Chapter 1

• The embers from the fire were no longer visible from this distance. Yet,
• ashes fell like snow despite the fact that the summer sun was already vanishing
• from the tawny sky.
• Her blouse that was once neat white was now stained in cinders.
• Her hair that was once treated a week ago is now as crooked as the burnt tree
• in front of her house.
• Wisdom was now sitting by the corner of the road. Her house was
• on fire just hours ago. The only thing remains of her were the apparel she was
• wearing, her second-hand laptop and mobile phone, and her coin purse that has
• no more than ten coins, as well as her leather wallet that she had since high
• school that has no more than a hundred dollars. Everything was burnt—including
• her ten-month-old baby.
• Wisdom was well aware that misfortune is her middle name since
• she was born. But, the fact that her husband just left their infant daughter in
• their house and went to her best friend’s condominium unit to have a bed
• session is just utterly outrageous…and unlawful.
• Richard, her husband, could have at least brought their daughter
• while he had a bed wrestling with her best friend, Francine. Well, her husband
• had been an asshole ever since, that’s why she wouldn’t wonder if ever Richard
• passed as the dumbest man in the world—because his dumb as shit anyway.
• Wisdom couldn’t bring herself to weep; not even a tear would come
• out from her eyes. How could she weep when her only daughter died in fire while
• her husband was feasting his cobra inside her best friend?
• She just arrived from work when she spotted the fire even from a
• kilometre away while driving her car—the car that was gifted to her during her
• eighteenth birthday.
• She seized her mobile phone and dialled the number of her
• sister’s best friend who was a lawyer. Thank heaven anyway that at least she
• has a little salvation in her marriage.
• To be honest, she could no longer take it—no longer endure it.
• She will divorce Richard as early as now, even if he is still banging that
• snake best friend of hers.
• Wisdom stared at the still-busy street. Paramedics giving first
• aid to the affected; several people are still wailing under the now starry sky.
• ‘People are just too overacting. I didn’t even cry here that my
• baby was just burnt and my husband was also burnt…burnt because of sexual pleasure.’
• She mused as she ate the chocolate that was given to her by her boss, Gerry.
• In her relief, the smoke was no longer that black. Unlike hours
• ago, the smoke was wholly thick and black as charcoal.
• Her phone vibrated. She checked her messages and was elated that
• her sister’s friend, the lawyer, was happy to help her. Well, that’s what a man
• gets in drilling different holes—a divorce.
• She may be not that rich compared to Francine but at least, she
• has loyalty; she has a word of honour. Yet, it seems that Richard doesn’t
• deserve her loyalty—not even an inch of her affection.
• And Wisdom, as witty as her name, would prefer to live on her own
• than to reside with an asshole under one roof.
• ***
• Minutes turned to hours, hours turned to days, and days turned to
• weeks.
• Three weeks had passed and Wisdom Weisz was now living in her own
• walls, in her own roof. Her so-called husband really went and chose her best
• friend over her.
• Her cheap apartment may be simple for an office worker, a
• secretary, like her. But, she’s a plain girl after all. Simplicity is beauty
• for her; her apartment that’s just a few blocks away from her office is already
• a jackpot for Wisdom.
• She grabbed her car keys and locked her apartment door as she got
• the paper that contained her grocery list. Wisdom was always frugal ever since
• college; she’s much more frugal now, especially since she was living alone and
• her monthly salary may only last for weeks for a city’s daily life.
• Wisdom then drove to the nearest grocery store. She inhaled as
• soon as she arrived. Even though her sorrow still lingers deep in her heart,
• she must paint a cheerful face. The world doesn’t need much drama when each one
• of our lives already consists of various dramas.
• ‘I hope that the two snakes are not in there…’ She prayed.
• As she opened her car door, the sight of her ex-best friend’s car
• was caught by her turquoise eyes.
• “She’s here…or perhaps
• the two of them.”
• As brave as ever, she walked briskly towards the store’s
• entrance, disregarding any chance of her and Francine meeting. The store was
• huge anyway, perhaps there’s only gonna be a 50/50 probability of her meeting
• that bitch. She’s here for shopping anyway, and not for having a quarrel with a
• husband-stealer woman that called herself her best friend.
• She was in the meat section when she came across the person that
• made her gladly sell her soul to the devil as long as she will not meet her
• again.
• Unexpectedly, their eyes met. But, Wisdom was not looking at
• Francine’s eyes. She was looking at her belly. The last time she saw her belly
• three months ago, it was still flat. Now, it was big and circular as ever, as
• if she was now carrying a three-month baby.
• ‘Whore….’ Wisdom whispered in her mind. She was about to walk
• away from the meat section when the pregnant snake called her.
• “How are you, Wisdom?” It was not a thoughtful question. It was
• more of a mockery, an insult to let the other shoppers hear their conversation.
• “I’m fine,” Wisdom answered as bland as ever.
• Francine portrayed a so-called sweet face. “That’s great. Richard
• and I just went to the ob-gyn an hour ago. In fact, he’s here in the fruits
• section.” She pointed with her hand that was still holding a bag of tenderloin
• meat.
• “That’s good.” Wisdom answered back, looking wholly uninterested.
• If only she could sprint away as fast as a cheetah, she had long done it if the
• bitch didn’t spark a hideous conversation.
• “I heard you and Gerry are getting together, eh?”
• There it is again. Blaming her that she had an affair with her
• boss so that she will look like a cowering rat that was caught in a rat trap.
• She could no longer hold her tongue. This bitch deserves what she was about to
• do.
• So, she grabbed one of the meats that was still fresh with blood
• and threw it on her face—the face that was bombarded with lots of make-up.
• “Speak another word, and the next blood that will be splattered
• here will be coming from your body!” Wisdom shrieked, making the other shoppers
• jerked their head towards the two women.
• Richard, who was carrying peaches and Cortland apples, rushed
• towards the two women by the meat section.
• Francine, as if she was a Hollywood actress, cried and ducked as
• if a child throwing tantrums. Richard helped her stand and she was mumbling
• that Wisdom was the first one to attack her, threatening to hurt her. Wisdom
• just stared at them and crossed her arms. She already knew this was gonna end
• up in a drama show. Francine is such a bitch that uses crying as a form of
• self-defense. She’s utterly a dumb chicken; definitely a groin-loving whore.
• Richard was about to attack her as well when his hand was stopped
• by a man. The man was wearing a gray tuxedo and was absolutely taller than
• Richard. A “C.E.O.” name plate was situated by his left chest, just above his
• beating heart.
• “I am the C.E.O. of this grocery store. The three of you are
• making mayhem in the midst of a jolly morning. It’s better if you're gonna sort
• this up or am I gonna be the one to let it sort where the three of you gonna
• spend the rest of the day in the police station.”
• The man briefly looked at Wisdom from head to toe. He didn’t even
• glance at Francine, whose white lace dress was now stained in bloody red and
• was pretending to quiver as if she was the victim—as if she was the one being
• attacked. Pathetic.
• It was Wisdom who spoke this time. “We’ll sort this out. Sorry for
• the chaos caused by these two cheaters.”
• Well, that was badass. Richard looked at her with disbelief—not
• anger. Disbelief because, never in her life, Wisdom acted as badass and as
• merciless as ever. Well, time’s changing. Change is the only thing constant in
• this unrelenting world. The world that, if you’re not cruel too, you will
• definitely not survive even a year.
• She looked at Richard back, and then to the snake who was
• baptized as Francine. She then spoke with such a loud voice that could probably
• be heard by a whole auditorium.
• “Eyes here everyone! You see these two people over here…” Wisdom
• called the attention of all people and pointed at the two people in front of
• her with her index finger. “This man is my ex-husband, and this pregnant woman
• over here is my husband’s mistress before we were divorced. The day my house
• was on fire, which was also the day that burned our ten-month-old daughter to
• ashes, was the day that he spend her time with his mistress—playing with her abyss
• and blowing my husband’s horn. I am telling you this so that you’ll keep an eye
• on your girlfriends, wives, husbands, and boyfriends that these two will never
• steal them away from you, as they've done to me. Perhaps if there is an award
• for the cheaters of the year, these two would probably be worthy of that
• god-damned price. That’s all and thank you for your attention.”
• Wisdom then walked away straight into the exit door. Richard and
• Francine were speechless and petrified. The C.E.O. was actually smirking while
• shaking his head.
• The whole store’s eyes were not on Wisdom who was walking away
• like a murderer walking away from a crime scene. No. The people’s eyes were on
• the two cheaters who had probably been nailed on the floor they were standing
• on.