"You mean these two are not my parents? This whole story was cooked up, right? Just tell me it's a joke." He scoffed, hoping the old man's last statement was a lie."As much as you wish it were a lie, I'm sorry to break your heart, what I said is nothing but the truth." He conceded. "They are not your parents, but they are the only ones left as your parents, and you should be glad they brought you up responsibly, because to be quite honest, I was worried they would not take good care of you as they had promised." He added."What the fuck do you -""Language, son!" His adopted father interjected."Don't - don't ever call me that! Who is your son, and who are you to tell me what is right or wrong?" He stood up and pointed fingers at his adopted parents, which bemused them."I mean, I've been surrounded by lies and deceit all my life, and you expect me to accept this and thank you for doing what exactly?!" He sniffed, trying to stop tears from flowing from his eyes."Son, we did all this
"Hey, can I come in?" Vivian asked."Yeah, sure." She went to sit on his bed immediately, because there was no chair in his room."You're now a big boy, you are already growing some strands of hair." She said, as Alex sat next to her. Alex only smirked, as he was confused if it was a compliment, or if it was meant to be a joke. There were some moments of silence between them, as Vivian deliberated on the right, nonoffensive word to say. "You see, I'm glad to have you as my brother. You can't imagine how long I've yearned to be with you, or for you to know that we are siblings." She explained. "Oh no! Don't say that. What do you mean exactly? That keeping the secrets away from me until now is the perfect thing for me? Cut the crap, man!" He fumed. "Fine! The decision they made concerning all these may be wrong because I didn't partake in making the decision either, I mean, I was a fucking kid when all these mysteries happened! I accepted to dance their tune, un-willing-ly." She e
Alex also went to sleep immediately after his sister left.He dreamed about his encounter with the old woman again, but not at the same place as previously. This time, he was in a remote and perilous forest, and all he could hear were the chirps of birds. He was perplexed because he had never envisioned or actually been in a forest of this kind in his previous dreams.He was aware that he was dreaming, and that he could end it by choosing to wake up, but he resolutely decided against doing so in order to see how the dream would end and who he could run into. This was because he was curious about it due to its change in environment, contrary to the previous dream he had.He was confused about whether to walk forward or backward, due to some Nigerian barbaric belief that moving backward or doing things backwardly usually regresses one's life,so he resolved to move forward. He walked for several minutes without spotting any people or footsteps, and he wondered where he could be."Is thi
Alex couldn't sleep after he woke up from the dream. He streamed some foreign movies on his phone until daybreak.He decided to leave his phone when he heard the creep of a door, thinking it was one of his parents, so he could apologise for his behaviour, the previous night.He struggled to get off the bed for no particular reason. "Maybe it's because my night was short and because of the scary dream I had, or maybe I haven't gotten enough sleep for our long trip yesterday." He thought .He opened the door, and walked to the sitting room, meeting only the old man, doing nothing. "Good morning, sir." He prostrated half way up in the air. "Good morning, my son. Had a short night?" The old man asked. "Yes." He said, yawning. "You couldn't sleep because you had the same dream overnight?" The old man asked, to Alex's surprise. "How did he know that I had the dream, or did he guess?" He wondered. "Yes, but —" "How did I know?" The old man smiled. "You don't really know who I really
"Good morning, mom, and good morning, dad." Alex greeted his parents, who were in the sitting room with his sister, as he entered the house with the old man."Good morning, son. Hope you slept well?" His mom asked. "Yes, I did. Thanks mum" "Good morning, Baba Agba." The three of them greeted the old man simultaneously. "Dad, mom, I'm really sorry for how I behaved last night." He said, as he sat down on a sofa his sister was sitting on, behind the one where his parents were."I really didn't mean to. I guess I did that because the whole thing happened too suddenly. I'm sorry for letting my emotions get the better of me, especially you, dad. I really love you, and I'm always grateful to have you as my parents." He apologised. "Come over here." His father slapped the sofa, indicating that he should sit between him and his mother. They both moved to the edges of the seat on both sides, to create a space for him. He stood up to join them, as his father said. "We understand you, alth
"Are you in there?" Vivian knocked on Alex's door."Yes, do you want to have a discussion with me?" He replied."Yes. We need to discuss some things with you. We will be waiting for you in the sitting room." Vivian said."We? What's up?" He wondered."Is something wrong?" He asked. "No. Just come to the sitting room and stop asking foolish questions from there." She said. "Okay, I'll be with you soon." He replied."Am I safe?" He asked, seeing all of them present in the sitting room. "You don't have to be sacred. Find yourself a seat, my son." The old man smiled. He sat beside Vivian since it was the only vacant seat. "So, we invited you to this meeting, because the discussion is centred around you." The old man announced. "Okay, I am all ears." The old man cleared his throat and said, "It's been almost a week since your arrival to this town with the intention to fulfil your destiny, and I think it's high time you take the bold step." "The bold step? What does that mean? I th
Alex followed the old man to the shrine carrying a calabash, wearing a white singlet and a crimson cloth tied around his waist.The old man chanted some incantations as they approached the entrance of the main shrine."Anything I say henceforth, repeat it after me." He instructed Alex,as they entered the main shrine.If Alex had not been in the shrine before, he would have gotten frightened because the shrine was scarier than it was before. More carvings of gods were present in the shrine than before."What could this big pot be here for?" Alex wondered, as he saw a big clay pot. It was almost filled with water."Here we are, Ogundele. This is where you are going to be reborn as a true man. This is where your new journey will begin. This, is the beginning of a new dawn for you. For the umpteenth time, do you accept to carry the cross bestowed upon you?""Like I have a choice." Alex grumbled. "What did you say?" he asked. "Yes, I am.""Now, sit on this." He pointed at a wooden stool.
Alex woke up in the afternoon after the fortification in pain from the cuts. He groaned as he got up reluctantly and walked to the bathroom to shower while rubbing his migraine-ridden head. The bathroom does not have a standing shower but only a tap that runs water into buckets. He strained to lean down and use the bowl from the water-filled bucket to pour water on his body. He avoided scrubbing his back and his wrist, which had cuts from the fortification, with the sponge he had brought along from the city, because of what the old man applied to them after the fortification. "This will fasten the healing process." The old man had said, after he applied a substance that seemed like a mixture of a leaf and other things to the cuts, before they went to bed. He didn't spend up to three minutes in the bathroom, which was unusual of him because he was in pain. "2:45!" He exclaimed as he checked the time on his phone after he had dried himself up. "Maybe the painkiller I used before I