I look at myself in the mirror. My hair long and curly, I plan to comb it after I finish my self admiration. I look at my beards, the ones on my chin have grown so much since I left high school. Those teachers never loved our beards and made sure we shave them each time they sprout. I hope to be like Burning spear someday, or even Santa Claus if I can. I hope my moustache will grow one day. I look at my widow's peak and remember my late dad. "I inherited something." I smile just to see my dimples again. They are just like they used to be when I was still a child. When I used to play with mirrors. The Childhood Memories Book in my mind opens up. Fading away is my image on the mirror as the memories images become clear and sharper.
From my memory books in my big head, I find a memory of my cousin. A cousin who has promised to take me across the worlds. I imagine of traveling in space just like a fictional character, Superman, who went to the sun. I take a pen and paper and begin to jot down every moment I had with my cousin, Alpha, since birth. I'm doing this to leave a small mark of his life, a biography that will be used by the coming generation, if we fail to come back to earth, if we get lost in the universe. He has no maps, he has no starship, no space coordinates, no destination. I wonder how we will travel in space with nothing to carry.
The book finally opens, from it I can see the day he was born. It was during the August Holiday. I left for Menengai, Nakuru. I was eight by the time. I straightly headed to my uncle's home. This uncle was somehow unusual. When I told people, they ridiculously laughed at me accusing me of using some of the banned drugs. The drugs which they alleged made me insane. I stopped and kept what I saw in him with me only.
It was three o'clock in the morning, a newborn baby joined this world. My cousin, Kacey and I had been left at home when the parents rushed to the hospital. On hearing the news that her mom had delivered successfully, she was greatly elated. I just felt her hugging me and she hanged on me making me almost fall, were it not for the wall. She was so happy that she had joined the book of people with siblings. She would be crowned a new title, firstborn. I wondered why she had forgotten what separated us. It was a hug. A hug that made me to be severely punished until I came to fear girls.
The next day my uncle and I left for the mage's house. We were going to find out why the baby kept crying everytime we gave him a name. The mage, we hoped, could give us the right name of the baby. As the customs stated, a baby will cry until the time they get the right name for him. The baby was one day old, we had tried to guess all boy names that we knew but nothing worked out.
On the way I remembered what Kacey had told me about the newborn child. She said that his name would be from the Greek alphabet. I never believed her but it dawned to me that we hadn't tried any of the greek letters.I remained silent with my newly discovered secret that a cousin, whom I felt was madly in love with me, revealed unto me.
We walked past the town into a forest where the mage resided. As for many, magicians stay in paper houses or mud ruins but this was not for this magician. We approached his palatial home. At the gate there were guards, many guards. The guards were not human but machines. A bunker raised an alarm, as it's gun faced us, ready to shoot us. A mini bomb tower also faced us now. There were spikes on the way which ensured that no vehicle could come to his place. People only walked to his place. I checked my phone, the signal was lost. I checked the compass app the Needle was rotating vigorously. This place was not suitable for flight navigation.
To show his identity and be allowed to enter by the receptionist, who was a robot, uncle lifted his hands up in the air with his palms open. I thought it was surrendering but I saw a laser-like scanner aimed at his palms. Numbers were displayed on the glass gate just below the welcome symbol. Then it read, ACCESS GRANTED, SIR, PLEASE WAIT TO ENTER.Then I heard a feminine voice ordering, "You have two minutes before the gates are locked. Ensure that you pass all the obstacles according to your experience. This is security test to prevent intruders. START!"
Uncle held my hand as the maze appeared from the ground. We managed to get to the inside just before the gates closed.The compound was like a park. Sculptures and statues were found somewhere at the periphery. A spring of water that formed rainbows with the rising sun near the pool is what fascinated me. I stared at it as we walked towards the mansion where he resided. "Don't step on us," I heard something from the ground saying. That is when I realized I had lost the path to the house as I was about to end in the colorful yellow blue red and violet flowers that were bordering the pavements. I was extremely shocked and began to focus on the house ahead.
We finally entered the mansion. We used a door labeled "Ofisi". The door next to it was written on "restricted". All the doors were made of high tech materials that resembled glass. Uncle, put his right palm on the far left top corner of the door. His hand was printed on the door the moment he lifted it off. Suddenly, a keyboard appeared at the middle of the door.
"Enter passcode. Type two related keys at a time," a feminine voice said. Then I saw my uncle moving his fingers across the keyboard as if he was playing a piano.
"Access Granted. Please enter with your back and the left eye closed until you receive the next set of instructions," a feminine voice said.We did as we were told. We were in a small hall.
"You've managed to complete all the tasks. Now meet our master. He is the greatest mage of our times. He is the Wizard of the Green Lights. Let's go. Tell him your problems and the solution will be there in minutes. Are you ready?" a male voice said with its tempo increasing gradually.
Then the walls moved down. I could see many computers sorrounding us. On a far table in front of us someone wearing a black hood sat." This is the mage, " I thought. We walked towards him as the computers produced green and blue light in an alternate manner.
"Welcome guys, I'm sure you are here because of the newborn baby. He has refused to take a name. That is an easy task. Remember here we don't pay anything. This is the only wizard in the universe who works for free. I use few methods and I will determine the answers. You just remain calm and see the results for yoursel," he says but still not showing his face.
I keenly observed what he was doing. I even removed my pullover and looked from it inside - out. This way I believed, I could see no illusion if there were any. Then in the air a large screen formed near us. It blocked the view of the mage. Their were thousands of boy names written on. Many of the names were red, this meant they were unsuitable for the newborn.
I closed my eyes and waited for the next thing to happen. I just wished Kacey's dreams could come true. I would then surprise her with a gift. I would thank her for accurate guess. Then the screen disappeared.
The mage showed his face. He was an old black man with very long white beard which extended up to his lower chest. He looked like the grotesque we used to see in our literature books. His eyes were green and just like the computers they changed colors also. I was greatly scared that I wanted to jerk from the place.
"Young man, are you scared of me? Don't you know you are supposed to be my student," he said with his terrific voice that was echoing.
"No," I answered scared, there was no echo. I almost fell as my legs froze and lost balance.
"Oh, young man fear is what will make you lose all opportunities you've ever had on this planet. Always be courageous where you can, but don't prove your courage by attacking an elephant with a stick," he said with a low tone now, there were no more echoes.
"Ok sir. Arrange something for me then, " I said with a little more confidence.
Then he shouted with his trembling voice that sounded like thunder," The wizard of the green lights, with the little power of light and darkness, states the name of the child as Alpha. He is the beginning. "
" Time to leave," uncle said as the exit door opened.Then I realized that people with powerful magic don't ask for payment.