{"id":7373,"date":"2022-11-24T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-24T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sum.malmostudenter.se\/?p=7373"},"modified":"2024-10-18T12:22:18","modified_gmt":"2024-10-18T12:22:18","slug":"jesus-carving-3-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sum.malmostudenter.se\/index.php\/2022\/11\/24\/jesus-carving-3-6\/","title":{"rendered":"Jesus’ Carving (3\/6)"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Photo: A. Elmi<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Jesus' Carving (3\/6)<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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By: A. Elmi
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24th of November 2022<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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The afternoon weather was perfect, and I was hopeful that after two fruitless days I\u2019d finally get Maryan to speak. Mum was planning to send her on an errand to the Lidl not fifteen minutes away on Paul Krugerstraat, and I\u2019d decided to offer to join her. I was hoping the warm spring weather would draw couples outside, so that I could gesture at them and move naturally on to the topic of marriage. I was going over the plan, mumbling it to myself, as I inserted one of my keys into the front-door lock of our house. As I made to turn the key, a gigantic hand closed around mine and, treating my hand like a bottle, squeezed the key out of it.<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I yelped and whirled around to see a tower of a man. Wrapped in a creased and stained three-piece suit, he squinted down at me through even more stained glasses and forced his cracked lips apart into a grin. A puff of cigarette smoke burst off his clothes as he took another step away from me, my keys clutched tight in his right hand.<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u2018You must be Sharmaarke\u2019s daughter, Safia,\u2019 he boomed.<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I stared at him, unnerved more by the depth of his voice than by his knowledge. \u2018How do you know my Aabbo, <\/i>Father?\u2019 I managed to ask, my voice quavering on the words.\u00a0<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0His lips turned down, as if to say he did not know the answer. He twisted sideways to look up and around at our house. \u2018Didn\u2019t know my cousin lived this well,\u2019 he muttered to himself. He gave a humph, pivoted away, and marched over to one of the crumpled bushes in our front garden. He dove into the bush and drew out several suitcases that were so swollen with things he grunted and sweated the whole while. I briefly wondered how he\u2019d managed to stow them in there and if he\u2019d had help.<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I suddenly felt like Maryan in Grandfather\u2019s garden, rooted in place with stones anchoring my feet to the ground. Although I wanted to move, I couldn\u2019t. There was no way I was leaving this sophisticated burglar with the keys to the house when Grandfather and Maryan were inside. But if I couldn\u2019t leave, I had to do something.<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u2018What ar\u2014\u2019 I swallowed and cleared my throat, my voice having collapsed into a broken whisper. \u2018What are you doing?\u2019 I demanded, my voice firming with each word.<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The only sign he\u2019d heard me was a brief pause in his movements. He maintained his silence until he\u2019d arranged the three suitcases in a neat row between us.<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u2018Where\u2019s your Aabbo<\/i>?\u2019 he asked, straightening up from the last suitcase and bringing his right hand up and around his head to rub at his broad neck.<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u2018Why do you ask?\u2019<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u2018Well,\u2019 he said, shoving me gently aside as he flung a long leg over the suitcase barrier. \u2018I\u2019m staying, and I need to have a word with him.\u2019 He drew up by the door, pushed my key back into the lock, and turned it decisively. \u2018Now, help your dear Adeer, <\/i>Uncle, with these suitcases.\u2019<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u2018Aabbo <\/i>isn\u2019t here. He\u2019s in Ghana,\u2019 the words tumbled out of my mouth. \u2018You\u2019ll have to stay with someone else or go there to visit him.\u2019<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0He laughed as if he\u2019d heard a very good joke. \u2018I can\u2019t go anywhere else,\u2019 he said, swinging the door wide open.<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I wanted to look around, search for clues to drive him away, but as if fastened to him by an invisible string my eyes could follow only him. \u2018And why\u2019s that?\u2019 I asked.\u00a0<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u2018I am here,\u2019 he said simply.<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The way he looked at me, like a child pleading for confirmation, made him suddenly appear less dangerous. Relaxing a little, I said more steadily, \u2018I can see that.\u2019<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u2018I have returned,\u2019 he added with an emphasis that indicated this should make more sense. \u2018I am here<\/i>,\u2019 he dragged out his words and hunched over to look me in the eyes, \u2018to claim my people.\u2019<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I leaned back from his stale, smoky breath and piercing hazel gaze. \u2018What people<\/i>?\u2019<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Frowning at me, he stood up straight and dusted down his dirty suit jacket. \u2018You may know me as Ciise.\u2019 He brushed past me again to collect a suitcase. \u2018But others know me as Isa, Yeshua,\u2019 he began listing, \u2018or, my personal favourite, Jesus Christ, the great Lord and Saviour.\u2019<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I tore my gaze away and flung it over to the open door, where Maryan stood just behind the doorway. Her face said everything I imagined mine did, and I gestured at her frantically, mouthing Call the police<\/i>, while Jesus Christ busied himself over the suitcases. Clutching her chest, Maryan lurched backwards a step and spun away like a ballerina. I edged past Jesus and ran after her. But as though she\u2019d been a vision, she was in the house one moment and gone the next, and search as I might, I couldn\u2019t find her anywhere. So, I scrambled into the front room and briefed Grandfather on the situation as coherently as I could.<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Grandfather fumbled for his tusbax, <\/i>prayer beads, and began counting them rapidly with his right thumb. \u2018Bring in the imposter. I\u2019ll make him comfortable,\u2019 he said.<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It was surprisingly easy to usher Jesus into the room. All I needed to do was signal to him to follow me, and he gave a silly smile and fell in behind me like a lamb behind a Judas goat. As he was lowering his huge body into the armchair beside the sofa where Grandfather sat, I slipped away into the adjoining kitchen and closed the door behind me discreetly. I fell on the landline and punched in a Ghanaian number. While listening to the ringing tone, I winced at the muffled voice of Grandfather issuing biblical challenges to a sputtering Jesus.<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0An age later, a voice said, \u2018Hallow<\/i>, Hello?\u2019<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u2018Aabbo<\/i>!\u2019 I whispered into the receiver. \u2018Ii dhegeyso<\/i>, Listen to me! A man grabbed my keys, entered our house, and won\u2019t leave. He says he\u2019s Jesus, as in the prophet<\/i>.\u2019<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u2018What else did he tell you?\u2019 he asked in a calm, unhurried voice.<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u2018That you\u2019re cousins, and that he\u2019s come for his people.\u2019<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u2018Mm. Yes, that\u2019s Ciise,\u2019 Dad said. \u2018This \u201cJesus\u201d thing comes from some delusion he developed many, many years ago. It\u2019s seen him sectioned on and off for decades in France. I wouldn\u2019t say he\u2019s dangerous or anything so long as he\u2019s without his pack. You see, he\u2019s amassed quite the following over the years, and whenever they get together, they cause a lot of trouble. When he breaks out, it\u2019s usually to gather his people, his followers.\u2019<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u2018Should I call the police?\u2019<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u2018What\u2019s going on?\u2019 Idris tapped my back and wagged his brows at me.<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u2018Is that your brother?\u2019 Dad asked.<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u2018Yes.\u2019<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u2018Good. Stay together and watch Ciise. Keep him there, and don\u2019t phone the police! Just . . . treat him well while I find a solution together with your Hooyo <\/i>and your Adeer <\/i>Long Nose.\u2019<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This mysterious short story in six parts will be published every Thursday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":7334,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[333,332],"tags":[294,304,291],"class_list":["post-7373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-creative-writing","category-literature-film","tag-creative-writing","tag-mystery","tag-short-story","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sum.malmostudenter.se\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7373","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sum.malmostudenter.se\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sum.malmostudenter.se\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sum.malmostudenter.se\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sum.malmostudenter.se\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7373"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/sum.malmostudenter.se\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7373\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7378,"href":"https:\/\/sum.malmostudenter.se\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7373\/revisions\/7378"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sum.malmostudenter.se\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sum.malmostudenter.se\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sum.malmostudenter.se\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sum.malmostudenter.se\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}