day, you get dumped by that Monkey guy, don’t you come running to me and crying your heart out and expect me to pull you out of this situation!”

“I won’t! And it’s Mankey, not Monkey!” Kim had her hands on her waist. She’s wearing a belly-button body-fit shirt, as usual.

“I’ll call him whatever I like! Monkey boy, Monkey boy! And he looks like one too!”

Now Ron was still pretty hot-headed about his fight with Kim. What started out as Ron’s attempt to confess his feelings to Kim turned out to be a war-like disaster. He took out Rufus the naked mole rat and as he fed him with cheese slabs, he complained, “Who does she think she is? Who does she think I am? Some silly sidekick and listening stone whom she can throw all her fancy daydreams of some no good loser like Josh Mankey? I’m not gonna put up with this! No siree! She can keep her daydreams to herself! When she finds out what a jackass he is, she’ll be sorry, but she’s not gonna get the advantage of crying on my shoulder! Ever!”

Rufus whined a little and slipped into Ron’s jeans pocket. He came out of the pocket moments later with Ron’s wallet. He opened it and revealed the picture of Ron and Kim together in their mission clothes. Ron gasped a little at first, then he sighed and plopped his head on the table, saying, “You’re right, Rufus. How can I fool myself? I love her so much to tolerate everything she is. I even wracked my brain trying to study so that I can get to this high-classed university. Mom and Dad had to work extra hard just to get money for me to study here, and I had to apply for a scholarship so that I can afford their tuition classes. Luckily they approved. I must admit my result were not strong enough.”

“Mmhmm, mmhmm,” Rufus agreed, nodding his head as he popped more cheese slabs into his tiny mouth.

“But I’m willing to sacrifice all that! I did everything for her, well, almost everything. The point is I’m always there when she needs me. I always do! If Mom and Dad banned me from being with Kim, which they haven’t for now, I don’t what else I can do. I’d rather eliminate the Stoppable bloodline than being away from Kim! But Kim never understands this. She took me for granted and stuck her nose like glue onto that Mankey’s butt! I don’t know what she sees in him!”

“He’s cute?” Rufus burped as he finished the last piece of cheese slab.

“He’s not cute! Well, a little, but doesn’t mean she has to drown herself all over him. If I don’t tell her straight about my feelings for her, she’ll be licking his boots and coiling all over him! But how am I going to tell her? I’m…I’m embarrassed. I hate to make a fool of myself…”

Rufus yawned uninterestedly and jumped towards the radio. He turned on the radio and moved to the beat of a very hip-hop song by Ja Rule. Ron could see that at this point, Rufus won’t be much of a help. Looks like he had to figure this out for himself. While he mooned over the ways to confess to Kim, he heard the DJ hollering out in the radio, “Well, folks, that was a great hit from Ja Rule! If you have any other dedications to your loved ones, please don’t hesitate to call at…”

“That is so lame,” Ron muttered. “Expecting that someone would be swooning over them from the help of someone else’s music. Unless they sang it themselves…”

That’s when an idea struck him. Why not? He could actually sing for Kim to tell her about his feeling for her. He did that once when there was a Mother’s Day celebration in his primary school where he sang for his mother. He could do that for Kim as well. He hugged and kissed and thanked Rufus for giving this perfect idea, although Rufus was still trying to figureout what was it all about.

And he knew just when will be the occasion to sing.

---

Everyone was dressed to the nines for this Graduation Ballroom Night. Kim wasn’t excluded. She wore a beautiful ballroom dress that was black with tiny fine sparkles attached all around the dress, making it sparkle under the hall lights. She had a moderately-done make-up for this occasion. She saw Josh Mankey at a distance and greeted him. He was wearing a smart-looking suit and black polished shoes. He waved at Kim and gestured her to come to him.

“This ballroom night is the bomb,” Kim said, hoping that the auburn hair which she spent hours doing it up into a bun didn’t go into ruins.

“Yeah, Kim,” Josh agreed. “It’s hard to believe that we’re going to leave this university and live our own lives out in the big world. What are you gonna be after this?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I was hoping to take the fashion designing career, since that’s the course I’m taking, but I suppose my crime fighting job would still be on-line.”

“Fighting bad demented villains as usual, eh?”

“Yes, I’m sad to say. A woman’s job is never done,” Kim sighed.

“Well, it’s done for time being now,” Josh said as he took her hand. “Wanna dance?”

How could Kim refuse her dream prince? They danced a few dances and Kim felt as if she was in heaven. Yet somehow, she felt as if she had forgotten someone important. She shrugged off the thought and continued dancing.

A few moments later, the DJ made an announcement to the people at the dance floor, “Yo, listen up, ev’rybody! We have a special request from our very own U-mate, Ronald Dean Stoppable, to dedicate this song to someone called Kimberly Anne Possible. And guess what? He ain’t just dedicating the song, he’s gonna sing it for her!”

“Ron?” Kim was surprised. She saw Ron slowly going up the stage, ignoring the laughter of the audience at the dance floor. Josh had his share of laughing.

“What is he thinking? He’s gonna make a fool of himself,” Josh said. Kim suddenly felt quite offended by Josh’s comment on Ron but kept quiet about it.

Ron took the mike and said, “Kim, this is for you. I hope you’ll understand how I feel after you listen to this song.”

Soon, after clearing his throat a little, he allowed the DJ to roll the song and started singing:

If you’re not the one then why does my soul feel glad today?
If you’re not the one then why does my hand fit yours this way?
If you are not mine then why does your heart return my call?
If you are not mine would I have the strength to stand at all?

I never know what the future brings
But I know you are here with me now
We’ll make it through
And I hope you are the one I share my life with

I don’t want to run away but I can’t take it, I don’t understand
If I’m not made for you then why does my heart tell me that I am?
Is there any way that I can stay in your arms?

If I don’t need you then why am I crying on my bed?
If I don’t need you then why does your name resound in my head?
If you’re not for me then why does this distance maim my life?
If you’re not for me then why do I dream of you as my wife?

I don’t know why you’re so far away
But I know that this much is true
We’ll make it through
And I hope you are the one I share my life with
And I wish that you could be the one I die with
And I pray in you’re the one I build my home with
I hope I love you all my life

I don’t want to run away but I can’t take it, I don’t understand
If I’m not made for you then why does my heart tell me that I am
Is there any way that I can stay in your arms?

’Cause I miss you, body and soul so strong that it takes my breath away
And I breathe you into my heart and pray for the strength to stand today
’Cause I love you, whether it’s wrong or right
And though I can’t be with you tonight
I know my heart is by your side

I don’t want to run away but I can’t take it, I don’t understand
If I’m not made for you then why does my heart tell me that I am
Is there any way that I can stay in your arms?

As the music faded away, the crowd was silent for a while. Almost quite suddenly, everyone clapped and cheered. Kim was astounded. She remembered him singing during primary school, but she never that he could sing so well. Josh looked at Ron grudgingly and took Kim’s hand, saying, “What a loser. Come on, let’s get out of this joint.”

Kim snatched her hand away, much to Josh’s surprise and said, “Sorry, Josh. I… I have to go to Ron. Goodbye. You have a good time on your own. Sorry.”

With her cheerleading agility, she leapt up to the stage without even caring if she might tear her ballroom dress and trotted towards Ron. Ron went pink and was about to look away when Kim turned him around to face her and hugged him, saying, “I have no idea you felt so deep for me. I am so sorry.”

“It’s alright, KP,” Ron said, going from pink to a very healthy red, “I’m used to being ignored anyway.”

“Is there anything I can do to make up to you?” Kim asked hurriedly. “A date? A movie? A night-out?”

“Well, for now…maybe something simple, if you know what I mean,” Ron said sheepishly, looking at her with his small hazel-brown eyes. Kim knew what he meant. She closed her eyes and placed her lips onto Ron’s, kissing him lightly. Ron wrapped his arms around Kim and kissed her back more deeply. Kim’s foot popped up, like all romance movies do when a girl kisses a boy.

They didn’t care about the cheers and whistles from the crowd on the dance floor.

The Sky Beneath Their Feet

Created: 9-23-03

THE SKY BENEATH THEIR FEET

A hundred years ago, Paris was a land of international art. It has attracted almost more than hundreds of artists world wide. People came far and wide to either show off their career or just to have a holiday in Paris, and most of them were famous men and women of arts.

At that time, the only best place you can ever have very high quality bed and breakfast would Mrs. Possible’s little hotel. She came with her husband to Paris to make a living but Mr. Possible passed away due to an accident at work, leaving her enough money to build this hotel. She was famous for her home made cooking and her freshly made feather beds. Artists and actors from Moscow, New York, Ireland, etc…all came to her little affordable hotel to have a nice quiet rest and a great bed and breakfast service.

Mrs. Possible toiled day and night just to keep her customers happy. She would do almost anything to make their stay more comfortable. Her daughter Kimberly Anne Possible was of no exception either—whether it’s chopping up the lettuces, peeling the potatoes, washing the bed sheets or mopping the floor, there is nothing this little girl can’t do.

But after a hard day’s work (and usually Mrs. Possible would excuse her daughter to go to bed), Kim’s favourite past time would be to sit on the stairs with her mole rat Rufus (which was given to her by a very special friend named Ronald Carmen Stoppable before he left for Harvard) and listen to all the stories the customers tell each other in their days of fame and glory just before bed time. Some were interesting, like about a great magic performance in Brazil told by a magician and some were pretty dull, like about having tea with the governor of Holland, but Kim listened to them all. Deep down inside her, she wished that some day, she would be in the world of art just like them.

One evening, a thin and tall but seemly down man came to the hotel for a stay. He told Mrs. Possible that his name was Senor Senior Jr. and he’s a retired high wire walker.

“Since you’re a retired artist, I must say you do need a little settling down,” Mrs. Possible invited him in. “I just so happen to have a room just upstairs near the backyard and it’s very peaceful and quiet.”

“Thank you, senora,” the man replied. “That’s just what I need. Oh, and by the way, please have my meals brought into my room. I want to eat alone.”

Kim couldn’t help thinking that this man called Senor Senior Jr. was pretty mysterious-looking.

The next afternoon, when Kim went to the backyard to take in the bed sheets, she saw the Senior Jr. man walking on one of the washing line to and fro without any difficulty. Kim was dumbstruck. She stared at him like she was hypnotized or something. She had never seen a true artist at his work before. All she heard were tales. This was for real.

‘How wonderful it might be if I were able to do that! It would be life’s best thing in the whole world!’

Kim’s feet started to itch badly. She felt as if she just wanted to jump onto the rope and stand at Senior Jr.’s side. Slowly, she gathered her courage and approached Senior Jr.

“Err…Monsieur Senior Jr.? I was hoping…that you’d teach me how to walk on high wire, pretty please?”

“You? Walk on high wire?” Senior Jr. was surprised. When Kim nodded her head eagerly, he sighed and said, “I’m afraid I can’t do that. If you ever start learning to walk on high wire, you can never stand walking on solid ground ever again.”

“Please teach me. I beg of you,” Kim was determined. “My feet have already begun to resent the solid ground.”

Senior Jr. still shook his head, declining her request.

Since then, Kim often kept an eye on him. She stared at him while she dusted the furniture, wiped the windows and swept the floor. She gazed at the way Senior Jr.’s feet stepping lightly on the rope, standing firmly, walking stealthily forward. His eyes were looking straight ahead, not looking anywhere and definitely not looking down. His facial expression was the most interesting at all—a face of dreams.

Kim couldn’t stand it anymore. As soon as she saw Senior Jr. leaving to town, she hastily finished her chores and rushed to the washing line. She wanted to give a personal try over this. As soon as she stepped onto the rope, her arms waved and swung around like a roller coaster, unable to keep her balance. She fell immediately onto the floor without even staying longer than a second on the rope. Rufus the mole rat was lucky to dodge away from her. Kim stared grudgingly at the rope and grumbled to herself.

“That’s not what I expected! This is harder than I thought! Then why Monsieur Senior Jr. could walk on it so easily? I’ll give it another try. I don’t believe my feet are not meant for this rope!”

She tried the rope again and again, and falling over and over again. At her 10th attempt, her foot was able to stay in balance for about a few seconds. After a whole day’s practice, she was able to walk 3 steps without falling. She was happy, but not too easily satisfied. She continued this secret routine for days, and finally within a week’s time, she was able to walk down the whole length of the rope without even falling.

She was glad of her success. She couldn’t wait for the next day to prove herself to Senior Jr. that she was worth the rope.

The next day, when she caught sight of Senior Jr., she dumped her chores and rushed towards him, explaining what she had done for the past week and requesting a trial to see if she was fit for the high wire class. After showing what she could do, Senior Jr. went deep into his thoughts.

“Of all the people I’ve seen, once they’ve started learning the high wire and failed, they would just give up, yet you continued until you’ve succeeded. Oh well, I suppose you do have the talent.”

“Merci, merci, Monsieur Senior Jr.!” Kim thanked Senior Jr. She could tell from his words that he was willing to teach her more.

Since then, Kim deliberately woke up 2 hours earlier than her usual wake up time. She finished all her chores even before the sun actually has risen. Her leftover time was spent on learning the high wire walking. Senior Jr. was obviously a really strict teacher, a guy who puts perfection as his number one priority. His most famous words were “Don’t look anywhere but up front. Keep your heart on the rope under your feet and your destination ahead of you”.

When she finally was able to walk to and fro on the rope a lot of times without even staggering, Senior Jr. taught a whole lot of other tricks like lying on the rope, jumping, bowing (or in Kim’s case, curtseying) and doing somersaults. Kim was so glad of her success that she shouted out loud, “I’ll never fall down, ever!”

“Don’t brag!” Senior Jr.’s voice was so strict that it scared the heck out of her. She lost her balance and had no choice but to jump off the rope. Luckily she was caught by Senior Jr. just in time because she was falling headfirst. Their heart suddenly skipped the beat simultaneously. Senior Jr. set her down quickly, looking away. Kim felt a little awkward and blushed at this sudden chemistry between them, but she’s still mostly happy that she had finally achieved what she always wanted for: to be in the arts just like the artists.

Until one night, a drama manager named Wade from London came to Mrs. Possible’s hotel to stay. When he caught sight of Senior Jr. entering his room when he was on his way to the dining room, he was in for a shock. In a thrice, he rushed towards the dining room and exclaimed, “I don’t believe it! I’ve actually met him at this sort of place!”

“Met who?” a mime asked.

“The world’s greatest high wire walker Senor Senior Jr.! That’s who! Don’t you have any idea that he’s here?” Wade was surprised.

Kim was about to serve the customers their dinner, so she was all ears while she put out the plates for them. Of course, she did in silence.

“Senor Senior Jr.?” the mime widened his eyes. “You mean the man who walked on high wire and crossed the Niagara Falls within 10 minutes?!”

“Not only that,” Wade took a stroll down memory lane. “He even stopped in the midst, fried an egg, opened a bottle of champagne and gave a toast to the people 1000 feet below him!”

“My father did tell me about this,” a juggler replied. “I even heard that he was willing to give up his high-classed education and all the riches he inherited from his father Senor Senior Sr. just pursue this career. He got kicked out of his mansion for that.”

Wade continued enthusiastically, “Did you know that Senior Jr. tied a basket on his ankles each and crossed the Mountain of Alps? And also that feat where he walked on a high wire and crossed the burning volcano blindfolded? My word, he even fired a cannon on the high wire just above the Barcelona! That man is as calm as an icy cold mountain!”

Kim heard enough. She rushed up to Senior Jr.’s room and asked, “Did you hear what they’re talking about you? All those feats at Niagara and Barcelona? Is it true what they say? Have you really done what you did? I want to do those things! I want to go away with you! Say you will take me with you, Monsieur, please say you will!”

“I’m sorry, my little senorita, I cannot,” Senior Jr. replied.

“Why not, Monsieur?” Kim was taken aback.

A long silence hung over Senior Jr. before he finally blurted out, “Because I’m afraid.”

“Afraid??” Kim was really shocked. “How can you be afraid?!”

“Because…I have fallen once when I was practicing for a show and it almost cost me my life. I was scared of doing very, very high spots ever since. Once you’ve started to have fear walking on a high wire, it will never go away. My father was right; this job won’t last very long.”

“Then you have to make it go away! Screw your father, monsieur! Forget what he said! If you want to be the world’s famous, most respected high wire walker again, you have to make the fear go away!” Kim replied in determination.

“I’m sorry…I can’t.”

Kim ran out of his room and into the kitchen, heartbroken. Tears flowed out of her eyes as she scrubbed the kitchen floors. She thought of the days she practiced the high wire with Senior Jr. She thought of the happiness she felt when she finally was able to walk without falling and how joyful she was when she started learning new tricks on the rope. She even felt so elated and heart-rushed when she found out that she actually had a crush on Senior Jr. who was pretty much older than she was. Those were really, really great times. But now, Senior Jr.’s fear has brought a dark sadness into that happy world.

Meanwhile, Senior Jr. walked around his room for hours. ‘I feel so bad to let Kim down,’ he thought. ‘What am I to do?’

After contemplating for so long, he finally decided before dawn came that if he were to face Kim, he were to face his fears. He couldn’t lie to himself—he was a little bit in love with this girl who was so headstrong and so determined to achieve her dreams. If he were to make himself worthy of her, he had to abolish his fears. He knew exactly what to do, but would it work?

Later that night, as Wade, the London manager, came back to the hotel, he saw Senior Jr. standing outside his room waiting for him. He got straight to the point, telling the chubby manager about his plans. The more he listened, the more excited he was with the idea. With confidence, he promised Senior Jr., “Don’t worry, everything will go according as planned.” At the same time, he thought to himself, ‘Now that’s one way to earn some cool cash!’

While the manager made arrangements, Senior Jr. went to the tallest building he could find, went up to the roof and started tying the rope between the building he was standing on and the one opposite it. All the while, he hoped that Kim wouldn’t be angry with him anymore.

The next night, while doing her chores, Kim heard a loud commotion outside. She was curious and wanted to go see but she had chores to finish. Her mother Mrs. Possible noticed and said, “Go ahead, dear! Maybe it’ll cheer you up a little. You look down all day today.”

Kim excused herself and went outside. As soon as she’s out of the hotel, she saw that the road was completely filled with people young and old—so many that she almost couldn’t see what was going on up there. A spotlight suddenly burst on and Wade’s booming voice could be heard yelling, “Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls!! The Great Senor Senior Jr. has returned!!”

Kim was shocked. Could it be true? She felt a whole lot of joy yet a whole lot of anxiety as well. Her heart was thumping so hard it was threatening to break out of her chest.

Senior Jr. could be seen stepping on the high wire, giving the audience below a bow. When he took the second step, he moved no more. The fall he had was still haunting his mind—the way he confidently did a triple jump on the high wire, the way his foot suddenly slipped out of the rope, the way he fell 10 feet down to the ground, the way his whole body crashed onto the solid ground…he turned blue just thinking about it.

The audience was getting impatient. They shouted and cheered and hollered like crazy. What was wrong with the Great Senor Senior Jr.? He can’t just keep them waiting. Kim knew exactly what the problem was. For a second there, she was also frozen on the spot like Senior Jr., not knowing what to do. She just continued staring at Senior Jr. who was staying on the rope at the opposite building, static and unmoving.

Before she knew it, she pushed the door of the building she was standing at, ignoring the questioning stares of the footman of the building and climbed up the stairs to the top floor and finally climbed up to the roof, gazing encouragingly at Senior Jr. who was in front of her.

She held out her hands towards her teacher, her crush, her love. Senior Jr. saw her and smiled. He finally began to walk towards her. As Kim stepped on the rope to go to him, she felt a sudden rush to her head. It was filled with happiness and satisfaction. It was like a dream come true as she walked across the night sky beneath the stars. Finally, she and Senior Jr. came together at the middle of the high wire. Senior Jr. knelt down and took her hand, gazing deep into her eyes as he asked, “Will you come with me to our destination ahead of us?”

“I would love to,” Kim said, and got a kiss on the forehead from her Senior Jr.

The crowd went wild as they clapped their hands raw at their stupendous performance. They have never seen anything like it.

Wade was the happiest and most excited of all. As his mind began to work on taking Senior Jr. and Kim on a money-making world tour performance, he announced out loud with his booming voice, “Here we have it, ladies and gentlemen, Senor Senior Jr. and his greatest student of all history!!!”

What would become of the student and teacher cum lovers? Well, besides keeping their hearts together, they kept their hearts on the rope under their feet and their destination ahead of them.