By Ola Vincent Omotade
Twelve awards, seven bestsellers, and a USA tour. The euphoria of being labeled a legend; the ecstatic feeling like I can walk in midair, people demanding for my autograph, I guess I can’t be blamed for letting it get into my head a number of times.
My last book, “1 gulp” sold over six million copies. This was a massive win for me even though the dark times of the 18th century had greatly affected book sales world over. My books however, provided a form of escapism from the dark times; people wanted to be locked away in distant imaginations. They wanted to fuse their emotions into something beyond the physical, something super natural, something arduous and dreadful. There I was, satisfying their thirst for adventure and danger. And in no time I became a popular millionaire novelist.
Soon I became a victim of my own imagination. I wanted to feel the dangers I spoke of in my novels, I wanted to feel terrified and thrilled by the plots I had created. I wanted the reality of the horrors I created; I wanted it all.
Then one midnight, I jumped out of bed, a brilliant idea had come to me, or so I thought. Instantly, I went to my study and wrote a letter to be posted by dawn. Two weeks later I went to the post box and there it was; the reply to my letter. I opened it without hesitation.
“Yes!” I screamed. There were privileges to being rich and famous.
Two months later I set sail with the United States navy on the Sea Demon in their quest to fight pirates that had been stealing a lot of government ships and supplies. This was it, this was the adventure I needed so I could boldly write, “I was there, I saw it, and I felt it.” I had been signed on to the ship as a volunteer. The Sea Demon was America’s best war ship with a history of destroying over 9 pirate ships.
The journey began; I became a member of the crew at the break of dawn and wrote my experience by night. Every meal tasted like stale bread and tasteless stew, but I didn’t complain, after all, this was an adventure of a life time.
Then it happened one foggy night, I was woken abruptly by a large bang like an explosion hitting our ship. It continued till it hit the lower deck where I was. Everyone ran haphazardly and that left me confused. I froze where I stood with my book wrapped around my arms. Not too long I heard gun fires in the upper deck, only then did I realize I was alone.
My fear grew tremendously when I heard a croaky female voice say, “There is one down there, bring him to me.”
Large hands gripped me by the armpits and pulled me roughly along the stairs leading to the upper deck. A crowd of armed men stood on the upper deck glaring at me through drunken eyes.
Then the female voice echoed form a dark corner. “You are the famous writer, Ben Christopher yes?”
“Yes,” I said, trembling.
“You will come with me, you will teach me to read and write. The world must know about the pirate queen of death and how they will all bow at my feet soon. You will yes?”
They all turned to look at me as I stared wide eye at the beautiful creature standing in front of me.
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