A man came out of the car wearing a shirt that was similar to the one my uncle had worn when he left. The pair of trousers were similar too! I stood by my bike expecting the worst. The wind began blowing mercilessly, lifting loads and loads of dust with it. The sight was slightly interrupted. Maybe this had come to my rescue! I wondered. The man turned and looked at me. It was my uncle! I nearly had a "small accident."
"What are you doing here?" He asked, "Are you trying to escape like the other day?"
"No," I replied faintly, "actually… I was…"
"Come on, tie the bike on top of the car, and let's leave this place!" He interrupted.
"I will go home by myself. Just leave me, I'm coming." I gathered courage and replied.
"What are you saying?" He asked rhetorically. The look on his face had changed now. He appeared vigilant. This was the worst I had ever seen him. What was wrong? Was my small issue of going out the cause of his sudden change of mood?
"I was doing a small exercise with my bike. I'm going nowhere. I'll just come back home." I replied. "Kindly, allow me to do the exercise. I'll be done in a few… few minutes… few hours!" There was silence for a while. I was afraid that I had annoyed him. He then touched his pocket and took his phone. He looked at it as if he had received an important notification. His mood went back to normal.
"Okay, permission granted, but make sure that you come home early." He said getting into his car. He then drove off. I was happy to have been given the freedom. The wind had subsided. It was now my time to enjoy myself. After almost three hours of thorough bike riding, I noticed the sunset. I hurriedly rode back home. When I arrived at the gate, I hit the gate with my bike making a loud noise. Moments later, I saw Jean peeping outside through the small window in his room. The gate was then opened.
"Why did you hit the gate? You made me arm myself thinking it was an armed robber or something of the sort!"
"Come on, open the gate for me," I said laughing. I thought what I had done was a joke. Jean, however, did not take it lightly.
"Why did you frighten me, kid?" He stood at the gate interfering with my way.
"Come on, let me pass. I will knock you down with this bike!" I said moving towards him threateningly. He did not pave the way for me. "You're still there?"
"Kid, don't be rude," Jean said seriously. *Remember that…"
"Quiet!" I cut him short. "I was joking. Don't take it too seriously. Let me pass."
"Some of your jokes need to be taken to school!" He replied coming out of the way.
"I will take them. Happy now?" I said moving towards the parking area. I placed my bike and left towards the door of the house. When I opened it, Uncle Jack was not in the house. I immediately went to my room to pick up my phone. I checked to see whether my mates had contacted me. When I replied to all of them, I started browsing as usual. A glance at my closet reminded me of the two novels that I had started reading. There was no time for that. I concluded.
I then heard footsteps coming towards my room. They then diverted towards the staircase and stopped for a while. I began hearing whistles from my uncle. This was unusual. I wondered about what was happening. I went towards the door, opened it ajar, and pretended to be on my phone just to watch him. When he saw me, he cleaned his throat and could no longer hide his smile.
"What should we eat for supper tonight?" He asked happily. He glanced at me, glanced at his secret room, and lastly at his phone. I was getting confused every moment. What did all that mean? Was this a confirmation that he was a member of the occult? Was this also the reason why he had never married? Why was he so happy? I remembered the events that happened earlier that day. The words came clearly in my mind.
"Congratulations, you have just succeeded. I could never imagine that you could manage to follow all the strict instructions that were required." The strange voice had said. Now, my uncle seemed the happiest man in the world. He occasionally looked at his phone and smiled. I did not need any evidence to conclude my findings. When I connected the two events, I was now convinced that my uncle was a member of the occult.
"Maybe he has been given more money. No wonder he smiles when he looks at his phone." I whispered to myself. I was lost in thoughts. I had forgotten his earlier question.
"Are you still thinking about what we shall eat?" He asked and interrupted my thoughts.
"Hmm… let's eat… let me think of a perfect fit," I said at last. I said this to give myself more time to think. I now feared him more. I did not want to stay in that house anymore. Neither did I want to use anything that had been bought with his money. Should I run away? I reasoned.
"I will be in the living room. When you decide what to eat, come and tell me." He said walking downstairs. I became afraid of even talking to him. I started shivering. I felt like the managers of the occult would be anywhere in the house spying on me, ready to swallow me at night as I slept. The floor, which was warm as usual, felt cold under my feet. I quickly rushed to my closet and picked up my sweater, which he had bought me! When I wore it, I started shivering vigorously. I then tossed myself on the bed and covered myself with the duvet. I cuddled to myself, trying to keep warm as possible. I picked another duvet from the closet when one was not enough. I could hear my teeth clashing with each other occasionally. I was afraid of the whole house.
Minutes passed and I started sweating profusely. I now uncovered myself and switched on the fan. The faster the fan rotated, the more sweat I produced. A notification came into my phone. I did not bother to look at it. I did not touch the phone anymore. I was afraid of using the nonessential items in that house. When I could not bear it anymore, I removed all my clothes, locked the door, and stood right at the spot perpendicular to where the fan was located. After some time, I wore a vest and light pants and walked downstairs. I walked wildly.
In the living room, my uncle sat watching the television. He noticed how I was sweating and asked, concerned.
"What's the matter? Are you okay?" I did not want any help from him, especially when I knew that he was a member of the occult. I looked at him with questioning eyes. I wondered what made him engage in the devilish act. I felt angry and sorry for him at the same time. I remembered my mother telling me of instances where a member was killed just to satisfy the needs of senior members of the occult.
"Would I lose my uncle to such? God forbid!" I exclaimed to myself. Hot tears began streaming through my eyes uncontrollably. I couldn't stop them. I let them drop out of my body to cleanse it. I needed peace and harmony. I vowed not to allow my uncle to die of such an eventuality.
"Wait, you're crying. What is it? Are you alright?" My uncle asked again. I nearly got the courage to rebuke him. Being religious, I felt the strong urge to speak to him. However, my mouth refused to open. So I wiped the tears with my vest. I then walked towards the door ready to move out. He quickly moved towards me and held me back as I walked out of the house. However, I managed to get out of the house. He held me with his powerful hands even as I tried to protest. I threw my hands everywhere, hitting him while trying to free myself. I screamed with all my might, screams that cut the thin calm air toward the gate. Within seconds, I saw Jean running towards us extremely worried.
"What has gotten in you kid?" My uncle asked, annoyed. He struggled to hold me as I had become so disturbing. I threw myself up and down and hit the tiled floor with my legs. Jean was there standing beside me. He was also wondering about what had happened.
"What happened?" Jean asked as he tried to shake my head.
"I don't know." My uncle replied. "He just came to the living room sweating profusely and immediately rushed out of the house. I had initially asked him to think of the perfect food for supper." I was still stubborn. I debated whether I should let the cat out of the bag. I had wished to have peace of mind for so long. I wished to be free. I wished to share what was disturbing my mind. I wished to expose the evil occult that my uncle was involved in! I wished to save my parents from receiving money from him in the future. I wished to save Jean from living in that house anymore. I wished to save myself from using the phone, eating his food, and living in a house associated with the occult. Lastly, I wished to save everyone from the grief of burying our relative, Uncle Jack, who would die early after enjoying all the riches that the occult provided, as my mother had told me about other people who had died unnatural deaths. These people were believed to be members of the occult too.
I wished to do all these things. But I couldn't. I was held up with strong hands. My thoughts were tied with fear. My mouth was hindered by the apprehension of the same great task that I wished to do.
From the way it seemed, I needed to be more confident and stronger.