Chapter 1

The darkness of the night covered the horizon. Every opportunity was given to owls to rule the land. All the night birds had come out to perform on their separate stages. Tress and other figures were moving with the darkness. Humans had all hidden in their closets, some came out to perform the things they had to do in the dark as if it were day. Some stayed awake all through with various thoughts, even some were even gripped with fears to face the darkness. All the same, there was still the king of the night.

Patrick Marcus must get it right then, he vowed not to retreat until his mission was accomplished. The first time he tried to satisfy his quest of exposing the secret of the night ended not valiantly.

Then, he put on his white long-sleeved sweater and covered his hand with white gloves. He also had his white trousers, white socks and white canvas. On his head was a white helmet and a white face mask covered his face. His torchlight made the darkness run away from him. He looked the opposite of the night. The only darkness remaining was the one following him. It seemed the king and others of the night had a resolution to frustrate him. The different sounds and noises he normally heard at night ceased as he moved towards the direction, he only heard them somewhere at his far back. It got to a point where his head swelled in fear when it occurred to him that all he was afraid of was following him. He put off his torchlight, and the worst seemed to befall him. He felt he got himself exposed to all the dangers, then he ran back to his house.

Michael Stan and Jennifer Cross had another similar issue to battle. They relocated to Daliwa province after hearing of the strange events that always take place in that province. Disappointment was their conclusion after spending one hundred and eighty days and were not able to lay hands on anything concerning their mission. Although they had not gotten a breakthrough in their mission, Daliwa is a destination for every adventurer, no one would want to leave in a hurry after visiting the place. Daliwa waterfall to Daliwa Lake had so many things to put in the mind of the visitors.

Michael and Jennifer had a great walk every morning around the axis. Their writing pad refused to get filled up. Daliwa pasture land and the forest park were other places they must visit every day. The forest park became their lunch site, the animals there tried so much to make them forget their failure, but whoever was in search of something was always hungry.

Daliwa people had a very great cultural heritage which they had been fighting so hard to maintain. The Naked Dance in the Dew was one of their greatest festivals. Everyone born in Daliwa ever wished to be in the festival, even those who had travelled to other places, not minding the distance would not want to miss it. It is a sudden event as there was no fixed day for the fall of the dew. The experts in observing the behaviour of the sky had always got it right to announce the day.

Another great festival in Daliwa is the first day of the month Candle Night. The Candle Night is a prayer for their fallen heroes, where they pray for the repose of their souls and also ask for protection from their ancestors.

The procession in the event is a call for sobriety. Every generation forms a group for the walk. The crowd must pass through all the lonely roads in the forest park. The music makers positioned themselves accurately to ensure that every group was close to the source of the song. The songs remind the people that life is only a shadow.

Patrick Marcus had once met Michael Stan and Jennifer at the forest park. They exchanged suspicious pleasantries but none cared to enquire much about the other. Only one thing obvious was the discovery that none of them was an indigene. Jennifer Cross tried her best to make Patrick relax for a while, but Patrick who is always on the move gave one million and one excuses to be left alone.

It was their lunchtime at the park when Patrick came around, although they were just two, she set the table as though her guests would make them six. She had a variety of food items as well as fruits set on their ground mat. To say a prayer for the meal, see Patrick as though invited and warned not to miss the time. Jennifer could not hide her happiness as she stretched a hand to Patrick who reluctantly waved back at her.

"Hey Mr …, it would be very kind of you to join us, we have enough for everyone," said Jennifer.

"Thank you, lady, I appreciate it, but I have the sky to catch," answered Patrick.

"Can't the sky wait, it has done that before, let it repeat the act," said Jennifer.

"I move with the sky, I stop when it stops, now it's moving, so I move on. Hope you come around often?"

Yes, every day, lunchtime.

I hope the sky stops as I come around on one of these days, so...

They laughed, and then Patrick gave her the last wave and vanished.

Who she is and her mission occupied Patrick's mind, he could not possibly say that. Her intonation sounds different, he soliloquy as he guesses her possible place of origin but gives it off to move with the sky. He wanted to cover the province while it was day.

Those areas that produce the fears at night, he must see. As he moved, one thing was obvious, both the trees and animals had their different ways of doing things. The trees also talk, the animals wave, and the birds dance, his problem was not able to understand them. He asked various trees what they said, he would have been happier if he understood their answers.

He did not stop drawing something on his writing paper, he drew so many trees as he looked at them. He wished to see the fears as he moved around, but none appeared to be in existence.

Magrath Steven and Helen Salim had the whole evening on themselves. They had nothing important to attend to. They spent most of their afternoon at Daliwa Pasture land, walking around and looking for nothing in particular. Magrath, a slim long-legged lady in her forties was a funny companion, she would keep her audience laughing the whole day. If her words can't make whoever that listens to open his teeth, her actions would surely do that. Helen had had enough of laughter for the day that her ribs had since cracked, but she would not be tired of laughing. She always demands more from her source.

After they had spent much time at the Pasture land, Forest Park became their next destination.

Jennifer and Michael were set to retire for the day when they saw Magrath and Helen approaching. Jennifer had always wished for companions, but why would they come so late? She would rather lose time than miss them.

"Hey Ladies," called Jennifer.

"We are looking for you," answered Magrath.

Jennifer looked around, Michael was there, but she could not easily understand the answer, as her mind kept wandering.

You are looking for me, what, why?

Magrath had to bring her tension down to avoid the unnecessary.

Meanwhile, before dusk, women of the province had but only one place to meet. The fishermen had chosen to make Daliwa T-junction their fresh fish market.

The T-junction was not far from Daliwa waterfall which was a stone-throw to Daliwa no man's pond.

The pond became no man's for many stories on which no one could say for sure. All the fish used in the province came from the pond.

The fishermen mostly used canoes, flying boats, and nets for fishing. The pond had enough ugly stories to tell. It had killed many fishermen in their dozen in the past and the recent had no different news. So only a few with the heart of a lion that visits it always.

Fish was not for the poor in Daliwa because the source is for the brave.

Queen Rose must eat the best and biggest fish of the day, and the fisherman who caught the extraordinary fish of the day must visit the palace. The queen does not price before paying, neither does the fishermen bother telling her the price because she must surely pay above the asking price.

Women of the night used to gather at the T-junction every evening to discuss the agenda for the night. The story had it that every queen in Daliwa was the leader, but none was ever seen at the Junction.

Patrick Marcus spent the better part of the night studying his write-ups and the diagrams. The most suspicious he spent more time on them. There was a particular tree, he guessed to be the headquarters or the capital arena for the convergence of the witches in Daliwa. He had so many reasons to think so, the tree was the biggest and the ugliest. There was no leaf on the tree, not even a single leaf, but the tree seemed to be growing even before his presence. The roots that sprout up from different parts of the ground were scarier. They could serve as the seat for the witches in their gathering, he guessed. He also noticed a pothole around the tree, he read so many meanings on the pothole.

What would the witches do with the pothole, he had so many reasons running in his mind, but getting to a conclusion was the biggest problem he encountered. He closed his eyes with the realm, and guess what, he dined with the witches in his dream. What an experience!

Queen Rose was having a good morning, she just woke up as the sun was already at its brightest. Her breakfast was ready, but she had to visit the bathroom before eating. The bathroom attendant had already positioned herself with all the necessities. To move to the bathroom, the doorbell rang, she paused her move as one attendant moved to answer the door.

Lady Maureen was at the door.

"Good morning Lady Maureen," the attendant greeted as she opened the door.

Lady Maureen was a regular visitor to the palace, and she had never left in a hurry anytime she visited. The queen admires her so much, and who would not? She is tall and elegant, and her soft tiny voice could make her audience want her talk all the time. She is highly fashionable. She most times directs the Queen's dressmakers on how to make the best dress for the Queen. She was not the person Queen Rose would keep for a long time, and her bathing should not be hurried.

Queen Rose's expression could not be read as she stood for quite a long time, admiring her visitor and in search of words for her.

Lady Maureen could tell what the Queen was up to at any time, she saw her in night dress, so she concluded that she had the whole day to stay there.

"Queen Rose, my sun is standing, so let me have a seat," said Lady Maureen.

"Strange, the sun has no pillar, on what does it stand?" asked Queen Rose.

I control my sun, I control my move. I choose what they do.

Queen Rose had gotten the relief she wanted, she then followed the bathroom attendant.

Jennifer could not wish for more, Magrath and Helen were already at the forest park on her arrival. She was prepared to give them the treat of their lives. The two bags she had on both hands were loaded. Magrath was about making a caricature of her when Helen ran after her to ease the load on her one hand. She started by bringing out appetizers for them.

Magrath then had a concrete avenue to showcase her life. She made both women laugh out of their kidneys. She told them a story of a woman on loads. The truthfulness of the story could not be ascertained and where she got the story was another unreachable.

Jennifer listened to all her stories and jokes with interest in her. She had made a conclusion to have secured a means to make her mission to Daliwa achievable. One thing was her conclusion at the moment and that was how to make Magrath tell her all about the witches of Daliwa. They had spent the better part of the day together at the Forest Park before Michael joined. Everyone in his senses would conclude that he surfaced to know what had become of Jennifer throughout the day.

Magrath looked at Michael with an uneasy look, she wondered where such a creature migrated from. Michael is very tall, with no flesh on his body. Careful observers could count all the bones of his ribs. The clothes he put on, were to Magrath, comic, she had it in her mind to tell him to meet his tailor to get his size of clothes for him, instead of buying oversized in the market.

Magrath was like who is wearing what or what is wearing who, that is if Michael was wearing the cloth or the cloth wearing Michael.

Thank goodness, the weather was calm for she wondered how such a creature in the attire could stand the strength of the devilish Daliwa wind. But for one thing, she quickly developed some liking for Michael, his gentle and soft speech.

The day was far spent, she would have preferred listening to him for more hours, but anyway, there is another day.

Guess what! Patrick Marcus, when it was a little past midnight. Fear was the greatest weapon to destroy whoever welcomed it. What he saw in his dream was enough to send him packing from Daliwa. And to worsen the situation, his door was open when he woke up, he could not reason if he closed the door or not before his unimaginable nightmare. In his dream, he saw Daliwa witches gathered in their dozens, a music maker was there providing good tunes for them. They occasionally sang with the music maker and also danced to the tunes. Their seating arrangement was another thing to admire, all of them had their special seats. It was not according to their ages, but maybe according to their ranks in the witches' kingdom. There were several leaders of different departments and the overall leader. Everyone bows to the overall. Some of them came with gifts for the overall. The cooks were busy preparing the red-stew rice, they had the choicest ingredients for the stew. The delicious aroma that came from the stew as they added those ingredients could turn everyone into a glutton. When the food was ready, the servers were ready to dish it out to everyone.

Patrick Marcus was among the first to be served, he enjoyed the meal as he did not waste any time to finish the big bowl of rice served to him. The size of the fish served with the rice was another thing to defeat the strong. It was after eating the food that Patrick Marcus opened his eyes. What a mess! He exclaimed. I joined their gathering, I even ate their food.

"No, it's simply not true," he concluded.

He did his best to vomit those food but it was too late for that. He rushed to close his door and sat on the bed analysing the dream until he dozed off.