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
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
On the next day, the day of the clash between the king and Alex, the old man woke Alex up before the sun rose while the night was still chilly before roosters crowed."I thought we were done with fortifications. Why are we headed to the shrine?" Alex yawned, still rubbing his eyes, as they walked to the shrine."Fortification is not complete until you get to the battle ground." The old man replied as Alex walked behind him.They had the ritual procedure, but it was more intense than before.The old man prayed on Alex's behalf and appeased the gods to make him triumph in the battle."I didn't know when you left; I was worried when I woke up and couldn't find you until your sister told me you and the old man were in the shrine." Brian said as Alex walked into the room. "How would you know when you are a heavy sleeper?" Alex scoffed."That's funny, coming from a person who snores." He retorted."You call me a snorer? You must be joking." Alex chuckled."Who should be called a snorer bet
"Is this celebration really important this way for everyone to be gathered there?" He wondered. He was surprised to see a lot of people gathered and rejoicing at the spot, leaving their work just for a mere celebration.Some that saw Alex and the old man as they approached, fidgeted, and they called others attention to look at Alex as he approached. They were shocked, especially by Alex' outfit.They looked at them glaringly while muttering some words, their jaws dropping.Their gaze was fixed on them as they struggled to walk to the center of the spot, the center of attraction where the king, his chiefs, and other royal members were seated.The drummers, who had been beating the drums for almost an hour, abruptly stopped on seeing them, making everything quiet like a graveyard for a few seconds.The king stood up from his royal seat, fuming as he saw them. His face was reddened, and his brows furrowed."Baba Fakunle! What are you doing here? What is the meaning of this?" He pointed
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
"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.
Suddenly, Alex found himself in a dark room. He felt trapped because he had no clue where he was, how he got there, or where to head towards to leave the darkness. Still wondering all these, he saw a dim of light from afar, but the dim got brighter later on making it seem like it emanated from his front initially. He heard a voice echoes,"your people await you" several times, while still blinking his eyes from the glittering light which took him abacked because he didn't noticed that someone accompanied the light.Then, he tried to take a look at the person to examine the person's appearances notwithstanding the light. He then concluded that the person was an old woman due to her conspicuous shaky voice, but after he managed to take an in-depth look at her, he noticed that she wore a dirty white cloth; her hair and fingers were so dirty that one would think she used her hand to till a soil, which attested his initial observation. However, he couldn't see her face because her dirty ha
Leaving his house, he ran to his classmate and friend's house - Brian. His house and Brian's are just some few minutes away from each other, and they have been going to school together ever since Alex and his family relocated from the States.He halted from running to catch up his breath on getting to the front of Brian's house because he ran out of breath from running in haste. Luckily, he met Brian's mum - Mrs Smith, who was about to enter her freshly washed red Venza car which was parked on their driveway. She was surprised to see him that way. "Good morning ma." He greeted her, realising Mrs Smith's weird look. "Good morning, Alex. Hope everything is okay with you?" She replied. "Yes, I am." He answered, still knee bent trying to catch up his breath. "Is Brian still at home?" He asked her. "No, he left already. I thought something was odd between you two because you did not pick up his calls when he called you earlier to remind you that he was still waiting for you. I hope e
"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.
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
"Is this celebration really important this way for everyone to be gathered there?" He wondered. He was surprised to see a lot of people gathered and rejoicing at the spot, leaving their work just for a mere celebration.Some that saw Alex and the old man as they approached, fidgeted, and they called others attention to look at Alex as he approached. They were shocked, especially by Alex' outfit.They looked at them glaringly while muttering some words, their jaws dropping.Their gaze was fixed on them as they struggled to walk to the center of the spot, the center of attraction where the king, his chiefs, and other royal members were seated.The drummers, who had been beating the drums for almost an hour, abruptly stopped on seeing them, making everything quiet like a graveyard for a few seconds.The king stood up from his royal seat, fuming as he saw them. His face was reddened, and his brows furrowed."Baba Fakunle! What are you doing here? What is the meaning of this?" He pointed
On the next day, the day of the clash between the king and Alex, the old man woke Alex up before the sun rose while the night was still chilly before roosters crowed."I thought we were done with fortifications. Why are we headed to the shrine?" Alex yawned, still rubbing his eyes, as they walked to the shrine."Fortification is not complete until you get to the battle ground." The old man replied as Alex walked behind him.They had the ritual procedure, but it was more intense than before.The old man prayed on Alex's behalf and appeased the gods to make him triumph in the battle."I didn't know when you left; I was worried when I woke up and couldn't find you until your sister told me you and the old man were in the shrine." Brian said as Alex walked into the room. "How would you know when you are a heavy sleeper?" Alex scoffed."That's funny, coming from a person who snores." He retorted."You call me a snorer? You must be joking." Alex chuckled."Who should be called a snorer bet
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
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
"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
"Why does the king want to see him all of a sudden? What does the guard mean by him disrespecting the king?" Alex wondered as he followed the old man to the palace.He didn't want to ask him the reason for the king's call because the old man was fuming.Alex found it difficult to keep up with him despite the fact that he was old enough to be his grandfather, which made him question how he was still in shape at his age.Many people greeted him as he passed by, which made him wonder why people still respected him despite his exile, because he believed that exile attracted disrespect from others.His heart beat rapidly in eagerness as he saw a house ahead of them. He concluded that it was the palace to which they were headed because a crown was inscribed on its gate."Whom do you seek?" The guard questioned."If not the king, then who should I be here to see? Is it you? The guards exchanged startled looks with one another."Are you simply going to remain still and refuse to carry out you
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