Lineage

Funmi Dada Part 2

Bankole opened his eyes. It was all dark. He saw nothing. This darkness was of a different sort, he felt it—dark and evil. It filled the room. He wasn't sure about where he was, at home or in the hospital. Now he was afraid, not just because his eyes were open and yet he could not see. He was afraid of the presence of someone else or something he felt in the room with him. I am glad I can't see what is making me feel afraid, Bankole thought to himself.

Abigor, the fallen angel had been standing right at the corner of the room staring at the child who could break away from the Aje. He was full of awe and resentment towards this little human. He had been in the shadow cast by the door from the moonlight that flooded the hospital room. What Bankole did not witness was how the shadow behind the door gradually grew so large it touched the ceiling like the moon had moved lower. The creature walked out of the shadow, like a doorway. It stood like a man, so tall his head touched the ceiling. The creature covered from the top of its head to its toes with black and shiny scales, scales that fluttered. The fluttering of its scales were in a wavelike manner, releasing an awful stench. Its head and neck resembled that of the Sungazer lizard. Its eyes were not at the side of its head, but on the front of its face like a human. Its deep-set eyes were hidden under protruding brow bones and gave an intense grey illumination in the dark. They never blinked. The creature had a slit for a mouth, no lips or nostrils. It looked like a lizard on two feet but with an abnormally long torso and shorter looking legs. This creature was lean with well-defined muscles, a very broad shoulder, and a narrow waistline. Its hands and feet looked human but covered in shiny black scales.

Bankole could perceive the stench from the creature, it was already suffocating him. He tried using his hand to cover his mouth and nose to block out the smell. It filled the entire room. Whatever it was in his room, Bankole could sense its hatred towards him. The creature moved towards Bankole's bed. He sensed its proximity. He felt himself rising from the hospital bed, floating in mid-air. Bankole knew then that what in the room supernatural. The creature raised him high enough for their faces to be close. It kept staring at Bankole who was completely paralyzed with fear, wet himself. Where is Mama? That was all he could think of, not sure if he was a dream or this was real. His fear grew so much that it fueled him with the courage to scream. Abigor let go, and he fell back to the bed, still screaming. The creature left the room through the shadow door and it was only then his mother heard his screams and came running.

Funmi had fallen asleep on the outside of her son's room at the hospital. It was his terrifying screams that jolted her from her sleep and she ran into his room. He had been unconscious for 24 hours, another night of fear for the life of her son. She did not understand what had happened the night before; her recovering was sudden and her son had a severe convulsion. Now he was screaming for his life. She grabbed him and shook him to wake up. When she saw that he had opened his eyes, she gave him a tight hug, but he grabbed her. He was shaking like a leaf. Funmi held her son tight was so scared what kind of a nightmare did he just have.

"Bankole it alright, it's okay. I am here. You are alright," she assured him with more hugs.

It took him a few minutes to get over the terrifying nightmare and realize that his mother was okay.

"Mama, you are okay, I am so happy," Bankole cried he couldn't stop.

"Yes dear, I am okay and I am so happy you are awake. You scared the hell out of me," Mama replied. "We are going to be alright."

Funmi opened the windows and put on the fan to get rid of the foul smell. He was so glad she did, cos the still stench lingered, reminding him of his nightmare. She saw that her son had wet himself and surprised to find pee on the floor and not on the bed. She reasoned that he might have got out of bed and done it, it still did not add up. Not that it was important, what is most important was that the two of them were alive. They had survived the night. She was more than happy to get her son cleaned up.

Funmi had not noticed Bankole's loss of vision because his eyes were open and his responses seemed normal. Bankole could only see the aura of his mother as he followed the sound of his mother's voice moving around in the room. She was talking a lot, thanking God for bringing him back, thanking him for saving her life. Bankole had no recollection of what his mother was talking about. He did not remember how he got to the hospital. Funmi saw his confusion and for the first time noticed something wrong.

"Bankole is there anything wrong, are you feeling alright?" she asked him.

"Mama I can't see, my eyes are open but I can't see,"

"What do you mean that you can't see?" Funmi asked in shock.

"Mama, I can't see you, I can't see anything, I think I am blind and I don't remember saving your life. Did something happen to you, to me? I don't understand," Bankole replied.

"I was ill and came to the hospital. I left you a note at home. You came to the hospital to see me... You mean you don't remember any of it?" she asked her son. Puzzled "Let get the doctor to see you." 

Funmi ran out to look for the doctor. Bankole saw the auras of two people enter the room and from their voices, he recognizes one as his mother and the other must be the doctor. The doctor was very pleasant to him and asked to tell her what remembered last.

As he narrated what he could remember, she used a penlight to examine his eyes but got no response. Everything else seemed okay.

"Bankole, could stand up for me and take a few steps," asked the doctor.

He stepped down with his right leg and then once his left feet touched the ground he yelled out in pain and sat back on the bed.

"My left leg is hurting me, I can't stand on it."

The doctor concluded her examination and asked to speak with Funmi outside the room. The doctor explained that she wasn't worried about his leg; it was normal for someone who had a tonic-clonic seizure like the one her son had the night before. What he was experiencing now is an aftereffect—memory loss and then with his leg, Todd's paralysis. He should be able to walk in another twenty-four hours. However, she was more worried about the loss of sight. It could be nerve damage and might resolve itself or be permanent. The next twenty-four hours would determine what would happen. The doctor told her that 'normal seizures' last between one minute to three minutes and longer than five minutes it becomes an emergency case, that of Bankole was about thirty means. He would stay in the hospital for at least two more days for observations.

The doctor had told them Bankole will never receive his sight, and he would also remain deaf in one ear and would need a hearing aid for the other one. The doctor also informed them that with physiotherapy he would walk again, but not without a cane. Mama did not know what happened to her son three days ago, but she was happy that they are both alive.