reverend so I will forgive your premature assumptions about him. If I had done nothing our lives would have been in turmoil, he is weak reverend, he is not like me.’
‘Maybe that is why your father left more to him, because you are the strong one.’
‘Maybe Abel went behind my back and turned my father against me, or may be my father saw more potential in him. My point is that the reasons are many but my brother will always be who he is, I can never trust him.’
‘That is huge leap; you will never know until you talk to him. Please continue your story, I am intrigued so far.’
Solomon drinks more water but this time with less care, his composure has slightly diminished but his mind begins to rethread his memories. ‘In the beginning it was a simple routine that we both performed effortlessly, but slowly I noticed things started to change.’ Solomon recalls his fifth year as Solomon; it was his brother’s turn to manage the masquerade. It is a late afternoon; Ken waits patiently in the seating hall of their mansion, Abel is late again, it has been eight days and his brother is still making excuses. It is not until the evening that Abel decides to show himself; he has already changed into the role; he doesn’t even give an excuse for the lateness, instead he makes light conversation and retires for the night. Ken doesn’t know what life Abel lives outside the world of Solomon, his guesses always amuse him, but he has never found the time to find out.
When Ken is not Solomon he is pursuing his first passion purely through nostalgia, he is a truck driver just like his father. It is an intensely laborious profession but he has enjoyed every minute of it. He imagines his father performing an activity in a previous life and then attempts to recreate that image to the best of his ability. This is how his secret life goes; he is content with it, he always looks forward to it but this one time he is too vexed to enjoy the experience. His brother’s behavior has gotten to him; thoughts start to run around in his head. Memories flood his mind and the devil takes a hold of him. Thoughts of his father’s debauchery start to haunt him as he races down the highway in the truck, then like a omen he spots a girl by the side of the road in very white dress, she is very young and beautiful. Ken has picked up many girls in the past, mainly professionals looking to make some quick change purely for his own enjoyment. In that moment he gets an epiphany; he finally understands the difference between him and his father, his father always took what he wanted. His instincts take over as he brings the truck to a full stop and waves the girl down in the distance. Getting into the truck proves to be a mistake, because after a few miles Ken has his way with her; he shows no mercy and as he performs the deed images of the night he caught his father with a girl in a white dress fuels his cruel passion. After he is done with her he drops her off at one of the closet towns and warns her never to speak about it, he leaves without even giving her a dime.
The reverend moves around uncomfortably in his chair not knowing how to react to Solomon’s confession. ‘Well now that is a very bad indeed, all this because of your differences with your brother. Have you asked God for forgiveness; you cannot confess your sins without first confessing them to God.’ Peece pushes his chair slightly away from the table and leans back in his chair.
‘Not yet reverend; that is not why I am here, there is another time and place to confess that sin. I am here to ask forgiveness for what I am about to do, I will bathe my hands in blood, in my own brothers blood. I see things clearly now; I understand why my father left things the way he did, he wanted me to claim what is rightfully mine, to be a man like him.’
‘What you tell me is very sad; premeditated murder is frowned upon by God and society, I implore you to rethink your decision. Do not be rush; the world is not as straight forward as you think, God works in mysterious ways.’
‘My mind is decided I just needed to clear my conscious.’
‘I understand, you still look thirsty, please help yourself to some more water.’
Solomon uncrosses his legs and reaches out for the empty cup near him and then gets up from the couch and makes his way across the room to refill it. He doesn’t realize something is wrong until he takes his first step, for some uncanny reason he cannot move his other leg, his vision also starts becoming blurry. He places his right hand on his head to rub it hoping it will help clear the headache, but that does not work, neither does rubbing his eyes. He loses control of his left arm and the glass falls though the air making a brief but low piercing sound before shattering into smaller pieces. Finally he stops trying to move and stumbles backwards and falls onto the couch. He cannot move, his body is paralyzed neck down, his mind is on fire, but he still has his senses and speech. ‘What have you done to me; why can I not move?’ matters Solomon in a drunken stupor. Peece does not say anything or make any movement while he stares at Solomon; he simply stares on with a look of pity. The sound of the office entrance opening and shutting echoes through the room, the sound of footsteps ensue. Solomon with the little control he has left over his body forces his head into the direction of the footsteps, and at first he sees himself walking. Remembering he has been drugged Solomon tries to clear his mind but the figures appearance does not change, then reality slowly sinks in, Abel has just entered their meeting. ‘Help me brother; this mad man has drugged me, thank the lord you are here it is a miracle.’ Solomon stammers as the words barely escape his mouth.
Abel does not respond to Solomon’s plea instead he casually walks over to the couch and seats next to his brother and puts his left hand around his brother’s shoulders. ‘Oh my dear brother, can you not see that I cannot help you, neither can that fiend across the table. I thought this was going to be hard, honestly I thought I was selling my soul to the devil, but after hearing your conversation, you’ve made it clear and I know what I have to do. We are two predators born from the same womb, cursed with the same face and caught up in the same masquerade we engineered. Who knew our fake lives would eventually become our real ones’ Abel embraces his brother tightly.
‘Don’t do this evil thing Abel, it was a confession, I was mad at you and I just needed to share my feelings with someone. I know you; you will not be able to live with yourself.
‘Patronizing me is not helping your case.’ Abel reaches out and starts toying with his brother’s bowtie, he pauses for a moment to decide if his brother is being genuine. ‘I am sorry, this is for the best, surely you didn’t think this was going to last forever, it was going to fall apart at some point. Here you are confessing your heart; you don’t even know this man, it didn’t take much to bribe him. I know what you did to that girl, I had you followed, and I never thought you were capable of such a thing. It got me thinking, and I knew it was going to come this at some point, you or me.’ Abel reaches into his pocket and pulls out a razor sharp scalpel and rubs it against his face while he stares into his brothers eyes. In one blinding motion Abel makes one clean incision across his brother’s throat, it takes a few seconds for the skin and veins to separate. Abel gets up and quickly walks for the door before his emotions overcome him, but before he closes the door behind him he can barely make out the words that bubble from his brothers slit throat. ‘I love you’ are Kens last words in the form of a howling symphony through his exposed wind pipe.
About the Author
Mambo Banda II comes from a humble background, he has been writing for over 10 years. He has a bachelor of science, during the day he is a serial entrepreneur, businessman and author. He is fascinated by people and the inner workings of society; he uses fiction to explore these areas, and he uses his experience in life to ground his stories in reality.
Twitter: @MamboTheAuthor
Other Books by Mambo Banda
‘I Am Lion’
Synopsis:
He dreams of death, he has skills of destruction, and he doesn’t remember who he is. Was he a monster or savior?
Only the truth can redeem him.
He calls himself Lion because
he is a man with no past or identity, and he roams the streets of Pathos City living like an animal. Strange things have been happening to Lion, he’s been having dreams of being a killer and he has suddenly developed skills that make him a very dangerous person. Then there’s the small fortune he has just received from an unknown donor, and soon Lion realizes he has always been different from the people he has lived with on the streets. When Lion tries to find answers he accidentally meets Penelope, the daughter of the city’s most powerful crime boss. Penelope swears she knows Lion, and just before Penelope reveals what she knows Penelope's nearly assassinated, but Lion saves her and it nearly costs him his life. Lion finds himself bleeding to death and alone in a dark alley, but he refuses to give up on his past. Half broken and with the odds against him Lion moves forward even though the truth could kill him.
‘Forever Evil & Loving It’
Synopsis:
“Azrael, like the angel of death, because you find no solace in your immortality, the only thing that seems to satiate your anger is the sound of the reapers sickle.” -