{Friday, 6:16 am.}
Abiola was sitting under the mango tree, he was deep in his thoughts. He worried about how Cyril was faring.
The meeting with the Oracle was going to be on Tonight.
He stood up and started pacing around the compound, all the while absent minded.
He reminisced upon the dream he had had the night before.
"I hope Cyril is not in any trouble whatsoever." He said to himself.
I shouldn't have left him alone to embark on this journey all by himself. Ahh! I am a bad friend. I can't leave him just like that. I shouldn't have."
He entered into the house, went straight to his room and packed a few of his belongings into his back pack.
"I have to leave immediately so I can catch up with them."
After packing his stuff, he went into the living room. His father was sitted on the cushion watching the news.
"Papa, please may I have a word with you?"
"I'm all ears Abiola."
"Papa you remember I told you i wanted to go on a journey. I was supposed to go with my friend Cyril but I later changed my mind and so he left without me.
Papa I thought about it and I have decided to join him there."
His father turned to him and spoke with affection.
"Abiola, like I told you the last time, you are my son and I have no problem letting you go pursue your dreams and aspiration, So long as it is morally right.
You are a young man filled with dexterity and I will hate that you allow your gifts to decay.
So if it is a good thing then I support you."
"Papa thank you so much. I shall leave immediately so I can catch up to them."
"Okay my son, go with God's blessings and may His favour find you wherever you go in Jesus name."
Abiola left the house and heads for the bus station where he will board the bus to Akwa Ibom.
It was 11 o clock in the morning when the bus left Lagos. Akwa ibom was about 9 to 10 hours away. He wondered what was going to happen when he got to the village.
"I cannot join Cyril and Nonso in their expedition." He thought to himself.
He thought about his father, he felt sorry he couldn't tell him what he was going to do.'
"I stared my father in the eyes and I hid the truth from him. He wanted nothing but good for me and I still failed him. Forgive me father!" He whispered to himself as the bus took to the road.
{Friday, 3 pm.}
His cell phone began to vibrate.
He reached into his pocket and brought out his GSM. The caller, Abiola.
He picked the call.
"Hello! Cyril, bro how far na? How are you doing? Are you guys at the village?"
"No, but we are about ten minutes walk away from the village."
"You guys should wait for me."
"What do you mean?."
"I'm on my way coming to meet you guys."
"Abiola are you serious? Don't joke with my brain oo."
"Oh I'm not joking, I'm even close. I'll be in Akwa Ibom in a few hours time."
"Abiola, I'm so happy right now. I feel like a total stranger here I tell you. When you reach just call me I'll tell Nonso, so we can come pick you up."
Cyril was happy that his best friend had decided not to abandon him after all. The excitement on his face had drawn Nonso's attention.
"Cyril, this one that you are glowing like this, hope all is well?"
"All is well ooo. The thing is Abiola is on his way here.
He will arrive in a few hours time. I told him to call when the bus gets to the terminal."
"Wow Cyril, that's good news ooo."
{Later that day}
It was about 8 pm, they had agreed to go to bed for a few hours and then go meet the Oracle. The meeting had been set at 11:30.
Cyril tried hard to sleep but he couldn't, his mind was flooded with thoughts, so much he was overwhelmed with fear and doubt.
He didn't understand what was happening.
The idea had been for Nonso and him to go meet the Oracle, it was supposed to be just the two of them.'
"Why did Nonso bring his other friends?" He asked himself.
"And why has Abiola not called me back."
He tried Abiola's number, it was switched off. He wondered what had happened. He decided to lie down.
" Maybe I'll Catch the sleep;" he said.
About thirty minutes after, his phone rang. He knew it was Abiola. He picked the call.
"Hello! Bro I am at the bus station in Akwa Ibom. You and Nonso should come pick me."
Cyril woke Nonso up and told him Abiola had reached Akwa Ibom and that he was at the terminal.
Nonso and one other friend went to the terminal to pick Abiola.
After about 2 hours Nonso arrived at the house; at around 10:50 pm. Abiola was with him. Immediately he entered the room Cyril hugged as tight he could. They were happy to see each other.'
One of Nonso's friend; the guy who owned the shack, announced to the group that it was almost time to leave.
They gathered themselves together and started off for Ekpene-Obo.
They got to Ekpene-obo at 11:15. They stopped at the entrance to the village.
There were two narrow roads just adjacent to each other; there was a big palm tree in-between the two roads. One led to the village itself, the other path led to the shrine.
- Well narrow roads were supposed to lead to heaven but in their case it led to Akpara Ekpe's shrine. -
It was a very narrow path, only one person could walk through at a time. So they walked in a single file.
Nonso's friend who owned the shack knew the way to the shrine, so he was in front of the group. Mbagayin is his name; it meant "no hope". One could wonder why his parents had given him such a name.
'But there were rumours that from the day he was born, everyone in his family had met with one misfortune or the other. His mother had committed suicide 9 weeks after he was born. So her body was thrown into the evil forest. It was against tradition to bury anyone who took their own life in the village cemetery.'
Abiola was scared the whole time, he contemplated turning back but he didn't want to leave Cyril alone, he decided to keep moving.
He tapped Cyril in the back and said "bro are you sure this is a good idea? I think we shouldn't do this."
Cyril said nothing but kept on walking, he himself was scared but he had made up his mind, there was no going back now, he wouldn't let anything sever him from this one opportunity to change his life around.
After about 10 minutes walk, Mbagayin announced that they had reached the shrine.
The entrance had two sticks on either side about ten feet apart, on each stick was something like a human skull. And through each eye of the skulls protruded light, but it was too dark to tell if it was magical or if a bulb was placed inside the skulls.
Each stick was wrapped with a red cloth.
Just about 10 feet away from where the sticks stood was a man holding a torch made from tying cloth around one end of a stick, dipping the stick in either kerosene or whatever fuel one chooses to use and setting the stick on fire.
He had muscular arms. His body was half covered with a red cloth; just from his waist down to his knee.
His body was painted with white chalk that shone as the light from his torch reflected upon it.
He said with a loud voice.
"No one comes to Akpara Ekpe's sanctum uninvited."
Nonso's friend Mbagayin shouted back. "We were invited by the great Akpara Ekpe himself"
"Then come closer; the man replied"
All - except Abiola - approached the man.
The man spoke once more in the same loud tone. "And who retreats before the great Akpara Ekpe."