"This is it," ifadahunsi said looking up
They carefully walked into the cave; they both held Ifadahunsi's hands firmly, so he wouldn't stumble over. It was cold inside and slightly dark and it smells stale inside. Tolu could hear droplets of water dripping from a distance, the cave was big and far long, she looked far ahead and could see a reflection of burning fire from afar.
Even though Ifadahunsi was blind, he was their smart compass and told them where they were heading was wrong when they did head the wrong way. They heard a loud sand clock as they approach deep inside the cave. An older man about sixty years of age shakes a shekere made of cowries, while the other man was way older, and looked so wrinkled and shrunken, more like in his 90s, sitting on an armchair that looks as old as he does.
Kunle helped sit ifadahunsi on a large piece of rock, then went back outside the cave to wait.
"IFagbohun!" ifadahunsi called with a smile, then the man shaking the shekere stopped and turned to the both of them.
"Ifadahunsi," he grinned and started to recite eulogies; his teeth were slightly brownish-yellow with blackish roots, and he had the old wrinkles with three long faint horizontal tribal marks on each cheek. "It is good to see you here again." He said warmly, "Toluwalope!" she shook as he yells her name and recites some incantations, "How was your journey here? You should have come here before now... But I understand."
"You are troubled about your daughter, why are you troubled? Don't you remember?" he asked as she was about to talk, then he placed his hand on her head. "hush! You can't…here, I'll make you… think! …remember!"
Screeeeeeeeeeech!
Everything went all dark and suddenly, she found herself in the forest, it was night and the stars twinkled, it felt cold and the sound of Crickets chirping was loud. She stood on the tiny path that went on, looking left and right. Suddenly, she saw a reflection of light approaching; it was a woman, she thought, thank God someone was coming. She approached the woman.
"Madam? Excuse me, please where is this? Where am I," she asked, but the woman gave no response and kept coming closer. Tolu looked at her closely and her eyes widened; it was her, it was her younger self. Younger tolu passed through her body and kept on walking like she was some kind of spirit or smoke. Then they both heard a twig snap.
"Who's there?" Younger tolu said, and it felt like a déjà vu.
"Oh…" Her jaw dropped as she could remember. Yes, it was happening over again, It was the night she went missing, the night she couldn't remember, the night she thought she was kidnapped and raped, the month she got pregnant.
Tolu moved away from the pathway to the bush, she squints through the night as she saw someone move in the dark. Within the minute she heard young tolu scream. She turned and rushed back to the pathway, but before she got there, she saw her young self, lying unconsciously on the ground, and a man hovered over her, he looked very strange, he held something with a tiny glow tight around his arm, like he was protecting something; his face looked partly torn and heavy dark smoke escaped from the few opened cut on his face, his veins popped all over his head, face, and neck, his eyes burned like fire, red fire, and half of his body was like dark smoke vanished and replenishing. Then more of them came out of the forest, about six of those. But none looked human like the one on top of her did. Tolu shivered as she watch, it was scary, she tried to look away, but her face was held still and she heard fagbohun's voice echo in her head.
"Don't look away… watch carefully," he said, echoing multiple times.
She walked a bit closer to have a closer look at what they were about to do to her, as all seven of them gathered her in a circle. Then the strange man loosed her wrapper with his other fleshy hand, while the other dark smoky hand still held that glowing thing in his arm. After loosening the wrapper, he raised her blouse and her belly was bare.
Tolu's eyes widened in both disgust and fear as she watched, she couldn't believe she was seeing was really what had happened. It was true, she thought. So she was raped. But It wasn't what she was thinking.
His nails were quite sharp as a knife, then he cut open her stomach with just one slice. Tolu covered her mouth quickly as she almost screamed out loud; it was difficult to watch and she tried to hold all the emotions together, but she sobbed as she watch them cut open her belly. They all communicated in a language she didn't understand and then began digging deep into her open belly.
Tolu couldn't hold the urge to vomit any longer, and she did, then the connection broke and she found herself back in the cave gagging on the ground.
"Is she ok?" ifadahunsi asked as he heard tolu vomit. "Tolu! Are you okay? Fagbohun what happened?"
Fagbohun shook his shekere a said, " She's absolutely fine, nothing can—"
"Take me back," Tolu said with tears filling her eyes. she wiped her mouth and yelled this time. "Take me back in there!"
When Danielle woke up that morning, she wondered if she had dreamt everything that had happened the night before. She was alone in bed. There was no sight of Niola anywhere, and as she lay there naked, staring at the space, thinking of her, she took a sniff from the pillow covered with her scent, a warm smile curved her lips, then she walked into the room, carrying two cups of tea in her hands. She sat up in bed and stared at her.
"Wow, it did happen!" which was all that matters now, 'cause she was falling head over heels. " We weren't even drunk."
"That would have been a lame excuse," she said as she gave her one of the cups of tea, and they laughed.
"Thank you," Danielle said and sipped her tea. Niola placed a kiss on her temple and sat on the bed, "Have you ever done this before?" she asked looking into Niola's eyes
Niola shrugged, "serve tea in bed? well, can't say a yes or no."
She snorted and smiled warmly "That's not what I meant,"
"I know," Niola smiled and drank her tea. "Been with a girl? Yeah... but this… it's different. You?"
"When I was eighteen, I fell in love with a girl in my first year in college in London, we spent a few wonderful years together."
"And…what happened?"
"Um…she…um, died in a car crash." Niola looked at her more intently as she said it. She looked sad about it, but not distraught. She seemed as though she had made her peace with it a long time before. But she was startled and sorry for her. She didn't look sorry for herself.
"Hey," Niola picked her hand and pressed a kiss on her knuckles. "I'm not going anywhere, and I won't be dying anytime soon."
"No you wouldn't," she chuckled and kissed her. " I should shower."
"Chiamaka called earlier, she sounded so hung over," Niola said with a giggle
"She must have called my phone, I left it in the car." Danielle said going to the bathroom. "let us have breakfast at my place, and we can celebrate Chiamaka's million views."
"Yeah, sounds good to me," Niola picked up the empty cups and head out of the room.
As she stepped into the kitchen and placed the cups on the counter; there was a high-pitched ring in her head, every other sound tuned out, and her visions when blurry, she stooped, and sat down on the floor slowly, as she got dizzy.
*Panting
She suddenly felt an arm around her like someone carried her like an infant or some kind of egg. It was cold and she could hear crickets chirping, it was blurry but she saw trees and the night sky twinkles with stars, the face of who carried her wasn't clear, his eyes were burning, that's all she could tell, and she was unable to move her head or look around, unable to lift any part of her body; she felt like a rock. She also felt so powerless, and she shuddered from the cold. Suddenly she felt warmth underneath her, something safe, something right. She could feel her whole body sink into it and the safer it felt. And everything went dark and quiet, and she felt the urge to sleep.
Fagbohun took Tolu back to that realm, and she saw them plant something in her, it was that thing he held. And zap! She was back in the cave.
"They put something in me," she said softly, and touched her belly, then looked up at fagbohun with a questioning look. "What did they do to me…what are—"
"Tolu you were not raped as you've thought… Those things you saw were demons. Inhuman spirits." He said firmly as he gestured for her to sit, and she sat beside Ifadahunsi with a sigh, she was astonished.
"Throughout history, things have happened, varying kinds and degrees of beliefs have existed in various spiritual beings, powers, and principles that mediate between the realm of the sacred or holy," he lit a torch and showed her some pictographs on the wall. "A thousand years ago in a tiny village in the southwest, a shaman lost his way and summoned an evil that couldn't be contained, people fell in deceit and went astray, and that village was filled with religious people. But it became something else when the majority of the villagers killed themselves at their own will. Brainwashed by that evil for the power of immortality. No one became immortal… They all killed themselves for nothing, all the evil wanted was enough blood of the innocent to release demons from hell and purgatory. But, it didn't work, they needed something stronger, they needed the blood of something stronger"
"Stronger...*scoffs... stronger as in?" Tolu asked
Fagbohun glanced at the old man on the armchair and then back at her, "A Nephilim."
"What is a Nephilim?"
"A Nephilim is a half-demon, half Angel and human."
"... Those don't exist."
"Nope you are wrong, they do exist," Fagbohun said Pointing at a drawing of a man with wings, fire eyes, and smoky feet carrying a cracked sun.
"Is that a Nephilim?" Tolu asked tracing the drawing with her fingers.
"No," Fagbohun glanced at the old man in the chair and back to tolu. "My father called him Cupidum; he drew all these markings and drawing in this cave, he has been trying to stop this madness for years. Cupidum possessed a man hundred years ago called Ismail Busari. Have you heard of the story about the Busari's son, Ismail, that was fed to the evil spirits in the forest?"
"Yes," she said softly. "No one believed that story."
"My father use to be the Busari's high priest before we were banished from being among people in the early 90s—"
"Your father is, Ifárànmī?" Tolu stared at the old shrunken man on the chair.
"Yes."
"How come? Your father is how old?"
"He's a hundred and forty-five years."
Tolu places a surprised hand around her mouth. She glanced at the old man again and again, then she tried to process it all. " so what happened to Ismail, was he delivered from the possession?"
"No, he wasn't. He was possessed until his body withered and crumble." He said.
"Wait.." she said with a gentle tone and stared at the pictograph again. "what attacked me in the woods?, was that Cupidum in Ismail's body?"
"Yes! That was Cupidum and no, he didn't attack you, he planted the fetus of a Nephilim inside of you… your daughter Eniola is a Nephilim."
"No! She's not a Nephilim!" Ifárànmī said hoarsely from where he sat on the armchair.
" She's a Cambion... Cupidum is a fallen. And she will die…."