A Mango-Shaped Space

When I was seven, my father brought home a beautiful lady who gave me a mango. That day, my mother watched me happily eating the mango while she signed her name on the divorce papers. After that, she jumped off the roof of our building. From then on, mangoes became the nightmare of my life. So on my wedding day, I told my husband, Alan Holt, "If you ever want a divorce, just give me a mango." Alan pulled me into his arms, quiet. From then on, mangoes became off-limits for him, too. On Christmas Eve of our fifth year of marriage, Alan's childhood sweetheart, Larissa Fennimore, left a mango on his desk at the office. The very same day, Alan announced he was cutting ties with Larissa and fired her from the company. That day, I truly believed he was the man I was meant to be with. Half a year later, I flew back from overseas, having just closed a partnership deal worth about 200 million dollars. At the celebration dinner, Alan handed me a drink. After I had finished half the glass, his so-called childhood sweetheart, the woman who had been kicked out of the company, stood behind me with a big grin and asked, "Does the mango juice taste good?" I stared at Alan in disbelief, and he was trying hard not to laugh. "Don't be mad. Larissa insisted I played a little joke on you. I didn't actually give you a mango; I just gave you a bottle of mango juice. But I think she's right. The fact that you don't eat mangoes is a real problem. You were really enjoying that juice just now." My face went cold. I lifted my hand and threw the rest of the mango juice in his face, then turned around and walked away. Some things are never a joke. I wouldn't kid around with mangoes or divorce.

Tired living in the old society, Alex, together with his classmates were transported into another world after the mysterious poisoning of their classroom. A world full of natural beauty and fresh air, they considered it a dream. Only to find out, that mysterious monsters that they haven't seen before have been living in it where they treated humans as alienated beings. Alex, with his classmates, fought the monsters and noticed that upon death, they found a mysterious syringe that when injected, will transform themselves into one. Embarking in a dangerous but mystical journey, Alex and his classmates set their foot on acquiring powers from the monsters in the new world, in order for them to survive.

At the year-end company meeting, I was announcing the bonuses when a new employee suddenly raised her hand. "Over at the other company, they handed out two boxes of imported cherries at their annual party," she said, shaking her phone. "And we only get performance bonuses?" The video, maliciously edited, went viral online and hit the trending list the very next day. I had the finance department cancel all the year-end bonus transfers. "If cherries are what really count as a gesture of goodwill," I said, "then this year's year-end benefit will be cherries—fifty boxes per person." When they saw the mountain of cherries piling up before them, the employees who had once joined in mocking me panicked instantly. One by one, they cried and apologized, begging me to reconsider.

After returning from a business trip, I discovered that my wife had unexpectedly replaced the floor-to-ceiling window in her office with an entire wall of mirrors. When I questioned her about it, she looked at me with gentle eyes and smiled as she straightened my tie. "This way, when you come to keep me company during overtime, you won't have to fuss over checking your appearance. Don't overthink it. I had the nutritionist prepare some soup to help you recover. Drink it while it's hot." I found it strange. She was a career-driven woman who had always complained that my suits made me look too stiff and formal. Yet now, she had suddenly changed her tune. Still, I did not say anything. I simply smiled and walked over to the mirror, unscrewing the lid of the thermos. But the moment the hot steam rose into the air, two large oval-shaped marks slowly emerged on the previously spotless mirror. And in the corner, there was a faint smear of lipstick. I compared the height with a quick gesture and let out a cold laugh. 'A familiar height of five foot three and a C-cup. Office mirror reflections. How bold and thrilling.' I pulled out a tissue and calmly wiped the mirror clean before calling my assistant. "Get a renovation crew ready. Tonight, replace the mirror in Ms. Sutton's office with a two-way mirror. And notify the media. Three days from now, I'll be holding a live press conference downstairs."

There are three types of apples that fell into this world. The one that hit my head was the forbidden one. ************ In which an English country girl goes from being a waitress, to being the wife of the richest billionaire in London. “It is simple, all you have to do is get my husband into a hotel room, and you’ll get a hundred thousand pounds” she said looking the innocent girl in the eye, their eyes met and the girl cowered as she looked at the woman, processing what she was saying and how much she was offering. “You want me to seduce your husband?” The girl asked looking at the woman who stood above her head, like a predator threatening her prey. “No, all I want you to do is get him into a hotel room, leave the rest on me” she said looking at the girl who was shocked, her heart racing as she thought of what that woman was asking her to do. “Why would you want a girl to get your husband into a hotel room? And more importantly, why me?” “I need to get a divorce, and you need to stay away from my son. See, it’s a win, win, darling”

My boyfriend, Simon Carver, was a man with very strong boundaries. For three years, he never let me go to his place. He said it was his private territory. He never let me touch his phone, not even to check the time. Even at gatherings with friends, he always seated me farthest away from him. I always thought he simply wasn't used to intimacy. Then, on the eve of our wedding, I received his shared location. I thought he had finally decided to let me get closer, so I followed the location and went to his home for the first time. The door wasn't locked. In the living room, a woman was wearing his oversized T-shirt like pajamas, her pale legs resting across his lap as she whined for him to massage her. When he saw me, surprise flashed through Simon's eyes. Then he returned to his usual indifference. "Why are you here? "That location was meant for Ives. I was in a rush and picked the wrong person. "Maren, you need to give me some private space too. Don't see one shared location and come rushing over like a dog that smelled a bone, desperate to check up on me." I found it funny. He was intimate with another woman, yet he turned around and asked his fiancee for private space. I didn't say anything else. I just lowered my head and accepted the out-of-state transfer notice from my boss. Since he thought I was standing too close, I would step farther away. Far enough that his world would never have me in it again.