She whispered unconsciously as her thought wandered for a while.
A few minutes later, she started dialing Donnie’s number. She drew the receiver closer to her right ear. She could hear the phone ringing on the other end now. She held her breath for a while and then released it immediately after she noticed Donnie had picked up her call. “Hello Donnie,” she spoke up quickly, her voice still shaky. She tried hard to put herself under control—the harder she tries, the more she became defeated.
A few seconds later, she could hear Donnie's voice very faintly, it wasn’t audible at all.
Was she sick?
She wasn’t so sure, but there was something in her voice that tells her the contrary. The notes in her words were sinking. She spoke up again almost crying, “It is me Stephnie, and do you hear me now?”
She spoke up a little louder. Suddenly, the line sprang into life, “Stephnie, is that you? I’m sorry, I thought it was Genllina. She has been on my neck. She needs her money back urgently, and I told her I don’t have it just now. She wouldn’t let me be. She kept on calling me. I pretended not to hear the caller. I thought she was the one calling again you know. So what up, Stephnie? How is, Mike, and my baby boy, Terry? Hope all is well?”
Stephnie knew she had not heard of Mike’s death. It is only two days old now. She pondered how she would relate the ordeal all over again, this time to Donnie. She will want to hear it all.
Donnie noticed Stephnie was not herself. She was puzzled, never her kind of person, and she frowned. “Stephnie is everything alright? You aren’t talking, are you still there?” her anxiety grew.
Stephnie knew she started the conversation. She better have to get on with it, “I’m sorry, Donnie. I’m still here—I mean with you, and honestly, everything is not alright. Mike is dead and—”
Stephnie could hear Donnie screaming; “this is a lie! Tell me it is not true, tell me you are joking. Is this a fairy tale or something, come on, be serious for once, Stephnie. I saw Mike a few days ago in the Mansion shopping mall, and he was full of life. He looked good. Come on, Stephnie. Talk to me, are you kidding me or what?”
Stephnie was becoming dizzy. She knew she had to talk. She never wanted to, but she knew the conversation had only just begun.
She cleared her throat and spoke on, this time cautiously, “this is no gimmick Donnie, it is true my friend. What is going on right now is bigger than me. He gave up the ghost two days ago, and his death was strange, I must add. His brothers have been here, and I think they are ready to make the matter worst for me. They are making it more cumbersome—they are trying to rope me into Mike’s death, and the sad thing now is that we had never been on good talking terms. They are on my neck Donnie and I’m pissed off, can you feel me, Donnie?” she felt her hands trembling.
Donnie found it extremely hard to believe Mike was dead. She was shocked Mike could just die like that. The world is loaded with lots of surprises, she thought in fear. She noticed her hands were shaking, and sweat was on her forehead already.
How did it get there?
She managed to hold onto the phone. “I can feel your pains Stephnie,” She began. “I am afraid what you are telling me now is seriously unbelievable. Perhaps I’m just waking up from a strange dream. Maybe, I should just go back to bed and sleep and pretend I didn’t hear you mention this to me, and when I wake up everything will be just fine—as it was!” She could hear Stephnie insisting it wasn’t a dream and that it was real as her skin.
She felt her hands nervous now. Her heart was pounding also. Goose pimples developed suddenly on her skin and she could see her hair standing. Panic sets in rapidly as she found her voice pushing up beneath her throat, “I need to come over Stephnie, and our conversation had surpassed mere phone conversation. We need to see and talk. I mean to talk this out. Can, I drop the phone?” her fingers were trembling now.
Stephnie quickly interrupted, “oh, no! Donnie, please don’t, I’m not kidding. Why I called was to get counsel from you, I’m confused. Mike’s brothers were here, they said they needed me in the Alliya for questioning on what happened to Mike. It sounds ridiculous, I don’t think, I’m going.” Her voice lowered.
Donnie was getting more confused, “Stephnie, I am getting more nervous, you know what Stephnie? I will drive down immediately to your house, okay—no time-wasting, sincerely we need to talk big time. The situation to me is dark on phone, without my coming over. I must confess the whole discussion will even get darker if I stay online. I’m coming down, okay.” She ended the call.
Stephnie could hear her drop the phone. She dropped hers and relaxed fully on her chair. And as she placed both hands on her head, she could feel the heat on her forehead, but pretended, she didn’t notice it.
************
The strange road to the Dawayi shrine in Hagagar had never been smooth for decades. The witches of Dells had made sure it stayed that way and had become a road greatly feared even among the nine surrounding villages.
The mysterious road had been named the evil den of Casuri.
Madone and Jeffon had gone to consult with one of the greatest sorcerers in Hagagar land. They wanted to know exactly what happened to Mike and how he died, and who did it. And they must walk through this road.
Jeffon had suggested it, and Madone had lauded the idea without hesitation.
They began by trekking through a narrow bush path and finally arrived at Tobito, where they had to enter a canoe to cross river Cokoriko.
They finally came close to the Dawayi shrine after seven hours of determined journey. They could see the shrine from a distance now.
They hurried up and ten minutes later, they came to the shrine of Dawayi, and as they entered the shrine they hear an echoing voice taunting them, “go back quickly your feet are unclean. I can see greed in your hearts. Monkeys never refuse bananas, but when they do, be smart enough to know that the bananas have been poisoned.”
Madone and Jeffon fell down with their faces touching the ground, and they cried out, “we came in peace great one. We need your help, please don’t turn us back, we have come a long way!”
Dawayi walked around his shrine, chanting strange incantations and shaking his head forcefully. He shook his head several times and fell to the ground and then stood up swiftly as he looked up at the Python head hung on the ceiling made with palm leaves. He shouted again, this time like a woman in severe labor. And after several seconds of physical demonstration, he sat at a spot with his eyes closed.
His eyes were painted with white color chalk. His lips were painted yellow color and he had tattoos on the side of his wrinkled face. His big muscular head rested on his tiny neck, and his back carried the picture of an Owl.
He opened his eyes and hissed deeply; “sit down and why are you here? I can see why, but speak before the shrine of Demotus.” His words echoed.
There was something about his voice. He seemed to be barking, and that got their ears almost deaf. They were scared.
They have heard of the fame of Dawayi and what they heard about him was right. He was greatly empowered by the forces of vampires and the evil spirits upon the graves of Atasistara beyond the seven rivers of Karataya.
Silence dropped and the eye of Dawayi was busy on them. They knew he was waiting—waiting to hear them talk about why they came. They could see it on his face—his ugly face coated with all manner of color chalks, and rough tattoos.
Madone looked at Jeffon. Jeffon knew he wanted him to speak.
A few seconds later, Jeffon cleared his throat strongly in great fear. Panic spun around his stomach, and he felt he needed to ease himself. Not this time, he thought as he held on strong.
He was deeply overwhelmed by what, he saw in the shrine. What, he wasn’t so sure of was whether he had seen the heads of dead men hung on a bamboo stick. He tried so hard to look away as he spoke quietly selecting his words, “great one, I lost my brother, hmm no, we lost our brother,” he corrected himself quickly as he pointed to Madone to substantiate his point, “he died mysteriously, we don’t know how or what happened. That’s why we came, the great one.” Jeffon felt a chill screwing right through his bone marrow.
Dawayi looked at an old mirror that was cracked in parts. He stared at it for a while, and after a full stretch of five minutes, he shuddered, “that’s not all my Son. I can see a beautiful woman in tears carrying a little boy at her back with clothing woven with white beads and that symbolizes wealth. The woman is very pretty. Tell me about her, my Son.” Jeffon looked at Madone this time.
Madone could sense things are getting out of proportion. He decided to take the bull by the horn having found some strength now, “that woman must be our late brother’s wife. The child, she was carrying could be her son—I mean my late brother’s son. We think she has hands in our brother’s death and should be made to pay for it.” His face picked up an angry look even though he knew there was more to it.
Dawayi looked at Jeffon then shifted his eyes to Madone, “you still have not told me what brought you here? Well, we will come to that later.” His frightening eyes got them nervous and fidgeting in their chairs.
He took some stones that looked like a tiger's head. He tossed them on the ground as he spoke in incantations. The stones were seven in number. He threw it to the ground and uttered more mysterious incantations as he looked into the side mirror that had started bringing out smokes. He closed his eyes and opened it wide very quickly and bowed his head in worship and stood up in shock, “Your brother Mike was a strongman and a billionaire. He is with his master Manzus. He was a mission member, his time on earth was up so he departed to the temple of Zus,” he nodded his head twice and continued, “he is wealthy—very wealthy. But you must know this, his wife is innocent. She has no hand in Mike’s death. He was taken before his time because they needed his blood. I’m afraid, I can’t tell you more—I ask again, why did you come here?” He looked at them because he knew there was an interior motive the eyes can’t see, but deep down within them, in their heart, there was something he could smell hidden.
The more he looked at them the more he saw greed burning up in fire that even the ocean water can’t quench. He asked again, “Why did you come here?”
Madone was surprised at the question of Dawayi.
Why was he asking one question over and over?
He felt so uneasy in his chair but knew there was no way he would want to go ahead without getting an answer from them.
He looked at Jeffon and then looked straight into his frightening eyes. This time, his spine felt an instant chill, and his belly roared as if he wanted to use the restroom.
The more, he looked into his eyes the more his heart melts. It is time to speak up or feel the wrath of the great sorcerer of all time—Dawayi.
He cleared his throat and allowed several thoughts to bounce within his mind for a while before he found his lost voice.