DESPERATE FOR LOVE
CHAPTER 9
THE END
It was the next day. Early in the morning, I went to my workplace and obtained three days leave of absence. Thankfully, it was granted to me without any difficulty. My appointment with the ritualist was at midnight. So, I needed to prepare myself both psychologically and physically for the adventure.
At about 10:00 PM, I drove to a nearby snack bar and bought a bottle of drink to wind down the time. I also needed some alcohol in my system to give me the courage I needed. I was aware that I was undertaking a very dangerous task. One that might cause me my life, especially as I run the risk of meeting Florence in the world of the dead. At about 11:30 PM, I went to the ritualist’s temple and realized that the other three guys were already there. Eric was nowhere to be found. I was all on my own.
When the ritualist saw me, he asked me to meet the other three. We all stood on a straight line, and he spoke:
“Take off your dresses, every one of you.”
“Why?” I asked.
“It’s part of the ritual, now, take off your clothes young man.” He ordered.
All three of us undressed to the very last garment. We were as n***d as a baby on the day it was born. He asked his assistant to bring three coffins. After the coffins had been brought, he uttered some incantations, and asked us to get in. We all did, and he spoke again.
“Now, you are beginning your journey to greatness. Your journey to wealth. You all have to be courageous. Your courage is very important for your survival. You will be in the world of the dead for a grand total of three days. After that, you will return and be rich for life. Be on your guard. There are older and fouler things than ghosts in the world of the dead. Goodluck to you all.”
He closed the coffins and I immediately found myself in total and complete darkness. For a moment, I couldn’t breathe. I felt like I was dying. I tried to get out of the coffin to no avail. The ritualist had shut it fast. I felt life draining away from me as I gulped for air. Then, I passed out. I felt like I was asleep and having a dream. I saw myself falling down a bottomless pit. I screamed loudly, and just when I was about to hit the bottom, I perceived a strange, strong and foul odour. It was so strong that it choked me. Once again, I started struggling for air, but there was no oxygen. I passed out again.
I don’t know how long I was out, but when I became conscious again, I found myself in a strange land. It’s hard to describe it. It looked very much like ours but there was a strange mystery around it. The houses were translucent and transparent and there were no people around. There were no sounds of birds or insects. The trees were like overgrown grasses and the roads were made of a material that looked like ivory. It was so strange but at the same time, it looked oddly beautiful. We were in the world of the dead.
I looked around me and saw the three other guys. They looked as stupefied as me. We are didn’t know what to do. The ritualist had said we were going to mine riches. We didn’t see any money mine. Neither did we see any dead person to talk with. We didn’t even know how long we have stayed there. It seemed like time ran differently in the world of the dead. There was no daylight and no darkness, just something in between.
I was about to propose to the other guys that we should hit the lonely streets and see if we could find somebody. However, as soon as I opened my mouth, a strange thing happened. The three guys all disappeared, and I was left alone. I figured that we had been separated to pursue our individual quests. We might only be reunited on the day of our departure back to mother earth. Then, I suddenly had a strange feeling that I was being watched by someone. I turned quickly behind and, you guessed right. It was Florence, my late girlfriend. The same Florence I had maltreated and ultimately caused her death. I was frightened and all the hairs on my body stood on end.
“Florence” I spoke.
“John, John my love. You came for me. Do you love me this much, John? You came for me.”
Her voice was guttural, and it scared the hell out of me. She tried to come close to me, but I moved quickly away.
“I am sorry, Florence. Please, don’t kill me. I am so sorry for causing your death.” I said, frightened.
“It’s alright, John. I hold nothing against you. When I first came here, I was asked if I should be provided with the means to go back to earth and avenge my death. I refused because I loved you until death. But now that I am seeing you again, I thank the powers that be. I love you even more now, John. Thank you for coming, please, don’t go back.” She spoke.
When she said that, I got angry and became very harsh. I realized that Florence, in spite of the fact that she was dead, was still very obsessed with me. I realized that she might not let me go. So, I had to fight for my life.
“Look here, Florence. You are dead and I am still alive. We can no longer be together. I didn’t come here for you. I came here to make money. So, forget about us being together.” I told her, harshly.
“You are still the same old John. Always harsh and rude. Let me tell you this. We are here all alone and you are completely in my power. You are not going back. Stay here with me and you will have all the riches you seek.” She was firm.
“Please, let me go. Let me go back and enjoy the money I have come to make. I will definitely come back to you someday. Everyone is going to die at some point. When I die, I will come back, and we will be together.” I explained to her.
“It will be too late, John. You might be too old then. Here there is no age. Stay with me now that you are young, and we will remain young forever.”
I was about to respond to that when a strange thing happened. My late father suddenly appeared behind Florence. Florence hadn’t notice him, but I had. When I saw my father, I became courageous, and my confidence returned. I became rude again.
“Look here, young lady.” I said to Florence. “You can’t keep me here against my will. I am leaving and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
“You think so?”
“I believe so.”
She got very angry and her faced changed. I had never seen her like that, and I would have died of fear if my father wasn’t there. She glided towards me as I cringed to one corner but stopped suddenly. She had noticed my father.
“Leave my son alone.” My dad said, and then turned to me and asked. “John, what are you doing here?”
“Came to make money, dad.”
“I didn’t grow you up like this. What made you to do this kind of a thing, my son?”
“I needed money, dad. Please, help me. This lady here wants to kill me.” I begged my dad.
“Why?”
“I don’t know.” I lied.
“He knows. It was because of him that I died.” Florence interrupted.
“My son, if that is the case, then I can’t help you. We have rules here, and I can’t intervene in a situation like this.” My dad said.
“What difference does it make, dad. You were useless in life, and you have just proven that nothing has changed even in death.” I mocked.
My dad looked at me, shook his head and vanished.
Florence smiled and came towards me as I moved away from her.
“Stay away from me, Florence. You are dead. We have no business together.” I said as I ran away from her.
Just then, the three other guys appeared. It was already three days. Time runs faster in the underworld than on earth. A day on earth is just about an hour in the underworld. It was time for us to go back. Our mission was over. I noticed this because the first of the three guys was suddenly taken away by a strong wind, He had gone back to earth. The other two disappeared too. They were taken away by the same strong wind.
Florence kept coming towards me, wanting to touch me. I couldn’t allow her to touch me. If she did, it would be the end of me. Just when she was about to touch me, the strong wind came to me and took me away.
As I was being taken away, I laughed mockingly at Florence.
“Do you now see? You can’t get to me, babe. You can’t keep me here with you against my will. I am gone. A day may come when we might see again, but it is not this day. Bye, baby. Say hello to my useless father.” I said and vanished as she looked at me in anger.
I found myself back in the ritualist’s temple with the other three guys. We were about to start going through the final face of the ritual when I saw a white cloud at the far end of the wall, and Florence stepped out of it. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I thought I had escaped her from the underworld and was free now. But I wasn’t; she had come for me. She stretched her hand and beckoned. I ran to the other end of the large room that served as the ritualist’s temple. Everyone was surprised because no one could see her.
“What is it, my son? Who’s chasing you?” The ritualist asked.
“She’s here Baba. She’s here.”
“Who is here? I can’t see anyone.” He said, looking around.
“Florence, Baba. She’s calling for me. She’s coming to take me. Please, stop her.” I begged.
“Who is Florence?” He asked.
The ritualist could not do anything because he even couldn’t see Florence. She walked towards me and touched me. Immediately she did, my spirit left me and she held the hand of my spirit and took me away. My body fell on the hard floor and died.
“Where am I, Flore? Where are you taking me?” My spirit asked.
“To be with me, babe. You belong to me. We belong to each other. We are now together, never to be separated until the end of time.”
THE END
