WATER BOY
CHAPTER EIGHT
Plagues
"King of the ocean wealth is coming! He is visiting your land with his wrath! The king father is here! You holds what's dear to him! Release the water boy or lose your heritage!" The strange men sang continuously as they swam round the Water-man on the golden seat.
Claps of lightning bolts and flashes followed in rounds.
Meanwhile,panic and screams pervaded the atmosphere. People were running helter-skelter trying to return to their respective homes safely.
"Your highness we are in trouble! Trouble! Trouble!! Trouble!!!" Both farmers ran with undue hurry and confusion.
A few moments later,a strange harmattan wind sprouted.
It began with a dance. The wind playing games with the sand and the sand playing along. It was a compelling and alluring show, but, at the same time, as the wind gathered, the air began to become oppressive and the brilliant blue sky took on a threatening dullness as the cargo of dust changed the spectrum.
"Where have we offended the goddess of the dark lake?!" People wailed as they sought refuge.
The ephemeral flurries became continuous sheets of sand hurtling across the community surface, assailing everything in their path.
Then,the Water-men that were singing round the water King all came out of the water. All out,they went into the community in songs as they matched round the entire community.
And then suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, this streaming chaos turned into the full fury of a sandstorm, a full-blown assault, threatening everyone.
It seemed as the whole surface of the community were rising in obedience to some upthrusting force from beneath. The spray of dancing sand grains clung homes.
This continued for about thirty minutes and the sudden gusts of winds went flat the moment the water-messengers returned to the king of the sea.
A moment later,king Ruby then sent for the chief priest of the land again.
But before then,the entire community had emptied herself at the king's palace.
"Wise one! Tell us,where have we offended the goddess of the dark lake?!" King Ruby inquired. "If there's anything we can do to restore peace back into this land,say it quickly. "
So the chief priest threw a few cowries to the ground and stared intently at them for a few seconds," The boy! The little boy!! He is the cause of this! The goddess of the dark lake wants him out of this land by all means!" The chief priest instructed.
"But he's a precious jewel to this community! Is there no other solution to this?!" King Ruby asked.
"There's no other way out your highness. The little boy's father is very angry at us right now. The only reason why he hasn't invaded this land properly is because of the little boy here," He said. " He should be released like you promised him. "
"And who's this little boy's father?!" King Ruby inquired.
"He's the Water-god that every one could see in our streams and rivers. He won't leave until his son is released. " The chief priest instructed and returned immediately.
"No way! There should be a way to this!" The king smirked to himself.
Later that same day,the king ordered my release from the dungeon and asked one of his palace made to prepare me lunch. Just when I thought I was free to go,fleet of cars drove into the community.
A white man came down from one of the cars and approached king Ruby. They exchanged pleasantries and walked into the palace.
I was eating in the palace that day, when the white man a little older than the king asked if he could sit at the dinning table with me.
"Yes please!" I replied. There was no place else for him to sit down as the palace was occupied with the elders of the land, so I gestured at the chair with my head. The man was a couple inches taller than the king, his face was tanned, like he just got back from the northern part of Nigeria or something. I imagined that this guy must be an actor, maybe even a famous actor, because his face had those large features that make you think of people in show business. The man carefully unwound the tan herringbone scarf from around his neck and pulled off his trench coat, draping them over the back of the chair. He wore a gray wool sport coat and pressed white shirt. The tanned skin of his neck was radiant against the open collar.
He stared at me and said," You must be Hermione!"
I nodded as I could not answer with my mouthful of roasted meat. But I was surprised he mentioned my name.
"Nice!" He said," Are you ready to return back to the city now?" He asked.
I quickly swallowed the meat ball in my mouth and responded," Yes! Yes!! Please! I'm ready to go back to my parents. "
"Good boy. Give me some more minutes and we will be out of this place. " He said while standing up from the chair. He then approached king Ruby with a wink.
King Ruby and the white man stood closed up to each other conversing for some more minutes. They would turn and smile at me in the middle of their discussion. But nothing was ringing danger about their discussion.
After the white man and the king had ended their conversation,the white man then handed king Ruby a silver briefcase.
"The young man Hermione has a spiritual awakening switch of powers. He can command precious stones to appear in a twinkle of an eye. " King Ruby whispered.
"Oh that's awesome. I am taking him to the United States of America where we can make him our company's precious stones producer," The white man whispered back," What a rare gift from a little boy. "
"But please, whatever you do with him in the USA,make sure you do not hurt him too much,inorder not to incur the wrath of his Water-father. " King Ruby replied.
"Don't worry about him and his father,we have spiritual powers that's more powerful than his. We are going to capture the father and keep him on lock for future uses. " The white man said," But then it's nice doing business with you. "
"It's a pleasure doing business with you too. " King Ruby and the white man shook hands.
Shortly,the white man approached towards me.
"Hermione,it's time to go back home. "King Ruby said with a bright smile as he approached towards me.
"Thank you so much your highness!" I said in-between sobs," But someone in this kingdom still has my diamond necklace with him. He collected it from me yesterday. " I said to king Ruby." I will like to have it back!"
"No son. Just forget about that necklace. It's gone already. If truly your father bought it for you,then he should buy you another one. "King Ruby asserted.
King Ruby then bide me goodbye as I hopped into the white man's car. And he drove me off.
In no time the weather began to change as we were driving off. Then, like the cool wind left an empty space, a thin and muggy fog nestles in. Before long, tiny, soft needle-like droplets begin brushing across faces and arms. Abruptly, the rain began to come in sheets, blown about into shrouds by a nippy breeze.
"Why is it pouring now?" The white man asked.
A sultry wind began violently tossing the rain about.
The white man drove in the rain for 40 minutes until we arrived at a bridge. The water began to condense high above and fall in heavy droplets. Increasing in intensity, falling so thickly everything in sight was drenched.
A few moments later,to what seemed like a man appeared in front of the high accelerated car. He was an ebony dark skinned huge man. At his sight I knew who he was. So I smiled sheepishly.
"Who the hell is that man on the bridge? Does he want to die?" The white man quizzed.
Yet,he stood in front of the running car and the white man swerved to miss him when he lost control and the car spun out across the bridge.
Within a twinkle of an eye,the car submerged in the water.
Shock and disorientation swept me off guard. So we started struggling in the car and water started to splash in. Our priority was to get out of the car as quickly as possible,but I knew I couldn't swim. Shortly,I plunged into the deep water while inside the car.
The car had sunk a few more times downward when the white man grasp the hinge of the door and the door sprang out; water gushed in the more. He then swam away leaving me in the sinking car.
"Help!!!!" I screamed aloud struggling to unfasten the seat belt from my body. I was trapped in the car underwater, swirling around me in glowing colours, shining fluorescent in the starlight. Breathing was not an option. Around me the waves broke.
Pain shot through me like an arrow as I was tossed like a ragdoll.
I closed my eyes in defeat as I realised that I was leaving. Memories began to flood my mind, vivid and real. Soft autumn afternoons basking in sunlight. My mother's innocent face peering at me from the branches of a tree. So pure. My thoughts came back to sooner, when the mist covered my heart, stopped me from hearing the truth. If only it hadn't led to this.
Suddenly, I felt the car moving upward in the water. It was actually emerging towards the surface of the water and there it was on the surface.
Then I saw a huge ebony dark skinned man,the same one that was on the road. He had an amazing colourful mer tail. His long midnight black sheen hair was floating around him in the water. He unbuckled the seat belt from it's retractor and pulled me out of the car. He had two hands with which he took me firmly by the arm and guided me to shore of the river.
I started gasping for air after he had hauled me to shore.
Without wasting much time he sank down into the water and wiggled his beautiful tail away. He didn't look back when he rushed out. All I could do was stare at him as he left.
The white man was still swimming. He was close to the river shore when suddenly,the Water-man bolted out of the water.
Without wasting much time,he took the white man by his legs and dragged him deep down into the water again.
A rattle snake swam along the Water-man as he bolted into the deep. He then left the white man and the snake bit him under the water. That was how he died with blood spurting out of his mouth and nostrils.
As I struggled out of the muddy area, I heard some rustling over in the bushes,maybe a whisper. It could be anything, an animal, a burglar, the wind,I don't know, but whatever that was, it was all wrong, and as I approached a closed tree, I heard a high-pitched sound coming from within the bushes. The sound was pulsing in a steady rhythm, like a siren, and I knew then that something had gone wrong. At that precise moment, a fleet of police cars pull up on the bridge behind me, with red lights flashing. Silently they lined the road, no sirens, just red lights spinning. The cops sprang out of their squad cars and ran past me in the driveway, drawing their guns. It was like they could smell blood. They spread out, turning on all of the lights as they search the bushes. and just as they went deeper into the forest, they flicked on their flash lights, and this dark figure disappeared.
The police men came back to me when they couldn't find a trace of what had happened in the bridge. That was how I was rescued.
King Ruby's village, same day.
The young man that snatched my diamond necklace was rejoicing in a bush pathway when he saw a masculine dark skinned man along the pathway. He had a hissing snake curled up on his neck.
"Who are you?!" He asked the strange man in a probing manner.
"Give me back the necklace. " The ebony dark skinned man said in a hushed tone.
"Never! It is mine! You can't snatch it from me. " The young man argued with him and quickly took to his heels.
Suddenly, the hissing snake on the dark man's shoulders crawled down from his body and went after the young man. Although,the young man ran as fast as his feet could carry him. However,the snake caught up with him and bit him.
He screamed aloud in pains and died immediately. And of course, blood spurted out of his mouth and nostrils.
The king palace.
"I am now a wealthy king," He strutted towards his throne," So much money. I am now rich!" He thought to himself as he pulled himself on his seat.
Suddenly,he felt a sharp piercing pain in his leg like someone had pushed a pin into his leg.
"Ahhh!!!" He yelled aloud and adjusted himself to see what it was. He couldn't find anything. He only saw two tiny bite marks on his leg bleeding. Just then the mysterious snake that bit him had crawled out of the room.
"What's this?!" He asked himself." Snake bit? How manage?!"
A few more seconds he started to feel some strange movements in his body.
"What's happening to my body?! Guardsss!!!" He held on to his leg and the venom inside him sprang to his heart. He fell down from his throne and died on the spot as blood started to spurt from his nostrils and mouth.
... To Be Continued.
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©️ Written By Rihanne Maya.
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