The Salty city Predator

Chapter 9

Geoffrey carries the heavy corpse of his brother towards the sea. The crowd is left too ashamed to report the incident to the authorities or to follow him. Thereby the sea he hides his twin brother’s body under a bush of mangrove where they used to come and rest when the sun was too hot. He goes back to their train compartment at the station, where he picks everything they ever had; the worn-out and dirty blankets, the nylon paper thatch that slowed down the rain only to descend on the sleeping boys as massive drops but the cobra’s glue made sure they could not wake up, he took the money that was left from the last adventure with the two women and bought the cobra’s glue and lastly his high school certificates which were all excellent, being top of his class and the best in the city but all ended to nothing. These certificates were to be taken to his mother to prove her wrong that the education she kept hoping would be our salvation failed. He tucks the documents in a polythene bag making it waterproof. He had lived all his life on earth. There is nothing for him he had reached a point of no return there was no turning back he had made up his mind. He was taking his last voyage to a destination he believed could answer all the questions he had. He also thought he could finally meet his mother and ask her why she left them. He also made sure to carry enough glue and some expensive triple distilled booze bought from the illegal liquor parlor, a glass was enough to knock down an elephant. This was to enable him face the lord with bold bloodshot eyes to ask him questions why he created them to suffer in the hands of the cruel world before he is judged for committing suicide. He also remembered to carry his expensive wallet stolen from a tourist where he had passport size photos of his mum, brother and him he had taken from his mother’s purse after she died.

He went back to the sea using the dry mangrove sticks, and waste ropes collected from a nearby slaughterhouse made a raft. This raft was to take him far into the deep sea. His body still basking under the sun. He was so engaged in building the raft that he could not notice even the people around him some were children from the church who had recognized him from the church incidence and started forming a crowd around him. He was too tied to his goal and could not notice the group. He only saw them after he had finished his raft, but they did not stop him. You could hear murmurs from the curious crowd trying to figure out what he was doing and the purpose for the raft. Some were saying he was trying to cross the border via sea while others were saying he was trying to go fishing while others were told he was trying to make a coffin for his brother. He took his brother’s body properly wrapped with the blanket and placed it on the raft together with all his belongings and pushed his raft towards the sea until it floated and he climbed on to it. With his oar he had made he roars his raft to move towards the sea leaving the crowd behind still wondering what he was doing. He roared for hours towards the deep sea, and the sun was still at midday, but this did not frustrate his determination. Soon he was surrounded by water and could no longer sight the shore, and it was now time to throw away the oar and start sniffing his glue to be bold enough before the creator to ask him some questions. He laid back with his glue fixed in his mouth he slept next to his brother’s body. The tides kept on moving the raft far into the sea, and since he had thrown the oar away, he was helpless just the way he wanted it. The fear of sharks kept hunting him the glue could not take it away, but the thought of his mother was stronger than this fear of the sharks. His brother’s body had started stinking due to the scorching sun, but the glue made it bearable.

He remembered his mother singing a lullaby for them to sleep although they were hungry their mother assured them of a better tomorrow in her song. With that, he fell deep asleep and went straight into a dream world. He dreamt of his love Purity. How they were playing with their lovely two kids; a son named after his brother and a daughter named after his mother. His dream family is now at the beach and the two kids go-ahead to play by the sea leaving the parents on the shore, only to end up swimming deep in the ocean and the tides become too strong for the kids they grew exhausted fighting the water currents, and they try shouting for help. The father swims to save them as the mother seeks alternative help from the hotel’s lifesavers. In the sea, Geoffrey had an option either to save one of them because they were far apart, but this was too difficult to choose for him. He decided to go for both, and he swam towards his daughter held her and then swarm towards Jim his son. The two of them were drowning as their father helplessly tried to support them above the water. The two kids had water in their lungs and needed first aid quickly their helpless father could not do anything since his hands were held captive each by holding the two kids afloat rendering him immobile. The rescue boat arrives to save them just in time for him to see them die of suffocation in his hands. This made him wake-up after three days of voyage only to find himself on shore next to the harbor at noon he was very disappointed and decided to kill himself directly by swimming to the deep sea and pretend he does not know how to swim but after the water enters his lungs it becomes so painful for him that he cannot bear it anymore and just swims to shore.

He basks under the sun as he watches from afar cargo being offloaded out of ships and raw materials and other goods from the interior are loaded on to other vessels. The harbor is busy with usual activity, and cleared products are headed for the railway station others are transported by trucks on the road. Many business people and company officials are seen walking in and out of the customs office ready to give anything to have their containers cleared. The incredible phenomenon of a ship approaching the port and docking is worth watching. The activity from the busy port strikes an idea in the head. He will arrive at his destination as a stowaway. If the captain found him, he would judge him according to the laws of the sea. I would be at his mercy my fate being either being thrown to the sharks or be his slave, but that was not an issue for him he had nothing to live for. He has headed anywhere, and any road could do for him. He was now free from his brother’s fears and was ready to risk it all to change his life. He just wanted someone to end his life for him, he was too scared of doing it himself. Committing suicide was not a walk in the park as he thought it requires a lot of courage he could not afford. The adventure on the vessel was too appealing for him it needs a lot of little planning and being familiar with the terrain of the shipping dock.