JAGUNLABI✔

PART TWO: CHAPTER TWELVE

Seeing myself sitting on what appeared to be a throne, and in a historical setting made my eyes widen with shock. Before I could take a step further, my consciousness was drawn away from making contact. In what appeared to be a bubble, I was detached but could see the scene clearly.

Despite the somewhat abstract experience, a chill in my bones and an icy trail crawled up my spine. Unseen creatures hissed and snarled around me. They were close yet far, but I was done with frivolous diversions. When the fire of adversity burns away timidity and fear, only courage remains. I was the diamond refined by the flames of adversity.

"E fara han! Reveal yourselves!" I bellowed.

Maniacal laughter all around me, above and below was the response. The evil cackling was a blend of human and animalistic, but I remained standing. Bold and unwavering. What ever it was or whomever they were could not do more than attempt to break me. I already agreed to lay down my life for the deliverance of my loved ones. My resolve had robbed them of their power.

In an attempt to take a step forward, an invisible force field obstructed me. The diabolical snickering continued as I struggled to move in different directions, all to no avail.

Suddenly, the foul smell of burning sulphur filled my nostrils, and acidic smoke stung my eyes.

With almost immediate effect, air was drained from the enclosed space. After sucking in as much oxygen as possible, my lungs burned with the strain. I started to suffocate. It was an agonizing experience I would not wish on anyone. The discomfort of my body shutting down, one organ at a time. Feeling my limbs go numb, before perceiving nothing at all.

As I succumbed to the unbearable pressure weighing down on my body, my vision dimmed. The unseen creatures murmured as I wrestled with the urge to fall on my knees and be done with it. The universe could bear me witness that I had done my best.

"Tani o? Who are you?" they asked in unison.

On the verge of lapsing into unconsciousness and a certain death, I wondered if the paranormal forces were at work. At that point, I should have been dead. For what duration of time could a person suffocate before their demise? Time was fluid and beyond understanding or measurement in that realm, but instinctively I realised it had been too long.

The unseen creatures were tormenting me, but perhaps my death was out of their hands...

"Oro ti a so nigba naa, ko si baba nla enikeni to le yi pada! The words we have spoken in those days cannot be reversed by anyone!" they hissed.

Ki l'oro ti eyin ti a ko le f'oju ri so? What did you, unseen beings say? I wondered.

Apparently, they could hear my thoughts, because they responded with voices laced with scorn. "So ro pe awa ti a pa ore re, Maxine o le pa iwo naa? Do you think that we that killed your friend Maxine, but cannot kill you too?"

I continued mental communication, because speaking was impossible: Maxine is not dead. She called me after I came to Nigeria. We are just estranged...

"Maxine ti iwo mo ti ku nigba ti o ba egbe k'egbe lo sinu aginju. The Maxine you know died when she accompanied bad friends to a forest. Iranse wa ni a fi dipo e. She was replaced by our messenger."

I did not want to believe it, but their allegation was probable. Maxine and I were friends since we were kids. There was something strange about her after she went camping with some people she met at a beach bonfire night. Who knows what they got up to in the forest?

My mind reeled: I don't believe you.

They heckled me with no restraint. "What you think is meaningless. She failed to discourage you from embarking on your quest, but we are in control now."

The reality dawned on me like a ton of bricks. I told her about the pressure to create headlining content in order to keep my job at the Continental Herald. Maxine, or at least who I thought was Maxine-tried to convince me 'not to sell out'. At the time, she appeared to have good intentions. However, throwing Orisajana under the bus and my battle with Jagunlabi kindled a fire within me. If I had kept my head down and lived by the rules, it was possible that the spiritual awakening would not have occurred.

"Oju re ti la. Your eyes have been opened. Sugbon, pabo lo ja si. But it is in vain." The unseen creatures jeered and clicked their fingers.

Brick walls of disappointment collapsed upon me. Nevertheless, a faint glimmer of hope wavered within. Deep down, I refused to believe that my journey through time and space was for nothing.

In a last effort to get answers, I telepathically asked my final questions: I saw myself on a throne in a historical setting before you attacked me. What does it mean and how is it connected to Jagunlabi?