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Six Months Later.
He could never get used to the cool metal throne underneath him even as the king of the domain. It still felt weird, him replacing his father figure. As if the Fates had chosen him to correct his father's wrongs.
He came down from the throne and started for the exit. Some gods stared, still getting used to a god who chose walking and leaving his throne rather than a dramatic disappearance.
His special adviser immediately ran after him. "God of the innocent, where are you heading to?"
"The precinct," Kwento said, still walking. "How is the boy?" He asked, feet coming to a stop.
"He's currently sleeping," Iben replied, head bowed.
"When he wakes up, let him know that I'd be back."
"Okay sir."
Kwento nodded at him and walked through the double titanium doors with a crown engraving and got in an awaiting cab.
After some minutes of locomotion, he highlighted from the cab and found his way into the precinct. Rocky floors before a network of hallways as he had remembered but his main focus was the holding cell at the back which was opposite the prison and completely furnished.
"Good morning king" and "good morning god of the innocent" were the words leaving the mouth of anyone who encountered him on their way. None of them tried to stop him as Bright had done months ago, after his coronation and he guessed that it was from what he did her.
"Are you here to see the two on parole?" A cop asked.
"Yes, thank you," Kwento said and the cop led the way, not minding the entourage trailing after the king.
They used the portal, which was a nondescript titanium door were teleported to the prison building at the speed of lighting.
The entrance gate of one clicked open and he was allowed to see her, his mother. He walked in and on seeing his Farmatha, he rushed to hug her, reveling in her warmth. So far, he had learnt that he could not blame her for what happened. She did what she could to resurrect his dad but had ended up being tricked by a sad man who was just stripped of his powers without him undoing whatever he had done to his dad's soul. Gilbert being mortal again with no one having an idea where he went and him trapping souls was a reality that crowned Farmatha's effort a waste.
"I'm so happy to see you Nwam'," Farmatha muttered into his clothes, tears dropping from her eyes. She was always emotional anytime they met.
"And me too mum," Kwento said, eyes softening. It was as if he also wanted to cry but was holding it in. He had learnt to hold a lot in these past months.
"How have you been?" He asked as his mum led him to her bed to sit.
"We're lucky that they're giving us a chance at being gods."
"That's what you said the last time and the time before that."
"Gratitude never gets old, son," she said with a cheeky smile which exposed her age. "Our trainer says that we're getting real good at learning fast and he may consider filing for an early release."
"That's nice," Kwento said. "I can't wait for you to be back."
"Me too. Are you going to see Heracles?" Farmatha asked.
"Of course," Kwento said somberly, "I'm heading there right now."
"And Michael?"
"He still doesn't want me to see him," Kwento said and stood up from the bed. "You know what? Let me go see Heracles before Dike wakes up. You know how he gets when he wakes up."
His mother nods and they hug again before he leaves.
Heracles' cell would have been darker if not for the window, high up in the ceiling and guarded by rotating rocks. This was not the first time Kwento had seen him surrounded by darkness and he was now convinced that Heracles preferred it that way since he had been hiding all his life, maybe. At the creak of the cell's gate, Heracles looked up, studied the new DHC and then the new king. When he was done, he went back to swirling the cup of water before him with his fingers.
Kwento sat on the bed and the first words Heracles muttered were "You still didn't bring him."
"Like I've said before, you need to be mentally fit to be able to take care of a child. Remember that he'd faced a parent like that before which almost let him commit suicide. As his guardian, I have to make sure that he gets the best of everything including affection."
"So you're saying that you, a nobody, can love a son more than his father?" Heracles chuckled. "How did I get here?"
"Maybe you'd understand better if you had an unbreakable bond with your son and to answer your question, we're half brothers who were meant to meet sometime in life."
"You're free to go man, visiting time is over," Heracles said, making Kwento to stand up and leave. Visiting him always ended up like this.
"I want to see Chimma," he told the new DHC who stood by the gate.
"Right this way, my king," Josh said, face somber.
Chimma's cell was like he remembered. It was so dark that her stares made it creepy. You could hardly even tell the colour of her skin. Like his mother's had been, she also had veins protruding from her skin- veins which got darker as the day passed.
"How are you?" Kwento asked. No matter how much he was supposed to hate her for wanting to destroy his life, he could not because love did not just die at a wish. He still cared for her but was afraid that she was pretending.
"Why do you keep greeting me this way, Nanu? Don't you love me anymore?"
"You know why Chimma, we don't have to go through it again."
"Then make me your wife, that's all I've ever asked for."
Kwento scrubbed down his face with his palm and sighed. "You tried ruining my life once, what's to say you wouldn't do it again."
"So you don't trust me?"
"You've severed my trust. Honestly, I'm still wondering why you didn't pick mortality if you wanted to get married so bad."
"Who is she?"
"What do you mean?"
"Muonanu who is she? The goddess you're seeing."
Kwento could not reply.
"Take care," he said. "I'm leaving."
"Muonanu don't leave me! ...don't! Please!" She pleaded but he was deaf to it all.
As he passed by Michael's cell, his head was bowed and it was the same with Kylie whose cell was beside him. Apparently, the Fate's were strict on the gods not breaking a law despite how bad it was and Michael just had to take the fall for his crime to make Chimma's past act public, thereby cementing her arrest.
As they were leaving the precinct, people showed their king respect and he waved at them, sometimes blessing them.
Finally in the cab, he was left to his solitude where he could daydream about his fathers death and the love he and Chimma shared. Looking back at it, he realized that what they had was a one sided love with him sacrificing the most, his heart, his time, everything.
"We're here sir," the driver said and Kwento dropped, followed closely by a guard who was not Iben. He greeted Onye nche on the way, the guardian of the gates of the domain who bowed his head at him.
Finally in, Iben approached him. "My king, the child is awake."
"Thank you Iben," Kwento said and waltzed through the hallway till he was in front of Dike's room where he knocked. He did not wait for a reply before entering the room.
"Nanu, you're here," Dike said, sitting up from his lying position on the bed where he was sketching.
"I told you that I wouldn't leave you. Just call me and I'll be here, always," Kwento said, going to sit beside his step-nephew on the bed. The reality of their relationship was weird to him as an only child of his father.
"So, what are you drawing?" Kwento asked, leaning forward to see for himself but he did not need to for Dike had already passed the book over for him to see.
Holding the sketchbook on his hand and looking at the art on it, was an emotional experience that Kwento could not forget. Maybe because Dike had drawn them both in the stream, at his favorite place, when they were playing with birds. Like that, Kwento was reminded once again of how Dike had saved his life by offering him an art in his shrine.
"It's beautiful," he said. "I love how you captured this."
Dike smiled and Kwento flipped the page backwards to see a sketch of Essence sitting on a bench in a park while holding her gloves unsure. He did not know whether to be afraid or happy. The boy was heading towards unchartered territory bounded by the deceits of love.
"Let's go to the garden. The weather is nice today," Kwento suggested.
"When hasn't it ever," Dike said, smiling. "Besides, I know you can control the weather."
Kwento smiled and held the boy's hand as they left for the garden. He was a king, but he always dressed simply for their playtime, something which looked odd amongst the extravagant clothes of other gods. He was dressed in a Jean and a t-shirt while Dike was dressed in white shorts, a shirt and kicks.
As they strolled the pathway which led to the garden, they saw it all, the lushness of the lawn, beautified by red and blue flowers which contrasted with the whiteness of the domain's wall- a picturesque clamoring of colourful stones and white paints and then glass windows. The birds sang while the horses neighed in their stables. A special breed they were to be able to carry weighty gods.
"We should sit here," Kwento said, pointing at a different bench from the last time. It was as if he hated sitting on the same chair simultaneously.
"This is different from where we last sat."
"It's good to change sceneries once in a while," Kwento replied, sitting and breathing in while Dike followed after. Kwento had turned it to an habit, having unpredictable sitting positions because he did not trust the peaceful change of leadership.
Breathing in while surrounded by nature was therapeutic, the scent of greeneries and the sound of wild lives scuttling about. For a moment everything seemed to be at peace until Dike broke it with a question that Kwento was never prepared to answer.
"Nanu," he said. "When can I see my father?"
Could Kwento trust this eight year old not to think suicidal thoughts again? It may happen because his mother had been the trigger for his last attempt.
"When your Father is ready and perfectly fine, you'll see him."
"Okay," Dike said, settling into the bench and meditating like Kwento had taught him. As he would say, "effective meditation chases away bad thoughts".
*****
He saw her waltz into the water and slowly, she crouched, refusing to back out, maybe because of the water's soothing properties.
He remembered, those times when she would curse at him for using brute strength and laugh at him anytime he forgot how to operate the most recent technological gadgets.
There were in the Fates' waterfall, a big crowd gathered on the beach, some sitting and some standing. They all had something in common though because they were all smiling. Decorated by naturally colourful stones, the waterfall also seemed to join the light of the day. This sun a good distance up in the sky and the weather, as clear as a chiseled diamond. Nothing could take away the joy.
The Fates were present this time but they were dressed in long white capes and gowns, the same as Anwulika who was currently dipping in the water. She had gotten in the first time, the second time and when she finally ended the third round, an amulet found its way around her neck- pendant, a stone of royal blue. And with her emergence followed the mutterings, "Here comes the goddess of families on earth and the domain! Here comes a believer in families! Here comes a perpetrator of human emotions on earth and in the domain!"
And when she waltzed out of the river, she had an ethereal beauty that threatened to blind everyone present.