Eric's eyes slowly blinked open as he gained consciousness. He got up and rubbed them, still feeling the effects of sleep. He could hear his father's footsteps coming closer and closer to his door. Before his father had a chance to knock, Eric opened the door just as his knuckle was nearing impact.
"You're awake," his father said, with a tone of surprise.
"Yeah. Should I get my stuff ready?" Eric asked.
"No, not yet. I have to find out if we can get a vehicle from Adut."
"Oh."
"Weren't you listening when Keji and I were talking?"
"No, I only listened to about a quarter of it," Eric said.
"Alright. But before we leave, we have to buy some bandages for Lacy. The old woman called me last night and said Lacy needs bandages because she got burned playing with the village boys. And we need to buy some meat and rice for them before we leave Bentiu. So hurry up and go bathe and brush your teeth so we can go to the market."
Eric nodded.
Thirty-two minutes later
Eric was walking with his father and Keji to Adut's garage. On the way, he saw children his age and younger playing hide-and-seek, both boys and girls. Some ran and hid behind houses, and others panicked as they ran to find a hiding spot quickly. As they neared the garage, Eric noticed women and children in torn clothes with several holes scattered across them. In each of their hands they held buckets of water that splashed onto their feet as they walked. Suddenly they turned to look at him and his father. Their eyes, once windows for pain, anger, and frustration, were now mirrors reflecting hatred. They glanced at Keji with the same unforgiving eyes before walking away with their children and their buckets of water. In that moment, images from Eric's dream blurred his mind. It was as clear as it had ever been: the screams, the crying, the smell of burning flesh all returned to him. He stopped walking, clutching his chest as his vision began to be engulfed by the darkness brewing within him. That same darkness embraced his body with its long arms. It used its fingers to caress his heart, his deep black heart, as deep as a crater, sealing and steaming whatever dark sins he had, sins that were unforgivable. But try as he might, he could not recall a sin he had committed that deserved his pain, his torture. Eric was confused. His mind was a stormy sea, filled with heavy thoughts crashing down on him continuously as his sins descended upon him, mixing his thoughts with his regrets, his past, or was it the future? He was unsure at this point. The sea was just too dark for him to think. As he swam toward nowhere, he began shaking. He didn't know if it was fear, or guilt, or the cold sea, but despite this he continued swimming, swimming toward an unknown place that would grant him salvation. Because deep down, he wanted to live. He wanted to be happy.
As the grip on his heart tightened, Eric's throat began closing up. Everything around him was silent; the only sound was his heartbeat, growing shallower and shallower. That black being whispered something in his ear: "Come find me at the graveyard, southwest of the Northern world tree." All of a sudden, his world was lit by the bright light of the sun. Now he could hear the children's laughter as they were found, and a voice slowly growing louder.
"Eric." His father called him repeatedly.
"Y-yes."
"Are you okay? You stopped walking, and you were gripping your chest," his father said, with a worried voice.
"Yes, I'm fine."
"You sure?"
Eric nodded.
"Alek, the boy is fine. You worry too much. He is your son, not your daughter. You will make him soft," Keji said, turning to face them.
Eric gave them an awkward smile.
"See? He is fine," Keji said.
Alek let out a soft, low sigh.
"Alright. Tell me if you feel sick or tired or anything."
Eric nodded.
They resumed their walk to Adut's garage.
As they walked, Keji slowed his pace to be side by side with Eric.
"Eric, why are you so quiet? The last time I saw you, you wouldn't stop screaming and shouting."
Eric recalled the embarrassing memory of running outside completely naked in the rain, exposing himself to a group of girls hurrying to their houses. To make it worse, they had been laughing, and even his own father couldn't help letting out a chuckle. He remembered it vividly, how his father had slapped a palm against his face, trying his best not to laugh.
Eric clenched his lips and nodded.
"That was because I was small. It was just a stage," Eric responded, not looking at Keji.
His hand was shaking. He was still shaken by the vision he had experienced. His heart rate had lowered, but it still beat ferociously. Sweat glided from his hair to his mouth. He ignored the salty sting on his tongue and focused instead on what he was going to do about his visions. Am I cursed? What did I do? he thought. Then he remembered a story the maids and Mr. Deng had told him about a creature called Jinamizi. Apparently it had the ability to manipulate dreams and make its victims see things. He had also heard from the maids that it could cause suffocation to torment its target. Remembering this, he wondered if there was some type of church in the city, or some spiritual person who could free him of this affliction. Eric wasn't one to believe in the supernatural, but in this case there wasn't much evidence for him to disbelieve. He was about to ask Keji about churches when Keji spoke first.
"So, Eric, how has life been for you? Are you still playing football at your school?" he asked.
"Life has been okay. I'm not really playing football anymore. I got tired of it," he responded, gritting his teeth.
"What? I thought you said you wanted to be the next Messi when you grow up," Keji said, smirking.
"Yes, but I was small and stupid, and I didn't know any better."
"So do you plan to keep playing football, or are you going to stop?"
"I'm going to stop. Football isn't for me. At least not anymore." As he said this, he could feel tears forming in his eyes, ready to pour out violently like an unstable dam.
Keji paused for a moment before responding.
"Eric, are you really going to give up on your dream? You shouldn't. How about after we check on Adut, we go to the park and play?"
Eric nodded.
A few minutes later, they reached Adut's garage.
He was beneath a Jeep, his tools clanging as he worked.
"Adut, guess who's here!" Keji shouted.
Adut slid out from underneath the vehicle. Seeing them, he smiled, exposing stainless white teeth. It was something Eric had always noticed about him that he thought no one else did.
"I didn't know you and Eric were coming. Why didn't you text me?" Adut said, with a huge smile imprinted on his face.
"I tried, but I couldn't reach you for some reason."
"Oh, I forgot. Service was gone for an entire month. That's why you couldn't reach me."
Eric scanned Adut from head to toe and noticed that his entire body and face were covered in black oil. Even his once-blue overalls were tainted with smudges of black. He walked toward them with his fist extended toward Alek. Eric's father understood quickly: it was his and Adut's favorite way of greeting someone they hadn't seen in a long time. They gave each other a fist bump. Then it was Eric's turn. Eric gave a weak smile and fist-bumped Adut.
"If I had known you were coming, I would have asked my wife to prepare both of you some food. By the way, did you know I got married?"
"The old man already told me, and congrats. How are you liking married life so far?" Alek asked.
Adut smiled.
"My wife has been very good to me. She cooks, she cleans, she helps me with my work sometimes, and she even gives it to me anytime I want it."
Eric and Alek both laughed nervously, but Keji just chuckled and shook his head.
"I will tell you all about her later, but first you must meet her," Adut said excitedly.
"Anyway, what's up, Eric?" he said, ruffling his hair.
He took them inside his home, which stood right behind the garage. Between them was a yard with freshly cut green grass. Eric thought the house resembled a small office building, but he assumed Adut must have renovated it into a home. They took off their shoes and climbed the stairs into the grand living room. Eric's suspicions were basically confirmed: the house had been an abandoned building. He could tell by the amount of space and by the huge computer being used as a TV on the table. Also, the windows were far too wide and large for a regular house.
"ASHRI!"
"Yes, husband?" she said, frightened.
She revealed herself from the kitchen, which was located behind the living room. As she stood in the doorway, they could hear a pot boiling and bubbling away.
"Did something happen?" she asked, with a worried face.
"No. I want you to meet Eric and Alek."
She looked at them and sighed.
"You frightened me. Hello, my name is Ashri," she said, smiling right after.
She offered them a handshake, and they took it, introducing themselves one after the other. Eric let the handshake last a little too long. He was amazed at how soft and frail her hands were. Is she sick? Eric thought as he broke the handshake. As he got a better look at her up close, he noticed she had freckles. They were small brown dots that spread from cheek to cheek, and some covered her short nose. Her eyes also seemed like mirrors that reflected light, despite their color.
Eric smirked. Adut outdid himself rizzing this lady up, he thought.
"I was just about to turn off the stove. Are you people hungry?"
They nodded.
"Yes, Ashri. Serve us our dinner, and remember to bring me my favorite beer," the old man said.
"Yes, sir," she said, smiling at him.
A few minutes later, they gathered around a round dinner table, enjoying their food as steam rose from their mouths.
"Ashri, thanks again for the dinner. The shorba is delicious," the old man said, taking another spoonful.
They all nodded.
"Dad, what would you rate this shorba?" Adut said, with pride propelling his voice.
"I will give it a seven," Keji said, taking another spoonful.
"Dad, stop acting like you don't think the food is all that."
"That is because it's not."
"I am sitting here watching you take spoonful after spoonful, and you want me to believe that?" he said, laughing.
Eric and Alek both chuckled.
"It's alright. That's all I will say," Keji said, and meanwhile he took yet another spoonful of shorba, not caring how hot it was.
"So what do both of you think?" Adut asked, averting his gaze to Eric and Alek.
"Nine and a half," Eric said quickly.
"Ten out of ten," Alek said, immediately taking another spoonful.
Adut smiled.
Eric reminisced about the times the maids had made this exact meal. He recalled the sound of the pot bubbling and the hot steam he always inhaled to catch a whiff of the food as the maids worked together to watch him and prepare dinner. He remembered how he always bothered them, asking, "Is it ready yet? Is it ready yet?" while they chopped vegetables and cleaned the sink. When he had eventually tried it, it had sent a wave of nostalgia slamming into his insides harder than a punch to the gut in a school fight. It was as if it made him remember a life he had never lived. For that reason, he gave the shorba a nine and a half, just because no soup was more delicious and satisfying to him than the maids'.
"Adut, what do you think about the military contract and the asteroid?" his father asked, his face stony and serious, the spoon nearing Adut's mouth.
Adut, judging by Alek's tone, understood where he was leading. He dropped his spoon into the bowl of shorba and looked at Alek, trying to find the right words.
"To be honest, the military contract is fair."
"Are you serious? You do realize they could be planning a war against Sudan again, and they are using this contract under the pretense that they want to help you."
"You're overthinking it. We had some tensions with Sudan, but not to the point of going to war with them."
"You're not taking this seriously, Adut. How do you know the government isn't planning an attack on Sudan? Using legal slaves to die for them?"
"Calm down, Alek. I'm sure the government has its reasons."
"No. Is that what you want to happen to you and your family, Adut? Okay, let's use your logic. I assume you know about the asteroid that is predicted to have a high chance of landing in South Sudan, and that the U.S. wants to buy the asteroid from them for whatever reason, and the government said no. Don't you think the government could use that money to make you and your family live in comfort, instead of giving you the fucking contract? They don't care about you, or anyone in this city. They only want to own you, and when you're all crying and dying after witnessing everything you have built being destroyed right in front of you, you're going to think about the exact moment the ink touched the paper," his father said, raising his voice as he spoke.
Eric could see the veins pop out of his father's neck as he spoke.
The room was filled with silence, shock and confusion written on everybody's faces as they stared at Alek. In those brief moments, the air was hot. Each breath Eric took burned his insides, heated by the tense atmosphere created by his father's unexpected outburst. He could see the table's thoughts and feelings drifting in the air as the seconds seemed to last for minutes.
Then a window-shattering sound and clangs could be heard from outside, cooling the room's atmosphere immediately.
"Shit," Adut said, quickly getting up and descending the stairs in haste.
Everyone followed. As Eric opened the back door to the garage, he could see a group of teenagers running away as Adut chased after them. One decided he had had enough of running and used an iron pipe to strike Adut in the head. Caught off guard, Adut quickly blocked it and followed up with a counter to the teen's face. The young man stumbled backward as blood trickled down his nose. Before he could get his footing, Adut swung with enough force to destroy his balance, sending him collapsing to the ground. Adut sent down a fury of punches to the teen's face, busting his lip. Blood seeped into his mouth, mixed with dirt scooped up each time Adut slammed his face into the ground. Eventually the boy escaped Adut's grasp and began running away, but not without feeling a metal pipe collide with the back of his head. Despite the pain, the boy kept running for dear life, disappearing behind a wall of houses as they watched in shock.
Eric wondered whether this had anything to do with those women from earlier. If it did, then why? Did they hold some type of grudge against Adut and Keji? By the time these thoughts ran through Eric's mind, Adut was already talking with Keji.
"Are you okay?" Keji asked.
"I'm fine. My arm just feels a little numb," he said, clutching it.
"Are you sure?" Ashri asked.
Adut nodded, eyes squinting in pain as blood slowly flowed from his arm.
"You're bleeding."
Ashri immediately grabbed his arm, trying to find where he had been cut. Before she could, he shrugged his arm out of her grasp.
"I'm fine. It will stop bleeding soon," he said, touching his arm and hissing in pain.
"Go get me a wet rag," he said, gesturing dismissively.
Ashri paused for a moment, then nodded and quickly left.
"Do you know why they smashed your Jeep's windows?" Alek asked.
Adut sighed, rubbing his arm.
"They're just people who didn't take the government's contract and are mad that we did. They think the government is trying to own us, so once in a while they protest and harass the people in this part of the city."
After Adut finished speaking, a brief silence hung in the air until Alek broke it.
"I'm sorry about criticizing your decision. It's an offer that can significantly benefit you and your family, and someone like me has no business giving an opinion about it."
"Alek, maybe what you said could happen. Maybe the government is trying to exploit us. But I don't care. If it means my family can live in a house with running water, air conditioning, and constant electricity, ten years of my life is a fair trade. And if I do die, I have no regrets, because I can die happy knowing my kids will have a life I didn't have," he said, his voice wavering on the last sentence.
His wife came running through the garage's back door and immediately began cleaning the blood off her husband's arm. Meanwhile, Eric was stunned. He didn't know what to think. This was the craziest summer vacation, he thought. From weird dreams to crazy, dangerous lunatics trying to enforce their beliefs on others. He knew these moments would be safely secured inside his vault of memories, to bring up in the years to come.
As Ashri cleaned Adut's arm, Adut wheezed in pain, gritting his teeth. Then he looked at Alek.
"You want the Jeep? I can fix it up today. You can go to the market and buy some souvenirs. Ashri, could you go with him and show him around the market?"
"Yes. Are you going to be alright? What if they come back?" she said, worried, as drops of sweat raced down her face and onto her breasts.
Adut smirked, amused.
"And you think you can help me fight them off?"
"No, but—" She paused, knowing full well that her husband's sarcasm was warranted.
She slapped him playfully on the back of his head, leaving her long fingers lingering just a moment too long, before gesturing for Alek to follow her.
"Sigh. Eric, it looks like we're going to have to cancel our plans to play football at the park," Alek said, looking at his son.
Eric nodded, understanding the situation at hand.
"Wait. I can take him," the old man said.
Alek stared at Keji for a moment before saying, "Do you promise me he will be safe, Keji?" His tone was even more serious and sterner than before. When he said those words, he was staring directly into the windows of Keji's soul. Keji paused for a bit before responding calmly.
"He will be fine, Alek. Relax. Adut, do you still have the football?"
Adut nodded and pointed to a corner of the garage, where the ball was hidden behind a mountain of toolboxes. Keji went over and quickly grabbed it and signaled for Eric to follow him. But before Eric left, Adut stopped him and patted his head. He signaled to his wife, and she went back inside the house.
"I'm sorry I couldn't spend more time with you, little man. But I got something for you."
Eric's eyebrows were raised until he turned and realized what his gift was. In Ashri's hands were two books and two packs of colors. One seemed to be a colored-pencil pack and the other a pack of crayons. Then his eyebrows rose even higher as he realized that the two books must be the ones he had told Adut he wanted about four months ago on the phone: a book teaching the fundamentals of drawing, and a personal art book to hone his skills. Ever since Eric started watching anime, he had wanted to draw his favorite fight scenes and, most importantly, his favorite waifus. But he had always been bad at drawing. So he had mentioned it to Adut, and Adut, being the best uncle he was, had promised to do the honors of gifting it to him.
Ashri handed them over to Eric. He skipped through the pages and saw human anatomy, along with clear instructions on how to draw it, with some in-depth instructions on backgrounds. He smiled with joy and hugged Adut.
"Thank you, Adut."
Adut smiled back.
"You're welcome."
"Thank you," Alek said.
Adut just nodded.
Ashri again gestured for Alek to follow her, and he did. Before he could leave, she told him to make sure he had his phone with him at all times before walking off into the distance.
"Adut, could I put these here?" Eric said, gesturing to a box.
Adut nodded.
"Alright. You ready, Eric?"
"You're going to lose, old man."
Keji chuckled, and they both started walking to the park.