The Legendary Actor - Chapter 77

Paul’s eyes were incredibly fierce, the resolute firmness bursting with incredible light. In those eyes there was no longer panic, no longer fear, no longer hesitation, and no longer despair, as if all the chaotic thoughts were cut in an instant. Now there was only an unstoppable force in them.

“My name is Paul Conroy, I’m an American citizen from Hastings, Michigan, I’m a truck driver for CTR, and I’m being held hostage somewhere in Iraq.”

Rodrigo’s ears heard a cold and firm voice, and his heart trembled slightly. The voice did not hesitate as it had a resolute determination to see death as a homecoming, but the tumultuous tone revealed the sadness of dying with it. Rodrigo shuddered, remembering Paul’s despair – his colleague’s life was at stake, but at least there was a chance of survival, while he was trapped in a coffin under the desert, in the dark, with nothing to do but wait. It’s a moral tug-of-war. The video being recorded now was his choice.

Rodrigo shuddered again and clenched his teeth involuntarily, the dull, almost suffocating grip on his heart tightened so much, that no sound could be uttered.

“I need a million dollars by nine o’clock Baghdad time tonight, or I’ll die in a coffin buried in the ground. They told me to just pay …” There was no fluctuation in his voice, as if even the most basic emotions had disappeared, and the calmness began to fill Rodrigo’s bones with chill, as if he were drowning in the harsh winter waters, and he could clearly feel the temperature. Little by little, it disappeared from the bloodstream.

“Bang!” The sudden noise startled Rodrigo, and he almost jumped right out of his skin, only to see Paul clench his right hand into a fist and smash it hard on the ground, the fierce and brutal gesture bursting for a second to disappear, then he regained his composure again, focused on the camera and calmly continued, “They said they would let me go if I paid the money. ”

Rodrigo looked at Paul in disbelief, not understanding what was happening at all, but after a few moments of being stunned, he realized that either the flashlight wasn’t working, or the lighter wasn’t bright enough, so Paul was adjusting the light to make sure there was enough light for the video.

It would have been a small accident, but Paul’s simple, powerful gestures exploded into a brutal intensity. This is what Paul is really feeling inside at the moment, isn’t it? He was not a saint, nor was he a great man, he did not have enough awareness to sacrifice himself for righteousness, nor did he have the nobility to sacrifice himself to save all living beings either, he was simply making a difficult choice in a critical situation. If he could, he did not want to die; he wanted to continue to live. But the energy that burst out of … in that instant released all the anger, resentment, bitterness, and suppression in his heart.

A simple gesture, but it set off a storm in Rodrigo’s mind.

“If I don’t pay, I’m going to die here.” Paul continued to record as if nothing had just happened, and here, without even pausing slightly, he said, “These threats are real and will be carried out.” His voice betrayed an imperceptible tremor, a tremor that came from his soul and hid his helplessness and his desire to survive.

He stared blankly into the camera, his dark brown eyes fluttering behind thick eyelashes, as light and fragile as a butterfly’s wings; his lips moved a little, wanting to say something, but he swallowed it back. His thumb pressed the button to end the video recording.

Regaining his composure, he manipulated the phone, sent the video, and then stood still, holding the same position without moving, as if time had stopped.

Rodrigo hesitated for a moment, unsure if the show was over, if he should make a sound or something. At that moment, however, the corner of Paul’s mouth curved up in a shallow curve.

He smiled.

It was a warm smile, like a ray of warm sunlight falling on the white snow.

The smile paused for a moment and then burst into bloom again, accompanied by a low chuckle that swirled around in his chest, like the thunderclap in the sky, but it easily attracted everyone’s attention. The bitterness, helplessness, absurdity, and repression in that smile reflected an unspeakable anger – anger that reached its extreme and turned into powerlessness, and the strength of the whole body was drained away along with the spine, and the whole person was paralyzed, unable to do anything except laughing dejectedly.

The smile was withdrawn and finally disappeared into his trembling mouth; the curtains of his eyes slowly drooped down, snuffing out the last glimmer of light under his eyes; his shoulders suddenly slackened with relief, and the tightness he had not felt a moment ago suddenly surged out, causing the air to stagnate. Then he closed his eyes and gently pressed his face against the couch, his shoulders, arms, and torso unloaded, and exhaustion swept over him like a tidal wave, and all the pain, all the suffering, all the wrongness fell silent as his murmur of despair disappeared.

Rodrigo could hear his heart breaking, not out of pity, but out of helplessness. He watched Paul do his best to save another life, but he risked giving up all his life chances. The desire to live that was hidden in the depths of his eyes was suppressed. The depression was so heavy on his heart that Rodrigo couldn’t bear to continue watching.

Up to this moment, even though Renly did not speak, Rodrigo knew that the show was over, and he finally understood the meaning of the so-called “two parts”.

The first part was the fear, panic, and desperation of a crazy situation; the second part was the collision of survival, desire, hope with reality. Paul was just an ordinary man, one of millions of ordinary people, who had his own problems and made his own choices, but in a life-threatening crisis, every choice, every decision defined his life. He is not a good man, nor is he a bad man, he is just an ordinary man struggling in life.

But he was a victim of war – or rather, a victim of the game of government interests, a shrimp caught up in the fight of whales. What he is carrying is the dilemma of society as a whole: they are paying for the decisions of the government and the elite. How could Paul’s small, thin shoulders carry such a weight?

So, he failed.

Rodriguez suddenly remembered the ending of the movie “Buried”: Paul was truly buried alive. Coldly and brutally deprived of life and hope.

“Are you all right, Rodrigo?”, “Are you okay?”, “Is there a situation at hostel?” “Do you need me to call the police for you?” “What is going on?” …

Rodrigo’s thoughts were disturbed by the hubbub, even then the heaviness of the emotions was so overwhelming that he could not quite get rid of it for a while, so much so that he was confused when he saw the concerned crowd in front of him.

“It’s you, isn’t it? You’re the man behind the curtain, aren’t you? Say, what are you up to?” Suddenly someone pushed Rodrigo hard on the shoulder, which caught him off guard as Rodrigo had no idea how to explain it.

“I’m okay, I’m okay.” Renly’s voice came from the crowd, and he stood back up, smiling at an unfamiliar face, “I’m really fine. It was just a show.” After the commotion subsided a bit, Renly simply explained, “I’m an actor, he’s a director, and I’m in the middle of an audition, so I’m fine, and so is my family. So, I’m fine, and so is my family, believe me.”

The young people looked at each other.

What had just happened was so real and so cruel that the stormy waves that lay beneath the calm waters seemed as if they could break a string at any moment. So authentic, they all held their breath, fearing that their recklessness might lead to irreparable consequences, and the strong beating of their hearts threw everyone into a panic.

Now they were told that it was all an act?

“Seriously?” The questioning came out immediately, and a college-aged blonde girl stared at her and said, incredulously, “Are you kidding me? Was that all fake? Jesus Christ, I’m literally having a heart attack, and you tell me it’s just an act? I really f#cking thought your wife had been kidnapped or something.”

Renly turned to look at Rodrigo, who was in a mess beside him, and a large, tall, strong man was grabbing Rodrigo by the collar as he lifted him whole. The man looked at Renly with a fierce look on his face and a doubting gleam in his eye – he still seemed worried. Renly had to say that because he was under duress.

“Look at me, I’m fine and my future wife … should be fine too.” Renly’s humorous tone lightened the mood slightly, “I’m an actor, and the situation was just an act.” Renly shrugged, “I’ll take your reactions as positive feedback, it means my performance was a success, doesn’t it?”

“Guys, guys, guys, I can testify to that.” The front desk staff at the hostel also came over, “Rodrigo is indeed a director and has been here for two weeks; as for this one …” the staff pointed to Renly, “don’t you have recognize him? He’s really an actor, the rich young man from “The Pacific”.”

Everyone exchanged glances, and then finally someone responded, “Yeah, yeah, I told you he looked familiar, he’s the Sledgehammer!”

“Eugene Sledge?” Another man chimed in, two out of eight recognized Renly, which was rare, and even more rare considering that this was only a youth hostel and the average age of the guests was not only relatively young, but most of them were foreigners.

Renly spread his hands and nodded, “That’s me.”

After getting the confirmation, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and exclaimed, “God, what you just did was amazing!”, “What the hell is this movie? I’m going to have a heart attack!”, “Unbef#ckinglievable!” …

“Uh … please, can you let go of me now?” Rodrigo slapped the strong man on the arm as genlty as possible and said with a sad face.