The senator-elect took a few deep breaths and tried to calm the pounding in his chest. This was it! This was the final stage. He sat,looking outwardly calm in his pure white lace material, gold watch, gold necklace and a heavily encrusted gold ring on his index finger. His shoes shone with a resplendence that was unequaled even among his peers. He exuded his own sweet atmosphere, the perfume he was wearing had been ordered from Italy the day before. Things were going very well in fact. Now, if he could just cross this last hurdle...
The chief whip continued his fervent speech, spittle sloshing out of his mouth every once in a while. The senator elect sighed inwardly. Things had changed. In the old days a fellow like this couldn't have been made chief whip, couldn't have even smelled the hallowed grounds of this honorable assembly! Unfortunately, recent happenings had forced the erection of new laws, new "standards". And the people had accepted. And now it was law. He sighed again and willed his heart to be still. The native doctor he had visited the night before had promised him that all would be well...
The chief whip had finished his speech. He slammed the holy mace on the ground and the noise reverberated like thunder in the now silent room. This silence in itself was a new development. What was initially a rowdy gathering, where shouting down your opponent was the order of the day, where weapons were on occasion used freely, was now comparable to a holy chapel. Few voices were heard and when they spoke, there was no interruption until somebody else held the mace of speech. It reminded one of an ancient Red-Indian ritual in which a "talking stick" was used. Among the Red Indians of Old America, when they held a meeting, it was only the person holding the "talking stick" that was allowed to speak. After his speech he would pass the "talking stick" unto someone else who would either support or raise a counter motion to the topic under discussion. Thus was the way the senate now operated and even though it was crude, Order had never been so beautifully orchestrated.
The senator-elect felt his heart pound harder within his chest. The chief whip was pointing his mace at him.He got up majestically, and with applause and whispered encouragement from his supporters, he walked down to the center of the podium. Here, surrounded by his peers, he would take the oath of office.
The chief whip, who doubled as the Chief priest, motioned with his hand and the sacred stone was brought by two young men with leaves in their mouths. The stone wasn't large, seemed the size of a small book, and yet the men struggled and strained with all their might, their muscles bulging under the effort of carrying both the physical and the spiritual. They finally placed the stone on its alter in the middle of the podium and collapsed backward, sweating profusely. The chief priest stared at the senator-elect with wide, fear-inspiring eyes.
"Do you swear that you will support the constitution of this great nation?" He demanded in a firm but ancient voice.
"I do!" The senator-elect declared. There was a hushed cheer from the crowd.
"Do you swear that you will defend the constitution against all enemies?"
"I DO!"
"Do you swear that you take this office freely and without reservation or thought for personal gain?"
"I DO!"
The ring quivered on his finger. The native doctor had told him this might happen. Nothing to worry about.
"Do you swear that you will not launder money in any way or any form, that you will not be a bane to this country but rather a blessing?"
"I Do!" The senate-elect declared. The sacred stone started to vibrate and turn a deep red. For some reason he heard his mother's voice as if they were back in the village. It was far away but its intent was clear. She was telling him to come away from there immediately. Still he hesitated.
"Do you swear that your interest will be solely for the people? That you will remain humble and honorable to the calling of this great office?
His lips couldn't move. For some reason he could not speak. A murmur rose from the crowd as he struggled to get wind past his larynx. He saw his mother clearly now though he was sure others could not perceive her. She was muttering incantations and covering his mouth with her dry, aged hands. This silly woman wanted to ruin his destiny! Even if what he was about to say was a lie the ring would protect him, didn't she know that? Hadn't he explained the whole thing to her a week before undertaking this journey? He struggled in his spirit and broke her hold.
"I DO!!!"
The ring on his finger cracked, broke, and fell off.
He saw his mother fading away, weeping for her already dead son, even as the sacred stone turned a bright red and life ebbed out of him. HE collapsed on the floor and the last thing he heard was the cry of terror among his supporters and a scuffle as the next senator-elect shouted "I no do! I no do again!!
Then all was still.

sorry mod...am kinda new on nairaland. I'm not sure if i posted this twice... if i do, kindly note it was done in error. thanks.

Lmao!!!! You go fear "i no do again"..lol
..
I loved how you added comedy to the ending part of this should i say "tragic" short story, without trying too hard to sound funny..
I loved it and it was a nice read..

Pls,space the work and use paragraphs,so your story will look nice and easy on the eye..
You said you're new on nairaland,so i'll say "welcome "..

Feel free to write more short stories if you can and i'll read and tell you if i liked it or not..
BTW,i loved this piece.. Nice work and great thinking...
All izz well!

Points noted. Will do. Thanks!

Nyc work Royver. I love it too

Royver: Points noted. Will do. Thanks!

Ok!!
..
All izz well!

konklushun: Nyc work Royver. I love it too

This is a lovely continuation by a friend of mine, Iniobong. Enjoy

The death of the senator was shocking to all who witnessed it live. It made headlines on all media outlets in the country. The chief whip was worried. He was increasingly becoming the subject of criticism by writers and opinion leaders over his role in the swearing in ceremony fiasco. The senate house was depleted as only seven out of the sixty elected senators accepted to subject themselves to take the swearing in oath using the sacred stone. The rest called for a review of the whole process. They wanted to swear by their holy books; Bibles and Korans.

Something had to be done to avert the impending constitutional crisis in the country.

“No! I cannot review the oath taking process! It is a spiritual ceremony that is in-line with the constitution. I don’t have the powers to change this process”. The chief whip voiced out as he glared down at the grey haired men sitting before him in his office, his eyes were red with fury.

The members of the National elders forum cowered before the chief whip. They had come to prevail upon him to adopt a new means of swearing in the senators. They had been motivated by the senators to demand for a change in the swearing in process. Each of the ten elders had been “motivated” with the sum of 5 million naira the previous day.

Chief Adebanjo the leader of the team stood up and stared at the Chief whip. He brought his right hand close to his pocket and slipped it in. His fingers made contact with the round object curled inside. The cold & slippery feel of the talisman gave him renewed confidence and assurance.

It was time to use it. The chief whip was going to be attacked.

“Listen to me, my son we want you to do this. It won’t be considered as an unconstitutional action rather we will say that you invoked the doctrine of necessity.” He spoke in a calm relaxed voice and swiftly brought out the talisman and threw it straight at the Chief whip.

The talisman; a dark circular beaded chain flew through the air and landed on the forehead of the chief whip. The chief whip appeared to have been dazed as he swerved sideways on his chair. He slowly fell from the chair onto the ground. He made a desperate move to cling on to the table to stop the fall but his strength was ebbing fast.

The elders turned to each other and smiled. The talisman specially prepared by the high priest from Benin was working.
“Now listen to me” Chief Adebanjo said as he bent over the prostrate body of the chief whip. “You are going to perform the swearing in ceremony in the next thirty minutes in the senate chamber. The Senators elect are all waiting with their family members and pressmen in the chamber. You will swear them in with their Bibles and Korans, do you understand me?”

The chief whip nodded meekly. Chief Adebanjo chuckled with satisfaction. The talisman was working. “This talisman turns anyone it is thrown at into a mindless robot” the native doctor had assured them in his shrine.

“Now stand up and let’s go!” he ordered.

A vibrating movement inside the vertical file cabinet standing at the corner of the spacious office caught his attention and that of his fellow elders. Something was jerking inside. The vibration was increasing in intensity with each passing second. They looked at each other in apprehension.

The cabinet burst open with a strong force that resounded across the room. An object flew out and landed close to the door. It was a stone, the size of a book. The elders gazed at the stone which was glowing with a bright red coloration in astonishment. As the stone glowed the dazed Chief whip turned his eyes and instantly recognized the object. It was the sacred swearing in stone; the source of his strength and power.

He began crawling on the floor towards the stone. He only had to stretch his hands and touch it to regain his power. The elders observed him and watched his every movement, the stone was obviously a threat to them.

“Let’s get out of here!” Chief Adebanjo yelled at his team of geriatrics. The stone was emitting a red glow. The glow was expanding in diameter and was moving towards their direction. As the national elders forum took fearful steps towards the door, the stone suddenly exploded and fire sprang up into the air.

Energized and totally released from the effects of the talisman, the Chief whip was up on his feet, his eyes blazing with fury. He was immune to the fire. His body shone with the red glow and he watched as the fire consumed the men who were squirming and whimpering on the floor.
The fire alarm sounded round the assembly complex and vehicles with blaring sirens moved in from all directions towards the building. The fire fighters battled the fire with their water hoses and fire extinguishers to no avail. The fire was blazing like a furnace. The senators elect and all the occupants of the senate chambers ran out and watched in shock as the charred remains of the elders were taken out from the building in three ambulances.

Two weeks later, seven senators sat for their inaugural sitting in a ceremony presided over by the Chief whip. They were referred to as the seven wise men who made good laws for the country.

Congratulations Roy!!!