The fiery hot wind blew against him but
he did not seem to notice. His mind was
taken up by what he saw; the reflection
of his face in the water made him shiver.
He slapped his hand across the river and
his reflection disappeared in the ripples.
He stood and slid across his face the veil
that had been his covering for so many
decades. Decades that had turned into
centuries and centuries into millennia.
The world knew him as Ibilis, the cause
of all the evil in the world, and they were
right. But they knew so little about him,
as little as he wanted them to know. His
world was one of darkness, one he hated
so much. He had crossed from light to
darkness when he had challenged
Edumare, a battle he would have won if
he had been given a fair chance. His loss
meant he had to leave for the abyss
called Hades along with a few of his
defeated loyal servants.
The only reason he had not been lost in
despair through the millennia was the
hope that one day he would be able to
corrupt one of the gods in the seven
heavens. And he had succeeded. One of
them had eventually given in to centuries
of pressure and through him he would
achieve his target; take over the earth.
Ibilis looked around him at the many who
toiled in his service as he prepared for
what will be the end of man and the
ultimate devastation of Edumare. He did
not understand it, Edumare’s obsession
with men. It infuriated him. It did not
matter, because soon, with one blow he
would wipe out men and take his revenge
on Edumare.
***
“We have set a two-month deadline, we
cannot wait for her to give birth, look for
another person to play the role.” Eric
said and shook his head. He had been in
the business for less than a year but he
already knew more than these expert
morons.
“Sir, she is the best person for the role.”
The older moron said.
“And she’s famous; her face alone will
sell our movie.” The younger moron
added, supporting his colleague.
“Do you think we are negotiating here
guys? Did we use a single famous actor
for our last movie? Did it or did it not
blow away all box office records here in
Nigeria?” Eric said, looking at the men,
who were trying to avoid his gaze. “Dapo,
answer my question.”
“You’re right sir.”
“Good, so go and do as I said. We are
not waiting for anybody. Okay, get to
work both of you.”
Eric watched them leave his office. He
understood their thinking, they could not
figure how he could do a movie with an
unknown cast and expect success, but he
had and he would do it again. He did not
have to explain himself to them anyway,
he was their boss, plus he had other
things on his mind.
He had had the strangest experience the
day before. He was at his new home with
his new girlfriend, well that’s what she
thought she was, and she had got him
upset. He had been lucky because he
walked out of the room immediately his
temper started to rise. He walked to his
balcony and as he thought about the
infuriating words she had said to him, he
squeezed his fingers in frustration and
just then his hand disappeared. He had
jumped back out of fear, releasing the
fingers and they had re-appeared.
No matter how much he tried, he could
not find a reasonable explanation for the
incidence. He had been drunk but he had
never been drunk to the point of
hallucinating.
A knock on the door brought him back
from his reverie.
“Come in.”
His secretary came in. She was his only
friend, but even she could not know
about the disappearing hand.
“Pearl, what’s up?”
“Your two pm is here.”
“My two…I have an appointment?” Eric
asked, clicking on his digital calendar.
“Apparently, I do. Who is Toni Adedoyin?”
“Eric! That lady has been after you since
European came out. She called and
called before she got this appointment.”
“Oh yeah, the journalist. Can I reschedule
this? I don’t think I want to do an
interview right now.”
“Come on Eric, you can’t reschedule this.
We have rescheduled four times, it’s not
polite. She is a human person.”
“I know Pearl, I just don’t want to do this
now.”
“You will!” She said with finality, he knew
there was no point arguing. “Do whatever
you want to do now, she’s coming in in
five minutes.”
“Okay. But am I ready for this interview?
This is a major step you know, it’s my
first as CEO of X-Media.”
“Aww, Eric is nervous.” Pearl said, walked
to him and put an arm round his
shoulder. “You will be fine dear. Now be
a man and let me be the lady here.”
She walked out of the office and Eric
walked to the reception area in his office
and sat.
He had a reason to be nervous. He knew
the journalist would ask questions about
his past, his life before X-Media. He had
had a terrible accident and had no idea
who he was. He had an official story he
told everybody who asked though. Only
Pearl knew his story was fiction. An
invasive journalist could pick through his
made-up story.
There was a knock on his door, he stood
from the chair and straightened his
jacket.
“Come in please.” Eric said, trying his
best to smile.
“Mr. Adesesan, thanks for seeing me.”
Toni, the journalist said, stretching her
hand to shake him.
“Please call me Eric, Mr. Adesesan is my
grandfather, even my father never let
people call him that.” Eric replied,
shaking her hand.
“Oh, alright, thank you Eric.”
“Please have a seat.” Eric said, pointing
her to a chair. “I’m sorry I’ve not been
able to see you for so long.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re seeing me now.”
She said, sitting. “Okay, before we start
this, do you solemnly swear to say the
truth and nothing but the truth?”
“What? I…” Eric stammered.
“No, I’m just joking Eric. This isn’t a
court room.” She said laughing.
Eric tried to join the laughter but nothing
came out of his mouth but a slight
chuckle.
“Alright, let’s begin, shall we?” She said,
bringing out a notepad.
“Okay, let’s.” Eric said and silently
prayed the interview would not become
the beginning of the end for him.
***
She observed her aide – Adedamola as
he escorted the visitor to the door.
Damola was tall, had broad shoulders
and the most handsome face she had
ever seen. Sometimes she wondered if he
was a god of some sorts, or perhaps he
was just specially constructed to torture
women. He walked with a swagger she
could not understand, almost as if he
was royalty.
He turned around to look at her and she
turned away quickly. He had caught her
staring far too often, she was his boss,
she had to learn some discipline.
“Are you done for the day Anne?” He
asked. The way he pronounced her name
sent a tingling sensation up her spine.
He rarely called her by name, he had
always called her ma’am except for a few
precious times.
“Yeah, I’m almost done.” She answered,
hoping he did not see the heat in her
face. “Wait for me at the reception; I will
be with you soon.”
She tried to look away but failed so she
watched him leave. She remembered the
first time she had seen him. She had
been instantly attracted to him but her
friends told her to forget about it. Apart
from the social class difference, they
said, he was rough, and not the kind of
person to be working with a top model.
They had a point. He worked as a
delivery boy for a pizza place and he had
the roughest hair and beard she had ever
seen but she could not stop thinking
about him. There was something familiar
about him and in less than two weeks he
had begun to work in her organization.
She stood from her chair and walked into
the bathroom. As she did she caught her
reflection in the mirror and stopped. She
turned and faced the mirror. She was
beautiful, she knew it, and everybody
knew it. She had been in the modeling
industry for only a year but she was
already at the top of the industry. She
charged the highest fees, she turned
down international brands because she
had too much to do already, she lived the
life so many of her contemporaries could
only dream of.
She wiped the mirror with her palms and
looked closer into the mirror to see her
eyes. They had a look of loss in them,
something she tried her best to hide
every time.
She turned away from the mirror and
grabbed her make up bag, tonight was
not a time for thoughts of loss. There
was a handsome god of a man waiting to
take her home. Even if he would not go
past her front door.
***
Damola looked at her through the
rearview mirror and smiled. She was
asleep. For a woman who was so calm
and collected during the day, she tossed
a lot in her sleep. He looked away from
her and focused on the road. He had
caught her looking at him a few times
and it always excited him. He did his
own bit of looking, he was just smarter
about it. Working for her was the easiest
decision he had ever made. Because of
his looks he had gotten a lot of offers for
different jobs but he had always refused,
he had never felt like he needed more
than he got from the pizza place. When
she asked him to come work for her, he
had accepted immediately. There was
something about her, he had no idea
what it was but he could not resist her.
A traffic light ahead of him turned red
and he stepped on the brake. The car had
just slowed to a stop when the car jerked
forward suddenly! It had been hit from
behind. He heard a whimper behind him
and he looked. Anne had fallen off her
seat and hit her head on the front chair.
Damola turned off the engine, opened his
door and ran to Anne’s side of the car.
He opened her door and helped her up to
her seat. Her nose was bleeding.
His heart raced at the sight of the blood
on her face. He turned away from her
and started walking towards the driver
who hit him. The driver was still in the
car, he had not even bothered to come
out.
Damola walked to his door and knocked
on his window. The driver rolled down his
window.
“Why did you stop so suddenly? Didn’t
you know a car was coming behind you?”
The driver said with a sneer.
Damola felt the heat begin to rise. “What
did you just say?”
“Move your car out of the road and let
me go, useless man!” The man retorted
and rolled his window up.
Damola looked at the man and he felt a
vibration in his hand, he lifted it and
punched the window! It shattered and the
shocked driver jumped back. Damola
opened the door and began to pull the
man. He yanked the seatbelt off the
driver and grabbed him. The man
struggled but he overpowered him easily.
Suddenly the man began to scream. “It’s
burning me! Help, it’s burning me!”
A crowd began to gather around the
scene. Damola looked at the man
confused. What was burning him? Then
he felt it. At first it was a slight warm
tingling on his palms, then it became
really hot. He dropped the man and
looked at his hands, they smoked.
He turned around quickly and walked
back to the car. Nobody tried to stop him
as he entered and drove away. His hand
smoked? What set it on fire? Why wasn’t
he burned? Who was Adedamola
Adetokun?
***
“That was an awesome interview.” Toni
Adedoyin said.
“Really? That was all you.” Eric said,
standing from his seat.
“I don’t think so, you did well yourself.”
She said with a smile. She stuffed her
notepad into her bag and stood.
The interview had gone better than he
thought it would. Mostly because she
had stuck to questions about X-Media
and European, his first movie which had
blown everybody away. She worked for a
business magazine, of course she was
not after his life story. He wondered why
he had been so paranoid.
“Care to join me for light refreshment
before you leave?” Eric asked.
“Well…” She said and looked at her
watch. “I guess I could spare ten
minutes.”
“That’s all the time it takes to eat our
special delicacy; the Spanish lizard.” Eric
said with relish as they settled into their
chairs.
“The what?!” She asked eyes wide.
“Ha, gotcha! That’s my revenge for the
joke you pulled on me earlier.” Eric said
and pumped his fist in mock victory.
“Nice! That’s how it is?”
“That’s how it is.”
Eric brought out two wine glasses and
poured some wine into them.
“You always treat your guests with this
much niceness, I might be a constant
guest here.” Toni said, taking a sip from
the glass.
“My father always said, there are two
people you must always treat nicely; your
wife and journalists. Because people will
believe whatever they say about you, true
or false.”
Toni laughed and said. “He is a wise
man. You seemed to have picked a lot
from him. He must have been proud of
you when you produced European.”
“He would have been, but he’s been late
for a while.” Eric said, hoping it would be
the end of questions about his father.
He was not so lucky. “Was he into
entertainment too?”
“Yes he was.” He replied without
thinking.
“He was? Wow, it runs in the family then.
Was he was a movie producer?”
“No, he wasn’t.” Eric said, his feeling of
unease increasing.
“Yeah? What was he then?”
“Can you please stop! I thought the
interview was over.” Eric snapped. He
looked at her shocked face and felt
terrible.
“I’m sorry…” She started to say.
“No, it’s me who is sorry. I’m so sorry,
it’s just that the topic of my father is
very touchy for me.” He said, trying to
put on a smile.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have pushed.”
“I guess you can say I have daddy
issues.” Eric said beaming a huge smile.
“I hope this does not destroy the chances
of those repeated visits you promised.”
“Promised? I didn’t promise anything.
But I’ll visit anytime I’m in the
neighbourhood.”
“Please do.”
“Thank you very much for this.” She said
standing.
“It was my pleasure.”
Eric walked her to the door of the
company building and watched her walk
all the way to her car. His good-for-
nothing girlfriend was going to get kicked
out very soon, maybe then he could pay
real attention to the attractive journalist.
He was about to turn around to head
back into the building when something
caught his eye. He looked closer. Beside
his car in the parking lot was an odd
looking man. He was dressed in robes
and was barefooted. He looked like he
had just stepped out of an ancient
movie. Strangely, people walked past him
without paying any attention to him.
Eric shook his head and walked back into
the building. He had enough weirdness in
his life, the odd man could live his.
***
Anne stood outside and watched Damola
walk out of her house. She was
disturbed, there was something strange
about the way he had looked that day.
She had watched him go after the driver
who hit the car from behind. At first, she
had felt good about it, he was fighting
because she was hurt. But she had seen
him get really angry, and even though he
had not landed a single punch on the
man, the look she saw on the man’s face
was pure fear.
She turned around and entered her
house. There was something else that
disturbed her, the look in his eyes. It was
the same look she saw in her own eyes
more often than not; confusion.
“My lady?” She heard an unfamiliar voice
call from behind her.
She stopped and turned around. A man
stood in the corner of her living room.
How did he enter? She had opened the
door herself, and there was no way he
slipped past her.
“Who are you? How did you get in?” She
asked, trying not to show fear.
“How did I enter? It surprises me that
you ask that question my lady. We are
not of this world, we come and go as we
please.” The man said.
“Not of this…?” Anne started and shook
her head. She reached into her bag and
brought out her phone, she wished
Damola had actually come in.
“Don’t call him, he is not ready, let him
go in peace.”
Anne looked at him carefully. The man
was dressed strangely, he looked like
nothing she had seen in Nigeria. He wore
a robe, somewhat like a Buddhist monk.
He was barefooted and had some strange
kind of beads around his neck. She had
never met him, that she was sure of but
there was an air of familiarity about him.
Kind of what she felt the first time she
met Damola.
“What do you want from me?” Anne
asked steadying herself.
“Before I answer your question my lady, I
will ask mine. Do you know who you
are?”
“Yes I do.” She said, her voice lower than
she planned. Who was this man? “I am
Anne Oyawoye…”
“Wait! Tell me who you are, not who you
have told everybody you are.”
Anne felt her heart beat faster against
her chest. She had avoided the question
the man was asking for a long time. She
had no idea who she was, Anne Oyawoye;
the international model was all she knew.
“You can’t seem to answer my question
my lady. Perhaps because you do not
know the answer. That is why I’m here, to
deliver the answer.”
“You know who I am?” Anne asked, she
could not hide the eagerness in her
voice.
“Yes I do my lady, but with knowledge
comes responsibility. Are you willing to
take the responsibility that comes with
the knowledge of who you are?”
“What responsibility?” She hesitated.
“What are you talking about?”
“That box on the wall, the one that
shows you the past, the present and
sometimes the future…”He said pointing
to the television. “Put it on.”
Anne reached for the remote, cautiously
eyeing the weird man. She put on the TV.
“You see that?” The man asked. On the
television was news about a village in
the northern part of the nation who
experienced what looked like an eclipse.
The reporter was saying how strangely,
the village was the only place to
experience the eclipse.
“I don’t understand.” Anne said. An
eclipse that was experienced in one
village only was strange but she had no
idea what that had to do with her.
“You don’t understand now, but you will.
I should leave you now.” The man said
and moved towards the door.
“Wait! You have not told me who I am.”
Anne said.
“Are you ready for this my lady?” Anne
stood straight, folded her arms across
her chest and looked at him. “Your name
is Oya, the daughter of the great
Edumare, creator of the seven heavens.
You are the controller of the wind and
the storm do your bidding. You are not
mere mortal my lady, you are a goddess,
a great goddess.”
Anne stood and stared at him for a few
seconds, stunned. Then she recovered
herself and laughed. She wanted to stop
the laughter but she was so amused she
could not.
“Sir, whoever you are, thank you for
playing on my moment of weakness, I
can’t believe I actually thought you knew
who I am. Thank you but you are should
leave now.” She said and turned around
to get her phone.
“There is more you should know.” The
man continued.
She could not believe she had been so
eager to hear what the man had to say.
She should have been more concerned
about getting him out of her house than
bothering with what he had to say.
She got her phone and looked up. “Sir,
please leave or I…”
She stopped, he was gone.
To be continued
