"Because you're a special being and a bridge between the ghost kingdom and human kingdom. That is the mere reason you can see and converse with me and you alone can help me. My soul needs peace so I can rest."
I didn't know what she meant by that but whatever it was already piqued my interest. "I'm listening" I whispered, taking a deep breath.
"Are sure you're ready?"
"Yes, I am ready," I replied.
"I've always known I was gonna die that day because I was a gift to my mum from a Goddess, though only I knew about this as I couldn't share such a thing with my mum knowing I'm an only child."
"But why were you gifted to her by a Goddess?"
"Because mum begged for a child from the Goddess of the sea but what she never knew was that I wasn't gonna live long and I'll be taken away."
I was silent for a while thinking of the possibility of such and then I asked her. "Where then do I come in?"
"Before then I'll love to make you understand something," she mumbled, her eyes boring into mine.
"Ok." I begrudgingly answered.
"When I was little, I've always had this power flowing in me. I could see things unseen just like you and could also do so many supernatural things, but in all my life I've lacked one thing.
"What?"
"LOVE" she whispered.
"How?"
"At first, when all my relationships couldn't work out I thought I was just not fortunate," she replied. "But on the day I clocked twenty-one, I had my first divine visitation.
"On that day I had just broken up with my sixth boyfriend. I was so bitter that I went to the beach in the middle of the night just to find solace after asking mum why my relationships kept breaking apart and she couldn't give me a better reply. It was on a full moon and everywhere was so radiant.
"I sat close to the sea with so much bitterness and so many questions and suddenly I heard my name being called from deep inside the waters.
"ISABELLA...
"ISABELLA...
"ISABELLA...
"'Here I am.' I answered with boldness that I never knew was in me then she appeared."
"Who?" I asked, rubbing my jaw with so much curiosity.
She stared at me with a little smile plastered on her face. "You're so curious and bold Chris. I'm impressed. For a mere mortal, I expected you to be shivering right now."
"You're forgetting one thing" I whispered.
"What?" She raised a brow.
"You said I'm a special being, I guess that's why I'm bold."
Nodding her head, she started again.
"Relaxing on a coffin on top of the sea close to me was a lady so so beautiful with a crown on her head and her eyes so shiny like a star.
"The waves of light coming out of her body alone almost blinded my eyes that I had to shield my eyes with my hands. The first time I trembled in fear because all my life knowing who I was, I never feared anyone but there I was shivering.
"'ISABELLA MY CHILD.' she called.
"'Who are you and how did you know my name?' I asked back, feeling my heartbeat racing.
'"Your Earthly Mum Told You Everything About You, Didn't She?'
'"That doesn't answer my question. She chuckled and the sea shooked. It was like a thousand ladies chuckling.
"Then I started hearing voices without seeing their faces and they said;
"'Bow Before The Queen Of Queens.'
"'Bow Before The Goddess Of The Seas.'
"'Bow Before The River Goddess Who Made You.'
"After their voices stopped, the lady on the sea looked at me and said. 'I am goddess AMPHITRITE, the goddess of the sea who gave you as a gift to your earthly mum.'
"Instantly, I saw myself on my knees with my face down. I bowed before her.
"'I Felt The Bitterness Of Your Heart And I AM Here To Answer All Your Questions. Do Not Be Afraid. SPEAK.'
"With my face bowed, I asked her, 'why can't I be loved back? Why aren't my relationships working out? But I was met with silence.'
'"SIT.' She muttered. I obeyed.
'"FOR EVERY GIFT ISABELLA, THERE IS A PRICE. YOUR EARTHLY MUM CALLED ON TO ME WITH TEARS IN HER EYES. FOR 30 EARTHLY DAYS, YOUR MUM CRIED BEFORE THE WATERS. 29 DAYS I KEPT SILENT.'
"'30TH DAY I WAS STILL SILENT BECAUSE I KNEW THE PRICE TO BE PAID BUT SHE STILL CAME BACK.'
"'SUCH A STUBBORN LADY, I VISITED HER IN A DREAM AND GAVE YOU TO HER AS A GIFT.'
'"ISABELLA YOUR PRICE FOR COMING FROM TWO KINGDOMS IS YOU CAN'T BE MARRIED TO ANY MORTAL.'
"What!' I growled, scattering my hair.
"With deep voices, she announced in different languages; 'Pay Heed Thou Daughter Of The Sea Goddess. Love Is Not Meant For You If You Wanna Live Long' and she vanished.
"I sobbed all through that night after which, I made a decision never to date again. But then I met him. You already know who. Just like in movies Chris and I bumped into each other.
"I was so irritated and wanted to make that day his last day on earth but he uttered; 'I'm so sorry pretty.'
"I've got a deficiency for the word 'sorry' so I replied 'it's fine' and I walked away without glancing at him for a second, but I met him again after a month that incident occurred in a shopping mall. He recognized me and we got talking.
"He offered to pay my bills as a method of a second apology which I declined but he was so persistent and stubborn. Chris was this jovial type, teases a lot, and sings too. Always had a smile on his face which made me nickname him 'Laughter.' At a point, we started growing feelings for each other but then I started avoiding him. 'I can't die young' I always confided in myself.
"For 3yrs, Chris kept begging and when I couldn't take it anymore, I begged him and confessed to him that I couldn't date him.
"I didn't know how to explain who I was to him so I stopped receiving his calls, his gifts and I left the city.
"But then on an evening on a full moon close to the beach, my favorite spot, after 3yrs, I bumped into Chris again."
"I thought I had annihilated my feelings for him but instead, it overwhelmed me. In seconds we were already hugging so tight. And after reluctantly disengaging, he stared at me and whispered; 'can I kiss you, please.' "I hid my face in embarrassment, flushing deep shades of red, and mumbled a low yes to him and we shared a passionate kiss. "At that instant, I realized how much I wanted him and how deeply I loved him. In the presence of the sea, I accepted to be his girl. "That night I had my second visitation. I was in the world of dreams and got shown the future and how I was gonna die. And then a voice let out; 'ON A CERTAIN DAY, ON A FULL MOON JUST AS YOU SAW IN YOUR DREAM, HE WILL PROPOSE TO YOU AND ONCE YOU ACCEPT, THAT WILL BE YOUR LAST MOMENTS IN THE EARTHLY REALM.' "I guess this answers your question of how I knew I was gonna die. You must also have a question about why I was all smiling while I died such a horrible death. I was all smiles because I spent my last days in lo
Immediately I found myself back in my room and Isabella also appeared. "Isabella" I whispered and for the first time smiled up at her. "Holla Chris. I never knew you were this brave. But that doesn't stop the fact that your life is in danger." "You must have seen everything I guess." "I did and you can just let me be. You can just forget about me because I can't let you die because of me." She lowered her head and shrugged off. Staring at her melted my heart and I strolled toward her. "I can't let you be this way, Isabella. I'll do whatever it takes to make you have rest. Let's leave the Goddess's words and worry about how to get to your guy. This is my fight now. And I promise you that I'll never give up till I conquer." "Chris the sea Goddess has powers and she will do all it takes to see you don't survive." "Then allow me to worry about that Isabella. If I die, I die a hero but I'm never going down without a fight. I am ready. Are you ready?" "I never knew such caring and br
The driver managed to stop the car but there was no how he could come down to fix the tire. I coughed out hoping to get back myself but instead, it worsened. It felt like a force was restricting my airflow. "Isabella I'm dying" I whimpered, rubbing my nose. "I can't breathe. I can't breathe!" But then a force I don't know how to explain took over me even before she could say anything and I ran out in the rain and uttered in a commanding tone; "My name is Prince Christopher a special being who sees both flesh and spirit, I am the bridge between ghost kingdom and human kingdom and I believe I got some powers so I command thou spirit from the Goddess to Leave now!" Instantly it left. That was the very first time I believed in that adage that says; 'There is power in a spoken word.' But then again, it was still raining and we had to wait for the rain to stop before changing the tire. After which, we took off again. * We arrived at Lagos at exactly 6 pm after all the fights and I co
"For a moment then, I thought you walked up to my door just to die. Yea, I thought you were dead. But that's past tense anyway, I hope you are ok and what's your name since you already know mine?" "I'm fine Chris and my name is Prince Christopher." "It's nice to meet you, namesake." He smiled. "We need to hurry because we will take a short boat to the beach and grab some more clothes so you don't catch a cold." "I'm not a lady buddy. Stop with the romantic words and gestures." He chuckled and patted me on the shoulder and Isabella winked at me. "What's the name of the beach Allen?" I asked ignoring Isabella. "Kamp Ikaare Beach Resort" he retorted and off we went to his car. "What about shovels Allen?" I asked as we were about to enter the car. "I hid those pieces of stuff there. What we will use to wrap her body is there also, let's just hope soil animals haven't eaten what I wrapped her body with and start feeding on it." "Let's hope so then" I replied and we entered and zoom
"Show yourself, you coward! I hate beings who are afraid to show themselves and where the fuck am I?!" I thundered at him. "You're in the dream world. And tonight you will fight against yourself." The voice laughed and a figure appeared. My jaw slacked as I stared shockingly at him with wide eyes. Standing before me is a replica of me. It was mere like I was staring at myself. "How is this possible? How can you look exactly like me?" I asked rubbing my eyes to be sure I was seeing right and I sure was! "Because I am you. I am your dark side and this is a dream being played in your head. Whatever happens here, happens in the earthly realm. If you die here you will be dead in the earthly realm but if you survive then you will wake up in the earthly realm too but I doubt you will. You will have to fight me to die or survive," he whispered grinning. "I have no time for this. I am on a mission and time is not on my side. Let me go." "You will have to fight for your freedom my able sel
"IF WE TAKE HER BODY WITHOUT THE NORMAL RIGHTS DONE, SHE WILL BE BANNED FOREVER. HER SPIRIT WILL ROAM THE FACE OF THE EARTH FOR ETERNITY LEAVING HIM VULNERABLE TO US TO TAKE HIS LIFE BECAUSE HE FAILED HIS QUEST. WE WILL WIN IN BOTH WAYS." "GO NOW AND LET IT BE DONE," the Goddess commanded and they vanished. The light disappeared too. My body was soaked in heat by the time the light disappeared and I lowered my head. "Help me heavenly being. This is not just my fight alone," I prayed silently and rushed to Chris who was still sleeping soundly. "Wake up buddy." I tapped him. "We need to leave now. Our lives and that of Isabella are in danger. We need to take her body away from here now." He woke up the moment I mentioned Isabella and we rushed out carrying our bags. Luckily for us, we packed before sleeping. We were about to enter the car Isabella's body was placed in when they appeared. Yes, the three mermaid Princesses. I saw an expression I could term shock cross their faces an
"How would I have told you that Isabella died in my arms? You will think I killed her, I was afraid of that." "So you hid such information from me!" She barked, her eyes glaring daggers at him. "You need to be arrested." "Mum, please it hasn't gotten to that," I replied instead. "Please we got a more pressing need at hand." "I'll get this young man here arrested before that," she said and was about to go out but I flared up. "OK! Go ahead and call the police since that is what you feel is the pressing need now! Your daughter needs rest and we got only tomorrow left and you're threatening someone. For your information, I'm a military student from Nasme barracks in Makurdi, Benue state. Even if police officers of 10 police stations and their DPO come here they won't lay a finger on him. Do you even know all we've suffered to get here?!" I growled furiously. "Chris let's go please," I added, already walking out. I feel so pissed. Could have punched her so hard if she happened to be a
I had expected our journey to be full of obstacles and disruptions from the Goddess but our journey was so peaceful and nice that we arrived at Abariba at exactly 8 Am just as mum said we would. "Firstly, we need to get a coffin," mum said and we searched and got one. But then I felt we were being attacked because after purchasing the coffin none of the people had the sacrificial offerings mum said we needed or if they had none accepted to sell. We tried and tried till it got really late. The time was already 8 pm. We had spent all day long trying to get things but succeeded in getting only the coffin. It was so hurting to my soul. "Thought we told you we will be back. Well, we are back and we came but in a bad luck way," a voice whispered in my ears and I stared around but saw no one. "Mum, can you write the list of the things needed for me" I mumbled, taking a second to look at mum who looked so weary and exhausted. Her breathing wasn't even steady anymore. "But for what son?"