Under His Protection

The media team sold her image to the world, saturating the internet with her lifestyle: expensive trips to the Choicest of locations, a list of her expensive cars, Pictures in private jets, Horse-racing, and playing video games. She met the president of the United States and he described her as “An enigmatic and ambitious business lady with a purpose.” The king of Dubai invited her for an expensive lunch in his palace, she met the Queen of England, and sultan of Brunei and soon was proposing to the board the possibility of venturing into oil.

The world saw her as resolute and strong-willed, but he saw her as a lonely billionaire with no friends. She was a workaholic, determined to make her father proud.

“Cory, please we need to talk seriously,” she said after a brief meeting on Zoom with executives of Brown-links. They were in a hotel in the Cayman Islands for one of their many vacations around the world.

Cory moved closer, he had not seen her that sad before and it hurt him to see her like that. She was wearing a mournful look; he had seen that look on many rich people’s faces in the past. A look that depicted sadness, a kind of sadness money could not quench. An empty forlorn look that erased every façade of happiness.

“What do you think, I own a four-year-old BMW car. You might need it for moving around and stuff”

“Oh, that’s cool. I have been racking my brain cells on how to get a car. I am grateful,” Cory said.

After a long pause, Jasmine opened up. “Cory, I am dying”

“Excuse me?” Cory said, squeezing his face in pretended disbelief.

“I mean it, I have all anyone could ever wish for; power, money, influence, and yet I do not know what is bringing me this down in my spirits. Like there is a truckload of worry that is eating deep into my soul”

Cory watched her curiously, tears glistened at the sides of her pupils. Money brings the rich a whole lot of things they do not bargain for.

“It could be anhedonia or just stress. When my mother was worried, she tried charity, and it worked”

“Charity? but how does that even work”

“Sometimes, seeing others happy because of you can help reduce worry. Stress and worry are the major catalysts for many health and mental issues, giving to others can alleviate stress, as the simplest acts of charity stimulate the spiritual powers that help release endorphins and oxytocin which promotes inner peace and absolute tranquility”

“Abracadabra, that’s some bull,” Jasmine said

“It’s a step to attaining Amitabha or infinite life.”

“Nirvana” Jasmine mused, “Like woo saa in bad Boys for life”

“Amhitabha”

Jasmine was glad, it all made sense. He was a silat artist and he knew stuff about inner peace. She once thought it was some mumbo jumbo. She was going to give it a try.

“Cory, how do I go about it?”

Eastern San-Torino where Cory lived was one of the most detested communities, it was known as the “Ghetto of all ghettoes”. Despite that it was a few miles away from Ocean-gold Valley where the major tech companies were based, it was filled with louts, hungry children, junkies, and drug peddlers.

Jasmine’s Grant Foundation chose to raise 200 kids from the eastern San Torino gutters. Jasmine collected facts and analysis about the ghetto and made huge donations in the name of the foundation, to sponsor kids up to college.

Like magic, her depression was disappearing and she no longer felt empty and terrible. She was happy she was able to join in the virtuous act of building the society. She spent time with kids from the shacks, offering advice and money. Her father was proud, he never really had the time for much philanthropy, but he was glad his daughter had done more than he had ever done for the society.

She took Cory on expensive trips to Africa; they went to see the wildlife in Kenya, the lake Victoria, and the Chad basin. She felt she owed a lot to Cory than she was showing gratitude for.

“Cory you once told me you were a martial artist,” she asked him one day in the plane, flying from Quebec back to New York.

“Yes, Silat martial arts”

“Silat martial arts? Never heard of it”

“Yeah, not many people are familiar with it. It originated from Malaysia and it is the most dangerous of all martial arts”

“That’s scary. You know sometimes, I wonder why we need to go through the stress of protecting ourselves. I mean why can’t we all just live in harmony instead? My lecturer at Harvard Business School once said ‘Man-made Nuclear weapons to destroy man, but there has never been a time where rats ever designed a snare to catch other rats’. I feel the human race is just too greedy and evil”

“Balance,” Cory said.

“What?”

“The human race needs balance. Without the presence of good and evil, the Human race would not function efficiently”

Jasmine thought about it, she had hundreds of questions running through her head, but she could not but wonder at Cory’s intelligence. He was ready for any question. It was like he woke up each day fully made. She wished he was Josh. All Josh cared about was sex, crazy parties, fast cars, and lavish spending.