I stretched my hand and took my phone and checked the time, it was pretty early, it was only after Four AM. and I was already up, it was not even like mom was going to work, because, if she was going to work, then I did not wake up too early, but since she wasn't, then I had just woken up a little bit too early.
I tried to see if I could sleep again, but I couldn't whenever I closed my eyes I keep seeing dad's face, the picture of him sitting high on that throne of his kept on replaying in my head like one video that is stuck on replay. I look. I kept seeing him with that white garment of his which flowed down in his Palace, his long gold beards which also flow down to the feet of the throne, that riddled eyes of his kept taunting me whenever I tried to sleep.
Father is actually just like the water, his personality can never be predicted, he changes like a chameleon. Today he is with a happy face tomorrow looks Like a demon out for destruction.
"Is that what I will be like? Will that be me when I visit Atlantis?" These questions also ran through my head.
After a couple of thoughts, I had to come to the resolution that lying in the bed will do me no good, so I managed to drag myself out of the bed, it wasn't even like I got up directly, I rolled down from the bed o the floor, and immediately, I started my morning routine pushups, that day I actually had more pushups than I often did, this was because I saw my early waking as a motive to top up my game.
Yeah, I had been doing little pushups lately, pushups and situps, these were actually the secret to my fitness and packs. So that morning I had seventy pushups instead of my usual fifty, it was actually not easy as the last five felt like I was going to break a muscle. After the pushups, I was glad I had some sweat on me, that was when I had to go into the shower for some shower.
After showering, I came out to the sitting room to see the Kakaaki program on AIT. I was there when mom came out scrubbing her eyes still in her pajamas, she stared at me in wonder.
What are you doing up by this time? I thought you will still be sleeping."
She said, but I gave her no response, I only turned to her and bled out this soft smile.
"Wait you have even taken your bath, how comes? Are you going anywhere today? You do not usually wake up early during a holiday? Is there something that I don't know? Please tell me, I think you are hiding something from me."
"Hahaha... Mom, you are funny, I am not going anywhere, and how can I be hiding something from you? I only woke up a little bit too early, I tried to go back to sleep but it wasn't showing any sign of success, so that was why I had to result to bathing and watching the news. And common mom, it's no longer that early anymore, this is past Six." So I said to her.
"Ok, let me go back and do as you did, it was the sound of the television that woke me up, try and reduce the volume honey. I actually heard the sound and I came out to check, I won't have been up by now if not for you, ok, let me go." She said as she staggered back to her room.
The night before the dream, I had told Cynthia that we will together go to fake dad's place today, so we could see how large the conference hall will be, so we could for sure know the number of people to be invited over. Though Cynthia said she will have to talk to her mom about that to know if she can leave today with me, though I told her that we were not going to stay long there she still insists that she will seek permission from her mom, well, I won't blame her, even me, I will seek permission from mom, even though it was already clear that she will surely permit me to. That day I still went over to Cynthia's place and helped to convince her mom that she was in a good hand before she actually permitted her to, in not even the twenty-ninth party, she would have missed it.
That day, after mom was done with her bath, she went directly to the kitchen, I was very disappointed in myself, I was up before mom, and all I could do was sit and watch the tv, but mom just woke up, showered and rushed into the kitchen to make something the both of us will eat. When I saw her going into the kitchen, my heart skipped, and I stood up immediately and u ran to her, I held her hand as we walked into the kitchen together, trying to give her some bribes with my cute smile. She had occasionally told me when I was younger that no matter the gravity of what I do or will do, once I give her that smile, her heart always melts. So as I recalled that, I started making use of it. I knew that she love seeing me smile, and I love that.
Thank God, we never had to cook anything, we still have meats remaining from yesterday's feast. We together steamed the meat and the remaining rice which mom saves in the fridge. That day mom brought the entire meat and food to the dining table, she said that we had to finish it, else it will spoil. I wonder how it will spoil, something that was in the fridge.
So that night, after we had finished with the preparation, mom said that we should carry the whole of the food to the dining table.
"Mom, I had a seem last night, in fact, it was the dream that woke me up," I said to her just after prayers before eating.
"Really? What is the dream about? Tell me dear." She said immediately dropping her spoon so she could focus well on me.
"Yeah, I will tell you. But you have to promise me that you will not panic, you won't start saying those things you usually say, you won't start chanting, 'you are a human and not a fish'"
"You know you are already scaring me, is it a bad dream?"
"I don't even know where to classify it, but it will surely not sound good to you."
"Is it a dream about your father? Tell me, he is at it again, abi?" Mom asked now looking even more curious. She held my hands in anticipation, but I was not ready to tell the dream, guess I am sure that she won't panic as usual.
"Common tell me about the dream already, can you see that I am already visibly shaking?"
"Mom, that is the reason why I will not tell you, it's not even like it's that bad, you have to calm down I, else I will not tell."
"Not that bad you said? Which means it's bad, ok, how bad is it? No, tell me. Oh my God, he is planning to kidnap you, right? I definitely know that he will result to that, that satan, demonic creature."
I just paused and watched mom as she called dad names, I just don't know, recently, I realized that I often feel defensive whenever mom say harsh words about dad, I almost feel like she was saying them directly to me, I meant that dad is a merman, and he is my father, so, automatically, I am a Newman, so if mom or anyone says bad things about dad basically because he is a merman, that person is automatically referring to me as well. Yes, that was exactly how I felt when mom called dad satan or demon, after all, she named me Damian because it rhymes with the demon. So, that means she also thinks I am a demon just like dad.
"Mom... No one is kidnapping anyone, and dad... He is not even as bad as you paint him, not even half bad, yes, it's true he is inhuman, not wickedly inhuman, but just the fact that he is not a person, but deep down, he is nice, he is even more human than many humans... He... He cares about me, and that is all that matters." So I said, mom was really aghast to hear me say this to her, she never thought that will ever challenge her over dad, she had always thought ut to her mind that I hate dad as much as she did, little did she know that I had always been a secret fan of his.
"Damie, what are you saying? What did he do to you? What has he done to you? Ok... Ok, tell me, tell me the dream, I am all ears." She asked and later composed herself to ask me.
"Just promise me that you won't worry, after all, it's just a dream."
"Ok, I won't worry," Sh responded, she still had her eyes lurked with mine, she started me deeply and expecting to hear me speak so badly, I felt her heartbeat, it was already rising, that was when I realized that I have already caused more harm than good, that which I felt would have been the best way, turned it to be the wrong way, she looked at me with that round baby eyes of hers, God! She breaks my heart whenever she gives me that look, that looks which is always escorted by a cry line through lip side down her jaws. I should have just gone straight to the point, instead of taking this careless precaution of mine, now I have successfully gotten her even tenser than before, and I am even yet to tell her the dreams, and worse, I have completely ruined breakfast.
"Yes, mom, it's dad, I saw him in my dream."
"I knew it... I knew... I know that this man will just not let us be... .... Ok, continue."
She said causing some sort of interruption.
"It's not like he came over, I went over, yeah, I was the one who went to him and it was very real, the dream was so real, I even interacted with some mer-people there, I rode on a dolphin and I went into the high place of father. His throne was really massive and high, I wonder how one could ever ascend there to sit."
"My dear, will you tell me about the dream? And stop killing me these anticipations." Mom said as I trudged my words in a manner so slow.
"But I am, that is what I am doing. He said that which he said before, I meant the initiation thing, he said that they had been waiting for me, he said that it is almost time, according to him, I will be joining him soon for the initiation." So I said to her, she took a pause and looked at me.
"What? And what did you tell him? What did you say? Talk to me, hope you told him that you are never going for that demonic initiation. They are going to completely turn you into one of them, which means that I might lose you forever, please my son tell me that you turned the offer down." Mom's said to me in panic, this was actually what I was trying to elude before, now it had still happened nonetheless, her round baby eyes were now cloudy like the sky, it was even threatening heavy downpour of tears.
"Common mom, it was only a dream, it's not like I could make any decision in a dream, dreams go as they go."
So I said.