For as long as Shingi was alive, he had gone through a bumpy but normal upbringing during his infancy. His father was a work in progress: he was a handsome man with a brittle childhood and was gravely affected by that in his later years as a young adult. Shingi’s grandfather had much to do with the sorry state of Tonde due to never being available most of his life. Even though he was emotionally and mostly unavailable in his life, money and goods were delivered to Tonde Mazvita’s home, but that was something that could never replace the warmth of human presence. At the time when Tonde was still a young teen, he lived in a rough and austere village where most of the youth were bona fide delinquents. The good looks and sturdy figure that he had inherited from his father did not do much in lessening the distractions but rather encouraged it. Regular fights and collisions with trouble were part of his foundation, but with the help of his elder sister and his mother, he was saved from having to become another village bum with a designated fate of being a village tout. However, his troubles didn’t end there. Tonde was a bright man but with a tendency of making mistakes and he often attributed this to not having had a good role model in his life. His father was an old man who came from a different era where things were much simpler. This was the era of the warring states, where many nations and tribes had undergone conflicts that ended with either concessions, unifications or brutal surrender. The seven warring states had’ had their time for bloodshed, but the times had changed. Soldiers had been reduced to war veterans who talked about all the atrocities of war and how much they hated the enemy. In some cases, the veterans were awarded special privileges from their respective kings, decorated with poignant ceremonies, fine households and the attention of fine women. This was of course, the best outcome for those who had retired after the line of duty. The same could not be said for those who did not stop their service after the war. Tonde’s father was one such man who had a bloodlust and paranoia of that of a man who only knew war and was a product of it. The domestic life was as alien to him as the absence of bloodshed in his life, thus, he unconsciously desired to be involved in anything that involved the security of the state. In Old man Mazvita’s time, as soon a boy turned 16, he was recruited into the barracks of an army; lead a specific purpose in that army, may it be as a medic, scout, or even a spy. They would only be allowed to marry in their mid-twenties, giving both the men a reason to live and saving them from the distraction of love, which was not necessary in the heart of battle. Old man Mazvita was thus a victim of his time and it became hard to teach the old dog new tricks. The old man eventually caught on’ on what he was supposed to do, but by that time, it was already too late. Though his wife was understanding and knew that this was the kind of man she had decided to have children with, her children didn’t feel the same way. As children who were born in a time of peace, having a father who had his first child in his early 50s made it clear that, there was a generational gap that had already created a distance in the family, indefinitely.

Old man Mazvita had Tonde when he was 74, a daunting period for most old men who would be cursed with impotence due to old age, but Old man Mazvita was no ordinary man. In the world, there existed a form of qi known as cosmic aura that could be awakened by practitioners of martial arts and anyone that tested their physical limits. This specialised and rare power was what made Old man Mazvita an effective warrior and the drug that kept him in sync with his belligerent nature. The art of cosmic aura channelling ended up becoming something that athletic fanatics and assigned martial individuals practiced. The general populace was not inclined to learn such a rigorous trial, but those who overcame such a hurdle would become amazing beings that roam the world. However, his strength was no good is preserving his family’s relations. The eventual death of Namatai Mazvita, Tonde’s mother, had eliminated any reason for his on and off existence to be tolerated. The reasons why Old man Mazvita always drifted into issues concerning the security of the state, missions that he could not talk about, was because there were still pending and serious dangers that loomed the world. Many of these were things he couldn’t share due to not wanting to involve them with the complexities that kept them safe every single day. If it weren’t for Rudo wanting to have her son being involved with his grandfather, then the ties would have been long since cut, never to be connected again.

When Tonde was in college, in his first year, he met Rudo, the love of his life, but had an unplanned pregnancy. The spoils of pleasure had come to spite him, especially during a time when he had to fend for himself when his mother had died 2years prior to his mishap. Living on the plot of land that his father had bought for him, alone and awaiting the return of his older sister for some beneficial council, his father surprisingly showed up. The man who was absent for most of his life had decided to aid his son in a critical moment. In the shona culture, also widely known as the mazezuru culture, there were many issues that would arise if a child were conceived before marriage. The payment known as damages was the penalty for having impregnated the wife to be without having gone through proper customary procedure. Rudo’s family was a noble one, one that wouldn’t easily give away their precious daughter to any common man. The overwhelming bridal price came with the damages price, and the indignant looks that they gave him, which were too draconian to bare. The father who had been absent throughout the entirety of his life, had bailed him out, paying for all the dowry’s expenses with his wealth. Tonde felt glad that his father had saved him in his crucial time of need, but hoped that he had been more involved in his life. He was forever grateful, but despite that, this deed wasn’t enough to patch things up, but it still managed to clear the distance between him and his father. Rudo’s family even changed their overall treatment of Tonde when they discovered that Old man Mazvita was an old war hero, decorated with one of the highest honours given to warriors of the past era of the warring period. “That old man was part of the expedition that slayed the last immortal.” is what they murmured whenever they saw him. The prestige of his father had redeemed his situation, but despite that, after the marriage, Tonde would have to deal with finishing school and graduating, at the same time raising a child alongside his beautiful wife. Starting up his family could have been clearly an easier task, with the aid of his father’s finances, but his male pride decided that he had to carve out a path for himself to achieve his own independence. Tonde overcame this trial and raised his beautiful son, with the motivation of being a better father to his boy than his own could ever be. Graduation eventually arrived with his boy now at the tender age of 3 years. At the same time, many businesses were hiring market analysts. This was right in his alley of expertise and Tonde had been graced by fortune’s favour. The man dedicated himself to being a family man, driven to provide for his family and to nurture his son. After a long and chaotic journey, he had finally found his purpose in life.

“Bruce, are you real?” asked Shingi who was rocking his rubber couch pad in his room. The boy had just come back from school, having been escorted by his group of friends and one of the adults, who was related to one of his friends. Bruce had been silent throughout the whole entirety of the school day, not interfering with any of the things that the boy took initiative. However, at some point, Shingi had begun to wonder whether or not his imaginary friend was real or not.

“It’s funny that you ask child, I have been active in your life ever since you were 5years old.” said Shingi to himself.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“You have? How come you never talked to me much Bruce?”

“You were too young to even notice. A conversation with you would have been probably pointless at that time.”

“Huh, I don’t understand?”

“Of course you don’t, you are just a child, but you could get better with my help, well, it depends on whether you want it.” Shingi instantly showed a smirk on his face, upon uttering those words.

“So you can help me understand? Wow that’s nice, I think I need help with maths.” said Shingi who seemed rather embarrassed in his demeanour.

“You are actually pretty smart, you just like playing and indulging in childish antics.”

“Bruce, what does ‘antics’ mean?”

“Oh brother, well, I guess we will have to start by expanding your vocabulary. I think an extensive intake of reading material will be good for you.”

“Oh, okay Bruce, well… will it be hard?”

“Nothing comes easy, a little hard work plays a big role in bettering oneself.”

“Oh, okay… so what are you? Are you real? Where did you come from?”

“Hmm… you seem very driven to know, what drove you to be energetic today? Wait, could it be… that mean girl Nyasha?”

“She said I was going mad like those street people who eat from the bins and that imaginary friends are stupid. That made me unhappy Bruce.”

“Well that is what is normally expected from people, to disbelieve in certain unusual phenomenon, but let me help, young child. I do of course exist and I am now a part of you. However, I come from a very interesting past, one where things such as immortals existed and where savagery was much more second nature than the decency of today’s civilization.”

“Really, wow, so you are like the time travelling blue cat from the picture books with words that I read?”

“No, no, don’t be silly child, I am not a fabric of fiction… listen here and listen well. I came from a group of people, people who want to change the world. These people were my brothers and sisters in arms, and we had one objective, to take over the world.”

“What does… well… taking over the world mean? Is it like becoming popular among your friends?”

“I see that rudimentary examples will be best in making things clear for you. Well you see… it’s more like when you go from being a person who always does what he is told and then becomes the person who bosses people around, telling them what to do.”

“Really, but Bruce, isn’t that a bully?” said Shingi, to himself. In that moment, his mouth became agape, speechless as if surprised, but then, Bruce replied.

“For the longest time, I didn’t think that we were bullies, well you could say I didn’t think at all, but all I know is that people thought that we were bad people, but they were not entirely wrong about us.”

“I am getting confused, are you friends with bad guys, or are you good guys?”

“I am neither good nor bad, well, things such as good and bad become complicated when you become a grown up.”

“Hmm… I guess I don’t understand.”

“Of course you don’t Shingi, you are just a child after all, but let me finish off my story… Well, our group wanted to take over the world to further human evolution, well it’s more like making people better than what they are.”

“Hmm, but that sounds like a good thing, I don’t think that is what bad guys would do.”

“Looking at it simply, it seems rather good, but there is another group that doesn’t want that to happen, well they aren’t people, they are more like monsters in the shape of people.”

“Huh, that sounds scary, so did the monsters… well, chase you away from your friends?”

“Well, they once did, but after a while, they couldn’t touch us. However, it’s been a long time since I have seen my friends, I am pretty sure that they are taking steps every day to achieve their goal.”

“Why can’t you see your friends?”

“Well, it’s because I have changed. The changed me can’t be friends with them anymore.”

“Oh, well, I am sorry… well, hmm, if you change again, will you stop playing with me?”

“No, you are different. I will not abandon you. Listen here child, my friends, despite their good intentions, are not good people and the world itself is an ugly place. You are still innocent, but as you grow older that innocence will eventually disappear. Hopefully, not way too much. As the world continues to shape itself around you, you will hear rumours of war, and things that will worry most of the adults. Just know that it’s my friends who are influencing the world behind the scenes. As for the monsters that once chased us, they are also not bad, they just want things to remain the same, but in the end, differences create conflict.”

“Your story is really something Bruce, but I still don’t understand how a person can do good but still be bad and how there can be monsters that hurt people but not be bad. You are no good at explaining, you are just like my math teacher.” upon saying that, Shingi laughed.

“Well, you are right I am no good at explaining. Well, I think you will eventually understand. First of all, let me help you out with a few things.”

“Like my homework? Please do my homework for me, pretty please.”

“No, we will do it together, if I do everything for you’ you will remain stupid. That mean girl will always call you mean things if you don’t get smart. Girls don’t like idiots.”

“Meh, I don’t care about girls, girls are cry-babies and weak. I won’t allow her to call me stupid.”

“Okay, so that worked… in any case we should help you to become a good boy. Stuff like leaving your toys lying around the floor, not going to bed early and skipping chores will make your parents unhappy. You need to make it easier for them, parenting is tough. So I will help you to become a better person.”

“Okay, I will try my best Bruce.”

“Speaking of trying your best, you should make sure you don’t wet your bed this time.”

“Bruce, don’t talk about that loud, you know that it’s embarrassing.”

“Well, just work on going to the toilet before bed more often and then you won’t have to feel embarrassed. I will make you a good child, that’s a promise…”

As Shingi talked to himself, the front door handle turned. It was the maid who had come back from the market with groceries that Mrs Mazvita had stated for her to purchase. Bruce quickly disappeared and Shingi awoke from his position of repose. Shingi knew that the maid was probably going to demand for his clothing so that it could be washed. Shingi immediately took off his uniform and wore his home clothes, which had been nicely ironed and left on his room’s study desk. As Shingi trotted towards the bath-room, where he would leave his clothes to be washed by the maid, he began to ponder over what Bruce had told him. The group of friends who wanted to change the world and the monsters that wanted it to remain the same, such a tale seemed rather highly fascinating. This was what Bruce had experienced in his life before sharing his consciousness with Shingi. Shingi knew that there would be much more interesting things that he would learn from Bruce and hoped that they would be inseparable indefinitely.

“Hey Bruce, Bruce, wake up.” said Shingi who was eating his lunch, a meal packed with a light portion of sadza, green vegetables and beef stew.

“What is it? I hope you don’t wish to summon me in front of your maid. She is the type to blame anything she misunderstands to be supernatural or from the evil one.”

“Well, I was wondering, what was your group’s name?”

“Oh, just that, well you could have asked me that back in your room… well we called it the Birth Cult. That name was given by the last immortal.”

“Birth Cult, hmm sounds interesting, but I don’t know what cult means… well whatever, it still sounds nice. What were immortals like Bruce?”

“Well, I only ever saw one, the one who lead the cult. All I know is that he was extremely powerful, something that defied logic, but most of his friends were gone, that is why they called him the last immortal.”

“His friends were gone?” asked Shingi whose eyes gleamed with curiosity.

“Yes, the monsters I spoke off destroyed them. It was a very long time ago when that happened.”

“Shingi, who are you talking to?” asked the maid, who had just come from finishing the laundry.

“I was singing aunty, just singing.” lied Shingi.

“Well, don’t sing whilst you are eating your food, you will choke on it. Have good manners and behave yourself or else I will shambock [1] you.”

“Yes aunty.”

Bruce had quickly disappeared and did not entertain Shingi for a while; he did not want to draw too much attention to himself. However, Shingi who had heard about the novelty and glorious depictions of immortals in his story books and comic books wondered how powerful these monsters Bruce spoke of really were. In his mind, he thought that these creatures must have been something, something equally amazing and dreadful.

Glossary

Shambock ------------------------------------------------------------ To beat or discipline with a rod