Little Lucy - S02 E21

Story 2 years ago

Little Lucy - S02 E21

Read Story: SEASON 2 EPISODE 21

{ SZA – 2AM}

••••AUTHOR’S POV•••••

The Range Rover raced through the wet tarmac road, it’s bright headlights, searching around for a likely person.

The two sisters remained in the car, eyes searching, breath held, faces set in focus.

” Where on Earth could she be?” Charlotte asked breathlessly. She was dead worried now.

Collette rubbed her nose. ” There’s no need to panic. I’m sure she’s probably hiding somewhere."

Charlotte glanced at her from the corner of her eyes. It surprises her how calm Collette was about the whole thing.

” Umm… Collette?” Charlotte called, returning her eyes back to the road.

” Not now, Chole,” Collette replied sharply. ” Let’s stay focused on finding Lucy.”

Charlotte bite her lips, gazing through the windscreen as the whiper whipped off the rain trickling over it.

” Do you really love Lucy?”

Collette grunted and turned angrily to face her. ” What are you trying to do now? Haven’t you done enough?”

Charlotte shook her head. ” No not that. It’s just… I’ve been thinking ever since you left. I…I realized I was wrong.”

Collette looked away, her face leaning against her window as she stared at the house racing past them.

Charlotte continued. ” After what happened today, I finally got to understand you and Lucy. I was so thickheaded about changing her because I didn’t want her to end up like you. Ever since I discovered your obsession for girls, I hated you. I yearned to talk to you but I was scared of you. After the divorce, it only made matters worse cause I felt I lost you forever. Then Lucy came around. I decided not to make the same mistake I made with you. I wanted her to change by all means I forced her against her own decision. Now she’s gone and it’s all my fault. I feel so terrible.”

Collette didn’t say anything.

Charlotte took a deep breath, staring sadly at Collette as she turned her back to her. ” I just want to say I’m sorry. Believe me, I really am sorry. When all these stuff is over and we finally get to find our little sister, I’d really love us to become real sisters. Just like the old days when you and I were kids. Despite our parents separation, we can still be happy—you, Lucy and I.”

Collette Lowered her eyelids, glancing at nothing in particular.

Suddenly the engines began moaning, slowing down into a sputtering halt in the middle of the road.

Collette stiffened and so did Charlotte. The engines moaned and then died.

The twins exchanged looks.

” What is it?” Collette asked with a small voice. ” What did you do?”

Charlotte tired the ignition switch. ” I don’t know.”

The car didn’t wake up. It reminded still and quiet.

” That’s strange,” Charlotte frowned. ” The car won’t start up.”

Collette dropped her head back on the head seat. ” Fvck! God not now, please.”

” I’ll go check the engines,” Charlotte said, unhooking her seatbelt and moved out of the car.

The rain pelted heavily on her as she opened the hood and checked the engines with a flashlight.

From where she stood, she heard Collette getting out of the car.

Collette walked over to her with the umbrella and shielded both of them with it.

Charlotte was glad. She felt warm at heart knowing Collette didn’t want her beaten by the rain again.

” What’s wrong with the car?” Collette asked.

” Nothing,” Charlotte replied, frowning at the engines. ” The battery’s perfect, the engines were well services last month, there’s oil and fuel too. I don’t know what’s wrong.”

” Try it on again,” Collette said, ” I’ll keep watch.”

Charlotte ran back in the car and started the ignition. The car didn’t wake up. It was as dead as a log of wood.

After several attempts the twins gave up and stood under the rain with Collette’s umbrella, staring at the Range Rover, disappointedly.

” How on Earth are we going to find her now?” Charlotte cried. ” We have no car for movement, no clue to find Lucy, no money to go back home. It’s a long way from here to the estate.”

Collette was also worried but she tried not to show it. She checked her wrist watch. It was past one in the morning.

Shocking! How in the world are they going to find Lucy? It’s a long way from here to home, where would they sleep?

Her eyes searched fruitlessly around her. It was a lonely street with few houses which were dark from the inside. There was no way anyone would shelter them. Who on Earth would want to be disturbed from his sleep by this time of the hour under such a crazy storm?

Just when she was giving up, her eyes settled on a small apartment. It was brightly lit with candle lights as there were no electricity around this area due to the rain.

” Why don’t we go over there for shelter?” She tapped Charlotte’s shoulder. ” With any luck, if the owner is kind, he’d let us in for the night?”

Charlotte had no other option than to agree. Locking the car up, she leaned on Collette as they both walked towards the house, sharing the same umbrella until they were standing at the front door of the apartment.

Collette was quick to notice the 1999 model Volkswagen car parked by the side of the house.

She knocked and waited.

From behind the door, the twins could hear heavy footsteps heading towards the door followed by sounds of tapping walking stick.

Within seconds, the door gently opened.

Collette caught her breath.

Standing before her was OTTIS OKON. He seemed larger than life although he was crotched with his walking stick.

He even looked older than the last time they saw each other last.

Okon stared at Collette for a while, then his lips curved into a smile. ” Why, if it isn’t my number one fan, Collette right?”

Collette mouth moved. “Mr Ottis Okon?”

Charlotte glanced at these two, her face creased in confusion.

*

*

*

*

Minutes later, the twins were seated before a fire place, burning some log of wood to warm up the place.

Collette was silent, her eyes searching the strange room she was in.

The house held so many old things from the early 19’s to present age. It was like an attic. There was an old grandfather’s clock hanging over a wall, there were also portraits of the past rulers of the country, old newspapers, a radiogram, a music jute, old record player cupboards, beads and necklaces, some clay pots and herbs.

It was indeed a strange house. She couldn’t still believe she was at the house of Ottis Okon, her star literal idol.

” Who’s this man?” Charlotte asked, seated opposite Collette as she spread her hands towards the fire to keep warm.

” Ottis Okon,” Collette replied. ” He won an award yesterday for a novel he wrote in 1903.”

Charlotte’s eyes popped opened. ” 1903? That’s strange. He doesn’t look that old to me.”

Collette said nothing. She was bombarded from all sides with questions. She needed answers.

Finally, Okon arrived back to the room with a tray of herbal tea. He leaped to where Collette sat and offered a cup.

Collette took a cup and so did Charlotte. No one said a word until he leaped back to the only armchair in the room and settled on it, watching the twins, a big smile on his face.

” Enjoy your tea,” he said quietly. ” Don’t be shy. I added honey so it’s strong taste won’t affect your tongue.”

The twins exchanged looks then gently took a sip. It was of no doubt, a strong tea. Despite the honey, it was still bitter but the twins drank it down anyway.

” What brought you two girls to my doorsteps this unholy hour of the night?” Okon asked.

Collette spoke. ” Actually, Mr Okon, we were looking for our sister. She ran away from home and never returned back. On our way to search for her, our car broke down. You don’t mind us staying the night at your house? We won’t disturb you, sir. I promise.”

Okon nodded. ” You girls are welcome to stay as long as you like. And as for your sister, I’m sure she’s safe wherever she is now.”

Collette dropped her tea on the table beside her. ” I hope so too.”

Charlotte’s phone suddenly rang. She pulled it out and gasped. ” It’s dad.”

Collette watched as she stood up, looking worried.

” What should I tell him?” Charlotte asked her.

Collette shrugged. ” Tell him everyone’s home and sleeping. Use your head. I’m sure you can handle this by yourself.”

Charlotte’s eyes became alive with ideas and she left the room to answer the call outside the house.

The room had only Okon and Collette seated before each other.

Collette was quick to notice the wrinkles on Okon’s hands. He was gradually aging. He no longer looked in his early fifties. He now looked like he was sixty-five.

” I’m sure you’re asking yourself questions about me,” Okon said suddenly. ” How I knew your name.”

Collette stiffened. ” Well, yeah. I have soo many questions.”

Okon gave a stiff smile. ” Remember when I told you the priest slept in a cave for a hundred years?”

” Yes,” Collette nodded. ” You said he died.”

He shook his head. ” Well, he could be dead. But do you imagine a man who speaks face to face with gods and spirits, possessing half the powers of gods of ever capable of dying?”

Collette shook her head, puzzled at where he was going to. ” I believe the priest is still sleeping.”

Okon’s smile widened. ” You do?”

” Your novel is outstanding,” Collette grinned. ” It looks Soo real, whenever I read it, I imagine myself in it. Sometimes I feel like I have played a role somewhere in the story. I feel a deep connection. That’s why I can never get tired of reading it.”

Okon was impressed. ” And what part do you feel you belong to?”

” The princess,” Collette answered. ” The chemistry between the young priest and the princess is extraordinary. I find it difficult to believe how she was forced to marry him and ended up falling in love with him. Soo sad she never knew she was going to be sacrificed. I cried Everytime I read of the sacrifice.”

Okon’s heart warmed. He stared longingly at her. ” You’re right, Collette. You do have a connection with the story. Your heart, body and soul belongs there.”

Collette smiled. ” Thank you, sir. Still, I’m puzzled. My name. How did you know my name?”

Okon ran his hands through his grey dreadlocks. ” I knew you from the day you were born.”

Collette’s eyes widened. ” Wow, for real? Were you in the same hospital with parents?”

Okon raised his shoulder. ” Not really but I was there in my spirit.”

Collette was uneasy about this man. He’s kinda weird but she liked it. ” You’re acting mysterious, Mr Okon. Just like the priest.”

Okon stroked his beard. ” Indeed. What if I tell you the priest didn’t die in the cave? What if I told you the priest woke up in 1901? What if I told you the priest is very much alive and lives amongst us in the present world?”

Collette laughed quietly. ” I believe he’s still sleeping in his cave but to say he’s alive in our present world….I don’t know, you make it sound as if the priest is immortal.”

Okon’s eyes were serious. ” He definitely is immortal.”

Collette stopped smiling. He looked serious. There were no bluffing looks in those eyes as he studied her.

” After the princess died,” Okon continued, ” the priest gave up his priesthood and left the kingdom for the caves. The gods got angry and cursed him. He was going to live long till eternity.”

Collette licked her dried lips, her eyes widened as he spoke gravely.

Okon gritted his teeth. ” Sleeping in the cave was a means for the priest to die naturally cause he felt pains after sacrificing the princess. He wanted to die but not by his own hands. He hoped a wild animal would come into the cave and kill him but the gods didn’t let that happen. They made him sleep a hundred years. When be awakened, he was in a different timeline. The world had changed. He found himself in 1901. The years ran by but he couldn’t age. He was cursed to live for eternity.”

” But…” Collette was becoming short of breath. ” But that wasn’t included in the novel.”

” I chose not to write it down.”

” Why?”

” Because I want to die,” he added. ” Eternity is a curse, Collette. It’s bad to see people you love grow old and die. I’ve been living for years now and it’s becoming a bore. The only way I can finally grow old and die is if I can look once more into the eyes of the one I once loved.

Collette’s heart was pounding violently against her chest. ” The princess?”

Okon passed a tongue over his dry lips. ” No….you.”

” ME?!” Collette clutched at her armchair. ” Are you trying to say… you’re…. you’re the priest?!”

Okon nodded. ” I am the priest. It’s my story. And you Collette… you’re the reincarnated version of my princess that I sacrificed hundreds of years ago.”

Collette couldn’t say anything. She was strikened with shock, she could only gape at him with her mouth opened.

Okon slowly Rose to his full height. He leaned heavily on his walking stick. ” Come with me, Collette. I want to show you someone.”

Collette didn’t want to follow this man anywhere. There was something about him that disturbed her. He was aging now.

He took a candle and waved over to a stair case. ” Are you coming or not?”

Collette glanced outside the house. She could outline Charlotte, speaking frantically on the phone.

Without knowing what propelled her, Collette stood up and followed him.

She supported him as they both walked up the stair. As she touched his aging arm, she could sense something ancient and ancestral about his every being.

The priest! So he was the priest!

Finally they reached a room and halted before it.

” Open it,” Okon said. ” Look inside. You might find what you’re looking for.”

Collette stared at this aging strange man and slowly turned to the door.

The door handle turned as she touched it and pushed the door open.

Across the empty room, lying on the bed was Lucy.

Collette went cold.

Lucy was sleeping peacefully on the bed tucked in by a blanket and kept warm with a burning candle.

Her hands went to her mouth and she whimpered. Her eyes returned back to Okon.

” How did you find her?”

Okon passed her into the room and headed towards the only chair in the room and sat down.

” I’m sorry I couldn’t save her on time, Collette.” Okon said, settling on the rocking chair. ” I did what I could but there was a delay. They raped her anyway.”

Collette stiffened. ” Rape? Delay? What do you mean?”

Okon leaned forward in his seat, his hands clasped together. ” She was raped by some hoodlums in a deserted field.”

Collette went hot then cold. She began breathing really fast.

Okon stared fixedly at Lucy. ” She prayed for help. I heard her prayers. But the gods delayed to save her. Not until she was raped. You don’t have to worry about the hoodlums. They’re dead. I brought her here to stay with me. It’s a pity, though. I soo wanted to save her.”

Silence. The room became as silent as a graveyard.

Collette cool feel her heart pounding furiously she thought it’d burst out.

” Phew,” Charlotte said walking into the room. ” Just finished talking with dad. He was asking after Lucy and you but it’s alright, I handled it perfectly.”

She stopped as she saw Collette shaking with rage. Okon sat, staring at the bed.

” Umm…what is going on here?” She asked, then her eyes travelled over to the bed where Lucy was laid. ” Oh my God, is that Lucy?!”

She was about moving towards the bed when Collette flung herself on her, grabbing her shirt, pushing her against the wall.

” YOU MONSTER!” Collect yelled at her face. ” What have you done?!”

Charlotte body banged against the wall. She stared frightening at Collette as she held her shirt tightly, tears streaming down her face.

” C-Collette,” she panicked. ” What’s gotten into you?”

” What’s gotten into me?!” Collette cried, screaming at her face. ” Lucy’s been raped, you idiot! They raped HER!!!”

Charlotte’s eyes widened and her voice went off in a tiny whisper.

” RAPED?”

*

*

*

*

To Be Continued…..