Mike’s POV

Ever since Nikia left, I felt the need to keep myself busy to prevent myself from following her around to focus on my own growth. Ifa hadn’t presented himself to me since he gave us the key to the spirit realm which I thought was brilliant because he was an acquired taste and I was really beginning to resent him. Besides Kafui was always available to answer my questions and teach me, plus he was nicer.

There was something about Kafui I just could not put my finger on. He behaved as though he had no ties to the earth but was a very important part of the earth. I swore that once he bent the light when he walked through it, but then I could be mistaken. He walked like a god, and he made me feel like I was in the presence of a god all the time, but he couldn’t be. Gods don’t have bodies; they didn’t need bodies because they had keys.

One day, as I was sitting in Kafui’s library reading a book on the spirit realm he called me to accompany him to tap palm wine. I quickly obliged, after putting the book at the exact place I found it. He gave me wellington boots, a straw hat and a sharp but old looking cutlass.

We walked in a single file into the forest that was close to the hut. He whistled blissfully and swung the cutlass, cutting branches and leaves that were in his way. His white aura, pure and strong, wistfully drifted from his person and strong waves, every step wafted more in all directions. It was easy to see, because the trees formed a canopy that blocked most of the sun’s light and heat such that although it was a hot day, it felt cool under the canopy. A particularly large wave of energy emaciated from Kafui which meant that he was a bit emotional. What surprised me was that it didn’t change the color of his aura in anyway. I looked beyond him and saw a long black snake with brown and certain markings. I yelped.

“Calm” Kafui soothed, looking at the slithering reptile “There is nothing to worry about, when it realizes we do not mean harm it will go away”

Surly enough it went the other way, merely recognizing their presence with its tongue. I let out a breath I did not know I was holding. Kafui turned and let out a hearty laugh.

“Snakes mind their business. They do not go about looking for trouble, but when trouble finds them, they know how to handle it. Do not fear them, unless you are their trouble” I smiled back and laughed a bit myself “Let’s keep moving, we are almost there”

“There is something I have been meaning to ask you” I said after we walked in comfortable silence for a few minutes.

“Really? Ask me”

“How old are you?”

Kafui angled his head so he could look at me with his peripheral vision. And then he threw his head back and laughed again, it was so booming he startled a few birds.

“There are a thousand things to be learnt about spirits, gods, agreements, but you want to know my name?”

“Yes, you know too much to be in your 50s, however you are too strong to be in your 90s. However, your eyes look older than that”

“My eyes? What do my eyes tell you?”

They tell me many things. They tell me he is calm and gentle, he is knowledgeable and knows more than he lets on. They also tell me he is someone I should and can trust. They tell me something else, something I have not explanation for yet but it wasn’t earthly. But instead of saying all this, I just said “They say that you know many things. Too many things”

Kafui laughed again.

“Soon, things will be revealed” with that I groaned. I have gotten sick of this whole thing spirits and highly knowledgeable people did. What if things weren’t revealed? What if this was the only chance I had to get the information I needed?

“We are finally here!”

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

I hardly noticed that we had reached a clearing where a palm plantation stood. There stood like 100 palm trees from what my eyes could see.

“You’ll love the taste, very sweet” he said, beaming with excitement. His tight muscles moved beneath his sweaty skin as he picked and carried things about him getting ready to climb the tree The aura coming from him made him look like a very detailed oil painting. I looked away, my eyes finally getting fatigue from the exposure. The ground below was moist and had wild grass crawling about. I found a spot where too much soil won’t get into my clothes was and sat then I looked up.

Kafui had begun climbing the tree with a rope about his waist and the palm tree. He looked like he was using some effort, working against his waist and gravity with just friction, keeping him safe. I wondered why he went through this trouble. He could just wish for it and he would have it.

He had reached just a few centimeters to the plentiful fronds of the tree. He then held his body up with his feet against the rope and took a white container from the tree I’m sure he put there a few days earlier. The container was one which palm oil sellers normally put the oil into, with then handle just at the slim neck of the container which opened wider to form the body. I’m sure it could hold like 4 liters of liquid. He pulled out a stopper from an old pouch he had fastened about his waist and then sealed the container.

He yelled at me to catch it and without warning he dropped it. I leaped and luckily was able to catch it. It was heavy and sloshed dangerously around but luckily it did not spill. I sniffed it and frowned as it smelled nothing like palm wine. We did this about 6 times before he took little rigid steps downwards to solid ground.

“Have you tasted it yet?” He asked massaging his back.

“No” was I supposed to?

“Go on then”

I took one of the heavy bottles uncertainly, unscrewed it and took a sip. My tongue exploded with the sweetness.

“It tastes good for alcohol”

“It’s not alcohol yet” Kafui said taking the bottle from me and then took a sip himself, and then after he sighed contentedly. It made me laugh out loud “Oh let’s sit” he sat on the forest floor with his legs out while I had mine crisscrossed “This is fresh palm wine, no alcohol, just pure beautiful sap of the palm tree. If you would like it to be alcoholic, you leave it out to sit and ferment for a day or two, or distill it to form akpeteshie” he took another sip and sighed yet again. I had no idea akpeteshie was made from palm trees. He passed it to me and I sipped it again.

“It’s hard to believe people have made something so natural so bad” I said and mimicked his sigh. He smiled at my antics.

“Bad? Who says palm wine is bad?”

“Most people I know, mostly at church” I tried hard not to say my mother had told me this as well “They fully and highly condemn alcohol and palm wine, especially akpeteshie, saying it’s how people are led astray from God”

“If they saw how palm wine is made, I doubt they would call it sinful. However, I understand the sentiment. Many people have been led astray because of alcohol. Many of those people my friends and family. I would advise you to stay away from it unless you have mastered yourself. The key is to not get intoxicated by it. It’s funny, that people called fermented sugars evil”

“Maybe this isn’t something you tell a 13-year-old?”

“You know of the spirit realm, gods and curses and yet you think you are too young to learn about alcohol. Funny boy”

Fair point.

Talking of the spirit realm…

“What is the spiritual representation of grass?” I passed the bottle back to him. He drank in large gulps and this time he belched.

“Grass grows in anything that has the potential of life. It’s an opportunist, it shows that ‘hey look here, this is fertile ground’”

I thought for a while before adding “Grass is growing in the spirit realm”

I caught Kafui mid gulp. He gently placed the bottle to his lap and drank what was already in his mouth. “What?”

“Yes. Nikki and I saw it. It’s growing, even the wind is blowing in there. I thought it was a waste land.” When he did not say anything, I continued “Why call it the spirit realm when there are hardly any spirits there?” Kafui kept silent. It worried me “Kafui what is going on?”

“I thought we had time” he said, his eyes searching agitatedly, his cheerful demeanor wiped clean as though it wasn’t even there “It’s not supposed to have begun yet”

“What is?”

“The resistance”

“What resistance?” but my pleas were drowned in the sudden flurry of action.

Kafui got up and started barking orders on how they should take everything back.

We only took 3 bottles and when I asked what we should do with the remaining bottles, they jumped up from the ground and leapt after Kafui.

I pestered Kafui as he tried to race towards the hut to tell me something, anything.

“It’s the gods!” he yelled when he couldn’t stand my questions “They have taken initiates to do their bidding, but normally it takes years to enact their plans. Years not mere months!”

“What plans?” I asked as dread crept into my heart.

“I have an idea, but let’s say ideally I don’t know”

I wanted to ask more questions but I was too shocked to talk. The bottle I was holding in my hand wrenched itself from my hand and leapt with the others.

If what he’s saying is true, then Nikita and I separating was a bad idea.

A very very bad idea.