“Now, Nduka you are good to go. Remember all my instructions. Don’t make any mistake” Oshimiri advised
And Nduka nodded, agreeing not to make any mistake.
“And one more thing” Oshimiri said, dipping his hand into his pocket, as he brought out a liquid substance and poured it into Nduka’s mouth.
He began shaking, foaming in his mouth.
“What is happening?” Confused Mekus asked
“Don’t worry, he will travel in peace now” Oshimiri replied
Few seconds later, Nduka remained still.
“Now, its done. Let me see how you will expose us now, you foolish thing. You think you can challenge my authority, you never knew who you wanted to mess with” Oshimiri said, clapping off dirt from his hands.
“Oshimiri, I don’t understand. Why speaking like this? Everything seemed complicated, I don’t understand anything. When did you start giving second chances? And all those explanations you gave to Nduka, they were so complicated for my understanding.” Mekus said
“Mekus, I am the all knowing. Your friend Nduka is no more. All those explanations were only cooked up. There is nothing like continuing with the ritual. Once a mistake is made, there is no going back. Once you join the brotherhood, you are not going back the same. Its either you succeed in your task or end up loosing your life.”
“Which means Nduka is really gone. But what’s the essence of stressing yourself by killing him, he would still die, anyway?”
“Mekus……. Its like staying with Nduka has made you foolish as well. You now ask foolish questions. Your question should have been, why did you kill him?”
And Mekus remained quiet and said in his heart: “What’s the difference between the two questions now?”
“OK, let me satisfy your curiosity” Oshimiri said and then began
“Nduka was about exposing us to the world. The moment that girl took a bath, Nduka’s pot broke and the signal came to me that he had failed.
I then went to the mirror and began watching you two. I saw how he was wagging his mouth, speculating on exposing us, that he can’t die alone. He was angry with you as a friend, that you were the one who introduced him into something that brought about his end. I heard him clearly saying, he won’t be the only one to die, that he will make sure that he gets us exposed. Then I wasn’t bothered, but when he threatened to hunt you with his spirit, then it got to my notice that something must be done.
He continued:
” Nduka would still die anyway, but all those things I rubbed on his body were just to tie his spirit, preventing it from coming to hunt us. Mekus, believe me, you wouldn’t like to have a troubled spirit disturbing you, it’s a worse experience.. So that’s why I tricked him with second chance drama to make him willingly accept to be caged. And now, he won’t trouble us again. He is dead for good.” Oshimiri narrated
“Oshimiri, please don’t get mad at me for asking this question. What about the girl, is she coming back to life?”
“No, she is not, because Nduka went there before time. Had it been Nduka had died by 12 midnight, his life would have been exchanged with hers.
But since I killed him before time, and his death was not from the cause, she is not going to return to her body ever again. She is still stuck in the passage, and her own punishment is even far worse, poor thing. Its only those who have huge amount of grace can make it out, but who is she? A common prostitute, off course she has exhausted all her grace by selling off her body to different men all for money. If I allow her to return, she will definitely lead to our downfall. She will expose us, so that’s why i eradicated their existence from the face of the earth. Their own chapter is closed. So Mekus learn from this, always endeavor to seal off any hole that could lead to exposing our secret.” Oshimiri explained..
Mekus who was having a sheer tear drop, sat on a chair and said “Which means my childhood friend is dead. What am I going to tell his family, how am I going to explain it to them, especially his mother? And if I choose to remain silent, the villagers will talk, all hands will be pointed at me, because they all knew that he was with me.”
“You shouldn’t worry about that, we will mutilate his body and make it look like an accident. Let’s try and dispose off their bodies before the day break” Oshimiri instructed
But Mekus was down casted, the demise of his friend really touched him.
He faintly yelled out in pain and blamed himself for causing his death.
“Oshimiri, Nduka was the only son his mother has, how is she going to take this news? He was my best friend, my childhood friend, we grew up together. Now I will have to live with this guilt for the rest of my life. I’m responsible for his death.”
His utterances angered Oshimiri and he slapped him hotly on the cheek.
“Mekus, I slapped you so that, that weak feelings will disappear from your body. Are you insane, do you want to be exposed? Do you you want to join him? Don’t you know that getting our secrets exposed to the public will lead to our end. If you want to join your friend, I can help you with that, do you want to join him?” Oshimiri angrily asked in a deep harsh voice
And Mekus regained himself, shaking off the feelings that crept to his heart.
“I am sorry Oshimiri, forgive me, I was carried away by the petty feelings that emanated from the friendship I shared with him. But you are the all knowing. You did the right thing by ending his chapter. It was the necessary thing to do.” Mekus replied.
“Good, now let’s make arrangement on how to expose their bodies but for the meantime, let’s have a glass of vodka to shark off my body again, you got me pissed by your weak reactions ” Oshimiri requested
And they went to the living room to clear their heads.
Immediately Nduka drank the substance, he died.
His spirit stood in the room, listening to Oshimiri and Mekus conversations.
It then occurred to him that he was tricked.
“Oh no! I wanted to expose them but they got to me first. But there is no problem, I will still finish what I wanted to do.” He said, trying to grab his phone, but couldn’t.
“What’s happening? Why can’t I touch my phone?” As he tried grabbing it, he kept waving the air. He then looked at Mekus, and approached to punch him, he ended up punching the air.
“Oh no! I am dead now, there is nothing I can do anymore, and this cunning old man has tied my body, so that my spirit won’t disturb them. Look at me now, I am lost forever. My poor mother, I should have listened to her.” He stood watching his body, and just then, his spirit began its eternal journey.
When he got to the passage, he saw Rose.
“Nduka, what are you doing here?” She asked
“Rose, I am sorry for everything. It was my desire for riches that turned me into a monster. I don’t know if you will still make it out here alive, but if you finally do, tell my mother that I am sorry, and then tell my father that I am finally at the place he wanted me to be.
And one more thing, Oshimiri had rubbed some substances on my body, which will prevent me from hunting them, making them pay for all their sins. If you in anyway find my body, mix water with salt and clean them off from my hand, feet and chest, with that, I will be able to avenge my death, if given the opportunity. One more time, I am sorry, please forgive me.”
And Rose stood speechless, watching him as the gate opened.
Nduka entered, bidding her farewell.
At a point, she couldn’t see him again.
“Nduka has gone to the other side? Now what is left of me? Or Lord, have you suddenly gone deaf? Why this punishment? I can’t cross over and I can’t return to my body, what sin have I committed that made you decide to take away your grace from me?” Rose prayed and then looked at her left side and saw a girl sobbing.
She approached her, asking her why she was crying.
And she said, she was crying because the man she loved beat her to a coma. She confronted him after she caught him with another girl.
“Oh, you are in a coma? If you have the grace, you will make it back. I am praying for grace too. I just wish they don’t bury my body, otherwise, I won’t be making it out alive. That is what I am afraid off.” Rose said
As the girl looked up, and asked her what she was doing there.
And Rose began recounting her story.
To be continued..
The author of Dirty Sleep is Ngozi Lovelyn O.
Warning: No part of this work should be copied, use, reproduce, redistribute either electronically or manually without prior permission from the author..
Copyright:©2017
xperiawithngozilove@gmail.com
