Manda-Taki Candles

"What happened to him, Old Taki-Taki?" Diego asked the old man. George was lying on the mat. The candle was still alive but Fobela Taki-Taki took all the food. Stored it all in the pocket of his oversized robe.

"The poor lad has exhausted himself. I'd say he hasn't eaten either! Can you hear his stomach rumble? The Smoke of Manda-Taki has made his condition worse!"

Diego bit his lips. He suddenly became guilty. He became so excited about the treasures, so much that he had forgotten to ask about George's condition. 'I was so selfish.'

"What do we do now?" He asked.

"Wait for him to wake up and feed him. Besides, that's not even the problem here, you fool! You exposed a living person to the smoke of Manda-Taki. A living man! Do you even know the effect it has on the living? They will lose their rights on this side. They can't enter Phulas either because they're still alive. As a result, they will become creatures who neither belong to the living nor the dead!"

Diego couldn't refute the old man. "I'm sorry. I—I wasn't thinking."

The old man sighed. Contrary to what the legends say about him just drinking and partying all day. Packaged as a man who doesn't know how to get angry and just wanna have a good time. He can get angry too. Very frighteningly.

Actually, you wouldn't want to be the receiving end of that.

But that seldom happens. He is very hard to anger. Actually, he only ever gets angry about matters regarding the living and dead.

Diego was quite lucky, however. The old man has learned to reign over his emotions for the last decade. After all, it has been a good ten years since he had to babysit a lost soul.

Diego was the last person to be buried at the Bonaville North Cemetery. And that was ten years ago.

Old Taki-Taki sighed.

"But you must have your reasons, don't you? Tell me and I might forgive you depending on your answer."

Diego contemplated for a while. Choosing his words carefully as to not anger the old man.

"I… I want to bring him over to Phulas. Actually, I came to ask you a favor, Old Taki-Taki. Can you grant him the residency to Phulas like what you did to me when I died?"

Diego waited for the response.

One second. Two. And then five.

"That cannot be done," the old man replied. "There are limits to your idiocy and my patience, lad. A living cannot acquire a residency lest you kill him now and bury him in a cemetery."

"But how could I possibly do that, Old Taki-Taki? You know I couldn't. Is there really no other way?"

"If you can't then scram! You're wasting your candle."

"But I heard you've done this before. I heard you've given a man a graveyard residency before. A living man, Old Taki-Taki."

"This and that are different!"

"How so?"

The old man didn't reply immediately. He waited a few seconds to calm down before saying, "He paid a high price. You couldn't afford it."

"What price? Tell me and I'll decide whether I can afford it or not."

Fobela glared at him. "Got his family cursed. T'was never a good thing to be cursed but the poor man was desperate. Wished we never met. We were good friends but I wished we never were."

Diego was speechless. He didn't know the old man got acquainted to a living before. Until he remembered what George told him a while ago.

"Old Taki-Taki. I could be wrong but... Is that man related to him somehow?" Diego asked, pointing to George with his lips who was still unconscious, lying on the mat.

"That, I cannot tell you. Please leave now."

Diego squeezed his eyes. He kind of expected this but he was hoping he didn't have to say the words he was about to say next.

"Ten candles! I will give you ten candles!"

Fobela groaned. He was not expecting Diego to offer this much. After all, Manda-Taki candles are indispensable to people in Phulas.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked. "Why go this far? When you know you aren't supposed to bond with the living."

"That… Well, I'm just trying to pay a long overdue debt."

***

At the luxury villa on the east coast of Bonaville.

Henry Dickman went down the spiraling staircase going to the basement.

The steps were made of iron wood exported from Wharthania, a tropical country southwest to Oshar. They are known for their high quality woods and furniture that they export to the whole continent of Oswela. And the Dickman family only orders furniture from them.

When he got down, he was greeted by a narrow hallway. He took a lamp hanging on the wall nearest to him and lit it. He then brought it with him to the only room with a double door, located at the very end of the hallway, exactly across from him by a couple meters.

He knocked on the door. "Lucia, we need to talk."

He knocked a couple more before it finally opened with a click. Revealing a woman wearing black regal dress.

"And for what reason would my brother want to see me?" She said teasingly.

Henry Dickman's only sister. Lucia Dickman.

"George," Henry said.

Her grin suddenly disappeared just by the mention of her nephew's name.

"Why? Did something happen to my nephew?"