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Chapter Ten
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2024-10-29 19:42:56"Jesus!" His mother screamed, as the car moved towards the tree.
Alex gripped his seat belt, which was already fastened to his seat belt, while his mother also did so, and held the dashboard. His father persisted in fending off the steering until it bashed a tree.
Their head twitched forward, as the car slammed into the tree . Their skull would have collided with anything inside the car, if the seat belts had not stopped them.
Smoke erupted from the car's hood, as it struck the tree.
"Is everyone all right?" His dad enquired.
"Yes." Both he and his mother responded simultaneously.
"I mean, I hope nobody got hurt." He questioned his wife and Alex, to inspect if they had not sustain an injury from what happened.
"I'm good." Alex's mum replied, while Alex nodded his head in affirmation, since his father's eyes was still gazed at his.
"What about you, honey?"
"I'm good, thanks my love." His father replied his mum.
People had gathered around the car while they were having the conversation.
"Let's get down to examine the car." His father informed them as he unclutched his seat belt.
He winded down and came down from the car. Alex and his mum joined him outside, afterwards.
"Hope nobody got hurt?" A man in his mid-forties asked them, as soon as they exited the car.
"No, thank you, sir." His father smiled, as he responded.
"But I trafficated, in order to let you know that I was going to make a turn." A young man said.
"I was the one driving the vehicle in front of yours, before the collision." The young man remarked, realising that Alex's father had no idea what he was talking about.
"Oh! My bad. I became distracted. I lost concentration while driving. I hope I didn't hit your car or was it affected?" Alex's father asked out of curiosity.
"Oh, no. It wasn't affected nor was it hit. Just be careful when driving. Unexpected turn of events happen on this road." He said, as he smiled.
"Thank you very much for your concern. I really appreciate it." He replied while shaking the young man's hand.
The young man departed after they shook hands.
"It appears that the car is no longer fit to make the trip." The man in his mid-fifties said.
We still have a long voyage ahead of us, so if it does not start working, I'll have no choice but to force it to." His father replied, while smiling.
"Oh! I sincerely pray and hope that it will." The man said.
People moved away from the scene, as the men conversed between each other.
"I bet those people that just left, were talking negative things and blaming us for this accident." Alex told his mother.
"And are we innocent of their accusation, if they really did?" His mother responded.
"No, we are not." He replied, grudgingly.
"I don't know why dad reacted that way, when I told him about the dream I had. It's unlike him to get distracted while driving." He explained.
"It happens sometimes." His mum replied and rubbed her hand on his head.
"By the way, who is the owner of this house, so I could apologise to him; about this mess I caused and for destroying this tree due to my carelessness." He inquired.
"You do not need to seek for the owner. I am the owner's father." The man smiled as he replied.
"Imagine! I was not even aware of that. Once again, I'm really sorry sir." He apologised and he prostrated as a sign of respect.
Alex and his mum prostrated and knelt down respectively, in sequel to Alex's father show of respect.
"Eshey, baba." Alex and his mum thanked the old man, as they did so.
"Come on, come on. You all should stand up, it's actually nothing. I believe shit happens sometimes." The man said.
"Thank you, baba." They thanked him again.
"Check the car if it is in a good condition to continue the journey." He advised them.
It was when he told them to check the car's condition, Alex father inspected the car.
He went to check the front of the car and saw that the bumpa had been serverly damaged , due to the collision with the tree. The bonnet's tip was also ruined.
He then lifted the bonnet up and hung it with its hanger. He inspected some of the parts attached to the engine, and concluded that it was in a good condition to continue the journey.
"Good! I think it's in a perfect condition to move." Alex's father said.
"Okay, that's good." The old man replied.
"Alex, start the car so that we can know if it can work or not." He instructed Alex.
"Better! That is very crucial." The old man said.
"Okay sir. What about the key?" Alex asked his father.
"It is on the dashboard." He told Alex.
Alex went inside the car and found the key where his father told him it was.
The car started, the moment he switched the key.
"Good! I think it's in a good condition to move." Alex's father said.
"Yes." The old man affirmed.
"Thank you very much sir, for your concern." Alex's father thanked the old man.
"You are welcome, my son. The time is not on your side anymore, get in the car and continue your journey since you said that, you still have a long journey ahead of you" He adviced him.
"That's true, thank you sir." He prostrated, as he thanked him.
"Thank you sir." His wife also thanked him, as she knelt down halfway in the air.
"You people like to show gratitude a lot." He said, as he giggled.
"Sir, it's very rare to find someone that attend to someone warmly as you did. We even destroyed something of yours, and you didn't feel annoyed. Thank you sir." Alex's father thanked him.
"It's okay. You see, it's good to render help whenever one is in need of a help. I do not know the situation I might be in the future. It might be one of you that would help me then. You see, life is all about give and take." He explained to them.
"That's very true. We might come here to visit you , when we are coming back from our journey and fully show our gratitude." Alex's father said.
"It's okay. You are welcome, anytime, any day." He told them.
For a long time, Alex was in the car wondering what his parents and the mother were talking about.
Alex's father finally closed the car's hood, after several unsuccessful attempts to close it, because of the wreckage.
"Good-bye, sir." Alex's father bid him goodbye, as he walked to get into the car.
"Good-bye my son. Have a safe journey." He said as he smiled.
Alex's mum also walked to enter the car.
Since his father was already sitting in the driver's seat, Alex wanted to exit the vehicle to allow him to take his place and seat on his initial seat. However, he chose to move to the back seat by passing the little space between the driver's seat and the front passenger's seat, to the back seat, to avoid thanking the man and probably striking up a conversation with him.
His father started the car and honked the car's horn afterwards, which prompted the man to wave his hands at them, to bid them goodbye.
"O daabo. I wish you a safe journey." He shouted.
"What a nice man." His mother said, as his father tried to reverse the car, so they could continue their journey.
"A very nice man indeed." His father complimented.
N. B:
(1) Male and Female prostrates and kneels down respectively as a sign of respect in Yoruba culture, to either greet elderly people or to show gratitude towards them.
(2) "Eshey baba" is a Yoruba phrase simply translated as "Thank you, daddy." However, the word, "daddy" denotes more meaning in Yoruba apart from its dictionary meaning. Hence, the utterance means "Thank you, sir" in this context.
(3) "My son" also denotes more meaning in Yoruba apart from been used to refer to a person's male offspring. It could be used by an adult to refer to a young person, who is enough to be the adult's son, or used by family members that are older than the referent.
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"How am I going to live and cope in this house? Is it even qualified to be referred to as a house? I mean, how the heck am I going to live under a thatched roof, for God's sake?!" These thoughts ran through his head, as he alighted from the car to join others. "But I heard, he owns a new house now. He built a new building some years ago." His father asked the driver. "Yes, that's true. The building is at the rear of this hut. You'll just pass through the narrow path beside the building." The driver pointed at a small, narrow road beside the hut. "He only does his things in this building." He added. "Which things does he do? And who is he?" Alex asked out of curiosity, but his father intervened before the driver said anything. "That's okay. Have you ever been told that you talk too much, young man? ." Alex' father remarked. "Come on, get these bags out of the booth." He commanded Alex. While his father was counting some money to pay the driver for his service, after they had unlo
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"You mean these two are not my parents? This whole story was cooked up, right? Just tell me it's a joke." He scoffed, hoping the old man's last statement was a lie."As much as you wish it were a lie, I'm sorry to break your heart, what I said is nothing but the truth." He conceded. "They are not your parents, but they are the only ones left as your parents, and you should be glad they brought you up responsibly, because to be quite honest, I was worried they would not take good care of you as they had promised." He added."What the fuck do you -""Language, son!" His adopted father interjected."Don't - don't ever call me that! Who is your son, and who are you to tell me what is right or wrong?" He stood up and pointed fingers at his adopted parents, which bemused them."I mean, I've been surrounded by lies and deceit all my life, and you expect me to accept this and thank you for doing what exactly?!" He sniffed, trying to stop tears from flowing from his eyes."Son, we did all this
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"Surprisingly, I enjoyed my short stay in this village, even though it was just a few days." Brian said, as he and Alex were packing their clothes into their travel bags."Really?!" Alex smiled."Yes, man. It's surprising for you to hear me say that, right?" Brain chuckled."Yeah." Alex said."What about you?" Brain asked."About what?" He was clueless."Did you enjoy your stay here or not, dummy?" He clarified."Oh – that. Like I said two days ago, when the old man told me that I would be king in the future, I did. I enjoyed my stay here. At first, it felt like I was living in hell, but I gradually enjoyed it. I didn't even feel reluctant to leave America when we wanted to relocate to this country, the way I'm feeling now." He explained."What?" Alex was prompted to ask because Brian chuckled after he uttered the statement."Look at you talking about enjoying your little adventure here when you were ranting and crying about leaving this place because you couldn't endure to live here.
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Alex sat in front of the house with Brian as he waited for the old man's arrival."What do you think the chiefs wanted to discuss with the Baba Agba?" He asked Brian, who was busy on his phone."Why are you getting yourself worried about it? There's nothing to worry about. I know their discussion is over a trivial issue." He assured me."Check this babe out. She's beautiful, right?" He placed his phone in front of Alex to see."Guy, I'm not in the mood for that." Alex didn't look at the phone's screen."I don't know why you are anxious. Just chillax."Alex immediately rose from the seat as he saw the old man from afar."Welcome, Baba Agba. How was the meeting? What did the chief discuss with you?" He lowered his head."It was okay. We just had a little discussion. Are your parents and Vivian inside?" He inquired as they walked towards the house."Yes.""Okay, stay outside with your friend for now. I need to have a discussion with you, but you will be called upon when your attention is
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Alex struggled to get any sleep since he was anxious about his parents' arrival, particularly the surprise the both of them told him.He was up all night thinking about what the surprise might be, but he could not think of anything."If only I could just see the future, especially the outcome of the clash tomorrow between the king and I, at least I would be rest assured. The anxiety is killing me." His body was positioned such that his head and eyes were oriented upward toward the coffered ceiling, which had rectangular panels surrounded by wooden beams, while he lay flat on his bed and rested his head on his hands. The sudden thought diminished his anticipation and made him less excited about his parents' coming.His door busted open suddenly, which made him flinch and startled, and as a result, he stood up instantly due to the reflective response. "Who will it be if not the old man? I wonder why he ignores such elementary manners as knocking." He wondered, because adults he had bee
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The past few days of preparation for the war between the king and Alex have been stressful and tiring for him. The old man has also been demanding, adding to the stress.It seemed like the world was against him, and he could not shoulder the task bestowed upon him anymore. As a result, he felt like giving up and just going back to living and enjoying his normal life before the whole destiny thing happened."Alex?" Despite Vivian's whispering, he could hear her clearly. "Yeah?" He quickly cleaned the little tears off his face so she wouldn't notice.He chose to tear down and sob in the darkness because it was the only place he found comfortable to let his pains out."Alex, why are you sitting here, all alone in the darkness?" She moved closer to him.He kept silent instead."I called your phone repeatedly to ask about your whereabouts, until I realised that you left it in your room. What the hell?! Why are you seated on the bare floor?" She was surprised to see him sitting on the floo
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"Are they supposed to let us go like that after our display?" Alex asked, as they made their way home."No," he replied with a smile and continued, "just like one of the chiefs said, the king is the second in command and authority after the gods, and no one dares to confront him no matter what he does..." "But I did, because he is not deserving of the title of king." He was expecting Alex to question him about why he had disrespected and confronted him, but since he didn't, he had to explain it. They walked in silence to the house afterwards, occasionally breaking it when the old man responded to people's greetings. Vivian was seated on the bench where they were seated before the guards came earlier, waiting for their arrival. As soon as she saw them approaching, she stood up and moved in their direction."Don't tell me you've been sitting here all this while." The old man said, before Vivian could say anything. "I was really scared, thinking something terrible would happen at th
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Alex woke up in the afternoon after the fortification in pain from the cuts. He groaned as he got up reluctantly and walked to the bathroom to shower while rubbing his migraine-ridden head. The bathroom does not have a standing shower but only a tap that runs water into buckets. He strained to lean down and use the bowl from the water-filled bucket to pour water on his body. He avoided scrubbing his back and his wrist, which had cuts from the fortification, with the sponge he had brought along from the city, because of what the old man applied to them after the fortification. "This will fasten the healing process." The old man had said, after he applied a substance that seemed like a mixture of a leaf and other things to the cuts, before they went to bed. He didn't spend up to three minutes in the bathroom, which was unusual of him because he was in pain. "2:45!" He exclaimed as he checked the time on his phone after he had dried himself up. "Maybe the painkiller I used before I
