For the Dream of 5 Years: Chapter Seven: The Vote

Inside her voting 'cube,' partitioned with stained and tattered bed sheets, she studied her voting sheet despite billions of monies being set aside as elections budged. All the candidates were there; one of them would be president by the end. Freeman's picture, placed at the top, is a psychological trick on voters. There he was, smiling, big eyes with a confident look as if to tell the voter that he would still be president. Then there were the other three, not so important on the list because they were not very popular. They were good, with good policies, but everyone, even them, knew they were not going to the white house way after the elections were done. Then, at the very bottom, the opposition leader, the government 'enemy,' the one who held dramatic demonstrations and criticized the government, was the enemy of peace. Michele studied him very carefully and hoped he would dethrone Freeman. In an expensive suit, expensive enough, the money spent on it could build a school. Michelle had heard people saying at the polling station. There were rumours that a foreign government was supporting him and that he would trade his win with all the minerals in the country. People said he used some powers to command millions of people to attend his rallies. There were all sorts of things said against him in the polling station. Michelle wanted good roads, salaries, business atmosphere, education and medical care, justice, clean water in every home, and hunger eradication. She did not want someone who would rip the country of its natural riches and hand them to some white man in exchange for power. So, like almost everyone in the polling station, with the hope that things would be better this time, she put her tick, firmly but carefully, against Freemans' photo. By the time Michelle and her mom got home, tallying had started, and the results were trickling in from various stations. Michelle put on her music and listened through her earphones, following the tallying process to see who the winner was. She was dying of guilt and did not talk to anyone; she just lay on the sofa pretending to be sick. To avoid discussing the tallies, she lied to her mother that her period cramps were killing her. Her mother knew something was lying because bothering her daughter. "Is Dave okay?" she had asked. "Yes, he is," she had said, making it short to avoid any discussion. "What is the problem then?" Her mother had asked. "Oh my God, mom, just let me be, please!" she had yelled, so softly it came out like a whisper, a tear escaping her eyes and something choking her, a ball of anger in her throat, or one of guilt. She paused the music on her phone but left her earphones on so everyone would think she was listening to music and avoid talking to her. She was keenly following the voting process and the tally on the TV. On the other hand, Dave took a book and a pen, started his tally, and compared if the results were the same in all the TV stations. He had no meal or drink because he was super engaged in cooking or felt hungry or thirsty. On the other hand, Michelle reasoned that the results would be announced eventually; therefore, there was no reason to stress or panic about it. Michelle's mum was on the phone most of the time to discuss the progress of the vote counting with her friends. By evening, the votes were counted, and the stations were still crowded with voters waiting to vote. Fishy numbers started to appear on the screens. However, people like Dave, who had started their side count, started noticing the rigging and alerting others through their social media platforms. Dave called Michelle and told her that the election was being rigged. Most people were still in the polling stations, and there was a vast confusion where in some places, the votes cast surpassed the numbers of the registered voters. Tension started to grow as people demonstrated in the cities and other major towns. Michelle called Dave many times, asking him how the mood in the neighbourhood was. She inquired about the people still in the court they were living in and learned that most women and children had travelled home, leaving the men behind to guard their possessions just in case people started looting. In the village, Michelle started watching the vote tally with utter keenness. She realized the votes were being miscounted, and rigging was happening in the sheer display. However, she wondered who was being rigged in, her candidate or his opponent. Who was her candidate, Freeman or Amos? She wanted Amos to win, but she had voted in Freeman. She remembered the grin on Freeman, and she felt hatred for him and herself for changing her mind at the last minute. She hadn't talked about her candidate with her husband since he had assumed she would vote back the sitting president because they were from the same tribe, just like everybody else ignorant of her tribe. Dave had been vocal about his preferred candidate, the opposition leader, the one who would come to clean up the mess in the country, the one who would be neutral in his ruling, but also the one who comes from his tribe. They rarely had tribal discussions in the house, but it was evident that these two tribes were major political rivals. These two, Dave and Michelle, were bound by pure friendship, and they didn't let tribal wars or social media come between them. They always kissed and cuddled throughout the night. Everyone had their president on the day the president was to be announced. The sitting president led according to the official tally, and the opposition leader led according to the people tally. It was not going to be easy. Suddenly, there was a total blackout in the country, just minutes before announcing the leading candidate, even though it was evident that the sitting president had been declared the lead by the tallies. "Hi darling, there are no lights in the city, and it doesn't seem good. I will be outside like the others; it will go down. I'll keep in touch when I can; if you don't get me on my cell, don't panic, I'll call you as soon as possible. How are things down there? How is everyone? Stay safe. Nothing will happen in the village, even if the country burns," Dave told Michelle over the phone. "What do you mean you'll be outside, Dave? We talked about this, remember?" Michelle asked, concerned. "Yes, we did, and just to refresh your memory, I said if there will be a revolution, I'd be in the Frontline," said Dave. They talked about that and many other things about what could happen that night and what they should do in case the country burnt. The tension was unbearable, mainly because nobody understood why there was a total blackout for over 2 hours. There were rumours on social media that the opposition leader had been assassinated. Some said votes were being stolen. Others said some votes were discovered in rivers where the opposition leader had a strong backing. There were rumours that the opposition leader had fled the country for fear of his life. There were so many rumours in that span of two hours. When the lights were back, it was time to announce the sitting president as the winner of the elections, business, as usual, nothing about the rumours or the power outage. The people who supported the current government celebrated all over the country. Freeman had won, Michelle was angry and happy at the same time, but she couldn't understand why she was happy. She felt like a traitor to her beliefs. There were demonstrations all over the country of the people that supported the opposition leader. Dave was off, and there was news of violence all over the city on the TV, and peoples' amateur videos on social media platforms confirmed it. Michelle was so worried about Dave, and she was about to call him when Dan called her instead. She hadn't spoken to Dan for a long time and had done her best not to let him know she was around. "What does he want now? Could he be drunk with the euphoria of winning and now wants to chit-chat it with me? Aaaarrrrg! I'm not in the mood?" she wondered and watched as the call ended without receiving. Dan called again, and when Michelle did not pick up, he decided to send her a message. "Hey, beautiful, I know you are at home; I saw you at the polling station. However, that's a discussion for another day. Right now, I'm concerned about your safety. Call me right now; it's about to go down," Michelle was shocked at that message and constantly felt very scared because it was night already. She knew there were gangs in the village, and if some politicians had brainwashed them, paid them to bay for the blood of particular people, and cause mayhem, people would suffer. She knew Dan could have had wind of the impending danger and could be warning her and her family about it. "It's good you have called my Love. You have less than thirty minutes to find safety outside your homestead. If you can, take everyone to the end of the tea plantation and hide there until I call you to say it is safe. Don't ask questions, just do as I say," said Dan on the other end of the call and hung up on Michelle. Michelle was terrified, she told her mother, and they texted their neighbours, who all texted their neighbours, and everyone went into hiding. It was so cold on the tea farm, not because of the lower degree Celsius at night, but because of the fear of death. The entire village was deserted because of Michelle's alert to the neighbour. There were noises, gunshots, screams, torched houses, looting, raping, and killings in the village and many parts of the country. Michelle kept trying Dave's phone, but he was off for hours now. "Stop it, Michelle; your phone light will attract the attackers," said her sister. They continued to hide on the plantation waiting for Dan's heads-up so they could finally leave and feel safe again. Dan did not call or send a message. It was now past midnight, and mike was freezing. He was starting to get sick. Michelle's mom cuddled him under the tea bushes; the dew was forming on the leaves and the blankets. Mike was shaking and complaining of chest pain. Everyone was speaking in whispers. Michelle decided to call Dan, but Dan did not pick up her call. Instead, he sent her a message. "Stay on the plantation!" Michelle moved closer to her mum and cuddled her from behind. Her sister joined them too and cuddled mike from the front to increase his chances of getting warm. They were afraid he would freeze to death. It was almost 4 am, and Dan still hadn't called yet. Michelle did not call him again. As Michelle and her family returned home from the plantation, there were police all over the place to maintain peace. People stayed in their homes. Some homes, however, that were rumoured to have voted the 'wrong side' were torched to the ground. The tension was rising as another gang vowed to revenge. Dan and Dave were off-network, and Michelle was worried. She needed to ask Dan some questions. How did he know about the attack before it happened? Why didn't he call the police and save the village from the gang? The country had moved on, investigations over the violence, lobbying group, and the courts so busy petitioning the repeat of the elections, arrests, burials and prayers, therapy sessions for victims of the violence, prophets claiming they predicted the outcome, activists and lawyers challenging the outcome, and so on. Nevertheless, the inauguration plans were underway.