THE LEGEND OF KIWAKAAZI

Kaki growled and snarled at Edua. He whispered, “I am no longer afraid of you,” and then he shouted, “The running stops now!” He pointed the kafunde to the dark Nomposuro sky with his left hand and the black thread around the hilt of the kafunde crawled very quickly like a snake wrapping itself around his arm.

Before Edua was banished to Nomposuro: 9:22pm

Edua took in a deep breath and exhaled. “Your story is really touching. You are very persistent, Agent Sitso. So, I will tell you my story. After all, there are similarities between your story and mine.”

Edua’s story:

“My biological father also left my mother a few months before I was born. I don’t hate him but I don’t really care for him. My mother was my only family. She passed a year before I joined the Akati clan after a short illness. Like you (referring to Sitso), I was brilliant. My mother worked too hard to take care of me and I wanted to give her the best in life. I wanted her to enjoy her old age. I wanted her to rest. I graduated top of my class at every level of my education including my tertiary education at Akontabubia (business school). But after graduating, no firm would hire me. My results were good but for some unexplained reason no firm would hire me. I was jobless for close to a year and had to return to my village, Npentem (don’t haste).

“A local drug store owner hired me and I was okay. I had a crappy job; lived in a crappy apartment; ate crappy food most of the time but at least I had one good thing in my life — the love of my life. I wake up every morning knowing that at some point in time during the day, I will get to see her face. I am able to sleep at night just by focusing on her beautiful smile. She meant everything to me and I would have done anything for her. I am talking about my one and only Baaba. I don’t know what she saw in me. I was poor, not strikingly handsome and had no funny bone in my body. Yet, she stuck with me during the bad times. She loved and encouraged me. Everything was right with us until Kobi came to town.

“Kobi was the dumbest boy in my class while growing up. He was always last in class. I schooled with him from the very lowest level to the highest. He cheated in every exam and was almost expelled at Akontabubia. He partied from dawn to dusk, drank a lot and had plenty of sex while I buried my head in books. I am not sure he even graduated from Akontabubia and yet he was hired by Nyansapofie Imperial Bank — the biggest bank in Nyansapofie. After just a year of appointment, he had a huge house, many cars and travelled around the world on holidays. He was living the life I always dreamed of but I did not care because I had the one thing that truly mattered in life — true love.

“When we were young, Kobi had a big crush on Baaba. But he was never taken seriously until he came to town. He took Baaba out many times and gave her rides in his fancy car to the city. He showed her the brighter side of life. I tried but couldn’t compete. She broke up with me for him. I was devastated. I quit my job and spent a week in bed crying for my loss. Bayo, a childhood friend, came to the village and visited me. He told me that winning Baaba back was easy. All I needed was money; lots of it.

“I followed him to Nyansapofie (Capital city of the Western Empire) and discovered his way of getting money was by stealing. He was part of a gang — a four man gang that stole from jewelry shops, food joints and bars; nothing big. I became its fifth member. After a few months with them, I realized I had not become as wealthy as I anticipated and with every passing day, my chances of winning back Baaba was slipping away. I convinced the group that the only way we are going to become wealthy was if we do it big — we have to go after the big money and the big money was stored in banks and the imperial storage facilities. They agreed and our first target was Nyansapofie Imperial Bank — the bank that armed Kobi to steal from me.

“It took months of preparation. Our plan was to cut power supply. Blind all the cameras take out the security men and steal enough gold. Bayo was employed by the security company that was in charge of the bank’s security. He learned that the company secures the bank with many cameras. There were six rotating cameras outside the bank watching the streets. Four security men from the same company patrol the bank during the day and at night. Two stay inside the bank and the remaining two secure the outside. Of course the guards are rotated and randomly too. One security man monitors the bank from the security company’s office. If the cameras are turned off, first he will call the leader of the four security men inside and outside the bank to ascertain the problem and how long it will take to solve it. But he expects any kind of problem to be solved in less than five minutes. Ergo, if the cameras do not resume their full duties after four minutes, he calls the Imperial Crimes Agency to report a robbery in progress. Pretty tight!

“Considering the distance between the bureau and the bank, Edua estimated that agents from the bureau will arrive at the bank after receiving a call about a possible bank robbery between seven to nine minutes which gives them only eight minutes to loot and escape.

“Nyansapofie Imperial Bank had been trying for ages to land Amara Energy Group; the largest energy company in the four empires. So they were pretty excited when the assistant to Chief Amara, owner of Amara Energy Group arrived at the bank expressing interest in the bank. Sako was a hacker and was arrested a couple of times. He created the perfect cover up for Sofo who pretended to be one of the many assistants of Chief Amara. The bank manager checked and found Sofo’s fake name, Yemu, and job title listed on Amara Energy Group’s employee factsheet. He gave Sofo a wonderful tour of the bank explaining how the bank will ensure the safety of their money.

“The bank had a vault. The entrance of this vault was highly secured. No one but the bank manager’s left thumb print can open it. Most of the bank’s money was stored in the vault and the money was protected by cutting edge laser technology. Besides energy supply from the local suppliers, the vault had two standby generators whose locations the bank manager refused to disclose for security reasons that supply electricity and maintain security in case power is interrupted. No one could get in and if you succeed in getting in, you will either end up getting caught or die a horrible death. Behind the vault was a secret entrance that led to the safety deposit boxes where company secrets can be kept.

“Dagano also forced his way into the architectural company that designed and built the bank and made copies of the bank’s original plan. We needed that to know our way around the bank. I pieced all the information they have obtained together and came up with the plan to rob the bank.

“Dagano had a little electrical training. He located and destroyed those standby generators. He also tinkered with the city’s transformers and interrupted energy supply to residents in a particular area — the area where the bank was located. The remaining four carried out the robbery. We took out the security guards, stole as much money, gold and diamonds as we could and left. But during the robbery, I found a card in a deposit box that was not supposed to exist. Just a single word had been inscribed on the card — Vuduwadu. By the time agents from the bureau arrived, we were long gone.

“The next day, it was all over the news. Someone or some persons had done the impossible — they had stolen from the most secure bank in the world. They did not know what to call them. One news reader called them the ‘Akati Clan’ (Akati is a destructive pest of Cocoa) and that was it. They were now known as the Akati clan.

“My work was done and I was going to quit the gang but the other four members enjoyed it too much. It became like a drug for them. They wanted more. I warned them that it was risky. The thief always gets caught eventually but they will not listen. During our heated argument about me leaving, Bayo said something and that took me back to the Vuduwadu. He said, ‘Forget Baaba. She left you for money. She never loved you. Move on because if you even get her back, you will always wonder what will happen one day when you run out of money.’ I insisted, ‘She loved me! I knew she loved me!’ Then Bayo said, ‘Then the girl who loved you is gone. You have only two options — forget her or change what happened and we both know you can’t change the past.’

“When you have a ring that makes it possible for you to walk through physical objects, you believe in the impossible. When my mother first handed the ring to me and told me the story about the ring, I was fascinated by it. I became interested in history. At Akontabubia (Business School), I chose courses from the history department as elective courses. That was how I learned about the Vuduwadu (Vudu’s cube).

“The gang wanted more and so I gave them more. They thought we were stealing gold, rubies, diamonds, paintings and artifacts that will make us renowned as the best thieves in history and wealthy but I was after the Vuduwadu. I convinced them that stealing again from Nyansapofie will be dangerous. We had to change locations and our next target was Akuafo bank in Jumapafie (Southern Empire). In the hidden safety deposit box of that bank, I found out more about the Vuduwadu – more about its history, the secret society that protected the Vuduwadu and where it is kept on yearly bases. You know the rest of the story. All I wanted was to change the past — to alter and prevent Kobi from meeting her.”

9:45pm inside Dwenmoda

They were at Dwenmoda. “You are late,” remarked the man who was going to perform the ritual that will transport Edua to Nomposuro. He took Edua’s left hand and pricked his left index finger with a needle. Three drops of blood mixed with a liquid inside a small test tube. He shook it vigorously and waited for the color to change.

“We are in Dwenmoda,” answered Naa Aku. She had followed Edua and Agent Sitso to Dwenmoda. “Yes, Sitso still has the ring. I will let you know if there are any changes.”

While they waited for the color to change, Agent Sitso told Edua that he thinks, “Edua was being manipulated indirectly.” Edua agreed but someone very smart must be the mastermind because you will agree with me that it will take a freaking genius. Agent Sitso answered, “I think it is the same Vuduwadu society. I am beginning to think they are behind my mother’s murder.” Edua nodded and commented, “I’d have loved to help you but my fate is sealed. It is all up to you now.”

The priest shouted, “We are ready.” Edua was asked to strip to his undershorts. A beautiful young lady carrying a small mortar rubbed the contents of the motar on Edua’s body. When her task was complete, she left. The priest chanted until the wind started blowing. Edua will be flying with the wind to Nomposuro. Agent Sitso rushed to his side and returned the ring. Agent Sitso commented, “You will need it where you are going. Besides, it is making me vibrate and uncomfortable.”

Edua took the ring and shouted, “If the ring makes you vibrate then you are…” Agent Sitso shouted back, “What am I?” before Edua left but it was too late. Edua was already gone; carried away by a whirlwind.

Naa Aku called her mysterious boss again to deliver the bad news. “Agent Sitso returned the ring to Edua just before he disappeared to Nomposuro. I am very sorry sir,” said Naa Aku. Her boss consoled her saying, “Don’t worry. It was not your fault. You did your best. We will just have to exercise some patience.”

The story about Kodua’s ring was not completed. Kodua actually forged two rings. He came to the twa-wo-ho (labyrinthine prison) to save his son and only his son. He was going to use the second ring to escape. But after realizing just how much his son loved the prince, he feared his son might end up doing something stupid and his sacrifice would have amounted to nothing. So, he saved Prince Odum.

“I can tell you are a good friend and my son loves you. So I am going to make the ultimate sacrifice for you. Give me your hand?” asked Kodua. Prince Odum stuck his right arm through the cell. Kodua took his hand and opened his palm. He reached for a pocket knife and stabbed Prince Odum’s palm. The prince withdrew his arm and screamed in pain and asked, “Why did you do that?” Kodua demanded, “Give me your hand. There is not enough time.” The prince said, “No, tell me why you did that?” Kodua showed Prince Odum another ring on his right ring finger. “This ring has the same power as the one I gave my son. But like that first ring, only people with my blood can use it. I am going to alter that and let your blood command it,” explained Kodua. Prince Odum released his arm and Kodua stuck the ring into his bleeding palm. Kodua commanded Odum to squeeze the ring and Odum did. It was painful but he endured.

The pain suddenly stopped. Prince Odum opened his palm and he was no longer bleeding. The cut had disappeared and all his blood had disappeared. He noticed a few drops of his blood disappearing into the ring as if the ring was absorbing his blood. Kodua took his pocket knife and stabbed himself in the gut. Prince Odum without thinking passed through the bamboo sticks and caught hold of Kodua. He asked, “Why did you stab yourself?” Kodua smiled and closed his eyes. His head turned to his left and he was gone — dead. So Odum had the second ring and with it he also escaped. It is believed that the two friends escaped to the West where they lived quite, simple and happy lives. They passed on their rings to their sons who passed it on to their sons until it reached Edua. But there were two and so far only one has been accounted for. So, where is the second ring?

Edua’s Rahasi transformation was now complete. A black spiky vest covered his body from just below his neck to his feet. A large red ring was tattooed on his chest and his back. Red lines run parallel from his fingers to his elbows. Similar red lines were on his legs from his knees to his feet. His upper arm had two blue circles around them and his thighs had similar circles too. He took a step and disappeared. Kaki braced herself for his attack. She looked left first but he attacked from the right. She was turning, slowly turning. He was swinging, slowly swinging the kafunde. Kaki thought she was going to die yet again.

Suddenly, there was a collision. Someone or something has come to her rescue. Edua disappeared again. Kaki looked to her left and noticed her savior was their leader, Grand Shinko, Arangosango Shinko, himself. Aran remarked, “It seems I made it in time. This is going to be one enjoyable battle!”