The death of Pa Daniel as many would call him shook the entire kingdom of the Westlands and even the king mourned him. The old man waited long enough for his first son so he could teach him the do and don't of the gift he would be inheriting but he didn't show up.
He use to be the kingdom's wisest man, his generation is blessed with the key to the passage of the past and he is the last bearer of the key. He has helped the kingdom solve lots of problems by visiting the past to get answers and there has never been an unsolved crime case in the kingdom all through his existence.
"...He is old enough to join his ancestors and we should be thankful to God for his life" the king of the kingdom returned to his throne after addressing his chiefs who came to disclose the death of the great man to the king.
The king returned to his chambers in sadness and his chiefs sat in groups as they shared the beautiful memories they had with the man they referred to as the wisest in their kingdom.
He returned to the meeting hall after some time which is very unusual for the king and everyone got to know how important the old man who passed on was important to the king.
"Are his children back from the foreign land?" the king asked the chiefs.
"Not all are back your majesty, we are yet to see the first son but he should be on his way by now" the head chief replied.
The King paused for a moment and finally readjusted his posture on the royal chair. He ordered that the burial process should start immediately and made it clear that the deceased must be given a befitting burial. The town criers went out to announce the death of Pa Daniel and soon the whole kingdom knew what happened.
Stephen arrived at the palace that night and the king wasn't pleased for responding poorly to his father's death. He is the first son everyone was expecting and he apologized for the delay.
The burial preparation was set and Stephen has to spend the night with his father's corpse for the transfer of the gift. It was a sad and happy night for him, the thoughts of not seeing his father anymore made him sad while getting the gift was a joy.
Stephen left his father's room as soon as the sun rose and everyone could see the mark of the key to the passage of the past on him. The king was happy that Stephen got the gift and he was rest assured that he would continue to help the kingdom just like his father did.
The burial rite was carried out and Pa Daniel was laid to rest. People mourned him many days after and everything became a thing of the past a few weeks after.
Stephen was told his father benefits and he agreed to remain in the kingdom to serve the king but he told the king he had to embark on a journey first before settling down in the kingdom. The king had no choice but to let him go and Stephen promised to return as soon as possible.
He left the kingdom for his home in the South and the news of his gifts traveled across the kingdom.
Stephen was approached by some brothers who told him they had a business deal for him that involved lots of gold. He gave them an audience and in the end, he realized his new gift made him very important to those people.
He agreed to work with them and he left his mission to go home for the deal that was brought to him. On the night he met those people, Stephen saw his father in the dream. The old man warned him that the power mustn't be used for evil or any selfish interest.
Stephen woke up and was terrified. He wanted to abandon the deal but the people increased his reward and he was tempted more.
The deal was to help them look for a treasure that was claimed to be lost by their great grandparents about three centuries ago. It was difficult for Stephen who hasn't used the power before but the reward involved would make him one of the wealthiest men in all kingdoms so he was ready to give it a shot.
He was about to embark on the journey when he overheard the brothers talking about getting rid of him when they found the treasure.
He wanted to leave but he thought of outsmarting them too. He collected all the information he needed and locked himself in a room just like his father does. He chanted some words, closed his eyes and found himself in the passage to the past. Stephen was granted entry since he has the mark of the key.
He went digging for answers about the lost treasure and he found it within a minute. It was a heavy box filled with gold and Stephen thought about taking everything for himself. He found where it was kept and tried returning to the present but the gatekeeper of the passage to the past denied him entry because he has acquired an abominable knowledge that would create chaos in the world.
The gatekeeper made it clear that Stephen can't leave until he forgets everything he knew about the treasure. He knew he was in trouble because that would take him a lifetime, he pretended many times about forgetting but the gatekeeper saw through him.
Stephen didn't have a choice but to live in the past, he tried bringing the current development in the present to the past but nothing worked out. He helped them with treatment, and construction but everything kept returning to how things were and he later discovered that nothing about the past can be changed.
On the seventh day of his stay in the past, he heard about an elixir that would erase his memory.
It took him two days to find it and when he finally drank the elixir, it worked. Stephen saw his father while approaching the gate to the present and the old man looked sad as he walked past Stephen.
He reached the gate and was allowed to leave. Stephen appeared in a room different from where he was before the journey and he couldn't figure out why until he opened the door and saw a family watching a screen with objects moving in it.
He greeted them and they were terrified to see an old man in their apartment.
"Where are you from, old man?" The father asked. Stephen didn't realize how he looked until he was called an old man.
He turned around and saw his reflection in a mirror, he held his head with his hand in shock.
He asked if he was still in the Westlands and they told him that the Westlands don't exist anymore and is now called Nigeria. The family called the police and they came to take him away.
Everything he told the police was unbelievable, they had to let him go because they thought he was just a crazy old man wandering around. He tried locating the kingdom but he couldn't and the passage to the past was shut at him.
He saw his father that night again in his dream and the deceased wasn't happy. Pa Daniel told his son that everything that happened was because he abused the power and things wouldn't have been like that if Stephen came home at the right time to beat the difference between the past and the present.
He couldn't save his son and only prayed for him not to suffer in the afterlife.
Stephen regretted allowing greed to push him into all that mess, he wasted 50 years thinking it was just 10 days in the past. He passed away after a few years and the government took his corpse to bury because no one came to claim his body.
Here is my entry to the Inkwell monthly prompt and you can as well participate.
Thanks for reading.