Chapter nineteen
Mr. Tolen's twenty-first year memorial service
It's been three months since the Tolen's golden mansion was a host to hundreds of people during the dinner party organized by Charley, Pete, and Jenny. This was done as an initiative to welcome Mrs. Tolen back to her home; they refused her returning back with Mary up north of Zinatano. She had servants who met all her needs twenty-four hours every day. Mrs. Tolen was next to God in the hearts of the three heroes from the land of gold. Charley, Pete, and Jenny built several other golden mansions in Zinatano, along with estates for residence, schools, hospitals, and pharmaceutical companies. Charley had even won the gubernatorial elections in Zinatano city and was now nominated as Governor Charley Tolen of Zinatano State in the country of Adeogo. Pete had also established his NGO around the towns of Zinatano city and continued working with Mary, his sister.
However, the three Tolens had agreed to remain with their mother until they each decided to get married and move to their individual golden mansions they had built as strategic locations within cities and towns in Zinatano. Pete had called the whole family for a meeting at the golden family mansion in preparation for Mr. Tolen's twenty-first year remembrance service. It had been arranged earlier that year for it to take place in the month Mr. Tolen died. His grave had been changed from concrete and marbles into pure gold and was located in the garden at the center of the golden mansion in Zinatano. The whole family had gathered as arranged the Friday morning before the weekend, which had been planned for the memorial service. Pete had woken up early as usual to go to the garden to clean his father's grave, which was now made of solid gold.
He had sat down close to his father's grave early that morning before anyone had woken up in the mansion, with his head on his knees. He had dropped his broom, bucket, and towels by his side close to his father's grave. Pete started reminiscing about his interaction with his mother about Mr. Tolen's ghastly accident on his way from Kalkulta city. This had happened unfortunately when Mr. Tolen had traveled to search for his missing children. It had been eleven years since their disappearance in Zinatano. The police search and rescue team had exhausted their attempts in trying to find the three missing children. Mrs. Tolen had said, "Your father died in that bus on his way trying to find you all," and this always gave Pete a sense of guilt for the cause of their father's death. He could remember the day his father called them for a family meeting.
Mr. Tolen had said, "As you all know we are an average family in Zinatano. We have made great efforts to change our status but failed. But I strongly believe one day this family will become wealthy and famous, be it I am alive or dead. I want you all to be very committed and hardworking in all you engage yourselves to do and work hard. I promise you would certainly make it." Pete sobbed silently as tears dropped down, rolling across his face to the carpet grass on the garden floor. Then he silently uttered the words "be it I am alive or dead"!
Then he heard a tap on his back and the voice of his mother saying, "Pete, it's alright my boy. You stop crying and I want you never to blame yourself for your father's death; it was never your fault. Come on, getbusy at what you came to do here and come have breakfast when you are done. Be done quickly so you could get to the grocery store for me. I will need a couple of items to prepare lunch for our guests during the memorial service.
" Then Mrs. Tolen returned back into the golden mansion, covering her body well with her cardigan. That morning had been a very cold day, which was common in Zinatano during the winter or dry season. Pete stood and started cleaning his father's grave silently with his music audio earpiece stuck in his ears, with the other end connected to the iPod in his tracksuit pocket. Back in the city of Zinatano, it was being rumored that a certain Mr. Batunta, popularly called Chairman, was a man with a very wealthy and influential personality. People said he had suddenly gone blind for no apparent reason and could no longer see a thing. People said this man was very wicked in the city of
Zinatano. They claimed those who had worked for this rich man testified to him never paying his laborers their wages.
If they made any trouble for Mr. Batunta or Chairman, as he was popularly called in Zinatano, he would arrest the laborers and have them locked up at the police station. Others claimed any tenant who owed rent money among those renting houses from his numerous estates in Zinatano would be evicted or arrested by the police. He had married over eight wives but had not a single child. Despite this ugly personality about Mr. Batunta, he had great influence in matters concerning the general economic and infrastructural development in recent times within Zinatano city. He was a very connected politician and had so much money that he could pay to kill anyone he wanted out of his way. Several girls and women who had been married testified to Mr. Batunta raping and sexually harassing them.
But at the court of law, he would buy off all the lawyers and judges carrying out the judgment of these cases of assaults, so the victims never had their complaints heard by the court of law. There was just something bad someone somewhere had to say regarding Mr. Batunta being an evil person. Even little children could testify to this man being an evil personality, and he had been staying at Kalkulta before he decided to relocate to the city of Zinatano to do business.
Many believed his sudden going blind was a result of the nemesis and retribution for his wickedness to many people in Zinatano. From findings and research results, Pete had discovered that Mr. Batunta was the CEO of the old gas factory his father used to work at; his father had never mentioned this man. But, several times as a kid, he could recall his father talking about his boss at the old gas factory who had given him serious headaches before he finally retired from the gas factory. Indeed, it was now clear this man must have been responsible for Mr. Tolen's resignation from the old gas factory years before he died from that unfortunate accident. What could make such a wealthy and powerful personality act wickedly to people who served him?
This puzzled Pete as he read the newspaper that morning, especially knowing this man was very wealthy like himself. Then it occurred like a spark, this sudden solution to the puzzle as he read on; it was clear to Pete that this Mr. Batunta must have been an initiated member of the cult of worshippers of the gods of the land of gold! In fact, he must be one of those the gods had chosen to be in Zinatano carrying out their orders. At the end of the newspaper, the story about Mr. Batunta said he was actually originally from Kalkulta city and had moved and relocated to Zinatano city because of his business with the police force and the majority of the military forces administration.
He had built a number of factories across towns in Zinatano city. He also had built a number of estates in and around the city, but this man had a very bad reputation for being very wicked. At dinner, Pete had brought up the story about Mr. Batunta he had read earlier in that newspaper that day. As he spoke further on the topic, Mrs. Tolen stopped him and said, "I remember that man; your father talked about him as being a pain in his neck at the old gas factory several times.
He said that he was the most wicked man to ever walk this earth! In fact, your father was the only person in that old gas factory that ever stood up to Mr. Batunta. This resulted in a serious dispute between your father and his boss. That man was so rich but he made life very difficult for those who worked for him and their families. 'Hmm,' your father resigned after that confrontation between him and Mr. Batunta, who was then the owner of the old gas factory. It has been long sold out to another businessman as the new owner who decided to change it to a chemical company.
" Mary said, "I had planned that when I made money I was going to buy it from the old owner and convert it to a pharmaceutical company, but now it's been bought by another person." Mrs. Tolen added, "Your father said Mr. Batunta swore to make him suffer and pay one way or the other for ever standing up to him. But your father never bothered himself about these kinds of things.
This was the more reason I always asked him to come to church with us, but he would blatantly refuse and stay home watching football every Sunday at home." Mr. Batunta had actually gone to see a witch doctor based on directives from the gods of the land of gold. Years ago, they told him to ask the witch doctor to prepare a spell that would lure the Tolen's children to embark on the search to find the land of gold. Even the day Mr. Tolen had gone to meet his good friend Mr. Pantane regarding the job opening and the new company close to the old gas factory.
Those young boys Mr. Tolen overheard talking about the land of gold and people who had gone missing in the land were all part of the plan. Charley's, Pete's, and Jenny's friends at school who would tell them stories about the land of gold were all a part of the big plan to lure these very curious and intelligent three Tolen's children into the land of gold. The witch doctor had given Mr. Batunta a very potent spell, which he had dropped in the Tolen's garden when they had all gone out for the school parent-teacher association (PTA) meeting.
He had sneaked into their property pretending he had come to see Mr. Tolen. He entered the property and went to the entrance door. After knocking several times and receiving no response, he decided to go behind the house. Then he walked into the Tolen's garden and buried the spell after making all those enchanting incantations. Mr. Batunta returned to his residence. Subsequently, Mr. Tolen's children went missing as planned, and this eventually led to the death of Mr. Tolen. However, Mr. Tolen's death had not been a part of the big plan to make Charley, Pete, and Jenny lost in the land of gold, but it was a result of his traveling to Kalkulta to find his missing children that brought about the unfortunate accident that killed Mr. Tolen. Mr. Batunta would shout all through the night as though someone was beating him; he would find it very hard to sleep at night.
He had been blind, and this made it difficult for him to get around; he had to frequently call for help. One day he could no longer bear the suffering he was going through, so he decided to return to the witch doctor who had given him the spell years ago. At the witch doctor's place, he explained his ordeals at night and the sudden blindness he suffered for no apparent reason. The witch doctor said to Mr. Batunta that the gods of the land of gold had been angry with him for not ensuring that the three Tolen's children finally escaped from the land of gold.
Also, they were angry that Mr. Tolen died from that accident because that was never a part of the plans of the gods of the land. So the gods had chosen to kill Mr. Batunta, and this would be after they had taken back all the riches they had given him. The witch doctor said he was also going to die, since he was responsible for the spell he had given Mr. Batunta. Except Mr. Batunta was willing to find the Tolen's residence and personally confess all he had caused Mr. Tolen's family to any member he would meet at their residence.
The witch doctor said to Mr. Batunta that the two of them had only twenty-four hours to live, and if Mr. Batunta did not make the confession within this designated period, they would both be eaten up by maggots. Mr. Batunta stood up and said to the witch doctor, "but Baba witch doctor how can this happen? I can recall that one of his sons had once approached me asking me to show him the way to some place he was looking for some years ago. He was looking like someone who had gone insane, I quickly drove him away from me. Now I hear the Tolen's first son Sir. Charley Tolen is the present governor of Zinatano city, and all the children of Mr. Tolen are well educated. My wife even said they had been ranked the richest family in the city!
How can I approach any of them? They would have me arrested and killed instantly. Baba witch doctor I cannot go to the Tolen's golden mansion, no, no, no." The witch doctor now said, "well be rest assured that by this time tomorrow we are both dead, mark my words"! Then the witch doctor continued talking, saying, "Mr. Tolen's son called Pete or sometimes addressed as Dr. Pete is a very kind-hearted person. Only Dr. Pete can listen to your confession. They say he is a philanthropist and he has been helping the poor, widows, and orphans, and he is a pediatrician medical doctor. If you can find this 'Pete' or 'Dr. Pete' as he is popularly called here in Zinatano, he would certainly give an ear to hear your confession. And after granting you his audience, and when you have finally confessed the evil we did to their family, Pete would certainly have mercy and forgive you, and our lives would be spared," the witch doctor told Mr. Batunta.
"Any other member of the Tolen's family cannot ascertain your safety or the possibility of your returning back here alive again." The next day, Mr. Batunta had woken up early to get ready to visit the Tolen's family. Barely could he close his eyes throughout that night. The witch doctor's words kept ringing bells in his head; this ongoing nightmare had terrorized him for quite some time now. Mr. Batunta quickly rushed to the bathroom to take his shower; often his wife would give him a helping hand due to his blindness. He told his wife he was going to the Tolens' general hospital in Zinatano for his regular eyes check-up and to run some medical tests for himself. Mr. Batunta was known for being a very insincere personality; he was never straight with anyone, not even his wife.
Mr. Batunta called his driver to clean his van and have it ready for the trip to the hospital. He then picked his bag, said goodbye to his wife, and they drove out of his house heading for the Tolen's general hospital. Dr. Pete had been the general practitioner (GP) and the chief pediatrician surgeon there. He was well known for his philanthropist personality and how he aided the poor families who came to him for medical treatment. Also, he had established several NGOs he used in empowering both widows and orphans. He often went around Zinatano city giving free medical services to people who had been suffering from one health challenge or the other.
When Mr. Batunta arrived at the hospital, he joined the queue of several patients waiting to see Dr. Pete. He had met the receptionist nurse informing her of his intentions. The nurse told him to purchase a medical card being a first-time patient there and to fill up some forms she had given to Mr. Batunta. But he quickly told her he was blind. So she retrieved the forms from him and gradually asked him individual questions from the forms, and he would answer the nurse while she, in turn, filled the answers he gave to her into the forms on his behalf. When the nurse was done, she requested Mr. Batunta to return to the queue and wait for his turn to see Dr. Pete.
So he gradually turned using his walking sticks to find his way back to the queue position he had occupied. Eventually, it got to his turn to meet Dr. Pete. Mr. Batunta stood up, gave out a deep breath, and sighed. Then he was directed by the nurse into the doctor's room where he was asked to have a seat. Dr. Pete started asking him some questions, but not too long into his session, Mr. Batunta decided to stop Dr. Pete and said: "Inside of me, I have a feeling we have met before, though Dr. Pete, I have no eyes to see you." "Yes, I can see that," Dr. Pete responded. Then Mr. Batunta continued, "you see, I have a feeling you were the person I met about five years ago at a grocery store. You had come over to me and asked me for some address, but I drove you away after saying you were an insane man." "Yes, of course, Mr.??? What is that your name?" Dr. Pete asked. "Mr. Batunta, Sir, I mean Doctor Pete," Mr. Batunta responded.
Then Dr. Pete continued: "you must have been the first person we approached for assistance just after we came out of the land of gold. Yes, I remember you, what happened to your eyes, Mr. Batunta?" Mr. Batunta responded, "Well, you see, you mentioned the land of gold, while in his thoughts he was like; ooh! This is the chosen one the gods of the land had spoken about, he is the cause of my suffering and pending death, I would have killed him long ago." Mr. Batunta continued, "yes, my dear son, I regretted my actions that day, I wished I had rendered you my assistance.
I suddenly went blind one morning after arriving at my office. Before this sudden incidence, I faced so much difficulty with my business in Zinatano, and I was forced to sell most of my businesses and even properties. Indeed, the parable that says; what you sow you would reap! My son, you won't believe what I am about to tell you, but I beg you to tender your justice with mercy, and I pray you would forgive and forget." "Ok, hold on there, Mr. Batunta," Dr. Pete said. "I know all about you from my mother; my father had once worked for you at the old gas factory, but you laid him off because he had stood up to you in your office.
Mother told me you had sworn to make my father pay one way or the other, even though he never went against your company's guidelines and ethics." "Yes, Dr. Pete, you are perfectly right, but I had done even worse to your family. I am a member of the cult of the gods of the land of gold. I reported the matter to the gods, and they had advised me to see a witch doctor to assist me in consorting a magic spell, which I planted in your garden over forty-five years ago. I had trespassed into your old family house when you all had gone out, I knocked, but when I noticed there was no one at home, I went behind your house and entered your garden where I buried the spell. This spell was the cause of your entering into the land.