Salvation Colony

Chapter Two

9 Salvation Colony: Sequel to No Way to Die Chapter Two Dr. Maximillian Essemo Aleukwinchaa I decided that Manda Chabeule, Dennis’ wife should spend the night with her children up in the visitors’ room. I myself went into my room. After having served myself a full glass of whisky to clear my head, I threw myself on one of the sofas. I unbuttoned my shirt and trousers, placed my right hand under my head on the chair and stretched my shoeless feet on the small central table. I fell asleep just for a few minutes when I sank into the chair. Thereafter, sleep vanished, even though my eyes remained closed, my mind and thoughts were robbed of coherence. I reflected on all my efforts time and money wasted. Thank God it had not ended the way the villain had hoped. How was I ever to clear myself? How were people, prone to misinterpretation as they are, ever going to understand precisely what had transpired between my friend and me? That was the last favour I was going to render anybody on earth. Whatever else happened to Dennis thereafter, I said to myself, that was entirely his business. The world would forgive me and sympathize with me. Dennis could go to hell. If he hung himself anywhere else thereafter, it would be no fault of mine. God had prevented the idiot from dragging my reputation down in mud. 10 Linus T. Asong It was while I lay turning up these thoughts in my mind that I heard a timid knock on the door. That must have been an hour or so since I got into the room. It was so timid a knock that I was sure it must be either Gertrude, or Manda. When I rose to the door and threw it open, I saw the monster! How he had succeeded in doing so with a half-broken spinal cord and a bruised skull, his left eye wounded and swelling even as I looked at it, and his knees definitely numb with pain and injury, I could not tell. But, apparently taking advantage of the fact that in the ensuing confusion I had left the main door to the building open, the cow had staggered and clambered up the staircase, had pushed the parlour door open, staggered across the sitting room to my door. “How did you get in here?” I queried furiously. “Doctor, the door was open,” Dennis said, a thin line of blood running from below his left eye and disappearing under his chin. I noticed the wound, but couldn’t care less. “And so?” I shouted relentlessly. “And so I came in...” “What for?” “Doctor, I came in here to beg for forgiveness for what I have done.” I gnawed at my lips, clenched and unclenched my fists and braced myself up as if to blow out the brains of the ass. Some unknown force held me back. The corpse might actually die in my hands, I thought and feared! Still fuming with virulent anger I pulled the ox by the collar of his shirt and spat out: “You are coming to ask for forgiveness now because God has not allowed you to die in my house. If that roof had not come down, you would have been dead by now, and Maximillian Essemo Alekwinchaa would have been at the police station to answer questions concerning a poor miserable friend I have spent a fortune trying to help find 11 Salvation Colony: Sequel to No Way to Die his feet on this planet. Maximillian Essemo Aleukwinchaa would by now have become the subject of much malicious discussion, the laughing stock of the town. “By some miracle I have been spared that embarrassment. And you are here to ask me to forgive you. I must be the greatest fool on this earth to listen to you. The only person who may have the patience to listen to you is God. And even God himself, I am not so sure will listen. Now you get your smelling anus out of this house before I do to you what you wanted to do for yourself.” So saying I seized the pig with my left hand by the shoulder of his torn shirt and, grabbing him with my right hand behind his neck, pushed him away violently across the parlour and shut my door. *** Manda Chabeule Here was me...