Palingenesis – Episode 6

By Akpede Isaac Olutosin
**Present day**
“Why do you keep calling me Ajadi, my name is Isaac and your name is Ejiro” Isaac 
“How many times do you want me to tell you that your name is Ajadi and that I am Omolabake, try to remember my love, don’t stop the memories from coming, let them come, I need you to remember everything, you have taken too much time, please remember Ajadi igo, Ajadi please remember, please remember. Ajadi! Ajadi!! Ajadi!!!” 
Which kain dream be this na, that’s the third time am having this particular dream, what does it really mean. ‘Isaac who just woke up from a dream said to himself. 
“Mumu I hope say you sabi the time sha, you dey talk about one silly dream, no carry your silly self enter bathroom make you prepare for lectures” said Ben. 
He was already dressed up for school and was about to exit the door when he heard Isaac’s voice. 
“Wetin dey worry you na, no be 10am lectures we get and na just 8am wan go knack so” said Isaac after checking his phone to know the time. 
“Toor na u kan sabi that one oo, I wan go see Miss Anne before lecture start and I gats check my babe Ejiro for house first” Ben said and stepped out. 
Ben got to Ejiro’s room, she was still sleeping when he got there, they just talked for a while and then he left after she insisted she wants to get some more sleep. He decided to go call Clarieta so they could tag along to go see Miss Anne for the meeting. 
He was about to knock at the door but he heard Clarieta’s voice behind closed doors, she was certainly talking to someone. 
“It’s a very hard decision for me to make and moreover I have not yet accomplished my mission with the chosen one, please give me more time, I beg you” those are the things Clarieta was saying inside. 
Ben concluded that Clarieta was cheating on his friend Isaac and that she has a mission to carry out, out of curiosity he opened the door slowly only to find Clarieta talking to the wall. 
She didn’t notice his presence because she was so focused on the wall or so he thought, He got scared and closed the door silently, he decided to knock this time around. 
“Who is there” Clarieta shouted from inside after hearing the knock. 
“It’s me Ben, are you ready “he asked.
“Yeah give me a minute and I will be with you” She replied. 
After some minutes she came outside and they began walking down to school like they have always been doing ever since Miss Anne has been working directly with the four guys she appointed. 
The only difference was that Ben was awkwardly silent throughout their journey to school, unlike the previous days that they would have argued about a whole lot of things.. 
Ben tried to forget what he saw in the morning but it kept playing back in his head throughout the day, he hardly spoke to Isaac and Ejiro let alone Clarieta herself. 
He has been avoiding her since they got to school in the morning, he didn’t even say a word throughout their group discussion with Miss Anne, whenever Miss Anne asked if he was alright, he just smiled and nodded his head. 
Another thing that kept him baffled is the hostility between Clarieta and Miss Anne. 
He has been observing them from the very first day in Miss Anne’s office but he thought it was just their jealous instincts that was getting the best of them. 
Now school’s over and the 4 of them (Ben, Isaac, Ejiro and Clarieta) were walking down to the girls’ house. 
Isaac is bothered about his dream, Ben is bothered about what he saw this morning so the two guys were just unnecessarily silent, only God knows what’s bothering Clarieta because she was silent too. 
Ejiro tried to cheer all of them up but she kept on reaching a dead end so she gave up and concluded it was just a boring day for all of them. 
When they got to their gate, the boys said their goodbyes, Clarieta called Ben back and whispered into his ear 
“I know you saw me this morning, let’s both pretend like it never happened ” she said and smiled .
+++
“Did you just say that was the third time you’ve had that same dream” Ben asked. 
“Yes that was the third and it was the same dream, same place, same words, she kept on calling me Ajadi” Said Isaac. 
“You told me your mum is a yoruba woman, are you sure she didn’t name you Ajadi or something” Ben. 
“Naah she didn’t, my yoruba names are Olumide and Tobi but wait. Ajadi Ajadi, that’s what my grandmother calls me anytime we visit her in Ogbomosho, she calls me Ajadi igo, but the dreams still has no connection to all of that” 
“You can’t be so sure” Ben cuts in,
“what if there is a link between all of these, we just have to connect the dots especially with what I told you about what I saw in Clarieta’s room and what she whispered into my ears when we were about leaving their place” said Ben. 
“Guy I really think we should be careful around those girls, I have been worried ever since that day Ejiro fainted in class and woke up after a short period of time like nothing happened” Isaac 
“Isaac am telling you I was scared like hell because when I held her she was as cold as ice, I actually thought she was dead” Ben. 
“You thought she was dead or she was actually dead and just came back to life miraculously, did you see the look on Prof Edewor’s face when he checked her pulse and moments later when she jerked back to life” Isaac. 
“Bro I just think we should be careful around those girls and we should start getting closer to God” Ben concluded and switched off the lights.
It was already late into the night and they have morning lecture the next day. 
The two of them kept on thinking for a while until they slept off leaving the stereos playing Enya’s music softly and barely audibly 
*music* Who can say where the road goes? Where the day flows? Only time *music*….. 
What a deep song, ONLY TIME……
***(Ibadan, Oyo state)***
“My dear stand up” said a man who just woke up from a nightmare obviously while tapping the woman sleeping by his side.The woman reluctantly opened her eyes.
The man looks like he will be in his late fifties while the woman should be in her early fifties. 
“I just had a bad dream about our son Isaac, I think he has gotten himself into something really dangerous” he said. 
“Jesus christ, what exactly did you see” the woman asked now sitting upright and listening attentively. 
Isaac was their only son and it took them lots of prayers and fasting before they could begot him, after giving birth to him through cesarean section, the doctor told them they could never bore a child again, that’s the major reason they named him Isaac because their story was synonymous to that of Abraham and Sarah in the bible. 
“I saw Isaac stucked inbetween cob webs, a very strong one at that, he was losing all his strength and that was when I woke up” the man replied. 
They both knelt down and did a prayer who lasted for over an hour, after the prayer they concluded they will call him tomorrow morning so then they went back to sleep. 
***(Gwagwalada Abuja)***
Isaac was walking down a street that looked so familiar to him, he could swear he had seen that path before, he kept walking and walking, he didn’t know what was pushing him to keep walking but he was aware that there was a force pushing him. 
He is now approaching a very large river but still he didn’t stop walking, he has now encroached into the river, he kept on going, his whole body has been immersed into the water, he was drowning but he couldn’t do anything about it. 
He was about giving up when he started hearing the voice of his parents shouting his name, they kept on shouting until he snapped out of the spell holding him down, he floated out of the water and immediately he Woke up from the dream. 
“Ohh it’s just a dream” he said to himself and went back to sleep.
“Just a dream” if only he had drowned in that dream, if not for his parent’s prayers that served as the voice that was calling him outside the river. That would have just been mission accomplished. 
**( Unknown time )**
Many people from both Ikereku  village and the neighbouring villages all came to witness the marriage rites of one of the greatest warrior and a spirit girl, some came to mock them, some came bearing gift, some came with great expectations and some came with good minds.
Ajadi who was running around to make sure everything is a success suddenly remembers his conversation with Omolabake yesterday. 
** flashback to yesterday **
“Omolabake what’s the problem, aren’t you supposed to be happy, many people are here just to celebrate with us but you have just been moody all day” Ajadi. 
“My mates are angry with me, they said I have broken the rule by falling in love with you, they have not even talked to me in a while and am scared about what they can do to us” Labake said. 
**flashback’s over**
He went back to whatever he was doing and assured himself that no evil will overcome them, there’s no much time before the ceremony kick starts. 
Ajadi was really surprised at the cooperation and help he got from his friends especially Adisa. 
He was like a brother to him, he was even more active than Ajadi himself throughout out the preparations. 
Even the maidens who had stayed away from Omolabake all their lives are now by her side working day and night, they believed Ajadi the warrior deserves all those things and even more. 
Omolabake was the happiest among them all, she experienced love, care and hospitality from people who have rejected her, Ajadi is truly a blessing to her. 
In a blink of an eye, the ceremony had begun, the dancers had danced, wine had been served, the warriors performed their rites, it has indeed been very interesting. 
Now it’s time for the elders to bless the union, Ajadi and Labake were summoned forward, they both knelt down to receive the blessing but suddenly there was darkness all over, the darkness was so thick no one could see anything, the audience there wanted to run but they could barely see each other not to talk of seeing what they were running into, what if they run straight into the danger, they were so helpless, everyone held onto each other like it was the end of days. 
So many thoughts going through their minds, some were regretting why they came, every one was trembling with fear except for Omolabake who is totally aware of what is happening and what’s gonna happen.
“They are here she shouted, are you people so shameless that you can’t even show your faces, I thought you were never scared of humans, have you come to take me on a day like this, I curse the day I got together with you evil doers, you killed my mother and my siblings, as if that is not enough, you are here to take me now”. 
“All those years that I was abandoned, you people didn’t come for me, all those years that I had no hope of living, you people didn’t come for me but now that have fallen in love, now that my people has accepted me as one of them, you people are here to take me”.
“Let’s end this quickly” she said and her voice began to fade away.
Ajadi I love you she said with a feint voice and then brightness came in gradually, within a minute the sun was shinning again. 
Ajadi was holding Labake in his arms, she was striving really hard to breath, Ajadi looked at her helplessly and couldn’t help himself from crying.
Out of the blues a strange figure was approaching, every one wanted to run away thinking it was some strange spirit but when they realised it was the chief priest, their minds were at ease, he walked down to where Ajadi was holding Labake. 
“You have tried Ajadi igo Omo Balogun, your love for the girl fought against the spiritual forces but unfortunately it didn’t fight as brave as you would have fought them yourself, am sorry she is going to die” said the chief priest. 
“Chief priest help me please, she is carrying my child, she can’t die, I will do anything that can be done” He pleaded. 
“Are you sure you can do anything” the chief priest asked. 
“Yes chief priest I will do anything whatsoever “He replied. 
“On this day it has been marked in the spiritual realm that she must die, there’s no power  that could stop a death from happening around her today. Someone has to sacrifice his or life for her but the question now is are you willing to die in her place “the chief priest asked. 
… To be continued

One Comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Check Also
Close
Back to top button
error: Content is protected !!
Close

Turn Off Data Saver

To enjoy the full functions of our website, kindly turn off your data saver or switch to mobile browsers like Chrome or Firefox. Reload this page after turning off data saver