I was in the usual pathway, on my bike racing towards home. I had made up my mind that I would not come back to that house. So I rode without looking back. I didn't even glance to my left to the tarmac road to see whether my uncle had decided to follow me. The weather was fair and calm.
When I had gone for about thirty minutes, an owl came and stood in the middle of the path. I immediately remembered my first encounter with it when I was going to my uncle's place. I then related to what had happened in my uncle's place. I remembered how I had tried to attack it. I was terrified. Could it have come there to bring bad news like during the first time?
However, it did not hoot or make any attempt to attack me. So I stopped my bike to watch it. I observed how its eyes rolled up and down. This was amazing. I wished to have carried the phone to record the animal. It then opened its mouth but no sound came, and flew away. I watched it as it disappeared into thin air. I struggled to understand the message, if any, that was left by the animal. I had heard that the hooting of the animal was what was regarded as a harbinger of bad news.
"What does it mean when it doesn't hoot? Does it mean good news?" I muttered to myself. I was on my bike again. I rode quickly now until I reached the grassy place. This was the place where I had stopped to do a small exercise to eliminate cold during the other day when I tried to escape my uncle's place. A white paper caught my eye on the ground and when I bent down to pick it up, I realized that it was the box of the phone that I had thrown away the other day. I did not pick it, because I never wanted to be associated with anything bought by my uncle. I continued with the rest of the journey until I reached the path that branched to home.
I took the right path and rode for about fifty meters, and there it was: home. A small house made of bricks with iron sheets. The home compound was somehow muddy from the downpour of the other day. When I arrived, my siblings ran up to me to receive me. The neighbors were there too, surprised by why I had come so quickly.
"Mike, you have come so quickly!" Exclaimed my eldest brother.
"He did not even give you something to bring home," said one of the neighbors clapping her hands once as she went away. When I had greeted all my siblings, I went inside the house. The living room was simple, with wooden furniture. The utensils were placed on a water drum which contained water for use. Beside it was a door to the next room, which was the master bedroom for my parents. On the other side of the living room, was a door that opened to another bedroom for us, the children.
"Where has Mum gone?" I asked my two siblings, a boy and a girl.
"She has gone to the farm to collect food so that we can cook." My younger sister replied, offering me a glass of water.
"You mean there is no food in the house?" I was surprised by what I saw when I opened all the dishes beside the water drum to confirm.
"Yes, there aren't any." My eldest brother reiterated.
"And where has dad gone?" I asked dissatisfied with the home situation.
"He has not come back from work yet." My elder brother replied. My father was a security guard in a neighboring primary school who used to work at night and come back home in the morning. Sometimes, he used to come with food from the school, and we could eat and be merry.
Hunger began gnawing my stomach. I regretted leaving my uncle's house without eating. However, my siblings seemed comfortable about it. In other words, they were used to skipping breakfast. I sat on the wooden chairs, feeling uncomfortable as a result of missing the warm comfortable seats at my uncle's place. I took another gulp of water which helped reduce the pangs of hunger. I missed the juice I had drank at my uncle's place. I missed the roasted meat I had eaten. I missed the two novels that I had started reading. Worst of all, I missed my phone. I imagined how my siblings would have felt when they would see a smartphone in their hands for the first time. I imagined the countless pictures they would take with it. I felt so angry with myself. I clenched my teeth hoarse. I almost hit the table with my fist when my younger sister noticed me and became curious about my situation.
"What's the matter, Mike?" She asked.
"Nothing, I'm fine," I replied, going to our bedroom.
"What happened in Uncle Jack's place? Or rather, what did you do to him that he sent you away so quickly?" My elder brother asked surprised. I tossed myself in bed. There was no bed in the first place. It was a wide mattress that Uncle Jack gave to us claiming that it had been used up. He did not even give it to us, my mother took it from him when he wanted to burn it! So we slept on it. I had to get used to our home situation now, since East or West, home is the best.
My two siblings came to me to inquire more. I dismissed them out of the room, asking to be left alone. As I lay on the mattress, I felt sorry for my uncle. I regretted having stupidly left the house just because of pride. Tears of sorrow were in my eyes, and I raised the sleeve of my shirt to wipe them. I could not imagine him forgiving me, although I had done what I thought was true.
Just then, I heard the voice of my mother inside the living room. I heard how my younger sister narrated the whole occurrences of the things I had done. "He is so angry, and does not want anyone to talk to him." She said, My mother came immediately inside our room, knelt, noticing how I was crying.
"Oh, my GOD! You're crying!" She exclaimed. "What happened in your uncle's place? You have come back so quickly, and your uncle never told us that you were coming back. What did you do that he had to send you away?" I raised my face shyly and looked at my mother. She looked worried.
"Do not worry about me." I said, "Worry about that brother of yours we call our uncle." She became alert. She seemed to contemplate something.
"Did you see strange things in his house?" She asked worriedly. "Did anything harm you?" I was silent. At that point, my siblings came inside the room to hear me. "Talk to me, what happened?"
"Speak Mike!" My younger sister shouted. At that point, I heard footsteps in the living room. Everyone's gaze turned towards the door and my elder brother opened the curtain to check.
"Father has come." He announced, "Good morning father?" He greeted him.
"Good morning to you," he responded, "Where is your sister? Take this and prepare breakfast. Has your mother come back?"
"Yes, they are all in here," he replied. "And Mike is back too…"
"What, he is back so soon! What happened? Where is he?" He asked repeatedly.
"They are all in our room." The curtain to the room was opened and my father entered first, followed by my brother. My father was surprised. I knew they both had many questions about my sudden return.
"Should I confirm their worst fears?" I wondered within myself. I stood up and walked out of the room. I sat on the seat as all left the room and followed me where I was. "You know what, let's prepare something to eat first. We can always talk about this later." I said.
My mother went into the kitchen and within minutes, tea was ready with some boiled potatoes. They were steaming hot as they were placed on the table. I immediately remembered the countless snacks that we had eaten at my uncle's place and bit my lower lip. Everyone ate to their full. Having eaten, I was the humble Mike again. I smiled now at everybody having missed them for the few days I had been away. I wished to have my phone to take a picture of The Isulas.
"Now tell us, what happened there and why are you here yet your uncle never called me to tell me about your coming." My father asked. I decided to explain everything as it was. I explained how strange things had happened, right from meeting the owl on the first day while going, to the bang on the room that he later forbade entry. I also explained the strange conversation in the secret room with another man whom I had never seen and told them about the phone and how everything went after that.
"Jesus!" My younger sister exclaimed when I told them. Everyone became alert as I gave the details of what had happened the previous night, which led me to come home that day. I also told them about Jean, the security guard, and informed them that another security guard was fired when he invaded his secret room.
"I hope that he did not do anything bad to you," she said, touching my neck to check my temperature. She almost cried when I was done with the explanation.
"Don't worry, none of you will go to his house again." My father assured all of us. "Leave him alone with his riches. I know the hard work you put in school will pay off for us someday, especially for you who is in your final year in high school." He eyed my elder brother proudly.
When the breakfast was done, my younger sister cleared the table and everyone got to their chores. My mother began peeling bananas for lunch, my younger sister washed the utensils and my elder brother went to look for firewood. I was instructed to go to the river to fetch water. The river was some distance away from home, so I picked up my two twenty-liter containers and went away to the river.
As I walked, I felt secure by the fact that I had exposed my findings about my uncle. I felt happy knowing that I had protected my parents from coming in contact with his money, which I assumed contained curses from having come from the occult. I started running, doing exercise while whistling happily. I sang songs that I had learned at school.
Sooner than later, I was at the river. There was a bridge a few meters ahead of me that connected the tarmac road that went all the way to my uncle's place and beyond. I enjoyed looking at vehicles as they passed. One car caught my eye. It stopped just before the bridge for some time. It looked exactly like that of my uncle. I was terrified. I began trembling.
"Has he decided to follow me?" I whispered. As if confirming my worst fears, my uncle came out and walked towards me. I wanted to run, leaving my two containers, but he stopped me.
"Take the containers, let's go and fetch safe water in town." He said.
"You? What have you…"
"There is no point in raising your voice here. Do as I said." He interrupted me. I was shocked. However, I felt some external force urging me to follow his orders. So I picked up the two containers, opened the door of the car, and got in. I sat in the back seat and he drove off. He drove off for some time until we came to a welcoming big shop that sold clean fresh water. I had never seen such. I looked in awe at the big television screens that hung on walls advertising the brand of the water company.
"Pick as many containers as the car can carry." He told me. I found myself picking four containers and placing them in the boot of the car. My two containers from home were also filled with water and he paid for it all. When we secured all the containers in the car, he began driving towards the road.
"Where are we going?" I was shocked.
"To your home of course." He answered, accelerating the car. I was shocked once more. I could not imagine what would happen at our home when we arrived. I could not imagine how my parents would reprimand me for having accepted his help. In my mind, I saw my mother pouring the water away and sending me back to the river just after my uncle left. I imagined how my father would cane me, for having associated with him again. I almost regretted having followed him.
"I cannot imagine what will happen when you get to see my parents," I told him.
"What do you mean? Did you tell them about everything you told me yesterday?" He asked, shocked and curious.
"I'm afraid I did," I said, terrified. He instantly became uneasy in his driver's seat and seemed to contemplate something. "My parents may pour this water after you leave and send me back to the river again," I told him further.
"Hmm…" he began, "don't worry, I'll take care of all that."
"Are you sure you can manage my stubborn parents? I hope you have not forgotten the one and only Mr. Isula." I told him, referring to my father. For a moment, I had managed to build the rapport that I had destroyed the previous night. I hoped that he had forgiven me for exposing him.
"Yes, I will. Just trust me." He assured me. For the first time, I decided to trust him. I decided to let matters take their course. And as the car took the left turn to get in front of our gate, I knew that a lot was scheduled to happen. At least, life with my uncle had taught me to be fierce, especially when I confronted him about his mysterious life.
"Whatever happens, let it do," I whispered silently as my uncle pressed the horn button and the honk pierced through the air toward my home at lightning speed.