TASTELESS

CHAPTER TWELVE

MERCY; You already know who it is. I'm not going to stay here, I have to protect Vincent.

KAYLA; Mercy, what is happening?

MERCY; Joe wants to kill Vincent.

KAYLA; Well, if that is the case, then you can come over, as long as Joe is not going to find out your whereabouts.

MERCY; Thank you so much, see you tomorrow. Mercy hangs up before Kayla could respond.

Kayla felt bad about her cousin. As she prepared to sleep, while lying on her new mattress, Kayla reminisced about her first day when she arrived in Nairobi three weeks ago. The way Mercy picked her in town with the new car and how she found a peaceful family. She recalls how little Vincent was afraid of her at first, but later they got used to each other and become good friends. Mercy and Joe were very accommodating. While staying with them, Kayla felt at home, until things took a different turn. Mercy revealed to her the reason why she wanted her to stay with them longer.

'...the white dude gave Joe another option. He was told to bring one of my relatives here for three months.' this is what Mercy said the previous night.

'But they never told me about all these when I got here, they just insisted that I stay with them without telling the reason.' she tells herself. As she brainstorms on previous night's events, Kayla is losing trust in Mercy.

'I don't trust her.' she tells herself.

'Kayla, you know I love you, right? I cannot let anything bad happen to you. That is why I have decided to tell you the secret.' Kayla remembers what Mercy said last night. Maybe she can trust her.

'After all, she is my cousin. Joe is not a good person. I will help her protect her son.' she tells herself and pulls the blanket over her head, ready to sleep.

*****

Kayla is fetching water in the river. The afternoon sun is scotching and that tempts her to take a dip in the cold water. She looks around to see if anyone is watching. After making sure that she is all alone in the river, Kayla removes her clothes, one by one, then slowly walks into the water.

'I missed this feeling.' she says as she immerses herself in the cold water, then starts swimming. The water is amazingly cold and that is so satisfying, given the hot weather. She playfully splashes water all over and laughs out loud while swimming. Kayla's sweet moment in the water is disrupted by a voice calling from far.

'KAYLA!' The voice calls. She quickly turns her head around to establish which direction the sound is coming from, but in vain. The voice becomes louder and she can even notice whose voice it is.

'Mercy, what are you doing in the river?' she calls out. Turning around, she sees Mercy running towards the river.

"Kayla! Get out of the water!" Mercy shouts. She is standing beside the river holding a rope.

"Why?" Kayla asks.

"Get out of the water, there are crocodiles in there" Mercy shouts. Kayla looks around but she can't see any reptiles. This is the river from which people fetch water. There has never been any sight of crocodiles. She turns back to Mercy.

"Where are the crocodiles?" Kayla asks.

"Look at the water beneath. They will eat you. Come out." Mercy says. Kayla looks beneath her and beyond, crocodiles are swimming in her direction.

"Help me!!" She screams loud.

"Catch it." Mercy tells Kayla and throws the white rope into the water. Kayla struggles to get out of the water but her legs are numb. The crocodiles are swimming fast in her direction. She tries to run, it is not possible. The closer the crocodiles are, the more her body stiffens.

"Kayla, they will kill you, catch the rope, I will pull." Mercy shouts.

"I can't do anything Mercy, come and help me." Kayla cries out. One of the crocodiles jumps out of the water and catches up with helpless Kayla. On looking at the crocodile's eyes, Kayla notices that it is not a reptile. It is a huge snake with legs. She looks at it closely and realizes that the reptile has human-like teeth. The reptile looks at Kayla and smiles, then goes back to the water. The smile resembles that one of Mercy. As she struggles to move, the snake jumps out of water again and bits Kayla in the neck, then drags her into the water. She struggles to set herself free but the reptile is stronger. She closes her eyes and waits to die. When she opens them again, she is panting and sweating furiously in her new bedsitter.

'what is happening?' she asks herself, it was a dream.

'what kind of a dream is that?' She says and goes to switch on the lights. Everything is in order, except her. She looks confused and tired.

A few minutes later, Kayla goes back to sleep and assumes that it was just a dream.

****

The following day, early in the morning, Kayla is seated in her office preparing for the day's activities when Andrew storms in.

"How is your morning Kalee? Did you get the house?" He asks.

"Yes, I got a good house in Zimmerman. I can't thank you enough. I appreciate." Kayla says.

"No problem, happy for you. But I have a bad feeling about the lawyer." Andrew responds.

"Which bad feeling?" Kayla asks.

"He was here this morning," Andrew replies.

"This morning? Doing what?" Kayla asks.

"I don't know, the funny thing is that he didn't talk to anyone. He just came, packed his car and stayed for around 20 mins, then left.

"Are you sure it was him?' Kayla asks

"Yes, I am. I saw him. He was Joe," Andrew answers.

"It is okay, thank you for the information," Kayla responds.

"Kalee, be careful," Andrew replies and walks out. The day rolls out slowly and well until in the afternoon when Mercy texts Kayla.

MERCY; I have decided to leave Joe alone. He is going out of his mind. Can you accommodate me for a month?

KAYLA: What do you mean?

MERCY; things have escalated. I will tell you. I can't stay here anymore. See you at 4 pm.