The Visit
Prologue
With his eyeballs completely white, he gives complete concentration to what is revealed to him. The child in his arms keeps chuckling with no cares in this world. He then bowed his head and then turned to the mother, who's eager to hear from him.
"She's a high ranking mariner. She will be very great but great challenges also lie ahead of her. If care is not taken, it might overwhelm her."
"Can't we do something to avert these problems?" the young mum asks apprehensively
"It can't be changed cos it's her fate. All she needs is lots of patience and spiritual guidance. May the Gods be with you" the seer calmly replied and returned the baby to her.
"Thank you, Baba (Father). We shall be on our way. I will adhere closely to all the instructions"
With that she carried her baby and left under the cover of the night. While the seer kept chanting Olokun's praises.
Rhie egogo rrel,
Rhie emaba rrel
Niya gha ga okun mwenl E ni s'ede ehil E avba egbel Ewoe n' ame
(Bring the bell / Bring the iron rod / That I can use to serve my Olokun/ So that I can live as my spirits wish / We have met ourselves / Spirits of the water)
A ighigbe oba n' amel I vba oba n' ame mwen...
(You do not fight the king of the water/ I come to meet the king of the water for help)...
*Chapter one*
Drenched in sweat, Jewel wakes up and looks around her room lazily.
"So, it's a dream" she muttered.
She adjusts herself on the small bed and tried to interprete the whole thing. Someone told her that Olokun visited their compound with very heavy shower and a gigantic boat also came with it. The person then asked her the appellations of Olókun. That was when she woke up.
"These funny dreams again? My parents are staunch Muslims. Why do I keep having these dreams? I don't even know who to ask. Where do I start from?
She got up from her bed and freshened up in the bathroom. Upon getting back to her room, she gasped in fear.
Subhanallah! She screamed.
She wanted to talk but all came out as gibberish nonsense. Then she passed out.
The young comely man sitting on her bed radiates an out-worldly royalty aura. He smiled and picked her up gently.
"My Jewel. You won't even let me state the purpose of my visit. I really scared the wits out of you. I'm sorry, my love."
He then placed his finger on her forehead to wipe her memory of meeting him and disappeared.
**********
Jewel woke up late in the night, feeling very refreshed.
"Wow! What a day!"She exclaimed while yawning.
Then her phone buzzed revealing Sayhid that's always professing his love for her.
"Love my foot" she muttered rolling her eyes.
She then resorted to playing soft music for the rest of the night.
While the music played on, an angry male voice suddenly rang out.
"How can I unsee this??!! Walahi talahi, Taofiq will hear from me."
"Aishat!" the voice came again
"Naam!" Another female voice responded.
"Stop Naam-ing me, come and see for yourself." He retorted
"This will be the upteenth time the flushed poo from those upstairs will appear in our own toilet bowl. What does Taofiq take me for? A fool?"
"He collected lots of money from me, assuring me of the best lodging experience ever but he never for once repaired any faulty facility reported to him."
"I am saying all these because other cotenants have tagged me a troublemaker."
His face couldn't hide the disgust he felt by the messed up toilet.
"Haji, please, I will call the plumbers today. They will fix everything. We all know Taofiq is not straightforward. Kindly smile for me, please. You know you look your best when you do." Aisha replied
"A-i-shaa" Haji called her lovingly.
Jewel rolled her eyes and used her pillow to block her ears.
"These two again" she muttered to herself.
"They won't even do their lovey-dovey quietly. Always arguing to make up."
Jewel then broke into a smile as she recounts all what Haji did in the compound and how his "Aisha" calmed him down.
Aisha looked at her wall clock and it was 5am already. It was time for prayers. She rolled out her prayer mat and carried her prayer kettle to perform ablution.