Pennsylvania, 2020
Everywhere was cold when Bessie arrived with Maria. They pulled their coats and dusted their feet on the floor, removing the little snowflakes that had gotten attached to their feet. It was December and almost three months now since Maria was granted her freedom which she thoroughly deserved because she was innocent in the murder of her student, John.
"How are you doing?" Maria said to Clark.
Clark raised his head and smiled. He was making a cup of coffee with his eyes focused on the television. There was a popular show going on that he loved to watch despite the situation surrounding them.
"I am slowly coming along," He said. "What about you? How did your trip with Bessie go? Did you see where my friend, Michael, used to live when he was still alive?"
"Yes, I did!" Maria said with delight. "I am truly sorry for your loss. From what the folks who live there said about him, I am definitely sure he was a good man when he was
Madrid, 2020The printer in the office of the secretary was unusually undersized as far as Blackwheel's memory could take him back to the last time he saw a machine of that nature. The two doors leading to the office were now locked as the secretary began typing instructions into the computer with a black keyboard while half-observing the sound of the printer."Pronto terminaré," the secretary said in Spanish."How long do I have to wait?" Blackwheel asked."Unos minutos!"As the printer warmed up to release more colored sheets of paper, the time Blackwheel spent in Italy with Alberto came into full view. The torture and brutality he had to endure as he watched Man drive a silver blade into the heart of his dear friend, Alberto weakened his parched soul. He could clearly remember the eyes of his dying friend who had taught him to love even in hard times. Still, he couldn't figure out how th
Madrid, 2020Betrayals were tiny voluminous black insects that Blackwheel had gotten used to seeing around. They stuck at him with a quick glare while waiting for the appropriate time to bite. The void he felt within him pressed down like a starless night, and all he could do as he felt the emptiness spread out around his body like a desolate retarded parasite was to embrace it. He embraced every sense of pain he could feel and made them a part of him. He embraced every sense of friendship he had lost and made them his past. He embraced every sense of hope he felt within him and turned it into his future. It was the second night in a row when he had woken up from a terrible nightmare with the image of Alberto stretching across his mind. He could see Alberto's face in an innocent light, staring widely at the Pacific Ocean as if he would take a dive once the opportunity presented itself to him.Perfecto!And then, in a flash, Alberto was gone like the thick wind c
Madrid, 2020The lights were turned off as Blackwheel reentered the motel. It was the fifth night he was spending in the same room, in the same pair of clothes, far away from his mission to find Man. Less than three minutes ago, he would have confirmed he was mentally deranged when he saw a car moving speedily towards his direction in a way that made him imagine he was lost in one of his common dreams about Alberto. But he was totally wrong. It took the sharp response of an incoming teenager who saw him staring blankly at the driver of the car that would have hit him to pull him an inch away from death. Yet, Blackwheel knew within his heart that his time to die had not come. He knew within his heart that the car wouldn't have killed him even if it had hit him. Still, he wished the boy had asked before deeming it fit to rescue him from a fate he had personally decided. Less pain. Less thoughts. Less people. Less Alberto! He s
Owerri, 2020Ifenna fanned through the pages quickly as he searched for the missing necklace his friend had told him about. Over seven hundred in all and yet, he was unable to make sense of it. The author of the book he was looking at must have been a busy man throughout his career and the entries he had apparently written were joined together in no chronologically order, one by one, they all told stories of different civilization that had been buried during mankind's quest for power.As Ifenna stared at the book again, feeling confused and tired, another disheartening thought occurred to him. It was one of the pages of the book that had been written with the title of a man who shared the surname with a woman he met about two years ago. The title of the page he was looking at was written in bold capital letters.JAMES BLACKWHEELHe attempted to look deeper when his partner, Kainene entered his room and t
Owerri, 2020An iciness raked Ifenna's flesh as he looked at the list of items he had bought from the supermarket. The day before he had read the story about James Blackwheel and then he had thought about Maria Blackwheel. Thoughts he couldn't explain to anyone but himself. Now, as he looked at the cashier in the supermarket, rechecking if the money he had given to her was correct, all he could think about was his meeting with Maria."Is it complete?" He asked."Yes, it is! You can take your package and leave. Thank you, sir!""You are welcome!" Ifenna said.
Madrid, 2020Blackwheel seemed to read Matthew's mind as he drove quietly to a busy marketplace in Madrid."Your help was really appreciated yesterday," Matthew said, turning to Blackwheel. He smiled. "Someday, I will be ready to pay you back for what you did for me and my kids. In my family, giving is like forgiveness. It was created to be shared and not selfishly stored. There are some people who will be placed in your position and still do otherwise.""It is just a car," Blackwheel said, trying to prevent himself from smiling. "Anyone could have helped you if they had seen your kids inside your car.""I doubt!" Matthew said with confidence. "Human nature has grown from bad to worse. People are only interested in what you can give them and not what they can give you. I would love to thank God for placing you in that position yesterday but I don't believe in him. So, I am at the middle of deciding if I should thank him or stay the same.""Yo
Owerri, 2020Two days had passed since Ifenna read a part of a book that talked about James Blackwheel and all he could think about, buried within the very deepest parts of his mind was Maria Blackwheel.In his short life, he had been blessed to meet people who were able to expose him to puzzles of life, difficult situation that he couldn't comprehend. And all he could do was respond with a faint nod to show that he was listening, that he was understanding even though he wasn't."Dinner is ready," Kainene said, folding a newspaper underneath her armpit covered with small curly black hairs."I will soon be there," Ifenna responded, rubbing his face with his hard palm. He couldn't get the thoughts of Maria out of his head neither could he accept the fact that there was a strong connection between her and James Blackwheel.As he sat for another ten seconds, his mind shut down, trying very hard to resist travelling a little bit back in time when
Madrid, 2020As Blackwheel drew closer to the statue that had made Matthew's daughter shake, he saw something that was quite familiar to him. He saw the biblical figure, David in it.He stared at the naked man who appeared to be pointing towards the sky for a while and frowned. Then, slowly, he stepped back as he trembled with a new idea that had flooded his mind."I looked it up in the Internet, Dad," Martha continued. "It wasn't in this shape. The naked man was pointing east and not towards the sky.""It doesn't matter," Matthew comforted his daughter. "Statues undergo renovation sometimes. Maybe that is what happened to your friendly naked man.""Your dad is right about the statue, Martha," Blackwheel said. He strained; the muscles of his shoulders and legs quivered with effort. He faced Matthew. "I will have to go now while you sort out things with your daughter. If you ever need me Matthew, you can call the number I am going to g