Shadow in the Mist

Chapter One: The Disappearance

Detective Sarah Mitchell stood at the forest's edge, her eyes scanning the dense mist that hung over the coastal town like a shroud. The early morning air was thick with moisture, and the usual sounds of the waking town were muted, adding to the eerie atmosphere. She crouched down to examine the abandoned bike lying on its side. It belonged to Emily Thompson, a local teenager who had vanished without a trace the night before.

Sarah's heart tightened as she spotted the strange footprints leading from the bike into the forest. They were large and uneven, not like anything she had seen before. She straightened up, pushing a strand of her auburn hair behind her ear, and turned to her partner, Officer Tom Harris.

"These footprints... they do not look human," she said, her voice low.

Tom nodded, his expression grim. "The town is already buzzing with rumours about the 'Shadow.' People are scared, Sarah. They think it is happening again."

Sarah's jaw clenched. She had heard the stories about the legendary "Shadow" that supposedly kidnapped people during the mist, but she had never given them much credence until now. Her mind flashed back to her own brother's disappearance years ago, a wound that had never fully healed.

"We need to find Emily," she said firmly. "And we need to do it fast."

They followed the trail of footprints into the forest, the mist swirling around them, making it difficult to see more than a few feet ahead. The forest was silent, the usual sounds of wildlife eerily absent. Sarah's senses were on high alert, and every rustle of leaves made her tense.

After what felt like hours, they reached a small clearing. Sarah's eyes widened as she saw a hidden camera mounted high in one of the trees, its lens pointed towards Emily's bike. She gestured for Tom to stay back as she carefully climbed up to retrieve it. The camera was still warm, and it was recently used.

Back at the station, Sarah plugged the camera into her laptop, her hands trembling slightly. Tom watched over her shoulder as the screen flickered to life, showing footage of Emily the night she disappeared. She was riding her bike, laughing and carefree. Then, a shadowy figure appeared out of the mist, watching her. The figure was indistinct, almost blending into the fog, but it was unmistakably there.

"Pause it," Tom said, his voice tight with tension.

Sarah froze the frame, zooming in on the figure. It was tall, with an unnatural gait. Her stomach churned as she realized this was not just a local legend. This was real.

"We need to figure out who or what this is," Sarah said, her resolve hardening. "And we need to do it before anyone else goes missing."

Just then, the door to the office creaked open, and Ethan Carter stepped in. He was a lanky young man with tousled brown hair and a worried expression.

"Detective Mitchell," he said, his voice urgent. "I heard about Emily. I want to help. I think I might know something."

Sarah looked at him sceptically. "Who are you?"

"Ethan Carter," he replied. "I am a software developer. Emily's family is friends with mine. She mentioned something strange she found on her computer a few days ago. Something that scared her."

Sarah exchanged a glance with Tom. "All right, Ethan. Show us what you have got."

As Ethan pulled out his laptop and began to explain, Sarah could not shake the feeling that they were on the verge of uncovering something far darker and more dangerous than anyone in the town could have imagined. The "Shadow" was not just a myth. Moreover, it was up to them to stop it before it claimed another victim.

My Ode of Gratitude

The wonderful, wonder working God. You have moved mountains and troubled the oceans because of me, help me not to forget your mercies and goodness.

Your kindness and love leaves me speechless, I marvel at the works of your hands. I'm awed by your infinite wisdom, none compares to you, none is like you.

Steadfast and true. Reliable and sure. You never disappoint. You keep your words. You are never fazed, never troubled. No request too big, no request too small. You did it all.

You promised, you delivered. You said it, you did it. You opened doors in unexpected places. You brought favour from uncharted territories. You silenced shame.

In panic, I moved. In fear, I sought the arm of flesh. In silence, you watched. Exhausted, beaten and broken, I returned. In frustration I cried. In moments of despair "Onise Iyanu" I played.

Trust me, you said. Sit back and see me work. I won't fail you. He's mine, not yours. I sent him for my work. Provisions have I made. Leave me to cater for my son.

Onise Iyanu, agbanilagbatan, owi be se be, alagbada ina alawotele oorun, omimi tin mi ile aiye kiji kiji, efuufu tin mi ile, mo ju ba re. Mo yi ra otun, mo yi ra osi, eyin nikan l'ope ye.

Through stormy days and teary nights, when all seemed bleak and gloom swallowed my soul "I am the Onise Iyanu" was your steady word, "I do not fail" was your assurance.

In fleeting moments of despair, when failure seemed inevitable and tempers flew, your gentle voice spoke reassuringly "Emi ni Onise Iyanu, I fail not".

Arugbo Ojo, the ancient of days, I now before you. The great provider, I worship you. The great deliverer, to you be all glory.

In Bits, Pieces and Phases

One step at a time, one hour at a time,

One day at a time, one week at a time,

One month at a time, one year at a time,

The journey of separation takes place.

You started with God. You were built on Godly principles.

His word was important. You hung on to every bit of it.

You lived by it. You fed on it. You grew by it.

Then came the subtleties. The truthful lies.

The deceptive truths. Lies coated in sugar.

The sugar raps commenced. The distancing started.

The great schism…

Then came policies. Rights.

Amendments. Laws.

All to back up the transgressions.

The degeneration is in progress.

Caution and discipline? Thrown out the window.

His Word and presence? Suppressed. Diluted.

Altered. Mixed up.

Evil? Rationalize it.

Effect? Heartlessness. Ruthlessness.

The rise of evil. Life? Meaningless.

Not to be considered. Worthless.

Snuff it out like a candle.

The rise of evil. The increase in abomination.

Greed on the increase. Deception everywhere.

Lies, lies and more lies.

It's about me. It's about you.

No finger pointing. We all are guilty.

Lured by pleasure. Driven by lust.

Spurred by greed. We walked in our might.

Self-help. Self-reliance.

Power of positive thoughts. Strength of positive confessions.

Worthless substitutes. Useless replacements.

Inadequate alternatives.

Outside of Him, nothing works.

Without His Word, nothing is.

Without Him, you are nothing.

In Him alone is fulfillment.

You, yes you, return to Him.

Nigeria, America, England, come back.

Repent. Swallow your pride.

Acknowledge your errors. Admit your guilt.

He's waiting for you. He will pick you up.

He'll restore you. He'll rebuild you.

He'll heal you. He'll keep you.

Return. He's waiting.

Boanerges...Son of Thunder.

Alatenuje toun Sunkun

Active participants in the last profligate administration

Are actively comparing prices of goods, services

And commodities one year after

They are actively juxtaposing present conditions

With those of same period last year

They are attempting a mokri of the situation

Clearly, they have forgotten

The very active roles they played

In squandering our common wealth

They have forgotten how they encouraged profligacy and stealing

They have forgotten how they said stealing is not corruption

How short are their memories?

Have they forgotten so soon? Are they cerebral at all?

Have you forgotten the role you played?

In creating this mess that you now attempt to make a mokri of?

Have you forgotten so soon

How you were caught pants down

When a letter you forged was traced back to you?  

Are you not ashamed of yourself?

Have you forgotten so soon that your principal made tons of money 

From crude oil sales yet failed to save for the future?

Have you forgotten the shenanigans of the administration you served?

Have you forgotten how many times you were exposed on social media?

For lies and willful distortion of truths and facts?

Hidden away in stolen comfort and opulence,

You rave, rant and chant on Twitter

Spewing jargons and refusing to admit culpability

You hide behind a foreign passport, a second nationality

And from a faraway country you throw jibes at another country you helped kill?

The joke is on you. The mokri is on you.

Every jibe you throw bounces right back at you.

Every mokri makes a mokri of you. Do you not know?

You can't be washed clean.

Generations yet unborn will not forget your active participation

I doubt if history will ever favour you

I'm not sure posterity will speak well of you

But then, what do I know? Continue your mokri

It will end abruptly as everything you stand for

Boanerges.... Son of thunder.

Kaleidoscope

Nigeria, a country of experts

A land populated by people that know it all

A geographical enclave

Where the inhabitants are "vocal"

A land where to criticize is far easier

Than to bring forward solutions

A place where we all have found our voices

And are busy knocking everything and anything over

Nigeria; a place where inhabitants suffer in silence

Because their people are in power

But turn critics and opposition

Once the shoe is on the other foot

A place where the inhabitants desire change and progress

But are not willing to pass through the process.

A country where we prefer abracadabra

And not the whole nine yards of enduring legacies

A people expecting the rot and failings of yesteryears

To be cleared by yesterday. Jokers?

Poor today, rich tomorrow; even when the wealth cannot be traced

To honest tangible work or business or investment

The nouveau rich must be celebrated and awarded

The place where we celebrate the misfortunes of others

Just because we are not of the same stock

But when homegrown disaster strikes

We happily blame our brothers of not the same stock 

A land where the "wicked" prosper and rule

While the "righteous" suffer in silence

Yet pray that the wicked remain in power

Just so they can eat crumbs

A place where the people love their chains

And worship their slave masters

A group of people with caged minds? I think not.

Too brilliant to be caged yet too caged to be brilliant

Nigeria, the place where we make noise on social media

But shun meaningful gatherings where our voices will make impact

How we love to “tell the truth”; especially the ones that suit our purpose

And support our position

Same truth we failed to tell our brothers

When they ruled and plunged us into financial abyss.

How we love to glorify our ignorance and stupidity

And spread same without repentance

Tigers in the HOUSE but rats in the home

Nigeria, a kaleidoscope of inordinate proportions

Boanerges..... Son of Thunder

Blinded by Hate?

Ok, so you hate Nigeria, after all these years,

You now suddenly hate this country

And you would rather see it burn to the ground

Than for it to recover from years of wrong and misdeeds

So that you and your generations can benefit?

Your sudden hatred for this entity

Reminds me of that being, who after 65 years of masculinity

Declared himself to be a woman – confusion unparalleled.

Your hatred boils so much and so violently

That you'd rather the new administration failed than succeed

You hate it so much and so terribly

That you conjure, manufacture, produce and create lies

And spread it just to feed your crazed ego

And demonic self-centeredness

Your hate is so great that at every opportunity

You curse rather than bless it

You are so consumed that you bay for blood and cry for war

You want nothing but destruction of this entity

Just so you can say, "I told you so";

Just so you can be deemed as being “right”

Your hatred knows no bound

And you proudly wear it as a badge;

You carry it with you everywhere you go,

You are quick to show it to all and sundry

But you know what? You are only displaying your unparalleled folly.

If only you knew.

Hear Booker T Washington “I learned the lesson that great men cultivate love, 

And that only little men cherish a spirit of hatred”

What would be your gain if we went to war?

What would be your gain if destruction reigned?

Please tell me, confirm to me that you have another country.

Advise me where you hope to run to if the war started?

Share with me what would befall your family members

If truly a war broke out.

Wait, you have a green card? Or is it the blue passport that you carry?

Ok, is it the red one? Burgundy/brown?

Even at that, will you be totally untouched by the war?  

Do you have ALL your family members outside this country?

We have but one country, we have but one life.

Build your country. Make your life count.

Speak peace. Speak blessings. Speak love.

Eschew violence. Abhor hatred.

Like the phoenix, we will yet rise again.

Though the journey be long and convoluted

Though the storms be many and strong;

We will reach the shore.

Boanerges……Son of Thunder

Think.

It's very easy to think. All you need to do is think.

I mean, just think. Use that grey matter, stimulate it.

Wake it up. Not with drugs o. Not with gbana or powder.

Read. Genuinely seek information. Seek genuine information.

Deliberately filter the nonsense flying about in the media.

Don't swallow all that you read. Spin masters are good at weaving lies

Into the fabric of truth and vice versa.

Trust me, I know this.

The joke is on you if you swallowed it all. The joke is on you

Because you have allowed your brain to sleep. The joke is on you

Because you are mentally lazy.

The joke is absolutely on you.

The mediocrity you support is gone and you hurt badly so.

The waste is over and for this you cry.

The stupidity is no more and you can't stand it.

The past is gone, so deal with it.

Is it uhuru yet? No it's not.

Have we left Egypt? Yes we have.

Are we at the Red Sea? Definitely we are.

Will we turn and go back to Egypt? No we won't.

Will we move forward, most definitely.

Will there be the wilderness experience? Yes there will be.

Will we survive it? You bet we will.

Will we hunger and thirst along the way? We will.

But just so you know, we will be fed.

Fed in the most sumptuous way. Fed with the best of meals.

Fed with the choicest food. Fed all the way.

Fed through and through.

Even in the wilderness, there will be food for us.

Don't be an Achan, don't be a Dathan.

Avoid the Korah label. Make sure you don't become Abiram.

They all ended badly. Search the scriptures.

The answers are there. I tell you the truth.

Look not to the fruitless past.

Crave not the wasted years.

Desire not the years of aimlessness. They are gone. Behind you.

Not to be remembered. Not to be missed.

Look forward. Move forward.

One step at a time. One day at a time.

The promised land beckons. We will get there.

I will get there. You can get there. The choice is yours. 

Boanerges.....Son of Thunder.