D.H. : Beginnings

A moth dances round a flickering flame, seduced by the warmth and the light. 
 Its gentle fluttering becomes a frenzied dance. 
 It dances too close and its wings catch fire. 
A dance of awe and wonder ends as quickly as it started. 

Wake up!

With a mild groan I flip onto my side to see my mother part the curtains in my room.

"Young man it's almost midday and you are still asleep? Come on, come on get up and go pick up the goat from Aunty Charlotte's place. What meat are we going to serve our at your party eh?"

I stand up and let out a mild yawn saying... "I don't know why it has to be a live goat Ma, can't we just get some meat from the mall"

Not waiting to hear her response as I try to slip past her into my bathroom, she catches me with a playful tap on my bum saying

"You don't know what is nice, why would you choose a week old frozen piece of meat when you can have fresh meat."

A quick brush and an even quicker shower and I'm out the door. I soon find myself weaving through Accra's afternoon traffic. It's a good thing Aunt Charlotte doesn't live far away. I arrive at her house in good time and with quick hellos and cheerful smiles I bundle what is to be my "party meat" into the boot of my car and head back.

Pulling up the driveway of my house I notice that there are no chairs or tents set up. The usual party seats and tables are nowhere to be seen. I take the somewhat frightened goat out and leave it tied to the mango tree in the side garden.
With a slight sense of urgency I head into the house, hoping to find my mother and answers as to why nothing has been set up. What I meet in the main hall of my house leaves me confused.

There seated, are members of my extended family as well as a few family friends. Even Aunt Charlotte was there. I mean how?...and when did she get here?

"Has something happened?" I ask

"No" my mother replies. "Please step forward"

I take small cautious steps till I'm standing in the middle of the living room.

"Have you been having any dreams of late" my mother asks.

"Ah Ma, what do you mean by dreams? I always dream" I reply, getting more confused by the events that are unfolding.

 "Dreams about moths I mean" she adds.

Shocked about the fact she knew about the moth dream I reply

"Yea, it's been a recurring one"

"He's ready" she says.

I feel hands grab me from behind. I'm forced down to my knees and my Aunt Charlotte steps forward. My mother gives her a nod and she opens a book she has in her hands. As she starts reading from the book in a language that sounds like a mixture of Ga and Ewe her eyes have a glow, like that of a cat. Confusion, sadness and anger fill me as I struggle with my captors.

"Be still my son, it will be over soon" my mother says.

I notice that Aunt Charlotte's incantations are now in English. She's now repeating what seems to be a mantra of some sort.

The fading crest of slumber 
The alluring vessel of madness 
Deny the seething urge 
The eternally self-destructing thirst 
Disrupt the sleep 
Unite! Awake! 
Fill the earth, claim your birthright 

Almost in slow motion, my aunt drops the book and reaches out. Snaps my neck.

The force she does it with is so strong that I find my self looking up at the ceiling, knowing very well my head is in the wrong place. My vision quickly fades and in the dying embers of my life, I see a moth flutter by.

The room is silent. For several minutes everyone just sits there watching the boy's body. It suddenly convulses. A slow grinding and crack can be heard as the head turns back into place. The young boy sits up, then stands.

His mother smiling, she asks "How do you feel"

"Thirsty" he replies

"Now you see why I asked you to get the live goat." she says

 I smile as she takes my hand, leads me to a seat and says. "Welcome, my eternal prince"

LaLa Land

"The looking glass so shiny and new...how quickly the glamour fades..." Florence was singing her heart out on the radio whilst she gently swung in the hammock. Legs coming up slightly every now and then. The gentle sway of the hammock and the light breeze was seductive, sleep seems to have wrapped her up in its lustful embrace.

Those last bits of Tobelerone still lingered in her mouth. She loved how its sweetness spread with little explosions of joy in every crunchy bite. With these thoughts she gently slipped into LaLa land, catching the Slumber Express as it pulled out of this reality.

Soon it was weaving through Gumdrop hills, where one could see the jellybean sheep playfully bouncing around on their wobbly legs. Past these hills was the Eclair Plains, full of light puffy chocolate eclairs that lay glistening near the wafer trees with the occasional hubhub bird preached in its nest.

With a happy toot and whistle the Slumber Express made its way into Marshmallow Valley, where one could find the Muggs, whose sole purpose and joy was to pick the wild marshmallows which gave the valley its name. Singing their happy song they skipped and hopped their way through the thickets that held all that goodness.

As the train neared its destination she caught a whiff of a familiar smell. That chocolatey smell that left a silly grin on your face. The train had reached the end of the line. Stepping off she was greeted by the awesome sight which was the Hershey village. Full of little pikmis that went about making those little bits of chocolate goodness filled with bits of wafer that made you feel like you just found a bit of heaven.

"If you're still breathing, you're the lucky one..."

Those words suddenly pulled her out of her slumber. The radio was still on and it was almost sundown. Gently slipping out of the hammock,  her feet were met with the discarded wrappings of all the chocolate she had had. Picking them up she smiled a little, with thoughts of her daydream still on her mind she let out a little sigh and said "till the next time..."

DH: Anima

A gentle breeze comes in from the balcony, gently caressing her skin making her stir slightly in bed. It gave her goosebumps.

She always liked that about the wind, it seemed to hold her in its fluttering embrace like a playful lover. Speaking of lovers, she gently turned over to see if he was still asleep. She had met him during one of her trips to Kumasi that she took quarterly to source textiles for her avant garde fashion house.

Running one's own business was never easy and there was never enough time to do the whole courtship thing. Her relationships usually lasted 2 months at best, yet somehow this one felt different. She remembered when she'd first bumped into him. She was trying to get to her seat on the plane when she tripped and sat straight in his lap.

She felt so embarrassed that for a moment there was nothing she could come up with for an apology. What made things worse was that he had this smile. This large grin that looked very mischievous yet playful and caught you totally off guard.

He had laughed and said "Quite comfy, isn't it?".

With an embarrassed smile she slyly replied "Yes, somewhat.".

"Would you like to have the seat next to me? You seem interesting and I wouldn't mind the company"

Doing something totally out of character she replied "Yes".

During the flight they had conversations about practically everything and she was amazed at how easily she opened up to him. He asked for her number in the arrival hall and promised to call. What followed in the weeks after that were even longer conversations about silly things, like the best way to make a cup of Milo or whether jam tasted better on toast.

Thoughts of him made her smile, and she would often find herself reading their old chat messages and laughing out loud at how silly there were. Earning her curious looks from people who seemed to wonder what would make a beautiful woman chortle like a little girl.

Slipping out of bed quietly she made her way to the balcony. She wanted to enjoy the breeze a bit more and to catch the twilight. Grabbing a t-shirt from a bag of his things she stepped out and stretched, fully extending her body like that of her yoga instructor. She felt happy and safe. 

Pulling the sleeve of the t-shirt to her nose she inhaled, she liked his smell and wanted to remember everything about the moment. Looking down, an inscription caught her eye. It was a simple motif with two letters....D.H. 

Wait.

"Why does this seem familiar" she muttered.

Then it hit her, all those suppressed memories of that night so many years ago came flooding back. The memories were so strong she let out a loud gasp. It almost felt as if she had been punched in the stomach. 

The laughter, the taste of the pina-colladas, the sudden chill of the room....and that grin. That mad grin that demon had on his face.

"Ahem, brings back memories doesn't it" he said.

She turned around quickly only to find him standing right behind her. He swept her up in a tight embrace and wouldn't let go.

"Looks like my job is over" he thought.

Drawing a strange glyph on her forehead with his finger, he gave her one last kiss and stepped back.

She felt frozen, the mark he had drawn seem to be alive and it felt warm.

Slowly her skin turned ashen and bits of her started drifting away in the breeze. Her last thoughts were of the love she thought she had found.

"Why?" she managed to ask, almost sounding like a whimper.

"You are an anomaly, the result of an inexperienced boy playing with things he did not understand. You have lived, loved and have been loved. Remember I promised only to come for you much later. All of you should have died that night, this is just me putting things back in order."

With her last thoughts she floated out on the fleeting breeze, her ashes swirling in the twilight.

He picked up his shirt and grabbed his bag. Stopping in front of a mirror he put on the t-shirt she had taken.

Smiling he said "Five more to go". Fading, as the twilight gave way to the darkness of the night.