The Evening Of The Morning

012

"I have never brought anyone here before." Magaga said.

"Then why bring us here?" Boga asked.

"I have been watching you. You especially." He pointed to Agbo.

Agbo's heart leapt. Watching me? How? Then he imagined Magaga following him three cars behind, watching his every move, hidden behind a newspaper or behind the shelves in a supermarket, following him to church, maybe he didn't enter, or did, and pondered why the church asked for so much money. But, Agbo, knowing what he knew now, imagined Magaga knew peter, the rock of the church and probably crept in the woods, stealthy following him. Or maybe they sat beside each other before a crackling fire and spoke of their powers. Peter, trying to convince him that his powers were from God, and Magaga (whatever his name was at that time,) nodded, neither agreeing or disagreeing.

Agbo was drawn back to his surroundings by the clap Magaga performed before his face. Agbo saw that he was naked, clad only in a black boxer. As were Boga and Goba, in the boxers they wore that morning.

"Watching me?" was what Agbo wanted to ask until the whole thoughts about him-Magaga- talking to peter before a crackling fire came.

He watched Magaga move to the corner to pick up a sack-longer than that of cement- of sand. It was heavier than what Magaga's demeanor expressed; his gait firm and thick. He emptied the sand into the pot which seemed to be filled with water. He picked the remaining sacks, about four more and emptied them inside the pot.

"From dust you come, to dust shall you return." Magaga repeated as he stirred the sand with his arm.

The three men, either stricken or perplex with the whole thing, kept quiet. It wasn't until that moment that Agbo noticed he was not only unclad but also knelling. Boga, who was in the middle stood up and moved to Magaga. Everything became blurry, then suddenly, momentarily, it blacked out. When his sight came back he saw that Boga was no longer standing before Magaga. Goba was next and the same thing happened.

"Your turn." Magaga's voice sounded in Agbo's head.

Agbo stood up and moved closer to Magaga standing beside the large pot. The tiles were cold under his feet. His heart raced and when he got to the pot, it paused. Goba and Boga were in the pot. Only their heads were above the mud.

"What is this?" Agbo asked but wasn't sure he was audible.

"Enter." Magaga held his forearm tight. "Don't be afraid. What I am about to do for you, I have not, and will not do for anyone. You have been chosen."

Agbo sank into the muddy pot. The space was clustered and his skin came in contact with Goba and Boga's but they didn't seem to acknowledge his presence. Just stared vaguely.

Beside the pot, Magaga picked up the cover and closed the pot. If the men were conscious, they would have panicked in the darkness. But they were all in different realms, oblivious of their surroundings; that the mud had started boiling, bubbling and Magaga had climbed out of the house; on his way to skin, roast and eat the rabbit.

Agbo regained his consciousness but his vision was midnight, and his body, as if held by magnetic force, couldn't move. Boga and Goba were awake, too, but they said nothing for a while until Agbo said, "Goba."

Whisper. "Yes."

"I can't move." Boga said, still in a whisper.

"Me t-"

Hinges squeaked. They heard it and fell silent, listening to the faint footsteps that got closer and closer and stopped.

Words escaped Magaga's lips as he removed the huge cover of the pot and light flooded into the pot. Agbo squinted to shade the light. It was the same dim light and didn't take long before Agbo's sight adjusted. Magaga was staring down at them, still incantating