MORE REVELATIONS

EPISODE THREE

Karl touched down at the Muritala Mohammed Airport, Lagos feeling very lost. His only guide was the journal that clearly stated his destination and his G****e map indicating his location. He punched in his destination in the G****e map and it showed he was an hour away from where he ought to be. He dragged his luggage behind him, sunglasses resting on his nose even though it did nothing to shield him form the scorching sun as he tried to hail a taxi. He finally got one and proceeded to explain in clear terms where he was headed, the man understanding that he was probably new to the area came out of the car to assist him with his luggage and asked him to relax.

“Are you not too young to be travelling alone?” the man asked him as soon as they got on the road.

“My father just died, he was a Nigerian. I am here to relay the news to his family” Karl replied quite comfortable to be talking to the man.

“I am so sorry about that, it is indeed sad.”

“it is okay, thank you very much for your concern.” Karl replied again, reclined back into the seat and brought out the journal fingering the back cover lightly. He could hardly read the words written in them but he had this strong urge to protect the book which was weird even for him.

“Are you a Yoruba person?” Karl asked the man after few minutes of silence.

“No I am not, is there a problem?”

“No there isn’t, I just need a Yoruba translator. I need to understand something.”

“oh okay, maybe your father’s people will help you out with that.”

“Yes sure, thanks” Karl muttered then fell silent.

The journey from the Airport to the place some of his relatives lived was a very long and sweaty one, Karl felt super uncomfortable but did not want to complain so as not to anger the very nice man who had helped him, instead he brought out his headphones and began playing his favorite Jon Bellion song, even hummed along at some point. He was trying to distract himself from the butterflies fluttering helplessly in his stomach and at some point he almost asked the cab man to turn around and get him back to the Airport so he could go back to the safety of the only place he had ever known..

“I can do this” Karl muttered to himself trying desperately to regulate his breathing.

“This is what dad wanted and I have to do right by him, I have to figure out what he meant in the journal and they deserve to know that he is dead.” He continued muttering cancelling all excuses he had to turn the cab back and run.

“we are almost there, do you need to get anything?” the cab man asked him.

“Get anything? I don’t understand”

“Well it is a norm to get something as a gift whenever you are going into a place for the first time or at least it is a norm here.”

“Oh is that right? That is very strange but what do you think I should get?” Karl asked the man.

“Bread will suffice, that is all we ever get”

“Bread? You are joking?”

“Oh I am very serious dear boy, do not worry though. I will get it when we are very close to the place, hot bread as a welcome me gift.” The man said his eyes twitching.

“That would be appreciated, although I haven’t had the opportunity to change the money I have with me to the money used here.”

“You do not have to worry about that, I will buy the bread from my own purse and you don’t have to pay me for the ride, that is my gift to you for your father. May his soul rest.” The man said lifting one hand for the steering wheel to place on his chest as he bowed slightly.

“That is very kind of you, I appreciate it” Karl said in wonder. Never has he been shown that kind of kindness even from his mother’s family, he finally felt himself calm down, if a cab driver could be like this how then would his family be if they see him. He suddenly felt relived he had undertaken this journey and he could not wait to meet them.

……..

“We are here, according to the address you put in the map, this is the destination, please wait in the car while I get the bread for you.” The cab man said.

Karl thanked the man and waited closing his eyes briefly but not without surveying the area they had driven into, it was not a bad looking place and he could not wait to get inside so he could see the shock on their faces when they saw him.

“Here, this is it” the cab man said handing over a nylon to him.

“I don’t know how to thank you for all your help, what is your name?” Karl asked as he watched the man offload all his luggages.

“I am Timothy, what is yours, dear boy?” the man asked

“My name is Karl and it is Wonderful to meet you, Timothy. I hope we can meet again if you would just give me your phone number, maybe next time I can properly repay you.”

“You are just a child my dear boy and I am happy to have helped you, I have a daughter about your age and if she was in the same position as you It would be wonderful to know that someone can help her like this.”

“Thank you again and your daughter is very lucky to have you.”

“I would wait here for you to go inside and confirm if they are the ones you are looking for, if they aren’t I could drive you back to the airport.”

“I don’t think that is necessary, I can feel it in my gut that they are the ones. You have done so much already, I cannot impose.”

“Well then, young Karl. Till we meet again and we shall”

“Take care of yourself Timothy and thank you”

Karl continued waving even as the car went out of sight before he realized he did not get the man’s number. He turned towards the house and could already see some faces peeking through the windows and observing him solemnly. He took a deep breath, grabbed his luggage and the nylon containing the bread gift and walked into the house.

Karl rang the doorbell, rubbing his hands nervously against each other, he was not one to pray so he just kept rubbing his hands together. The door was opened by a rather large woman who looked at him from head to toes before breaking out into a scream.

“Come on in, we have been expecting you. Your father is not here with you?” the woman said ushering him inside and grabbing his bag.

“I brought bread, I was told I should as I am coming for the first time.” Karl said raising the nylon containing the bread up to face level.

“Oh you should not have bothered my dear, you shouldn’t have. I have waited for so long to finally meet you.” The woman said collecting the bread from his hand and ushering him into a chair.

“My name is Karl Matthew and you are?”

“So formal aren’t you? Just like your father, who isn’t here by the way. Where is he?” she asked again sitting across from him.

Karl could already see the expectancy in her eyes and was very sad to be the one to break the news of his father’s death to her. He could see other children coming down the stairs shyly and smiled at them so they knew it was alright even though it wasn’t.

“Karl you haven’t answered the question? Did something happen to my brother?”

“My father is dead” Karl said in a whisper.

“Sandra, take your siblings upstairs and remain in the room till I say otherwise. We have a guest and I would like to speak to him alone, is that clear?” the woman screamed across the room at an eldest girl Karl assumed was the Sandra. He was right as she replied her mother and began ushering her siblings up the stairs and into their room.

When all of that was done, the woman turned to him looking at him with tears in her eyes.

“How did he die? How was my brother killed?”

“I don’t know, we were supposed to go for the usual family gathering at my mom’s. A call came in that my step mom was sick, he went to the hospital where she was supposedly admitted and I went for the gathering alone, I came back and met his dead body, a knife driven deep into his belly.” Karl concluded finally sobbing.

The woman stood up and came over to where he sat, his little shoulders racking with sobs

“it is okay Karl, you are safe here. No one will harm you, a knife you say?” she asked whilst comforting him.

“Yes a knife, and I don’t know who would want to kill my father because he was the most peaceful man you can ever meet or know, he never fought anyone or picked any quarrel even when he is the one offended. Who could have done such a thing to him.”

“Yes my brother is peaceful, we all are but my brother failed to accept who he is and that is probably why he is dead. The knife that was used to kill him was definitely silver and it definitely touched his heart”

“What do you mean?” Karl asked raising tear soaked eyes to look at her.

“He never told you?” the woman asked.

“Told me what?”

“About yourself, our kind, about the prophesy” the woman asked in disbelief.

“I have little to no idea what you are talking about, you haven’t even told me your name.” Karl said retreating from her embrace which she noticed immediately.

“My name is Katherine and we come from a line of pure Alpha wolf bloodline. Your father, you and I and others of our lineage, the prophesy has been going on for ages about someone who will break the curse of the full moon….”

“Hol’up..” Karl interrupted

“You are not joking? It is all real? Including all the things written in the journal?”

“Oh you have the journal I see, then why pretend you did not know anything about it?”

“That is because I only discovered the journal after my father’s death and forgive me if I feel like someone is playing a prank here. Is this how it is done when someone dies, y’all drop rubbish clues and expect me to go crazy that I am from a bloodline of what, wolves? Cut me some slack”

“I am not pranking you and neither is the journal nor the prophesy a joke, you need to understand that our lives depend on the person who is going to cure us from this curse. We used to think it was my brother but apparently it wasn’t.”

“I really hope you do not think it is me now” Karl said laughing hysterically.

“How old are you?” Katherine asked.

“Sixteen, why?”

“You haven’t killed anyone yet, have you?”

“No for God’s sake, why would I kill anyone?”

“To activate the curse, you have to take a life and believe me when I tell you some of us that activated the curse did not take a life willingly or knowingly. It just happened and one day on a full moon we discovered we had activated the curse.”

“I am already getting woozy just by listening to you talk about curses and wolves and everything supernatural. They don’t exist.”

“I would show you if you decide to stay”

“I would stay but not because I believe you, I just want to prove that all these things are you all being delusional.”

“I wish it was delusions because then it can be cured through stringent therapy. Since you have decided to stay we have to pack and prepare to go to the village, our village.” Katherine said jumping up and looking around.

“Our village?” Karl echoed

“Yes Karl, you have to meet the rest of the pack. Excuse me I have to ready my children.” She said and went upstairs.

Karl wondered if he should have accepted the Cab man’s offer of staying behind because he was sure he was definitely loosing it. He sat down, head in his hands, mouthing gibberish.

……

“Do you know exactly where he dropped” the voice asked.

“Yes I do, I dropped him there remember?” the cab man answered.

“Good, make sure to keep an eye on the house and maybe, just maybe you will get to see your daughter alive”

“please do not hurt her, she’s all I have”

“Do your job properly and I promise no harm will come to her but if you try to act smart, I will send you her body but in pieces. Is that clear?”

“Crystal”

The line went dead.