My Third Cycle

4. Unsolved Riddles

2016
Micheal

I got confused by what I was reading in the journal, had Uncle Saad been insane? or was this just a fictional world he had buried himself in? I stared up at the ceiling from where I sat, absentmindedly studying the chandelier and the ceiling beyond it.

Perhaps I've been staring at the chandelier for way too long, but my eyes were making out shapes that were quite familiar. Okay Maybe I'm a bit too close, I thought. So I stood up from the chair and sprawled myself out on the floor right beneath the chandelier, gaining a better view of the ceiling.

"Oh my!"

Staring at the ceiling from this vantage point, I realized that chandelier was not centered at the room for just its obvious positioning. It was also at the center of an engraved structure, the chandelier was at the center of a star.

And I thought I was observant. In all the years that I've been here, I never noticed it. And now I'm starting to think the star is symbolic. It has to mean something, it just has to.

I was thinking hard and fast now, I walked around to study it better. After a while, I found some words scribbled on the ceiling but I couldn't make out the words. I pulled out my phone, took a picture of the scribbles and zoomed in to see if I'd be able to read it. I couldn't, it didn't seem to be in any language I understand so I decided to search the web for it.

Ha! Thank you internet! It was in an ancient African language. In English it read; "My first star was taken from me as payment for the sins of my parents."

Wonderful, Another Riddle! At least this confirms it, the star is symbolic. Still frustrated at the thought of having to solve another riddle, I sat down hard on the chair, cursing beneath my breath.

"Why did Uncle Saad rip pages off his diary?" I thought as I picked up the
diary again. So many questions I need answers to and the only person capable of answering them lies six feet beneath the earth.

Fictional or not, I thought to
Myself as I flipped pages to where I stopped, this makes a very good story. No harm in continuing

And so I did...

***
____

1900

History of Nigeria

The British officially assumed responsibility for Nigeria in 1900 from a Nigerian company by paying a hefty sum of money. They came to Nigeria as a result of a business deal. British posts were established throughout the country and in 1914, the British posts were amalgamated into one nation - Nigeria.

Most countries are born out of shared ideals and a common identity but Nigeria was simply created to fill a business need; supplying goods and services to Great Britain. Nigeria's revenue was majorly gotten from agriculture: the production of
cocoa, cotton, wood, peanuts and others like that and after fifty years of colonial rule Nigerians began to fight for their self-government.

*****

My Second Cycle

My second cycle was very different from my first. The world had evolved, the African nations colonized by our captors and slavery had been long banished. We were one of many colonies under the Queen of England.

This time I was not an only child, I had seven siblings. My name was George Cadmus. My father was a very violent man, I didn't like him at all. He had just one good quality, he was very hardworking. He was almost never around because he was always working. We didn't know for sure what he did, until he was arrested by
the authorities for robbery. It broke my mother and her children's' heart to learn of his lynching.