Lineage

Funmi Dada Part 8

They hadn't forgotten Funmi. Tolu and her mother, Iyanla, have been keeping a close eye on Funmi all these years. They soon realized that she had a child and a very special one. Their plan to have him brought into Aje worked perfectly. Tolu and Iyanla never expected that he would break out of the group. No one has ever done that. Many had tried, but none succeeded. The boy is still very young; it is not too late to get him in again. The boy is special and these are the sort they want. Bankole had not been Aje for up to six months. He has not had enough of the flesh in him to influence him. Right now there is no guarantee that he would accept the invitation when he is older. They need to get rid of Funmi. It has to be a sudden death, like an accident. No time to go plan with lawyers on who will have custody. The boy would have no one else but his grand aunt and great-grandmother. That was the plan. Now the Eleda (god) of Aje is interested in both Funmi and her son. The Aje believe he is the one who chose their lineage to bestow the gift of becoming an Aje. They also believe his flesh gives them supernatural abilities. Iyanla and her daughter Tolu are more determined to have the boy back. The Eleda would bless them with more power.

It has been a couple of days since they lost track of Funmi and her son. Familiars are sometimes useless. They are easily bribed with gifts and sacrifices. They are more obedient to the one who offers the bigger gifts and sacrifices. Unfortunately, they are not omniscient or omnipresent. Iyanla and Tolu would have to find Funmi and her son themselves. They are certain they traveled but to where? The only time that they ever lost track of family was when Titi moved away to a new town. An Aje who lived in the town told them they had seen a mother and son who are under the protection of the Light Walker. They were both living with her.

Aje despised the Light walkers because they are the only ones who can stand against the Aje. Most Light walkers were Aje as children but never return but rather they chose Light walking. Light walking is an art of subduing the desires of the flesh and live one's life contrary to the desires of the flesh. It takes a lot of self-discipline to Light walk and it an ongoing process. The flesh will always want to rise up and throughout the life of Light walker, they would have to subdue the flesh. Those who are neither Light walkers or return to Aje, often live very difficult. They would always be oppressed by the Aje.

The report is that the Light walker, Iya is a powerful woman. She is like a traditional healer and is highly respected in the community. She has often disrupted their evil plans against innocent people and so the Aje have tried but could not kill her. They've left her alone. Iyanla and Tolu cannot get into the house, neither can the familiars. They would have to be patient, wait, and watch, assess the strength of the enemy. Iyanla and Tolu know they have a formidable foe to contend with. 

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It was a beautiful Sunday morning; Funmi and Bankole were still in bed, Iya was tending to her garden, when a handsome young man walked up to her gate, greeted her and she responded. Time stood still; Iya knew there was something sinister with the person. She sensed evil people, but this was different. It was an ancient being.

"I see that you have mastered the art of Light walking and you have a very good cloak over your home," he said.

"What do you want from me?" she asked him.

She senses darkness rising within her,  the darkness of the flesh she took as a child. She was trying hard to suppress the dark feelings it was bringing up—Light walking.

"I want nothing from you, just give me the boy and I would allow you to continue to what you do in peace. I will increase your ability to help more people and prolong your days. Just give me the boy."

She felt the darkness almost choking her, taking a deep breath she told him no.

"He is not mine to give. Do your worse dark one! I am of the Light, I choose to work in the Light and darkness has no place in me."

Gradually she regained her strength as his effect decreased. He smiled but in his eyes was anger

"You will pay for it Light walker, I will deal with you, cloak all you want and as for the boy one way or another I would have him. The young boy would grow up, you will be dead, his mother could also die at anytime. I would be around to take advantage of the ranging male hormones in his teenage years and then when he becomes a man I will be there as well."

He disappears, and life around Iya returned to normal. She could hear the birds sing again and the noise from children walking to school. Time indeed stood still. During breakfast, she told Funmi and Bankole all that transpired that morning. It was time for them to get Funmi's Light. It is the only way they canwin, her Light has not been corrupted by the Flesh. They could not afford to delay any longer. They stood a greater chance and keeping everyone safe if Funmi had her Light. She can protect her son. She can raise him to be a Light walker, just like Iya. 

After three days of dry fasting, it was time. Daytime was the safety hour for this journey and drug-induced sleep won't work as well. To think that she had gone through this process as a child, not the fasting though. Bankole had mastered how to enter the astral plane and into mother's dreams. They had done this several times, and it never gets old seeing her son not blind. This is one dream shewished could could come true. Today is not the time for day-dreaming, she needs to focus. He soon had begun the chants. She is so proud of him. He had learned how to fast and took part in the three days fasting (not a dry fast). He was very serious about the meditation. It took her mother months of training and fasting for her to be ready to embark on this journey. He has had just a month. He is a special child. It time for her to join him. She began to fall asleep.

"I am of the light; I walk in the light there is no darkness in me..."

Funmi and her son gradually began the ascent. They had not done this bit before, not to attract attention. In the ascension, she saw nothing and suddenly they were in outer space; she saw the stars, then there were clouds. Strange and exciting for Funmi, but painful for Bankole. Funmi felt it, her Light. She saw the tree. Her mother had mentioned it in her diary and stating she hadn't seen it. Instinctively she walked towards it and spoke to it. She saw her Light; it was beautiful. She told the tree she wanted to take her Light back. Funmi held out her hand and a branch delivered her Light to her. She held it with both hands and gently brought it close to her chest, absorbing it into her. A surge of energy passed through her being. Now she remembered coming here with her mother. She did not want to leave, but she noticed that Bankole was getting weaker. He had done so well in bringing her here, but he would not make it back. They must leave now, time to go back come. Funmi embraced her son letting her Light overshadow the darkness of the flesh trying to rise. Without Iya's Lighthouse Funmi would not have able to take them back home. Bankole got out of the trance, exhausted and hungry. He saw his mother's Light she was true brightness, brighter than those of children. It was beautiful to behold. It made him regret ever eating the bean cake from Lydia.

Funmi was a completely transformed woman, she felt it. She had never felt this free and happy in her life, content, and at peace with herself. Iya told her she would have to rediscover herself. There might be certain things 'gifts' she might exhibit. One day Funmi saw a woman with two kids and by staring at her for a while she saw what was wrong with the woman. She walked up to the woman and told her that a relative was responsible for all her suffering. The person had put a curse on her family when she was a child. . Funmi told her to go tothe left side of her father's house in the village, just by the guava tree, digaround it. She would find a small metal box, open it, and burn everything inside. She would notice in a few weeks' things would change for her and every one of her siblings. It surprised Funmi that she knew this. The woman wanted to know which of her relatives did this, but Funmi told her it was no longer important the person was already dead and cannot hurt them again. Soon afterward Funmi discovered she was both a psychic and a healer. Iya began training her in the art of psychic and in healing various ailments. She had so much to teach her, two months went by so quickly.