NOTHING BUT TEMPTATION

The dream orb I touched teleported me to a place that oozes with heavy smells, terrible auras and dirt.

There were iron bars at the entrace, portraying the features of a prison cell. The cell was so small that all it could contain, was a tiny dirty bed, and a little dirty cup for urine and shit.

The tiny weak man that walked to the little light was Pahpa, the man I so wanted to see. I was shoked at the sight of him.

I gasped when I saw his features. He looked like a living skeleton, wretched and deserted. Left alone to rot in the cell.

"Pahpa?" I called out.

I expected to hear him call back, but my expectation was disappointed. Because when he opened his mouth to talk, I didn't hear his voice, instead… it was that of Ohbaki.

"Yes Sol!" In Ohbaki's voice.

I was taken aback. "What happened to your voice?" I asked.

"It is not Pahpa you are seeing right now." She said.

"Then what am I seeing?"

"A possible future of him." She answered.

My eyes constricted and I asked:

"Are you telling me that this is not Pahpa's dream?"

She smirked and replied:

"The dream orbs are much more than you think. Sometimes what they show you first, are your inner desires. Especially when you have unresolved matters with who's dream you are looking into.

Sol… You desire to see Pahpa suffer and become wretched, because of what he did to you.

You desire to see him become, just like what you are witnessing right now.

The orb is only mirrowing your inner desires."

I sighed. Ohbaki's interpretation of what the orb was showing me was correct. Though for a while, I thought I had left everything behind.

I thought by forgiving Freda, I was also letting go of what Pahpa did to me. Then the orb revealed to me my greatest fear, the fear of not letting go of Pahpa's evil did.

At that moment, that strong urge for revenge began to rise again. [If what I am witnessing right now could actually be a possibility, then this could be my chance to have my revenge on Pahpa.] so I thought.

I was able to calm myself, I needed to focus. I didn't want to give heed to what the orb had shown me. I needed to see more. So I asked for more;

"Could you show me what Pahpa is actually dreaming of right now?"

Without giving any verbal response, Ohbaki still in Pahpa's possible wretched body, waved her right hand and the cell and everything in it broke into pieces, only to come back together into another scenerio.

I saw Pahpa laying in a large luxurious bed, similer to the one I saw in Freda's bedroom. He was surrounded by plenty women. Gorgeous and sexy, all touching and caressing him on different parts of his body.

The room had the features of a hotel room, beautiful and well decorated. There was wines and meats everywhere.

Pahpa was enjoying himself and laughing sarcastically. Throwing money upon the women.

Within seconds, the room was filled with sounds and smell of sex.

Pahpa was unleashing his sexuallity upon the women, going from one to the other, tasting all the holes abvailable for him.

Those women whose turn with Pahpa was yet, would cuddle and have sex within themselves. It was a complete orgy, a reverse gangbang, a group sex, a whole mess.

I gasped at the sight of Pahpa's dream. I felt goosebumps ravishing my skin. I felt like throwing up. It was truly a mess.

Ohbaki took over the body of one of the ladies in action. She left the orgy and walked to me naked and began to speak.

"Look at that!" She said, "Isn't Pahpa's dream sweeter than yours?" She led out a cunning laughter.

I looked at her with disdain and asked: "You call this a dream?"

She didn't respond, instead, she came infront of me, brought her lips close to mine as if trying to kiss me.

I would have perhaps given in to her temptation if not for the cronic smell of sex that oozed out of her.

I pushed her away and braced myself up for any possble confrontation. I was ready to give her the beating of her life, should she try to fight me.

Without saying anything, she gently got up from the floor and waved her hand;

SWOOSH!

A white light covered us and I saw myself and Ohbaki standing on the same entrace we were before the orb took me into the dreams.

"What was that?" I asked her.

"Dreams!" she simply answered.

"Did you try to tempt me?"

She laughed.

"Me, tempt you? No! You tempt yourself."

I frowned my face and shouted: "It was you in that lady's body."

"No Sol." She answered, "I only spoke through her, but I didn't control her actions. It was all you. Deep within you Sol, you wanted to experience what Pahpa was dreaming about."

I spat on the floor… what she said disgusted me.

I looked her in the eyes and in a deep low tone voice said: "God forbid me desire anything that's Pahpa's."

She didn't respond to me on that, she simply casually said: "Walk with me Sol."

After walking for few minutes, we came into a beautiful little room. The room was empty safe for a little wooden table abd two dinning chairs placed on opposite sides of the table.

She sat on one of the chairs and gestured me to sit on the other.

"Tea?" She asked.

I nodded my head in acceptance. She waved her hand and two mugs full of hot steamy tea appeared on the table.

Unlike Ohbaki, I was too hungry to observe any table manners, I was just going to start gulping down the tea when she ordered me to stop.

"Easy tiger!" She said, "Gently keep the tea on the table and look deeply into it."

I did as she said, I looked deeply into the tea and just stay focused.

"What do you see?" She asked.

I was going to say… 'nothing', when suddenly, an image appeared inside the tea.

It was a female warrior, powerful in essence. She wielded in her hand a weapon so powerful, as if cosmic in nature. I had never seen anything like that.

She seemed to be in a fierce battle. Fighting to protect what seem like a whole futuristic natural town.

I was amazed at what I was witnessing inside my tea.

I remained calm, I was also lost of words. I looked at Ohbaki and asked:

"Who is she?"

She smiled and answered:

"Her name is Kiya. She started off just like you. But unlike you, she wasn't pushed into becoming what she became, she was chosen. She is the new Melimandu of the unseen Ayrahku realm, hidden in the heart of Africa.

She was naive, full of fear and hatred just like you. She sorted to kill the man that ended her father's life, and that vengfull energy almost consumed her.

She fought that urge, and now, she fight a noble fight, she fight to protect her realm, her people, fulfilling the will of her ancestors.

You see Sol… You could keep on wasting your power and energy trying to assert vengeance on Pahpa or you could use it all for noble courses.

You saw him weak and wretched, suffering in a cell, and you saw him still, in an orgy, enjoying debauchery. Two possibilities that you have the power over.

You have powers Sol, and powers , if not used properly, would bring nothing but temptation to you. Hear my warning and let go of the past."

Ohbaki's words hit me hard in the heart. I stay focused on her, lost in her words. Her aura was pure and truthful.

She had captured my heart with her powerful advise. She had succeeded in disolving the ice in my heart. I began to feel warm.

I locked my eyes with Ohbaki's and I said:

"I was obssessed with the orbs because I wanted to see how Pahpa was fairing. I wished to see him suffering. The first vision I saw almost pleased me but then, his condition was so terrible I felt pity for him.

I felt the greatest temptation of my life, when you told me I could actually make him suffer. I was going to do that, but now, your words have captured my heart.

I have heard, I will go and forget Pahpa, his did and even what he dreams of.

Thank you Ohbaki. It was good that you brought me here."

Ohbaki smiled and said:

"I am glad you took my warning lighly and in good fate. You are a wise man Sol. Your adventures would yield good fruits. Be the warrior that you were pushed to be."

After our conversation, I quietly gulped down my tea, while she only sipped hers.

Some minutes later, She took me to a clean pond outside her castle, gestured me to jump inside the water.

"The pond will take you back to Pytra's living castle." She said.

I nodded my head in agreement, offered my gratitude and jumped into the water.

The water only took me deep inside and pushed me up again. When I got out of the water, I was no longer in Ohbaki's realm, I was standing right in front of Casilia, Pytra's living castle.

"Wow! That was so fast." I said in amazement.

"You know your obssession with those orbs will definetlly lead you into trouble." A sweet voice pierced into my heart.

I smiled and quickly turned to see Pytra standing behind me, on the other side of the pool I came out from, the same pool I was taking a bath before Ohbaki took me to her realm.

"How did you know?" I asked her.

She smiled and replied:

"Ohbaki told me. She conviced me that letting you use the orb would help you. I want to believe she was right?"

"Yes she was right." I simply answered.

She smirked. "Except she was wrong."

I was taken aback by her answer. "What?"

She sighted and said: "Your involvement with the orbs to access the dreaming had exposed you to both of your enermies."

Her words hit me hard like a sleighhammer.

**

Melimandu is a made up word, derived from the Irigwe language of Nigeria, meaning 'Warrior'.