Dreams that scare

It's past two am and it had just rained...a heavy one indeed that had swept dirt and black sand from around the area in heaps dotted around the estate by flash floods which we were going to see in the morning but at this time, tiny dots of rain water still drizzled outside, it was the second rain of the year in the start of the rainy season, the weather was so cold and everywhere, pitch dark as power authority had cut off supply just about the time the rain started to forestall any incidence of electrocution in case a power pole got felled by  strong wind or lightening, with a few random houses within the estate  including ours, illuminated by their security lights from either putting on generator sets, solar or inverter sources of electricity.

Everywhere within the Adagiri home was quiet and dark as all were soundly asleep, I love having too many pillows on my bed to have something to hug wherever it was I faced in case I had a nightmare so I snuggled between my "babies", wrapped altogether in my mosquito net as one of the stand had broken and I had to bring the net down, I sleepily pushed Karl's big and hairy leg away from my thigh as I turned to look at him from a reflection of a  security light outside whose rays had sliced its way through the dark room to illuminate Karl's sleepy face showing as he chewed baby-ishly at his lips....I hate when he does that, so I just turned my face away from him. On the other side of the wall in QT and Hamz's room, QT looked as always, sweetly cute and at peace sleeping, the silence in the room occasionally broken by his intermittent snores while for Hamz...his face looked the picture of being disturbed or bothered, constantly twitching..literally and turning around the bed as dots of sweat began to form on his brow...that was when it started!

"EMA WEYIN OOO! (WEYIN) 2x     
 EMA SOFOFO! (OFOFO),
OFOFO O'DARA! (K'ODARA),
NILE IYA HAMUSA! (HAMUSA)! ''


Hamz seemed to be transported to a vast area of land with the entire place very dark save for the reflection of light from the full moon which was overhead the place. The song which directly translates in english to

"DO NOT LOOK BACK! (LOOK BACK) 2x,
DO NOT BACKBITE! (BACKBITE),
BACKBITING IS BAD! (IT IS BAD),
 IN THE HOUSE OF HAMZA'S MOM! (HAMZA'S MOM),

A local children's rhyme which had the "Hamza's Mom" part remixed into it has been passed down from generation to generation through time in yoruba speaking states in the country, one of the major languages in Nigeria and which we speak and understood fluently, seemed to echo into darkness and from the sound apparently  sang by women as its shrill, feminine tone seemed to reverberate yet so close hinting that whoever it was singing the rhyme were close by, seemingly chasing after Hamz as he couldn't exactly see anyone chasing him but nevertheless ran aimlessly for dear life, he soon fell over shrubs of bush and the voices of the singers got nearer, making Hamz scream so hard with fright he got jolted back to reality! Sweating, he looked around him to ascertain he had really being dreaming, QT was still fast asleep, he took his phone and put a call through to me.

Back in my room, I thought my phone was ringing in my dream so I didn't pick it but it kept ringing and I didn't wake up until Karl shook me up, mumbling inaudibly for me to pick up my phone as my eyelids flipped open and because I'd been thinking it was ringing in my dream, gave me a feeling like it had been ringing forever, so I quickly took my phone and seeing it was Hamz, I looked in the direction of his room, wondering why he would be calling me, more so at that time of the night, strangely so as we weren't exactly speaking, still,  I punched the "yes" button and placed the phone on my ear and the following conversation ensued,

MAJ- Hey Hamza! Wasup? Are you alright? (Yawns)

HAMZ- (Shaken)- MAJ MAJ! Pls come to our room! I had a nightmare and I honestly can't seem to be able to shake it off, pls come Majeed!

MAJ- (Surprised)- I should come to your room? Say you get nightmare! Why not wake QT up ? Why me? I thought we aren't speaking to each other? Don't tell me you disturbed my sleep for this.

HAMZ- OHH Maj! Are you coming or not? AH!.

I sensed the urgency and fear in his voice and I thought an emergency automatically trumps whatever beef we might have, so I threw my blanket to the side and climbed out of bed, turning on my phone torch light to find my way as I didn't want to put on the main light so as not to disturb Karl. I went out of my room to his room and he narrated in vivid details with gesticulations and mimicking the voice he heard in his dream and how he ran for dear life until he fell and felt the voices creeping up on him prompting him to wake up, I felt goosebumps crawl all over my skin and my mouth wide open in shock! I hugged him and told him all would be well, going ahead to calm him down even though inside of me, I was alarmed as the nature of the dream in african context is quite heavy and pregnant with meanings tending to the metaphysical. I told him to go back to bed but he said he couldn't, that he was coming with me, so we went together to my room and he slept between Karl and I.

By morning, because of our disturbed sleep, Hamz and I woke up a little later than the rest of the family. Karl stood akimbo over us with his fists placed on his waist, staring pointedly at us. I smiled and without saying a word, went to the bathroom to brush and performed ablution to pray, afterwards, I narrated everything that happened to Karl who obviously doesn't believe in voodoo and stuff and said Hamz might have seen a local horror flick before he went to sleep and whilst Hamz confirmed he did see a horror movie at a friend's house, he was past the age and period of having fears or nightmares due to watching an horror flick and I agreed. I went ahead to tell Mom all that happened and naturally, She was alarmed and quickly put a call through to her islamic clerics and marabouts for them to tell her the interpretations of the dream and if there's something we could do to avert danger and we were told by the clerics and the rest that they would find out and call us back.

Thirty minutes later during which period Mom had taken her time to chide Hamz who cuddled up to me for protection, as I subtly defended him as she wasn't in the mood for anyone defending him, declaring she is Hamz's mother and knows him in and out, Mom was fuming and scared which was natural, placing the blame on the multiple women he's been bedding and the hearts he's shattered who are now taking their revenge by appearing in his dream, not forgetting to recount all his past escapades with women, including her own friend, I hope you all recall? Making it clear that this is Africa and you can't always eat your cake and have it! All these so called fetish thoughts and ideas didn't sit well with Karl who picked up his ear phone out of anger and went to a corner of the house to block his ears from all what Mom was saying by  listening to music. An hour later, the clerics called and told us it was only a dream but that Mom should give to alms in the form of some loose change to avert any spiritual issue over Hamz which Mom later carried out that day. Hamz prostrated before Mom and thanked her for all her troubles and endurance over his case, assuring her he will try and change for good and telling Mom how she's the best mother anyone could ever wish for! QT and I smiled coyly, finding the whole scene quite funny.

Thereafter, Hamz approached me and told me that even though he felt betrayed by my actions in BROTHERS SCUFFLE, he couldn't stand being angry with me for long, he continued,

"God knows I love you so much and you've done so much good to me that your bad can't possibly outweigh, so I am sorry for all the nasties I hurled at you that day",

I thought it was the sweetest thing he's ever said to me in a long while as my eyes got glassy with tears, pulling him in for a hug as QT and Karl cheered excitedly, clapping and laughing which ultimately got us too laughing.  All was well...for now.

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