CHAPTER 25
MAPUTO, MOZAMBIQUE
CHRISTMAS EVE, A COUPLE OF MONTHS LATER
here it was, the gigantic mango tree with three names carved on it, Lucy, Stevie, and Gabe, a scar it displayed proudly. It somehow symbolised their friendship, it had
grown and aged with them. Lucy had been sitting on that old round log of wood for a while, not expecting anybody to show up this time. Gabe was hiding for his family had become ‘Most Wanted’ in the world, and Steve had died in the explosion.
Suddenly, she started sobbing. That place had been the thing that gave her joy but now, it brought her sorrow. Once again, she was alone in the world. A soft breeze made some leaves of the tree stick on her face, she waved her blond hair and they flew free following the wind. As if they were voluntarily stubborn, others came on her way and to avoid them, she moved her head facing north.
It was still far but the indistinct figure at the edge of the sandy road made her smile. He hadn’t forgotten her, Gabe had come. At least she wouldn’t grief alone. She still had Gabe. As he came closer, she hoped he could at very least speed up but he didn’t. Her anxiety made her rush into his arms. Gabe hugged her even harder.
“You could have skipped the debonairness and ran too, you know?”
Gabe laughed, “Oh, I have an injury on my leg.”
“What happened?”
“I was shot. Family foes, but it was a scratch.”
They walked to the tree and talked about all sorts of things except about Steve. Each one had suffered and had gone past that. It had healed. Each one gave to the other what he wanted for himself, love, attention, understanding, distraction, and presentness. It was a selfless selfishness and it worked, both even started smiling.
“You know, I miss that genius bastard.”
Gabe broke the rule they didn’t estipulate yet both had subliminally accepted. He had mentioned him. He had talked about Steve. Lucy smiled. She smiled uncontrollably and then with no apparent reason, she started crying. She sobbed inconsolably and shy tears came from Gabe’s eyes.
“I knew I would find you here. Now, can you stop being dramatic?” A man in black said standing in front of both of them. The tears made their vision blur so they cleaned their eyes and as soon as dry, they blinked their eyes, their faces shone in wonder and surprise and both got on top of him like little kids. It was Steve and he had no scars, no burns, nothing. He was flawless which although odd, didn’t matter for a moment.
A few moments later, the emotions settled and all sat on the piece of wood like the old days. Gabe and Lucy at the extremes and Steve in the middle because he always had something to teach.
This time, he had some explanation to do.
“How did you survive the blast?” Gabe asked.
“I survived inside a vacuum ball created by a radiation repellent energy force.”
“What is he saying Lucy?” Gabe asked staring at Lucy.
“Steve,” Lucy looked at Steve, “Just for fun, pretend that we are stupid and I challenge you to explain that simpler.”
“Right! Although I did not predict AIDI’s meteoritic and uncontainable energy, it was obvious that certain destruction, regardless of which energy source my AI would use, could cause at least a 100 metres radius blast. To avoid dying, I created a device that reverses in one metre radius any kind of energy.
So…”
“Steve, you are like when you were kid man. I thought you had learned to be human, not a robot,” Gabe said.
“OK,” Steve thought for a while and silence reigned, then, as if he had found the last line of a source code to creating the formula for immortality, he said, “Eureka, got it.”
“What then?”
“I survived because I was inside a bulletproof ball.”
Everyone laughed for a bit but then Lucy stopped oddly, putting everyone uncomfortable, then she asked, “And how can we be sure that…” Steve interrupted, “That I am me and not AIDI?”
“Yes!” She answered.
“If I do happen to depict Jed Henchman’s idealism, then, I am AIDI.”
“You had two dogs. What were their names?” Lucy asked again.
“I comprehend your scepticism Lucy and I appreciate it but it is utterly useless. Our minds bonded for a second before I took my mind over so even if I were AIDI, I would certainly know about Da Vince and Tesla. You are going to have to take my word for it.”
“It’s fine by me,” Gabe said.
“Then it’s fine by me too,” Lucy said, not so convinced.
“I had decided to leave you alone after what happened but I realised how selfish that would be. Besides, even dead I could never miss a Christmas Eve with you!” Steve said, hugging them. They stayed there until the sun rested and they contemplated the most beautiful twilight the skies could ever create. They laughed, hugged, told stories. The world could be different but their friendship would never change. Call it faith, God’s plan, or anything you have come up with God-like characteristics but everything started and ended under that frondose small tree with beautiful red mangoes, now immense, by that narrow sandy rood.
To be continued
WHO IS J. J. Nota
J. j. Nota, is a Mozambican young writer fascinated about Science, Theology and how it all entangles in being human. He is a 21-year-old University Student, doing English Teaching at Universidade Eduardo Mondlane. Although Portuguese is his mother tongue and English is taught in Mozambique as a foreign language, he has always been exposed to English Language content due to his course and his love for Sci-fi, rarely written by Portuguese-speaking African writers. Twisted Destination is his first ever published book. It’s a cry of resistance against those who say Africans should only write about their tradition and cultural habits. It’s a proof that Africans can and will excel in non-traditional genres (African context). He is a promise that the new generations want to take things on their own hands. Writing in English is what seemed to be the best way to put this word out. He is currently working on this book’s sequel whilst trying to improve his writing craft.
You can find him at
[email protected] Thank You For Reading
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