“ Mr Nathan is gone forever. It may be your turn tomorrow. what will be our testimony about you?” the priest said and ended his sermon. 

I couldn't believe that I am bodily present at my dad’s funeral. I used several techniques to test whether I was dreaming. I pinched myself, closed and opened my eyes, but this reality wouldn't just turn into a dream. I looked at everyone, they were either dressed in pure white or sparkling dark attires. The reality I wanted to become a dream was too real before my very own eyes. When I saw mom sitting on the dusty floor, weeping profusely with her both hands on her head. I knew this reality is clearer than motion pictures.

The lead singer came up and lead a very slow hymn. As the hymn flowed with the strings echoing from the speakers, I discovered that what I heard throughout the hymn was “surely they are coming for you." I tried to remember where I heard or saw that sentence, but I couldn't.

The hymns ended, leaving everyone in tears. Though I was never really close to my father, I was really broken down by his death. The whole atmosphere was filled with sobbing and mourning of all kind. 

“you can now lower the coffin ” the pastor said with his shaky voice. Though I have never been to a funeral ceremony before, but I find it disgusting for a pastor to be too emotional when conducting a funeral service. “No!” she screamed and immediately moved away from the group of women who were comforting her. She went straight to the grave side and knelt down with her kneels. I looked at her, crying profusely, all teary as her black mourning garment was soaked in tears. I could see the shock, the pain, the fret and the tears in her. 

All the funeral attendees, just stared at her.  As I looked at how tears washed through her face, tears began to roll down from my eyes. She looked at me and bidded me to come close. I ran towards her and quickly got on my knees too. She saw my teary face and then she drew me close and placed her mouth close to my ears. Her voice was shaking as she stammered to say “they are coming for you”. 

My mind flashed back to when I heard this same sentence and I became more confuse than ever before . I sat down there, trying to think about what she told me, but I found out that I was thinking about how my father died.

****

I and mum got ready for vigil that Friday night. My dad never attended vigils, so he stayed back. We waved him goodbye as we headed to the church. No one would have thought he would be dead before we arrive, because he was in a happy mood while we left,  slowly sipping the liquor which was on the table before him. 

I and mum got back at around 4:30am on Saturday. We thought we had conquered the devil in church. We sang victorious songs all through our walk down to the house.

We were totally in shock to find our gate we padlocked, wide open. Mum looked at me, handed over her bag to me and told me to stay back while she quickly got inside the house. “Desmond!” she screamed my name loudly, immediately she got inside. Her voice echoed into my ears. I dropped her bag on the floor immediately and ran into the house, my mum was no where to be found in the sitting room. I could hear her  hard breathe coming from my dad's room. I hurriedly went to his bedroom. I found what almost made me faint.

Mum was standing there. Tears filled her face, but her voice wasn't audible. She was muttering what I couldn't understand. She looked at me immediately I ran in, her tears rolled down profusely. I looked at dad's body lying lifeless on his bed. “what is going on mum?” I said with my shaky voice. It looked like a dream seeing what I saw. 

My dad,s, chest was ripped apart. Blood stains were all over the walls of his room, coagulated blood were all over the tiles. My heart began to pound more harder, Still not understanding what was happening, I looked around to find fresh blood dripping down from his wardrobe. “What the fuck?”  this one scared the hell out of my life. I looked closely only to find out that all the clothes in the wardrobe were soaked in blood. At the sight of the dripping blood, tears began to drip from eyes, passing through my frightened face.  I closed my teary eyes immediately and ran out of the room, not knowing that I will meet the worst part of my seeming dream. 

I began to hear voices, my already pounding heart increased in might.  I closed my ears but the a voice  among the many voice I was hearing, was becoming more audible. My whole body began to shake when I realized that I was hearing was “they are coming for you”.  All the voices became audible at once as they repeatedly said “they are coming for you” “No!” I yelled out. Mum rushed out to check on me. When she tried to inquire about what just happened to me, I went blank. I couldn't even remember what I heard nor what happened. But I was visibly shaking.

***At the funeral***

Tears began to flow down from my eyes as sympathizers came to lift us up and comfort us. It was then I began to think widely.  I pondered on so many things at once, not realizing that I wasn't getting solutions to any.I finally stood up after several pleading.

I watched helplessness as my dad's coffin was slowly lowered into the dunged hole. Mum was staring helplessly as they shoveled in the sand, covering my dad. I stood there like I was almost dying when I heard a quiet sonorous voice whisper into my ears from behind, “they are coming for you” I felt a heavy bang on my chest. I quickly turned back to find what I never wished to find.

I saw nothing. The kind of fear that was inside of me the moment I heard those voices, was enough to drop me down. I turned back with the intention of getting hold of those demons and dying with them if need be. But they all flew, I thought. The funeral ended that day and I was left in between the hands of hope and fate. 

We left the funeral venue and headed to my uncle's house. When we arrived , mum slept like never before. Maybe it was because of the drink Uncle Jack forced her to take. Maybe she was tired, maybe she don't want to wake up to a world of despair and evil. All these thoughts ran through my mind as I lay down in Uncle Jack's sitting room.  “what are you thinking about?” I heard from my back, I quickly got up to find Uncle Jack, “many things Sir...many things are running back and forth in my mind, I just don't know what is happening” 

Uncle Jack sat beside me and patted my shoulders “open up to me son” he always had this warm smile that works wonders in me. That smile has made me reveal several secrets to him in the past. I looked at him before I spoke up, “my dad died in the most mysterious way I never would have imagined, my mum has been sleeping since we came back, my life seem empty. I lowered my head to hide the tears that were about to express my emotions. “concerning your dad's death, you will find out soonest, your mum is on sleeping pills, your life will become lively when they come for you” I was statued when I heard that sentence “when they come for you”.

“when they come for me? Who are they?” I asked Uncle Jack. “did I just say that? He asked “yes you did”, I replied. “wait wait, why are you acting so strange? Is there something I need to know? Uncle Jack asked with those charming smiles again.

“Emm uncle, there is this…” I tried to explain but I went blank, everything left my memory in milliseconds. “go on” Uncle Jack said. Tears began to flow down, I couldn't control it, I cried my eyes out, but I discovered that Uncle Jack still had that smile on his face. That never really bothered me though my instincts tried to read meaning to it but I waved it off. “Uncle, I can't remember” I said in tears. He held me and placed my head on his chest. I could sense his heart beating very fast and hard,

but what confused me was that his face was lightened up with smile. 

******************************************

“Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by abnormal social behavior and failure to understand what is real. Common symptoms include false beliefs, unclear or confused thinking, hearing voices that others do not, reduced social engagement and emotional expression, and a lack of motivation” 

My eyes widened the moment I saw “hearing voices” in the definition of schizophrenia. I dropped the newspaper, so that I could have a quick assessment of myself. Am I schizophrenic? I wiped away the sweat on my forehead, at the top of my nose and below it before picking up the newspaper once again and I re-read everything again, word for word.

I began to feel arrhythmia when I realized that it was the same newspaper that Uncle Jack was reading before he left for his room. Those light moisture began to force themselves out of the pores of my forehead again. I could feel them in my eyes. 

“causes and cure for Schizophrenia” Was what my teary eyes located at the bottom of the page. The very frightened and anxious me quickly turned over to the next page only to meet an eyesore. “jeeez!” I exclaimed and flinged the newspaper.  “what is it?” my mum barked from her room before rushing to the sitting room where I was. She looked weak with her heavy eyes. She immediately drew closer to me when she saw how I was trembling in the sofa where I sat. 

“Desmond, talk to me” she said and looked at the direction where I was pointing my finger to, “what's there” she asked but never waited to get my reply before going there. 

“the newspaper is right there” I said with my trembling voice. But I was shocked when my mum said she saw nothing. “come check it out yourself” she said to me. I reluctantly agreed and I dragged myself to where I threw the newspaper. “mum I can't find it here again” my mum  sighed and turned back. I turned around as well, only to find the newspaper on the chair I was sitting on. That same blood filled page was opened. “mum there it is, right there on the settee” I shouted. “when last did you take your drugs?” she said and stared at me, I was sure at that moment, she was looking at an insane person. What surprised me the most was when she looked at the settee, sighed and went back to the room.

I stood there amidst my fears, trying to ruminate on what was happening. And before my very own eyes, I couldn't find the newspaper. It disappeared to where? 

“Ooh my gohd” I was statued for a while, trying to convince myself that it was a dream or it never happened but such conviction I couldn't find. Still standing in a confused state, I heard a bang on the door. “who is there?” I asked in shock knowing fully well that Uncle Jack didn't go out and we hadn't had any visitor since we moved into the house. 

“we are here for you” they said.my heartbeat double immediately. What scared the hell out of me was that it wasn't just a voice I heard. What I heard was a collection or will I say mass of voices talking at once. My mind flashed back to my previous experiences. Mum told me that they will come for me, uncle Jack told me, I heard these same voices telling we the same sentence. “come open the door” those voices said again. My heart began to beat heavily, my breathe changed. I could feel tears running down my eyes. And the worst happened. An irresistible force began to draw me to the door, I wanted to stop but the strength wasn't there, I wanted to scream but I discovered that my voice was nowhere to be found. Immediately I found myself close to the door, that force pulled my hands upwards to the handle of the door. 

“Desmond nooooooo!” was what I heard.it was the voice of my mum and Uncle Jack. But it was too late, I was already outside. 

I met thick darkness immediately I got outside, everywhere was dark to the extent that I couldn't see our building. I could hear the voice of my mother shouting and wailing “leave him alone” I don't know why she couldn't come out. But her voice began to go low as seconds passed by.  It came to a point that I couldn't hear her voice again. Uncle Jack’s house was totally dark and silent.

My heart was almost failing because the rate at which it was beating was too hard. My heart was pounding so hard that it left sweat pouring down from every part of my body. There is nothing worse than being In a situation where your fears are keeping you in suspense. 

It was as if my heartbeat began to also drop down tears from my eyes. I couldn't see the demons that pulled me out into the dark. But as soon as tears began to drop, I began to catch cold.Gentle breeze swept through my system. And as those breeze passed by, I began to hear humming sounds. My eyes widened. It was as if people were breathing very hard, but I couldn't see them. Soon enough I began to hear sobs, those sobs became wails and those wails became cries. My eyes was just filled with tears as everything unfolded.

Ooh  no those are cries of babies I thought. My strength began to fail, my legs began to shake, I felt empty just like a blown balloon and I didn't know when I fell helplessly on the floor.

The whole surrounding began to heat up, seeming like there was a crowd of people surrounding me. Little by little, the whole place was somehow choky. I began to lose my breath. Soon enough, I began to gasp for breath like an asthmatic patient. My body temperature was above normal, saying I was sweating profusely, is an understatement. And suddenly, The unexpected happened. 

I felt a hand pulling me up and to my surprise, I couldn't see anyone or any hand. I was seriously gasping for air. I never saw the hand but I began to feel a claw like finger piercing through my skin. Immediately, blood began to pour down.

My eyes were almost bursting as I felt those clawed fingers touching my bones. I groan in voiceless pain.I felt my life leaving but the unknown finger wouldn't get off my arm, even when it has drained almost all my blood.

The finger finally let me go, but I was already going. I began to hear faint groanings and gnashing of teeth from different angles. It was like a whole community was groaning. The pains excruciating from my body was too much to bear. I was literally going, to heaven or hell, that I don't know but as minutes passed by, the weakness in my body increased. I managed to open my eyes,the whole surrounding was clear, air began to filter into my nostrils. My eyesight was blurr but I could see people gathering around me. Am I dreaming? As my thoughts grew wider, my body frailer, my tears dropped without control. I closed my eyes once again and Soon enough I began to realize that I was moving, my eyes were too heavy to be opened, my mouth was too lazy to speak. I wondered where they were taking me to? I heard shouts, I heard cries, I heard sobbing of all kinds but with all these, I couldn't react to any. Then I discovered that the movement stopped but I could feel people surrounding me but this time, it looks like an enclosed space.With what I will call my last strength, I opened my eyes after several failed attempts but my vision was too blurry to know the faces that surrounded me, all I knew was that they were all in white. I closed my eyes again and succumbed to whatever that will happen. But my thoughts were more active than ever

I am Desmond Nathaniel, the first 3 letters of both my first and last name gave my friends a nickname for me.  They call me Desnat. 

For the past hours I can still feel the presence of those men in white. I don't know where I am, I don't know who they are. Ooh my mind, I am just as confused as you are.  What is really happening? Who will save me from this mystery? 

The end