4| ZION

Dark Skies: 4

4| Zion

ZION looked out of the plane as the plane taxied on the runway till it came to a perfect stop. He stepped out of the plane with his backpack hung to his back and hoped to get down the airplane steps and get his luggage as soon as possible. Walking into the arrival hall of the airport, he had his passport checked. After this, he went straight to the area where his luggage would be scanned and he would be able to pick them up.

Upon picking them up, he had to walk towards the door and check for his dad. His Dad had told him he would be waiting for him at the door, he saw a lot of people holding up cardboards, he had to scan through the faces before I saw him.

His dad was scanning through the people in the hall, searching faces to see which one was his son's. Zion smiled as he walked out of the door and towards him, his Dad still didn't see him. He walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder, his father turned to face him, and instantly the smile he hadn't seen for months popped up. 

"Zion!" His father exclaimed in delight, he grabbed him and pulled him into a hug as he laughed heartily. 

"Dad" Zion called out as he grinned from ear to ear. He had missed his Dad's hug and the usual whiff of his cologne.

" I missed you Son". His Dad said as he released him from his grip. He had indeed missed him, Zion has been away for near four months, and he had missed him every single day he was away.

"I missed you too Dad" Zion responded. 

"Let's go to the car". His Dad said. Zion nodded and followed his father close to the parking lot.

They got to the parking lot and located the car, upon reaching the car, Zion opened the door for the back seat and dropped his luggage. Opening the door to the passenger's seat in the front, he slides in at the same time his father did. With beaming faces, father and son started their journey out of the airport, as the father started the car engine.

"How was your trip", Zion's father, Gabriel asked as he tried to start a chit-chat with his son.

"It was good". Zion responded as he fixed his eyes on the view outside the car. He was back in Nigeria, after the emergency trip out. Four months now and he had successfully buried the events that prompted his leave, in the pride lands of South Africa. 

" Hope you enjoyed your stay", Gabriel asked his son, as he made extra efforts to stay on the road and also steal glances at his son.

"Yes, I did". Zion said with a smile as she turned to face his father, their eyes meeting. 

" I missed you", he Dad confessed. " And your mother did too". 

Mother?

Zion rolled his eyes at his father's words, he was sure his father did, but not his Stepmother. She was probably happy he had left, so she could have the house for herself, with no need to pretend to like her husband's soon.

" I missed you guys too". Zion blurted, at least to make his father happy.

Zion was not having the best relationship with his Stepmother, no one could replace his mother. And his father's wife was nowhere close to his mom. His father, Gabriel, had in many ways tried to make their relationship better, but nothing was working. 

Zion loved his stepmom's daughter, Emily dearly, and also the daughter she had for his father, Gloria. He missed them a lot and was always asking of them, but he couldn't imagine himself ever accepting, Darasimi, his father's wife as his mother. 

" I got your transfer papers". His Dad said. Zion sneered, knowing the words must have been hard to say for his father. He rested his head on the seat's headrest and drifted into sleep.

The car honked severally and Gabriel began complaining, the gateman was nowhere to be found. This noise caused Zion to wake from his sleep, he had slept from the airport. He opened his eyes as he watched perplexed Adamu, the gateman, came out to apologize and ran back inside to open the gate.

"He always does that, I'm tired of his clumsiness". Gabriel said as he noticed his son was already awake. Zion gave a small smile and removed his seat belt. His father driving into the mansion.

Home. Sweet. Home.

Zion inhaled the air as he stepped out of the car, he gazed at the buildings and surroundings and smiled as he had missed the place.

" Welcome, small yoga". Adamu said in his thick Hausa accent as he opened the door to carry his bag. 

"Thank you" Zion responded as he watched his Dad come out of the car. Noise and cheers were heard from the house, the noise drawing closer by the second. Zoe smiled as he sighted his little sisters rushing to greet him. He ran to them, and grabbed them both, pulling them into a huge hug.

"Zion, Welcome". Emily said in something that sounded like a shriek. 

"Welcome, Zion" Gloria, Zion's five-year-old sister mumbled.

"Thanks, guys. I missed you guys" he said hugging them more tightly and then releasing them. 

" Hope you bought something for me". Gloria asked. Her babyish voice and expression making Zion smile.

"Yes baby, I bought plenty of things for you". 

"Welcome Zion" Darasimi greeted, as he walked up to him stretching her arms wide for a hug. Zion twitched in doubt as he walked into her welcoming arms, he hugged her back as she patted his back. 

"Mother and Son" Gabriel managed to ship in as he walked into the house carrying Gloria in his arms. "I love to see it" he added.

Zion smirked and winced, this was his day of arrival after a very long holiday, he was just being double nice for the mood. Zion, walked into the house too, holding Emily and gisting with her on the way. 

Emily and Zion used to attend the same school, Emily was in her first year while Zion was in Ss2 when he was expelled. Emily was gisting him about the various happenings and guests as they entered the gigantic building.

"Hey guys, I made Dinner" Darasimi announced as the maids placed the food on the dining table.

"Son, let's go and eat," Gabriel said, slapping Zion playfully on the shoulder. 

The family went over to the dining and settled for dinner. After a short prayer rendered by Emily, they started digging in. 

"Zion, I got your transfer papers last month. You'll be resuming school as soon as you settle well". Gabriel said, his voice accompanying the clattering noise of plates, forks, and cups.

Zion remained mum, as though his father was not talking to you. Noticing his son's loud silence, Gabriel dropped his fork and clasped his hands together, resting on them. He stared at his son sitting just opposite him.

"Did you hear me, Zion?" he said. Zion looked up to him with one eye as he swallowed his food, he took a glass of water and gulped it down.

" I did Dad" he finally said rather lazily.

" This school is the best in the state, I had to pull a lot of strings to get you in there, so you have to behave yourself, no trouble this time". Gabriel warned.

"Yes sir, I'll try my best. Since all I'm known for is trouble". Zion shaded. Gabriel's eyes went red as he clenched his fist and banged it on the table, causing everyone to halt their eating. Zion rolled his eyes and inhaled deeply.

This wasn't how his welcome back should be.

" Look here, young man. I don't know why you are bent on making my efforts seem useless. This time, you are not winning, this school is a day school so you are leaving for school from Home, Daily! And I have contacted the woman who would be your class teacher to pay extra attention to you. So you had better know what you are doing". Gabriel ranted pointing a finger at Zion.

"Honey, please calm down". Darasimi pleaded to hold Gabriel's hand. Gabriel wrenched free from her grip in annoyance, eyes blazing hot.

"Don't tell me to calm down. This boy has brought nothing but disappointment on this family for the past five months. Or is he the first person to lose a mother". Gabriel yelled, his last words shattering Zion's heart.

"You could have just said it all in the beginning. I mean you could have told me how disappointed you were with me from the start. No need to play nice Dad, I know I disappointed you, but there's no need to pretend. And no need to mock my mother's memory". Zion said as he stood up and walked out of the dining room. He walked up the stairs and into the room as the noise of his parents arguing faded by the step. 

He walked into the room and slammed the door behind him. Resting on the door for minutes he slowly slides low and sat on the floor. Tears weren't his thing any longer, his last drop of tears was spent grieving his mother seven years ago. He had learned to be a man, and the lessons taught that men don't cry. So all he could do was bottle up his feeling and also drink them away if he had the chance. 

His head rested on his arm, wish rested on his right knees while his other leg was stretched out. After a while he stood up and walked around the room, the room he had spent one month confined in, he had spent a full month staring at the walls and ceilings before he went abroad to his mother's sister.

Those days. He remembered. 

He was always in the room, running and hiding away from the world. He had no access to drinks and drug pills and that almost got him insane. He had a daily routine he followed. Eating, playing video games, and watching movies. He would sleep for long hours and ate all types of food. The announcement that he would be going to South Africa excited him, and he did enjoy his stay there. He had tried and thought he had successfully buried the past behind him. But here he was staring at the ceiling and reminiscing about the whole issue. 

He pulled out the drawer in the dressing cabinet beside his bed, he checked if it was still there, or maybe his father had taken it. Reaching into the place, he found that the picture was still there. He pulled it out and stared at it.

It was a picture of his mum, he smiled as she stroked her face in the picture. He missed her, her beautiful smile was all that was needed to brighten up his day. Her death had made him assume God was mean, because how could someone with such a good heart die. 

His mother had died seven years ago when he was just ten years old. She had died of complications in her treatment for breast cancer, she had been a fighter, and didn't lose hope even at the last minute. His Family was perfect when his mother was around, he was the only child so they cared for him so much. His father and mother were so in love, they were couple goals to all the families in church and the neighborhood. He couldn't have asked for a better family. But it all ends at his mother's last breath.

His father grieved his mother for a long time, he was broken and more distorted than Zion initially. He would cry and drink himself to sleep every day. At that point, he lost many business deals and was on the verge of going bankrupt if not for the help of his father, Zion's grandfather, Baba Gabriel, who was a billionaire. He was able to bounce back on his feet and become even better than before, amassing a lot of wealth. 

He had married his Stepmother two years after his mother died. It was said that the woman had also lost her husband to the cold hands of death, so it made the union more of helping than Love. He always knew his father didn't love this woman, it was obvious that he missed his wife but he tried his best to hide it away from the world.

He also knew the woman didn't love his father, he could smell the fake in her so strongly. He knew she was there mainly for his father's money, but does he care? No. She had brought a daughter with her when they got married, Emily, who was a sweet and adorable little girl. He fell in love with his new sister the minute she stepped into the house, but that didn't change what he felt about his mother. 

After two years of being married to his Dad, Darasimi, his father's wife gave birth to a baby girl, Gloria. He was so happy to play the role of a big brother ever since he left the only child avenue. As much as he loved his siblings and father, he continued grieving his mother and couldn't help but feel lonely all the time. This loneliness that got him doing Drugs.