Blank Lay: Part 2

Jamal (Malay dude) and Sally (blue wool blanket) died and find themselves in the Netherworld - the limbo between the world of the living and the realm of the dead. There, they meet Preenkafkafmulumulugerbil-Nyoh a.k.a Zack, who reveals to them that dying might mean the beginning of their lives.

"A talking apple some more," Jamal continued in awe. "Sial lah, sial!"

"Yes," said Preenkafkafmulumulugerbil-Nyoh (a.k.a Zack). "Yes, I am an apple."

Sally the blanket straightened herself up groggily. "Where am I?"

"You are in the Netherworld," replied Zack. "The world between the realm of the living and that of the dead."

Jamal looked sideways at the soul of the being he loved dearly in the realm of the living. Slowly, things clicked into place inside his head. "Sial lah, Sally that means you're dead!" And with this realisation, he burst into tears. "I'll never speak to you again, never hold you again. OH SALLY!" he sobbed.

Sally stared at her lover. "Shut up you idiot, you died too. Which is why you can actually talk to me now. If you want to."

The gears inside Jamal's head started moving. "Oh yeah," he said. Soon, another thought hit Jamal.

Zack picked it up. "You're wondering, Jamal, how Sally had died."

Sally said in disbelief, "That apple's talking."

Zack ignored her. "Firstly, let me tell you how lovely we think the two of you are - "

Sally said, "We?"

Zack continued smoothly, "We the management at the Netherworld. The love the two of you share is exquisite. Never have we seen such passion between a Malay man and a Wool blanket. We've seen passion between a Malay man and a stingray before, and that was not pretty. But the two of you! Screw Posh and Becks! I'll tabloid over Jamal and Sally anytime baby!"

Jamal seemed interested. He muttered while nodding his head; "Mmm, yes, yes. Tabloid. Err, yes. Heh heh. Screw. Ha! Ha!"

But Zack could read Jamal's mind. "Yes, yes I'll get to the point," said the apple. "Sally died during childbirth. Or blanket-birth, whichever way would be more comprehensible to your human mind."

Jamal did not question this. He knew this would happen when he made love to Sally without the use of contraceptives. Instead, he wondered about the child.

Zack picked up on this, and was about to answer Jamal's unvoiced question, when a great big red flash heralded the arrival of another soul into the Netherworld. This soul was the as-yet unnamed offspring of Jamal and Sally.

"I present to you the soul of the child borne out of your love for one another," Zack said with a flourish. As the red flash died, they chanced upon a soul of small stature - one that had the legs of a human being, but the upper torso of a blanket. There were no limbs, nor head. The upper torso was, in all accounts, a blanket. The child of Jamal and Sally was half-blanket, and half-Malay - a Blank-Lay.

Jamal was close to tears, for he was overwhelmed with joy. He was with his family now, even if they were in a big white place full of nothing but extreme whiteness. He embraced his child, and he embraced Sally. They returned the embrace lovingly. Blankets - even half-blankets - are very good at the art of hugging.

Zack then led them towards the Tunnel, which would bring them to the afterlife.

As he did so, Zack smiled to himself, a well-disguised expression due to his physical status as an apple. He was very happy for them. After a short conversation with Tha Doctor, another denizen of the Netherworld, Zack had a brief glimpse of what life would be like for Jamal and his family had they all lived. They would be walking freak shows - subjected to public ridicule and humiliation. The blanket and the Malay would be fodder for tabloids, poking fun at them. In school, Blank-Lay would be called names. His father's sexuality would be the subject of many jokes. Of course, there would be a few brave, sympathetic voices who defend them, but these voices are muted by the outpourings of laughter and snide remarks that go their way.

These people deserved to die. For in death, they could be who they really are: a loving, complete family. That status was something the politics and evils of the living world would rob them of.

"What shall we name our child?" Jamal was asking Sally as they followed Zack to The Tunnel.

"Well is it a him or a her?" Sally asked, unsure.

Jamal looked at his child's genitalia. "Well, he's both! Or she's both!" he said nonchalantly.

"Well, then thank god they made names like Jamie and Francis and Adolf. For situations like this," Sally remarked.

Zack smiled. Most Earth-bound couples would fret about their child leading a normal life, had he or she been born as a he/she. But not Jamal and Sally - they took him/her in as their own, not afraid of what would come. The apple was happy. He knew where the tunnel would lead them to, and they fully deserved their place there.