The TV station switched to commercial. Palm Carlos switched off the tab, then plugged it to a small solar device kept at the edge of the cave.
“Would you need some water to shower, Palm?” A lady said to him.
“No, Tamara, I am okay!” He said.
“It’s been two days now, Palm,” she added. “Just because we sleep in a cage don’t mean we should live like cage dwellers!”
“But that is what we are, Tamara!” He said as he turned, “Cage dwellers, for now!”
Palm took a few steps and stood at the edge of the cave, overlooking the vales. The mighty statue on the shores of the world’s capital could be sighted from the mountains. The golden image of The Master stood still in its aura. Helicopters hovered around it as fireworks took the skies hostage, many ships and boats could be sighted with multitude of crowd celebrating in the city.
“If only they knew!” Palm said.
“Maybe you shouldn’t worry much about those who chose not to be saved.” Tamara said as she walked to him.
“I wish it is that easy!” He said, “He has placed a weight upon my heart; to never find peace until His people are set free from this thrall!”
“I’ve known you for years, Palm.” She added, “When we first met in high school, I told you from the start that your compassion would plunge you into a gulf you won’t be able to be rescued from. Now, look at what have become of us; we can’t even live a normal life. You’re being hunted like an animal yet. You've lost your dignity in the eyes of friends and relatives; wasting your time and energy trying to what…set them free? When they people are happy with their current situation?”
“You’ll not understand, Tam.” he said. “And I don’t expect you to.”
“Trust me, Palm.” She added, “I do understand, and I also know that He has not answered any of your prayers ever since this whole mess started. I’m your wife, I know you deeper than you think. Maybe God wanted you to invest your time in us, for now, than trying to rid the world of what you believe has consumed or blinded it.” She paused, “We should try and be happy, baby. Enjoy the moment.” She sighed, “Even though our two boys were taken along with all the children of the world when that horrible sound shook the earth...” She wrapped her arms round him from behind, “When He’s ready and willing to use you, He would come down or visit you…in your dreams as He used to, to give you His instructions, maybe.”
“He’s not coming back,” Palm said. “Not down to this world, for now. All the children are safe with Him. Nothing delights His heart when He looks down here anymore.” He sighed, “At least, that’s what I think.”
Palm turned and held her firm in his arms then kissed her.
“I know there’s a prophesy upon you to bring an end to the reign of this thing the world believes it needs but look around and about, baby; these people are happy!” Tamara added, “You saw it over the news and even from here you can see and hear the sound of their jubilation! If I was Him, I’d let them all rot. I mean, if someone says they don’t want you even though you know after you walk away they’d suffer more than they had ever imagined, you walk the hell away and care less when they cry out for help!”
“You always forget that there are so many others in hiding just like us, who have refused to bow to this graven image, Tam.” Palm said, “It is our duty to let the light shine in the darkest phase the world faces. It won’t be easy but…it is our duty as children of God to let His will be done, here on earth!”
Tamara sighed.
The refreshing breeze whistled through the cave’s lips, they stood silent in each other’s arms to its anthem.
“I miss the taste of the good old wine, the smell of our home.” She said, “The laundry. Ooh…my beautiful blue dress. Baby, you remember that one you got me from Europe?”
“Of course I remember,” he replied. “When I sent you the picture you just couldn’t wait for me to come home. I was a bit jealous! How can I ever forget?”
“It’s only a dress, baby?” Tamara said, “Come on!”
“Don’t come-on me, honey!” He said, “I was away for about a month and you wanted to get your hands on that dress more than you wanted to get your hands on me!” He giggled.
“Get out of here!” Tamara responded as she gently sank her teeth on his chest, “Grrrr!”
“I miss the boys!” He said.
“I really missed them too!” She remarked, “They all had your great smile.”
“They had your face!” He countered.
“Well, they had your eyes!” She protested, “They had your body and your voice?”
“Yeah, right. And how’s my voice like?” He asked as he gazed into her eyes.
“Like a Puma growling in the dark,” she said, “Trying to whisper my name! Your voice made me fall for you the more back in high school!” She smiled.
“I should’ve known…” Palm added, “Imagine how many girls I could’ve toyed with!”
“Mmm hmm?” She responded, “Imagine how many would’ve been annihilated by my stare!” She stared into his eyes, “Grrrr! Tigress!”
“Your stare can only trap a man’s heart,” he said as he lifted her in his arms, “Not scary at all!” He kissed her.
“I love you!” Tamara said as she kissed him back.
“I love you too!” Palm responded, “You’ve gained too much weight, honey.” He teased, “Don’t you think we should do something about it?”
“Shut up!” She replied.
They both laughed as he took her deep into the cave.
They made love and later chatted a bit. Tamara couldn’t stop talking about their two children. Palm didn’t want to say much about it but he had to engage in the conversation. When she realised he wasn’t comfortable with it, she left him and headed to the edge of the cave. Palm ignored her and decided to take a rest. He closed his eyes and sailed through the oceans of his thoughts when her voice shook him off.
“Palm!” She cried out.
Palm turned and saw Tamara on the ground, two men in a combat uniform had their guns pointed at her. There were two more hanging on ropes by the entrance to the cave. Before he could make any move, a shot was fired by one of the men as Tamara tried to get up.
Tamara died on the spot.
“No!” Palm screamed. He got up and ran to where she laid, and held her dead body.
“No, baby?” He cried, “Honey, get up!”
“Who gave you the order to fire?” One of the men in masked asked as he got off his rope.
“She tried to move, sir!” The shooter answered.
“Fool! You just bought a ticket to your own public execution.” Said the one who appeared to be the superior officer.
Palm lost control and got up, he noticed the tag on their uniform; Rel-Pol. He rushed the shooter to the ground but received a sharp blow on the back of the head with a truncheon. He fainted.
Chapter Three: A Friend Indeed.
“On your feet!” Yelled an elderly officer, “Put your back up against the wall! Now!”
Palm Carlos gently came down from the bed, the sound of chains shackled to his feet rang through. Palm walked towards the wall and stood on his feet, with his face lowered.
The Master approached the cell.
“Chief Deshawn?” The Master called.
“Yes, your majesty!” The officer responded.
“How many resistance have you in this precinct?” The Master asked.
“Well, your majesty,” said the chief, “I uh…I think about…””
“You think?” interjected The Master.
“Thirty three, sir,” another low ranking officer whispered to the chief, “Palm Carlos inclusive!”
“Only Thirty three, your majesty!” The chief said, “Yes, Thirty three.”
“Give me the keys to this block!” He said, “And the keys to the shackles.”
The chief quickly ordered one of his men to bring the keys, he then handed it to The Master as soon as it was given to him.<
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“Get you, your men and all the resistance in these cells out of the building.” The Master said, “I want to have a word with this man.”
“Are you sure, your majesty? Your safety is my number one priority!” The chief said, “This man could be dangerous, your majesty. If anything happens to you, I and my…”
“Now!” The Master yelled.
“Sure, your majesty!” Said the chief as he turned to his men, “Alright everyone! Evacuate! Now! All captives inclusive!”
The officers quickly formed a line behind The Master to shield him from the prisoners that might want to harm him. Some of the officers stormed in and pulled out all the men and women locked up in the other cells.
“Don’t get any ideas, you rats!” Said the chief to the prisoners, he stared at them as they were being moved out of their cells, “Don’t hesitate to shoot anyone who looks this way!”
The entire officers along with the chief stormed out of the precinct.
The Master heaved a heavy sigh. He used the keys and opened the cell block where Palm was locked. He gently walked in, stopped and then continued to step forward. He bent and unchained the shackles on Palm’s feet, then stepped aside and sat on the concrete bed. Palm acted as though no one was in the room with him.
“Who would’ve thought I’d see you again?” The Master said, “And there I was thinking that by this time, you’ll be the one person who would be by my side...To watch over my back. I guess I was wrong.”
“You had Tamara killed.” Palm said, “What wrong has she commit?” Tears rolled down his cheek. He was filled with anger. “I’d kill you right here, right now.”
The Master kept his head lowered to the floor.
“I’m so sorry, Palm!” He said, “I never ordered anyone to harm you nor Tam, I’m really sorry it had gotten to this.” He sighed, “I know you’d think…”
“You and your greed, and your stupid dreams knows no boundaries, Jessy!” Palm said, “Look at what you’ve done! An image? A giant statue of you?” He giggled, “God, Jes! What have you done?”
“Wipe your tears, friend!” He said, “I told you I didn’t ask anyone to harm your wife. They explained to be that it was an accident.”
“My tears aren’t for Tam, even though I'm still in shock over her death.” He responded, “I am shedding tears for you, Jessy. For the things you have done. God is…”
“That’s enough!” He interposed, “I’ve heard enough of you talking to me about Him every time we meet! What has He ever done for me? You tell me!” He got up on his feet, “I was looked down upon; trampled, mocked, abused and wrongly accused in all the years I’ve walked this earth!” He turned to Palm, “He took away everything I’ve ever had, everything I’ve ever loved. You on the other hand, you lied to me, you made me go to Him, and for more than eleven years I’ve prayed and cried to him. I’ve even fasted and prayed for how long? And did He look my direction? Did He, Palm?” He walked towards Palm Carlos, “At least He should’ve pretended He heard my cry. No one was there for me.”
“I stood by you, Jessy.” Palm said, “God was always there for you and by your side all along, you know that. He was there at all time but you chose not to see it and just wasn’t patient enough.”
“Don’t talk to me like that, Palm!” He yelled, “We’re no longer those little choir boys. This-is-the-real-life! Wake up. You told me He never forsakes anyone…but where was He when I cried all night with the thick clouds of shame over my head? I was Jobless and homeless!”
“I gave you the keys to my apartment, Jes.” Palm responded, “Your pride couldn’t let you stay. I stood by you more than a friend should!”
“Been more than a friend wasn’t enough!” He yelled, his eyes glowed with anger, “And before you even say it; being more than a brother wouldn’t have been enough either. It was easy for you, ’cause He made you stronger.”
“What did you want?” Palm asked, in a calm tone, “What was it you sought for?”
There was a deaf silence in the cell.
“Just…all I wanted then was just to be able to eat the fruits of my labour.” He said, “But as little as that was, He couldn’t even help me out, Palm. Yet your God claimed He owns everything? Well, did He deny me those little things on purpose ’cause He hated me? What have I ever done wrong to Him before I came to this world?”
“You and I were virtually passing through the same ordeal, friend.” Palm said, “You of all people should know that. I hid nothing from you, hell, I used to get mad at God too, sometimes, over how slow it seemed, and we’d make fun of how He’d make people to hang on in wait, but I remember this…at the end of the day we’ve always had something like a sign to hold on to. He gave us hope. He was busy making us strong but, we wanted an immediate response. But that’s okay, because God understands that.”
“Yeah, and then you started seeing things in your dreams about the future,” he said, “and then everything changed. You chose your God over a friend.”
“Nothing really changed,” Palm said, “I was just disturbed by what I saw; I was shown this thing you’ve become, and I warned you about it. And yes, you're right...I'll choose Him over everything.”
“He never wove me with the qualities you possess, buddy.” Jessy said, “I struggled through, I did want to try His big racking game of waiting…but all that was delivered to me were empty promises, Palm. I yearned to wait but, when the closer I get the further the things I wanted to lay my hands on fly away. That ain’t fair, you know that.”
“He loved you just as He does us all.” Palm said, “He loved you even more, and was ever willing to give you the desires of your heart. But you wanted things your way. God doesn’t work like that.”
“Well, I guess that’s too late now.” Jessy said, “As you can see, not only did I find the final solution to my own needs but of the entire world at large. And a single drop of His help isn’t a part of it.”
“At what price, Jes?” Palm said, “How much time do you have left? You know that the deceiver will giveth thee a thing with one hand and taketh something far more precious with the other. You made a deal with the wrong master, Jessy.”
“What do you know?” Jessy yelled, “Look at the world; look at how far we’ve come. Look at the little time it took me to bring peace and subdue poverty.”
“I still don’t understand where an old farmer plants different varieties of crops in his field…” Palm said, “…and you go to him and asks for some, and he says, ‘My child, be patient. This is all yours, once it’s ripe for harvest by tomorrow, you can take as much as you want from my farm, even for your friends and neighbours. And if you can’t carry that much, tell them about my farm, let them all come and fetch as much as they need.’ Then a thief comes when the farmer goes to clear his barn, and the thief plugs an unripe fruit from the farmer’s field and gives to you and claims he owns it, and tells you that the farmer hates you that’s why he refuses to offer his produce to you, and the thief says, ‘serve me; bow before me, be my slave, and I shall give to you more of this kind of good fruit and all the things your flesh and yearns for.”
“You seriously think I have time for your silly allegories, Palm?” He said, “I’ve got the world in my hands, these things you say, to my ears, are like chaff blown by the wind.”
“Do you have any idea what you’ve put the world into, Jes?” Palm said, “You’ve encountered God. You know He was more than willing to lift you up and deliver you from…”
“From what?” Jessy said, “He denied me everything! Well guess what?” He said, “I have more than enough now, and there is none a man as I; from a-nobody to…not only a king, I am more than just a god, I am God!”
“Jessy!” Palm said, “What have gotten into you?”
“Yes! You heard me!” He yelled, “I give to the people whatever it is they want and never asked for anything in return; all my riches and wealth. All the precious stones and gold, and silver I mined from these planets I-share-with-eve
rybody! Why won’t you tell me job well-done for once and acknowledge that I have tried?”
“The flesh is a servant to sin, Jessy. How long is the deceiver willing to let you rule the world before he takes over?” Palm said, “How much time do you think you have left?”
“Does it matter?” He replied, “The thing is I did what no man has done! Not even Jesus when He walked the earth. We have sank money into great research, our technology has improved beyond the dreams of our forefathers, go and see for yourself…the blind see, the cripple walk and the deaf hear. We don’t need to bruise our knees days and night on grounds filled with thorns, crying to some guy seated on some big mighty throne who is so consumed by Himself He thinks everything is alright with us down here, telling us to wait a little more all because things are alright with Him up there! How long shall we wait for a drop of blessing that our enemies would devour before it even reaches down to us?”
“You knew about this, we read it in the good book and we talked about this several times!” Palm said, “You’ve literally spat on God’s grace and mercy!”
“I’ve always faced the responsibilities of my own actions,” he said, “You’re right, but you see; when Jesus said he’d be betrayed by someone very close to Him, it never stopped Judas from turning his back against Christ, did it?” He giggled, “I don’t even know why you so much love Him, what has He ever done to you anyway? Where was He when your wife was killed? Where was God when you didn’t have enough money to have your mother treated over the dreaded disease that cost her her life?”
The Unifier Page 2