Dial - Season 1 - Episode 30

4 years ago

Dial - Season 1 - Episode 30

***

I came awake with a sudden scream!
Vida was sitting up in bed in the dim lights.
Obviously she had shaken me awake, and she was looking at me with concern.
“What’s it, Yao?” she asked, looking worried. “You scared me! You were groaning in your sleep as if you were terrified of something!”
I was panting hard, and as my eyes grew accustomed to the glare, and saw I was in familiar surroundings, I slowly let out my breath.

My naked body was sweating even in the air-condition, and my heart was pounding hard.
“I had a nightmare, Vida,” I said slowly.
“Oh, sorry,” she said gently, rubbing my back. “Just a bad dream. Do you mind telling me what it was about?”
I smiled thinly at her and shook my head.
“I don’t remember now,” I lied to her. “Seems hazy now.”
“It’s okay, dear,” she said and smiled reassuringly. “Should I get you some water?”

“Yes, please,” I whispered hoarsely.
She stood up without turning on the lights.
The room was dimly illuminated by the lights outside, and she padded out of the bedroom.
The darkness closed in on me, and my heart began to race again.
Of course, I remembered the dream so perfectly!

Not a dream, but a nightmare in which I had been with Nana b0s0mba.
I had been in a dining-room with Nana b0s0mba.

He was dressed in the same smock he wore to my office.

I had been naked as I stood by the dining-table.

There had been two clay pots in front of him on the table.
What was odd about the pots had been the fact that they were very white, pristine white.
He had indicated a chair by his side.
“Sit down, Mr. Biko,” he had said with a gentle smile. “I told you I’ll see you tonight. Go on, have a seat and share a meal with me.”

Like an automaton I had sat down obediently on the chair he indicated.
He took off the lids of the white pots, and I noticed that they were filled with some soft mushy food prepared with either red oil or palm nut soup.

He had pushed one pot toward me and smiled gently.

“Eat, Mr. Biko,” he said. “Eat with me!”
And so I had dug in, and the food had been so delicious that I couldn’t get enough of it! I had eaten with both hands, left and right, eating with smacking sounds of enjoyment.
“Take your time, Mr. Biko,” Nana b0s0mba had said with a little chuckle. “The food is not running away!”
He had been eating too from the pot in front of him, with his right hand.