NEPHLEM

CHAPTER ELEVEN

“Nameless, who don’t you want to see us meeting?” I asked for the second time now.

We sat at the table at the center of the house. It was like a dining table, but the man seemed not to be receiving a lot of people. But the whole place was still white. Everything in the house, the couches and kitchen, flowers and the rest.

Even as he pulled wine in the white glasses, it came out white.

I looked at him studiously as I took the wine. If I was doing the right thing by trusting him. How often do believe someone you met in your sleep and they tell you they are your ancestors? Older than they look.

But the man gave me no reason to distrust him. He told me about myself more than I even knew myself. He also mentioned things about my father than only my father me and mother knew about.

Yes, enemies tend to study their prey, but he just knew way too much to be lying about him been my ancestor.

But what I didn’t get was why they locked him in such a place. He did mention something to do with mental health. Which of course, set me off, but I didn’t show it on my face out of the respect I had for him.

He was supposedly my father’s older brother, when he was even looking younger than my father was supposed to be if it wasn’t for him dying. And as far as I could remember, the only thing I knew about my father’s family was that his brother died because of alcohol and drug abuse. Were they just unaware that he was sent here? Or did he die as they said?

He took a swig from his wine and sat the glass down as he smiled at me. “I’m very happy that you are here, Mubanga,” he spoke. Dodging the question.

“It wasn’t like I had a choice or something like that. You focused me here, Nameless. And don’t try to change the topic here. Who are you hiding from, and what did you do?” I asked as I sipped on the wine.

It was vodka, apparently. It just looked white because of whatever this place was. “And where is this place, even?” I looked around.

He cleared his throat, then opened up. “It’s a prison, as I told you. I might have made it look like this because I must have been too angry when they brought me here,” he explained. In a way that it sounded cool and not as crazy.

I gestured for him to go on.

“Despair and Desire,” he said, as casually as he could have managed.

I thought about the names for a while. They made no sense to me at all. Despair and Desire. What kind of names are they? And why is Nameless hiding from them? What did he do to them? I looked at him thoughtfully.

“Why are they looking for you? Did you do something to them?” I asked, and took another sip from my vodka. And it tested sweeter than usual. Like he had put a touch of something in it or something. “Nameless, I don’t have all night. I have a busy day tomorrow if you don’t mind,” I said as I saw he made no movements.

He drank the remaining of his wine and eyed me. Not in a bad way or scary, just…. Normal. “They don’t want me and you to meet. Because they fear for their lives. That you will know about them. That you will prepare yourself when they attack you,” he spoke. Again, as casually as if it was okay to have such people looking for you.

“Why would Desire and Despair be looking for me? I don’t think I have done something to them,” I thought about the people I have assassinated if one of them might be the reason for the two to be looking for me. But no match found. I hope.

“Well, it’s more of what you are and not what you have done,” he spoke and opened up a gateway without moving his hands or anything. “I’m a maker,” he spoke.

I didn’t even want to ask what a maker was. My mind was still wondering about what he just said. It was because of what I’m and not what I did to them. But I was just a wizard, and that is that.

“What do I have that they might be looking for?”

Silence blew as he pulled more vodka into the glasses. “That is for you to find out, Mubanga. Do you think I discovered this by letting people tell me what I’m. you will have to do that by yourself. It’s the curse of being in the family. Our ancestors were shity people that did things without thinking it was going to affect us,” he spoke and for the first time I saw seriousness in his eyes.

But I had no way of finding out what I was. So this trip was going to suck. More than I could even imagine.

“And is Desire and Despair true to their names?” I finally asked, failing to keep it inside me. It just made no sense to me. Even his name was stupid. Nameless. Our ancestors were seriously shity to give him that name.

He smirked as he got up, and the gateway became clear even more. I could see myself sleeping so peacefully on the bed next to Charlie. The poor thing might be affected because she is my friend.

Damn them all.

“Well, I don’t really know. All I know is they are twins. And that you need to be careful when dealing with them. Now off you go. And don’t die. I finally have a nephew and I don’t want to lose you,” he smiled my way.

I just returned the smile and walked into the gateway. Hoping for a better tomorrow. Even though my life was changing by each passing day.