In The Sands of Time

In the Sands of Time

           As the dawn gradually gives way for the penetrating light of the day, Cody kneels before what seems to be a tomb mounted in his memory. As the confusion of the situation he finds himself plunge his already weary mind; the eeriness of the wind and the ghostly silence of the place, he slowly makes out the words chiseled on the grave before him;

In Memory of Cody Walker

(1985 – 2019).

His Guitar Played the Music of His Soul,

Beloved Son and Brother.

As if the words alone did not convey meaning enough, Cody resorts to a lingering scrutiny of his immediate surrounding. With the slowness of a snail, he rises from the patches his knees have created on the lawn; he must have heard the cracking noise his knees made. It must have rained the night before, judging from the grass stain on his trousers and the sogginess of the lawn he stood on. Cody takes a last glance at the other tombs surrounding his, and begins to make sense of where he was; he was in a cemetery, where else could there be so many etched eternal resting places. He dusts the stain off his trousers and heads for the exit, wherever it was, with only one thing on his mind, ‘Answers’.

           Cody steps out into a busy street with visible confusion written all over his dimpled baby-face, he tries to acclimatize to the unfamiliar surroundings but kept drawing a blank each time. The world was not as he used to know it; something just seemed out of sorts to him. He walked down the busy street trying to make out his location. He stops by a wall map and figures out he is still in Kumerica, the city he resides in. He looks around with a dazzled face, trying to come to terms with the fact that he was still in his own city. How the people who walked past him on the street couldn’t recognize him intrigued him. “C’mon who wouldn’t recognize Cody, the most sort after rock star? The guy with the looks, the flair, and the ladies” he quizzed himself but rather loudly, than to himself. Something just wasn’t right and he could feel it. He looks at the gold rolex watch on his wrist to read the time. It’s almost noon, he had unknowingly spent the whole time wandering about in the bustling city. Cody dashes into a bar he sees around the corner. He stops at the door momentarily, to look at his reflection on the glass frame- he is still the Cody the world celebrated. Just as he is about ordering for his favourite beer, Cody is stopped in his tracks. “Today marks exactly a week since the untimely demise of world renowned rock star, Cody Walker popularly known by his first name, Cody. Interestingly, the world has been rocked by several demeaning stories that have sprung up in the wake of his death. The world has been stunned by his passing, even more by the discrediting rumours about him living a discreet lifestyle away from the public eye circulating around. This is definitely a fall from grace…” Cody couldn’t bring himself to continue listening to what was being said on the afternoon news, he was lost in his thoughts. Learning of his own death was the height of all that he had initially feared. The memories came rushing back.

“Cody! Cody! Cody!” the crowd screamed in hysteria at the first struck of Cody’s guitar string. People instantly fell in love with the music Cody was known for, considering that rock music was not so popular around here. The Kumerican town folks were not so familiar with rock music, but they always showed up in multitudes to Cody’s shows; such fascination. Being the toast of town was definitely something Cody was not prepared for, but he didn’t shy away from the attention either. Cody was the tall athletic type with all the to die for looks. He had been the leader of an all boys’ band in high school. Cody was definitely not academically inclined as he hardly sat for any of his lectures; skipping them for all the jams and entertainment shows in town. After graduating high school, Cody’s high school band had already become the crème de la crème music group of the town and were already making waves. Unfortunately, the popularity started to creep into their heads and so did the accompanying distasteful lifestyle of being young celebrities. They held all the lavish parties in the area, drove all sorts of luxurious cars and rented plush apartments for relatively shorter periods. Eventually the group split and Cody went out into the world and carved a bigger name for himself. The partying also skyrocketed. And with the party life, came the hard drugs, alcohol and women, and ultimately a horrid temper. Several lawsuits were filed against him especially by women, who accused Cody of abusing them on numerous occasions. Gradually, the court rooms became a regular for Cody; frequenting them as much as the shows he attended. Underneath all the life of party, Cody had a soft spot for philanthropism. He had made a habit of visiting the orphanages and hospitals with donations. But like life would have it, the skeletons always came crawling out to haunt him. His career decline came as quickly as his rise in fame. Cody eventually slumped, leading to a life of drug abuse and severe depression. The rumours say he hang himself, others say he died of drug overdose but evidently, Cody never lived to his full potential.

This was not how Cody wanted to be remembered. What happened to all the people he thrilled with his music? The millions of fans all over the world who echoed his name in their homes, the concerts that had the stadia filled with sprawling crowds toppling over. He wanted be  remembered for all the good he did, the millions of people his music reached out to, the numerous philanthropic he had done, not as a junkie who had no life outside his music, a pathetic loser with an alcohol addiction. With his face buried in his palms, he screamed. He broke down, unable to bear the inner voices no more.

With a startle, Cody is awakened by a tender voice and he looks up to a graceful figure towering over the couch he is lying on. “Oh Paula, it’s you!” he lets out a disgruntled groan, recognizing who the figure was. “Not again Cody, do I always have to coming dragging you to meetings you schedule yourself?” You’re over forty-minutes late, sleepy head!” Paula raged at the visibly sober Cody while scouring the dimly lit room. “C’mon gal, that’s why I pay you millions; to babysit a grown-ass man.” An unusual coy smile playing around the corners of his lips, she returns Cody’s smile with a rather cold and impassive look, an indication of her disgust at the empty cans of beer and weed debris littering the room floors. Paula was Cody’s manager, a petite looking charismatic person, with long, black curly hair. Cody and Paula had been friends since high school; it might have grown into something deeper but both of them hold strong claims that it was nothing serious and lasting. As Cody’s manager, she had come to know that as part of her job, she was responsible for cleaning the mess of the famous rock star the world revered and for upholding his public image. “Hey, I’ll be waiting for you in the car. You should freshen up; you look like you haven’t had a bath since the Stone Age.” Paula urged him just as she was about stepping out of the door. Cody shouts after her, “Hey Paula what is today’s date?” Paula clearly irritated, motions to the LED calendar seated on the stand to his left. With an impulsive motion of the neck in response to Paula’s gesture, Cody turns to read “the 11^th of November, 2019” from the calendar. His eyes gradually turn bloodshot, visibly filled with hysteria and agitation, with a pool of sweat forming on his already petrified face, he remembers that date as the day he dies!