CHAPTER 32

Omah Lay: Damn

~I wanted to call you out on it but decided against it, knowing you ain't worth it~

~Mina

UNKNOWN POV

"Shit!"I rolled my eyes at Q's antics and pitied who or whatever was at the receiving end of his fury.

"I can't believe our plans fell through." He bellowed.

"And who said anything about the plan failing?"

"Well, they're staying at a different hotel now, thanks to you." He spat out with venom.

"Your plan failed, not mine." I yawned, twirling a pen in between my fingers.

A distinct silence settled for some time before his voice came through the receiver.

"What do you mean?"

"Glad you asked. Unlike your initial crappy idea of hiring a single and dumb correspondent in the said cancelled hotel, I'd hired several and highly professional ones in the current hotel."

"You're one creepy beast."

"Yeah, yeah. You have the waitress, the room services and oh, my favourite, the tour guide." I smirked, watching the tourist ensuite on my iPad.

I'm loving this already and the fun is yet to begin.

SERAPHINA'S POV

"Show me the tat." Enrique tried to reach under my dress shirt again but I swatted his hand away.  It was Tuesday afternoon, and we were in bed, discussing tattoos until my fat mouth chose that moment to meddle.

"I'm just capping, not a single portion of my skin is inked." Contrary to what I told him, I indeed had a scorpion tattoo on my left glute, but he doesn't need to know that. Though it still astounded me that he claimed to be clueless about it when I was always almost in less whenever we were together.

He scoffed, not buying into my lies "We're roommates, you know that right?"

"So?"

"You're human and most definitely need sleep." I was lost as to what he was hinting at until that signature smirk stretched on his lips. No, he wouldn't dare.

"Creep on me and your little friend will isolate your body." His eyes widened and he raised his arms in surrender, uncontrollably shaking with laughter.

My phone beeped with a text, but I didn't bother checking it, however, knowing who it was and the reason for the message.

"They're set?" I nodded in confirmation of Enrique's question. We left the room to where the bus was parked outside the entrance, waiting for us.

"I hope you didn't forget the rubber." Kabia blurted, making Bia pinch his ear.

"You're a treasure, Bia." I blew her a kiss. Enrique gave me a light kiss before excusing himself to the guys, and I took that as my cue to sit on Severina's lap.

"Stop making the seats useless Phina, and get your fat ass off me." She groaned.

"Y'all need to stop calling her fat. The girl is literally my skeleton." Miskha chastised.

"I'm not so sure about that." Zara chimed in.

"Where's the rest?" I asked, ignoring the trouble magnet. If she doesn't feel sorry for her still healing face, I'll be humane enough.

"We're here." Aisha came in, the rest trudging behind.

"They lost their way." She sighed, losing the knot on the blazer around her waist.

"You're a walking GPS." Ace laughed.

"Uncle Seedou, we're all set," Aisha called out to the driver and he started the car with effect, climbing on the road and into town.



Bad influence by Omah lay👆

"Ooh, I love this song. " Miskha stood, swaying her hips to the rhythm as bad influence blasted from the speaker.

"You got moves, for real." Enrique complimented.

"Thank you. " Miskha grinned and bowed.

"But...

"Don't go there bitch." She hissed and aimed her shoe at Enrique's head, making us laugh.

"But, you need a supportive back." Tyler finished what Enrique couldn't bring himself to, and they fist-bumped.

"Do you mean to say I'm Assless?" Miskha frowned.

"Grammar doesn't deserve such bruises." Leila shook her head.

"As if you're one to talk. Miss 'They look more like sisters than twins."  Miskha snorted. This remark got us laughing so hard to the brink of tears. Even Ahmed couldn't obscure his amusement.

"Yo Aisha, where to?" Malu yelled through a mouthful of Cheetos.

"Katchikally crocodile pool," Aisha responded without looking up from where her head was bent over a laptop.

"Katchi what?" Asher didn't understand he wasn't the only one who found the name absurd.

While we chatted amongst ourselves, I noticed Sophia was unusually quiet and secluded in her own corner at the bus front. I wanted to talk to her so bad, but that'll scream hypocrite to the highest pitch. Hence, I'd rather play pretence and remain neutral as I'd always been.

The grand bus ride was filled with loud chatter and singing until we reached our destination. From the window view, the words Katchikally Crocodile Pool were engraved in italics at the top of a wide, Oak gate. The place already gave itself away with two statues of the great crawling beasts sculpted on either side of the entrance. The site entrance wall is beautifully decorated with wildlife scenes. A museum of ethnography stood at the far right of the complex, alongside a souvenir shop and a refreshment bar. There was also a parking lot just outside the front.

"Welcome to Katchikally Crocodile Pool," Aisha announced when we stepped out of the bus. Women dressed in typical, African attires sat outside the gate, with their commodities in display, ready to be sold. I decided I'll check their articles later, for this mysterious pool was a priority. As we marched through the entrance and down the mini-forest nature trail, bordered by large trees of different species,  frequented by monkeys, insects and birds, I couldn't help but get awestruck at the dynamite of the place.

"Epic." Asher swooned, and Kabia being the designated photographer started taking pictures.

"The gutters, look!" Maya tapped my shoulder, drawing my attention to where her finger was pointed. I gasped at the sight and instinctively drew closer to Enrique. Indeed, there were huge crocodiles partially submerged in the stagnant water except for their noses outside, grasping for air, I assumed.

"They're almost everywhere," Aisha stated.

"Here we're. The legendary Katchically Crocodile Pool."

The mystic pond was overgrown with a green plant of some sort, and Crocodiles in their enormous masses infiltrated the water. Some could be seen basking outside the pool, on the boundaries. They were huge and fierce-looking, nothing compared to the thigh-sized crocodiles back in the New York resort.

A middle-aged man, dressed in a Jean and T-shirt approached us with a smile. He exchanged some native greetings with Aisha before nodding towards us.

"Albeh Nyadi?"  What.

"Huh." We looked at him, dumbfounded, not knowing how to respond.

"He meant how are you in Mandinka. It's the most widely spoken native language throughout the country. " Aisha translated, looking at us in amusement.

"And Miskha, to think you claimed to understand the language. " Enrique mused. Miskha went to reply but Aisha beat her to it.

"No, it's a different language from this one. Although they're both native, there's a great contrast."

"Thank you, Aisha. You're a gem." Miskha taunted, flipping Enrique the bird.

"Anyway, this is Basiru Camara, the tour guide here." She continued.

"So, you don't speak Mandinka?" The guy laughed, showing his crooked, yet white teeth.

"Do they brush their teeth with milk in this country or something?" Maya muttered.

"I swear," I whispered, still taking in his smile.

"We speak Paki...

"No, we don't speak it. This is our first time in The Gambia." I cut in, knowing Miskha's remark wasn't going to be very pleasant.

"I see, maybe I'll teach you sometime." For a native man, he was pretty fluent in English.

"Yeah, hopefully when we return," Nathan responded.

"So, what brought you here today?"

"We wanted to know more about the sacred crocodiles and maybe, if possible, some background history to the Pool," Aisha explained.

"You've reached the right source then." He chuckled.

"Quick question. What are those green plants on the surface?" Tyler pointed at the pool.

"Oh, those are the pankanju-water lettuce, otherwise known as arum. Their purpose is to obscure people's view of the freshwater itself, so the Crocodiles aren't very visible to the naked eye." He answered.

"Would you mind getting recorded?" I asked, and he shook his head with a genuine smile. I opened my camera and handed it over to Miskha since she was very potential in the filming department.

"There are about eighty crocodiles in and around the pool. You should be able to spot a dozen dozing on the banks and maybe some egrets on a circle of water lettuce. The Crocodiles aren't particularly large, as most measure less than two metres long. They are exclusively fed fish twice a week, which mostly consists of Bonga shad brought in from the Bakau fish jetty. You may often hear about 'Charlie', however, this is a generic name for quite a few of the crocodilians, known as 'bambo' in the Mandinka language.

Katchikally's sacred pool shrine was revealed to the Mandinka Bojang Kunda family over 520years ago, by a ruler's sister named katchikali. Primarily, she tested the worthiness of a Nkooping Bojang- the founder of Bakau village, and his sons, Tambasi and Jaali Kumba by pleading with them to rescue her baby, supposedly fallen into a well. On approaching the pool, a child's cries was heard. Tambasi entered the well and found the child sitting on a rock, surrounded by a spring of water. For showing willingness, they were rewarded ownership of the well itself, where any woman bathes, providing she sleeps with no other before the same time, the following year, will bear a child.

In return, Tambasi and Jaali gave Katchikali, a spirit from the forest, the first thing they caught in their fishing nets, at a swamp called 'Tambe-Koba'. Two crocodiles,  which their mother placed in the well. Many generations of Bojang's ago, these reptiles were the prelude to the present-day site. That is basically about it for the Sacred Crocodiles.  However, there are two other sacred pools in the Gambia, located in Folonko, in Kartong and Berending, respectively. " He ended.

I have to admit, it was a story worth disseminating in the media.

"Interesting." Bia fascinated. Everyone shared similar thoughts on the man's narrative.

"Can I touch them? the Crocodiles?" Sophia asked, but she'd already started for the crocodile laying outside the fence protecting the pool.

"Babe, n...

"It's okay. They are tamed." Basiru assured a still very skeptical Ahmed. We stood and watched with halted breaths, as Sophia softly stroke the back of the creature. She took a couple of selfies with the animal before eventually sitting on its back.

Was she possessed?

"What the?" Severina gasped.

"Okay babe, that's enough craziness for the day. C'mon, let's go." Ahmed strode over and carried a protesting Sophia off the reptile's back.

"You're no fun." She pouted.

"Bitch." Miskha muttered, rolling her eyes.

We explored a couple of sites in the resort, including the craft market and museum. I bought two matching African dresses and bracelets for Maya and I. We later had lunch with Basiru at the bar and thanked him before starting for home.

"We will revisit the Gambia someday." I sighed, nuzzling my head in the crook of Enrique's neck.

"Yeah, hopefully during our honeymoon. " He chuckled, but there was an edge of seriousness to his tone. I yawned, trying to fight the heaviness off my lids, but it proved impossible as sleep gradually took over.

"Sleep, princess." Was the last thing I heard before blacking out.

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Xoxo,

Mina.