The motorbike slipped and nearly spat him into the mud.

He succeeded in escaping an embarrassing fall, smiling and scanning around to see if anyone noticed.

His eyes met those of no one. He hoped to find an observer with whom to laugh at his awkwardness. Now, he found none and was only smiling to himself, an almost idiotic smile.

While continuing the ride, he saw his smiling face in the mirror of the bike. He looked like a dog in a helmet, his yellowish, savage teeth glistening in the reflection.

He was a sweet personality. His heart ached at the savage physical traits that masked his true id.

As Nathan watched the rider bypass their house, he had no idea what went on in the biker’s head. He only saw a delivery man, hurrying to deliver a meal to a customer.

As he watched the motor fade into the neighborhood, his attention was drawn to the moving songs lilting through the airwaves to his ears. Chants from the shrine.

He did not like the fetish priest nor anything that bore resemblance to him. What he did not understand was what was in those songs that moved his heart deeply, stirring him to the depths of his soul.

Could it be that God lived in what they did and they weren’t really lost like he had been thought whiles growing up?

In an age when magic and sorcery ruled the world, it was normal that ancestors sought protection from gods and spirits to preserve their families and communities. No one back then ever heard of Islam or Christianity.

Have sons erred if they have kept the tradition of their fathers by serving the gods of their fathers that have preserved them through centuries?

These deep songs emanating from the shrine were stirring up questions in Nathan’s mind. Uncertainties bubbled in his young mind.

When he ever gets one-on-one time with the reverend Father Joseph, they would have a very long discussion. It was unfortunate the reverend couldn’t come for Odessa’s christening.

A baby was crying. It was Odessa. She had woken up. Nathan hoped mother returned quickly from the local market.

He went in and picked up the baby from her cot. Whiles calming little Odessa, he noticed a new piece of cloth in his stepfather’s bag. There were new pair of shoes under the table on which the bag stood.

He could tell by the sizes of the shoes whom they were meant for – his younger step- brothers.His were missing. He did not belong here. He was in the family but he was not family.

He came with his mother to this marriage. He didn’t know his father and sometimes he wondered who he was and where he was.

He had escorted his mother to come witness this ceremony called marriage. Sometimes she was happy. Sometimes she was sad. She used to confide her problems in him. Then, he was too young to understand what she meant, but somehow, it gave her some relief. It seemed mother had problem trusting people. She never had a close friend.

Sometimes anger whirled in him against his father he’s never seen. What does it mean to have a father? There were rumours that his mother was raped and that was how he came to exist. But whatever happened in the past, he must put it behind him and think of how to build a big, bright future for himself.

Just in case things turn out for the worse for his mother in her current relationship, he should be able to shelter and provide for her. He must become a son she can be proud of one day…