THE SECRET OF DEATH Episode 4 by Author Nath (Bright Daniel)
Heading: Double World
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Men fear death as if unquestionably the greatest evil, and yet no man knows that it may be the greatest good. There would never be anything like death if life never existed. Why then will the living becomes anxious when death is mentioned and a triggering fear stirres up their emotions? Mrs. Rose was not exception. She stared at her husband with an opened mouth when the word was mentioned. Surprisingly, in her eyes Mekus seemed not affected or troubled that he had a few days to die. In fact, the man smiled, took a step forward where a doctor began to narrate the condition of Jimmy to him.
However, Mrs. Rose had been pinned behind with the shocking news. No, she couldn’t take it. Therefore she briskly walked to her husband and pulled him away from the doctor. “What exactly are you talking about?” she glared.
“Woman, you look worried” Mekus began. “If I hadn’t been born, my mother would have been worried just like you’re worried for not giving me a child. Now, I’m about to die my wife is more worried. Every man’s life ends the same day. It is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another.” He paused to see tears engulfed the wife’s eyes. “It’s cardiac cancer. It’s spreading faster” he concluded.
The tears finally ran down from Mrs. Rose eyes.
“Pull yourself together, woman. One mustn’t cry because of death.” Mekus dried her tears then pulled her to himself where she hum the cry very well. After patiently waiting for her to stop crying, he said, “Come”
They entered into a different room where the wife fed her eyes with several images of different places around the country and other African countries. On the centre table was the same imagine Jimmy carved, but it was bolder and well designed.
“Sit down, Rose.” Mekus instructed. He walked to the nearest wine, poured a few in a glass cup then returned with it to his wife, standing opposite her. The table was a demarcation between them. He stratched a glass of wine to her but she rejected it.
“Take it, you’ll need it.” Mekus warned her.
“No.” She insisted.
The man kept the wine closer to her and brought out a large paper containing locations of his companies across the continent. “Listen carefully about what I’m gonna tell you.” he began. “These are locations of my companies across Africa. Look at them. They are into what?”
Mrs. Rose stretched her neck. “They all do one thing which is production of fabric.” she replied.
Mekus drank a quantity of his wine then began again. “The Christians believe that this world is into two; the physical and the spiritual and the spiritual controls the physical. That’s nonsense!”
Hearing that, the wife looked up at him, more like a disdain.
“What?” Mekus challenged. “As far as I’m concerned. Spirit doesn’t exist, hence there’s nothing like a spiritual world. After your death you will be what you were before your birth. Were you a spirit before you were born, Rose? The Christians still believe that the spirit lives again for eternity after death. If it is true, why then do you cry when you learnt I will soon die? Why do you fear death?! Or don’t you want to live eternally?” Mekus smiled and shook his head. Again, he sipped a quantity of the wine.
“I still don’t know where you’re driving at.” Mrs. Rose said.
Mekus looked at the large paper. “Yes, I believe there are two worlds. They are not the physical and the spiritual. They’re the real world and the underworld and the underworld controls the real world. The real world is a camouflage of the underworld. Don’t get me wrong; the underworld isn’t spiritism but wisdom of illegalities.”
The wife kept staring at him.
“The production of fabrics is just a camouflage. What I produce in these companies are drugs, illegal drugs precisely. Though is in those companies but only few knows about it and where it is. Is not the fabrics that gives me money, it’s the drugs.”
“You must be kidding me.” the wife surprisingly stood up. “You’re telling me that you’re a drug dealer?!”
“Not a dealer, woman. I’m a drug Lord, and you are taking over from me!”
“Over my dead body! I must not involve myself to the illegalities of life. My faith in God…”
“Quiet, woman!” Mekus thundered by interrupting her. The wife startled. “You lack wisdom. You must take over otherwise I’ll go to the street and pick someone who will do that!”
“What about your sons?!”
“I do not have a son thoughtless of sons! Moreover, they don’t have the wisdom to control the underworld.”
“Then teach them!”
“What do you think I’m doing when I told them to kill me? Though I’m disappointed that they don’t understand the simplest thing; the meaning of life and death, the simple code used to kill. My company is in a constant battle with another underworld who doesn’t want to use eyes to see my logo anywhere.” he pointed at the designed imagine on the table, the same imagine Jimmy carved. “That’s why they wanted to kill that child but ended up killing his mother if I hadn’t sent my men to rescue the boy. Only the boy can tell where and how he saw that image. Wake up, woman! This isn’t morning mass attendance neither is it praying of the rosery. It is a constant competition! A constant battle of life and death in the underworld!” Mekus concluded, breathing heavily.
On the other hand, Mrs. Rose’s heartbeat had increased. It could be seen on the up and down movement of her chest. Quickly, she carried the wine she rejected and drank it all at once.
“I told you, you’d need it” Mekus reminded her.
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The couple returned home, to the mansion precisely. Mrs. Rose, without taking off her dress stood before the large mirror, staring at it like a ghost. While Mekus stood at the door behind her and staring at her. Of course the wife could see him through the mirror. It had never been well with both of them after the unexpected introduction of the real world and underworld. Mekus had never seen his wife in that mood. As the silence lingered, Rose said, “I don’t know the man I married anymore.”
“It’s me Emeka Ikenga, Mekus, the don, your lovely husband.” Mekus replied.
Silence creeped in again. The wife turned in a way both eyes jammed. “I’m sorry I couldn’t give you an heir who would have taken over from you.” she said sadly.
“You always say children come from God. Let your God answer you. Now, undress. I might be old but my dick isn’t. Let me make love to my wife.” Mekus watched his wife practically undressed before him, walked to the bed and laid down for him. It was like a food served on a platter of gold. Mekus locked the door..
Meanwhile inside the kitchen, a maid could be seen poisoning Mekus’ food. She carried it to the dining room, positioned it at the boss’ position. She also served other’s then glanced at the time.
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However, Richard, the second adopted son of Mekus could also be seen dressing up inside his room before his wife came in. She was a meek lady, quiet and observant. She was dark in complexion and had given Richard a male child. She critically observed her husband. When Richard saw her through the mirror, he asked, “What?”
“You’ve succeeded in poisoning your father’s food, and you want to go there to witness it so you can tell him in the face that you paid a maid to do that.” She smiled. “I told you I’m not with you on this. Whatever you see take it alone. I’m contented with what I have.” She left.
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It was dinner time. Mekus and his wife were on their way to the dining room when the wife’s phone rang. He looked at her. “Who’s that?” he asked her.
“Is my son, Richard.” she picked the call while Mekus glanced at his wrist watch “Hi Richard?” the wife spoke through the phone. “You want to see me? Why not? Oh, now? Of course. We’re about to have dinner. I’ll have the maid dish out your food now.” she hung up the call, called the maid to add another plate on the table.
“We should wait for him, then.” Mekus suggested.
“Please, my Lord.” they sat in the living room.
A few minutes later, Richard arrived in a corporate attire like a newly ordained pastor, grinning from one cheek to another.
“Hey, my son!” the mother hugged him after which he walked to his father and kissed his hand. “You’ll live long, father” he said.
“Thank you, son?” Mekus smiled happily.
They proceeded to the dining table, sat down to eat after a short prayer by the woman of the house. Mekus looked at Richard and said, “Son, base on what I proclaimed the other day, have you for once thought that if I should be dead without any of you present at my death scene, won’t three of you argue on who actually killed me? It may be any of you, it may be not, but don’t you think fight will escalate on who actually killed me?”
“I’m not in support of killing you, father.” Richard replied with a smile.
“Answer my question.” Mekus insisted.
Richard swallowed hard. “Of course we are not stupid, father. Whosoever that will kill you will make sure he does it by himself.”
“What if he sends someone to kill me.”
“Then he must make sure he’s present before you breathe your last breath” After replying that, he realized himself then stopped eating to look at his father who suddenly began to smile.
“Son, you’ve just exposed yourself. You’ve come to witness my death coz you must have had any of the maids poison my food and you visited the same time you know I have my dinner.” Mekus said.
“Jesus!” Mrs. Rose exclaimed.
Mekus continued. “Son, life is like a mirror in which the true meaning of death is reflected. If you cannot see your death while you’re alive, you have a broken mirror. No one really knows why they are alive until they know what they’d die for.” He looked at the wife. “My dear, if you doubt me, watch and see.” Mekus called the maid and said to her, “Take my food give it to my son to eat.”
The maid began to vibrate…….
THE SECRET OF DEATH Episode
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TO BE CONTINUED
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