Pills and Potions 2

The moment mom walked in,she looked around at the shabbily and hurriedly arranged apartment which she had left tastefully furnished earlier that morning, without saying a word,she walked up to the dining room and dropped her purse on the table which immediately swerved to one side on impact and her purse fell off,that was when she noticed one leg of the dining table is broken,add this to her figurines being smashed,tea cups,broken,kitchen door gashed in the middle,decorations around the house destroyed,our persian curtains torn down!

Wow!

Karl opened his mouth to explain but mom held up her hand for him to shut it,she calmly picked up her phone and called someone to come over with his "gadgets" as soon as possible,my brothers and I shared worried glances,wondering who "he" is that is coming with his "gadgets", what could this all mean? She turned to face Hamz,a concerned look creeping into her face,she moved quickly to his side,her high heels clucking along on the hard,glassy tiles. She squatted lady-like,one knee on the ground to protect her modesty,her hand rested on the cushion beside Hamz who was splayed on the sofa, felt his body temperature and asked if he is still in a lot of pains and also if he had taken medication,Hamz nodded saying yes he had and that the pain was now minimal,only stinging when he tries to move,she smiled wryly and patted him on the head telling him he would be fine, she turned to face me and asked if her food is ready,I nodded in the affirmative,she sighed and asked me to serve it and bring it on a tray to her room and with the thumping gait of an amazon,marched gracefully to her room while I quickly waltzed into the kitchen and followed her bearing a yummy lunch and quickly came back to tackle my brothers



As soon as mom was out of earshot, we instantly turned to each other with animated fury and gesticulations, lip synching-ly trading blames on whose fault it was that didn't do a good job tidying the house very well,which ofcourse they were heaping on me while I also clapped back,blaming them for being so insane and unreasonable to have started the fight in the first place. While we were at it,suddenly, mom's voice sliced through the mood,

"Maj! " She called out from where she stood by the stairs leading down,cladded in short denim shorts and a homely T-shirt , holding the stair railing

"Come and pack the plates...am done" she said and turned back to her room mid-way through my responding "yes ma"

The vex is real,lol!

I knocked lightly on the door leading into her room and went straight to business of packing the used plates,she was busy talking to someone on the phone whom I suspected to be the "he" she was expecting,she was giving directions to the person on how to get to our place,I decided to pack the plates slowly as a form of delay tactic so as to get enough info about the man and quickly relay to my brothers so they know what to expect,but mom got wind of my plan,the plates weren't much and I ought to have packed it all and left so it was pretty much easy to figure out what I was doing. She inclined her head to one side,eye balling me to shoo away,I smiled and packed the plates and left,I didn't get much,other than giving the man our address.


Thirty minutes later, a jalopy volkswagen drove into our compound and out came a rather haggard looking man with grey stubble ,walked up towards our door and knocked,my brothers and I had peeped from the window and our faces wearing puzzling looks,trying to figure out who he is and why mom had invited him over. I went to open the door and he asked to see mom,walking in without waiting for me to invite him in,I sighed,trying to stop myself from letting rip at an old man. I went upstairs to call mom as the man took a good look at QT and Karl,not responding to their greetings,his hands clasped together behind him.

Mom smiled,greeting Mr zubair while descending the stairs,her veil thrown carelessly over her head, she motioned for him to take a seat,then looking at Karl and QT with such an icy look, barked at them to kneel down,both of them looked at each other like they just heard the unthinkable,Mr Zubair barked even louder,commanding them to obey mom in an instant,

"Because you're now taller and broader than your mom,you feel she can no longer punish you? Eh! Anyway,that's why am here"

Karl and QT knelt down and mom pointing all over the house as if showing the man all over again,the destruction caused to her home by her own sons,the man sighed,saying he already saw it and that though mom is very upset,she should forgive them but that he was still going to take them away!

"WHAT?"

We all exclaimed at the same time!

"Well, Mr zubair here, my darlings is an ex-military man and to punish your brothers for the destruction caused around the house,and to serve as a deterrent to you two and by extension,making a firm rule that violence would no longer be tolerated in this house,he's taking them away to his gulag for a few days to punish" mom said with a note of finality

"But mom.." I tried to intervene but mom raised her hand,wagging her fingers at me not to bother!

QT tried to protest but quickly piped low when he saw the man fold up his sleeves and brought out a metal chain from his bag,brandishing it with pride,ready to flog any un co-operating brother. Before they left,Mr zubair suggested they might be on pills,given the rate of destruction and with mom's permission, ransacked their wardrobes but saw nothing incriminating,I looked at the man with such disgust at how much he must be enjoying his job,terrorizing his inmates,mom saw this but said nothing, soon afterwards,he left with my brothers.


"I know you think am being harsh by what I did but trust me,I have my reasons" she said to me and Hamz after Mr zubair and my brothers had gone. She sat on the sofa and made calls to her marabouts to ascertain if the fight had no spiritual linking, I shook my head sadly...mom and her marabouts,it never ends,I sometimes wonder what it would have been like if she hadn't been educated. Fixing her gaze on me,she knew what I was thinking and simply said I was being a child.


Driving into the ghetto-looking gulag,a dodan barrack kind of setting where zubair holds sway as king,QT and Karl shared worried glances....more QT than Karl who has probably seen even more grimmer places than here. Haggard and dangerous looking men puffing ganja with careless abandon sat everywhere around the quadrangle of the building whose walls were written all kinds of vile graffiti and lewd images of women drawn all over,the entire compound strewn with rotten scraps of metal,broken chains,cigarette ash and used condoms,QT looked on with disgust,wondering what a man who is to instill discipline,lives amongst all these.

Immediately Zubair stepped out of the car,his gang of men hailed him in a thunderous welcome as he acknowledged their greetings,his hands in the air waving at them,he motioned for Karl and QT to step out of the car,they were hesitant at first but Karl stepped out,immediately generating lot of questions as to where Zabair got two fresh looking but obviously bruised guys,especially the white one ,he urged everyone to be calm and that he needed to interrogate my brothers,dragging them along with the tail end of the metal chain he used in tying both of their hands as the crowd tugged noisily along.

"So tell me what caused the fight between you two" zubair said to a kneeling QT and Karl,surrounded by his cohorts,

"Oyinbo pepe ,oya talk na,oyinbo talk,let's hear you" chorused Zubair's men

Karl eyes red and glassy with tears,wondering why mom would do this to them,hand then over to these "criminals"

He cleared his throat and started

"This morning, I found QT ransacking my wardrobe looking for a bottle of painkiller pills I'd been taking,I'd told him about it before and he accused me of abusing the drug and that I should let him in on using the drug with me or he would report me to mom"

"Is that all?" Zubair said,shooting his head forward with incredulity

"Yes...that's all...I caught him in my room and asked him to stop or I would attack him,he called my bluff and so...yes....I..er..attacked him" he rasped,looking down,his face squeezed together in feigned annoyance, Zubair shook his head as his friends buzzed in disapproving murmur and muffled chuckles,slowly dispersing in slight that they had wasted their time listening to rich kids and their useless bickering.

QT took over, explaining that Karl had steadily gotten a supply of the drug sent to him via mail from a buddy of his in america and the drug was for serious body pains which he was convinced Karl didn't have,instead he believed he used it to shove off pangs of pain experienced when building their body at the gym and he requested for some which Karl vehemently refused,so he went to his wardrobe to pick some

"After threatening him with telling your mom if he doesn't give you,right?" Zubair asked to which QT gave no response.

"You both as useless,especially you QT" Zubair fired to which QT's bowed head lifted in a flash,Zubair continued

"You both are old enough to get married and here you are,both fighting over some heavy painkiller drugs not prescribed to either of you,huh?"

Meanwhile at home, mom put a call to one of her alfas whom she consults when issues brew in our home or extended family to get a spiritual connotation of whatever it is that is happening,suddenly her mouth fell open in shock,slowing closing it as she hummed intermittently,taking in all she was being told then after a while,hung up and putting her phone on the seat beside her,she picked up her veil and tied carelessly over her head,exclaiming

"It is a lie! It is a lie,you my enemies have failed,am always one step ahead"


"What did your alfas tell you this time mother" I sighed,rolling my eyes

"Hmmn,Maj,Maj,Maj...oyowei u vi no,weku yi sehevi"

She fired at me in our local dialect which simply means "your a kid,you don't know the world like I do"

Putting on her suede flip flop and throwing on her billowing boubou,she put a call through to Zubair to free QT and Karl and make them wait for her as she was on her way to them

"There's an anger potion which my mallam just told me some wicked people in my family made my sons take in their dreams,making them hate each other" she started,my eyes went saucers in shock as she spurted on

"So today,today,they would vomit it"

Hamz and I shared funny glances,laughing our heads off. Yes, QT and Karl might have fought over something so trivial but the reason serious,but I felt mom was just buying crap...but then again,I'd always known as lowkey as we try to live our lives,our extended family is large and not everyone loves you,including perceived friends and ofcourse,I believe in voodoo and it's efficacy....the shit is real

So sometimes am on the fence about it all while my brothers totally don't buy it.

Mom took a cab to go and pick my brothers who were understandably very upset with mom,sulked at her,brought them home and got ready to go and get all the necessary stuffs she needs to fight "dem" witches

"You're my sons and I wouldn't hurt you,if you erred and I can't beat you again cause you're now strong and tall,atleast I can prove to you that even if you're 50 years of age,as long as am still alive,if you err,I would always...always teach you a lesson.."

That sort of pricked my brothers' iced up emotions towards mom abit as they understood she was just being a mother,even I smiled and purred with emotion.

Mom is set to go out and get the necessary ingredients to get my brothers to vomit their potions of hate,this is after mom told Karl they both still have unfinished business over his use of unprescribed medications which mom has now flushed down the water closet, she announced,

"Away with pills and potions today...am a lioness...I fiercely protect my young and whoever is responsible for these has got me to battle with"

What happened next?

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