THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

Zachary managed to board a FlyCAA flight from Kavumu Airport to Kinshasa that evening. After thirty minutes of flying, then a three-hour stopover in Goma, and finally another two and a half hours in the skies, he made it to the capital city of his homeland late at night at around eleven o'clock.

Complicated feelings impacted his entire being in waves as the plane descended and touched down on the runway of N'djili Airport. He sighed as memories of his last time in Kinshasa emerged from the deep confines of his memory bank and whirled around in his mind. They were all vivid recollections of the last few days of his previous life.

At that time, a lifetime ago, he had been between a rock and a hard place. His life hadn't been his own since he had owed an enormous debt to a dangerous man in Kinshasa City. That caused him to live in anxiety, day in, day out, as he tried to escape the clutches of his creditor.

In the end, he hadn't managed to outrun them, and his creditor's sycophants had drowned him in the Congo River. And that was how his sorry excuse of a hopeless life had ended in Kinshasa.

Now that he was back, he couldn't contain his emotions. He was angry at the thugs who had drowned him in the river. He was even more furious with their boss. There was even a voice deep within his heart, goading him to enact revenge on them.

With the money he possessed and his standing in Congolese society as a famous footballer, he wouldn't have to do the dirty work himself. He would only have to bribe the local police and military, and they would make the thugs disappear in no time. Their gang would vanish into thin air within days, never to be seen again. That was the power of money and status in Kinshasa, DR Congo.

"No. I can't go ahead with this. I can't get involved with those thugs again. My grandma in heaven would be disappointed."

Zachary caught himself before sinking into a whirlpool of feelings of revenge. Their cruel acts towards him had happened a lifetime ago. They had even caused his death, which allowed him to reincarnate with a badass system that totally changed the trajectory of his destiny.

So, in a way, they had helped him out, making him feel like he could ignore and forget their transgressions against him. He figured that he didn't have to lower himself to their level. Instead of fighting with local thugs, who only amounted to annoying bugs in his new life, he could spend the effort training and progressing his career. That was the way of champions.

Moreover, as the saying goes, he didn't want to battle with monsters, lest he became a monster himself. He also didn't want to stare into the abyss that was the Kinshasa crime community to avoid that very abyss from gazing back at him.

Zachary understood that if he acted against the thugs, he would bring himself trouble. He might even attract the attention of some of the high-profile criminals who had the potential to threaten his safety. Additionally, Zachary also felt that the act would pollute his mind and twist his behavior in some way. He might slowly get used to making all the people that offended him disappear -- and in the end, turn into a criminal himself.

All the most heinous criminals in the world started with superficial crimes, like simple acts of revenge. Then, they would get comfortable and level up to become vile thugs and the prime enemies of society. Zachary didn't want to risk being that way. He didn't want to turn into a disappointment that tainted his late grandma's memory. So, he forced himself to disregard the thugs that had ended his previous life.

"Honored customers!" The air hostess said in French after the plane braked and came to a complete halt on the runway. "Thank you for choosing Compagnie Africaine d'Aviation as a means of travel tonight. We have arrived in Kinshasa. Please don't forget your hand luggage as you disembark. We wish you a pleasant stay in Kinshasa, and we do--hope that you utilize our services again for travel around DRC in the future."

With that said, the doors opened, and the passengers started descending the airstair. Zachary followed the rest out of the plane before heading to the airport's arrivals section.

Just then, he realized that many gazes were on him as he walked through the airport's hallways. Many people constantly looked his way with glittering eyes while others pointed at him. They had obviously recognized him as the Congolese footballer who had just won the Europa League. If he didn't take measures, the people eyeing him would probably approach him for autographs within the next few seconds.

"Not this again," Zachary thought and quickened his steps. He didn't want to deal with the fans at that late hour. So, he quickly looked for an airport official to help him through the ordeal.

The airport official was an understanding man. After receiving a few dollars from Zachary, he quickly called security to keep the excited fans at bay. He then helped Zachary through all the necessary procedures before arranging a credible taxi cab to take him away from the airport.

Zachary thanked the airport official and gifted him a few more dollars before boarding the cab. He fastened his seatbelt, and off they went, cruising out of the airport and onto the streets of Kinshasa.

As the tall buildings and fancy mansions flashed by the vehicle's window, Zachary sighed as mixed emotions emerged within his mind again. He started recalling the tremendous mountain of inequality between the haves and have-nots that was ever present within Kinshasa.

Fancy high-end buildings, magnificent mansions, expensive sports cars, and trendy people were often-common sights in affluent neighborhoods of Kinshasa like Gombe. It was to the point that if foreigners arrived in that part of the city for the first time, their first thought would be, "I'm in one of the trendiest cities in Africa." But if they were to take a brief tour around and move deeper into Kinshasa, they would immediately experience a swift change in opinions. That was because they would see the many slums housing one of the world's most impoverished populations in the same trendy city. They would be surprised by the enormous difference in the standard of living between the two groups of people living only a matter of kilometers from each other.

"We're here," the cab driver said after a few more minutes of driving. "This is the Pullman Kinshasa Grand Hotel."

"Oh!" Zachary said and leaned forward to glance through the windshield. A splendid high-end building appeared before his vision. It was indeed the five-star hotel where he would be spending his night.

"Thank you." Zachary smiled and paid the driver. He then exited the cab and walked towards the hotel entrance with his luggage in tow.

Thirty minutes later, he was already within the confines of his hotel room, enjoying a warm shower. After coming out of the bathroom and drying himself, he settled down on the table near the balcony to enjoy his room service dinner. He finished his meal within a few minutes before settling on his bed to consider his course of action for the following day.

"She said she'll be in Kinshasa this week," he thought. "I should call her and inform her that I'm already in Kinshasa. But, I should not hold any high expectations."

Zachary had surprisingly not felt any connection with her when they met for the first time at his grandma's burial two months prior. His mind had been blank, without even an ounce of positive or negative feelings towards her when they talked. It was as if he had met a stranger who would never take a firm position within his heart. But to fulfill his promise, he still decided to meet her in Kinshasa before setting off for Europe.

"Let's do this."

He sighed and immediately picked up his phone. A serene expression outlined his face as he dialed the number he had saved in his phonebook only two months ago. But the next instant, he couldn't stop his heartbeat from quickening as the call connected. He exhaled to calm himself down and placed the phone against his ear.

"Oui, allo!" A feminine voice sounded from the other end of the line.

"Hello, I'm Zachary." He also spoke French. "We met at the burial in Bukavu two months ago. We had made plans to meet this week."

"Oh, Zachary dear!" The voice at the other end exclaimed. "It's you. I've been waiting for your call for a long time. How are you, and how's everything?"

"Everything is fine," Zachary replied, forcing his tone to remain neutral. "I'm already in Kinshasa. Can we make plans to meet tomorrow?"

"Yes, of course," the woman at the other end replied. "Where should we meet? And what time?"

"Can we meet at the Pullman Kinshasa Grand Hotel?" Zachary suggested. "We can link up at the hotel's restaurant at midday. That is if that's okay with you."

"That's okay," the woman replied. "Let's meet tomorrow at midday then. I'm really looking forward to seeing you again."

"Then, see you at midday tomorrow," Zachary said. "Goodbye, and have a goodnight."

"Goodnight to you, too, dear."

Zachary didn't say anything else. He ended the call before exhaling again. His mind wandered, and he sat motionlessly on his bed, glancing absentmindedly at the wall.

He only caught himself after a few minutes and forced himself to focus back on the present. Without further ado, he cleaned up and started preparing for bed. But deep within his mind, he was still thinking about his only meeting scheduled for the following day.

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