The Last Dance

Standing before the shooting squad taking his last breaths, you’d think he would be scared. No, he was mad, revenge coursing through his veins. There she was and so was he next to her. If only he had a few minutes to get those two without the consequences. That was all he could think of. But it was the end of the rope for him. Outplayed, outnumbered, outmanoeuvred.

The power of a shared secret, however small, cannot be understated.

Sukami was a dancer. It is a profession that he had pursued for most of his youthful life. Now, in his prime, at a mature age, he was ready to retire. He had faced many battles and lived to tell the tale. One demon that he had fought with to the edge of his existence was gambling. Despite the fame, awards, having travelled to faraway lands to perform for the high and mighty, Sukami, now a father of two, had little to show for his widely-admired talent.

To his fans, he was widely known by his stage name, Sukah. When he lost most of his earned money and jewellery at the gambling den, it was always Sukami. He came to possess sort of a double identity, and of the two, he preferred Sukah, the performer. On stage, his strong and talented side took over. Off stage, his weak, addicted self was more persuasive. In his village, most called him Sukami. A prophet is, however, never truly appreciated at home. Maybe they thought: he's one of us, eats what we eat, drinks from the same rivers and wells…we could just as easily be as good. But no one ever was.

On stage, Sukami was like a magician or sorcerer. Even his village mates, who envied him, could barely blink when he danced. While walking aimlessly at the market one cold afternoon, feeding his eyes on the items on display, he heard a name he hadn't heard in a while. Sukah. It was such a beautiful melody to his ears. Taken aback, he didn't turn. Sukah. There it was again. He turned to face a gentleman who was almost knocking him down with excitement. He embraced Sukah, introducing himself as Musa. He had been looking for him for some time now.

Musa elaborated on how he had come across a deal of a lifetime. A dance that would change Sukami's fortunes for life. As Musa talked, Sukami was entertained. The words were like music to his ears. It was a tune he could definitely dance to. He took his excitement home. His wife wasn't as excited, but was glad he had found a gig after a long time. Probably too good to be true, she thought.

The idea of the last dance sparked a flame in Sukami's soul. He could feel the energy of his youthful days returning. He knew he'd have to put plenty of time and energy into training. Before the news completely settled in the minds of his wife and the villagers, who were whispering of his luck, just two days after encountering Musa, Sukami was packing a few belongings ready to go. His wife was okay with that. She had gotten used to his absence, although it had been a while since they had been apart. His kids, on the other hand, had started getting fond of their father. To Sukami, all he could think about was the last dance. The journey was to take three days, but they were lucky enough to hitch a ride on a trader's wagon, making it in two.

Although having been to Maya before, Sukami marveled at its beauty. He settled in immediately and located a fitness facility where he could train. The ceremony he had come to perform at was that of King Obi. His daughter was getting married to the son of Mimosa, the warlord. A revolution had almost unseated King Obi from his throne.  His advisors later counselled him that despite the bloodbath he had unleashed, he would have to find an ally on the other side.

Mimosa, wasn't really part of the revolution, but he was a feared, strong revolutionary figure. At least he was from his past. King Obi decided to join their two houses. Mimosa's greed, he concluded was something that could be guaranteed to deliver.

At the training facility, Sukah had spotted a beauty. She sold them refreshments. Day after day, he had planned to strike a conversation with her, but the moment hadn't presented itself. He had to be content with mere greetings. A smile from her seemed to restore all the energy lost in training. On this particular day, when he spotted her, he stopped what he was doing and went up to her. A break, he told himself. The conversation flowed like water in a slow river, smooth and gentle. Aliyah was just something to behold. Their tete-a-tete led them to spend that afternoon sightseeing in Maya.

It became part of his routine. When he wasn't meeting Musa, he was with Aliyah in the evening, sometimes till late at night. One of the places Aliyah liked hanging out at was a downtown bar. The music bands were entertaining, the place lively. Something else caught Sukami's eye- the poker tables in the back rooms. It was something that most didn't notice, but not a former gambler like Sukami. He could literally feel the adrenaline spike at the thought of it, like how they say a shark can smell a drop of blood in the ocean.

Aliyah hated King Obi with a deep passion, and she didn't try to hide it. Her outspoken nature wowed Sukami, drawing him deeper into her charms. One thing led to another, and soon enough, Aliyah was waking up next to Sukami. He did his best hiding Aliyah from Musa, who sometimes visited early in the morning if he had something crucial to share. The secrecy did raise the temperatures in that room though. Talk of the allure of the forbidden fruit.

One evening, after a tiresome day training, Sukami was eager for Aliyah's company. She hadn't shown up to serve refreshments. But that wasn't unusual. She missed some days. Sukami made his way to their usual joint downtown. To his dismay, she wasn't there. Maybe she’s just a bit late, he thought. He ordered some vodka tonic to calm his nerves. Then another, and another. He couldn't tell whether it was the vodka, Aliyah's absence, or his resurging gambling demons that led him there. But there he was, at the poker table in one of the back rooms.

When Aliyah got to him, he had lost all he had on him. He hadn't even spared something to pay for the drinks. Aliyah sorted the bill and got him to his hotel room. He was drunk. He swore that it must have been anxiety of waiting for her. He and gambling? No, they didn't mix.

“In fact, the last time I gambled…” he started. Then, like one who had been sleeptalking, awoke from that chain of thought. Aliyah was laughing her ribs off. Sukami joined her in laughter. After a few more conversations he definitely wouldn't remember the next day, he fell asleep. Aliyah ensured he was well set and snuck off.

The day after would be one of the toughest in training. His body hadn't recovered from the vodka. Musa was there to observe his progress, and he wasn't impressed. You see, Musa had invested in Sukami's performance. He’d ensured that Sukami would have all he needed to put on the show, and they would split the handsome payment favourably. Musa critiqued his performance and noted that he looked like he hadn't had enough sleep. Sukami admitted he was out late and that he got mugged while going back to the hotel. After some harsh words and a bit of frustration from Musa, he replenished Sukami’s purse.

A few days later, while hanging out at the pub, Aliyah noticed that he was drawn to the back room. His attention was fickle. Aliyah suddenly stood up.

‘Come,’ she said, leading him to the poker table. “I'll stake, you’ll play and I'll decide when we leave,” she said.

After a few hands at a table, they had more than doubled the initial stake.

‘We are leaving’, Aliyah ordered, to Sukami's surprise.

‘We have luck on our side. We should continue,’ Sukami pleaded, but she wasn't having it.

‘You have to know when to stop’, she said, while on the way to the hotel.

Sukami was visibly frustrated. He even contemplated going back. but he didn't. The next day, he trained with the energy of a champion. Aliyah was his missing piece to get him on a winning streak on the tables; his lucky charm, he thought.

A day later, Aliyah came with some shocking news. A number of her friends had been arrested just a few days ago for undermining the king.

‘Of course they did. They hated the tyrant with a passion,’ he thought.

And her hatred, like a poison, was slowly seeping into Sukami. She had decided to lay low for a while. It was two days to the event, and Sukami was completely broken. Her presence had become like a drug, intoxicating.

One of Aliyah's friend’s, whom he had met at the pub a few times later broke the news to him- Aliyah had been abducted. It was bound to happen. He was certain of this because she had not hidden her hatred of King Obi. The same king he would be performing for in two days.

He knew with certainty that he had to do something. So much so that he did not think twice when asked if he could grant them a favour.

‘Anything,’ he said. He would do anything for her.

They were going to try and assassinate the king. All they needed from him was to smuggle the gun into the venue. He could do that, it would be easy for him because performers would not be scrutinised as much, especially for dress rehearsals.  

The following day would be rehearsals then the performance would follow. He knew the stakes were high. He had to bring back Aliyah.

Sukami agreed, he could slip in the gun among his costume and then on performance day, hand over the gun to the person meant to wield it, and follow through with a courageous act. The smuggling of the weapon was easy. However, on the eve of the performance, he was informed that the shooter had cowered and ran away. Aliyah’s friends acknowledged it was a big ask, and he could back out if he wanted.

 He knew where the gun was. And so he had a big decision to make. Would he let it all go down for nothing? Maybe she would never be found again, he thought. The weight of decisions, one that would determine whether he would see her again.

Just before his performance a young man approached him with the message that Aliyah was OK, the mission had been aborted.

He wasn't really sure until after he finished his performance. Seeing King Obi's laughter, seeing his smile, he could no longer take it; he was disgusted. Doing all he could to contain his anger, he went for the gun. He quickly changed into his other costume, this one had a mask.

Walking back quietly, he aimed for the king’s chest. He heard the loud bang before he was tackled to the ground. He did it.

Of all the things to consider, Sukami had not thought through his escape plan. In a matter of minutes, he had been tied and gagged. As he was being led away, he spotted Musa with his wife and two kids. He had no idea they had been in the vicinity, what would they think of him?.

Before they could turn a corner, he spotted another familiar face, one of Aliyah’s friends quickly whispering something to Musa. That’s odd, unless… Musa’s face was stoic but in a second, it dawned on him, it was all a ploy. He had never been more certain of anything else ever.  Someone had orchestrated the perfect assassination and he was caught smack in the middle. Was Musa the mastermind? Was Aliyah even real?

Apparently Musa’s cabal had gotten some much fought for concessions from King Obi and were willing to call off the assassination, but their puppet had cut his strings.

A note instructing him keep his mouth shut or jeopardise the safety of his family was the last nail on his coffin.

At last, his identities merged. Sukami, Sukah the performer. A treasonous criminal.