The game went on; the first half
ended still in favour of Chelsea. I informed the boys and the girls that after
the game, we will have a private sitting after the others have gone.
Goaaaaal! Another one from Willian;
this time, all Arsenal and Liverpool fans in the house were behind me, and my
wife left the house and went straight to the kitchen to make dinner. At the
75th minute, the power went off, and lo, the neighbours went out talking in
dismay, as we settled for our discussions.
"Tomorrow at 7:00 am, we will
all be going on a journey," I began. "It will be a long journey and a
journey of probability." Everyone was quiet. They each arranged their
seating in birth order like the commandos do for a parade. "In this
journey, we must all wake up at the same time; we must all leave the house at
the same time and step on the road at the same time. Failing to do so, it will
be a no-return journey for all of us," I continued.
"But Dad, why do you speak of
the same time?" Asked Goddy. "Is it really possible to do so at the
same time?" He continued.
"Unless we have an alarm clock
that will ring and wake us up, it is not going to be possible," Enoch
added.
"Are we going to sleep in this
sitting room so that we are reminded equally to do the same?" Abi
enquired. Everyone seems to be in question about the test of the journey, yet
everyone wants to be part of it.
Kerine, my wife, felt uneasy from
her kitchen chores. She said, "Children, I got an idea towards that; we are..."
"Wait, wait, hey Madam, wait!" I interrupted. "This is between
these guys and me; I will have time to think with you later." She went
dumb. Olii could not say a word but started to take a watch at the clock and
make arrangements for the long-awaited tour. Madam came in with our dinner; we
settled around it, and we had ourselves served and done.
"You know, guys, for any
timekeeping, I promise you, we will have the best stories to tell because the
journey we are about to take is timeless; it requires every act done equally.
Any lateness or earliness does not qualify for this. It depends on what and how
we want to be; either taken up by timelessness or returning in timelessness, it
is a probability journey," I explained as each one was ready to go and prepare
for it.
At 10:00 pm, no one wanted to go to
bed. After preparing their tour luggage, they all converged together to keep
watch over each other so that no one would be late or early when the time came.
Olii, Hope, Kelly, Abi, Mercy, and Patience teamed up for a song of happiness
from the Shukuru Yesu, "Oh happy day, that fixed my choice..." while
Goddy and Enoch were monitoring the wall clock they had fixed to help them keep
time. They agreed to have a turn each till the third crow of the cock, when all
of them will stay alert, ready for the journey.
At 11:30 pm, I informed them
accordingly, especially not to miss this once-in-a-lifetime journey per the
conditions, and I retreated to bed, where my wife Kerine welcomed me in her
warm arms jokingly. We had little exchange of love stories and retired
completely, knowing nothing in bed. It was actually our chance to have a sleepy
night; the boys were very busy taking care of their sisters and taking watch to
see that none of them were late or early.
The last crows of the cock in the
morning sent a signal that made all wake up, but not at the same time. Olii,
being stubborn, rushed into our bedroom and hit the door. "Open up, uncle,
it's time! We are ready for the journey. Open up!" She kept on knocking.
"Excuse me, Olii, we are sorry;
just wait, we are putting up and will be done," Madam answered kindly.
"Olii, have you dressed Mercy? I enquired.
"Not yet," she replied.
"Okay, is she not going for the
journey?" I asked her.
'No, she is going,' in a disappointed
tone. She replied. She felt guilty for not helping Mercy, the youngest of all,
dress up as time was catching up. I heard her footsteps drawing backwards into
their room, where Mercy was trying to arrange herself.
"Mercy, Mercy, quick! We are
being caught up; where is your snicker?" Olii was trying to reach out to
Mercy.
"Under the cupboard,"
Mercy responded.
"Put on your tracks as I pick
it for you," Olii reiterated.
I walked out smartly from the bed
only to find that the boys and the girls were on the road guessing which
direction would be taken, except for those of Olii and Mercy, who were still
locked up organising.
I pretended to be disappointed at
some of the steps they have taken, especially those who were on the roadside,
for not keeping the same conditions. Soon, Olii and Mercy
arrived.
We started as usual; my driver arrived
where he often comes and picked me up for work. This time, it was not the work
car but the V6 cruiser I had arranged for a short birthday celebration
