The Beautiful Side of the Moon

by Leye Adenle

  ‘It’s my fault.’

  ‘Yes, it is. But it has happened. You have to let go.’

  ‘What will happen to her?’

  ‘She will live and she will die, but her soul will have long been dead by then.’

  ‘Brother Moses explained it to me. I’m not sure I really understand.’

  ‘Imagine being the president of a country in your life- time, and then when you die you have no memory of it. You spend the rest of eternity never knowing you once ruled a nation.’

  ‘So she won’t know what she becomes?’

  ‘Much worse than that. Far, far worse. With time she would have perfected her soul, so that when she died, she would spend eternity in a good place. Right now, her soul is not where it should be.’

  ‘Hell?’

  ‘No. Far, far worse. It is truly tragic. But you should not let this bother you.’

  ‘How can I get her back?’

  ‘Her soul? You must go where it is, and you must be able to come back. It is impossible.’

  ‘But my father did it.’

  ‘Yes, he did. It wasn’t impossible for him.’

  ‘Can I learn to do it to?’

  He stared at me for a long while, then looked down at his hands. He spread his fingers then turned his palms up. ‘It is possible,’ he said. ‘Let us place this on the back- burner. Today is your day. We are all here for you. Ask me any other thing you wish to know.’

  ‘Like what?’

  If all the magic I ever learnt was how to get Adesua’s soul back, my life would have been well spent.

  ‘Anything,’ he said. ‘Anything at all, except the other matter.’

  I thought for a while.

  ‘What does “do not put your hand inside the finger” mean?’

  ‘Brother Moses has warned you not to do that? You will learn the meaning in the dimension where it is possible to put your hand inside the finger. You must also stop looking at yourself in mirrors too often.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Many mirrors are not our friends. Some of them are with us, but not all of them. The problem is that you can never tell which ones are for us and which ones are against us, so it’s better not to trust any of them. Except unused ones.’

  I thought about it. How can a mirror be unused? ‘Unused mirrors?’

  He nodded. ‘It is safe to assume that the rest belong to the other side.’

  ‘What is the other side?’

  ‘That is a very good question, Master Osaretin. We have been called many names over the ages. We have been gods, angels, demons, witches, wizards, tricksters and magicians.

  ‘In the travels of your training you will encounter many beings, many great magicians, and many unknown and unknowable forces. You will also encounter the conspicuous absence of one entity. It is the question over the existence of this one magician that has led to the Great Schism among all the magicians.

  ‘There are those who, emboldened by the knowledge of this absence and a further secret knowledge they claim to possess, seek to become The One. They lust to claim the name, even if its power is as unattainable as it is infinite. They spread news of a better world that they claim they will call into being, and they seduce the minds of the people with false doctrines, dangerous paradigms, and endless hope.

  ‘Then there is us, we who see in the absence of this one being the very proof of its omnipotence.

  ‘The war is between us and them. In truth, any notions of good and bad probably depend on which side of the Great Schism you choose to stand.

  ‘Brother Moses has told you who you are. You are Mr Magic. That is your performance name. Your father told him who you are. You are a truly gifted magician. Your powers will one day surpass your father’s. To those on the other side, this makes you a threat, because you can claim the prize for yourself, or you can wait till one of them makes such a claim and then you will work to surpass such a magician’s powers. Either way, you are a threat to them. They want you for one reason only: to destroy you, and it could be the destruction of your body or of your soul. We are lucky Brother Moses found you first.’

  ‘What if he’s wrong?’

  ‘Do you think he’s wrong?’

  I was pondering this question when the other magicians started laughing.

  ‘Reginald is telling his jokes. Have you met him?’

  ‘The black cat.’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Come, let us eat and drink with our fellow magicians.’ We went to join the rest of the magicians crowded round Reginald, who was walking half circles back and forth in the circle they’d formed around him. Frequently they would laugh, but I did not hear the cat say anything.

  Brother Moses came to stand by my side.

  ‘This is a beautiful place, is it not?’ he said. ‘Congratulations on making it here.’

  It was a beautiful place, with its floating furniture, and its enormous hall, and its gigantic glass walls, and the out-of-this-world view, but Adesua wasn’t there and her soul was in a bad place.

  ‘Is Adesua coming? No.’

  ‘Where is she?’

  ‘Back where we came from.’

  ‘Where exactly are we?’

  ‘On Earth. Time is used as a camouflage, but we are on Earth. If that is what you mean.’

  ‘I have to go back.’

  ‘You don’t have to, you know? Now that you are here, you can stay here. You don’t have to go anywhere.’

  Chapter 18 Passages

  The sky gradually darkened outside until it had faded to deepest black, sprinkled with more stars than I’d ever seen. Together, the magicians all began to walk towards the wall of glass. The doors opened for them and they made their way into the night talking and laughing, holding hands or exchanging objects, until they gently lifted into the air and flew gracefully away, still having their conversations, still holding hands, still reading a pamphlet, or still waving at me as I watched them through the wall of glass.

  I was filled with emotion as they were carried away, over the valley, growing smaller, taking on a luminous sparkle, until they were like fireflies spreading away across the sky, dissolving into the stars.

  ‘Can you teach me how to fly?’ I said.

  Brother Moses was on my right. Professor Ochiko was on my left. It was he who answered me.

  ‘Nobody has to teach you. It’s like walking. First we learn to crawl, then we learn to walk, and if we keep learning, we fly.’

  I was going to talk but he continued.

  ‘You have many enemies. We can protect you from most of them, but you have a lot to learn if you are to defeat the strongest of them. Your training starts tomorrow. You are to begin at the bottom like everyone else. Remember to keep practising your coins.’

  ‘Do you think I’m The One?’

  He smiled. Without answering me he walked towards the doors and they swung open for him. He continued walking and then stepped into the air and floated away, brightening as he left, becoming a sparkling dot in the distance, and finally disappearing like a candle blown out far away.

  ‘He doesn’t think I am The One,’ I said.

  ‘Like I told you before, now that you are here, you are safe and you will always be safe here. You don’t have to leave.’

  ‘Why do you keep saying that?’

  ‘You are safe here.’

  ‘As opposed to where?’

  ‘Anywhere else.’

  ‘Like, home?’

  ‘This is your home.’

  ‘You know what I mean. Where is Adesua?’

  ‘You won’t be safe there.’

  ‘But once I learn magic, I’ll be safe there, right?’

  ‘You don’t understand. You cannot learn magic here. To learn, you must return. But you don’t have to.’

  ‘I want to.’

  ‘Why? Because of Adesua? She does not need your help. She can look after herself.’

  ‘Why don’t you want me to go? Oh, I get it now. You don’t think I’m The One. You made
a mistake. You were wrong about what my father told you. That’s it. I knew it. You are afraid I’ll get killed because I will never be the magician you thought I was. When did you realise it? When are you going to tell the others?’

  ‘I didn’t make a mistake, Mr Magic.’

  ‘I am not Mr Magic. If you haven’t noticed, I am not special. I can predict lifts and coins, but those people, they can fly. Adesua, she can drive two cars at the same time, and you, you keep snakes in you hair. You know stuff. You brought me here. You gave me that ball. You know magic. If I can be taught magic, I want to learn it too.’

  He sighed. ‘You don’t have to learn anything or do anything or be anything. I just want you to be safe and this is the safest place for you.’

  ‘I can’t stay here. Adesua is there and I need to learn how to get her soul back. Are you going to take me back or are you going to keep me here like a prisoner?’

  ‘I cannot keep you here against your wish.’

  ‘Good. So when do we go back? Now?’

  ‘If you insist, we can leave in the morning.’

  ‘Great. Where exactly are we going? Is there a school or something? Who’s going to teach me? You?’

  ‘We are travelling magicians. I already told you this. We go to places where people are not against the art of magic and we entertain them with our tricks. That is how we earn our living and this is where your training will begin.’

  I vaguely remembered him calling himself a traveling magician and attempting to explain what that meant, but at the time I wasn’t so keen on listening to what he had to say.

  ‘What exactly do you mean by “travelling magicians”?’

  ‘We travel from place to place and we put on shows for the people.

  ‘What sort of places?’

  ‘Places where they have never seen magic before. Villages. Small towns.’

  ‘Doing what?’

  ‘Showing them magic.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Because that is what we do. That is how we earn our pay.’

  ‘Are you being serious right now? You want me to go from village to village performing tricks?’

  ‘Not exactly what you expected, right? Remember, first we crawl, then we walk, then we fly.’

  ‘You said something about people’s imagination.’

  ‘So you were listening. That is good. When you inspire awe through your magic, you unlock the minds of your audience. It’s like opening a passage to another dimen- sion. When it happens, you will know it. But first, you have to come up with a trick that is all your own. A trick nobody taught you.

  Then, when you have performed it enough till it becomes like real magic to your audience, you’ll see the doors unlocking. What happens then?’

  ‘Then you walk into the passage.’

  Chapter 19 Faka fiki

  I woke up strapped down. I smelt petrol. In the time it took me to realise I was in the backseat of a Lagos yellow taxi, it also registered with me what portion of the Third Mainland Bridge we were on. In the same time, I noticed that Brother Moses had changed into normal clothes, namely a white shirt and no hat, and that the man next to him, driving as if he was running from the police, had a head all grey, and three, deep, lateral tribal marks etched into his fat, leathery cheeks. In the same space of time I became immensely angry.

  ‘Why do you keep doing that?’ I said.

  Brother Moses looked at me. ‘Ah, brother. You are awake.’

  He winked and nodded at the driver and I realised that the elderly man was not one of us.

  ‘Why did you do it?’ I asked again.

  The driver glanced at me in his mirror, then turned his head to look at me.

  Brother Moses said, ‘You must not talk too much. Remember, the doctor said you must rest.’

  The driver had turned back to the road ahead, but his eyes still darted up to search my face in the mirror.

  ‘I am fine. There’s nothing wrong with me. Why did you do it again?’

  ‘What did you do to him?’ the taxi driver said. Brother Moses laughed out loud like a bad actor.

  ‘Don’t mind my little brother,’ he said. ‘His medicine is making him feel funny.’

  The driver looked at me in the mirror. He tried to make eye contact.

  ‘Little brother, please, try to rest,’ Brother Moses said.

  ‘I am not your little brother. Why did you do it again? Why do you keep doing it?’ The car slowed down.

  ‘What did you do to him?’ the driver asked. He caught my eyes in the mirror. ‘What did he do to you?’

  Brother Moses laughed again and spoke quickly. ‘My dear brother, I promise to make it up to you. You have my word.’

  ‘Where are we going?’ I said.

  The driver slowed down even further. ‘You don’t know where you are going?’

  ‘Home. We are going home.’ Brother Moses said. He looked uncomfortable. I almost pitied him.

  ‘And where would that be?’ I said. I had him on the ropes.

  ‘Faka fiki. To see our parents, remember?’

  The words sounded like Yoruba, but Faka fiki was not among the little Yoruba I knew. I wasn’t sure it was a place I wanted to go.

  ‘Where is that?’

  The driver stopped the car right in the middle lane of the Third Mainland Bridge, the murky water of Lagos Lagoon beneath us.

  ‘What is going on?’ he said, rather forcefully. ‘Who are you people? Do you know this man? Is he your brother or not?’

  ‘Yes,’ I said. ‘He is my brother.’

  ‘Then why are you talking like he is kidnapping you?’

  ‘I’m sorry. It’s my medicine.’

  ‘Your medicine? Are you ok now? Do you know where your family house is?’

  ‘Yes. Faka fiki.’

  ‘So why are you scaring me?’

  ‘I’m sorry. Let’s continue. We just need to stop at Ikoyi on the way.’

  Brother Moses turned his head to look at me.

  The night before, on the floating bed in the glasshouse on top of a mountain in the beautiful desert, I’d thought of the fear on Rachel’s face when she had the ball in her palms, the magical journey back the next day, and learn- ing to fly. I kept thinking of getting Adesua’s soul back, and of performing magic for awestruck village kids, but my mind kept returning to Rachel. I had to see her and reassure her and apologise to her and let her know what was going on, using as many lies as it would take. I tossed and turned and caused the strange bed to wobble, but I couldn’t shake the nagging feeling of a tap left running, a door unlocked, a stove left on under a forgotten pot of stew.

  ‘I need to see Rachel,’ I said.

  ‘Don’t you think it is safer to go straight home?’ Brother Moses said.

  ‘I have to see her before we go anywhere. Remember, you said you would make it up to me.’

  ‘I just want you to think of your safety.’

  The driver had still not moved. ‘Where do you people want to go? Ikoyi or Faka fiki?’

  Brother Moses sighed. ‘We will stop at Ikoyi, then we will continue.’

  We rode in silence to my office. We stopped on the other side of the road, and Brother Moses and I looked at my office building.

  ‘What is your plan?’ Brother Moses said. I had none.

  Brother Moses dug his hand into a duffel bag I didn’t know he had between his legs and he brought out his hat. ‘Wear this,’ he said. ‘Remember, the doctor said you must protect yourself from the sun.’

  I took the hat and waited until I was out of sight of the driver before I wore it. If I remembered correctly, it had the ability to alter my appearance.

  Facing the ground, I walked through the pedestrian gate. The guards didn’t stop me. It was home time, and many of my colleagues and people from the other companies in the building would be leaving. I kept my face down and walked on to where I knew Rachel’s car would be parked. Suddenly someone yelled out behind me, ‘Osaretin.’

  I froze. I imagined ho
w stupid I looked with a purple hat on my head. I felt doubly stupid for thinking it would magically disguise me. I slowly turned round, ready to make a dash for it.

  ‘Osaretin,’ they called out again, and a child answered, ‘Yes, dad.’

  Little Osaretin in his school uniform skipped into the compound with two ice-lollies he’d bought from the ice cream van outside the building.

  I did not have my pass, and even if I did, I could not just walk into the office and walk up to her. I would have to take off the hat so she would recognise me. I still remembered the episode with the men in black. It was too much of a risk. I went instead to her car and I was grateful when I saw that her windscreen was dusty. I checked that no one was watching then I wrote on it with my finger.

  Chapter 20 Of Jasmine and Strangers

  Rachel walked into the Jasmine Café. Her head was covered in a red scarf, which she had tied under her chin. Most of her face was behind a large pair of dark glasses, which were so dark I couldn’t imagine she could see a thing through them in the dimly lit café.

  I took a gamble when I scribbled ‘Not your favourite flower’ onto the dust on her windscreen. She had told me it wasn’t, the day after she had a date there with a guy she tore to pieces when we talked about him in the office the next day.

  Despite her scarf and oversized glasses, I could have picked her out of a football stadium full of Nigerian women. She walked over and sat next to me without looking up. I’d ordered two bottles of water and asked for a straw for her, as she would never allow her lips to touch the bottle. Watching her pursing her lips to suck, I real- ised why I’d needed to see her. I wanted her to be safe. I wanted to warn her not to talk to anyone about the ball, in case she spoke to the wrong person and they linked her to me.

  ‘How are you? I said.

  Without looking at me she whispered, ‘Fine.’

  She sucked on the straw and peered over the rim of her glasses. There was a girl behind the bar scrolling through her mobile phone.

  ‘I’m going away for a while,’ I said. ‘I don’t know when I’ll be back, but I’ll keep in touch.’