Resurgence

3. The Behemoth

“Anxiety is the hand maiden of creativity.” – T.S. Eliot.

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9:00A.M. Dec 11,2018.

Tari exhaled for the umpteenth time. His gaze sunk to his wristwatch—the frequency of his heartbeat’s oscillation increased. The D-day was upon him, and the defining moment had arrived. There was no retreat or escape as from this stage henceforth, just actions and decisions only. Actions that were so significant, and densely intense like the sun, capable of decimating every single laurel and honor that he had stacked up over the few years as a result of his diligence at work.

He was at a monumental juncture, and a wrong turn could result in a ghastly accident that could end his life. For someone that had no life of any sort outside his career pursuits, it spelt total doom for him. But at the same time, a right decision had the potential energy to fire him into quantum leaps on the ladder of success, and place him at the very apex of automatic ascent where delay could only come into the equation as a result of his own doing.

Cracking his stiff knuckles, he pushed himself off his car and headed back into the site ground. He had driven into the compound a few minutes ago, and had decided to wait it out just in case Lani arrived early, so they could both head back in together. For some reason, the thought of facing Dayo Tijani and Tiolu Keye alone caused cold chills and hot larva to streak down his spine. But, it was 9:00 already. He couldn’t risk the couple arriving and having to wait for Lani and himself, even after he had arrived already. It wasn’t good customer policy.

Lani.

The entire thing still felt surreal to him when his thoughts drifted to her. Before yesterday, she had not been more than a fleeting memory of the past that plagued him with sorrow and remorse but now she had not only returned to occupy a permanent chamber of thoughts in his head, but to also occupy a capital position in his current undertaking. The fact that he, who had been instrumental in the annihilating of her world several years back, was now dependent on her help in the construction of his now was an irony—maybe Karma’s vengeance.

When he pondered more on the current setting of their relationship, the foreboding of déjà vu seemed to seep more and more into his being. For some unknown, disenchanting reason he just couldn’t fend off the feeling, that the order of manifestation of the current events had too many similarities with the one in the past, and if great caution wasn’t exhibited, the past playlist of a dark maze was about to appear once again.

No, that’s not happening.

Clenching his fists, he ventured further into the site that was more than alive already. Preliminary work had commenced, and it was only a matter of time before they made strides into more convoluted, complex areas. The general atmosphere was reminiscent of the collective arduous labor of men in the sun, as various grunts, cries, thuds, padding of feet, and other indiscernible noises rose up to the rays of the scorching sun. Heavy construction machinery—shredders, bulldozers, mobile cement factories and other complimentary tools littered the ground of the large hectare of land whilst a number of men journeyed to and fro from mountains of sand and pebbles to the marked building area.

This never failed to give him energy.

“Tari,” His head instantly whipped around to the origin of the voice and his body followed suit in a nervous manner. She had finally arrived.  The distant sound of a car zooming off could be heard while her studious gaze rummaged the site. At that moment, she seemed too delicate—too sophisticated for the type of rugged scenery that was in place and his heart skipped several beats as he took her in.