(Previously on confessions: In the shadow of a 100-billion-dollar empire merger, Obi sealed the deal of a lifetime with Amadi's hotel dynasty, only to ignite a forbidden fling with his fiancée, Darce, the rebellious heiress threatening to shatter the nuptials. Shadowed by Kot's silent "mutes" after a prior blackout debacle at 40 Thieves left him bloody to the elbows, Obi jetted back to Nairobi with an eerie calm, blind to the brewing storm. But chaos called: at the coastal revelry, sealing the fold)
Understand this, I have my madness. And I’ve got the weight of a lifetime hanging over me. I believe that is why I seek ways to set my soul free, dreaming of the day I won’t have to suffer this misery.
I know you’ve been waiting with bated breath to learn about that fateful night, the quilt, the spider harness, and how I got myself by the sea, bloody to the elbow.
"Obi, get up!” Pulled me from the stupor that day.
It was dawn, and the eastern horizon was the color of beaten copper as I sat up. One of the mutes was standing over me, visibly shaken.
My stomach was churning and my head throbbing. I tried to get up but ended up falling over. He reached down to help me up, and when I reached to clasp his hand, he pulled away in horror.
My arms were dark to the elbow.
“Get me to the water,” I mumbled.
He held me by the shoulder and slowly walked me to the shore, where I fell on my knees and dipped my head in the water. After scrubbing my hands clean with sand, he walked me back to the beach house.
“Where was he?” Came Kot’s voice as we stepped over the threshold.
“The beach.”
“Is he Ok?”
“I don’t know,” he replied, lowering me to a sofa, where I passed out.
When I came to, later that afternoon, an IV line was attached to my hand, and Kot was sitting by my bed.
“Finally, the minister of enjoyment is up,” he said, putting a straw to my patched lips.
I winced as the cold touched my throat, but pulled on, my mind coming into sharper focus. Propped on the cushions, I stared absently through the window to the shimmering water in the afternoon sun.
“You scared us a little there,” he said, putting the empty bottle on the table and sitting back down.
“Us?” I croaked.
“Yes,” he replied.
“What happened?” I asked.
“A lot happened, but most of all, you happened.”
“How did I happen?” I asked. My mind was foggy, and I couldn’t remember anything from the night before.
Until he said, “You left with her and returned in spandex and out of your mind. That’s when the party took a turn for the loony!”
The party began early that afternoon. The patrons started arriving before lunch, and by 2, the gates were closed.
Drinks poured freely, and smoke hung in the humid air. People were seated in circles talking animatedly, with the blues playing softly in the background.
I stared down the stretch of the beach, the palm trees stretching away as far as the eye can see. Standing on the balcony and staring down at the poolside, I swore every man needed a taste of the coastal heat before it flees.
The fruits by the pool were so ripe they exploded in your mouth, melons, peaches, fireplums, oh, I’d never tasted such sweetness. With that good wind off the sea, the day was so hot you could barely move.
Watching the revelry, I got drunk just breathing the air. And the girls! I swear, women lose all modesty in the heat. They swam naked in the pool. In bikinis and short silk gowns, they walked around.
“Enjoying the view?” Came the soft voice by my shoulder.
I turned to look at her.
“I am now,” I replied, smiling at the lady in ringlets and a pug nose. Her almond-shaped azure eyes sparkled as I reached out to clink her champagne glass.
“I’ve been looking, looking around for someone like you.”
“Like me, you say?”
“Yes. A watcher. You are in it, yet not part of it. You know who the bums are and where the pleasure train goes. I’ve seen your face hover over the circles, your long pull on the smoke, and calculated sips…”
“And?”
“And I’d have us be a part of our own. I was promised a good time, yet it looks so slow.”
“It’s not dark yet,” I said.
“Don’t tell me you’re waiting for dusk to let the genie out. Are you that scared of your own demons?” She asked, tilting her head inquisitively.
“Some are better left to the dark, my lady,” I said, looking at her steadily in the eye.
“I’d like to show you something. Follow me.” And I did follow her to one of the many rooms.
On the king-size bed was laid out a black binding, clothing, leather belts, biker gloves, a quilt, and masks and chains.
She reached under the bed and pulled out a caged bunny. From under the pillow, she pulled out a stiletto sword and laid all on the bed.
What are all these for?” I asked, but got no answer
Shrugging off her dress and letting it fall on the floor; she had nothing underneath. From the bedside table, she took a little mint box and took out two red pills. Walked over to me, stuck out her tongue and put a pill. Took the whiskey from my hand and took a sip.
All this while I was standing fazed.
