Pennsylvania, 2020
Clark swung open the door and dropped back to the ground as if he was trying to avoid been struck. He brushed the dust from his clothes as he stood up and turned to face Maria who was there to greet him.
"Any word from the director's daughter?" Maria asked.
Clark shook his head.
"Nothing yet."
"How long has she been missing?"
"For almost three days now," Clark said. "I have searched everywhere I could remember seeing her with some of her friends."
"Still no luck?"
Clark shook his head again.
"The only luck I have is that I am innocent and I won't be falsely accused of kidnapping my director's daughter," he said.
Maria looked over to a parked police car where she had seen some police men come out from. "What about the police officer that wanted to show us something some days ago? Have you heard anything from him?"
Clark nodded. "He
Mumbai, 2020Dev knotted his tie properly as he watched his wife position herself close to the mirror to repeat the speech she had been saying for almost an hour now. He had been anticipating Blackwheel's arrival to his dwelling place where he made all his careful plans while preparing the necessary proofs he needed to show that the powers of the necklace was not a fairy tale or a myth but a well packaged path to heaven."There are some days you will mix up your thoughts with words that are unfruitful to the heart," Dev's wife began looking at her husband, Dev. "There are some days you will wake up early in the morning and feel the universe is craving to fall on top of your head and crush you. There are some days you ride into what you think has occurred. There are some days you look for a thousand words to express what you think might have happened to your heart and yet you can't find it because it is almost impossible for you to find it. There are some days you w
Pennsylvania, 2020"How do you explain what is written on the piece of paper?" Clark asked, staring oddly at Maria's eyes."I have no idea," Maria admitted. "We are not even sure whether the information in the piece of paper is authentic. We can't trust something that can't be proven. We need a reliable source to back up what is written here.""There is a number at the last line written in italics," Clark said, bringing the piece of paper closer to his eyes. "I think it would be best if we called the number before jumping into an unnecessary conclusion that would result in absolutely nothing for both of us. It is most likely that James Blackwheel is related to you and that he is currently in Mumbai awaiting your arrival. I have seen many books and newsletters published over the years but none of them possess what I have just seen now. A man who has lived over a millenium? That is quite impossible!""It is impossible," Maria sighed. "Only a fool wou
Mumbai, 1964Deep down inside, she was bleeding; her heart was swollen as if she had been pierced by a rod that could reach any part of her body with one bite.Blackwheel stared at her, feeling disgusted about what he had done. It was one of the many times he had raped a woman without feeling any form of remorse for his victim just fear. This very day, he stared at the woman deeply and she stared back at him like a wounded lion. He knew her father was from Pakistan because she had mentioned it once while begging him to pull away from her. All he could do was look at her, feel sorry for her and think about her name. Her name was very familiar to him because it sounded like rushing water hitting on top of dry roof. Her name was Hira and she was the second woman he had raped in a week.
Lagos, 2020Ifenna braced himself for whatever was coming on his way. He stood tall in his mind. Prepared!Over the past few days he had felt an unusual feeling that Maria Blackwheel was going to call him. And although he couldn't explain why he had that feeling, he still couldn't stop himself from believing that he would actually see Maria again.Alone in a well furnished motel in Lagos, he opened his eyes and looked around himself in the darkened room, hearing the sound of a bell ringing. He sat up. The bell sounded again and he wondered how long it had been ringing before he knew it was coming from outside his motel room. Slowly, he got to his feet, swaying from stiffness, trying to shake off sleep from his eyes and the insulting fact that he had been chased away from his girlfriend's house after their recent break-up, and the awful dream he had had about chasing Maria with all his might down a lonely stream. Was it love?The bell rang again, ins
Lagos, 2020"What is love?" Ifenna asked himself as he walked away from the motel. He watched the silver bulbs flash again in his mind. He and Kainene were standing close to the stairs that led to a grand hallway: Kainene dressed in a black gown was smiling at the beauty of the atmosphere and he with the faintest idea of the concept of enjoyment with a woman was waiting for her to say something.He heard the loud whisper of a truck carrying petrol and quickly remembered he was about to cross a road and move to the other side where he could get a bus that was heading back to Owerri as soon as it was filled up. He crossed after taking a quick glance at both sides of the road to confirm if it was safe for him to pass.At the junction, he saw a man dressed in partly torn jeans and a t-shirt with the revered flag of Nigeria at its centre. Green, white and Green."Aba!" The man dressed in partly torn jeans and a t-shirt bearing the flag of Nigeria
Mumbai, 2020Blackwheel let out a low whistle as he sat inside his hotel room, now realizing why Dev had sent him a ridiculous letter he had ended with a threat. He knew he had met different women during the time when he was actively involved in pursuing the brotherhood's cause but he also knew he couldn't remember the names of every woman he had met.Indeed! The woman's name sounded familiar to him. It seemed as if she was some distant person he had fallen in love with but couldn't remember how or when. She seemed like a shadow of his past that he couldn't quite put in the right place."Mumbai, 1964," he marveled, admiring the historical accuracy of an event he was involved in where he had raped a woman who was supposedly named Hira.At the back of the letter was a poem Dev had written in honor of the woman Blackwheel had raped. Blackwheel stared at each words he had written carefully, attempting to recite it. After a while of looking at the
Mumbai, 2020The door buzzed behind him, and Blackwheel turned to watch a young man enter. When he arrived inside, his face immediately grew pale as he stared at the unusual figure in front of him. Half man. Half werewolf. He was staring at Blackwheel."Give it a minute," Blackwheel said. "If you get light-headed, turn away quickly. I will soon adjust to my normal form. Once again, thank you for your kind gesture.""You don't have to thank me," Marcus said. "You know why I am here. Your call of pain means nothing to me compared to the love I had for Alberto. He was a good man. You on the other hand was, and remains a terrible man. Just take a look at yourself and see what you have gotten yourself into. Running away like you used to do from the start.""You don't understand," Blackwheel said. "I came here to get answers to some questions I am yet to figure out. And I feel terrible at the moment.""You are always feeling terrible all the time because you
Owerri, 2020He turned and a hysterical terror seized him, as though he was falling from a skyscraper in a dream with a necklace around his neck. A white blur was standing close a door, silent, almost awake, ghostlike, almost asleep. It filled his weak eyes and gripped his body as if he was in an inescapable trance. He was thinking. Maria Blackwheel was in his mind. He was thinking about her even though he didn't know why he was thinking about her. Her image was clear in his mind and he could feel her like he could feel himself falling from a skyscraper in a dream with a necklace around his neck."Maria!" He spoke softly to himself, questioningly.There was no response and he didn't really care. He tried to care but he just couldn't care. There was so much to think about. So much to consider especially since he was sleeping alone in the bed for the third time in a week without Kainene by his side. He tried to avoid thinking about Kainene but he couldn't