“No my child, it isn’t. I know what you mean. This place is Esidarap.”
Ebosele had almost forgotten he was still being led by the increasingly annoying child, who seemed to know everything.
“And I don’t know everything either. Only Hewhay does.” The child said, smiling knowingly at Ebosele.
“Who’s Hewhay?”
“Patience my child. You may find out soon enough.”
“I may?”
“Yes my child. If you make it through the state of purgation.”
Ebosele watched as several other children floated towards them from different directions. They had broad smiles on their chubby faces, and they all looked the same. He looked from one child to another. “Is this the village of answers?” That was the first sentence that came to his head, and he said it out loud. The sound of his own voice ricocheted all around.
“I just told you this is Esidarap. It is not the village of answers my child.”
‘Your child?’ Ebosele had had it up to his throat with the ‘my child thing. “Will you please stop calling me your child?”
“Take a look at yourself,” the child said, making a sign with his fingers in the air, “you are a very small child.”
Ebosele stared at his reflection in a liquid mirror, shaped like a drop of water. It had dropped from the mirror above them. A six-year old Ebosele stared back at him. What? He stretched out his hands and legs. How… when had he become a child?
“Immediately you died my child.” The child had an amused expression on his face, and it reflected in his voice. “You’ve been calling me a child in your head since you came here. Why? Because you thought you were bigger? Here, everyone is a child. But how come you complain that I who exist outside time, who was here before your world was made, refer to you as a child?”
Ebosele was silent.
“This is where my journey with you ends. The Sburehc will take you from here to the village of answers, then to the border town where your purgation will commence.
“The what?” Ebosele asked. He sounded like an inquisitive baby.
“The Sburehc!” The child said with finality, as he turned away.
“You didn’t tell me your name.” Ebosele asked.
“Leirbag!”
Ebosele shook his head in amazement. These creatures had weird names. He watched as Leirbag glided away into the distance, a big smile on his face.
***
“Step forward please.”
The Sburehc pushed the obviously terrified Ebosele forward. One moment they had been at Esidarap, the next, they were here, at the village of answers. The Sburehc didn’t talk much. They laughed and giggled, then sang in the most awesome voices he ever heard. He never wanted to leave their company. Why were they pushing him forward?
“We are here!”
Ebosele reeled from the harmony of the voices. They had all spoken at the same time, in perfect unison.
“How…?”
“No thoughts exist here. We can see and hear them all.”
Wow! Ebosele took some steps forward more eagerly. The Sburehc were becoming creepy. How can so many children say the same thing at the same time?
“Because we are Sburehc!” They echoed.
Ebosele rolled his eyes in exasperation. Then he looked round. There was nothing to see as the whole place was covered in semi darkness. When he looked straight ahead, he saw a huge figure, standing before a mighty book.
“Step forward please!” The figure repeated, his voice sounding like peals of thunder.
“Welcome to the Koob the Sburehc echoed.”
Ebosele took some steps forward again. A large scale fell down in front of him.
“Climb onto the balance,” the figure commanded.
Ebosele placed one foot on the large plate-like metal. An unseen force lifted him completely off the ground onto the scales.
As he stood there, the big book opened of it’s own accord and scenes from his life began flashing across the semi-darkness.
To be continued…
