Love Is Infinite
Love is Infinite
It was a dark and stormy night. Nina was sitting on her bed, shivering from the cold and wet weather. “Boom!” a large noise shook Nina. When she got to the first floor, she was shocked to see that her dog, Hotdog, was coughing up smoke coming from the stove. “What have you done, Hotdog!” Nina covered her nose and quickly ran towards her phone. She dialed 911 and was shocked to find that no one answered the phone call. “Okay, guess I’ll have to put out the fire myself,” thought Nina to herself.
She prepared a wet mount and covered her nose with it while taking the fire extinguisher towards the raging fire. “Pstttttt!” Nina tried her best to put out the fire using the skills she learned when she had an internship at “Protection Co.” near her house. When she finished cleaning up the mess, Nina was exhausted. She collapsed on her couch and turned on the TV and switched the channel to her favorite news network, ZYR.
Shockingly, no one showed up on her screen. Only an empty chair and a desk with a cup of coffee and two pencils were there. “Where is Ursula Karilote, the correspondent for ‘Nine O’Clock with Ursula?’” Nina was a bit worried since she had watched her report with her dad ever since she lost her mom. Nina’s mom passed away ten years ago because of COVID-19, and Nina was only four years old. Nina had been devastated, but she quickly told herself to stay positive and keep living a good life because that would be what her mom wanted for her.
Hotdog came running towards Nina and was barking like crazy. “It’s okay, Hotdog. You’re going to be fine,” Nina soothed as she began wondering what had happened to Ms. Karilote. “Bzzz! Bzzz!” Nina’s phone buzzed. She picked it up and discovered that her dad was calling her. Mr. Benzo was on a business trip to Germany. Nina had always wanted to go to Europe, and her dad had promised to bring her to France when he wasn't working, which is seldom. “Hey, Dad! You doing fine in Germany?” asked Nina. “Get… out… of the ho…use!” exclaimed Mr. Benzo. “What was that? Dad? What’s going on?” Nina was stunned by her father’s warning. Where’s Hotdog? wondered Nina. Should I leave the house? Nina was simply stupefied by her father’s sudden warning. Her phone had turned black when her father finished talking.
Clunk! The lights in Nina’s house went dark in an instant. “Hotdog? Hotdog? Where are you?” exclaimed Nina, “We need to leave, now!” Hotdog did not show up. Where is that dog? thought Nina. Nina ran to her door and tried to open it, but she discovered that the door was locked! “How is that even possible?” said Nina to herself. Nina pulled at the door with all her might, but it simply wasn’t working for her.
“Trying to open your door wouldn’t be any use. All the technology in this house is under my control,” the voice paused for a second. “Well, well. Isn’t it Nina, the last descendant of the Benzo family,” a deep voice boomed from above. “Who is this?” Nina tried to sound brave. “Didn’t your father say anything to you about me before? Such a big, fat lier, don’t you think?” asked the man. Now Nina could see him, a big, burly man about fifty years old. “What do you want? Keep my father out of this!” Nina blurted out so loud it shook the whole room. “Wow! You’re being so, so brave. You were a cute baby, did you know?” said the man.
Nina is fourteen years old right now. She had a vague memory of a man like him on the day she was born. She remembered that he had said something about her being in the “best family in the world.” He came with a patch of daisies and was wearing a dark blue suit with a red tie. “It was him!” Nina remembered now. The pictures came back as fresh as if they were just “picked.”
“How is this even possible?” wondered Nina. “It’s been so long. He looked like he was at least 70 years old when she was a baby. How could he possibly look as if he was only 40?” “Who are you?” demanded Nina. “I’m just an old man looking for salvation and revenge, as you call it…” answered the man with a cold smile on his face.
Suddenly, faster than the blink of an eye, the whole scene changed. Nina was standing at the cliff of a mountain. Everything was quiet and peaceful. It was almost as if nothing had happened. “What is going on?” yelled Nina toward the endless mountain range. Her father suddenly appeared as a hologram. “Dad! Where are we? What happened? Am I in a coma? Are you okay?” Nina blurted out questions without stopping between sentences. Her dad looked so pale and weak even from a hologram. “Nina! You have to get out of here. He would track you down, even to the end of the world. Run, now!” said her father.
“Who is this ‘he’?” asked Nina. “He… he is, he used to be my adventure partner. He is Mr. Lockingway, and it was he who got your mother killed… I thought your mother had successfully killed him, but I guess she failed.” Nina’s dad spoke slowly and softly as if giving time for Nina to digest this unbearable information. “What are you talking about? Didn’t Mom die because of the COVID-19 ten years ago? Have you been lying to me all this time?” Nina was so furious that she couldn’t even speak clearly. Tears were swelling from her eyes.
“I’m sorry, Nina. But I simply couldn’t bring myself to talk about the accident,” said Mr. Benzo. “And after all this time, you didn’t have didn’t dare tell me? Are you still calling this an accident? Mr. Lockingway had a look of death when he appeared in the house. Is this an accident? Is everything in our lives an accident?” Nina was devastated. She loved her father, but she was tired of living in these lies and this unknown history of her own family. It was time for Nina to stand up for herself.
“I’m going to defeat him, Dad, whether you like it or not,” said Nina with strong determination in her voice. Several muffled noises were emerging. “Is that her?” “Catch her now to the boss!” “Dad, send me back to the house. I have to do this!” said Nina. Her father raised his hands and said a line of spells in the ancient Mayan language. Although Nina had never learned the Mayan language or its culture, she somehow managed to understand the spell. “Take her back to where it all started. Protect her, please.”
With the flash of light, Nina was back. And the man was still there, sitting on her couch with Hotdog on the floor, dead. “WHAT did you do to my dog?” Nina has had Hotdog for such a long time, and now, she had to watch the dead body of her beloved dog. Rage and revenge boiled up inside Nina. She wanted to kill this man with her bare hands, but she knew it was useless. “I have to calm down,” Nina said to herself. “What a lovely surprise! Aren’t you back, Nina? How are you feeling?” asked Mr. Lockingway. “How can I defeat him?” wondered Nina to herself, while answering the man, “Of course, I’m back. I’m back to kill you.” The man did not answer. He had a smug smile on his face. “Well, what are you waiting for?” said the man.
Nina ran across the room and kicked the man in the head. Nothing happened to him. Mr. Lockingway was as unbreakable as a large piece of diamond. Nina’s foot ached. She could barely walk. “Oh, Nina. Didn’t you wonder why I was still alive? I was about to die when I activated one of my automatons. You see, I made automatons of myself. They all have my DNA, know the way I talk and do things, but they simply don’t have feelings. I won’t feel any pain, so you can try all you want to attack me,” said the man. “That’s it! Feelings!” thought Nina to herself, “He doesn’t have feelings! I can use the power of love to terminate him!”
“You sound so strong. I even think you’re indestructible!” said Nina, “But there is always a solution for every problem.” Nina thought about her longing for her mother, how she felt when she knew that her mother was dead; Nina thought about her love for Hotdog, how they used to spend time with each other; Nina thought about her father, how he had taken great care of her ever since her mother died. These feelings came back to Nina all at once, and she could feel the power in her body once more. Nina urged Mr. Lockingway, “Come and get me, you old man! I’ll see what you’ve got!” Mr. Lockingway was mad now. He stood up from the sofa and walked toward Nina cautiously.
When Nina saw him coming toward her, she counted, “Five steps from me, four, three, now!” Nina scrambled out of the way and thought of what to do. “My weapon would not be my ability to resist, my anger, or my hatred toward Mr. Lockingway, for he has all of these things,” thought Nina. She actually has all her family’s love toward her, and her love toward everyone in her family. She was never some superhero, and she didn’t have to be one. All she had to do was to be herself, and that was more than enough. Nina stood up and met Mr. Lockingway, face to face.
“Now, now. How would you like a taste of defeat?” asked Mr. Lockingway. “I don’t plan on beating you or admitting defeat. I plan to be myself,” responded Nina with confidence. Mr. Lockingway’s face turned ashen. “What is happening? You are supposed to be afraid!” shouted Mr. Lockingway. “Yes, I was afraid. But I have learned to stay strong and brave, for there is nothing in the world to stop me now,” said Nina, emanating assertiveness. With that, smoke started coming out of Mr. Lockingway’s nose and mouth. “No! No! Say you’re afraid. I need fear! What is this feeling you have for your family? I have never felt it before!” screamed Mr. Lockingway. “It’s simply love, a feeling that you would never understand,” said Nina.
Whirr! Whirr! Mr. Lockingway’s head started spinning like a top. “Overheating…Overheating…,” Nina heard the automaton say. “Oops! What is going to happen? This definitely was not in my plan,” muttered Nina. She decided to take cover behind the bookshelf. A few minutes later, the whirring stopped. Everything was still. Nina walked to the living room and saw nothing lying there, just white smoke all around the place. “Well, this is fine with me, too!” said Nina with a relieved smile on her face. She was feeling worn out, but she managed to clean up the house before nightfall.
That evening, the doorbell rang, and standing outside was Nina’s dad. “Oh, dad! It’s so good to see you!” said Nina. “My dear, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the truth sooner,” said Mr. Benzo, “It was too much for me to bear, and I didn’t want you to feel the same desperate feeling as I did…” “Hey! It’s okay. I’m just glad you gave in at the end,” said Nina. “Yep. Nothing is better than being honest, right?” Mr. Benzo mimicked a gum commercial on TV. Both of them laughed. “Let’s just finish dinner and sleep early. I am drained!” said Nina. The day ended happily, and the chattering in the family was unstoppable…
Really like the English Corner. Helps a lot in my learning.
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