The secret of death episode 6
THE SECRET OF DEATH
(The Wise Don)
Episode 6
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Written by Author Nath
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Heading: Time of Death
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A few more days for Mekus’ death. He stood upright in his living room, staring perpendicular to the ceiling with hands folded behind him. He wore his normal caftan with a flat footwear. It was as if he could read his death from the ceiling. On a table beside him were two books, duplicated from the one he had been writing. As he meditated, Kalu entered.
“The Wise Don, you summoned me.” the man said.
“My wife has gone for shopping.” Mekus began. “What I’m about to tell you should have been told to her alone, but I feel that I’m closer to my grave more than I thought.”
“Ah, the don, you can’t die. No one can kill you.” Kalu assured him.
“Though one can know the secret of death but death itself is unknown. Is still the greatest mystery humans cannot fathom. All the same, I do not fear the unknown. Those who are afraid of what comes after death because it’s unknown may tend to be those who cannot face the unknown in life.” he took the two books, walked to kalu. He placed one in his left hand and another in his right hand. “Make sure my wife gets them. This is for Jimmy while this for my unborn child.” he pointed at his left and right hand respectively. “Tell her to call this number.” he placed a paper in Kalu’s shirt pocket.
“The don, you’re expecting a child?” Kalu became surprised. “That apart, who is Jimmy? You sound as if you have a few minutes to live on this earth. As if your wife will come back and meet your dead body. No one can kill you.” he concluded. Just then, a maid knocked at the door. That was Neye.
“The don, sir, the doctor is here for you.” she announced without opening the door.
“You see? Even your doctor is here to make sure you’re not dead in the next years to come.” Kalu reassured.
Mekus collected those books from him. He returned them back to the table. “Let’s go see the doctor.” he said.
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A rusty sound came from the medical bed when Mekus laid on it in the medical room while Kalu stood at the door. The doctor checked his blood pressure, examined him in the strange silence. Mekus eyes were closed throughout until he heard a flapping finger on a syringe with a pointed needle. “What’s that, doctor?” he asked him
“Lethargy. It will boost your energy coz you’ll be feeling weak from now.” the doctor replied.
“Okay, but can you check the cancer again?”
“Cancer?!” Kalu w¡dened his eyes. Nobody replied him. The doctor glanced at him then looked at Mekus.
“Is it necessary, sir?” he asked.
“Just do it.” Mekus insisted.
The doctor connected his heart to a monitor beside the bed to run the test physically. Surprisingly, the cancer had miraculously disappeared. He stared at the screen because he couldn’t believe his eyes while Mekus stared at his own eyes. Kalu, at the door also narrowed his vision to see his boss’ heart on the screen but couldn’t comprehend any other thing.
“Doc, what’s it?” Mekus asked.
“Nothing, don.” He disconnected the wires and put off the monitor. “The cancer is still spreading faster. Let me give you the injection.” he grabbed the syringe again.
Mekus began to cough, struggling to stand up from the bed. He finally did, glared at the doctor like an angry beast. “Who paid you to kill me, doc?” he asked him.
The doctor swallowed hærd. He couldn’t believe the question and how his patient discovered his evil plan to inject him to death. Therefore he stammered, “I.. I… sir, I.. I don’t understand.”
“You must be a fool to believe you’re the only doctor I have.” Mekus began….
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FLASH BACK
Mekus waited patiently in,side a doctor’s office. He fed his eyes with anatomy calendars on the walls, wondering the system in which the human body is built. Back in his school days he had once asked his teacher a provocative question; “If cell is the unit of life, what’s the unit of cell?” he had asked in the classroom. The teacher became dumbfounded.
“The don.” the doctor walked in,side the office thereby interrupted his thought. The man sat down opposite him. “Don, the result of your test is negative.” he said.
“I don’t understand.” Mekus adjusted forward.
“Though there is an evidence that the cancer was there but it’s no more. It must be a miracle. We see such things here most times.” The doctor clarified…
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CONTINUITY
The syringe fell off from the doctor’s hand after Mekus narrated. Just then, a gunshot came from outside. All startled except Mekus. Quickly, they rushed out to the living room to see Leonard, Richærd and David. Behind them were five deadly looking gun-men, all pointing their guns at him.
“Hey!” Kalu exclaimed. “Please oh, i’m not the don. Forget about my big stomach. It’s only full of beer.” he added with hands up.
“Father, you want to die. We shall give you death.” David told his father.
Mekus looked from him to the last son thereby letting silence stretch in the room. He began to walk towards the cushion with hands behind him. Now, Kalu could tell that his feelings earlier about his death was true, even the silence could testify that Mekus will die there, on the hands of his sons. Nevertheless, the old man never moved by fear of guns or death itself. After getting to the cushion he sat down and crossed his legs while they waited for his response, even the doctor.
“Who among you is killing me? I want to know my possessor after I’m gone.” he broke the silence.
“We found out that we can not kill you individually, so we came together.” Richærd began to narrate….
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FLASH BACK
Richærd could be seen outside his compound with Neye. There was a round plastic table in between them. On the ground was carpet grass. It was like a s₱0t in a bar. The young man adjusted on his seat saying, “Neye, are you telling me the truth?”
“Yes, I over-heard my madam and boss talking about it. She’s pregnant.” The maid exposed Mrs. Rose’s pregnancy.
Richærd put on call his two brothers. They arrived regardless their differences. When Richærd told them the news, Leonard furiously shrieked, “This man is joking with us! How sure are we that we will have anything he posseses now that he’s expecting a son?”
“It can’t be!” Richærd exclaimed.
“We must not allow him live. He must fulfil his promise. Since we can’t kill him individually, let’s unit, take men to his house tomorrow.” David suggested…
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CONTINUITY
Mekus stood up, cleared his throat then began. “In unity, you want to kill me but you never united to ask me a portion of my wealth rather you fought to kill one another. Now you understand the power of unity which was the main reason I made the proclamation. I wanted you to acknowledge the power of unity because death hærdly penetrate in the midst of united people. I’m happy you’ve come to understand yourselves.”
Just then, Neye walked out, glared by Kalu and pitied by Mekus because he knew as he was about to die, she won’t live long too. So he smiled at her and continued. “I had a few days to die of cancer, that was when I proclaimed that if any of you should kill me, he will become the next don. But now, I just discovered that miracle happens. The cancer has disappeared and you’ve learnt the power of unity, you can now come let me show you the way.” he concluded.
Silence creeped in again but was suddenly disrupted by another five gun-men who barged in, fired bullets to the initial five gun-men thereby sending them to their early graves. They pointed their guns at David and Richærd too. At that point, nobody knew what was going on, even Mekus himself. As they all wanted to realize what was going on, Leonard brought out his own gun, aimed it at Mekus’ big stomach.
“Leonard, what are you doing?” Richærd asked him.
“This is not part of the plan, Leonard?” David added.
“Sorry, I double crossed you two. I hired five more men for myself” Leonard signalled the men and they killed David and Richærd instantly. Neye scre-med while Kalu found his way upstairs. The doctor shivered at a corner seeing a lot of people shot dead in his presence. Meanwhile, Mekus had not shook neither did his heart beat faster than normal. He was a brave man, staring at Leonard’s gun at him.
Leonard shot a bullet on the roof, Kpooo! then aimed at his father once again. “Sorry, father, the bullets aren’t fake this time around. You can look at me courageously as if you have no fear. You’re dying today.” he said.
““Death never takes a wise man by surprise. He is always ready to go.” Mekus replied him. “I learned that courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear. I may not conquer you, but I’m not afraid to die. Dying is easy, it’s living that is difficult. Life is the actual challenge while death is nothing but the end of all challenge.” he sat back on the cushion and crossed his legs again.
“Do you think I’m joking?!” Leonard rehandled the gun.
“Look at your brothers you’ve killed.” Mekus continued. “They are nothing anymore. You may think you’ve killed them and you will kill me too which you will do. Listen, the first law of life is change, and change is not possible without death. In the endless cycle of life, beings and things disappear to make room for others. Death is an end point but it’s never the final one. For every death, there is a birth.”
“Your wife will never live to deliver.” Leonard assured him then pulled the trigger on his stomach. Some maids began to cry from their hiding places. Even Neye felt pity for him but was really scared. She never thought it would escalate to that point.
The bullet took the best part of Mekus stomach. Blood continuously began to flow from the wound, yet, he was still alive. The good maids couldn’t take it anymore, so they all ran out to him, crying seriously coz such a man shouldn’t die a lonely death without the presence of any love one. Mekus looked at their tears with a smile. They were just three maids.
“Why do you cry, beautiful souls?” Mekus began again emotionally. “Death is very likely the single best invention of life. It’s life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. We all die. The goal isn’t to live forever. The goal is to creat something that will, and I have done that.”
Leonard walked closer and shot him another bullet. The maid scre-med. “Please, don’t kill him! He’s like a father to me.” one of them held Leonard’s trouser, crying bitterly. Meanwhile, blood had started gushing out from Mekus’ mouth, yet he was still alive. He touched the tears of the closest maid and said, “It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who die. Rather we should thank God that such men lived. If you want me again look for me under your boot-sole.”
The girls crying voice increased.
Mekus looked up to picture the image of his unborn son then said to him, “Stay wild, moon child. I will shine my full silver light on your path, Moon child. Trust your intuition and follow your dreams. When I go dark, go within and tend to yourself, set your goals and release what no longer serves. When I come out of the shadow, Moon child, go, be brave, and to yourself stay wild and true.” He took his last breath.
“Look for the wife and his P.A.” Leonard commanded his men. Just then, a car horn blasted at the gate. That was Mrs. Rose, the wife and Evan, her driver….
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TO BE CONTINUED.