K I S M E T …

Every soul, created and evolved alike, would affirmatively testify of a moment this was; a moment stolen from destiny. That moment carried utmost righteousness yet rolled out with the corruption that characterized the day Eve ate of the fruit that condemned humanity. He steadied her. Slow and sweet. They danced. The floor hosting the dance was one he had perfect knowledge of. Without diversification, she invested every ounce of her trust in his moves. Like a cowardly commander in chief, he started leading her into grounds, grounds that served as habitats for mines.

Surfing the comfort and security extending from darkness, she turned him to an explorer of the hills, valleys and caves, not to forget fountains and rivers that came with her well sculptured body. She whispered in his ears, ‘I am your prey, you are my predator. I just invaded your territory. I don’t deserve mercy. Tear me apart!’ The atmosphere changed. He did not attack. He stilled her heart to kill her softly. Her nerves were bursting in waves of pleasure that extends from ultimate union of souls. She transitioned from heavy breathing to moans inspired of an expertise in sensuality. Momentarily, she was unable to take in the much needed oxygen, instead she took in every inch of him. Through quivering lips she whispered and moaned the name of her predator and master, ‘Riley!’ He then allowed his floodgates to open and emptied himself inside of her.

As good friends would, they would meet up from time to time to kick it. This time, in the serenity of an upper class restaurant, they met for lunch. Talkative as he was, Riley started a conversation. ‘Nolan, I must admit you look fairly beautiful for the day.’
‘Would you expect less? I am the donor of all these implants you see in town anyway.’ She cockily replied.
‘HUMILITY! Woman! You came from a man’s rib. That has humility written all over it. What happened to you?’ From Riley came the sarcastic reply.
‘Speck remover! That is what you are! If lies and your tongue had no relationship or if honesty and your heart had a fling then you would have the moral authority to address my lack of humility.’ Nolan responded with real heat.
‘Ha! I’m a changed man. Honesty you say? This I hadn’t told you. With it comes the heavy content of my honesty as its signature. When I am done narrating, you will be a witness to the fact that whoever thought up honesty had Riley in mind. Mere mortal with a haughty look, pay attention.’ Riley was not short of words.
‘I smell the devil in your honesty. Not only the devil, but his entire legion. Entertain me Riley.’ She proved to be a smart mouth as well.

‘So, I am in my car rushing home to catch the Crusaders vs Highlanders game. To my realization, I was running late. I began to speed down the freeway. I then get waved down by the cops.’ He pauses. ‘Nolan, you better pay attention to this, you will appreciate my honesty.’

‘This officer approaches me and starts to question me.
Officer: May I have your driver’s license?
Me: I do not have one. I had it suspended over my fifth DUI.
Officer: Can I get the relevant documents that show this car belongs to you?
Me: It is not my car. I stole it.
Officer: This car is stolen?
Me: That’s right. But thinking of it, I might have seen the relevant documents in the glove box when I was putting my gun there.
Officer: There’s a gun in the glove box?
Me: Yes sir. That is where I put it after I shot and killed the woman who owns this car and stuffed her in the trunk.
Officer: There is a body in the trunk?
Me: Yes sir.

On hearing all these, he called his senior. He had my car surrounded by police. The senior officer approached me to handle this tense situation.
Senior officer: Sir, can you give me your driving license?
Me: Sure. Here it is.
Senior officer: Whose car is this?
Me: It’s mine. Here are the relevant documents.
Senior Officer: Could you slowly open your glove box that I may see if there’s a gun inside?
Me: Yes sir. (There was no gun inside)
Senior Officer: Could you open your trunk. I was told there is a body inside. (Trunk opens. Nobody. Nothing.)
Senior officer: I do not understand. The officer who stopped you said you do not have a license, you have stolen this car, had a gun inside your glove box and a dead body in your trunk.
Me: I’ll bet the liar told you I was speeding too.’ Riley finished.

‘Congratulations Riley. You should be a comedian. Only that at the end of the show, in place of roses, will be tomatoes at your feet.’ Nolan replied harshly
‘Woman! Why would your moods change that fast? Why are you acting like your hormones are dictating your speech?’
‘He-goat! That is because they are!’ Responded Nolan in an insult that flew straight out of her heart to his soul.
‘But it is not that time of the month yet!’ Came a gentle statement from Riley.
‘Exactly my point!’ Whispered Nolan
‘You are expectant?’ In question, Riley concluded.
‘Yes I am.’ Nolan confirmed.

In disbelief, Riley stood up pushing his chair far back. Grabbing Nolan by her left hand, he forcefully got her to stand. Nolan, undoubtedly, was shaken to the core. Regrets stemming from her seizing of the day crushed over her like a landslide. She began to address and admonish herself in harsh judgement. ‘Just as quickly as I gave myself to him has he denied responsibility?’ Her heart and tear glands were already leaning towards weeping and mourning. In the same moment, Riley pulled her to himself. He hugged her passionately. Kissed her forehead. In celebration, he whispered in her ears, ‘I am going to be a father!’ He paused. ‘We should start going for check-ups as soon as possible. I’ll pay for all the sessions ’ Riley finished.

As the night drew nigh, Nolan opted for an early retirement to bed. The day’s fatigue in mighty waves came upon her. She was tired for two. As she sleeps, she finds herself in a theatre room on the table with a surgical procedure about to take place. Within the room, there was representation of two entities. One entity possessed an angelic face and ethical qualities. The other seemed to inhaling pure oxygen and exhaling the very nature of the abyss. As she waited for the process to start, the angelic entity turned on the demonic one to inject him with a paralyzing substance – call it chemical X. He then pointed out two doors that was a stone throw away from them. Just as he was about to give instructions, the demonic face rose up and killed him. It then went back to its paralysis. Leaving the bed, she reached out for the doors. Upon unsealing the first door, she felt free of any responsibility with a dark cloud of depression lurking over her. On unbolting the second door, she was heavily burdened with a yoke so uneasy yet a legion of demons kept chasing after her. She then woke up and could not go back to bed.

With the maturing of the day came, Riley to pick Nolan up that they may go for the first check-up. They reported to Dr. Eames Laguna’s Clinic. Dr. Eames was known to be the best. On receiving a call, Riley excused himself and left the place void of his presence. Before he left, Riley had a word with Dr. Eames placing a request that Nolan be handled with care. Concurrently, Nolan was led to a room by an attendant with a tag that identified him as Levitt Watanabe. To aid in her relaxation before the check up, Levitt handed Nolan a glass of water. In the brackets of two minutes, she had passed out. With her passing out came the presence of Dr. Eames in the room.

‘Dr. Eames, this is not a regular check-up. Sir Riley requested that you terminate the pregnancy this soon.’ Levitt informed Dr. Eames.
‘Do we have the consent of the lady? How long in the pregnancy is she?’ Dr. Eames, with concern, inquired.
‘That is of very little consequence. Further to that, the seed in her womb is devoid of my DNA. In this moment, she is unconscious. The failure of this procedure will have your death as penalty. Put in work Dr. Eames.’ Levitt authoritatively put it to Dr. Eames.

Dr. Eames then called out for his assistants to help him set up for the procedure. Uneasiness characterized his motions momentarily. He then gave Nolan an injection that caused her to regain partial consciousness. As such, she could respond to stimuli but had no ability to talk. Levitt, though not leaving the room, was not observant enough to notice this. ‘Bring the needed tools. Let us get rid of this foetus.’ Nolan in shock put on a confused and perplexed face. Dr. Eames picked the Que.

Fabricating the whole process, Dr. Eames gets Levitt to call Riley to confirm the successful completion of the procedure. This was followed by the instruction for huge deposit to the bank account of Dr. Eames. After Levitt left and Nolan was fully awake and strong Dr. Eames approached her. ‘Young lady, I know that time will kill me. I do not know who you are but I would advise that you leave town.’

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As Nolan packed her bags, her mortality melted before the immortals in more pain than anger. She could not curse the heavens as the authority of the comforter extends from there. She could not curse hell and the powers that be as at the moment she felt as though it understood her. Within her, it was raining. Those rains seemed to come from the overflow of burning Sulphur as it burned the depths of her soul, consumed her spirit to decompose her psychologically. Tears came like fireworks to dismantle the structure that God created so gently through black clay- call it a face. The love she had for Riley melted into incorruptible and irredeemable hate.

She began to mourn with herself, ‘Riley you actually took my joy for moaning!  You raised me to touch the sky only to allow gravity to be my punishment. You have killed me Riley, but remember when you kill a man, he becomes immortal. My tears will escort me to hell and there I will make a friend out of the abyss. I will make hell fall in love with you much that it will never have enough of you. Following me to the borders of destiny will be your curse with lesser grace of existence that accompanies hell spitting you out to the cold.’

For her life, she left town. She bore the child. The child was names Cobbs Tohoru. Around the neighbourhood, Nolan was known to be quite the cheerful person hence everyone celebrates the arrival of Cobbs. There was one neighbour who took more interest in the child. His name was Yusuf. With time turning the pages of the books it burned, Nolan’s wounds turns to scars. Owing to her industrious nature, she gets herself a lucrative job with one of the big companies in the area as a personal assistant to the boss. As such, she was involved in all company meetings, directly or indirectly.

In one of the board meetings, the chairman announces a new business partner. His name was Levitt Watanabe. Nolan attached a good degree of familiarity to his name and face but had no concrete recollection of who Levitt was. After the meeting, Nolan’s schedule was empty. This allowed her to leave the office premises. Her leaving attracted a tailing from Levitt. The unsuspecting Nolan went about her business up until the afternoon when she picked Cobbs from school. In witnessing all these, Levitt had a call to make.

‘Good afternoon sir, with me is news that will be of interest to you.’ Levitt spoke.
‘Go right ahead Watanabe.’ Riley permitted.
‘To cut to the chase, two things: firstly, Nolan has a child that looks like you leading to the second point, Dr. Eames was paid handsomely yet he played trickster.’ Levitt, in absolute loyalty, volunteered information.
‘I will worry about that Watanabe. Come back to the city immediately.’ Ordered Riley.

Two months later, Nolan develops an unexplained anxiety. Her guts hint to vulnerability. One night, the intensity of her anxiety robs her of sleep. In the middle of the night, when the anxiety became uncontainable, she woke Cobbs up then left for Yusuf’s place. Finding Yusuf at the gate waiting, she questioned if he knew what was transpiring.

‘Nolan, stay here the rest of the night.’ Yusuf asked of Nolan.
‘That is my plan. I, however, have to go back and pick Cobb’s uniform for tomorrow then come over.’ Nolan replied
‘Nolan, do not go back to your house. A certain doom looms over. The unholy presence of the reaper of souls has settled on your house.’ Yusuf warned.
‘The devil’s hour it is. He must be patrolling. I will be friendly if I bump into him. If he visits I guess my place is ready.’ Nolan stubbornly replied.
‘Young lady, would you believe it if the abyss in the ambiance of hell inspired by a pit so bottomless declare love for you? Do not walk the same road twice.’ Yusuf warned.
‘I won’t be long.’ Nolan replied as she walked back to her house.

Her heart would not stop palpitating violently. Though she knew no history of asthma, she was heavily hyperventilating. As she picked her son’s uniform, her body began to tremble. The atmosphere changed. A certain coldness, that which suffocates the heart to deny the brain blood stood by her. Her life began to flash before her eyes. The lights in the room began to flicker. She wanted and longed to scream, but the terror in the atmosphere took her voice before she could use it. The temperatures around her started to increase. Fumes of smoke started filling the room. She could not breathe what she needed to keep her life, instead she inhaled smoke that kept chocking her. She fell to the floor unconscious. Then the tongues of the flames creeped towards her. And they started to consume her. They turned her flesh to a roasted delicacy for the cannibals. The weave on her head did not help the situation. She burned from head to toe. Till she had no skin left. She burned. Till all could be seen were ashes. She died. She died in the fire. Nolan was no more.

‘Hello Sir, I have an update for you.’ Levitt called for Rile.
‘Go ahead Watanabe.’ Responded Riley
‘No firefighters came. Rest assured Nolan and the child are no more.’ Levitt reported.
‘Job well done Levitt.’ Came the praises from Riley.

Following Nolan’s demise, Riley grew cognisant the truth, which was, the need for Nolan in his life. Hitting him hare are thoughts of him smoking his one true love out of existence. Ignoring the impossibility, Riley directs his intentness into bringing Nolan’s presence back in his life. To fulfil this desire, Riley gets competent artists who then make a statue of Nolan. Riley makes a god out of the statue. Every day he would set a good amount of  intimate time to worship. He made a religion out of this. He considered Nolan an architect. He needed her to redesign him; to build him up.

A homeless spirit searches seas and deserts for a willing body upon which rest can be found. The vengeful spirit of Nolan finally honours Riley’s sanctuary. As such, with every visit to the sculpture, Nolan’s presence filled his life. Riley  expressed his remorse be it so genuinely that it attracted mercy. Mercy that caused Nolan to promise never to leave him. ‘If I bowed out of this life, will this darkness shine down?’ Riley asked
‘Keep breathing for I’m neither living nor leaving.’ She replied.

She then spoke to his spirit in codes, making cryptic entries. Far beyond his comprehension was her proclamation of loving the way he laughed, that she would trade it for her sorrows. Her promise was to hold him high and steal his pain. Nolan made a promise to Riley that in no time, they would be together forever.

Cobbs started asking questions with concern to the mother and the death of her; he constantly asked Yusuf. Yusuf kept telling Cobbs that only the mother could answer his questions. As such, Cobbs wanted to connect with the mother. Being a spiritualist, Yusuf explains that to hear from a spirit one needs to create a sanctuary then spirit will be attracted and finally speak. Yusuf then assists Cobbs set up a physical sanctuary then teaches Cobbs how to position himself and how to empty himself to hear from the dead. Cobbs chose to elect the dead to ascend to the throne of his life. Let it be known, when you elect the dead, let your soul be prepared to feed off the graveyard symphony.

Out of love for the son, Nolan shows up. ‘A man called Riley and I had a fling. I thought it was serious but to him it was a fling. He got me pregnant with you then denied responsibility. When he denied responsibility, we had to run away from town. We ran away because an angel in the name of Dr. Eames advised us to…’

No sooner had she mentioned Dr. Eames than his spirit made its presence known. He then made both Cobbs and Nolan understand their situation. ‘Sir Riley brought her to me for a check-up that day. He then left an order that I kill the unborn. Sir Riley had Nolan drugged by Levitt for her to be unaware of the whole process. I was uneasy about it and brought her back to consciousness after which I understood that she was not for the idea. I was then paid heavily to keep quiet. Levitt Watanabe found out the two of you were alive so he reported to Sir Riley. Sir Riley had me killed through Levitt and on the same night I saw Nolan’s spirit join me.’ Immediately after his explanation, the presence of Dr. Eames left.

Nolan then promised Cobbs that they will reunite and be one happy family. She then went ahead and told Cobbs:
‘You can only come to me if you come with your father.’ ‘Whatever it takes!’ Cobbs replied.
‘Yusuf, you know what to do.’ Nolan spoke and then departed from the sanctuary.

‘Cobbs, you will no longer be in charge of your body. You now have to surrender to the supernatural and allow them to use you as they please. In this way, you will be reunited with your mother.’ Yusuf directed him.

That was all Cobbs wanted; he committed himself to it. He spent his days emptying his mind and soul in search for the mother’s will. This became his basic need. More than the food he ate. He did not breathe oxygen anymore, just the presence of the mother’s restless spirit.

As he exposed himself to the immortals, he thought of mortality as the lesser course. A deep yearning for immortality settled within his soul. After months of emptying himself to be filled of the mother, it started happening. Cobbs began to feel and be filled with the mother’s anger towards Riley and Levitt.

That day, Levitt was travelling back to the city along the freeway. He was driving himself. Cruising down at a hundred and twenty whistling to a ballad from back in the day. Out of infinity emerged a descending a thick dark cloud that found rest on his windscreen. Quickly stepping on the brake pedal, the car came to a sudden stop with tyres burning. The cloud further transformed into the figure of a human being. Levitt was quick to recognize Nolan. He immediately started begging for forgiveness. But before he could talk, the face shifted. It was Cobbs standing in front of the vehicle burning with anger and with a deep appetite for revenge.

As Levitt was still staring in awe and terror, Cobbs disappeared into thin air. The next thing Levitt saw was his casket being handed to him. An over-speeding truck was veering off its lane and coming head on to collide with Levitt. Paralysed by fear, Levitt was unable to rescue himself. The truck overran Levitt leaving only fragments of a once complete body.

Riley was then spending time with Nolan. He then felt the presence of Nolan move towards the kitchen. Riley felt as though Nolan was asking for food. In the moment, he started getting ready to cook. When all was ready, he turned on the gas. Before he could ignite it, Cobbs appeared fully in body and flesh. Riley had paralysis take over him. He fell to the floor weak in his knees. He could not recognize who Cobbs was as he had never met him. Cobbs then disappeared into thin air after which the presence of Nolan returned to give him peace and cause him to relax. Riley then regained his strength and was ready to resume cooking. As he ignited the lighter, the whole house went up in flames and he was consumed whole.

Then the anger and appetite for vengeance from the mother left Cobbs. All these happened as Cobbs was exposing himself to the immortals. Then Nolan appeared to Cobbs. Cobbs was excited to finally see the mother.

‘Cobbs darling, you want to be with mummy?’ Nolan enticed.
‘Yes mummy! Take me with you.’ Cobbs replied.
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