Must Read: BLACK MARIA (A Tale of Two Thieves) - Season 1 - Episode 10

7 years ago

Must Read: BLACK MARIA (A Tale of Two Thieves) - Season 1 - Episode 10

Now God had given him another chance; He had placed another child at his doorstep after twelve years. The priest knew without a doubt, without being told, that he had to protect this child. He would have to protect him from the harsh climate of this wicked world of diseases and starvation. God had given him another child.

The priest had no child of his own. He had never married; he had become a sworn celibate at eighteen years old when his father collapsed and died on another woman during lovemaking; the other woman was not his father's wife. The woman had pushed his father's corpse off herself and had made a hasty retreat with only her wrapper. Later rumours had had it that the woman's husband had spelled his wife reproductive organ. This meant that any man who engaged in adulterous act with her would pay with his life. The priest's father was one of the numerous adulterers who had slumped and died on the promiscuous woman. There, while watching the reneging old hag, the priest had sworn never to engage in any form of sexuality with any woman. And there was no day he regretted his vow, even with the denial of an offspring. But the Creator had been kind to him; He had given him a first child which he rejected, He had now given him another, the priest was not going to reject this one. He knew a third would never come forth if he lost this one, too.

As he watched poor Black, the tears that ran down the priest's cheeks were both of joy and sorrow. It was sad to see a boy of such minute senescence endure a suffering of such monumental proportion. The sight of the boy's wrecked body was too much on the ageing priest; his emotion got the best of him and he broke down right in front of Black. The priest knelt before him, threw his face on the floor, wailed audibly and prayed to the Almighty. Black, however, on the other hand, paused at the moment of putting a morsel into his mouth and watched the old man's strange actions. He was wondering what had gone wrong with the kind man. He watched the man's performances with admiration. As he watched, he felt a certain connexion with this strange man; there was a feeling of belonging here. He felt like he could trust this man, he could tell him anything. The man could solve his problems; if he couldn't solve them, he would share in them and make the problems bearable. Unlike the other people he had met, this old man was the first person to sympathise with him.

After his prayers, the priest stood up and gave Black a weak smile, the boy could not return the smile. The priest walked towards the boy and sat beside him on the bed.

"What is your name, young man?"

Amidst the feeling of comfort he just welcomed, Black instantly cast a wary look at his host for the question asked. That was the same question Chief Salami had asked him before ordering for his execution. A part of him believed that the priest could be a homicidal maniac.

The priest caught the fear in the boy's hesitation, he placed a reassuring hand on Black's bony shoulder and said, "You can talk to me. No one is going to hurt you again, I promise."

There was a look of genuine pity on the man's countenance and this made the boy relax. When he spoke, his voice sounded better because he had eaten good food and drunk pure water; the victuals were already giving him better strength. His lost flesh would be regained if he continued everyday with this kind of meal.

"My name is Peter Black."

"Where are your parents?"

"My parents are dead, sir."

The priest sighed at the reply; his intuition had told him that the boy was an orphan. It was only mostly orphans whose situations would be rendered so pitiful.

"What happened?" The priest asked.

Then the boy let it out; he told the old man everything that had happened to him after his father's imprisonment. He told the priest about all the circumstances that surrounded his parents' deaths. He spoke about Chief Salami and his own juvenile decision to avenge his parents' demise. Black narrated everything, he left out nothing. The priest listened to the boy with concentration; he did not attempt to interrupt Black with any question for fear of the boy clamming up and refusing to speak further. New rivulets of tears escaped the priest's eyes as he listened to the boy. When the boy finished narrating his experience, the priest was filled with so much empathy he was forced to hug the boy very tight as he wept and prayed.

"You are safe now. You are saved." He kept repeating.

After some few minutes, the priest left the boy to rest; they both needed a little respite.

Black slept again and dreamt about his mother. Mami was weeping.

To be continue...