In the island of Vinstelle, its inhabitants were having a
presently normal day. Eat, murder, more evil, repeat. These people were thorns
among roses. They lived on a beautiful island, however the air rotted with the
smell of the dead. Evil was ever present in every heart and mind. Each person
lived for no one but themselves. This place may as well have been hell on God’s
created earth.
*****
Despite the evil that dwelled about a day’s sail from the
calm shores of Stellavin Island, Christians lead their normal, simple, day-to-day
lives. Amidst these, Mr. Raz Sty, voted for as the most inspiring, honest,
loving, compassionate, devoted man from most Stellavinians, was, that
particular day, to be crowned the president of Stellavin. The ceremony was one
of colour and joy. People, happy to have a man such as him to be their leader,
laughed, jostled and jumped to get to a spot where they would be able to have a
good speculation of the event. With all that said, there was one small group of
people who did not, in the least, agree with the choice their Island was
making. One of those people stood out from the rest. He was taller than the
average guy, with a body that’d make trees cry out with jealousy. Dominic, was
not a proud man, and lived his life all out for His Creator.
“This is one decision I know will be largely regretted by
our people in time to come.”
A young woman, standing beside the towering man, glanced
down at his hands, which were opening and closing into fists.
“You need to calm down Dom. Our Father knows what we need
to do, and we will do what He wills us to do.”
Dominic stared at Raz who was up on stage ready to
receive his certificate of appointment over the Island. One of the men in the
circle ran his bronzed hand through his light brown hair. “Amen, Sister Momina.
Father does not want us to act on our own anger, yet in his love.”
The eldest of the group, a huge, black man with fiery
hair, slapped Dominic’s back “You know what Bonifacy? I say let him get angry!
Righteous anger was what our Lord had. He drove people away with his own whip!”
“I know that. I said ‘our’ own anger, Baldwin.”
“Sh, sh, guys. Look.” Momina’s black curls bounced as she
turned her head towards the stage.
“And so, we, as a body of Christ, family together in
oneness on this blessed Island, hand you, Mr. Raz Sty, the honour and
responsibility to watch, teach, train, love, and show us the right way as our
first and new President of Stellavin!”
The whole crowd of congregation shouted and cheered,
throwing hats up into the sky. People hugged each other and smiled, all trying
to invite the new president to their house for dinner. Raz beamed and shook
their hands, thanking them kindly and gently refusing their offers. As he was
gradually walking down the stairs, Raz tripped on someone’s shoe and fell the
rest of the way down and landed on the grass with an audible thud. Everyone gasped and stopped what
they were doing. Dominic bent down, picked Raz, who had fallen into his
strides’ way, up with ease and set him up straight.
“Thank you, ah…?”
“Dominic.”
“Yes. Thank you, Dominic. Bless you. Perhaps you would like to entertain me at your
house for dinner?”
“Sorry, sir, but I have business to attend to.”
Raz’s face reddened with surprise at this unexpected
refusal to eat with him, the president. In a huff, Raz stalked off to his
awaiting car with his newly found paparazzi following close behind him.
*****
“Are you sure? It could have been, I dunno, a tattoo from
his youth life.” Bonifacy shovelled lasagne into his mouth.
Him, Dominic and Baldwin were all feasting on Momina’s
delicious meal, a few days after Raz’s ceremony. Momina, washing up dishes,
came up behind Dominic.
“If Dom says that’s what he saw, that’s what he saw. Now
you,” she leaned around to look into her husband’s eyes, “Have responsibility
to look into this and find out if what you say is true. And you guys,” Momina
straightened and focused her gaze into each or their eyes too. “Now we all have
to make sure we aren’t making assumptions that may not be correct. We need to
be, veracious.”
“Huh?” Baldwin displayed a blank look on his face.
Momina sucked her teeth and went back to the sink. “It
means we need to speak truth.”
“You are right, Mina,” Dominic concurred, as he set his cutlery
down. “It is time we found out about the man everyone’s thinks they know all
about.”
*****
Down at Port Rudder, on Vinstelle Island, two men moored
their boat to its shoreline and jumped out of their watercraft. A group of
savage-looking men greeted them with spears, growls, and hatred that burned
from their eyes. One of the men, in a great, tall top hat held up his hands in
a peace gesture.
“I am Raz. I am expected by your chief.”
The fierce men frowned and motioned for the two other men
to follow them. Deep into the jungle forest they tread, once and a while
falling upon dead bodies. Soon they opened to a clearing and in the middle
stood a grand hut-like house. From the smoking hut came crazed children with
formidable-looking mothers chasing them around with sticks.
“Are you sure they will not attack us?” the man that had
accompanied Raz to this forsaken Island asked, shaking from within.
“No, Tomlin, I am not.”
One of the fierce men called out in a language unknown to
Tomlin. Then, a man, round in all aspects, came out from the hut. Tattoos
covered his whole being. The only piece of clothing he had was a cloth covering
his front middle.
Raz stepped forward and bowed, “Chief Shiva, I have come
bringing news of my achievements.” Tomlin stood straight, staring at his
president, not understanding a word being uttered. “You sent me on a quest when
I was but a young man. To bring down the Christians, and show the ever present
power of our high spirit, Destroyer!”
With that phrase, all people within ear shot let out a
string of chants and curses. Tomlin went pale and looked like he was about to
faint. Shiva strode to stand right in front of Raz. He whispered something into
his ear, stood back, turned to Tomlin and struck him with a mighty blow to his
head with his club. Tomlin dropped dead, surprise forever etched on his
innocent white face. A man stepped down and threw him over his shoulder and
marched into the dark cave of a house, followed by sleazy, creep, Raz Sty and
his commander, Chief Shiva.
*****
Back on Stellavin, Dominic had found out much about their
so-called “loving and compassionate” new president. He had hunted down every
document with his name in it, every book that ever mentioned Raz or Sty. He
even had found people, scared into hiding, who had known Raz in his younger
youth and had uncovered truths that had turned his stomach into knots. He had
talked with one old lady who had housed Raz when he first came to Stellavin.
“He never told anyone where he had come from or what he
wanted from coming to this Island,” the lady had told Dominic.
“How then did you come across your conclusions to where
he has come from?”
“Well, every night he would be in his room by exactly 8
o’clock. By 8:30, I would hear mumblings coming from his room. He would get
louder, but no one ever understood what he was saying. Then we had a preacher
come to board and he stayed in the room beside Raz. After many nights, the
preacher came to consult me about what he thought to be. He had deliberately
went to his room at the same times Raz had and listened to him talking.”
“A little nosy?” Dominic stated, writing notes.
“Perhaps. Or maybe just a concerned brother. As a
preacher man, he had been to Vinstelle in what we all wish to do is to bring
the Gospel to those savages. Anyway, he had stayed on that Island for a while,
hiding and speculating their ways. I do not know how he was not found out, but
he wasn’t. He told me that the talking sounded very much like the language of
Vinstelle. Of course, I didn’t really believe him. No one from there would want
to come here, especially by themselves. Eventually I had complaints about Raz
and I had to kick him out. I had not seen him since, until, that is, he has
become our president in which I am very wary of.”
“You and me both. Thank you very much for your time Mrs.
Stradle.” The lady nodded. “I believe that this brings more truth to my
findings.”
*****
“I am sorry. You cannot be in contact with Mr. Sty. He
is, out on business.”
Baldwin scratched his beard and frowned. Where does a small island President go out
on a business trip? He put the
phone on loud speaker. “Okay. Miss, it is very important. Is it possible for
you to tell me where I could reach him?”
“Sorry again, but I don’t believe his accommodation has
reception.”
Bonifacy raised his eyebrow at Dominic who shook his
head.
“As a president, he doesn’t have a satellite phone?”
“Sir, please, I am not authorized to give out specific
details of his whereabouts or his personal belongings.”
“He doesn’t have assistants with him to aid him on this
trip he has taken?”
“I am not authorized to give out details of personnel.”
“I understand, Miss, maybe you could help me then?”
Dominic nodded and pointed to a piece of paper in front of him.
“That all depends on what you ask and what answer it
forms.”
“Yes, Miss,”
“Please, Dotty is fine.”
“Okay, Dotty, I am doing a report on our new, first
president and I just wanted to know what he was like before he got into this
campaign?”
“Sorry, perhaps I could forward your line onto someone
who knows a little more than me?”
Dominic shook his head and pointed to a place on the
sheet of paper. Dotty Lang’s name was among some of the few names he had
uncovered for having some sort of relationship with Raz, which meant she was
lying in some ways.
“Dotty, I am sure you could help. I have reason to
believe you did have contact with Mr. Sty while he was at college. Am I
correct?”
“Ah, I’m sorry. I wouldn’t say…”
“You, in fact, um, courted him for a while, yes?”
“Courted? I am sorry, you must be mistaken. I don’t
think…”
“Well, not courted then. Dated him? Went out with him? A
close relationship, I have been told.”
“Yes. For a small while. Close would be an overstatement.
He never shared anything close with me. I do not know why I went out with him
in the first place. Now, please, I have said enough and you have no right to be
scrounging around in my personal affairs.”
“Affairs? Now that brings me to my next question. You
were secretly married to him and…”
“Sir!”
“Let me finish. You both were married, then he had an
affair and you broke your marriage. Now Raz has become the president and you
two have become close again. This is not something hidden, Miss Lang. It is a
matter of pure truth and a situation one could not deny.”
There was silence on the other end, then a beep, beep, beep came from the phone,
signalling she had closed the discussion.
“Well, there you go.” Baldwin leaned back on his chair
and grinned. “I’d say I did a mighty good job, wouldn’t you?”
Bonifacy nodded and looked at Dominic. He was gazing over
the paper he written on, and on the other sheet he had noted on during the
conversation.
“This confirms much. By her silence, her apologizing and
her statements, she has established what we thought. We, as brothers, have
searched for the truth in this and we have found it. Along with the tattoo Raz
has in his side and all this information, it is very much safe to say the Mr.
Raz Sty is a Vinstellian. Now, I think that my wife will be very proud of us
all.” Dominic smiled wide and closed his eyes. “Thank you, Father, for the
truth. Holy Spirit you have lead us into all truth. You told us to beware of
false prophets, of wolves that come in sheep’s clothing. Father you showed us
already what to do and all we needed to do was follow you. You have given us
permission to judge those inside Christ’s body. And Father that is what we now
will do. You have given us your power and dominion through Jesus and by Him we
will use it.”
“Amen, brother.” Baldwin and Bonifacy chorused.
*****
“What?!” Raz jumped out of his big office chair and
stomped up to Dotty Lang. She stepped back under the smell of his heated
breath.
“Well, sir, you were gone a long while, so, this Dominic
man and his gang have been stirring up the people against you. Also, somehow,
they have achieved their goal of cutting you out of office. People have
believed them, and I guess, finally listened to Holy Spirit. They have voted
you out and there are supposed to be men coming to remove you any minute.”
Raz seized Dotty’s arms and stared coldly into her wide
eyes. “You do something about this right now, or you will regret ever setting
eyes on me.”
Dotty squirmed under his strength. Yanking herself out of
his grip, she stepped back again, glaring at him. “Nothing I have done or not done
would I change. You are man of evil and care for only yourself. I regret right
now ever setting my eyes upon your beastly bulk.”
Raz’s eyes burned in anger. His face turning as red as
beet, he launched towards Dotty’s throat. Dotty moved, causing Raz to lose his
balance. He stumbled upon a bookshelf. From behind, Dotty kicked him hard
behind his knees. Raz fell, crying out. He turned abruptly, grabbed Dotty’s leg
and pulled her down. Raz hurled himself onto her.
Squatting over her legs, his hands pinning her arms down
he breathed, “I will not fail my chief nor Destroyer. If I go, you will go too.”
Raz smirked. “A shame really that my small Dot should die this way. We were
close, I shared my heart with you, yet you decided to be rid of me. However, I
want to show a mercy to you, my Dot.”
“Don’t call me that,” she hissed.
“Okay, fine. But as I was saying, I will save you. If you
help me, I will keep you. Is that a bargain or what?” Raz chuckled.
Dotty spat in his face. Raz frowned and mechanically
lifted his hand to wipe his face. Dotty used her chance to lean into his other
arm and bit down hard, also kicking him in the groin. Raz screamed out in pain.
Dotty swiftly slid out from under him and ran towards and out of his office
doors. She throttled right into the chest of Dominic.
“There. In there,” she sobbed.
Momina rushed to her and pulled her into her arms.
Directing the policemen with him, Dominic instructed,
“Let’s remove Raz Sty. No more will my brothers of this Island be ruled by his
hand. It is finished, Raz!” Dom called into the office. There was as
ear-shattered smash and they all
rushed into the room. Across the room they saw their last glimpse of Raz Sty.
He jumped out of the smashed glass window, falling and
shouting, “I will not fail!”
They maneuvered their way through the shattered glass and
peered out of the window. Five storeys down, the Vinstellian man lay
motionless.
“There is now no one he has failed but himself,” Dotty
murmured.
written by: Amariah Corowa
