Short Stories Collection

Fraliz: Slavery, Modernity, and Eternity

Fraliz, an isolated island situated away from most parts of the world, untouched by modernity, full of kindhearted people, has been praiseful in the rule because of Dra Salin. She has been successfully ruling the place for 20 years, hailing her as the best ruler in Fraliz.

That did not last long as Clayon, the largest kingdom on Earth, invaded the tranquil island. They assassinated Dra Salin by a firing squad, and decided to make her people slaves as they want to turn it into a wealthy, technological megacity. Some of them became comfort women as the soldiers impregnate them to add Clayite blood into their race.

After few generations have passed, Fraliz has changed a lot, from its classy roads to its high-rising skyscrapers. It created a breakthrough that made its name into the technological capital of the world because of its modernized infrastructures.

Alexandria Banquingca, one of the wealthiest people of the world, has owned almost everything, including a million-dollar chopper and an enormous pool. Inversely, she grew as a spoiled brat, which made her a potential evil due to its particular taste. Since she was a politician, she cheated for the position as a mayor by vote-buying, which caused her to won.

Her control of the city at first was satisfactory; she even improved all of the coastlines surrounding the island. But because of her negligence in obtaining her duties, she was given a complaint from people. Since money was the only way that can bring her down, they did not have the choice but to shut their mouth off.

Alexandria has a robust but kind fiance, Luke, which is an affluent businessman. She was lucky at him for his undeniable charm, and because of having the same personalities, they match as a perfect couple.

On the day of their wedding, they were making preparations for the event located outside Fraliz. Luke was still in the airplane, riding with a picturesque turquoise sky from its window view. All of them were waiting for him since he was having a conference in Fraliz regarding his foreign investment. Suddenly, a piece of news broke out, stating about an airplane from Fraliz that has crashed on a deserted island, putting all of the passengers and crew to a gruesome death.

That devastating incident has broken Alexandria's heart, turning all of her excitement into a vast of nothingness. Sadly, she went home, depressed in a way that her perspective hinders the hope for her future. Mistakenly, she decided to drown herself into a casino, gambling poker.

It suited her pleasure, making her a frequent customer. Her consistency caused her to create difficult decisions, like selling her luxurious properties and being absent in her work. Those reckless conclusions made her step down her mayoral position, and at the same time, was kicked out of her house due to her costly debt.

While strolling through the avenue with ten dollars in her pocket, she regretted her clumsy decisions. Being like this for her was sort of hell, without the experience of having a simple life; she even contemplated her purpose of life.

She recalled her father in his deathbed, as he was saying his last words, "Alex, I cannot live much longer. There is one thing you should know. I am adopted, and I need you to find our ancestors. Get their information because..." His father died without completing his words.

That stirred her to engage in this significant matter as it is the way to disclose herself to the truth. She then started to ask details to people, but it was harder than she thought. Despite difficulties, she never gave up on her plan and continued knocking off houses, asking for information; until a group of best friends approached her, which was her key for knowledge.

Since they knew someone who has a grip on the past details, they took her to that house situated in the slum areas. The one who lived there was an old couple who were retired carpenter and maid. They narrated about them as being cautious with their surroundings since they experienced a bitter past.

As they arrived at their house, they met with each other, as the couple hugged her tightly. Alexandria was startled, wondering about their sudden action, so she curiously questioned them. As the man answered her calmly, she was astounded with what she had discovered.

"Alexandria, you are our granddaughter. Our son, which is your father, is adopted by where my wife had work. We gave your father to them, which is why they changed his name Drake Banquingca instead of Shermin Salin. You do not need to prove this with DNA."

Suddenly, her grandfather told her about the Fraliz darkest secrets, which made her demand independence. But since she has no power, she decided to meet the acting mayor for a plan to open the minds of the people about its dark truth.

By that, they decided to have a role play in the city's arena, which is the best way to unfold the truth. With all sorts of efforts, physical or technological, it came to a day where all of them gathered.

Before the play, Alexandria stood in front of all the people, apologizing for all of her mistakes. After that, the role play aired on the whole island. It made the people divulge the cruel truth, causing their perspective to be devastated.

From that play, all of the people of Fraliz were starting to create a series of protests, demanding independence. The president of Clayon was enraged of their actions, making him supposed to decide to enforce strict rules. Unfortunately, because of the world's pressure, he signed the declaration of independence, making it as an independent kingdom.

Presently, Fraliz holds as one of the largest economies in the world, and forever, the people will never forget the past that enveloped harshly in their lives.