AncilThe sun slowly disappeared on the horizon and into the depths welcoming the darkness. The crickets went on and on with their nightly chirps, and the full moon looked down curiously at the earth, trying to figure out what the night had in store. But there wasn’t really much going on. The town of Arima was quiet, too quiet. Abandoned cars, dead bodies, a foul smell, and a bitter taste that could stain your tongue were all there was. The only thing I heard while locked up in the van was my pounding heart beating against my chest like it was trying to escape the horror. I remained there on the van floor for hours upon hours, refusing to move an inch, knowing that whoever killed these people and my father was still out there. There seemed to be no movements within the town. Then, amidst the silence, the sound of old Calypso music could be vaguely heard in the distance. It sounded like music from the famed Trinidadian artist, The Mighty Sparrow. I raised my head and took a peek through the window, trying my best to stay out of sight. I couldn’t see where the music was coming from, but I spotted movements within the market area just a few feet in front of me. I saw a tall figure rising from the market. A very tall figure. A very, very tall figure. The figure kept rising and rising among the fruits and vegetables in the market until it stopped at about 15 feet in the air. It was way too close to me for comfort. I couldn’t make out exactly what the figure was under the dim lighting of the street lights. But from what I saw, it seemed to have a very colorful velvet jacket and an elaborate admiral’s hat topped by plumes.
The figure had a long pair of white pants that seemed to cover a long pair of legs and in its hand was a long sniper rifle. The figure seemed like something that came straight out of a history book. It looked exactly like the Moko Jumbie. I assumed that it was the Moko Jumbie who had killed my father. From behind the Moko Jumbie, a large group of about ten men with short pants up to their knees covered in blue paint with devil horns on their heads ran by. They were Blue Devils. Other weird-looking figures came out from behind the Moko Jumbie, such as Dame Lorraines and Cow Bands.
The Dame Lorraines were women dressed in very elegant clothing that seemed outdated all the way back to the days of slavery in the 16th century. They had hand fans in their hands and white masks over their eyes. The thing that stood out about the Dame Lorraines was that they all had extremely large bum bums and breasts. They were unnaturally large. The Cow Bands who keenly followed the Dame Lorraines were men with big cow heads. Every one of them was dancing to the Calypso song in the distance. It had seemed like these “people” were in the market all along, waiting for anyone else to show up. I was lucky enough to remain hidden.
These “people” all looked like they were dressed in ancient Carnival costumes. Carnival was a holiday where the people of the Twin Republic would go out to the streets dressed in all types of costumes and party. Carnival is currently appreciated as a holiday but is not celebrated anymore. The people lost their zeal for the holiday, and at a point in time, the country could not fund the festival because its revenue was too low, especially when the oil and gas reserves had expired. Carnival is now simply a historical event and a two-day holiday that isn’t celebrated. I’d never seen any of the costumes before in real life, so seeing them for the first time was an amazing experience. But the awe was drowned by fear, especially as the Calypso music got louder. It seemed obvious to me at the moment that the figures were just people dressed in costumes, but they looked real, and they looked scary.
A menacing-looking big truck slowly rode into the market, rolling over the corpses on the ground. The Calypso music that I heard came from the big truck. The big truck was a rusty red color, and on both sides, it had the number 1962 written in white with red blood stains on it. Behind the big truck, a herd of more Blue Devils, Moko Jumbies, Cow Bands, and Dame Lorraines covered in blood danced to the sweet Calypso music. The other Masqueraders joined in, dancing around and over the corpses. They were all chanting and singing, but suddenly the music stopped as the engines came off, and they all abruptly ceased the festivities. There was a moment of silence as everyone stood still, waiting.
No one had suspected that I was in the van as there were dozens of empty vehicles around me. At least, I had hoped so.
The silence was cut short as the door for the big truck was flung open. A tall, dark figure came out. The figure was male, about six feet in height, and had muscles that looked like it was ready to pop. The man had a tight black leather suit that covered him from head to toe and an oversized hat with a fringed brim. His entire face was covered, but around his mouth area was a gray device riddled with speaker holes. It looked like a sort of speaker or voice enhancer or maybe a voice distorter. I didn’t know. Around his waist, he had a thick grey belt with two large pistols on each side. He walked over the corpses crushing them with his heavy boots. He eyed down all the Masqueraders for a second, then he eyed the watch around his wrist.
As the clock struck midnight, he started with a voice that seemed to be amplified by the voice enhancer around his mouth. “You know who I is? Who is I? I is the Midnight Robber, and I have a story to tell. No. No. These people have a story to tell, not me. These people who died today did something honorable. They didn’t all die in vain; no, they did not. I really wish from the bottom of my heart that I could have saved these people from this terrible event. None of them deserved to die by my hands, but it is the government. I didn’t kill these people. I didn’t kill these people at all. It was the government!!”
The Masqueraders erupted in cheers.
