A Multitude Of Lies

Chapter 2

Two months later

"Work's a bitch, but not as big a bitch as that chick you're shagging."

I looked up from my tablet at Rudolph, oblivious to what he had been saying earlier.

It was amazing how much can change in two months. Just a while ago, I was a proud business owner, albeit a floundering one. And now, I'm up to my neck in debt, with my knickers in a bunch. It's official, I'm an unemployed bum, living off a girl that I met a couple of months before.

"She's not that bitchy once you get to know her better..."

I sounded more unsure than I should. She's my saviour afterall. Graciously offering to help me out after everything crashed. Everyone else I knew were royally fucked when the market imploded. The only one that came to my aid was Amanda. Rudolph was lucky. In a time where unemployment was on the rise, he managed to retain his middle managerial position, getting away with only a pay cut. Well beats losing your job and living on the streets.

I remember the day where the shit hit the fan. My mates and I gathered at our coffee place downtown, having an ominous feeling after hearing loads of rumours. The cafe was hauntingly quiet, with the occasional clink of metal against china disrupting the gentle hum of the air conditioning unit. All eyes were on the tele, all ears listening intently as news of the collapse of Lehman Brothers was announced.

Getting back to Amanda, she could well change her name to enigma. After two months with her, I realised I still knew nuts about her. Other than the fact that she holds some important role in the airline company, I knew nothing about her work. But she did bring in some serious dough every month.

"Mission control to Mr Douche, come in! Stop fantasising all the time! You've been dreaming on me every single time I meet you. And it's getting pretty old."

Snapping back to reality, I suddenly had a weird feeling, like a deja vu, but not quite. Sort of a eureka moment, just a little less dramatic.

"What did you say?"

"I said stop dreaming you fuck."

"Dreaming... That's it! That's what I have been missing all these time!"

Scrambling like a madman, I gathered my papers and ran out of the cafe with Rudolph on my heels.

"What's the matter with you?"

"Don't you see it? I'm so good at spacing out, I probably should be a spaceman!"

"Um, seriously? Spaceman? That's one of the worst joke I've heard all year," Rudolph groaned. He had been on the receiving end of my jokes for a long time now.

A look at Rudolph's face and I knew he wasn't amused. But then again, that's his default face to my jokes. Not that I had intended that to be a joke. Somehow words always escape my mouth sounding like it is intended to be a joke despite all seriousness.

"I mean I can be a dreamer, an astronaut, crusader, spy, assassin and everything in between if I just put my mind to it. If one life isn't enough to experience life, then I'll live through a multitude of lives that I'll create!"

"I think I'm following where this is heading. Mind controlling Dr Frankenstein?"

"Close but not quite. I'm thinking more of writing. In a fantasy world where I alone control the conditions and specifics of existence. I can create a 22nd century galaxy dictatorship with a ragtag band of freedom fighters retaking future Earth, or I could travel back into the 12th century religious crusades recovering the holy grail. Isn't that having a multitude of lives to live and experience?"

"Well, good luck then, considering how badly you flunked your English module in college. Not everyone's a Tolkien or a Rowling. Having said that, in the rare chance that you actually do make it big, you'd better remember me. Oh, and I want tickets to the red carpet events if you make it through to the big screen." Rudolph mocked me, probably thinking about my old literary works that he maliciously made a copy of just for a day like this.

"Meanwhile, are you going to keep living off Amanda? Being a freeloader ain't exactly the best thing a man can do eh," he probed, genuinely concerned about my current situation.

"Of course I'll do something about it. Maybe get a job running errands for people. I have this really crazy idea which I'll share with you in the future. It might prove lucrative for us all!"

Positivity is infectious. And so engrossed were we that for the next two hours, we sat at the park, puffing on cheap cigarettes and exchanging money making ideas that seem to get less legal as we went on. Despite hanging out every two weeks, our conversations are usually fresh, and always with an influx of new original ideas from both parties.

The usually goofy Rudolph seemed a little gloomier, a tad darker. Inwardly I thought the market crash must have had quite an impact on him, seeing so many people losing their livelihood, old establishments gone in a blink of an eye. Or maybe it was just the sky getting darker. I could be wrong. Rudolph was too happy-going to be bothered. The sky could burn and he'll brush it off with a peg of good scotch. I glanced upwards, just in time to catch a drop of rain with my eye.

"Time to scram! I'll catch up with you soon mate, gotta get back before Zeus decides to strike me down," I said while slapping him hard on the back.

Picking up my pace, I headed towards the nearest bus stop and sought shelter. My mind was still reeling from the realisation that I could be myself, and at the same time be a hundred other people. Within the intricate network of neurons in my mind, I began to formulate my first scene, conditions and characters.