Merry Haven - Episode 12

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  The tale of the foolish duck and her eggs kept on reverberating in his head, now he knew he was damned to suffer. 

"Yes! Yes you will have only one survival, Unkur some times observes the blood bath - that is when it is fun. When it is finished I will come for your heads." Unkur said, still staring at the heads. "As we move along I will show you a perfectly made shelf for your family."

  The thought of his head on a shelf gave him a dreadful cold in his spine, he thought about his family, he got a lucid picture of his family's head on the shelf . He saw his mother's head, her eyes were opened and sorrowful. He also got a clue of how Annas's head would be on the shelf; his long beard were intact, his braids seemed newly plaited, his blue and gold eyes were open. Sydney's head was a sour sight, his eyes were closed, he seemed calm and oblivious of their agony, he got a vivid picture of the severed head of his father, and uncle, clumped together on the shelf. He blocked the whole macabre thought off his head.
  The cold in the living room kept him shivering, it was too much to bear. 

"The head of my father was the one you saw on the arm of my chair. I love it when it sticks with me."

"Why are you doing this?" Tettes muttered.

"look who is now speaking, the cub has now become a full grown leopard

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. I like that."

"But they are your family."

"They don't see me as such, I like seeing them die, just like they killed my brother."

"But Ache did, not them." Tettes uttered, he regretted saying it. Unkur gave him a surprised look, then turned back to staring at the heads. 

"To me they are all Ache, I did it to make him pay. They all harboured hatred for me."

"But, B-but you killed the woman that gave you genuine love." Tettes said, he was awed at his words, he wondered from whence such courage came. "Who is she?"

Unkur turned to him, he looked awestricken himself, but he was good at veiling whatever feelings he bore. "Let's move to the second generation, they are the family that witnessed the first curse." Unkur announced, moving to the shelf that stood beside Ache's family heads (His family).

The living room scourged Tettes with its cold, his black suit felt maimed, it wasn't helping him feel any warmth. The strength of the cold was too strong to withstand, he shivered, dangling his two legs. 

"The cold preserves the heads, that's how it has always been for centuries. It will never stop because of you."

"You say centuries, how old are you?" Tettes asked, still shivering.

"Older than your father, his father before him, your very very great grandfather, his father, and his father before him - Do the maths your self. Now let's focus on their lovely heads." Said Unkur. He wrapped his arms across his massive chest, watching the heads with keen interest. "They died not knowing that I cursed them. My brother grew his family with love, care and affection, I cherished their happiness. He vowed to revenge what I did to our family, but I was stronger. He was not stronger than me, I have magic, he only have his physical strength."

"I - I don't believe you and your lies about the family curse, one person can't kill the whole family. He doesn't have that amount of strength." Tettes said, trying to prevent his body from shivering. He wondered how the killer does it, a man couldn't kill off his whole family with ease. 

"That's why it is a curse. When the curse clicks, he would become stronger than hundreds of men, no weapon can bring him to his knees. You can't kill him at that stage, no matter how hard you try. He is well guided by powerful forces."

"Who would be the killer and the survival in my own time?" He wished he never asked, it doesn't make any sense, he loved all his family, he wouldn't want to lose them. They were all precious to him. 

"The survival can't be precise, it could be any of you. But your mother and father must die, it had been the culture of the curse."

"You look so young, yet you are older than my great grandparents." Tettes muttered, fixing his gaze at the wooden floor.

"I make time do my bidding, I slow my lifespan, it's slower than the hours, even when made the new seconds. I can travel back to time, and forth to the future, thus my knowledge of what mistakes the past community had made and what mistake your era will make in future. I use the knowledge of the past and future wisely, lest I perish in ignorant. Magicians could die to have such abilities."

"Have you seen my family dying from the curse?" Tettes asked, shocked at the time abilities.

"Some timelines are meant to be left untapped." Said Unkur. 

"please.. I have seen enough of this, I want to go home." Tettes begged, the cold was sinking into his skin. 

Tettes traveled with him to more shelves, moving to the next shelf when they were done viewing the previous, they seemed closer to the last. Unkur gave a heavy sigh when he approached a different shelf. "I couldn't get the head of your great grandfather. When I came for the head I found his body missing, he bargained with a magician to hide his body from me. Even the forces with me couldn't detect his way about. An ordinary man can't do it. I haven't known the magician ever since, I pray his offsprings know where he hid the body. I will make them suffer. 
    "You may ask why I didn't go back in  time and undo their plans. Let's say there are things that should be left the way it is. You do not meddle with some events in time, just observe. I only observe When ever I travel back or forth in time, but I meddle with some things in time using magic. I can send people to the future and the past, but I don't normally go back and forth in time these days, for reasons best known to me. I can also erase you from life's timeline, it will be as though you were never born."

"Who are you?" Tettes muttered with fright. He remembered the old man (his great grandfather) talking about the crow being a time police, hunting a 'someone', now he knew who the someone was, it was Unkur. That was why he could no longer meddle with the activities in time past and the future anymore, he was being careful, lest he would be caught by the time police. Unkur couldn't go back and meddle with time anymore, he was scared of the time police, the thought of it gave Tettes hope.

"Your very very very great great great granduncle. Tell me, who was the girl at the graveyard with?" Unkur said, turning to Tettes. 

"But you can go back in time to see them." Tettes muttered, regretting his statement. 

"She veiled the man and the false Bitrus, so I wouldn't see them if I go back in time. I know she wanted the magician to change the physical feature of the false Bitrus back to it original looks.... I can feel all my relatives, even if I am a distant bloodline, your blood and your family blood also runs in my veins, if I knew you would be there, then I could have used your eyes to see them. simple Logic and calculation made me know they would be in the graveyard, but it is surprising that I went there late, she used time against me, she slowed me down. she must pay!
 "Wherever you go on earth wouldn't be my problem, I can feel you. So you Jacobs can't hide from me. What I am trying to know is where Kashees and his  cohorts hides. They are also blocking it away from me, they can't shield it forever. 
  "Kashees has the same gift, he also controls people using their blood, he can control and connect with our family like me, they call such gift 'Blood empathy'."

"Is Kashees into all this?" Tettes asked with shock. He was discovering things about his family. He had seen Annas working with the girl in the graveyard, now Kashees? He wondered if Sydney was also with them. 

"Juliet and Sydney are the only family that lacks the knowledge of the curse." said Unkur, still watching the heads. Was he reading my mind? Tettes thought "killing the man and the false Bitrus myself is my plan, I will use their heads as a sign for Kashees and his cohorts to expect my coming!!" Unkur bellowed. "Do you know anything about healers and Dajris? A healer brings a dead back to life, and a Dajri is the dead that comes back to life. The man is a healer and the false Bitrus is a Dajri. Is obvious that you know all this things, if not you wouldn't be at the graveyard. Why were you at the graveyard, who is feeding you with information?"

Tettes was shocked and it frightened him, he prayed Unkur didn't know about his plan. The old man (whom he now discovered was the only family that Unkur never got his head) in his dreams, ought to be safe, it would go sour when Unkur finds out about his plans.

  Unkur never prodded more about Tettes reasons for coming to the graveyard. He was glad he didn't. They moved to a shelf beside the previous. Tettes beheld the severed head of his grandfather, Jacob. Unkur told him how clever Jacob thought he was and his futile plans to curb the curse. "He failed, just like his father." Unkur announced. 

Jacob severed head was a sorry sight. His two eyes were plucked out. Jacob was the portrait in Mr Ernest living room, but looking at his face on the shelf, Tettes knew that his pride had been snatched away. Jacob's face was greatly scarred with cuts. 

"I observed the blood bath of Jacob and his family. Sulieman did justice to his family, he wrecked havoc on his family like a fierce leopard. But Ernest and Benjamin escaped. I stood at the entrance, watching the show with glee."

   They moved to the last shelf, it was empty. "This will be your resting place, your head and the heads of your family will be on this one. You can't wait right? Well be patient it will happen soon."

Tettes fear knew no bound, he couldn't imagine his head on a shelf. He wish he could be free from this madness. He wanted the sweet warmth of home. His shivering persisted, making him feel like he was covered with ice. "Please am dying, take me home... " He begged. 

"I can see that. Is a pleasure having you. Do have a wonderful time. Just so you know, we haven't spent a minute, we just left the grave few seconds ago." Unkur said, grasping him on his wrist.

Tettes found himself in the graveyard. "Just like I told you, we haven't spent a minute. You should go home to your parents now. I wonder who have been feeding you with information that you have to leave your home to come here at this timeof the night, I will not bother you about it, but tell whoever is feeding you that his days are numbered." Unkur whispered to his ear, then withered away. 

 Tettes was left alone in the graveyard. The cold in Unkur's building made his system weak, he felt sick inside. Tettes collapsed on the dirt, shivering, he sobbed, with tears running down his cheeks. His sorrows didn't depart, they embraced him, welcoming him into a new life,  a life of unending agony. He had witnessed dreadful scenes, he couldn't recover from it, not till he part from this world. 

  Nal dashed straight to him from the lined trees, "Tess... I was about running to your aid when he disappeared. Thank God he didn't take you with him, he would have taste my wrath."

  Unkur was right, they had spent just seconds in the sanctuary of agony. Did he pause the time? Tettes wondered. He couldn't understand the mystery behind his time abilities, and how it worked.

"Did you see me disappearing with him?" Tettes sobbed. Nal didn't answer, he was probably wondering why his friend was crying.

"Don't cry Tess... What's wrong?" Nal asked, lost. 

"Tell me, did you see me disappearing with him!!" Tettes shouted. Nal couldn't comprehend what was happening. 

"Tess.. He only spoke to you and left." Said Nal 

No man could mess with time, it was beyond human power. Tettes was trapped in an unknown world, a world filled with agony and gory spectacle. He wish he was blind, it would be better, seeing the heads had made him lost connections with anything called joy. 
  He shivered on the dirt, shaking like a warm with salt on his delicate flesh-like skin. His experience was more than the dancing warm with salt on its body. it was like an acid poured inside his head; causing his brains to dance, and melt away. His brains were melting away, away from sanity.

"Tettes, Tettes!!! Please wake up. Please... Tettes!!" Nal shouted with fright. Tettes only heard a slow, and very low voice. He couldn't understand what the voice meant.

A tall figure, wielding a long staff appeared behind Nal, Tettes couldn't place the face. Tettes closed his eyes, he embraced the silent darkness, it was better than witnessing life's agony. 

~
 Tettes opened his eyes, watching the strange wooden ceiling. It was different from what he normally wake up to. The shreds of the agony revisited, echoing and playing in his head. He sprang up abruptly, realising how different the room looked, he wasn't home. It saddened him. He was in a small room, the bed was smaller than his. 
 
 He could feel the sweet touch of the wind, swaggering into the room through the opened window. The morning sun rays caressed his delicate forehead, he welcomed it. He felt dizzy and worn-out. 
 A tin boy, a bit older than Tettes walked in, shocked and happy. "Morning. Thank God you are back!" he muttered with joy, dashing out.
  The boy returned with company. Nal moved quickly to him, a tall man followed; Tettes couldn't place him, but his looks rang a bell. 

"Thank God. I know you are strong, you've defeated the sickness." Nal muttered, wrapping Tettes in a warm embrace. 

"Where are we?" Tettes asked, with effort. He had a pricking headache. 

"We are safe, this man here saved your life, he was at the graveyard when you fainted. Tess... He took us here with magic." Nal said, beaming with happiness. Tess wondered if he could recognize happiness again. "We dissapeared, man, it was awesome!" Nal whispered to his ear. 

"You are safe here, no harm will come to you." The man said. He was a man with shabby face and a rough looking beards. His head was creased.

"Tess... He said he blinded you. I saw him waving his hands at your face when you were sleeping. Can you see me?" Nal said, examining Tettes's eyes.

"They are good, I am not blind, why should he blind me?" Tettes said, still lost. 

"He said he is blinding your sight so that the giant wouldn't see you again. I don't kind of trust him, but I have no choice now, he saved us." Nal added, glaring at the man. 

"I know you now, I have seen you before. At the bookshop and other places. Who are you?!" Tettes prodded.

"I am Ahiaba. A good friend." He answered. He turned to his son, saying: "Pius, go with Nal to Andrew and get the herb." He said, with an authoritative tone. 

The tin boy moved away, urging Nal come with him. Nal hesitated, he wanted to be with Tettes, but he managed to leave with the boy. He turned to look at Tettes for the last time before shutting the wooden door. 

Ahiaba waited, watching Tettes with a fidgety gaze. "You've been following me, why?" Tettes asked, after what seemed like hours. 

"I was being cautious. I don't know when the giant would be making his blood empathy connection with you. So I have to be patient, I wouldn't like to gamble with things."

"Meaning?"

"I don't want to meet you in person, introducing myself without veiling your mind off his connection could be disastrous. The giant uses your eyes to see what you are seeing without being near you. He will kill me if he sees me." Ahiaba explained. 

"So he really does see what I see?"

"Yes, but he sees them when he makes a connection with you. He doesn't see what you see at will, only with the connection."

"Was that why you couldn't introduce yourself to me? You were scared of being seen." 

Ahiaba wore a sad look. Tettes was sorry for judging him. He had gone through hell and back, he was loosing it. 

"Am sorry if my words were harsh." Tettes apologized. 

"Don't be..."

"Nal said you blinded me."

"No I didn't. Your friend seems very funny. I never should have use that word to explain it to him. I only veiled your mind so that the giant wouldn't see what you see."

"His name is Unkur." Tettes chirped in. 

Ahiaba seemed shock, he tried to comport himself the best way he could, but he was fidgeting. "He told you?" Ahiaba asked.

"Yes he did, I don't want to think about it anymore."

"Unkur is a very vicious man. He craves the----"

"He said he is my very very great great granduncle." Tettes chirped in, feeling messed up. Ahiaba watched him, not saying a word. 
"How can we bring back my great grandfather, I want this misery to end."

"It's a bit complex like your great grandfather told you. He will teach you in your dreams, because no healer is willing to help him. They are scared of what Unkur might do."

"But aren't you? Why do you want to help my great grandpa, you can be safe like other ordinary people. The curse is ours, you can run from Unkur. We can face our curse. Go and look after your family!" Tettes purred. The whole curse and Unkur scenario was eating him up. He felt insane, he was slowly dying inside. The heads on the shelves and the smashing of the pathetic looking head by the giant were ringing inside his head. 

"My grandfather was a very strong jujuman, he was a close friend to your greatpa. He thought your greatpa some magical tricks and your greatpa used it for good. Your greatpa was a selfless man he really helped my grand father while they were on earth. He promised to pay your greatpa back for his sacrifices, and he did. By stealing his dead body away from his massacred family, it was a plan they had when your greatpa was alive. The plan worked brilliantly, he used a strong enchantment with the help of strong gods to veil and hide your greatpa body. Not even demons could see him. Unkur came but he never found your great grandpa body. He has been searching for the body without any good result."

"I thought Unkur could see through my greatpa and his family, why didn't he use it to see your grandfather?"

"My grandfather veiled Your greatpa's mind from Unkur."

"What about the rest of my greatpa family, why didn't Unkur access their mind?"

"The whole family's mind were also veiled as well."

"Why didn't Unkur run to my greatpa home when he noticed the veiled minds?" He asked the more, he wanted to know.

"Because he was dueling with a very strong ghoul my grandfather had awoken. My father told me that nine magicians locked Unkur in a big invincible bubble-like cage, with the ghoul inside. He killed the ghoul but he couldn't escape from the bubble. He couldn't teleport inside the invincible bubble, he was trapped inside for hours. By the time the bubble weaken,  my grand father had already secured your greatpa's body.
  Unkur searched for the body and the magicians that helped him, still no progress. Now he is searching for their offsprings."

"So you are really the magician's grand son?" Tettes muttered. 

"Yes I am, I and the offsprings of the nine magicians are still in contact, we have sworn to protect ourselves from Unkur's vendetta."

Tettes wondered why Ahiaba's grandfather and the nine magicians put their lives and the lives of their family in such quagmire. 
  Unkur didn't tell him the whole tales, he hid bits of it, maybe he was ashamed at it all. Tettes perceived Unkur a proud magician, he wouldn't love talking about his failures, no one would. 

"I can teach you some magic, and your greatpa would teach you the process of bringing him back, there is no much time. We have to make haste."

Nal and the tin boy arrived with a little clay pot. Tettes drank from it,  feeling a little better. 

"where am I?" he asked Ahiaba.

"You are still in Merryhaven."

"Where in Merryhaven?"

"Olma."

Tettes and his best friend hiked back to southroad. Nal followed him home. Tettes was awed at the manner he was welcomed. 
 He thought they would have been worried by his absence, he thought they had searched for him at Nal's home, but it all happened that Ahiaba had fixed it all. He hypnotized Nal's parent into believing Tettes and Nal their son were safe and sleeping. They (Nal's parents) called Tettes's parents that he would be sleeping over.

 "Welcome Tettes, why did you  stay late?" Miss Mag prodded.

"Mum chill.... It's just after eight." Sydney said, defending Tettes.  Tettes and his brothers did call miss Mag their mum, she had been with them since their lives on earth. She was like a surrogate mother to them. 

"Sorry about it miss Mag, he waited for dinner that's why." Nal said. 

"Why aren't you in school?" Miss Mag asked Nal. 

"I am also mourning doctor Bitrus." Nal answered, following Tettes to his room. 

It was all happening again, Doctor Bitrus wouldn't safe him from it this time. He had series of dreams, the screaming and wailing were getting rife. He saw the heads. He heard the beating of the talking drums, he saw the drummers, swaying their body at the rhythm of the talking drums. The ladies danced like never before. Unkur was smashing thousands of heads, doing it with pleasure in his godlike eyes. 

 Heads and more heads rolled. Everyday was agony, the dreams were hitting his emotions, breaking them to pieces. 
 Juliet cried for her son, crying at his side whenever he opened his sorrowful eyes from the nightmare. Tettes pitied her mother, she was so innocent, he wish she was not part of such family. They were marked to die, she was an innocent woman, fate had brought her to misery. 
 She cradled Tettes sorrowful face on her lap, sitting on his bed, humming sweet melodies to his ears, it did help him, it soothed his nerves. 
 He was recovering, Ahiaba had thought him ways of shielding his head off the nightmares, he often went to Olma for lessons. 

"You must have to let Nal go, safe him from all of this. Do it if you love him." Ahiaba advised. 

"I will, but he is not helping me do it." said Tettes. Ahiaba had offered to  erase Nal's memory off the scenes, right from where they figured Tettes's healing powers. 

"You have to, if you want him safe and happy." Ahiaba said. They were at the bank of a stream, trying to hear whispers from the stream. Tettes was learning at a slow pace, he hadn't conjured any magic since the lessons. Ahiaba was a patient teacher. 

 He walked home that day, thinking about what Ahiaba advised. It was for the good of Nal. He didn't mind how it would be done, but Tettes wanted to free Nal from Unkur's vicious heart. 

 Tettes moved to the jack-fruit tree when he spotted the black crow, he hadn't seen it for days now. He gazed at the godlike eyes. He heard whispers. 
 Tettes turned his gaze everywhere at the compound, he was alone. 

Look up...  The voice sounded, it flew with the breeze, fading away. 

Look up...  Tettes craned his neck up, meeting the crow. He wondered who was messing with his head. He paced around, searching for the source of the whisper. He heard it again:

Look up, you've seen me, don't deny that... 

He looked up again meeting the crow, it stared at Tettes, not breaking its gaze. Is it what am thinking? Tettes asked himself. 

What you are thinking doesn't matter, but I am here to see you, we have much to talk...... The voice rang in his head again. The crow tilted its head, still staring at Tettes. 

Are you the bird? Tettes asked in his mind. 

Yes, call me Joko.... The voice rang,  fading away slowly from his mind.