ADVENTURES IN THE ASTRAL PLANE(OBEs)VI

Long time ago I think maybe in the year 2002, we just moved into our first privately owned and built home. We had this tall, modestly built in frame and muscle, security man from the northern part of the country. Infact rumours had it he belongs to the Tuareg Warrior Desert Tribe from the Sahara beyond the northern borders of my country. It was customary for most landlords particularly in the southern part of the country to have these nomadic tribes Men for security men around their homes and it was with good reason, they are renown for their dare-devil bravery that seems to the ordinary mind to take it's origin in the borderlands of insanity. There are true tales of how these men armed with only sword and daggers, charge at criminals armed with assault type riffles, even the notorious AK-47. And not too infrequently do they sometimes succeed in overpowering their enemies, taking live and dead captives and sending the lucky ones into a hasty retreat. We had such a one in the person of our own private security man "Usman". Standing six(6) feet tall, slightly muscular, a modestly handsome, quiet face with a stone-cold stair, Usman was an enigma who always stirred the "hornet's nest of curiosity in me". Curiosity kills the cat they say and I was soon to learn how true that aphorism is in the hands of Usman. I was in my late teens then and Usman should have been in his late thirties but we became friends anyway despite our age difference. He was always quiet and liked keeping to his security post(a small one room apartment close to the gate), seldomly mixing with anyone but very humble, taking instructions in the course of his duty. One evening after pestering him to narate to me true tales of his personal adventures as a Tuareg which he reluctantly did. I was disappointed because his tales lacked the kind of blood cuddling excitement I was craving for. No time in his tale did he tell me of killing someone or having come close to death. I wasn't satisfied, by his look alone, I could have sworn this was a man whom must have been in a dozen or more mortal combat in his life, I sensed he was hiding something. We sat down besides each other on the steps leading to his apartment with nothing but an uncomfortable protracted silence between us. He broke the ice and asked if it wasn't time for me to go to bed? I said no, he laughed a deep throated one putting me on the edge of my sit, he rarely laughed. He smiled looking me in my face while patting me on my back, calling my name, he said "Stephen my friend, come in and I'll have a lot to show you", my excitement knew no boundaries because I knew this egnima of a man was about revealing something mysterious. I jumped in after him, he switched on the light bulbs. His face has resumed it's usual countenance I observed, he went to a corner of the room and brought a small, long but seemingly heavy sack and dropped it at my feet where I squatted on the floor. He losened a string that secured the opening of the sack and brought out a 12guage shot gun, my heart leaped in excitement, next he brought out a long shining sword which he wouldn't even let me touch the leather scabbard, then last he brought out a dagger, sharp and strong enough to stab one to the core of his bones. Each weapon he revealed took my excitement to new heights. A silence prevailed as he allowed me take view of the weapons displayed before me. Without warning, he broke the silence and he said:"each of these weapons before you belongs to me and they've all been stained by the blood of enemies uncountable". The revelation I was thirsting for has been served to me in a gallon sized cup. I was scared of him for the first time now, I shrieked with the realization that the door was shut close and this giant Tuareg was standing between me and the door. He seemed to sense my uneasiness, he smilingly opened the door and bade me come out with him of which I was too glad. In haste I was almost running off when he called me back, I turned around, I sensed remorse in his eyes like he had revealed too much of himself to me. I walked back, he smiled standing just a feet from me and said "I have a gift for you". Without warning he seized the collar of my shirt drawing me closer and from his back he snatched the dagger from his collection he earlier revealed to me and in on quick move he dealt a blow with a sinister smile on his face brought the dagger down on my chest close to the heart. The next thing I realized was I blacked out, how long I remained in that state of nothingness I couldn't tell. Gradually I began sensing a bright white light with Crystal clear flashes of lightning going on and off around me. I couldn't make sense of the whole thing, one moment I was looking at the blade of a sharp dagger piercing my heart, the next after passing through a dark state, I find myself surrounded by a bright white beautiful light phenomenon. I lingered in this light zone not too long because soon everything started fading away, the whole beautiful scenery of light was fast disappearing and before long I found myself standing before Usman who was fumbling with something dark lying on the ground and seemed to be absolutely unaware of my presence despite screaming his name at the top of my voice. Then something occured to me which made me realize that I was in two places, I was that dark prostrate form on the ground over which Usman seemed to be doctoring to no avail and I was also the silent witness standing here unseen and unheard. I took a careful introspection of the whole passing phenomenon and it just occurred to me that I had just had my first ever Near Death Experience at the hands of my Tuareg friend whom actually never really stabbed me to death but was playing a psychotic joke on me. He actually stopped the blow of the dagger very close to my almost bursting heart, maybe to give me a glimpse of the kind of fear his foes might have experienced before being sent on a more permanent journey to the finer worlds. I eventually came to and regained consciousness in the physical world. He was very apologetic saying he never meant to frighten me to death. He complained how soft I was and how females of his warrior tribe would have laughed off his morbid joke that actually sent me to the botherlands of the finer realms. He begged me not to tell anyone about what transpired between us that fateful night. I kept my promise until now and was just too glad to see him go permanently just two weeks after on excuse that some Fulani nomads had attacked and rustled cattle from his community. I wished him good luck while silently wishing never ever to cross paths with his morbid kind. More true tales of my Out of Body Experiences will be shared with you soon. Goodbye for now and have a blessed day 🙏

(True Out of Body Experiences by @onos-steve)