Uncle Jack's phone rang and he took it. Before he received it, he looked at me piercingly and the next minute, my eyes were closed and that's how I slept. I later woke up in a bed, surrounded by men and women who wore white clothes. They covered their faces with face masks and their palms with transparent gloves. I was shocked to see them smiling at me as they moved around the room. I looked around to see whether Uncle Jack was present.
Where was this place? Had my uncle brought me to one of his secretive cults? I struggled to rise up but I couldn't. I struggled to shout and call for help but I couldn't. One of the men noticed my struggles and tried to calm me down.
"Don't worry, you are safe. You will be okay." I could not yet understand what he meant. Sooner than later, Uncle Jack stormed in worried and panting heavily. I looked at him worried and was about to shout to ask him where I was when the man who had reassured me the first time answered him.
"He is doing fine, don't worry." A sigh of relief came over Uncle Jack as he moved closer to where I was.
"Uncle, where am I?" I asked.
"Relax, you're in the hospital. You will be okay. I will explain everything to you when we get home. Please be quiet, I don't want any drama. Behave right?"
"Yes uncle," I replied faintly. I then felt my head being heavy, and I tried lifting myself but I couldn't. I then fell on the bed and passed out.
When I finally woke up, I was still surrounded by the men who were working tirelessly. Suddenly, my father stormed in boiling with rage. He came towards my bed and looked at me. I looked at him as I struggled to open my eyes. The man initially, who I had heard my uncle call the doctor, talked to my father and he went out. My eyes closed again and I passed out.
I woke up again. I was not in the place I was initially. The men with the white clothes were not there. My uncle was not there. I was in one closed room which looked familiar. I felt an oppressive silence around me. I felt as if the walls around were slowly coming towards me and would collapse at any time. When I looked around, I was shocked to realize that I was in Uncle Jack's house. I was terrified and wanted to scream loudly when my father entered. I was shocked to see him in my uncle's house. Was he the one who never wanted anything to do with Uncle Jack?
"Dad! Why are you…"
*Please son, be quiet!" He interrupted. "We'll talk about everything when you get well."
"But how sad," I replied shocked, "You've changed all of a sudden. You came to this house knowing what it is associated with…"
"No. Please stop saying that." He reassured me. Just then, Uncle Jack entered with some medicine and a glass of water. My father parted him on the back and left. My uncle smiled at me and gave me the medicine. I could not refuse; so I took it. I slept after that.
Time flew inexorably. When I woke up, I was still in the same room. My uncle entered afterwards with a plate full of rice with beef. He helped me sit and handed me the meal. I was still weak. So I was not able to eat normally. He came later after some time to pick the plate. I then went back to sleep.
When I woke up, I was strong enough. So I got out of bed and ran downstairs. My uncle watched me from his secret room smiling. However, I was not afraid of him right now. Seconds after, what I saw in the living room nearly made me faint. I rubbed my eyes to confirm whether I was awake. I slapped myself to confirm that the sickness I had had the previous day had not affected my mind.
"You're not dreaming!" I heard my mother's voice speaking.
"You're completely awake." My uncle said just behind me.
"We had missed you Mike!" My siblings said simultaneously. My family was just in front of my eyes. I struggled to understand what was going on. Why were they in my uncle's place when they had condemned him before? I joined them for breakfast. My uncle joined us too and we were now one united family. However, I was no longer at peace. My father witnessed and tried to reassure me that everything was just fine and running smoothly. Suddenly, there was so much laughter in the whole house from my mother and my siblings as they tried to familiarise with the level of technology in the house. They too were amazed to see how the dishwasher washed the utensils. They were also amazed to see how one could call someone at the gate just while inside the house.
Sooner than later, a man, a woman and three children entered. They greeted everyone and my uncle was very happy to welcome them. As I struggled to show happiness in my face, my brother came and whispered to my ears.
"We're going to the event that Uncle Jack has been speaking about!" He then quickly jumped away and run upstairs with my sister. Together, they wanted to see the washing machine in the laundry room and how it did the job. So I followed them and showed them everything. Father called us and introduced us to another uncle: the man who had just entered.
"Nice to meet you Uncle Nzale." I said, shaking hands with him. Uncle Jack announced that he was going somewhere with father and Uncle Nzale. I was left in charge of the whole house since I knew most of the operations inside. I showed my mother how to use the microwave, how to open the fridge and how to operate the electric cooker.
"They are ready!" Uncle Jack announced happily when they (my father, Uncle Nzale and Uncle Jack) came back.
"What is ready?" I asked him curiously. However, he did not respond. Rather, he went upstairs happily. Later in the night, everyone was shown a place to sleep and Uncle Jack announced that we had an immediate journey for all of us on the following day. I wondered why my father was not reacting. My siblings were very happy to hear that.
The next day came like lightning even as I struggled to sleep at night. My siblings were the first to wake up. Contrary, I was the last. Minutes later, we occupied two cars as we left the compound. Minutes later, we were queuing somewhere where our luggage was being checked. Minutes later again, we were very high in the sky. We were flying high; surrounded by clouds. The earth below looked smooth and perfectly round. The journey was uneventful. So I slept off.
When I woke up, we were having dinner in a hotel. A waiter who resembled the whites I had seen on Uncle Jack's television came to serve us. He spoke quickly and thus only Uncle Jack understood him. I fell asleep and only saw a few things.
When I woke up the next day, I woke up to a big celebration. A man who was dressed like a judge in the Supreme Court of Kenya was reading out names of individuals. Shouts of joy filled the air when my uncle's name was called.
"Jack… First Class Honors…" He said. Uncle Jack went forward and received a certificate then came back. Later, he led us to a hotel with the name NIKOL HOTEL. I immediately remembered the picture of him standing outside a similar hotel that was hung on the wall of his house. The place we sat seemed to have been prepared simply for us. A large banner flashed momentarily. "GRADUATION…" That was the only word which I understood.
Food and drinks were brought and we ate to our fill. Music was there too. I danced wildly, wanting to cast out all my fears and eager to enjoy all the life we had suddenly started living courtesy of Uncle Jack. Suddenly, Uncle Jack called for silence and instantly began.
"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I believe you're fine. I know you have enjoyed yourselves so far." He paused as everyone clapped. My father clapped more than anyone else. "I want to thank you for accepting this invitation and believing in me." He paused again and took a gulp of a drink in his glass. He then ordered more drinks. "Today is my graduation day. All that time I had been living a mysterious life, I was a student studying Radioactivity effects." No one in my family seemed to understand that. However, a few educated friends of his clapped and my mother clapped too in shame of being laughed at by the "learned friends" of Uncle Jack.
"Then Uncle Jack must be very bright," my brother shouted immediately as the clapping died down. Laughter spread across the place.
"The special room I had," I became keen to hear clearly, "was a room for conducting experiments. The elements being used for experiments are very sensitive, explosive and dangerous. That's why I forbade entry to you and you." He pointed at me and Jean. At that moment Jean, who had remained silent for all that while, ordered the waiter to bring him drinks for where he was. "You saw what happened to Mike when he got inside and tampered with the elements." He continued.
"But Uncle Jack is a bachelor." My brother whispered to my ear loudly. Everyone heard and laughter spread again. Uncle Jack, rather shy, laughed. But before he was done with laughing, a young beautiful lady was seen coming in our direction. My uncle fixed his gaze towards her. The lady never left Uncle Jack's eyes. Their eyes remained locked as she came closer and closer. Everyone looked at the two with admiration. I heard my father clean his throat, and my mother eyed him sharply and suddenly.
I noticed the attraction between my uncle and the lady, and as they came close, everyone was just wait for a confirmation.
THE END…