WHISPERS IN THE DARK
CHAPTER 9
“What is the matter now, Elvis?” I asked as soon as I met him outside my house.
“So, you have been in the village and haven’t bothered to check on me.”
“Yes, I am in the village. I didn’t check on you because you don’t deserve checking. What is the game you and your mum are playing?” I asked.
“Listen, Eyong, Addie belongs to me. So, please back off.”
“Belongs to you on whose account. Are you drunk? I don’t know what you have been drinking but whatever it is, it must be very strong.”
“I don’t care what you say, but I already have her father’s blessings. So, you are just wasting your time.” He laughed.
“Look here, Elvis. I am sure you have been smoking weed. You have the blessings of a man whom your mother has bewitched? Let me ask again, are you drunk?”
“You call my mum a witch?”
“That’s exactly what she is. If she wasn’t, she wouldn’t have gone into someone’s matrimonial home and broke it. Now, you too want to marry the man’s daughter. Are you guys sick in this village?” I was very angry.
“You will pay for calling my mum a witch, I assure you.” Elvis threatened.
“How will I pay? You will try to bewitch me, too? Listen, if you know what Addie and I have been through, you wouldn’t stand there spewing gibberish. I have rode through a lot of miles, gone through a lot of trouble just to keep that girl. So, I am warning you now to back off or I will destroy you.”
“You will destroy me? Is it because you have gone to the university, and I have not?”
“Forget about university. Addie is the love of my life. We are already bonded, and nothing can separate us. So, I would advise you to leave now before something happens to you.”
“You are threatening me. Eyong, you threaten me. Alright, we shall see. We shall see, Eyong.
“My friend, get out and let me have some peace.” I said and walked back into the house.
I wondered the type of mentality that Elvis and her foolish mum had. What was actually wrong with them? It looked like they had been dining with the devil ever since I left to the city. What was actually happening to them. So, Elvis actually thought Addie would accept to get married to him? Was he so foolish. Anyway, it was clear he didn’t know Addie well. That Elvis needed to be thought a lesson. I called Addie on phone and asked her to come to my house. About an hour later, she showed up.
“How did the meeting with your father go?” I asked.
“He wants me to marry Elvis.” She laughed. “Can you imagine that?”
“Don’t worry about that. It is well. I already know the whole story. Elvis and his mother were here to raise hell. However, my mum and me handled them accordingly.”
“That’s good, very good.”
“But babe, we need to do something oh. We need to leave this village and get help. I am beginning to get scared of Elvis and her mum. I fear for your safety, our safety.” I was concerned.
“What do you think we should do? Call Vera?” Addie asked.
“Ha!! Is Vera some kind of 911? No, we can handle things our own way. Let’s not call Vera.”
“So, what do we do?”
“Let’s go back to the city to see your mother.”
It had been three months now and a lot had happened since then. We were in the city when news came to us that Elvis’ mother was dead. It was a horrible story. It was said that he went to a sangoma to get more charms to subdue Mr. Tabe, Addie’s father, and also to bewitch my mum. The sangoma he went to, gave her the totem of a python and didn’t tell her. As a result, the totem started manifesting and she didn’t know how to control it. So, she hid it in her pit toilet. Unfortunately for her, her own son, Elvis saw it, raised and alarm and people came out and killed it. As the snake was being beaten and cut, she was also feeling the pains and crying. She died when the snake finally died.
As soon as she died, the spell on Mr. Tabe was broken and he went back to the city and brought his wife back home. Elvis was mad with grief and jealousy and promised to bring down Addie and me. He was heard telling people that it was thanks to us that his mother died. But we were innocent. It was her diabolic way of life that led to her untimely demise. Nevertheless, Addie and I decided to take Elvis’ threats seriously. He was a true son of the mother, and it was likely, very likely that he would follow in his mother’s footsteps.
I was afraid of what Elvis might do to my mother who was all alone in the village. However, my mum told me that I should not be afraid. She said she could handle whatever he tried to do. She was very confident that she could handle Elvis. So, I relaxed and prayed that no harm came to her. I also cautioned my younger sisters to be careful the way the moved around in the village.
My relationship with Addie was no longer a secret. Everyone had now known that we were dating and even living together. At the end of that year, we both graduated from the university. All our parents and family members were present in the city for the graduation ceremony. Elvis was not invited; however, our neighbour Mama Anthony was. She was the one who went back to the village and gave everyone the full details of everything that happened.
Addie and I decide that it would be of no use for us to go back to the village after graduation. So, we decided to continue staying in the city. We moved from the student hostel and rented a bigger and more beautiful apartment in town. Addie’s father used his contacts and got me a job in an international organization. However, my dream was not to work for someone. I wanted to start my own business and make my own money. So, after a year, I quit the job and started my own business.
Two years later, Addie and I got married. That was the happiest day of my life. I was now sure that I was going to spend the rest of my life with the woman I loved. Once again, Elvis wasn’t invited to the wedding. We concerted and thought it was a prudent thing to do. He had become too evil for everyone’s liking and was behaving as if someone was responsible for his misfortunes.
Not inviting Elvis to our graduation and wedding actually made me feel bad. To be sincere, it was thanks to him that Addie and I came together. Though he brought us together inadvertently, he was still the main architect of our union. He was supposed to be with us all the way. He was even supposed to be my best man. However, his mind had been corrupted by evil. So, I had to take the hard decision to cut him off from everything.
A year later, Mrs. Addie Eyong, my lovely, wedded wife put to bed a baby girl. I had always wanted for my first child to be a girl. Strange, right? But that was what I wanted. God in his merciful favour, gave me a beautiful girl and we named her Akem, after my younger sister. My family was now almost complete. I was hoping that our second child would be a male and then we would stop having children. I didn’t want to have more than two children.
It had been twenty-five years now. I was now a middle-aged man, and so was Addie. We now had three children instead of the two we initially wanted. That was because Addie gave birth to a set of twins, two boys, both identical. I thanked God for the immense and immeasurable blessing. Addie’s father, Mr. Tabe had passed on and I now controlled most of his assets. I was an extremely rich man now and my life was comfortable. I was grateful to God for all he had done in my life.
Addie’s mother, Mrs. Tabe was still alive but much older. My mum too was an old woman now and I had moved her to the city because my sisters were all married, and she needed someone to be with her.
I had lost contact with Vera. The last time I heard about her, it was said that she was very sick. It was said she was being tortured by the deity she worshipped because she had stopped worshipping him. She was tired of being fetish. She wanted to become a normal person again, marry and raise kids like everyone else. Her deity wouldn’t allow her and was always torturing her. She had decided to seek the help of a powerful man of God. It had been many years now and I was at a loss as to what had become of her.
Mama Etchu too had long passed away. It was said she made terrible confessions before she died. She was sick for about a year before she finally gave up the ghost. She confessed to have killed many people including her two sisters and of course, her husband. Before she died, she accepted Christ and became a full born-again Christian. Before she died, she made sure all her children got baptized in the Lord and made them promise never to indulge in anything that had to do with the devil. She died a Christian and I am sure she is in heaven now.
I know you are aching to know what had become of Elvis. Elvis had gotten married to a beautiful woman and had four children. However, his hatred for Addie and me hadn’t subsided. He still hated us with a growing dislike, and we had long decided that we would stay as far away from him as possible. We had kept that decision to this day. However, fate would not allow it. There was a festival in the village that I had to attend. As one of the most influential men in the village, the chief had personally invited me. So, I couldn’t refuse his highness’ invitation.
Attending that festival meant I had to meet Elvis for the first time in many years. My wife wasn’t comfortable about it and begged that I shouldn’t go. But I had to. I had been invited by the chief and had to honour the invitation.
“But honey, you know it’s risky. Elvis is your mortal enemy. He will be at the festival. His grudge for you is still as fresh as ever in spite of the huge time lapse. Please, don’t go. You could send your financial contribution. I am sure that will be enough.”
“I understand your concerns, darling. However, it will be important if I show up myself. You know we have stayed in the city for too long. It is important that we start creating links again in the village. You wouldn’t want our children to be strangers in their own village, would you?”
“No, honey.”
“So, this is a perfect opportunity to start creating that link. Don’t worry, I will be safe.”
“Please, be careful. Be very, very careful and may the good Lord be with you.” She prayed.
“Amen, and may the good God be with you and my children until I come back.”
“Amen and Amen. One more thing, do not eat or drink anything at the festival. If you need to eat, go to our house. My mum will prepare your food. Do you understand? “
“Yes, boss. I understand.”
“Also, stay away from Elvis if you see him. In fact, always stay on his blind side, please honey.”
“It’s alright, babe. I have heard you. So, until I return with my spoils from the new country, you my beautiful wife will be in charge.” I laughed.
“Stop clowning, when will you change?” She said in mock reproach.
The next day, I drove to the village. After I had gotten to Addie’s family compound where I would be spending the next four days, I drove to the chief’s palace. On my way to the palace, I decided to pass by our compound to have a look at it. It had been a long time since I was there. No one lived there now and it was quite abandoned.
As soon as I stopped my car and got off the car, I saw a man approaching me. He looked much older than me but still strong. I recognized him immediately. It had been many years and the years have not been kind to him. He looked much older than he should have looked but he was still my same old stubborn and evil friend. The same person I had been trying to avoid for so many years. It was Elvis.
TO BE CONTINUED…
