There was peace all over. Laughter everywhere. My siblings played happily in the compound. My mother sat on her mat, the same one for the past five years, eating sugarcane. My father was beside her, seated on a chair. Once in a while, they talked and laughed about his experiences at work. The waves of laughter of all of them blended with the smooth wind to bring a calm and serene atmosphere.
However, there was no peace in my mind. I thought about the mysterious event. I did not want to miss it. Everyone in the homestead seemed happy and the event was never a concern to them. However, I had questions about why he wanted our identification documents. Did he want to register us in his secret mission? No one at home talked about the matter.
Suddenly, the weather changed. The sun became hotter and hotter. My siblings stopped playing and went inside the house. My parents also stopped their talk and went inside. I had sat in the shade near the house. I continued sitting there without noticing the sweat that had started forming on my face. I did not hear my father speak to me to come inside the house. I instantly remembered the swimming pool at my uncle's place and my mind grew wild. I glanced at my bike which was leaning on the wall. I felt a surge of energy in my legs. My hands too struggled to be in one place.
"Come inside, " my mother called, "Don't you feel the heat?"
"I will come," I replied and watched her eagerly getting inside the homestead. I tried in vain to resist the energy in my muscles. The sweat in my armpits was disturbing too. So I rose, walked towards my bike, and mounted it.
"Let me take a ride on the roadside," I announced.
"With all this heat?" My mother asked, perplexed. "You haven't eaten lunch yet. Do you have that energy?"
"Don't worry, this heat is not enough for a young and strong boy like me." I smiled at her and she smiled back. And I left the homestead. I rode on the usual footpath. I did not go to the roadside as I had informed my mother. Perhaps because there were trees that provided shade on the pathway. The wind blowing past me caressed my armpits and I raised my hands while on the bike to feel the effect more soothingly. I managed to maintain balance with my hands off the handlebars. I arrived at the tarmac road safely without facing the owls I had faced earlier.
"Does this mean good news?" I thought. After crossing, I pursued what I had planned. So in the next minute, I found myself before the big black gate knocking. The gate was opened and Jean appeared surprised.
"Don't look at me like that," I said. He moved away and I entered with my bike inside the compound and rode towards the car pack. Jean followed me there.
"What has brought you here? What did your parents tell you? Did you tell them about your uncle?" I remained silent looking at space. "And for your information, he has a celebration that he wants all of us to attend. I don't know whether your parents will attend, especially if you have told them about him. Tell me, how did it go?" My eyes lit up immediately as he talked about the celebration.
"So he is inviting everyone." I thought before answering his many questions, "He managed to come to our house. My father was angry with him since I already explained everything to them…"
"Wait, you mean you told them everything that happened?" He interrupted me.
"I had no choice, they demanded to know why I had returned so quickly. I had to explain everything to set myself free." I replied defensively.
"Now, what have you come to do here? I thought you said that you don't want to associate yourself with anything about him…"
"Shut up Jean," the sun was hot and I came to swim here." I glanced at the swimming pool and behold, it was beautiful.
"You came here to swim?" He asked laughing, "You came all the way here just for this?"
"Yes, don't take me wrongly," I replied, "I just want to swim and go away before he comes. I don't want him to find me here. Other conversations may arise."
"What if he finds you here? What will you do?" He asked.
"He should not find me here. Where has he gone?"
"Well, he left in the morning as usual and never told me where he was going. He just left me money for food, which I haven't bought yet."
"Well, let me not waste any time. Is the house open? I need to change to light clothes and swim quickly then go back home."
"Yes it is," he answered, "so at home, are your parents aware that you're here?"
"No," I replied, "I already told you that I cheated them that I was going biking just on the roadside. So I need to swim as fast as I can and immediately get out of here.
"It's okay. Go inside the room and change." He said leaving for the gate.
"And before I forget," I said stopping him, "don't tell him that I was here. I don't want trouble with my father," I said hurriedly rushing to the house where I ran upstairs to go inside the room I had slept in. I hoped to find clothes to change and swim then after swimming come back and put on my home clothes and head back home.
As I approached my room, I glanced at the secret room. Surprisingly, the door was open! My curiosity prompted me to get inside and see everything. The walls were covered with black curtains which looked new. The ceiling had been painted black with a bulb which gave blue light when switched on. In the center of the room was a table and on top of it, several glass containers were placed with some colorless liquids inside. There was a big black book beside it, with the name of my uncle on the cover. There was another big glass container below the table, which contained a red liquid.
"Oh my GOD!" I jumped with fright, "Is this blood?" I tried opening the container in vain. "Wait, was this all true? This is the blood of the missions they carry out in the secret occult! And the book? What's written there? Perhaps names of people who are to die next?" I was terrified. The walls of the room had pictures of my uncle in different places. In one, he was dressed in a suit just outside a hotel that was branded, "NIKOL HOTEL DUBAI." On another, he was being handed a white paper that resembled a certificate by another man who held a microphone. Both of them were smiling happily in the picture.
"Certificate of killing people in their occult!" I shouted within myself, "GOD forbid!" The black book lay on the table. I feared touching it. I did not imagine opening it to find my father's name on the list. "GOD forbid!" I shouted again. Just then, I stepped on something cold on the floor which made me jump up involuntarily. Oh my GOD, it was the red liquid! I was stepping on it! My heart beat a thousand beats in our second. "I've stepped on dead blood!" I shouted as I turned around to move out of the room quickly. As I stepped on the floor, I left red footprints on it. I opened the door quickly, wishing to dive inside the swimming pool and wash my feet thoroughly.
Immediately I opened the door, I was caught by a harsh and angry glare. The look was so harsh that I felt a physical oppression on my face. I looked down sheepishly and slowly raised my face to maintain eye contact. He was my uncle!