Home. - Eniyan
Preface
The great sea of Ọsun pushed the overpopulated boat across its vast blue horizon, every man on the oar was compelled to row with all his might. The sea roared angrily, expressing the fury of its rage ‘Who dares to cross the surface of my mighty territory without a care for his life?’ despite the raging roar of the blue beast. The boat pressed on towards its destination, undaunted and undefeated. The sun had already hidden its face behind one of the dark clouds that covered the afternoon sky, and the rain continued to hammer down violently in its attempt to flood the boat.
The captain sat down in his quarters, musing over the books on his table with a grim look on his face; he practically ignored the angry roar of the storm outside his cabin and, from the countenance on his face, considered it a mere nuisance. The captain was worried about more pressing issues, the ship in question was a cargo ship. Transporting large numbers of prisoners to the maximum-security prison island of Kirikiri. The island had once been a residential area several centuries ago, but now it was a quarantine zone, a dumping ground for all the human trash and hardened criminals. The amount of clearance needed just to get within 500km of the island was unbelievable, and to crown it all, the island was a techno-dead zone; for some reason, not a single electrical appliance or modern technological gadget can function properly within the 500km radius of the island.
They cannot use any electrical types of equipment, so they decided to go with the traditional method of rowing to the island. The captain usually never makes a fuss about the condition of any of the men who boarded his ship. He couldn’t care less about them one of the bastards was even responsible for the death of one of his most treasured crew, but the name of one of the convicts more than unsettled him. He had skimmed through the list again with the intent of convincing himself that his eyes deceived him, but each time the information refused to be false.
“Oluwa Ọrun (God of the heavens), why has it come to this? Has the decadence of society reached this level? Why such a harsh penalty for one so innocent”, the captain wailed
“Sir?” His first mate called, “Is there something you want me to do for you”
“Nothing, I was just thinking out loud”, the captain responded, scolding himself for being open with his emotions.
“I know what’s on your mind, captain,” his first mate said in an understanding tone. “Why would someone so young suffer such a terrible fate? I also know that deep inside your heart, you wish to help that unfortunate soul.” He took a deep breath and then spoke, “There is nothing you can do, the child is as good as dead. The corruption that exists in Nigeria is immeasurable, what can simple sailors as, we do against the Giants on land”
“That is an innocent child!” The captain exclaimed, “We can’t just stand by and watch them ruin his life”
“Then what do you suggest we do?” The first mate said in a sad tone, “The guards are armed to the teeth, three of whom have been assigned to the child. There is complete communication silence which means that we can’t contact anyone for help, just let it go”
“But,”
“Captain, please let it go” a new voice called from the background,
“You”, the captain growled, with a hint of panic in his voice, “I'm not going to allow you to condemn that innocent child”, The newcomer was the warden of all the prison guards. The warden walked into the cabin calmly and helped himself to the captain’s prized Ogogoro. The warden poured the strong drink into the wine glass and then sipped it down gently, savouring every drop.
“That boy will be the death of us all if he fails to make it to the island”, the warden began, “You see there is a special protocol for special prisoners”.
“I know about the protocol”, the first mate voiced, “Everyone is expected to submit their names to the appropriate authorities before the expedition”.
“Exactly!” The warden acknowledged, “But what else did we do when we commenced this voyage?”
“We submitted far more than our names,” the captain replied in a trembling voice, “We submitted our names, had our retinas scanned, submitted our blood for analysis and they even have our fingerprints”
“They said that it was basic medical protocol,” the first mate yelled in terror, “to prevent the spread of infection”,
“I assure you, those tests will be deleted once the boy makes it to the island”, the warden said calmly, “We are all in the same boat, should that boy escape in any way, then, they will use the information that we've foolishly given them to eliminate not just us but our entire families. One reason why I have placed 3 guards around the boy”.
The two speechless sailors remained silent for more than 3 minutes, allowing the information to sink in, so the voyage that was supposed to be their big break with a whole lot of money, would also reward them with a guilty conscience, “This is wrong”, the captain said in a defeated tone after the long silence.
“I feel the same way you do, captain, but my hands are tied,” the warden said, “the lives of not only the men on this ship but their families as well are at stake. Surely you must understand”
“I understand”, the captain replied in a defeated tone.
“Throughout the period that the boy has been on this ship, I have tried to make his presence here comfortable, no man has laid a whip on him, and he has been given everything that his heart desires”, Then the warden sighs, “But there is nothing more that we can do for him, his fate has been sealed.”
“What about the curse on the island?” The first mate inquired, “The child might survive”
“You mean the tale of the guilty dies and the innocent survives?” the warden said, “En!, I've heard of it, several innocent convicts have died on the island before. The island was hell itself and we are the death’s angels tasked with ferrying the condemned to eternal condemnation”,
“The premises of your conclusion are partly correct,” the captain observed “no one who has died on the island is innocent, they might not have committed the crime that they have been convicted of, but they are guilty of a lot of other crimes”
“A man might survive, but not a helpless child”, the warden said, “the boy is as good as dead”
“Well, since we can't change the fate of the child, then we must figure out how to help him to survive the horrors of the island”, the captain observed,
“Good luck with that, I am only here to prevent you from doing something stupid”, the warden said as he walked away from the scene. The captain and his first mate watched as the warden stalked out of the office, then they began to make plans on the child’s behalf.
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