TASTELESS

CHAPTER SEVEN

"Ni kuchoka, let me change his clothes ndio nikuje tupike." Mercy says and drags Vincent to the bedroom. Vincent looks at Kayla with sad eyes and starts crying. Kayla looks at the little one's eyes and notices that something could be wrong.

'Mercy, what did you do to Vincent?' she asks herself.

Joe comes out from the bedroom and walks to the door.

"Hey, what is wrong with Vincent? Is he sick?" Kayla asks. Joe looks at her and says nothing, then opens the door and walks out.

"Hey, come help me prepare supper," Mercy says as she walks from the bedroom.

"Why does Vincent look sad?" Kayla asks. She is concerned because for the two weeks she has stayed with Mercy, Vincent has never looked any sad.

"He is just sleepy." Mercy replies.

"Sleepy?" Kayla responds. As they talk, she hears Vincent crying in the bedroom.

"Kayla, can you just mind your business," Mercy says as she removes onions from the drawer for Kayla to chop.

'Waaaait, why are you talking to me like that?.' Kayla asks herself.

"Mercy, what did you do to Vincent?" Kayla asks and stops peeling the onions. Mercy looks at Kayla.

"I need to tell you something, Kayla." She says and looks straight into Kayla's eyes.

"What is it?" Kayla replies.

"My husband won a case for a Germany Billionaire, they paid him really good money, more than he deserved. But after that, the billionaire introduced my husband into this funny club for the rich. At first, he didn't know what entailed, but after a few months, he was told to divorce me. He refused." Mercy explains.

"Why did they want him to divorce you?" Kayla asks curiously.

"Because my mom had me tattoo a protective mark in our chest when I was a child," Mercy says.

<<<<REWIND <18 YEARS AGO<<<< (In black and white)

A pregnant woman and her little child are walking out of the compound early in the morning.

"Where are you going?" Her brother, a middle-aged young man asks. His name is Orori. He is coming from the river to fetch water. The woman seems shocked. She was not expecting to be seen by anyone.

"Promise me that you won't tell anyone?" She replies.

"Really? Where are you taking her this early?" He asks back.

"I'm taking her to Gesare, please don't tell mom." She responds and continues walking. Gesare was a famous witch doctor in Sangalo. It is believed that he could protect people from misfortunes by drawing a tattoo on their chests. Orori looks at them and shakes his head. The little child's name is Mercy. She is innocently following and walking behind her mom.

********

"Then what happened?" Kayla enquires.

"He refused, but then it became serious. They said if he is not going to divorce me, they will kill our son." Mercy says.

"Wait, what are you talking about?? What kind of a club is that?" Kayla asks.

"Some funny club with weird rules, but Joe has refused to follow them," Mercy says. As they talk, Vincent is heard crying loudly in the bedroom. Mercy rushes to the bedroom.

"Kayla! Come quickly!!!!" Mercy calls. Kayla drops the chopping knife and runs to the bedroom. She founds Mercy holding Vincent in the air.

"What is happening?" Kayla asks.

"This is the second time now, he is floating in the air. I don't know what they want to do with him. Help me get him back to bed" Mercy responds. The little boy is shouting uncontrollably with bulging eyes. Kayla tries to pull Vincent's legs back to bed when Joe walks in suddenly.

"What is happening?" Joe asks.

"He is floating again!!! Help us get him down." Mercy says. While little Vincent is crying, Kayla manages to put his legs back in bed.

"Wait, I know what to do, Mercy, go and get some water," Joe says.

"Sure," Mercy responds and rushes out.

<<<<REWIND <1 MONTH AGO<<<< (In black and white)

Joe is having a conversation in his office with a white person.

"You're already in. There is no exit way. You have to follow the rules." The white person says.

"I cannot divorce my wife," Joe replies.

"Then we will have your son killed." The white person responds.

"What? Why is my son involved?" Joe asks.

"We got an option for you then. If you can get a relative staying in your house long enough, we will have them, then let your family stay intact." The white person responds.

"Wait, why are you involving other people??" Joe asks.

"Because you don't want to divorce her." The white person responds.

"Why is this happening?" Joe asks again.

"You wanted money, I gave it to you, free of charge. The money you received was 100 times more than what you deserved. Joe, you are not even appreciating." The white person replies.

"I will return your money, I don't want it," Joe says. The white person smiles and looks away.

"Did I say I wanted your money?" He responds.

"Then what do you want?" Joe asks angrily.

"We want you to follow our rules. They are very simple." The white person replies.

"Leave my family alone," Joe says.

"Then give us one of your wife's relatives." Says the white man.

"What are you going to do with them?" Joe asks.

"Don't worry about that. Just bring them to your house and let them stay for 3 months." The white man responds.

((Later that evening))

"Are you serious???? What did you do?" Mercy responds after Joe tells her everything about his white client.

"I accepted the money he send me. That is my mistake." Joe says.

"So are you going to divorce me?" Mercy asks. Joe moves closer to Mercy and kisses her.

"I cannot imagine life without you beby." He says. "I opted for the second option."

"JOE!!!! You are pathetic." Mercy says angrily.

"Between divorcing you and being pathetic, which is better?" Joe responds.

**************

Mercy goes out to get water, leaving Joe and Kayla struggling to bring down the floating child. Joe looks at Kayla and tries to spell unrecognizable words. Kayla's eyes turn white, and Vincent falls back in bed suddenly.

"What happened?" Kayla asks as she blinks her eyelids back to normal.

"Vincent?" Joe calls. Mercy rushes back with a glass of water.

"Joe, what happened?" Mercy asks. Joe is listening to Vincent's heartbeat.

"He is not breathing...