I AM SHAWN! Shawn Ep 1

Somewhere in the South Pacific. April, 2019.

Dear Stranger,

Don’t be deceived, there is a thin straight line that connects all these dots. They all started out as mere occurrences: your usual day-to-day happenings that show the selfish and ruthless nature of men. But no, there is more to these: a devastating and cataclysmic plan one mind cannot fathom. Yes, it is them…Their tentacles stretch through everything and everyone-living and dead. Some say they need to be feared…maybe…but if there’s one thing I’m going do with what’s left of my life…it is to expose these men. And I will!

Since there is no one left on this terra firma with the right mind to listen, I turn to the stars. After years of having Hollywood show me what is in the stars, I finally choose to agree. Maybe it’s faith, or perhaps it’s just pure desperation. Any way you look at it, I just want someone out there to know something-WE NEED HELP!

Over the span of twenty centuries, we have been fed with lies, such that our entire civilizations have been built on them.

Billions of lives lost over eons because of these lies. If it’s not the crusades or plagues, it is the World Wars. If it’s not a humanly-crafted pandemic, it is the cleverly-constructed atrocities that have plagued man for thousands of years and likes of others we don’t even know.

We are Men of Earth! At least most of us think so. But we have since faced powers beyond our mortal comprehension. The likes some of us depend on to rule ALL OF US. And the results of this are evident throughout all lifetime-death and tears. The most privileged are those who are dead-for they are void of all forms of hope and strength to pursue what is impossible. But people with tears suffer most, for they die in bits and pieces, holding on to what is not only intangible but also pointless-hope! This, I am!

I AM SHAWN-the last remaining survivor of a family that has endured throughout the centuries. From the departure from Egyptian slave masters, to the conquering of the known worlds, and to this day, when I and my people quaked and trembled under the blasts and shots of acclaimed war saints, I document these chronicles to You-O stranger, if you’re really out there!

Over the past decade, I have watched my loved ones suffer and fall off like the wings of a diseased flea. Yet, something keeps me. Amidst these deaths and diseases, I crawled till I found this place. Here, floating endlessly on my planet’s largest water body, and away from the insanity that has plagued my planet. Syria is a long way from comfort. But if there’s any place called the Seat of Comfort-I found it! Only, I am living on borrowed time.

I was born where the sun doesn’t shine…just sets. Where all earth’s greatest treasures lay plain but never found. Where slavery was abolished, but still lives with us and within us all. Yes, and there’s nothing anyone can do about it.

My world was an entire continent called Africa. The vast land of 1.3 billion dark-skinned people spread across more than 40 countries speaking about 5000 languages. I am from the most populous country of them all. A land called Nigeria.

Centuries ago, my country was just a vast green land filled with people, who are segmented by their tongue and beliefs. My people journeyed and conquered lands, raising mighty warriors and kings, who ended up being immortalized as gods. But my story doesn’t begin here. It begins when years after, yellow-skinned men with guns and great machines invaded our lands and enslaved us all, with the accent of our kings and leaders…something they still do to this day.

Hence my dark-skinned people cannot find a greater hope than to do things according to the way of the yellow folks-talk, dress, think, and worship.

This marked the beginning of the downfall of my people. For even to this day, most of them have forgotten the greatness of their civilization, and how they changed the world. But they turn to the so-called wits of the white to survive…not to live.

It is with this mindset that my immediate parent decided to leave their country in search of wealth in the yellow man’s land. I was but a child, sitting on the shoulder and neck of my father, through our journeys.

In years, we came to the lands where the yellow folks covered themselves, despite the hot and harsh weather. They call the place-Arabia.

Here, my father did some things just to keep us alive. I would hear my mother sob some nights, lamenting over the fact that people will die if something falls into the wrong hands. My father would continue to pet her, assuring her nothing will happen to us whilst there is breath left in Him. He was wrong!

A few months later, in an ancient city called Cairo, my mother was kidnapped. It happened so fast that the events of her demise will stay with me for all my days.

There was a secret my father would not share, the secret that certain men would do anything to get. Because of the dangers the secret posed to the lives of many, and my planet at large, my father walked away from the only woman he ever loved. Weeks after, in a city called Damascus, we saw the mangled body of a dark-skinned woman, beautiful, even in death. It was mom. My father never remained the same afterward. Even as he sought to rebuild his soul, and build a son that all will come to fear, the truth remained with him-he had failed his family.

The same men who took my mother sparked a war in our new country, and in months, thousands of people fled their homes, in search of peace and shelter in neighbouring countries. The exodus was so great that the entire planet stood still. Massive hordes of depressed, dejected, hungry, pain-stricken people travel through desert lands and seas in search of hope.

Those who shared beliefs with other parts of Arabia were disappointed as they were denied entry into these countries, not even on a pilgrimage basis.

My father and I and other families from my country became caught in this life-changing ruckus. We with hundreds of people traveled over land and sea, mountains and valleys, till one night, on the plains not far from the borders of the country called Germany, they came!

At first, it felt like a surreal nightmare, but as everything slid into focus, reality dawned. They came from nowhere, wearing the night as an elemental cloak, three eyes glowing green in their heads and their bodies shimmering like silver in the dark. They darted through the camp like ghosts. As they appeared, they unleashed death like the sound of a dozen pins flying out from their arms. Immediately, my eyes shone brightly at the realization of what was unfolding. This has happened to me before…this is my second encounter with these?black ghosts.

As if on cue, my father thrusts a backpack into my chest and led me out of the camp. Turning, I could still see the streaks of green dashing here and there all over the valley, but not in our direction.

“My son,” dad started, “this is not goodbye. Remember everything I taught you, do them. It will keep you safe. And when you have come of age, get help!” He said, patting my back gently and squeezing me in one last hug.

“Dad, I’m only 15, where am I supposed to go” I questioned, innocently. Tears welled in my eyes and my limbs felt numb, “what am I supposed to do?”

“The world is vast enough for you, my son. Where you go, there will always be answers waiting for you. Take this,” he gave me his personal journal, “wherever you go, this has all the answers the world would need”.

My father stood up and headed back to the camp, sprinting without looking back till he disappeared into the dark moments after. Then, I saw it! It was a big explosion, the fire illuminating everything around. My father was in that fire…and he never said goodbye.

I cried. My cheeks felt numb. My last known family is gone - my father. I opened the book he gave me and his words shone back to me, illuminated by the same fire that consumed my father.

“DON’T WORRY SON, I AM STILL HERE” Even when it felt pointless, I felt an ember of hope. His last words to me were vague yet profound: “Whoever you choose to be, son…good or bad, will change the world.”

When you see this, O stranger…know that I have chosen.

Until next time…I am Shawn!