MVUTO

chapter 38 - soul searching

Brian's aching back from standing most of the day waylaid any thought of sexual liaisons once he returned home with his bro after Jake dropped them off with takeaway meals to celebrate Brian's first day of employment.

"take some painkillers. They're in the bathroom cabinet," Rowan advised, annoyed after hearing Brian constantly groan about his back while eating his pizza.

"I miss school", sighed Brian.

"already!... me too, if only Mvuto had shown up earlier."

"asking a bit much! I think he was still in nappies back then!" Brian quipped

"I'm not that effing old! But yeah... I guess he can't stop the world spinning just so I can step off."

"do you remember when we first knew of him?"

"mm, when he woke me... I had flashbacks and tripping like I've never done... I was back there for like ... a split second, and it was cold ... so fucking dark and cold!"

"Yeah, that's what caught me by surprise....nothing like the hell-fire in the sacred texts!"

"there was fire, but that was just for some of us to see in the dark!"

"I felt protected by him and safe, but I also felt the consequences of misbehaviour. The quicker I overcame, the faster I evolved ... and when the day finally came, we had been freed... The joy of waking up from a nightmare in a firm human body... To home and family suddenly ripped away by the madness everyone else was experiencing... We were all killed ... I remember hearing a voice that warned us that would happen but... then said we would be born again whole... completely whole again!"

"Rowan, what happened to us? why did we become like this?" Brian asked, reflecting on their present life.

"the futility of existence weakened us... why bother attaining enlightenment if we end up slaughtered too powerless to protect ourselves ... we knew the truth, but how to convince anyone else?"

"what do you think Mvuto has planned?" Brian asked.

"Have you noticed we are in amongst the worst of it! The dregs! We are standing in filth, and it's sticking to our shoes! We are at the starting block of the rat race! This is where Mvuto always builds his nest!"

"I remember now... that's what he always calls the village he lives in."

"I think you may have met him in past lives more often than I have," Rowan only vaguely recalled he had heard it mentioned once in a distant prior life.

"Listen to us ... we even talk differently now... we never spoke this eloquently before... sometimes I couldn't understand any of your shit street-talk."

"the same..."

"...and I did some naughty things over the weekend that a 16yo normally would never have thought of to do with their future husband or wife," Brian spoke as if referring to the balmy weather.

"fuck! what!" Rowan nearly choked on his slice of pizza, spontaneously backsliding from the shock.

For the rest of the week, 'Juanita' and Mariana teased Brian with photos taken at their workplace.

"give me a peek!" Rowan begged shamelessly.

"Nope, you're not checking out my cross-dressing boyfriend's and girlfriend's twerking bottoms. They're mine... all mine, I tells ya!"

"greedy bastard!"

"get your own pics of Jake twerking!"

"not happening!"

Rowan had some serious explaining to do when Brian inadvertently caught them 'in the act' recently. Always spouting "bro's before ho's" BS whenever the question of girlfriends cropped up in conversation. The pair had been friends since primary school. Jake had been raised in a neglectful family environment, so of course, Rowan tried to help him out, as friends do, but he ended up getting caught in the net along with Jake. It was quite a shock to Brian seeing 2 muscular tattooed hairy guys with various piercings and a hetero image to uphold, wrapped around each other like tangled rubber-bands. As a result, Jake hadn't been able to look Brian in the eyes ever since, and it had been quite a challenge for Rowan to coax him back out of his shell. When Brian asked 'how did they know they were in love?' the answer from a mortified Rowan was, "Jake confessed when we were drunk one time at his place, and we fucked until we were sober."

So now Brian realised the underlying meaning of Rowan's comment earlier about being drunk at a friend's place.