The Evening Of The Morning

007

“You see the way her eyes are glowing?” Magaga pointed out, but it was inevitable. Agbo nodded, intently looking at the video on the Sony phone; of a girl wearing a yellow T-shirt, who had a striking resemblance with me, walking through without swinging her hands. A white glow emitted from her eyes.

“Is this her or her twin?”

“Look at her shirt.” Magaga said through the mind.

Agbo looked towards me but I didn't know why.

“She is possessed.” Magaga said.

“Where was she going?”

“Can't tell, the cameras stopped working.”

There was a brief silence. In which Agbo slipped out a cigarette and lit it.

“So?” he puffed.

“I have to exorcise her.”

“Exorcise? Like what the catholic do?”

“I was once a Bishop.”

Agbo, knowing the things he knew, kept quiet. “How do we do it?”

“First, the boy has to leave. And watch, when you tell them to leave. She would refuse.”

Agbo looked at me for a long time. I was getting scared; realizing I didn't really trust him.
Then he moved to where I and Sobere stood and asked us to leave. Sobere agreed immediately but I said no, that I wasn't going anywhere till I find my sister. Agbo said I must leave, and I was amazed at the vigor I expressed as I refused.

Sobere left, following the route Magaga told him to follow. His excuse, rather than saying he was scared, was that he had to sell his chin chin if not his mother would kill him. I told him to watch over my motorcycle and sack of drinks and he said he would even help me sell.

“What next?” Agbo thought and Magaga heard.

“I have to trap the spirit in water. I know a nearby stream. I can as well cast it into the trees, but it would move easily, from tree to tree and have more access to the travelers.”

Agbo wasn't sure what he was hearing. He kept quiet.

“Stay behind me.” Magaga said to me. We started walking and the deeper we went, the stronger the hunch to run back became. I thought I saw a snake curled on a branch, but I looked, nothing. My sister might have returned to the road and would be looking for me.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“I am taking you to your sister.” Magaga said. Agbo rarely heard his voice and every time it sounded; it felt strange.

I couldn't stop walking, nor remove my mind from that blast in the tree. I wasn't sure I was there for my sister. It was as though an invisible line had been attached to me and was pulling me, just like I felt at the stream.

“What is your name?” Magaga asked, still facing front. When I didn't reply, he said, “I am talking to you little one.”

The man was within the age of thirty. Either early or late.

“Shade,” I said. The man's presence made me tensed.

“Yoruba girl.” I heard a little chuckle in his voice.

We didn't say anything until we reached a spot. Guava trees dotted with fruits were around this area. Magaga crossed his lip with his index and we fell silent. Even the leaves didn't rustle. I felt the forest breathing on us. Magaga knelt on one knee, placed his palm on the ground and closed his eyes.