JEREMY
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Episode 16
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“You don’t even have to say it, jeer.” “I’m sure they must have assumed she killed all the kids.”
Jeremy smiled at my presumption before shaking his head in disapproval.
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I was baffled. That a man could suddenly turn against his wife over her alleged inability to “conceive a child” in time was already perplexing enough. It was a behavior that raised the question, “Is love conditional?”
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The delayed conception of the other spouses had previously been blamed on Jeremy’s mother. Given how tragically the events played out, it shouldn’t have been out of character for me to presume that Jeremy’s mother was also the main suspect na. In actuality, it’s impossible not to even have suspicions about her. Particularly in light of the fact that her son, Jeremy, is the only son at the moment and, according to the current situation, the heir apparent to the throne.
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Jeremy, however, had just shook his head in disapproval of what I had assumed to be the case. It was clear at this point that it was impossible to predict how Jeremy’s story would develop, so I made the decision to simply listen more and speak less.
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The evening was mostly over. There were only a few hours left before Jeremy’s stay with me came to an end. He had to finish this story for me. And with that, I whispered, “What happened then, Jeer?”
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“The entire palace spent months in sorrow. Before anyone could genuinely, truly smile once more, it took some time, but as the years passed, some found it easier to accept what had transpired. According to my mother, the household never again heard the cry of a baby. This is how I ended up being the last child and the only son the old man has. Though I served as a continual reminder to everyone, particularly because what had occurred coincided with my birth, they made an effort to make the most of my presence. My birthday was also the day we commemorated the dead, but everyone made a resolution to be grateful rather than wallow in sorrow.”
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At this point, Jeremy let out a weary smile, raised his head to lock gaze with me, and then said, “And to what I am sure you’ve been wondering, the real cause of my siblings’ inexplicable deaths on the same day I was born.”
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Jeremy stood up from where he’d been sitting the whole time and walked towards the fridge at the extreme end of the room. His throat had probably run dry, and he needed to keep it moist if he was going to finish the story.
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“What had happened with my dead siblings was not unusual for a king where I’m from, babe. The truly unusual event was my birth. It was the fact that a second son was born on the same day and at the same time as these other boys had passed away. It was more like I had defied the laws of nature. It was not just a coincidence that the king my father replaced had passed away without a male offspring to continue his legacy, you know. The fact that he had no close relatives who could claim the throne was also no coincidence. Everyone, even my father, was unaware of the prearranged nature of everything that occurred. It had been after my birth, as I grew older, that a meeting had supposedly been held to discuss the abomination that was me. My mother stated she wasn’t sure what was addressed in that meeting, but she was quite certain that my father’s behavior completely changed from that day forward. My father eventually managed to get back on good terms with my mother before this meeting, probably because I was such a treasure to him after the deaths of his sons. He was suddenly, once again, a total stranger. The only reason my mother even agreed to accept Christ as her personal lord and savior was out of fear for my life. This was a development my father didn’t find pleasing. He beats her up every time he hears something that sounds like a prayer in the palace. Even though my father would never have agreed to her attending church even if she had asked his permission to do so, my mother always knew that a particular kind of beating awaited her whenever she attended certain church events without his permission. Mother made sure we were grounded in spirituality, regardless of how much our father had kicked against it. My mom could not talk to anyone; her parents were deceased. She only had myself and my older sisters.”
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Jeremy took a sip from his glass cup before he continued.
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“My mother tried to protect our father from us. She couldn’t begin to tell us what a monster he was. Mom didn’t want the notion that our father was a bad man to hurt us, but we were aware of it. We saw everything, so she didn’t have to. My father didn’t care about her or about us, so we would occasionally see him beat our mother mercilessly for the smallest of offenses. My father always caused my mother misery, and this caused me to loathe him as I grew up. This is why I was unable to restrain myself from reacting when I saw him defiling Diana on that particular day. The only thing that came to mind at that very moment was to run over, grab him away from Diana, and strangle him to death, but I reasoned that would be a too dignified end for him. I’d had enough of this man’s brutality after the way he had ruined the lives of the three ladies in my life. That’s why I needed to think outside the box when I passed that verdict.”
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Jeremy exhaled loudly and said, “I hurried to the kitchen and grabbed a knife. I sprinted back into the room and caught him off guard. With the rage I was now filled with, overpowering the old man was easy. I clenched the knife tightly in my hand while holding it up in the air, and with one rapid, clean motion, I severed his organ from his body.”
To be continued…
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Moshood Avidiime The Writer
