Three days had passed since Joseph was in BANGANGTE; the land where his umbilical cord was buried. The burial of the umbilical cord is a Cameroonian tradition reminding the individual not to forget where he comes from. He travelled that night without knowing why he was going back to the village. Just like a little kid following his mom, Joseph rapidly did his suitcase that day and they landed at the bus station. They boarded the bus and followed the same trajectory he took when he was going to BAFIA. The only difference was that they crossed BAFIA. They passed through MAKENENE, NYOKON, TONGA, BANTOUM, and BANEKANE (home to one of the largest multidisciplinary universities in the country) and finally, they landed at BANGANGTE. It's been eons since Joseph had not stepped foot in his village. He was amazed by how that little village had so much developed. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't there for tourism. His mom had other plans for him. For one week, Joseph was just strolling around, doing house chores and meeting some friends of his parents. The following week, Elder NGANKOU passed and relayed the message concerning Joseph's summoning at the chief's palace. And at the same hour as his parents, Joseph was brought to the chief. Joseph still did not figure out what was happening until he saw his mom coming towards him with the ceremonial dress for priestesses. She held a little bowl containing a strange liquid in it.
"What's happening, mom?" Joseph asked, with his bones trembling loudly.
"I am going to bring you back."
"Bring me back from where? I am here with you as we speak." Joseph tried to reassure his mother.
"And are you complete?". That question made Joseph pause a little, as he tried to construct an escape answer.
"I know what you are going through. You are the one who doesn't realize the gravity of the situation in which you are." Joseph's Mother said, moving towards him. "Don't ask further questions Joseph and go on your knees." Joseph obeyed silently.
"Repeat after me." Joseph's mother chanted an incantation in their dialect. When Joseph finished repeating the incantation, he was made to drink the liquid in the bowl. Strangely the liquid tasted yummy. Stranger, he didn't feel anything. He was brought to the sacred chamber immediately after that. His mother lit all the candles in the room and told him one last thing; "your blood doesn't mean you any harm. When it asks you what you want, tell it your desire to be whole." With that, they closed the room and left Joseph inside alone. The sacred chamber was used for several activities by the chief and his elders. That chamber was like a base transceiver station, linking the physical world to the immaterial world. They mostly communicated with ancestors that had long left the world. That room had one particularity; the flow of time wasn't respected in there. Depending on the person and the situation, 1day inside could be equivalent to 1 week, 1 month, or even 1 year. Sometimes it didn't even change. And sometimes it was the reverse; time flowed faster than normal.
"Well, I am in. What is supposed to happen?" Joseph spoke sceptically.
"You seem to be confused, child." A voice whispered. And with each whisper, one candle flame died down. "Confused is not the right word. You are a walking corpse, walking the world of the living as though you have a say in it. You are a being void of any essence; hence, a hollow."
"Saying that like that…" Joseph sighed sadly.
"But you are an intriguing hollow."
"How so?" Joseph inquired.
"The spell used on you was flawless, but you are alive. Doesn't that perplex you?" The voice questioned.
"I don't even know what you are talking about. I am clueless."
"It is your faith that saved you. It paved the way to a spark that kept you clinging on to life as a leech stuck on someone's skin."
"And it is with that same faith that I shall leave this hall whole," Joseph added, clenching his fists as though holding his destiny.
"Well, well, well. This one is indeed an odd one. Isn't it guys?" The voice exclaimed, and several voices indistinctively answered "yes indeed".
"Without further ado, let's begin." The voice said, with a serious tone. And as it finished his sentence, all candle flames died down, only to be rekindled with greater intensity. The intensity was such that each flame reached the ceiling of the sacred chamber, with each flame instantly melting its candle wax. The candle wax began glowing green and started moving towards Joseph.
"So be it," Joseph whispered, before being entirely enveloped by the candle wax.
Outside the sacred chamber, third-party eyes were vividly monitoring what was going on.
"He is in the cocoon. From here on we can only hope he comes back safely." The chief spoke.
"I don't doubt he will come back. I just hope he learns and grows from what he shall be given in there." His mother answered.
"No need to watch again. Cut the water feed." The chief said. Hearing that, Joseph's mom hit the still water in the calabash, erasing the images they were receiving from the sacred chamber. All they could do was wait. Fortunately, the waiting wasn't long. After 7 days, a whistling sound similar to that made by a boiling kettle was heard. That was the sound of the first crack on Joseph's cocoon. Several whistling sounds were heard and then they stopped. The first person to land at the scene was Joseph's dad. When he opened the sacred chamber, Joseph was standing there looking at the ceiling of the chamber. Joseph looked at his dad with tears flowing down his cheeks. His mom rushed into the chamber and hugged her son.
"Is that you Joseph?"
"I am back mom. I am back." Joseph answered.
In the meantime, during Joseph's sojourn in the village, Risa had completely recovered. And in Joseph's absence, she cleaned his room and made sure it looked neat and tidy. The day Joseph came back, she was dusting his library. She rushed and hugged him tightly. Joseph didn't respond immediately. He stood there unfazed by Risa's warmth and kindness. Seeing Risa was hooking on his neck, he slowly wrapped his arms around her.
"I am exhausted honey," Joseph said, separating himself from Risa and throwing his suitcase at a corner of the room.
"I can imagine." Risa slowly answered, closing the door behind her. She stood at the door watching at Joseph's actions, who in turn did everything not to cross eyes with her. After 5mins of silence, Joseph settled down.
"I want us to celebrate," he said.
"And what can be the reason for our celebration?" Risa asked moving and sitting next to him.
"Well, the fact that you have fully recovered and for journey mercies," Joseph answered, suddenly kissing Risa. Risa was surprised but pleased, for her Joseph was back. The hug earlier made her wonder if he had discovered something, but the kiss erased all those doubts. They drank and ate, rejoiced and thanked God for their life. In the heat of things, Joseph kissed Risa deeply. That escalated to several other kisses and before they could blink, their top-dresses were already on the floor. Joseph placed his ear on Risa's flat belly.
"I still can't believe what happened to you," Joseph said, kissing her stomach.
"I am more surprised than you," Risa answered pulling his face towards hers and covering it with smooches. They continued at it, eating each other's lips and enjoying the sensation it procured. Joseph turned Risa to her back and leaned on it. He unbuttoned her bra and dropped it on the floor. He looked at all those little scars on her back and gently touched them, drawing a cupid's heart on her back with his index finger. Doing that made Risa's body leave from twitching to trembling.
"Hmmm. Babe, I don't think we should continue this. You are just from coming back and are tired." Risa said, trying to stop Joseph.
"We can't stop halfway… and I am spiked."
"I am not in the mood…"
"Is that so?" Joseph asked, hugging her tightly. With each of his touches, hugs, and words, Risa's body kept on trembling heavily.
"I feel sick," Risa said.
"I can feel it and I understand. You are scared of repeating what happened that evening." Joseph whispered.
"Which evening?" Risa frightfully asked, trying to push away Joseph.
"That evening that I was supposed to die. It was similar to this. It was identical to this." Joseph spoke, leaving Risa.
"You remember?"
"I remember all of it and more. You never loved me, right? I was a substitute for your precious Leon."
"You are wrong." Risa interrupted.
"About what? About being your plaything? About being your happy pill? About …" Joseph said, crying silently. Risa didn't answer back. She just began crying too. Tears just kept flowing.
"That day…" Risa began, wiping off her tears. That day, Risa was ordered by her dear uncle, to clear off a certain bug. That bug was a certain Joseph who had witnessed them in their weekly communal interactions. Joseph had forgotten a book at the BINGANA's residence and had decided to go fetch it. When he came to fetch it, the main door was closed. Despite all the ringing, no one came to open. Being a child of the house, he knew that the kitchen back door was always open and the kitchen led directly to the living room. So, he passed by the backdoor and had access to the living room. His book was on the couch and he picked it up promptly. As he was leaving, he heard knocking sounds and little screams coming from upstairs. Thinking it was an intruder, he decided to climb up silently and peek. The noise came from Leon's room. He peeked into the keyhole and saw a couple having intercourse wildly. He kept trying to adjust his eye for better vision but slipped off a little and his book fell. The noise made from the book caused the couple to pause a little and look towards his direction. Joseph rapidly noticed the lady's haircut before disappearing from the scene. The haircut was that of Risa's though he wasn't sure. He began emitting many hypotheses to remove that doubt from his mind.
"Maybe it was just a girl with the same haircut as Risa's… I didn't even see it clearly, surely it was because I was thinking of Risa that my brain made me see that… I didn't even see the guy that was enjoying her, it could be any man with his wife…" Those were a drop out of all the thoughts that crossed his mind. Joseph had not seen it was Leon in that room and that the lady he feared was in that room, was indeed Risa. They too had not seen the person that was peeping on them but when they finished their act and inspected the whole house, Leon noticed Joseph's book had vanished. His immediate conclusion was that Joseph was the one that saw them. Leon, being who he was didn't want to verify if he was correct. In all his pride, he knew he was correct and decided to debug the bug disturbing his peace. So, he dragged Risa into it;
"If he is the one that saw it, we are toast," Leon said
"Why? You can speak with him to verify if he really saw us and how we can clear the situation."
"Stop being duller than you already are. Incest is incest. You can't justify that to anyone. We are not in the Old Testament here."
"So, what do you propose?" Risa asked.
"I have a means of making him forget what he saw, but I need you to administer the thing," Leon said. That was how Leon prepared two solutions and gave them to Risa. Joseph didn't want to believe it was Risa and that is what led him to the underground hospital of green city. Joseph still continued discussing with Risa and one day Risa invited him to their family household for a little tete-a-tete. She had cooked and poured one of Leon's solutions into the food. When Joseph came, they discussed, laughed and enjoyed. Risa served some food to Joseph, who lavishly ate it. After a few hours, the solution kicked in. The solution given to Joseph was an aphrodisiac, that gave Joseph a rigid wood. The dose was too much and Joseph's wood was too stiff, hence very painful. At that instant Risa held him and brought him to her room, telling him he had to lie down a little and it shall be all fine. But it wasn't working. Risa rushed down and locked all the doors and then rush to her room and looked it tight. The pain made Joseph delirious. He didn't notice that Risa was naked and that his trouser was down. He couldn't even see clearly what Risa held in her hand. Risa held in her hand the bottle containing the second solution Leon had given to her. She dipped her fingers into the bottle, picked up a chunk of the jelly solution and drew the pattern Leon told her on her belly. When she did so, her stomach vividly sucked in the solution. She then lay down over Joseph and did what had to be done. Risa didn't know she was using herself like a conductor for Leon to suck both their essences. With what Risa was doing and the pain that didn't seem to subside, Joseph fainted several times. In his drowsiness, Joseph was still thinking about Risa. He slowly voiced; "Risa, help me." before blacking out again. That made Risa stop and a little life essence was left in Joseph. Joseph had faith in Risa's empathy and that was what saved him. With all that Risa did, Joseph's wood and pain gradually reduced in size. Risa took a hand towel, soaked it and cleaned Joseph up, spraying him a refresher and putting him in his trouser. She waited for him to regain his senses. When Joseph came to himself, he felt exhausted. It was as though he had just played ten successive football matches without any break. He had no recollection of the gruesome pain he was just from enduring, nor did he remember how he did to land in Risa's room. He seemed disconnected from himself and his surroundings. Risa, holding Joseph tight, booked a taxi and headed towards Joseph's residency. Upon opening the gate, Sephora welcomed them. She was shocked at her brother's state of exhaustion. Risa lied, saying they did a drinking competition and Joseph exaggerated the quantity he had taken, and that is what knocked him out. That was rather a convincing lie. The ladies put Joseph on the couch and Risa swiftly left the house.
"I didn't know that when I left you had a death-threatening episode." Risa continued. "I didn't know. I didn't want it to be as such between us. I …"
"I was just some distraction for you, right? I mean, why even accept my proposal if Leon was the man you desired." Joseph asked. But Risa couldn't answer. She just kept crying. Joseph stood up and went and sat at a certain corner of the room. Risa just stayed on the bed crying and crying.
"I love you," Risa said.
"Yeah, I can feel it. That love is painful." Joseph responded, standing up and opening the door. He ushered Risa out, in a very gentle and peaceful manner.
"You are chasing me?" Risa asked, but Joseph didn't answer. He kept pointing at the outside. Risa dressed up, cleaned herself lightly and left. Joseph closed the door and wept the more. After that day, Joseph secluded himself. He didn't leave his room frequently. He left his room only when he wanted to visit the toilet or clean the church. And even that, he did it at some hours when he expected no one around him. All the provisions he had brought from the village, he expended on them. After two weeks, the provisions were reduced by three-quarters, and his gas finished too. With his gas finished, he began eating most of those provisions raw. Sweet potatoes, tomatoes, onions, groundnuts, cassavas, and even Irish potatoes. And after a week, most of the provisions were exhausted. What was left were vegetables which he couldn't eat raw. Still then, he did not leave his room. He kept drinking only water and sleeping all day long. He was called by his colleagues, parents whom he taught their children, church members, and younger sister but he didn't pick. He left the phone till the battery died down. He didn't even go out to take a bath. All he did was sleep, get up and drink water to chase off hunger and then return to sleep. He did so for one full week till all his gallons of water ran dry. He decided to no more drink water. He just slept day in and day out. He did so for one full week. That was his way of mourning his relationship. He felt like giving up on his life. He didn't see a life without Risa. He still loved Risa despite all that she had done. His logical mind was capable of devising a convincing reason for not hating Risa and even giving her another chance. After one week of 'dry fasting', Joseph decided to go fetch himself some portable water. But when he tried opening his door, it was stuck. Something seemed to block it from outside. He kept pushing and hitting, but the object did not seem to shake. He decided to hit harder and he heard someone screaming; "Ok. Ok. Ok. Let me move." And as the person moved, the door opened, letting out a stream of dust particles.
"You look miserable." Joseph welcomed the person.
"Look who is talking. You are more miserable than I am." Risa answered.
"Oh yeah? Anyways, step aside. I am in a haste." Joseph said, trying to go fetch his water.
"You are not going anywhere. We need to talk." Risa said, blocking his path.
"And how would you do that? You can't f—" Risa pushed Joseph in before he could finish his statement.
"We need to discuss."
"I don't want to hear anything coming from that mouth of yours," Joseph said, but deep within him, he was happy of seeing her.
"Ok. I will force you then." Risa said, pouncing on Joseph and pinning him on the ground. Joseph had not eaten for more than a month, so he did not possess a speck of strength to kill a mosquito. Hence, in that condition, Risa easily overpowered him. Though he struggled, he wasn't able to make Risa move an iota.
"Listen to me. Joseph, listen to me." Risa said, halting Joseph's childish gesticulation. "I am sorry for all that I did. I was naïve. I am not saying I have completely changed but I can change. I can be better. You know I am miserable without you." Risa wouldn't normally beg, she will impose. She wasn't the kind of person to be regarded as weak. But with Joseph, a softer part of her always surfaced. That part that wanted to be at Joseph's side till death do them part was begging to be whole again. Strangely, those words resonated with Joseph's inner being. He didn't forget his days in the underground hospital, nor did he forget Risa's sexual adventures with Leon. But a man's heart is such that it hooks to that person he genuinely loves. And to Joseph's heart, Risa merited forgiveness. Joseph began picturing a new beginning and a better one for that matter.
"I too, am miserable without you. I think anyone can see that I went nuts since the day we broke up." Joseph said, laughing gently.
"That's true." Risa giggled.
"By the way, how come you landed at the moment I was leaving my room?"
"I didn't exactly land. I slept in front of your door for a whole week, hoping you will open." Risa answered.
"That's messy" Joseph answered.
"I know, I know. I didn't think things through when I did so." Risa defended her point.
"Yeah, but I appreciate the action," Joseph said, asking Risa to let him sit up.
"So, what do we decide? Will we give ourselves a second chance?" Risa asked.
"Yeah. Let's try and see if we can make things work better. Let's renew our truth and sincerity covenant. Do you agree?"
"I do. Truth and sincerity, are the pillars of this new relationship." Risa agreed.
"I would have kissed you, but gosh you stink or is it me?" Joseph laughed.
"Still true to yourself I see." Risa laughed too.
"So, shall we pray?"
"Yes. Let me lead the way." Risa answered. They prayed and sealed their renewed relationship.