He says, “WHAT THE HE-“. He soon gets sucked underground and falls unconscious. Soon jolting awake in a bed and seeing a doctor with weird marks on his face. The man seemed to be covered head to toe, making sure to not expose much of himself.


    He utters, “I…uh, I’m Sopona.” The doctor gets excited and grabs Sopona’s hands, “Really? You’re…I can’t say your name but, you’re him Baba?” The man’s face lights up, it has a mix of fear as well. Sopona nods. The man bows, frantically. The god smiles and stops the man before he can go get an offering, “My friend, it’s ok. I thank you for housing me, that’s offering enough. I must ask, why are you covered so heavily though?”


    Sopona responds, “I understand your plea, I’ll walk amongst you to see if you’re worthy. And again, thank you for helping me. What’s your name?”


    The doctor shyly laughs, “My name is Maduabuchi. I’m the doctor of this village.”Sopona attempts to leave but suddenly feels an agonizing pain in his chest. The pain feeling like daggers ripping away at his insides. It’s so intense that it nearly makes him fall over. Maduabuchi quickly acts and catches him. Sopona has a random memory flash through his head, begging for his attention. The memory is vague but it makes him feel sick to his stomach. He feels like he has to vomit, but there’s nothing coming out. His body reflexively rejecting what could possibly leave his body. Maduabuchi sits him back down and gives him a drink. Sopona drinks rather rashly, trying to calm down his chest pain and overall sick feeling.


    He thinks, “Maybe this man is a test? To accept weakness? No, that would be too easy….unless, I’ll just see where this goes.” He nods and he’s helped to his feet as well as given a gourd full of the tea that was made. He gets taken to the town central, it reeks of abandonment and isolation. Scattered bits of life remain- half burnt fires, worn blankets and the ground has faint impressions of footprints. There’s so little here that it''s obvious that they’re nomads. He feels an overwhelming sense of despair and he can hear thoughts of the people roaring in his mind. The shame, the guilt, the disgust, and the fear. They only get louder as he gets closer to the center of the town.


    Sopona asks, “What was your sin?” The woman stays silent. He notices that she’s starting to shake. She’s about to be on the verge of a breakdown, he sighs. He reached out for her hands and she pulled away, her voice shaking with anger. “No! I…I don’t want you to see any more! Just tell me I’m worthless! You''ve seen enough, haven’t you?! Stop giving me this… false hope!” He tilts his head, somewhat analyzing her. Seeing her fragile state, he walks closer to her and in response she stumbles back.


    He then asks, "Why''d you come to me? To be judged or perhaps…something more to affirm thoughts that aren’t my own? Let me see what you truly are, if there''s redemption for you then, I-"


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    It gets killed by the commanding gentleness of his voice telling her, "Some deserve death, yes. But, your grief shows the action wasn’t taken lightly. Death isn’t a punishment because, you’re already paying a big enough price. The guilt, the regret, the disgust, the shame, all of it is your price for whatever you’ve done. They’re also signs that you have a some humanity in you. Those who deserve death don’t care about their sins, they have nothing resembling what you have.”


    He says, “THE HELL DID YOU JUST SAY?” The figures simply laugh hollowly at his outburst, almost like a chorus of ridicule. They say, “Like an animal, you lash out instead of presenting your point in a civil manner. It’s oh so entertaining, you make children seem like elders!” Babalú-Ayé lowers his tone and start gripping the table, a feeble attempt at presenting a fragile self respect, “Then why’d you come here? If just to use me for your entertainment?” The figures become women and they’re all familiar figures, “We can ask you the same thing, darling?” He says, “THE HELL DID YOU JUST SAY?” The figures simply laugh hollowly at his outburst, almost like a chorus of ridicule. They say, “Like an animal, you lash out instead of presenting your point in a civil manner. It’s oh so entertaining, you make children seem like elders!” Babalú-Ayé lowers his tone and start gripping the table, a feeble attempt at presenting a fragile self respect, “Then why’d you come here? If just to use me for your entertainment?” The figures become women and they’re all familiar figures, “We can ask you the same thing, darling?”


    He yells with his eyes enraged, “WHAT DO YOU KNOW, HUH?! THIS ISN’T EVEN REAL!” They respond indifferently, “Yet everything we say is true, everything you’ve done is very real. So no matter how much you want to discredit everything we claim, you know it’s true.” Eshu sits there studying the expression on Babalú-Ayé’s face. As tears pour from the frail man’s face, his fist clenched to the point of bleeding and his eyes reflecting guilt at the claims while his body language portrays a more ignorance than what’s truly under the surface.


    Babalú-Ayé shouts in a defensive and dismissive tone, “YOU THINK ME A MONSTER TOO, HUH? MAYBE I SHOULD PLAY THE PART AND KILL YOU RIGHT NOW, HM?!”Eshu chuckles and says in a more sweet yet casual tone, “My friend, you’re not a monster. Humans were naturally born selfish, what’s wrong with a man being in tune with his nature? I’m such a man, myself.”


    The confidence in his voice lessened and quiet, still trying to cling to a bit of playfulness, “You’ve got the wrong guy, that’s all Babalú-Ayé. I just came for the show. You can proceed with your ridiculing. Hell, I’ll join in if you wa-“