You dey Mad ?! Part 5
YOU DEY MAD
Mayowa Ojo
6/10/20265 min read
Larry returned his gaze to Killer and noticed that the interest he saw earlier when he asked about the cloth was replaced by fear and he immediately knew that it was fear of losing his authority within the cell.
The more he looked, the more the image around Killer changed like he was looking at him through an opaque glass.
********
Larry saw an elderly man in a luxurious living room dishing out instructions to someone who looked like a manager or executive assistant. He turned to look in Larry’s direction, almost as if he could see Larry and in that instant Larry could have sworn the man spoke to him except that he didn’t; his thoughts just seemed to echo in Larry’s mind. The man was Killer’s uncle.
Larry could feel the man’s pain and it ran deep and the pain was about Killer whose real name was Chijioke Nwoke. In a split second Larry saw the pain that drove Killer to the person he was and the grace of his uncle that kept him from a darker existence. He blinked again and saw an hour glass that had just been turned upside down with what looked like 3 lines equidistant of each other on the side that the content of the hour glass was emptying into. He adjusted his head and to the left of the hour glass was Killer’s uncle in bed; he did not look too good.
Larry saw these things and more and once he saw them he immediately understood what they meant and it both freaked him out and excited him at the same time.
********
All of that happened in what felt like three seconds. He blinked and the next thing he was back in the cell.
“Why Chijioke? Why did you run from God? He’s been trying to get your attention since you lost your parents at 18. You used to have a solid relationship with God but you felt he betrayed you after your parents died in that car accident. Why do you think he spared your life if he didn’t have plans for you? He said he hurts more than you do and he still loves you and wants you back. His plans for your life are still pending and he is not giving up on you until you breathe your last on this side of eternity. Your son is still alive even though your former girlfriend lied to you that he died. Nuel, that’s his name. He’s five years old now. Your uncle is willing to help you if you’ll get off your high horse, stop wallowing in guilt, give him a call and come clean to the charges against you. Your uncle is the reason your case has not been moved to court else you’d be in Kirikiri this moment, forgotten. Your uncle will soon fall ill and he only has three years after that. If you ever want to get out of here, live again, love again, and see your son… fulfil purpose then now is the time,” Larry said.
Larry was shaken when he was done speaking. Of the many things he thought would happen in that cell, a trance and prophecy were not on the list. He looked at Killer who was even more shaken and crying.
Killer’s tears were silent but visible as the dam behind his eyelids hxad burst open and released the flood gates. For several minutes, Killer cried; the only sound that punctuated the room was the sound of his sniffing as his nose gradually clogged up from crying so much.
“I’ve done so many bad and hurtful things. Where do I even begin?” Killer finally whispered.
Larry almost looked back because he did not think the question was directed at him.
“Look, I’m no pro at these things. I’m…”
If he had to bet he would have betted that he heard an audible Keep quiet in the room and so he did but he knew it was not from anyone in the room.
“Do you still believe in God?”
Killer nodded.
“Well then, that’s all you need. Talk to him, call your uncle, get out of here and I’m sure you’ll get your next instructions when you get out of here.”
“Please, pray with me,” Killer requested as he fell to his knees.
The men around him instinctively fell to their knees too; the bouncers too.
Larry almost pinched himself. Everything felt surreal. What’s all this about? He wondered.
“Leaving the ninety-nine and going after the one, Larry heard in his heart.”
“Oh! So all this beating and harassment I’ve received was just for this guy. I’m a victim of circumstance now. A tool abi?” Larry protested.
“Would you rather sit pretty and not be used? Just saved and no more?”
Larry had no come back.
********
By day break, Larry had led all the other men in the cell to Christ. They were all gisting freely like old friends and more than once, they each asked Larry if he could ‘see’ anything about them. At first it was funny then it became awkward but each time he insisted that he was not quite sure it worked that way and that he was new to this.
He could tell they did not believe him but he did not blame them; he too was finding the entire experience very hard to believe.
“Hey! You!” an officer yelled at Larry as he opened the cell door.
Killer pulled Larry in for a hug, took his phone number and promised to stay in touch. All the men could see the shock on the officer’s face but they said nothing.
********
When Larry walked into the DPO’s office, he saw Mrs. Beckerstheth, his mother’s private lawyer and with her were two mobile police officers in camouflage outfits. They were all standing and he could immediately tell that her refusal to sit was part of the intimidation. He knew his mother was behind it and could very easily have called the state commissioner of police to step in but clearly she chose to go a different route. When a private litigator and senior partner of a revered law firm shows up with two military escorts and a letter from a federal office holder, there was really nothing a DPO could do.
“Hello darling. Are you alright?” she said without moving an inch.
Larry nodded. If he did not know her, he would have been offended at her seeming lack of emotion but he knew her; he knew it was her attempt not to show too much affection in order not to appear weak. She asked him to narrate the ordeal and he did. The DPO did not say a word throughout except when Mrs. Beckerstheth asked him to confirm if what Larry said was accurate.
“He can only leave this station if he can reverse all he has done,” the DPO said reluctantly when Larry was done with his narration.
Larry heard the trepidation in the DPO’s voice and knew that the statement was his final attempt to weild what little power he had left.
“On what grounds? What exactly is he being charged for?”
The DPO took one second too long to respond.
“Allegedly invoking insanity on a potential crack head who was working alongside her crack-head cronies? Or for putting to sleep a potentially violent, definitely fraudulent man who was impersonating a police officer? Let me guess, you’re going to charge him for your swollen hand? Will you be willing to explain to a judge why exactly you hit him when he was not charged with a crime?”
The DPO fell silent.
“Kindly hand him his personal belongings. I have an appointment in thirty minutes and not a spare minute to waste,” she said. “Oh and by the way,” she turned to Larry. “Can you put an end to this circus?”
“Sure aunty. Can you give us a minute please?”
Mrs. Beckerstheth moved like a soldier and left the room in a heartbeat.
Larry marveled at how it could have been misunderstood as her obeying or indulging him. But he knew her well and had always wondered how fast her brain’s processor was. He knew she could very quickly analyse a situation – weighing pros and cons in a heartbeat. He knew she’d done that and seen no harm else she would not have moved a muscle let alone leave the room.
Larry smiled. He walked to the DPO and stretched out his hand as though he wanted a handshake.
Reluctantly, the DPO reached for a handshake and it happened again. Larry blinked and was transported to a place he’d never been with people he’d never seen.