Olumba sat on the mat, sweating profusely, and looked frozen, as though it was the first time he saw the unbelievable, which scared the hell out of him. His eyes were wide open, staring at what stood before him, unable to blink or look away.
“ What happened?” The old Granny asked calmly as she came out of her hut, looking at Olumba Olumba, who was disorganized, as if he had seen a ghost.
Olumba Olumba tried to speak, but he couldn't find a word and stammered as if he were a stutterer. Old Granny knew something was wrong, but also recognized that Olumba Olumba needed time to settle his troubled mind.
After a few minutes, when the old granny was in the palm tree kitchen, which stood simply in the open, shaded by tall palm fronds that spread wide. Olumba came to her to discuss what had happened earlier.
“Granny, I am very sorry that I didn't heed what you told me,” He said, looking down before meeting old Granny's eyes.
“What did you do this time?” Granny asked with a grin.
“ I went to the other side of the riverbank, which you asked me never to go to, the forbidden water springs” he answered.
Granny's mood changed to a serious one, looking at him with urgency, and she stopped cooking. She held him by the wrist and walked towards the mat that was under the large mango.
“ Why did you do that?” The old granny asked, looking troubled as she sat on a mat to hear what her grandson wanted to say.
“I went to the river to feel the serendipity of life, calmness, and silence to meditate, and all of a sudden, I heard my name from afar and later closer, and the voice came from the other side.
It was as if there was a magnet which pulled me in that direction, and before I knew what I was going to do, I was already there answering Yes,” He stated to the old granny who looked at him in astonishment.
“What happened after that?” The old granny inquired.
Olumba Olumba continued, “The spring water bubbles up, overflowing, and it turns into a very beautiful lady. She walked towards me with a glance that hypnotized my soul and I just stood there like a statue.
She tapped her hand, and a chair appeared, which I seated on, and she started singing this song with this voice that is appealing to the ear. She danced beautifully with a strange beat that played rhythmically from an unknown source. She stepped at the top of the spring without sinking, leaving her white blouse and skirt neatly on her as if she were a dummy. She wore cowries made of beads on the head, neck, wrist, and leg.
After the dancing and the grand style entertainment, the water lady held my hand as it was cold as ice before piercing a deep kiss on my cheek, whispered my name into my earlobe, and walked back magnetically into the spring and dissolved back into bubbles of water.
A cold breeze blew me back into life and that was when I came back to my consciousness. I looked back at the other side of the river and noticed that people were there, but to my surprise, no one noticed me as I walked past all of them. I was scared to the heart as if I had died, but only to confirm I am a living soul when you called me some minutes ago,” he concluded as his bulgy eye opened in surprise like a touch light.
Old granny's eyes dissolved from worry to joy, she smiled, and her old wrinkled cheek gave a sense of ease.
“ Yes, you are right, immediately you swam across the forbidden spring water, you are with the ancestors, and I am very happy you came back to life,” she said and continued.
“ You were only shown a glimpse of the new year” she said before going back to the kitchen to continue her cooking.
Olumba kept to himself, but he was also confused.” Who is this water lady? How come I can't remember her face, and will I ever meet her again?”
The question is what he slept with that night.
“ Can you see my face?” he heard and opened his eyes and saw that she was sitting beside him.
“ We will meet again,” she said in a sweet-toned voice that can cause giddiness from within.
“But how?” He asked and she replied with Sh!.
“ It is time to go,” she concluded, putting a finger on Olumba’s lips.
Olumba Olumba felt a tap on his shoulder, “Wake up,” he heard, and opened his eyes.
“ You have been here for an hour,” the familiar voice said.
He opened his eyes to see that he was in a Jacuzzi filled with water and soap bubbles.
“So it is all a dream” he said and immediately recognized where he was.
“Welcome back from the dreamland,” the familiar voice said, and he looked up to see that Mary, his lady friend, was the same water lady from his dream, and looked surprised.
Mary noticed he was lost and waved her hands over his face.
“ What happened over there” she asked.
“ I was in our past life,” he answered.
“ Who was I over there ?” She inquired.
“ The water lady,” he replied.
“ What does that mean?” She asked again, helping him use a foam to wash his back.
Olumba looked back at her with admiration and replied. “ It doesn't matter, what matters now”
“Then make it snappy” she said as she walked away from the bathroom, knowing that Olumba Olumba would need time to digest his dream.
Olumba Olumba remembered it was December 31st. “There are only a few hours left until the new year,” he ruminated and got out of the water feeling present to live in the moment.
