Lineage

Bankole Ajayi Part 3

Bankole was absent from school for a week and so getting back to it felt a little strange and relieving until he saw Lydia in class. He could not explain why but was nervous, finding it difficult to breathe. He raised his hands to take a bathroom break, Tinuke noticing his distress followed him. Bankole was still trying to catch his breath when Tinuke founding him leaning on the wall at the back of the classroom.

"Are you ok?" she asked.

"I don't know, when I saw Lydia I was afraid, I think I had a panic attack," he replied trying to steady his breathing.

Tinuke pulled him further away from the edge of the block, to more hidden spot.

"I'm going to asking you a very strange question and please do not freak out. Did you ever dream that you flew, like flying in the air with some other people?" she whispered looking around making sure no one could hear her.

The question was quite unexpected and yet not too surprising.

"Yes, I did, but..." he paused, wondering, 'it was just a dream, the fever caused it.'

"You are now one of us, 'the Ogbanjes' as other students call them. We are a group of special or should I say, gifted children. Lydia is our leader and you must respect her, do whatever she tells you to do." said Tinuke.

Hearing all this and worse of all Lydia was their leader made Bankole feel uncomfortable. No not the Ogbanjes! He thought to himself.

With the most cheerful smile, she said, "I know you thought it was all a dream, but it did happen. We all can fly!"

She explained to him about the meetings they would attend at night and so they would fly again, and have so much fun. It would feel like a dream because he would still be asleep or his body would be asleep, but at the same time, he would be awake, flying, and having fun.

She warned, "You can no longer play with the other children, stay with our group. We are your new friends and most importantly you must tell no one, no matter what, especially his mother about our group."

"But why can't we play with the other kids?" he asked because it made no sense.

"They would never understand you and adults are the worse. That's just the way it is. We are no longer like them," was all the reply he got as she walked away from him back into the classroom.

Bankole was not sure he liked the idea of not being allowed to play with the other children. He had made some cool friends and now he can no longer hang out with them. He is one of the 'Ogbanjes'. The 'Ogbanjes' never play. They just sit together around Lydia, whispering, and few times bully other children playing on the swing or slide. However, the thought of being able to fly was more overwhelming, he could not wait to do it again. With that he went back to the classroom feeling much better. He was no longer nervous, not even when Lydia looked at them. His mind was on his next flying expedition.

During the break time, he didn't join the other kids he now belongs to Lydia's crew and strangely it felt normal. Just as they were settling in for classes after break, Michael, a friend of Bankole, walked up to him. He had noticed Bankole's absence from the playground and spotted him with the 'Ogbanjes'. Some other students noticed as well and made a few comments, but Michael said nothing. He did not like it that Bankole was with Lydia and her group.

"Bankole, are you now one of the Ogbanjes?" Michael asked.

Bankole shrouded his shoulders and said, "They are cool, so I thought I hang out with them a bit."

"Okay," Michael replied.

"But please be careful, I hear scary stories about them," he whispered and left Bankole perplexed.

Although Michael was not in his class, they often played together and now he is about to lose a friend. He was the first friend he made in the school. Bankole did not truly feel bad about losing Michael as a friend. He was more preoccupied with flying again and almost asked Tinuke when next will they be flying, but he kept his cool. He did not want to appear too anxious; now wondering apart from flying what else can they do. Suddenly Lydia was in front of him, looking at him straight into the eyes. He felt another panic attack rising.

She asked, "What did he want?"

"Nothing, he wanted to know if I was feeling OK, since I didn't come out to play," he replied. He kept his gaze on her face.

"And what did you tell him?" she asked.

"I only told him I was doing OK and not just in the mood to play on the field," he answered.

"Good!" she said and walked away.  

Bankole wasn't sure if there would be a meeting tonight. Meetings weren't every night, but the nights they occur there is an awakening. For Bankole, it is as if someone called his name while he was asleep. When he gets up but his body still in bed, sleeping. Soon he is floating higher to the roof, out of his home, and then propelled towards the meeting. At each meeting they play, eat, and dance to drum beats, the drummers never seen. Maybe these are the drum beats heard sometimes in the middle of the night, no singing, no clapping just drums beating for many hours. 

The food is something they call the Flesh. Who brings it? No one knew. Is it cooked or raw food? No one cared. What kind of Flesh was it? That was irrelevant. What mattered was that it tasted great. It was tender like the Flesh of a lamb (not that he knew what lamb meat felt or tasted like) and juicy like the Flesh of a fruit. It was intoxicating. The Flesh gave them a rush of energy and power. It made them fly and without it they were weak. He never knows when the meeting is over, he only wakes up in the morning with no memory of his return trip. Now that he has eaten of the Flesh, he loved it.