As Amelia bid farewell to her oldest son's family, she couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. The private plane, having undergone two rigorous security sweeps, was ready for departure. But Amelia's mind was elsewhere, reflecting on the traitors her granddaughter found. Edward placed his hand on her shoulder.
Elham gave Monty a box to give to her niece. It had some beautiful jewelry inside and dates. Monty would not shut up about bringing them. They were the finest dates of different types. She thought the boy wanted to give his cousin a cultural gift. "Why did you want to give her these?" Elham asked, genuinely curious. Her son kicked and fidgeted.
Monty counted on his little fingers again to be sure. "She wanted these so much ten months ago," Monty said while nodding. Elham's eyebrows arched.
Monty's gift was rare; It was a gift of the three families. However, she declined to allow him to practice the Muhammad's way. He once told a lion keeper his fate two days before his white tiger killed him, after the large cat took a shit in front of them.
His partner chuckled and patted Monty on the head. Monty counted on his fingers afterward and assured the partner he was right. That must have been a surprise to hear from a four-year-old.
They could not keep pets. Even their goldfish left trails of the future in its bowl. Elham shuddered; it was the oddest gift to have. She hated having pets for it. She counted on her fingers. "Go and say goodbye," she urged him.
Monty walked up to his cousin and looked up at the short girl. "Selena, this is my welcome gift for you. These will really make you drool." Monty smiled. Selena paused as the fragrance of dates filled her nose.
She wondered what Monty knew. She remembered the last day she really wanted dates, and that day had yet to happen in this life. A.A. chimed. "The package of dates was in Monty's name, Selena."
Monty's abilities were mysterious. He had 3 gifts, but his sight was supposed to be short, like Jonah's. How the hell did he know?
Perhaps Monty outlived her and had learned something from their first hug days ago. He stood with a jolt afterward and would not stop counting.
"I love you, cousin. You have a family now; your life will be good from now on," Mo said. Could he read her mind? If so, she pitied him.
Selena's excitement about visiting South Korea was palpable. "Thank you, Mo," Selena said as she ruffled his fluffy dark curly locks. He was young now, but there would be a slight chance if they met. She had seen Lowries before in the past. But it was from a far away distance or in photographs.
McKenna always had men from pillar families around her. Although Mo was gifted, he was not an heir of the Kinsman family.
She was fascinated by the country's potential, which would soon blossom into an economic powerhouse. Brands like Pear, IVN, Rotomolla, and Zenova would drive innovation and manufacturing, propelling South Korea and China to the forefront of the new world order.
But the world had been forever changed by the catastrophic events of the past. The West had fallen, ravaged by a chain reaction of volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, culminating in the devastating Great Earthquake of 2031. The consequences were dire: widespread destruction, massive loss of life, and a drastically altered global landscape.
The eruption had been unlike anything humanity had ever witnessed. Lava flows had engulfed 20 states, reaching heights of 10 feet and extending 50 miles into the oceans. The impact on arable land had been catastrophic, leading to widespread famine and displacement. Billions had perished, their lives lost in the chaos and destruction.
Selena's eyes seemed to gaze into the distance, her expression a mix of sadness and resignation. The past couldn't be changed; all that remained was to navigate the uncertain future. Move those with the necessary fates as the goddess directs her.
As Selena pondered the catastrophic events that had reshaped the world, she couldn't help but wonder if it was all inevitable. Perhaps, she thought, the relentless pursuit of petrochemicals like natural gases in 2029 had set off a chain reaction, a butterfly effect that had ultimately led to the devastating consequences.
She recalled the protests that had erupted in 2027 as people took to the streets to voice their concerns about the environmental impact of drilling and fracking. The push for petrochemicals had been intense, driven by the insatiable demand for energy and the lure of profits. Governments and corporations had ignored the warnings, pressing ahead with their plans to extract every last drop of oil and gas from the earth.
Selena remembered the images of protesters clad in hazmat suits, holding signs that read "Stop Fracking Now" and "Save Our Planet." The media had been filled with stories of communities affected by the drilling, of water sources contaminated, and of earthquakes triggered by the injection of wastewater into the ground.
Despite the warnings, the drilling and fracking continued unabated. And now, Selena thought, the world was paying the price. The massive eruption that had devastated the West, the earthquakes, the tsunamis – could it all have been prevented if only the warnings had been heeded?
Selena's mind was awhirl with questions and doubts. Had humanity's addiction to fossil fuels been the root cause of the catastrophe? Or was it just a coincidence, a natural disaster that would have occurred regardless of human actions? She didn't have the answers, but she knew one thing – the world would never be the same again.
The irony wasn't lost on Selena. She was sitting in a luxurious private jet, sipping fancy bottled water and enjoying the finer things in life, all while knowing that this plane was a gas-guzzling monstrosity. The carbon footprint of this single flight was likely astronomical, undoing all the good that the tree-planting and clean-energy initiatives she supported could do.
Selena felt a twinge of guilt, knowing that her privileged lifestyle came at a cost to the environment. She has always tried to do her part, donating to eco-friendly causes and advocating for sustainable living. But here she was. There had to be a better way to do this. The sun is an inexhaustible source of energy.
But at that moment, surrounded by the opulence of the private jet, she couldn't shake the feeling that her prior "poor person Selena" actions were nothing more than a drop in the bucket. She sighed. Her Grandmother waved from the runway first. Afterward, Grandfather, Uncle Ed, Aunt Elham, and her cousin Mo waved. Selena felt warm inside.
The plane's engines roared to life, and Selena felt a surge of excitement mixed with a dash of shame. She was living a life of luxury, but at what cost? As the plane took off, Selena gazed out the window, watching the earth fall away beneath her.
She knew that she had a long way to go in making amends for her carbon sins. It would have been McKenna in this plane 60 years ago, not her. Or was McKenna not as close to these family members at all? How much did she know?
Selena's mind was a maze of questions and connections. She was trying to make sense of McKenna's relationships with the various vassal families and G4 in her previous life, but Amelia seemed to know she wasn't the heir. She knew McKenna from after Jonah's passing in 2007, but the threads of Jonah's life and connections seemed to be shrouded in mystery.
As she pondered, Selena's thoughts turned to the concept of predetermination. Was everything that had happened, including the volcanic eruptions and Jonah's passing, inevitable? Was it all part of a larger plan, one that was beyond human control?
Selena's eyes drifted to the window, where the sky seemed to stretch out endlessly. She felt small and insignificant in the face of such massive, world-changing events. And yet, she couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to the story, that threads and connections were waiting to be uncovered in people.
As she sat there, lost in thought, she had been trying to untangle Jonah's threads of fate past his death date. While he was napping yesterday to see the accident and the details, they would not budge; the knot was sealed, and she couldn't peek in. It was as if the answers were just out of reach, hidden behind a veil of complexity and circumstance.
Selena unpacked her homework to complete on the flight and finished 45 pages of Math quickly. English was a report on the book 1984 by George Orwell. A.A. quickly researched a report on the themes of the book as she pulled out a blank piece of paper. She'd kill for a laptop, but they were like potatoes in 2004; it would just be a word processor. "Hey, want to use this as a 'reference'?" Selena asked.
Jonah smiled and nodded, his eyes shining with appreciation for his sister's consideration. He quietly got up and walked over to Selena, taking a seat beside her.
As they sat together, Selena handed Jonah her math homework, and he began to review it, using it as a reference for his work. The two siblings worked together in comfortable silence, the only sound being the soft hum of the plane's engines.
As they worked, Selena and Jonah felt a sense of closeness and camaraderie. They had grown closer during their time at their grandparents' house, bonding over shared experiences and memories. In this quiet moment, surrounded by the peacefulness of the cabin, Selena felt peace.
Selena's curiosity got the better of her as she turned to her brother Jonah, her eyes sparkling with intrigue. Jonah and the grandmother didn't seem to talk much about McKenna. "What does McKenna know about all THIS?" she asked.
Jonah looked up from his book, his expression thoughtful. "That's true," he said. "Grandmother didn't talk about McKenna much, but I think that's because McKenna is... complicated."
Selena's eyes narrowed, her interest piqued. "Complicated?" she repeated. "What do you mean?"