Romeo settled down in his seat and drew a deep breath. The day is here, finally. The day he has been waiting for the past five years.
“Relax! Take a deep breath. Don’t be nervous” - he told himself. The same words were uttered by his mother sixteen years ago as they were sitting outside a psychologist’s chamber. “Mom am I a freak?” - Romeo had asked, his voice trembling. “You are a gift from GOD” - smiled his mother as she kissed him on the forehead.
Raised by a single mother, Romeo was just like another young man who dreamed to rule the world one day. He visited the nearby kindergarten and it was here that the world realised : Romeo wasn’t any ordinary kid - he had a gift. He could make things disappear; no he wasn’t any sorcerer, neither was he someone from the pages of Marvel comics. Rather he possessed a rare gift - a gift of hallucinating people into believing that things don’t actually exist. Labelled as a trickster, a devil and what not, Romeo’s young mind failed to fathom why was he a subject of so much hatred? Little did he realise - what was ordinary for him was extraordinary for others. His mom refused to believe the school authorities when they told her - you have given birth to a devil. Instead she took him away from the hustle and bustle of the city to the suburbs.
As Romeo started growing up he began to realise the full extent of the power he possessed. However, he didn’t know how to control it. Part of the reason being his unfathomable anger - anger stemming from the weird glances people cast on him, anger stemming from not being accepted by the society, anger stemming from anger. His mother tried to pacify him a lot. But one day when Romeo created havoc by vanishing an entire house after a petty fight; his home was pelted with stones and his mother was publicly humiliated. Romeo couldn’t take it and his anger reached a tipping point - he shot dead two people. It was no longer child’s play, but a serious crime. Somehow they managed to escape; but they were on the run and had to go underground for a considerable period of time.
It was during this time that Romeo’s mother took him to Dr. Stephen’s clinic to control his rage - “Mom am I a freak?” - Romeo had asked, his voice trembling. “You are a gift from GOD” - smiled his mother as she kissed him on the forehead. Dr. Stephen realized very soon that sitting in front of him was a genius - an uncut diamond. Slowly but surely his sessions started shaping Romeo’s life. The father whom Romeo had missed throughout his life started taking shape in the form of Stephen. He became a friend, philosopher and guide. Stephen introduced him to the world of Christopher Nolan, the Wachowski brothers, Derren Brown and others. Suddenly Romeo didn’t feel alone in this world; there were other people like him. He was NOT a FREAK! A feeling of relief engulfed him and he finally managed to smile..after years.
“Would you like to have something?” - the young lady’s voice punctured Romeo’s thoughts. “Can I get a glass of scotch?” - a toast to my impending success he murmured to himself and took stock of the surroundings, a young man of Asian origin, who seemed to be in his teens was sitting next to him and texting his mother. Romeo was going to see his mother too before the day ended. He looked out of the window to bask in the beauty of the day. It was a day like this only.
It was a day like this only when Romeo reached Dr. Stephen’s chamber. Life was good and he was soon going to end his sessions with Stephen. Stephen spoke about the power of the subconscious mind on that day and as always wowed Romeo with his words. He is a superman - Romeo thought to himself. The clock struck 4pm; and as Romeo got up to leave Stephen asked him to stay back. Today being the last session Romeo did not mind. A part of him actually wanted the sessions to continue. Stephen told him about the greatest illusion of all : the illusion called love and how it engulfs the mind which is then controlled by the heart. “Never ever let your heart rule your head son” - said Stephen.
A strange way to end the sessions - Romeo thought as he reached home. The door of his home was unlocked; mom is getting old! “Mother” - shouted Romeo but no one answered. That’s strange...Romeo entered the house amidst an eerie silence. And then he saw it - his mother, the very reason for his existence was lying lifeless in a pool of blood. Fear overcame the initial shock - this..this cannot be true. Romeo shook his mother hysterically hoping against hope that she will wake up. But the hands which had fed him since birth didn’t rise, the lips which had sung him to sleep didn’t twitch, the eyes which had looked at him with endless love..didn’t blink. Romeo fainted.
A dark room, a big room is where Romeo woke up many hours later. Mother! - the first thought came to his mind and he tried to sit up. But he felt a searing pain in his arm. He was in a hospital it seemed and he was receiving a drip. He heard the door creak and quickly closed his eyes. He didn’t want to face anyone. “How is he now?” - it was Stephen. “He is ok now but in a deep shock. We have given him sedatives.” - replied a lady, presumably a doctor. “Stephen - he should never know. I have your word? “ - asked another voice. “Yes minister you have my word. I will coax him to use his gifts for serving our country. We all need to make sacrifices. The heart cannot rule the head”.
Long after the visitors had left, Romeo opened his eyes. So this is what it was all about, he was a catch, a weapon for the government. His mother was killed so that Stephen had a free control over him. Stephen - the person whom he considered to be a father figure turned out to be a traitor. Tears rolled down Romeo’s eyes, he felt helpless and scared. He was alone in this world...he was merely an object to be used by a few people. Slowly fear was overcome with something else...vengeance...anger...hatred. The reason why Stephen came into his life, the anger which Stephen worked so hard to curb consumed Romeo.
Romeo escaped from the hospital. He did not know where to go but he knew he needed time. Thanks to his mother, he had enough money to survive for a few days. Romeo left for a nearby town where he took up a job in a small pub. It suited him well, no one knew him and he had grown a beard along with a spate of tattoos on his face to camouflage himself. It was from here that he started plotting his revenge. He had a gift according to his late mother. He was going to use it to devastating effect. He was going to change history.
Stephen searched for Romeo frantically. He wanted to be with Romeo at his hour of grief. But the boy had disappeared. Romeo’s mother was killed by the same people whom Romeo had shot at during his childhood days. A police investigation would have resulted in opening a can of worms and subsequent punishment for Romeo. But Stephen loved the boy like his own son. He used his contacts to reach out to an influential minister. Romeo would work for the government and use his GOD given gifts to serve the country. To clear Romeo of any misdeeds a small price needed to be paid. Government records will show Romeo is dead. Stephen found this arrangement to be logical. “We all need to make sacrifices. The heart cannot rule the head”.
But where is Romeo?
The minister wasn’t best pleased with Stephen and had even threatened Stephen with dire consequences. The secret of Romeo was a risk to him and the deal which he had stuck with Stephen now seemed like a bad idea. Things needed to be corrected before they went out of hand. His reputation was at stake. Stephen must die. Romeo Must Die!
Meanwhile, Romeo had found a new ally - the Joker from the movie Dark Knight. He started identifying himself with the maniacal character. Yes..just like the joker he was misunderstood, just like the joker no one loved him, just like the joker people just wanted to use him. Romeo concurred with Alfred’s words from the movie : “Some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn!” He wanted to watch the world burn. Romeo knew what he needed to do and the consequence of his actions - Romeo Must Die!
Dr. Stephen was found dead in his clinic. Initial probe points to suicide, the reasons are still unknown - read the newspaper headline. Romeo read and re-read the news. A plethora of emotions swept through his mind - was he happy? no. Was he sad? He couldn’t be. Stephen is dead, thats one less head I need to chop off now. But who was Romeo fighting against? The society, the government or himself? I am fighting against everyone. Everyone should pay he said to himself. But why make innocents suffer? “The heart cannot rule the head!” . But he needed a way…and he found one. The man had come to his pub for a drink. He was going to meet his family soon and was very happy about it. He told Romeo about his travel plans. Right at that moment Romeo knew what he had to do. He had found his way to be heard, to be noticed. His revenge would be complete in the most beautiful yet horrific way.
“Sir, here’s your scotch. Wish you a wonderful journey.” smiled the beautiful lady and left. Romeo gulped down the scotch in one go. He was ready to make history. The journey had already started and everyone was preparing to sleep. Romeo smirked.
“This is your captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah welcoming you aboard Malaysian Airlines flight MH370. We wish you all a happy and a safe journey. Good night”
