INTO THE VOID

CHAPTER 22: SANDS AND SNOW

The streets of the university was almost deserted, the lecture rooms empty, dorms were vacant; a lot of students were going home for the mid-semester break. Only a few people remained. Students that had projects that needed rapt attention, students who live too far away and feel like travelling for a one-week break was illogical and students who had other plans; Xaviere was one of those students.

Since the first day he resumed, Xaviere have kept close contact with his best friend, Andrew. They chat a lot on social media and even make phone calls. On days that they had the time, they even made video calls. Andrew has kept Xaviere inform about the escapades and shenanigans of his gap year while Xaviere kept him abreast of the university life. The friends spoke about everything; the fun stuff, the food, the not so fun stuff, Xaviere even told him about Petrichor. Irrespective of how close their friendship was however, Xaviere did not tell him about The VOID but he wanted to; he wanted to tell him so badly.

“Good afternoon mum.” Xaviere said, holding his cell phone against his ear.

“Obiora, how are you?” Mrs. Williams asked.

“I'm fine mum; I'm holding up just fine. Xaviere replied.

“That’s good to know. What’s up?” Mrs. Williams asked. Xaviere’s mum likes to use youthful colloquialisms. That is her attempt at making her son comfortable during conversations. At first, Xaviere thought it was funny, after a while, he found it annoying and later when she started using these words in public, Xaviere found it totally embarrassing. Right now on the call with his mum, Xaviere did not think anything of these words; they were the least of his concerns. They were weightier matters at hand.

“I wanted to tell you I will not be coming home for the mid-semester break.” Xaviere said after a brief pause.

“Why, what happened?” Mrs. Williams asked with great concern in her voice. Irrespective of how old Xaviere becomes, his mother still sees him as her little baby, wrapped in swaddling clothes; a child needing care and attention. She means well but there are times it annoys Xaviere. She can be overly emotional, overly dramatic and overly reactive. Well, one cannot entirely blame her. Xaviere is her only child and might be the only one for the rest of her life. There were complications at his birth that have hindered her from conceiving again.

“It is nothing serious. I am running a personal project using albino rats and the project requires a lot of attention. I can’t be away for a complete week.” Xaviere said. He gave an educational excuse. This was a gamble but if he was going to place a bet, this would be the surest chance that his parents will let him stay in school.

Xaviere sat in his room with his phone on the bedside table. He sat on his bed with both legs on the ground; his left leg was shaking. He had told his mum the excuse now he waited patiently for the next step; a call from his father. Xaviere had quite an interesting relationship with the man. It was not exactly fear; no, he respected the man. He acknowledged his many sacrifices and struggles setting up a life in a totally different country as an immigrant. Due to the fact that he understands these struggles, Xaviere excuses the man’s sternness. They rarely ever just talk; there is a huge communication gap between him and his dad. That is why he always informs his mum first about any major decision he was about to take; she was the intermediary, a kind of oracle.

The loud ringing of the phone startled Xaviere. Unlike most times, his phone was not on silent this time. He had set it to ring aloud just so he would not miss the call; the all important call from Mr. Williams, his father.

“Xaviere kedu, how are you doing?” Mr. Williams asked, using a little Igbo in speech as he always did whenever he spoke to his son. That was his attempt at reminding the boy of his African heritage. It was a futile attempt but it was still an attempt.

“I… I am doing fine sir.” Xaviere replied. He sat down and rehearsed this response minutes before the call came in and when he finally heard his father’s voice, Xaviere still stuttered.

“What is this thing I hear about albino rats?” Mr. Williams asked, going straight to the point. He was a man who did not like to waste time on excessive salutations. This was quite interesting for a person who was so proud of his African heritage. His people were known for their lengthy greetings. It came as quite a shock to Xaviere when he saw his father exchange long pleasantries in Igbo during his grandfather’s burial. Xaviere concluded that it must have been part of the burial rites because the Mr. Williams he knew would now waste precious minutes going back and forth with greetings.

“It is a personal project I'm running Dad. I want to start developing My Papers early. This kind of things will give me an edge when I apply for grants in the future.” Xaviere responded, blurting out almost immediately as his father asked the question.

“That’s good, that’s very good. I see you are thinking into the future; best of luck with your project. If you continue like this, before you know you will become of the leading doctors in Canada. I like that, keep it up.” Mr. Williams said.

“So… does that mean I can stay?” Xaviere asked hesitantly, literally keeping his fingers crossed.

“Yes…yes, of course. It’s just one week; what are you coming home for?” Mr. William asked rhetorically.

“OK sir…thank you sir…bye bye sir.” Xaviere said. These were the set of words he always said whenever he was done talking to hi s father on the phone.

“Take care of yourself; goodbye” Mr. Williams responded after which he hung up the phone. Xaviere looked at the phone screen, trying to confirm if the call had ended. When he was sure that his father had hung up, he shouted a celebratory roar. The truth of the matter was that, there was no project, no albino rats, he made it all up. Xaviere actually planned a trip to Ethiopia. That was where Andrew was and he thought why not just pay his friend a surprise visit. It was something he had on his mind for a while. He intended to take Petrichor along.

“I called by parents and they are going to let me stay in school for the break.” Xaviere said.

“Oh…really, you shouldn’t have.” Petrichor said.

“C’mon, there’s no way I was going to let you stay in this boring place alone. We will be bored together.” Xaviere responded. Petrichor laughed.

“Well, if I was going to be bored with someone, I guess it would be you.” She said smiling at him.

“But, what if we don’t have to be bored?” Xaviere asked.

“What do you mean?” Petrichor responded with a question of her own.

“Let’s take a trip; let’s take a trip to Africa.” Xaviere said with so much excitement in his voice.

“Africa…”Petrichor exclaimed. Xaviere nodded affirmatively.

“Wait, you’re not joking.”

“No, I'm very serious. We need a break from all this snow and cold. Let’s go together. Andrew is in Ethiopia right now and we can just go.”

“That sounds like a lot Xaviere.” Petrichor said.

“You’re the one always saying I never do anything fun. Well, here is our chance…fun.” Xaviere said.

“I don’t really know about this…” Petrichor said hesitantly.

“What exactly are you scared of? You have saved the world on multiple occasions; like literally saved the world; you have the ability to conjure with your mind. You are one of the most amazing people I know and you are scared of a little vacation?” Xaviere said. Ever since his activation, he had become more confident and more fearless; cocky, one would say.

“So, you want us to go to Ethiopia?” Petrichor asked.

“Yes; and we can just translocate there.” Xaviere said.

“No using powers outside The VOID unless you want to get zero mad.” Petrichor said.

“I thought you would say that. So, I already spoke to Andrew and we can use his father’s jet.”

“You did what?” Petrichor asked.

“I told him. He told me that if I ever needed to use the jet, I just had to let him know. I asked and he said ‘ok’.” Xaviere said.

“You are crazy, you know that right?” Petrichor said smiling.”

“Yeah… I’m really crazy about you.” Xaviere said after a brief pause, looking directly into her eyes. Petrichor smiled, blushed and looked away.

“I guess we are going to Ethiopia then.” She finally said. Xaviere smiled and hugged her.