Marriage Chronicles - Season 1 - Episode 23

4 years ago

Marriage Chronicles - Season 1 - Episode 23

..CEPHAS..
“Dig my boy, dig!”
Dr. Kwasakwasa kept on urging me much to my
unwanted frustration so I replied, “You might as
well drop that juju bag of yours and help with the
digging if you want things to go faster!” and then I realized how rude I had sounded so I quickly apologetically said, “Am sorry, that came out wrong. I’m just tired..and scared.”

“Man up,” he patted my shoulder. “Now continue digging.”

“On it.” And so I dug and dug until I found the
polythene bag in which Richard and I had
wrapped Lubuto’s dead body on the night of her
murder.

“Doctor, kindly place the torch down and help me get the remains out of this ditch.”

“That I’ll gladly do,” he put his bag down and
placed the torch at an angle where we could
quite clearly see. The polythene bag was super
light but I could hear some clanking sounds while
we put it on the grass, probably them bones was
what was causing the noise.

“What next?” I asked as I wiped beads of sweat off my forehead.

The Doctor said, “We unwrap the remains and
then I’ll do my thing. You unwrap them as I
collect my bag and start sorting things out.”
“Sure,” I bent down and slowly unwrapped the
bones and the stench that hit my nostrils was
dreadful and unbearable. “S--t! This stinks.” I
was on the verge of puking cause I’d never in my
entire life come across something that stinky.
Dr. Kwasakwasa quietly came to where I stood
with my nose covered and shook his head. “Rich
people never cease to amaze me..it’s just a
scent, boy!” he chuckled. “If only you knew what I had to do or go through for me to be where I am right now.”

The chirping of the birds was eerie and so was
the darkness itself. I glanced around the bushes
and said, “I don’t even wanna know, no offense.”

“None taken.”
He took a bottle of some unknown substance
and handed it to me. “You sprinkle this on the
bones while chanting the dead girl’s name. Don’t chant her name more than three times.”
I got the bottle from him and nodded, later
sprinkling the substance on the bones. “Lubuto
Bwalya..Lubuto Bwalya..Lubuto Bwalya.”
“Good,” he got the bottle from me when I was
done and handed me a new surgical blade. “Now cut yourself on the palm and let your blood drop onto the bones.”

I was a bit skeptical this time around cause
blood isn’t something that should be messed
with, am just saying. “Do I really have to do this?
I mean, can’t you just burn the freaking bones
already so that we can leave this evil place once
and for all.”

“You want us to leave this place as soon as
possible? Then do as I say without asking me
stupid questions,” Dr. Kwasakwasa t----t the
blade into my right hand. “Do it!”

“Yes, sir!”
I did it.

Seemed my part was done for now cause he
took over the sprinkling of stuff and did some
incantations. He then loudly said, “Lubuto
Bwalya, I command your soul to rest in peace
but for now, Cephas here has something to say
to you.”

“I do?” I asked him, surprised.
“Yes you do,” he nodded. “Just let it be from
your heart, hurry.”

“Okay..okay!” I took a deep breath and warily
said, “Lubuto Bwalya, the mother of my first
child. The child who never even got to see the
Sun thanks to my evil deeds. Lubuto, I sincerely
apologize for what I’d done to my child and
you..please forgive me. I also pray you finally
find peace.”

“Not bad,” mumbled the witchdoctor who
reached into his bag for kerosene which he
poured on the bones. He took out a box of
matches, lit a stick and dropped it on the bones
which instantaneously caught fire. “It’s done.”

“Thank you.”
“Now we have to wait for the bones to burn to
ashes and then we can sprinkle the ashes in any
river and then we’ll call it a day.”
We waited for over an hour but the bones didn’t
turn to ashes even though they were aflame.
“Are they supposed to take this long?” I finally
asked.

His answer was curt, “No.”
“Then what’s going on?”
“What’s going on,” it was Lubuto’s voice which replied. “is that getting rid of me isn’t this easy.”

She was standing on the other side of the ditch,
clad in the kimono that she had been wearing on
the day of her death. Blood was smeared all over
the outfit.

The Doctor pointed his cane at her, “I rebuke you
to go back to whatever hole you just crawled out
of!”

“Oh please!” Lubuto snapped and then laughed.

“Am gonna have fun dealing with you both.”
I don’t know why but I hurriedly stood in front of
the doctor and spread my arms. “You wanna
punish someone, make it me and please leave
the doctor out of this because he has nothing to
do with your death!”

“But he’s here disturbing my prescious desolate grave, Ceph Donut. And such I don’t forgive!”

“Move, boy,” I was shoved aside by the doctor
who blew some powdered charm at Lubuto.
Lubuto staggered but was on her feet in no time,
shrieking. “Is that all you got? Let me show you
what am made of then!” She raised her hands in the air and as if following her hand gestures, the doctor was raised into the air and dropped with a thud beside Lubuto’s bones which were no longer burning and were unscathed.

The Doctor was wriggling in the grass as stuff
took itself out of his bag and the contents
sprinkled themselves on him. The kerosene
bottle was last to pour all the kerosene on his
body.

“Lubuto, stop. Please,” I pleaded with her where I was fixed as I couldn’t move. Figured Lubuto had cast some spell to prevent either the doctor or I from moving.

My pleas went unheard when Lubuto snapped her
fingers and the doctor caught fire. He screamed,
cussed, begged and screamed. And Lubuto
laughed, laughed and laughed. While I stood
where I was terrified to the core. Coreen had
been having several encounters and was still
sane? I wondered how cause this was freaking
frightening and if I had a d--k right now, I would
have used it to piss in my pants.

The screams died down but the flames didn’t.
They only went out when only ashes were left.
With another snap of her fingers, Lubuto made
the ashes and all of the witch doctor’s
belongings vanish.

With a sweep of her hand, her bones noisily
wrapped themselves in the polythene bag which
had magically survived the flames too, and went
back into the ditch which covered itself with
earth. Lubuto then lay on the spot and waved at
me. “I’ll be back, Ceph Donut.” She winked and vanished too.

I took to my heels and ran straight to my car. I
was shaking as I started the engine and drove to
my parents place but stayed outside the gate to
wait for morning lest mum bombards me with
questions on how I could arrive at her place at 2
AM.

So I only hooted at 5:30 AM and the gateman
opened the gate for me.

Mum and my young sister Marjorie were standing
on the porch by the time I got out of the car.
“Look who decided to visit us,” teased Marjorie
as I hugged mum and then her. “Says someone
who’s just visiting,” I teased her too. “What are you even doing here? Did you and your husband have a fight again?”

“We stopped having fights ages ago. Am just
visiting mum, arrived last night actually.”
“What are you doing here this early in the
morning yourself?” Mum interjected. “Came into town for a business deal,” I lied through my
teeth. “Just thought paying you a visit is the
right thing to do.”

“Thanks, son..come in, please.”
Once inside, I excused myself so that I could
have a bath. I sat in the bathtub and wondered
where I’d go from here. What next to do cause
Lubuto wasn’t gonna back down without a fight.
And then I thought of the only and last solution I
thought I’d never even dream of doing. Religion,
church, God and Jesus Christ. We are in the 21st
century to begin with so I’d heard about so many
miracles and the wonders that God was doing
through his chosen people. But the problem was
finding a genuine man of God. Take a good look
at what had just happened to the witch doctor..I
didn’t want the ugly incident to repeat itself,
believe me.

I finished bathing and wiped myself with a towel
and when I reached my genitalia which was plain
as you all know, I graoned with utmost
frustration. “D--n you, Lubuto!”

I stepped out of the bathroom and took some old
clothes from my closet and as I dressed up, I
made up my mind to tell mum everything. And I
mean everything. Seeing as she went to church
frequently, maybe she’d hook me up with her
pastor who would later help me with getting rid
of Lubuto’s ghost.

I picked my phone from the bed on my way to
the living room and thought of calling Coreen but
I knew Lubuto would be the one on the other end
of the line so I just pocketed the phone instead.
“Breakfast is served,” announced a happy
Marjorie who led me to the dining table where
mum was already seated.

“I smell something nice,” I mused while seating.

“I missed this.”
Mum smiled, a sad smile. “Why, isn’t Coreen
taking care of you as she is supposed to? Cause
if she isn’t, I’ll come shove a cooking stick up
her skinny a-s and make sure she goes missing
like that wayward look alike of hers!”
“Mother,” spoke Marjorie in a soft tone. “You
don’t want brother to lose his appetite now, do
you?”

“My bad. Am sorry.” We ate in silence until
Marjorie started talking about how well our elder
sis Ethel was fairing in her new marriage and
such. And then she suddenly announced, “You’re
going to be an uncle, Cephas.”
“Wait what? You mean Ethel is pregnant and am
hearing the news from you?”
“No.. am the one who’s pregnant, dummy.” Mum
who seemed to already know beamed. “And am
finally going to be a grandmother!” and she was
sad in no time. “Wish your father was here
though.”
I pushed my chair back and went to hug mum,
so did Marjorie.
“We miss him too,” my sister and I said in
unison.
Marjorie was clearing the table when it
happened. She screamed, dropped the tray of
plates she was carrying and held her belly.
I was first at her side, mum was next.
“What’s the matter?” asked a frantic mum.
It was the blood gushing down Marjorie’s legs
which gave us an answer.
“No..not my baby. God save her, please.” cried
Marjorie. “We have to take her to the hospital,” I
was desperate as I scooped her into my arms
and rushed her to the car where I placed her in
the backseat where mum joined her.
We were en-route to the hospital and mum kept
on insisting I drive faster.
“Am driving as fast as I can, mother!” my tone
was irritable. “I don’t want us to die in the
process so please just hang on. You too, sis.”
Mum groaned and began praying and asking God
to please save her daughter and grandchild.
And then I heard Lubuto’s voice inside my head.
“You wanna save your sister’s life and that of
her unborn baby? Drive to the nearest police
station right away and confess so that you are
apprehended and tried for your crime.”
“Fine,” I mumbled and did a u-turn, heading
towards the police station.
“Where are you going?” asked mum impatiently,
“There’s no hospital this side!”
“Do you trust me, mother?”
“Is this really the right time for such silly
questions, huh Cephas?” “Just answer the
question. Yes or no?”
“Yes I trust you. Now what?!”
“Now am gonna save both Marjorie’s and her
unborn baby’s life so hang in there..both of you.”

Too many people had suffered because of my
actions so I figured it was high time I brought all
this Lubuto madness to a stop!