Chapter 1
Abednego, a young energetic boy in Namamali' village. A lively boy worth emulating. He had a certain irrefutable logic about himself that is so
fascinating.
Most people in the village couldn't afford to be away from him due to his personality that was promising.
He was brought up in a robust family and vigorously lived with great dreams and visions of getting married and raising up a healthy family, just like his parents.
"Having a brilliant family is the most vital thing on earth,"he amicably figured out to. As time went by Abednego began to focus on how to get a family of his own.
"One day I will marry a woman of my
dream, and when I do so, I will make sure that it
lasts for a lifetime," he pondered upon himself.
Though there was a challenge with Abednego's
parents, whenever he made friends his parents
would ask him not to trust them and have close
relationship. According to his parents, his being sensitive might get their child hurt easily, so they asked him to maintain distance with people.
So Abednego never made friends. He would share his thoughts, feelings with his parents most of the time. But as he entered teenage life he found it difficult to share his feelings with his parents anymore, as they were bit conservative.
He lacked self confidence and proper communication skills, which often would result in misunderstandings. He found it difficult to express himself. People's comments would carve on his mind making a scar. To avoid people's comments he tried to be a perfectionist. Later, he became obsessed with perfection. He never shared this with his parents thinking that this might make them unhappy.
All these feelings were buried deep within, having no one to share with. Abednego thought his wife, when he gets married, would cure his loneliness.
Barely a year after, Abednego met with Nina, a young beautiful girl, who would later be Abednego's wife. She was a jovial girl coming from Abednego's neighbouring village. They
later met at dinner, an informal gathering done yearly in the outskirts of Namamali village.
They had attended almost a decade earlier.
Throughout the evening, they found each other again and again. Nina loved Abednego's easy laugh.
"He liked my smile," she amicably said to herself.
It was obvious they were both interested. They were the last to leave. A week later, Abednego asked Nina out. Nine months later, they walked
down the aisle and pledged their lifelong love and faithfulness to each other. It was a traditional marriage that was attended by almost
everyone in that small village of Namamali.
This young energetic boy, Abednego, knew marriage would bring change, but change —even when expected — can still be surprising and unfamiliar. They are different; their personalities echo quite opposite voices.
The girl was invigorated by time with villagers; while Abednego leaves a new group dazed and overwhelmed. They couldn't get enough time with each other. Depression began affecting
Abednego, it was piercing his heart deeply like a hot knife through butter.
The paradox is obvious yet quite mysterious. At times, when they were talking, Nina felt so understood — like he really "get s"her. The way they were interacting made her feel as if they were cut from the same cloth. Then, a small shift in tone, her eyes water, and Abednego says the unthinkable,
"You cry a lot."
Suddenly, Abednego is alone — and want to be! How could one statement instantly distance them and leave him blankly starring at the same person that, only moments before, he had been savoring?
But to his wife, tears represent devastation or catastrophe. His moist cheeks and brimming tears frighten and confuse Nina.
Even unwrapping their wedding gifts was an eye
-opening experience for Abednego. The couples returned home from our honeymoon to a living room overflowing with presents. It was unlike anything they had seen before, and Abednego was ecstatic!
It took them days to get through this generous bounty: pots, dishes, linens and more. It warmed their hearts to realize that each gift had been hand-selected by friends and family. By day two, they'd established a pattern.
Abednego would unwrap. She would squeal with delight and record the gift information. He would organize the pile and return with a new present. Finally, they unwrapped the pot followed by other sealed vessels in soft goat skin, now it was Abednego's turn to smile.
It hit Abednego that the entire ritual of wedding gifts is more for the wife. In jest, his sweet wife picked up her three gifts and said,
"Well, at least I got three things," they both laughed.
The kind of life they were going to live
is what mattered little to him, but Nina didn't that it mattered to him. Abednego playing along, even participating in the unwrapping, proved to him he was invested and trying. She was learning how to better love him, and Abednego was learning what life can mean to him, he knew difficult times were ahead, difficult moments that can't be explained.
They were living in a terrible land, a terrible village governed by a cruel king, Imboko. Abednego saw it wise not to disclose any secret to Nina,
her wife. He knew that she will not be able to grasp it, so he chose to keep it to himself.
Abednego loved that after so many years of waiting to wake up next to his wife, that he now does, despite the warnings that someday he will
get tired. Waiting for his wife wasn't passive; it was active. He prepared, anticipated and hoped.
His life didn't begin when he met Nina.
He already had a life, a life he was readying and expecting to share with another. He couldn't wait for a wife to complete him. He would be his
complement. He knew God could fulfill him; it wasn't going to be his wife's job to meet his every need. Daily, he made choices to create a life that another would want to become a part of
— and he had the faith that one day, a woman would join that life.
When you have longed and hoped for someone for such a long time and she's finally here and real, the joy in having your heart's desire doesn't soon diminish. Their lives are now intertwined. But there was still much more hidden in the closet that would eventually unfold.
Despite the fact Abednego wanted a family of his own, there was much more than that in the village of Namamali. The only secret that he was
supposed to reveal to the wife before it was too late. The land was crying, the land couldn't make their life better, it will only make their life bitter.
No male child was kept buy the parents, boys were king's object, the now reigning king known
as Imboko. Imboko was a horrifying leader whose leadership was filled with blood.
Will they enjoy their marriage, that was the question that lingered Abednego's mind.
Though marriage was valued in Namamali village, but the king was making the life of every villager bitter. It was real on a dreary Wednesday afternoon when Abednego returns
from working in farm, he was dead tired. He entered in their hut, closed himself in before he proceeded to bed. So many issues had preoccupied his mind, many families were destroyed by the king in that land. Now he is
married but has kept the secret away from the wife.
"What if she finds out," he wondered
People were being killed every now and then,
"Probably Nina, his wife or even himself could fall a victim," thoughts crossed his mind. He looked up at the soot strand, hanging above his head touching their grass thatched
house.
Though Nina loved him, yes, but she was in a wrong land, a land that could easily open up
and swallow her at any given moment. He felt sad for her. He dreamed of one day liberating the village from that cruel king, he saw himself slaughtering the king as the whole villagers
applauded him.
"What a brilliant day will it be," he
admired.
Years went by and Nina's love and her husband grow stronger and stronger. After fifteen years of staying together, something strange was taking place in their love triangle, Nina wasn't
conceiving. This became as a shock to
Abednego. Nights became nightmares,
"There's something amiss in this
marriage", Abednego thought.
"What could be happening, could I be a
problem, Oh, no. It cannot happen, it,can't be that way," he refuted.
They have been living together happily but when the issue of not having a child crossed Abednego's mind, he covered his head and began to soab uncontrollably. Her wife Nina couldn't think of it anymore. When she think of high hopes she had, dreams and visions of raising up robust family, she became so sad.
"What did I do to deserve all this?"
She questioned.
" wish I could tell her how I feel...I wish I could tell her how I feel," Abednego retorted.
"In the morning, I cant take anymore,
but I have to, I have to tell her. Yes, I will tell her how II feel, she is my wife, I know she loves me. I have no objection but to tell her how I
feel.," he said to himself while feeling worried.
Nina's husband walked silently towards there hut, sat down and started pondering in his heart,
"There, yes there, like an escaping shadows of darkness that room behold of you," he said to himself.
"The light touch her exquisite features,
long dark hair past her shoulders, her lips as red and flawless as a bloom rose, eyes so captivating that shocks all my senses, you are flawless in every way imaginable, you are my burning desire, my endless love, and yet the most beautiful and good hearted suffers a mental disorder," he thought about her, expressing his deeper love to Nina her wife.
It wasn't known how long he took outside there, but when he stood up to go around his checks, he realized that time had really gone so first. The
moment he made a move towards the door of their hut, there she was, a girl standing looking outside their hut. He knocked but she didn't seem to hear so He opened the door , stepped in and as he did she turned her head and gave an angelic smile, his heart melted he was so stun by her natural beauty he forgot what he was doing there he probably was sitting here for like the
whole afternoon before she approached him and asked,
"you must be exhausted?"
"yes, yes, no, I mean YES!"
Abednego was nervous never in their life has he ever seen a mortal goddess stand before him so amicably, despite the fact that they were in deep challenges of living together for fifteen years, as wife and husband but without getting any child.
"Is there anything we can do to have a
child?" He asked.
She turned, looked outside the
window of their hut and said,
"No, there's no any other way."
"How could she say no?" Abednego
pondered.
"You don't have any idea on how we
can get a child?" He went further to asked.
"Yes, but I have a mom and dad, I will
reason out with them." she said.
" Why don't we think of any other vital
way instead of consulting them?" He asked.
"Sure, that's a great observation. I've
been thinking about it since I've been here." She
told him.
"Good, but what hell are we going
through?" Abednego asked. He resolved in his heart that no matter what happens, he will never
leave his wife Nina to suffer the shame of barrenness alone.
"Whatever that happens to my wife,
Nina, I will never leave her." He softly said.
He proceeded to walk out their but she grabbed
his arm and told him how much he appreciates his love. She also promised to be faithful to him and never to despise their marriage. Towards the
end of sixteen years, Nina run to the husband while holding her tummy.
"Guess what!" She exclaimed.
"I am pregnant!" She shouted at the
bottom of her voice, then she said,
"Well my dear husband, it is a pleasure.
If only I would of met you in a different setting.
I couldn't really say anything you see I'm the shy girl when imelody just to carry the tummy,
funny I think." She marvelled.
Chapter 2
Three Months later it was all smiles. The waves
of jubilation was ringing in the air, celebration
was heard everywhere. There was joy in the life
of these two couples who had stayed for so long
without a child. Abednego couldn't believe how
the heavens downed on him with search great
blessings. Life was now real in their eyes. It led
to all the prominent people in the village of
Namamali to visit t hem, including the highly
esteemed chief. Presents were brought from all
corners. Sorrows were turned into joy.
"Nina, Nina, daughter of great land".
Women would be heard singing. What a joy was
it on the land for Nina, Abednego's wife to
conceive after patiently waiting for all those
years. It was a great joy indeed that filled the
entire land of Namamali. Abednego couldn't
sleep that night, it was so hard for him to fall
asleep, he was just thinking about her, about
Nina's pregnancy
"what can I say, how can I act, what should I
do, every time I enter the sleep realm I see her
face and I get a burst of energy. The joy of being
a father, what a joy. I am so happy, I will be a
father." He murmured.
"Is he a boy or a girl?" He silently asked while
gazing up in the sky at the blazing moonlight.
The next morning his eyes were burning and his
head was pounding from another sleepless night,
but he got up as fast as he could get up, he even
got to the farm an hour early. Three hour s went
by without no sign of him leaving the firm. He
was going crazy himself. The thought of having
a knew born child were freshly lingering in his
mind. A moment later he was back in the hut
sitting next to her on the floor. It was horrible
for him to see her like this, he felt like crying his
feelings were unexplainable. His thoughts race
of Why and a million answer unsolved. His heart
race as if he was having a panic attack of reason
his longing to see her all the time and seeing her
here with a promising belly of a expectancy.
Then she turned her head from sorrow and grief
to happy and tearful.
"What happens now if we get a girl or a girl?"
He asked,
She said she didn't want to take her herbs
because it clouds her thoughts and makes her
seem like she will vomit out the pregnancy.
Abednego reasoned with her joyously and told
her that he was comforting her because she was
thinking too much.
"I always think about you Abednego, that day
I first met you, I couldn't sleep. I stood up all
night just waiting to see you the next day.
Abednego, I thought of you as well, I've never in
my life had prob l ems sleeping until I met you."
She blatantly told him. Three hour s past and he
cherish those hours, he was making pictures
memories every time she smile, scratch her head,
fixed her hair. Finally, he stood up and
proceeded to walk out. He felt lovely hands of
what soft and desire combined grabs mines then
she asked,
"May we join hands as we walk?"
"Of course Nina." He responded.
She laid her head upon her chest embracing one
of her hands with both of hers. Her sensational
smell full his nose of exotic images he never
been to. As they walked they approached the
inner room in the house. She gave him a kiss on
his cheek then she smiled and left the lights that
enhances her feature to a shadow and darkness
room where a small square window lets some
sun lights enter. He head back to the outside
room reserved as kitchen and as soon as he head
back, the memories lingered in his mind. So
fresh like a morning dew. At night Abednego
couldn't sleep at all. It was another sleepless
night, this time he was thinking about when will
she get out and if she would still talk to him or if
he was just about the pregnancy. Whatever he
was to her, he didn't care as long as if he was at
least next to her as a loving and caring husband.
The next morning he had forgotten that she had
openly told her how much she loved him and
how much she will work to her utmost ability to bring up their family in a robust manner. It was really a beautiful piece of open dialogue between a husband and a wife. He took something from his skin pocket, placed it inside of an old bag hewned in a goat skin and placed it next to the bed. He was having a lot of work in the farm, so knew that the farm work wouldn't
deter him from being closer to his wife, no matter what. Her wife Nina was sitting on a chair gazing at the pregnancy, she must have forgotten to comb her hair that day because it was a mess but she looked dashing. He approached her she looked up at him and smiled.
She began telling him a story about a wolf dog
saving peoples life,
"Interesting book." He said to her.
"It really is. I love stories that has
anything to do with any ani mal, it's my passion."
she said.
"Would you like to walk with me outside,
it's a lovely day?" she asked.
"Of course." He said.
"I have something to show you." She said
smiling. She grabbed his hands led him outside.
In the middle of this square fenced in yard was a
tree, not a very big tree but a small one. She was
starring at the tree then she started a very low
whistle, underneath the tree roots Abednego
could see two round small eyes with pointy tiny
ears and as she proceeded to whistle out came
this flying squirrel. She kneed down and open
her pal ms to this tiny creature, the squirrel seem
to know her because in an instant it jump right
towards her into her pal ms. He had seen her
smiled before but never like this. She told him
she found it one night that it must of glided in
from one of the nearby trees and couldn't get
back out so it was stuck here, she told him his
name and what she feeds him and that everyday
she comes out of their hut to play and talk to him,
how she's going to bring him home when she
gets out. It was magical al most like a movie.
Abednego checked on the shadow to determine
the time, he kissed her wife goodbye. She let him go and she started to skip,
"You make me feel like a little girl." she said.
She head back in their hut, took her herbs and
headed outside. 30 minutes past and Abednego
had not come back,
"He has stayed long." She thought.
She went and Sat on the bed looking onto an
invisible being just talking to herself. Later
Abednego came back and could hear her. He
went a little past the door to the window, stood
there and kept quite. He could hear her say,
"He's everything I looked for my whole
life." Then a long silence like a ghost was
answering her back.
"Since I met him I feel so much better,
he keeps my hallucinations at bay." She answers
back to her invisible friend.
"I will continue to see him I don't care what
you say leave me alone!" she's screaming at this
empty space in front of her.
"He's coming back, my husband, yes my
only husband. I can't wait to give him him a
child. Baby boy, perhaps. Yes, I' am going to see him, your dead anyways leave me alone." She started crying saying these last words to her ghostly friend. He walked in as she turns her head smiling with teardrops escaping her eyes, he,brushed her hair back and wipe her tears and she told her that she wants her to leave her alone.
He left their only hut and head back towards the back of their farm. He decided to take a stroll around their farm. As he was al most near the stream where Nina fetches water, he looked back and she wasn't in her doorway window. He felt crushed and quickly rushed back home. At the door of their hut he felt a cold breeze flow up in his system. His knees became so weak. A frenzy hit him hard and he just stood there with mouth agup. He loved Nina so much, for fifteen
years without conceiving and now she is pregnant. It was like a beginning of their marriage. His love towards Nina, his wife was growing stronger day by day.
"She is the only bird in the nest of his heart."
He said to himself. He recalled how they met
and how they promises they made never to leave
each other. The reminiscent was as clear as
Crystal.
Chapter 3
Abednego was standing there for like an hour
thinking what could he have done at her ghostly
friend. Hours past and it was night time, so he
decided to go to sleep early and nothing still the
same her face, her face, her face is all he could
see, he could feel it's another sleepless night.
He woke up the next morning to a soft snoring
of Nina.
"I probably only slept for 3 hours." He
marvelled. He was thinking to himself maybe he
was just nervous, so he rushed to get dress and
head out the door . He reached in the farm ready
to begin cultivating their grown yarms but
already Nina had likewise wakeboarding up and
followed him to the farm. He saw her, she glanced at him and started running towards him.
When she reached him he was embraced with
every muscle she produced wrapping her arms
around him and she looked at him and
whispered in his ears,
"I'm sorry I just had a phase, please don't
let my craziness phase get to you I really don't
mean what I say."
He just looked at her and wanted to pour his
feelings to her, he wanted to kiss her, embrace
her, with every thought, feeling, liquid, with
every human physical and mental energy he
could produce instead, he looked at her and said,
"It's ok."
So she embraced him for like 10 minutes until
one of the neighbours, who happens to be their
friends walked in and she released her grips. The
neighbour came up to her and asked,
"Will you accompany me to the
market?" She replied,
"No."
When the frenzy died down she decided to rush
back to their hut. She later on came back,
changed in a knew skin the husband brought for
her the previous day he came from the market
and she asked him if they could go outside and
see her friend. Abednego was in his heart
plotting of how could grab her hands, what
could be the most romantic way to do it, as soon
as he found a way she grabbed his leaning her
head on his shoulder and her hands embracing
his. They head towards the furthest corner of the
river. They were so ebullient, Abednego wasn't
ashamed anymore, he knew soon and very soon
he shall be a happy father.
Moment later they came back to where the
squirrel lives. She whistles and out comes her
friend, she asks the husband to give him a try.
He reached his hand out and glides towards him.
She leans her back on the tree with her hands
folded behind her, he approached her and she
said,
"I've never been so happy before, I never
knew that one day, at search a time like this, I will be carrying my first pregnancy. I always lived behind bars ever since the villagers began insulting us, saying that we are barren and that we can never have a child. Kiss me my dear husband, now that I can prove to the entire village that I am not barren. Show me what
magic lives behind it."
He moves in closer lean his head towards her
closed his eyes and he could feel her heat among
her lips as it approached her tender lips. He
couldn't believe that their shame was finally
turned into joy. They were the happiest couple.
Everything about was awesome. The cloud of
joy was hanging above their heads. When he
was just about to kiss her,
"I' m I even worthy of this?" He
wondered. Just a little closer and the same
neighbour came running towards t hem. So he
pulled away thinking that the neighbour might
be having a good report for t hem. They both run
inside before they could be seen together alone,
she runs to get her herbs while he entered the
latrine that was adjacent to the main entrance of
their home. The neighbour decided to wait there
until 8 minutes passed over. She took her time
inside the house before she came back.
"Where were you the other time you were
to take me to the market?" The neighbour asked.
"My husband couldn't let me go
anywhere." She responded back. The name of
their neighbour was Anifa, Anifa is the eldest
daughter to Mwanaidi. Their father's name is
Musungu, the only neighbours that loved this
couples. After a conversation that lasted for
4hours, she approached the doorway window
and waited for her husband who was still outside
to come and kiss her. She laid her lips upon her
doorway window and when he came in he
leaned in and they both could feel each other life
force even though a tiny hole. She pulls away
and keeps her eyes closed for a second then she
opens it and she starts to cry and says in a tearful
voice,
"So it wasn't only your lips, it was all of
you I've felt though a kiss."
He placed his hands on the wall, she placed hers
on top of his husband.
"This moment right here will haunt me
another sleepless night but I don't care I lose my
sanity just so I could be with her." Abednego
said to himself. An hour passed and they still
standing at the same spot, all silent.
"I feel asleep." She told him. So he led her
to the bed and left her to sleep.
" I just wanted to stay with her all night long
before tomorrow." He murmured. So hour s
passed and she still in her slumber so he went to
check up on her ani mal. He came back later
opened the door and on her night stand is a piece
of roasted cassava. He took and ate it. He was so
indulge, he stayed near the bed until she woke
up, her gently breathing process as she grasps
her air has him breathing the same way, she
hypnotise him in this tiny hut by her flawless
beauty as she lays asleep, hour s pass and it was
soon be the end of today and as he stood to leave
to the other end of the hut, she awakes and
gently grabs his fingers and says,
"Please tell your family about our
pregnancy..I've never had one even so I could
imagine one day they will come and find we
have a bouncing baby boy. Tell t hem, tell them
you about to be a father."
He approached her and lean over and kisses her
head. She replied,
"I love your kisses." He smiled at her
then left.
It was now the sixth month, just three more
months and her will be bringing to this young
family a bouncing boy. He organized to visit his
uncle who was living in Mukunyuku village, a
real rocky place. He boarded a donkey with a
sack of yarms and headed to his uncle's home.
The whole family's there were surprised to see
their nephew they yelled at him joyously. He
came all the way from Namamali village to his
uncle's home to bring news of his wife's
pregnancy. All the way from Namamali, just to
see his uncle, what a surprise and even with all
his uncle's family here, he felt alone, alone
without her. It was 12 a.m. and everyone one was
there thanking him for the good news he brought.
He was so calm, thoughts of his wife back home
crossed his mind. His uncle noticed coldness in
his voice and asked him what's wrong but he
told them that he has,to go. He left the house bid
the whole family bye and hurriedly left. He
boarded his hired donkey, it was long and hectic
journey. He was estimating to arrive back home
in the wee hour s of the night. Sometimes he
would whistle, Sometimes he would just sing
love songs. The wife's love and the thoughts of
having their first child had completely engulfed
his mind. From a distance he could hear a sound
of waves coming from a river, though he wasn't
sure of the way back home. He has visited his
uncle only twice, the first time was when he was
still a child. This was the second time after so
many years. His sense of direction was pretty
horrific and there was a time he was in a very
remote part of Mukunyuku village. All was
going well until he realized he was in a really,
really remote part of the village and pretty soon
realized he was also on an incline. His poor
sense of direction and his infantile relationship with remote roads inadvertently led him deeper into the forest. There there was no sign of any houses or people around him. The only thing he could hear were noises of wild ani mals. It was already dark, the noises got stranger, and there was definitely no lake in sight. It was getting darker, his hired donkey was so exhausted.
Something was going to jump out and eat him
alive. He eventually stopped worrying gathered
guys and commandeered the donkey pretty fast
pace just hoping to get out of there as fast as
possible.
Several minutes later, he finally see a familiar
way leading him out of the intense forest, so he
got back on a known trail and just a few
kilometres up, he saw the sign where he mi ssed
his turn for the forest. He got back to the track
and sackled the donkey for al most 4 hour s
without a site of his hut.
"What if I was to be eaten by a wild
ani mals in that forest, what would wife do, what
about the unborn baby?" He wondered.
Darkness had totally covered the land, it was almost not easy to see the road. He garnered all the guts as a man and sackled the donkey all the way. From a distance he could hear waves of the river. Immediately he knew it was the river that is near their farm. He sighed a sigh of relief realizing that he is finally home. By now the moon was up, it was already shining brilliantly.
He found her looking outside the window while the moon reflects her beauty. He knocked and she turned her head and smiled and embraced him. He took some herbs he brought from his uncle and placed them on her night stand. While he was doing this she covered her month with disbeliefs, he asked her to take and prepare t hem. She was full of joy.
Chapter 4
After few months of waiting to give birth to a
long awaited child, Nina woke up in the
morning, went to the latrine and saw the baby's umbilical cord hanging out of her vagina.
She ran back to the house horrified. Abednego
called his neighbours who in turn came back
with a midwife.
The midwife confirmed the baby had passed
away. They were devastated and heartbroken
and cried for weeks and weeks. The pain of
losing the only child after waiting for fifteen
years without conceiving was harder than
anything they'd ever experienced. But they
still didn't want to give up on their hopes of
being parents. So they decided to try again for
their second baby and Nina was again
pregnant very quickly. The second time round
she didn't feel happy or excited. She had bad
anxiety and bouts of depression that came and
went. She couldn't smile, she was crying a lot
and she confided in her husband telling him
she didn't think she wanted this baby. He told
her it was natural and normal to feel like that
after going through what she'd previously
gone through and that as her pregnancy progressed she would start feeling better – and he was right.
They went to the midwife at 19 weeks and were told that baby had bad kidneys, fluid around the heart and lungs and it was very likely baby wouldn't survive once born. But they were also told to wait until she was 20
weeks and see if by miracle anything progressed. They got to second month and she had felt baby move and kick so they were positive things were looking up. But once at the midwife they were told again it wasn't
looking good, baby was just too poorly. So they made the decision that the baby had to come out. She had the first cup of herbs and then went back to the midwife some hours Later.
This time round has been ten times more hard for her. It was an emotional, sad, irritable wreck and it never seemed to be getting any easier, just more manageable.
"I don't know what the future holds for
us, but it is motivation for me when I hear
other people's positive stories about recurring
miscarriages and then going on to have a
healthy baby in this village. It keeps me going
and I try to be positive about the future. We
want to try again and don't want to ever give
up on our dreams of being parents. Yes it's
one hell of a journey, it's emotional, stressful
and frustrating." She said sadly.
Nina was in deep frenzy, she didn't know what
to do, all her hopes and dreams of having a
family was being shattered by miscarriages.
She would cry all night long, the world wasn't
favouring her. When she thought of her
friends whom she grew up with raising their
children, she would soab uncontrollably.
As weeks went by, she had severe headaches,
abdominal cramps, back pain, foot swelling,
heartburn, morning sickness, bouts of
alternating constipation, diarrhea and gas. She
didn't know about pregnancy, but those symptoms weren't an every day occurrence for her before getting pregnant. So if any of those things suddenly happened to her and she hadn't had a period in ages, she would have thought,
"Hmm...something must be up. Time to get a pregnancy confirmation from a midwife!"
But that's not at all what happened to the first
pregnancy she miscarriage. She went back to
the midwife who later confirmed to her that
she was expectant. The baby in the womb was
okay. What a joy.
Abednego's hut was so congested with
villagers who had gathered to celebrate with
him the news of her wife's pregnancy.
Hululations could be heard everywhere in the
compound. Finally when the day of
welcoming the child came, almost everyone
was prepared.
After giving birth to her son Kipili four years
ago, Nina lnew what it felt like to be pregnant.
But she says this time around it was totally
different. Her period was still regular until last
month, and she felt totally fine until the day of
her son Kipili, when she woke up with sharp
stomach pains. She called her husband to
come home from farm because she was feeling
ill. Moments later, her water broke— that's
when the couple realized she was pregnant and
called the midwife. She barely made it into the
the hut, for she was sitting outside. In fact, two
pushes and her son was out! Can you imagine?
Most of women in Namamali village have
pretty excruciating birth stories with hours and
hours of labor involved. Two pushes and you
have a baby? Unbelievable! And he was no
little thing! Over nine pounds, and you didn't
realize you were pregnant? All I can say is
wow!
The most shocking thing, though, is that this
pregnancy was with a lot of difficulties within
the first two months.
After the pains became increasingly strong,
She took long strides to the house and before
the midwife knew it, her water broke and the
husband realized she was pregnant. Nina ays
her period kept coming, she didn't put on any
weight, and never had morning sickness. Can
you believe someone wouldn't know she was
pregnant until she went into labor?
Nina nursed her baby while crying. For 15
hours per day. Five hours a day, she cried
while doing other things: washing and folding
baby clothes, feeding herself, walking slowly
around their farm pumping pathetic amounts
of milk out of her breasts, worrying. Worrying.
Worrying.
For one hour a day, she sang to her baby and
told him he was amazing, and for 3 hours,
hopefully, he slept, always restlessly.
"Shouldn't I be pumping right now? Or
worrying?" She asked herself.
"I don't know what she has to be sad
about. She has everything she ever wanted. If I
was her, I would be so happy."Abednego said
softly.
"I don't know what she has to be sad
about. She has everything she ever wanted. If I
was her, I would be so happy."He spoke again,
this time raising his voice a little bit.
"How many times have I replayed her comment in my head?" He wondered.
Depression comes in layers: There was the original sadness, the layer of letting my baby down,
the layer of failing as a wife, the layer of wanting to die, the layer of guilt for wanting to die, the layer that I was a bad feminist for being weak, the layer that I thought motherhood would make me happy but it didn't so maybe nothing ever would, and the layer that nobody wanted to hear about it so nobody really loved me.
With Abednego's comments, a new layer piled on:
" Her sadness was her fault; someone else
in her place would be happy."He figured.
But was her sadness her fault? It wasn't her
choice to be prone to depression. The herbs in
her body, in her brain, weren't her choice. It
was a secret hidden in the land of Namamali
village that made her sad, and she ended up
sad. So sad. So lost. But it could've happened
to her, to anyone.
Chapter 5
That secret took her over. She was chasing
marriage and motherhood. She had it. She
wanted it. But something somewhere was a
miss.
"She didn't get married and pregnant soon
after, and I think she's mostly happy now, but
I really don't know. Ever since her comment,
we haven't been as close." The hhusband
lamented.
"I have everything she ever wanted.
Everything she ever wanted. Now what could
be eating her mind?" He asked blinking his
eyes.
Nina wanted to be a mom: a desire that was
firm and pure in her childhood, then shaky and
elusive in her early 20s. By age 30, she
hungered again for a baby, particularly baby
boy; She couldn't wait.
But as much as she wanted a child and to be a
parent and giving birth to a baby boy, it doesn'
t mean becoming a parent and giving birth to a
baby boy was to make her happy in this
village of Namamali. There was a secret that
was hidden from her, a secret that was
revealed to her the day she was giving birth.
"Fulfilling a goal is never a promise of
happiness in this village." The person told her.
"Particularly when you give birth to a
baby boy." The informer told her.
Nina wasn't happy with what she heard from
her informer. She felt even more alone, like
she couldn't speak honestly about the hard
time she was having like she was supposed to
hide her tears.
Yes, she wanted to have a baby boy, then she
had a baby boy. But it didn't make her happy.
At least not right away. And certainly not in a way where happiness took over and blocked
out all the other feelings.
Her kid was incredible, but that doesn't mean
life stops being hard.
Life is complicated. Feelings come and go.
They merge with each other and pop up in
surprising times.
"We're never going to get everything
we ever wanted because what's happening in
this village." She said between her soabs.
"I've been jealous too, and I've
probably been the hurtful friend, without even
realizing it. None of us can be perfect, but we
can make a choice, to be honest about our
struggles, and to get through them together.""
She went on speaking to herself.
Abdnego had hidden something horrible from
her.
It all started with an innocent "hello"during their first meetings. Nina spotted this handsome, well-mannered man from across the room who immediately drew her in. His voice made her fall for him even more. Before She new it, she had a full on crush on him. Not knowing that the only man who made her tie a knot would definitely hide something sinister from her.
We spoke every day since then about
everything and nothing. However, most of
their conversations never touched what she
came to hear later after so many years of
giving herself to him as a wife. Well it didn't
seem like much of an inconvenience until she
noticed how little she knew about him.
However, he was quite the romantic. He didn't
let their conflicting schedules get in the way of
him showering her with love and making time
from her.
This didn't happen without incident. He
couldn't wait for an open slot so he went directly to the point of luring her into marriage and his something sinister from her.
"This is the worst decision Abednego
made in a long time."She told lamented.
By then, Nina couldn't resist his charm. She
wasn't surprised that she had a crush on him.
Although Nina learned more about him during
that period than she did in all the months she
had known him, She thought it was a good
idea to finally confront him to disclose to her
what he had hidden for that long since they got
married.
"I just wish I had known this earlier."
She marvelled.
"Right! I' am ready to fall for that trap
of endangering my child."She harshly granted.
Later that evening a gigantic looking man
opened the door and Nina could sense the
tension but she couldn't quite place her finger on what was happening. They all calmed down due frenzy, her eyes followed the man closely but her husband shifted his eyes and looked at the baby.
What happened next put Nina in shock, that she blacked out temporarily. The baby was grabbed from her hands by the gigantic man, throw him in the air six times and said some incantations on him while spitting in the child's face. The man was casting spells on the child. It was breath-holding. The child emitted
a short loud cry which led to a sudden involuntarily holding of his breath. He became rigid followed by transient loss of consciousness.
"What's the meaning of all this?" Nina
shouted angrily at his husband.
Abednego jumped from from where he was
sitting like and before Nina could grab the
child from the man she was met with a hot
slap that sent her slamming on the floor. It was
a horrifying scenario that stole breath from her.
She lay mum on the floor for a couple of two
hours. She couldn't believe that the man she
had entrusted with her life could turn out to be
so violent to her.
His eyes were red, he was furious, his face
was like someone who had swallowed a9 bee
and was trying to get rid of it.
Abednego wasn't taking any chances by her
wife obstructing the man from carrying spells
on their only child whom they have waited for
all those years since their marriage. He
recounted the historical persecution of the
villagers who adamant from search activities.
Those who were against it were forced to skin
their child alive and eat the flesh. Later they
were persecuted. He had kept in the dark about
it his whole life. Now the truth is coming to
the surface and resistance will ignite
horrendous death and members of her family
will receive the worst punishment imaginable,
burning at the stake. For this reason, she had
no otherwise but stay low and to wait what will befall her only child.
There was no turning back.
The land of Namamali was a horrible place, it
was ruled by a king who wasn't taking matters
to chances, he was building his army from
new born baby boys. He had men on the
ground whose work was to monitor any
pregnant woman in the village. They were to
monitor her from a close range and with the
help of midwives they would get reports.
Someone was sent to cast spells on the born
child and if the child is a boy he was taken by
force from its parents and taken to the king's
palace to be trained to serve in the king's army.
Most of the children never made it.
The king had one of the most respected and
fierce fighting forces of their era. Nearly all
aspects of daily life revolved around the king's
army. From the time a child was born to their
end, they served the king and its armed forces.
The boys were expected to be perfect, both in other villages and on the battlefield. Their civilization worked as a gorilla war, preparing them to be their best for whatever challenges they faced. They were flogged, starved, and forged into warriors. They wrestled, exercised, and shaped themselves into beings of grace and fortitude.
Victory was everything and defeat was not
tolerated. Historically, Namamali has been
known as a crucial village. The boys
becoming such a military juggernaut didn't
just start when a youth enrolled in the kings
army. A child was groomed his entire life to
grow into a warrior hero; the kind of hero that
would become legend in the world's histories.
They concentrated on both physical fitness
and mental fitness and from the age seven till
eighteen, they were in a specialized secluded
village system. It was a process that began at
birth and ruled the lives of children.
To understand how the villagers raised their
children, you first have to understand why
they raised them that they were forced into the
army and what kind of culture the Namamali
villagers was. They were ruled by a cruel king
who never spared anyone that didn't adhere to
his commands. He was in charge of the entire
army and religious and judicial affairs. This
village was a highly controlled village.
Everything was strictly controlled. The king
made sure you married, had children, and if it
is a boy you surrender it to king's army. The
child wasn't yours anymore.
This control of the child's life started
immediately at birth. From the moment a child
was born, they were tested to make sure they
embodied the image of a warrior. Immediately
after birth, a child was dipped into a bath of
hot boiling herbs to test its strength and
fortitude. The king believed that a weak child
bathed in hot herbs would convulse and die. If
the child passed this particular test they were then taken by the father before a group of elders. If the Elders found the child deficient in any way (Frail looking, Deformed etc...) then the child was taken into the interior forest in a glade and left to die.
Chapter 6
From birth till the age of seven a child lived
with their parents. The child was raised by the
king's selected midwife to overcome its fears
as a child. During the day the child
accompanied their father to a shrine where
they performed a sacrifice, being on a hunt,
etc. Children didn't wear any shoes as a way to
harden their feet and make them move faster.
They only owned one garment per year as a
way to toughen them to the elements and were
never fed on bitter herbs.
After the shrine stage, the boys joined the
"Omfulu". The Omfulu was the circumcision
system that the boys were enrolled. The boy
never lived with his birth parents again. This
started when the king appointed officials who
were good in casting spells. These officials
assigned the child to a group of 60 other boys
called an "Okunani". The "Okunani" was run
by another army youth, "Okusimba" of around
20 who helps them develop into warriors. The
boys eat at the older woman's home and at
night "Okunani" quizzes them or teaches and
has them sing songs of war and history.
During the day the children stay in the hot
boiling sand, taken to a cliff, taught how to
skid down the cliff and wrestling. The boys
slept on beds of reeds as to further strengthen
them and desensitize them to pain and were
regularly whipped. If they cried out during
these whippings they were punished again till
they could suffer in silence the whipping. This
lasted until the age of 16.
At the age of 16 the boys begin further
training for war in something called
"Shiembekho", translates as "secret thing".
Shiembekho was basically a war waged
against any invaders.
The boys would hide in the woods during the
day and come out at night and kill any invader
they found. This was done as a way to teach
the boys survivability, stealth and adaptability
in the wild. It also desensitized the boys to
killing and helped keep the overwhelming
muggers. That is the kind of life Kipili was
going to be exposed to, living in the bush like
a bush man, eating bitter herbs and wild
animals. It was so terrible. Her mother still
lying on the floor and wondering why it was
hidden from her.
The soabs were uncontrollable, the thoughts of
being burned on stake if she refused scared her.
After the incantations the gigantic man tied a
red ribbon on the left hand of the child and shouted loudly.
"We have found him, a great soldier
in the land of Namamali, now the king will be
happy, but you waman you will have to face
the consequences of trying to hinder from
doing my work."
Those words made Abednego's heart to skip a
bit, he knew that the moment the king will get
a report that his wife wanted to snatch the
child away from his man, it will be over, they
will come back for her and they she shall be
flogged and burned. He figured on what to do.
"Even we say that we run, there's no
where to run to. All the unimaginable king's
army and his informers are all over. There's no
way to run to and no place to go." He
wondered.
"I'am going to take the report back to
the king, but other strong men will come back
to take the child." The man said as he handed
over the child back to his mother. The trembling mother took the child back.
Nina was really affected, She suffered from
chronic, lifelong depression, it affected her
and even the husband every day.
Family members quickly learned that they
couldn't depend on her for emotional or
physical support. Abednego became family's
caretaker.
While their marriage years are far behind them,
Abednego was haunted by memories and the
emotional effects of her wife untreated
depression. He looked back at how they fell in
love and saw a burdened, sensitive and
anxious woman. He was a perfectionist, an
over achiever, always trying to get her
husband to notice me, always longing for his
acceptance, love and attention that just never
came her way. It wasn't until they got a child
that he realized it wasn't that she didn't want
to spend time with him; rather, she was emotionally unable to do so. She was stuck in the dark, deep hole that she wasn't able to bare.
Nina was sickened by the sight of her husband
when she thought of how secretive he was to
her. The next day she looks at him and starts
crying and reaching. Her husband puts her to
bed and gives her some sleeping herbs letting
her sleep through the following day. The next
day she tries to resume her duties, but her
baby Kipili playing like a tiger, scratches her.
At the sight of her blood, she locks herself in
the hut and calls her husband.
"This kind of mariage does not always
bring me happiness I expected." Cried Nina.
"Could it be that a number of people feel
trapped in their own marriages like this one?"
She screamed. Nina was a sorrowful woman.
She was among those who experience such
unfortunate. The marriage was a torment. All
the time, she suffered grief and sadness. She
was like the kind of the women who are imprisoned in their own marriages and even more so in their own minds. It was terrible, something you couldn't fathom.
Nina was still young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even certain streng but her marriage and the secret that lied behind had taken the spirit and energies away from her as a young woman.
She had thought with a shudder that life might
be long but she never thought that freedom
was an option in her life.
When she learned of the husband hidden
secret, she just accepted it and went on staying
there with no option. In a different situation,
the sight of her husband made her so sad and
sick. Her life was so oppressive for her. She
feels the burden of love and hatred at the same
time.
One evening he summoned the husband and
disclosed all that was eating her up. She reminded him since sixteen years of their marriage and yet he had hidden to her that it was mandatory for every family in the village to surrender their new born babies to the king for military purposes. That she had been
questioning whether he loved her as she felt so
unloved – so much so that she occasionally
asked if it was wise for him search secret from
her. She also felt he was avoiding her since
learning the truth. He had assured her every
time that he did love her, which made her feel
happy that things were fine but being slapped
so mercilessly showed something different and
send a signal of a brutal husband.
However, he had a gut feeling that something
wasn't right but because he reassured her that
he did so to protect the entire family from the
crucial punishment of the king, had he known
that she wanted to hinder his messenger from
casting spells from the child, she began to
question her own sanity. She became ill, had
panic attacks and anxiety. But she wondered why he was going out to the shrine with the baby so much without involving her.
Originally, when she confronted her about that,
he was adamant about it.
Nina saw that the world fell apart. She was
utterly distraught.
"You were my world – my friend, my
only lover – and you had completely betrayed
and hurt me to a degree beyond my
comprehension." She told her.
"After a week or so, you twisted
the knife yet again and admitted the slap was
to protect me from being killed by the king.
You fooled me so well. " She shouted.
"You continue to treat me despicably.
You do not show any remorse or regret for
what you have done, nor do you show any
emotions or feelings towards me or my well
being – you act as if nothing has happened and
not once have you cried. You have told me that you hadn't loved me properly for quite some time, which I am extremely upset about as you never brought up the problems in our relationship so that we could have tried to work them out. We had been together sixteen
years and that's a lot of memories to throw away. Everything is so hurtful. I am devastated." She cried bitterly.
Whatever Nina was saying, it got into
Abednego's nerves, he couldn't take it
anymore. Those words were like a hot knife
through butter. The thoughts of hiding to the
woman she loved crossed his mind, he hated
for who he was made.
"A reject." He said feeling depressed.
"Perhaps a reject, a form of a man with
chicken brain. Perhaps that's what I was made
of. The gods must have created shortly before
lunch, the lunch swines were whistling when
he was making me. To leave his workshop in
hurry, he left me incomplete." He cursed.
He couldn't want to think of hurting his wife.
The only woman of his dream.
"I have no words for you, my dearest, – I
shall never have – You are mine, I am yours.
Now, here is one sign of what I said: that I
must love you more than at first…a little sign,
and to be looked narrowly for or it escapes me,
but then the increase it shows can only be little,
so very little now." He turned to his wife and
whispered regrettably to her.
At first he only thought of being happy in her,
in her happiness: now he most think of her in
the dark hours that must come, he shall grow
old with her and die with her, as far as he
could look into the night he could see the light
with him: and surely with that provision of
thoughts he needed to turn Nina with fresh joy
and renewed sense of security to her.
"And how will you protect us, how will
you protect me and Kipili from the brutal king
of your village. I don't want my son to be taken away from me." She told him.
"As I, received already so much, much,
past expression! It is but … if you will so
please, at worst, forestall the one or two years,
for my sake; Kipili will come back to us, will
one day as I can be now of myself, and why
not now be sure? See, love, sixteen years are
gone by, we were in one before giving birth to
Kipili.
Chapter 7
I want to assure you that I will protect you and
our own son, I ' am sure I will. Will you tire
me then? Now, you tell me what is told; were
you not to me, in that dim beginning of love a
joy beyond all joys, a life added to and
transforming mine, the good I choose from all
the possible gifts of the gods of Namamali village, for which I seem to have lived, which accepting, I thankfully step aside and let the rest get what they can, of what, it is very likely, they esteem more, for why should my eye be evil like that of our king, why should I grudge that, giving them, I do believe, infinitely less, he gives them a content in the inferior good and belief in its worth.
I should have wished that further concession,
that illusion as I believe it, for their sakes, but
I cannot undervalued my own treasure and so
scant the only tribute of mere gratitude which
is in my power to pay. Hear this said now
before the few years, and believe in it now, for
then, dearest!" He tried to explain to her the
love he has towards her, and the assurance of
how he will stand to defend her and the child
from being taken away from them. He flexed
his muscles and resolved that no matter what,
he will not let anyone take their child away.
He had to prove to the wife the love he had for
her and apologized to her what had taken place. In the evening they all retired to bed and fell into a deep slumber.
Just weeks after Abednego assuring his wife
that he will protect her and his child from
being taken into the King's terrible army, he
came up with a plot on how to run and where
to run to for the safety of his family. It is a
terrible state that forces him into a deadly
situation. Rumours of a coming for his child
war are winding their way between the castle
walls of the king and Abednego feels the
pressure quietly mounting within the village
soon, it becomes clear that deserting the
village may be his only hope of saving his
family. But the further Abednego is forced to
run from his identity, the more he wonders if it
is possible to go too far. Will he ever be able
to return home again? Or will he have to
sacrifice his own life in order to save his wife
and the child?
The stunning second thrilling thing on a roller- coaster ride of persecution and murder, thrills and peril, as they journey with the runway villager puts him in frenzy. So he decided to consult a magician in Igodo forest. He knew by doing so, he will be given super powers that will them invisible.
He took off in the wee hours of the night to
journey to Igodo forest, promising his family
to come back with protection powers. The
forest was a no go zone, it had ferocious
animals and evil spirits. It was known as "an
evil forest", many that went there never came
back and those who managed to come back
were strack dump by the gods of the forest so
that they wouldn't be able to talk to anyone
and disclose what they encountered, later they
ended dying a horrendous death.
Now, Abednego found himself found himself
in an endless forest. He had no idea who he
was, he thought it was a dream. He was
motionless, he could feel sweat running down
his face. The pain he felt was uncontrollably horrible. He wished he was home where his family. He shed treats of despair before he got hold of himself and stood up. His legs were stiff as a rock and his vision was blurry, he wiped his dirty hands across his sweating face.
His vision was suddenly clear and he took a
better look at the forest: a dark devastate scene.
From a distance he could hear eerie sounds,
the sounds started getting louder and louder. It
followed with a laughter that was so horrifying.
From a distance he could see something like a
child's figure, then it suddenly vanished into a
thin layer of smoke. He gathered some
strength and started walking on a narrow path
leading downwards, again he could still hear
the eerie sounds as if they coming towards
where he was but went silent all of a sudden.
As he gathering strength to keep walking his
legs protested against the idea and he wanted
to collapse. Suddenly, he saw someone
standing in front of him a few feet away. It
was a horrifying black figure. He stumbled
backwards and fell over a log. When the shock
was over and he got back up, the figure was
gone. Abednego was astonished, he slapped
himself on the cheek to confirm he was the
reel Abednego or someone else. He assumed it
was illusion and kept walking.
He walked down this path for maybe 10 to 15
minutes, he walked down, then he turned
around and was walking down the path that
actually led nowhere but went deeper into
intense forest and about 500 metres from he
had fallen, he started hearing the screaming.
He thought it was a moose, It was the first
thing that came to his mind because it was
rutting season…when they mate.
But as he heard more of the screams, he
started to change his mind.
He started trying to think of what that was,
and he couldn't figure out what it was.
He kind of thought it was a wolf, but he didn't
know. He has never heard a wolf sound like that before.
Abednego has been an occasional hunter since
he was young, he has never heard a sound like
that before.
He has heard many animals, like bears, rabbits,
but he has never heard this. The noise got
louder and louder until he became aware of
the noise, he lifted his head. He decided to go
check it out. The noise became very loud. He
walked towards the bush and peered in.
Nothing. A second glance on a tree beside him
he saw some writings,
"He killed us, he has no escape."
Questions ran through his head, he was
confused and scared. Night came and the
forest grew darker and colder. As he was
trying to find a place to take a nap due to
exhaustion, he heard noises once again in the
dark. The noises seemed to be coming farther
away. He slowly stood up and looked but due
to total darkness, he wasn't able to see
anything. Nobody was there. He ignored and laid down in his back his eyes flickering into the dark. The sleep was almost catching up with him when he sported someone, the same figure he saw before, but this time it was standing closer. He could examine the figure more closely, this was creepy. He trembled.
While still looking, he see another figure of a man coming out of the woods. Very tall and its face was covered. His eyes instantly met his. He was already looking at him. His dark eyes locked on his. The face was horrible,He wasn't smiling. He didn't know what kims of people they were, but he knew something was
wrong. It was in his eyes. He gasped deep breath and looked at the ground figuring on how to run before they caught up with him.
He quickened his pace a little and before
entering the woods slyly looked back. They
were walking in a funny awkward way.
"This is terrible." Abednego said in his
heart.
The path through the woods was invisible, and
the pathway exit opened into another field that
led to another set of woods. Complete,
crippling, absolute fear worked its way like
electric through every layer of flesh. He'd
never encountered search kind of people
before or since, but he knew what it was.
"Probably the gods of Igodo forest." He
thought.
He took to his heels and run as fast as he could.
Abednego was running for his dear life, the
thoughts of dying in this evil forest engulfed
his mind. He running helter skelter, he didn't
know the way out of the forest, but he was
determined not to die or to be eaten by the
horrible forest.
He had looked back several times while
running and he hadn't seen those figures
following him. For a second he froze.
He sprinted for a couple minutes before taking
a sharp left turn off the path into the trees. But he couldn't see anything. Tree branches were catching on his skin clothes like fingers, whipping and scratching his bare legs so bad he bled. He ran and ran his lungs protesting in painch, while his heart was throwing itself against his rib cage trying to escape.
Chapter 8
He couldn't anymore. He threw himself on the
ground behind a particularly thick trunk. His
back against it, knees to his chest, hand
thrown over his mouth to stifle his laboured
breathing, desperately trying to pump air into
his lungs for the next sprint. He listened for
the first time. A few seconds pass silently.
Then he heard the eerie sounds again followed by heavy footfall snapping twigs behind him
and about 20 feet to his left. He dared not to
look in case whatever it was sees him.
He heard a deep voice exclaim,
"where are you…I know you're here…I
saw you."
He clasped both hands across his mouth to
stop his scream escaping.
He could hear him moving around. He
panicked and found enough courage to slowly
peak from behind the tree. The thing was
about ten feet behind him, less than 20 feet to
the left, with his back to him. He moved back
and his eyes searched the area around him. He
picked up a pretty heavy rock and carefully
checked on him again, his back is still turned
but he's searching through the trees, hunched
down lower to the ground now. He make a
snap decision and with everything he had left
he threw the rock behind him and to the right.
It clattered through the branches of the trees
and made one hell of a noise. He watched him
immediately bolt in its direction. Laughing.
He really laughed.
Abednego paused a little hearing his footsteps
get quieter until he thought he wouldn't be so
visible to him if he moved and threw himself
forward. He ran, trying to put as much
distance between themselves as possible but
he was also aware that he was getting further
and further away into the interior forest.
Two more weeks and the king will come for
the child. Nina was alone, with only his child
Kipili, a very poor person that had no one. She
had knocked on every door hoping to herself
that she would be listened to but they all
laughed at her and shut the door. No one
wanted to associate with them anymore, the
whole village knew that she had tried to
protect her child from being taken away. So
they knew what would befall them, if search a
family has been marked by the king as valueless, no villagers was supposed to associate with them, otherwise, you fall a victim and be burned on stake.
Days were turning into nightmares, she had not expected that her husband will take that long. Though she wasn't aware of what the husband was succumbed to in the Igodo forest.
She a worried woman, the only person who
was to save them from the cruel king was her
husband. He went into the evil forest to
consult from the witchdoctors who were
known to be the spirits of the living dead, the
spirits that were known to make people
invisible from their assailants.
Nina was rest assured that Abednego will
come back with great news, news of victory,
victory from the crucial king who was on a
mission to take their child Kipili away from
them.
She watched the sun rise. A breeze gently
lifted her hair. She used her hand to put it
behind her ear, her eyes thoughtful as she thought about the road that brought her to this
point in life.
"Things sure have changed so suddenly.
Since the birth of my child Kipili, I am the
only woman who has been ostracized in this
village." She regrettably spoke to herself.
Later on while sitting outside her hurt, a
neighbour came,
"Hello." She greeted her.
"I have seen you hanging out here
every morning."She said. Nina looked away.
The neighbour watched Nina for a moment.
"I haven't seen your husband since
the gigantic man came to cast spells on your
child." She went on. Nina noticed a sarcastic
not in her. She got up, not looking at her, she
said,
"All kinds."
Stood up and left to the house.
"Why was she talking to me? I don't
know her, we are strangers. Besides she will be just like the others and leave me alone when she is done with me."
This happened for the next couple of weeks
where the other neighbours would try to talk
to Nina, but to no such luck, though that was
about to change.
Abednego was really exhausted and thirsty, he
knew there had to be a stream somewhere
close.
"If I find the stream I can follow it as it
borders the land and ran parallel to some of
the footpaths." He said.
He ran, he ran and ran until the trees finally
cleared and he could just make out another
field through them on the other side. He
thanked the gods and pushed himself a little
bit further till he was out of the trees and the
ground disappears from below his feet and
went ahead over shoulders down the stream
embankment. He crashed into the water below, his open mouth and lungs filling with muddy
water. As he splutter it out he felt both relieved to have found the stream and terrified he has been heard.
He slowly made his way downstream as quiet
as possible, listening out for him the whole
time as the stream borders the woods, looking
up periodically just in case. After a while,
maybe half an hour, he noticed the trees begin
the thin out and realised this is the edge of the
woods where he would have been exiting and
where the pathway connected to the original
one he had started on. If he ran he could get
home in less than 20 minutes.
As quiet as he could he dragged himself on his
stomach back up the embankment warrior
style, wanting to stay as low as possible. He
peeked over the top. He could just make out
the opening of the woods exit path about 50
feet away. He sat and scanned the forest line
for a couple minutes. His eyes trying to make out movement despite it now being pitched
black. Nothing. He couldn't hear anything either. He pushed himself up and sprinted as fast as he could across the field onto the pathway. He knew the gate he had entered through was in the adjoining field. It really wasn't far! he was so happy!
"Nina will be taken away, do
something for her and the little child Kipili."
came a screech from across the field.
His legs nearly gave out then and there. He
had been waiting for him. He turned his head
and saw him sprinting out of the woods at full
pelt. Abednego screamed and pushed himself
further, tears coating his face. All he could do
is run. He crossed into the main field now and
he could see the moonlight shining off. He
was faster than him and getting closer,
screaming at him the whole time about how he
was going to slit the throat. He ran and ran,
pushing himself up and over the bush. He dared look as he made the turning. HE WAS STILL FOLLOWING HIM. He raced through the trees and up the path to a large rock, he hid in the shadow of the huge stone. He lay still in the darkness, not daring to make a single
sound. He chewed on his tongue as to insure that his teeth not chatter, ignoring the taste of her own warm, salty blood. He dared not make the softest whisper for fear of unsettling the creature which was hissing and cursing. He awoke hours ago to a faint breeze, which
tingle down his spine, rattling him and suddenly was shook by a hot burst of air rushing against his skin. The shock of the chill and sudden burn startled him as he awoke to the sight of bright yellow-green eyes that
watched over him that night. For hours now, he had gripped a sharp big stone, depressed on her tongue and has been sweating drops of terror from his skin. He felt the heavy yellow glow press down upon him like a mega-tonne.
He began to grow tired and his eyelids
dropped and he was finally at rest for the first time in hours. He walked stealthy without a sound, his demonic intruder was face to face with him; in this moment he shrieked out a primal scream of sheer terror which the creature bathed in with great pleasure, as it seemed to feed on her very fear.
The hairs on the back of his neck pickle,
sending an icy shiver down his spine.
The creature pulled his entire body rigid, his
heart pounds fiercely in his chest and he
desperately wish it would stop beating so
loudly. A strangled scream tries to slip his
throat but he is paralysed with fear only the
smallest cry escapes.
It started to crouch to fit to where he was. Its
silhouette looks of a tall, gaunt man but he
knew deep down it's not human. He want to
scream out to but his voice doesn't seem to
work.
The dark figure in front of him takes a step
forward towards him.
His eyes widen in terror. The creature is
covered in what looks like rotting scarred
flesh, its fingers have long claws, sharper than
knives. Its mouth is just a gaping hole in its
scrubbing face, and where its eyes should be
are nothing but empty rotting sockets, but
there is no doubt in his mind its staring
directly at him.
He snap his eyes shut as tightly as possible,
pleading with himself to
gain strength and jump. His blood was
pumping through his veins. His heart was
beating so fast he can hardly hear much else.
And then he hear another one scratching on
the side of a rock.
The sound reminds him of fingernails running
down a chalkboard. Trickling fear rises
through his body. Too afraid to move, he shift
his eyes towards the sound of the other
He see it. Crouched by the tree clawing at a
plunk. It's so close he can see the maggots
squirming inside its eye sockets. It slowly
starts to rise, towering over him, reaching its
clawed fingers for him. He feels a spasm of
fear and find his voice as he scream
hysterically for his life.
Chapter 9
Since Abednego left, Nina and the child have
been facing oppression and as a result, she has
been in hiding away from villagers. For her,
her family was always her first priority.
Because her my mind, her family were her
responsibility. The child depended on her to
take care of her, and teach her. She gives the
child them more of her time than she ever
gave her husband. And she is moved by it.
After the supposed attempt to get the child from the gigantic man, she has been labelled as a dangerous woman in the village.
When the king's men arrived at her house,
with the intent of talking to her husband in
order to arrange for the child to be taken to the
palace, they did not find him, they found her
instead. They threatened to take her away to
the gallows. But they left promising to come
back. But not before they told her that she had
one day before they came back for her son. So
that night, she grabbed her child and fled. She
was put on the most wanted list. Ever since the
whole villagers were looking for her. The king
gave orders that whoever find her they shall be
exempted from kings harsh Labour.
She wondered if the husband, wherever he
was in the evil forest, knew what they were
facing. She looked all over in the outskirts of
Namamali village searching for someone to
give them hope of having a chance in life,
someone who would be a reason for her to try to survive.
But what she found was not that, what she
found was people who after a point, were also
after her. From what she understood, the
reason for this is that it is not in her husband's
village best interest, or there are certain king's
agreements between some families and their
new born babies.
Nina would talk, and cry together.
Unfortunately, not before long, the king's in
Namamali village used their power for their
benefit and named her dangerous to king's
leadership. The king was cruel, those who
went against his principles were all arrested.
They were left starving and dying. They
finally arrived in someone's home who
accepted to risk his life by hiding them away
from the king. They couldn't go outside, there
are two people in the home who of the good
Samaritan who helped them take care of their
necessities. But they only came when they
were in desperate need, afraid they are going to be followed and get caught.Nina had nightmares about her husband Abednego, she was worried about him being in that evil forest, not knowing what could befall of her.
One night she fell asleep, her host friend said
she heard her. She had been whimpering in her
sleep and when she walked over to check on
her, she could see tears rolling down her
cheeks. She shook her and shook her, saying
her name louder after each effort. When she
awoke it was all of a sudden and with a
scream. She is not sure who it scared more.
Her friend told her the moment she opened her
eyes she locked onto his and she looked
possessed, or haunted.
She looked like her soul was not in her body.
She was visibly shaken by the experience. At
this point Nina felt obligated to explain to her
how it had been going on for since Abednego
left to Igodo forest, that she couldn't sleep,
that the feeling was everywhere.It was worse that night. She had even more trouble pulling
herself out of the dream that night. It felt like
whatever was watching her was able to get
even closer, so close in fact she could smell it.
The thick musty smell of decay and death
loomed heavy as she awoke. She was barely
able to lean over the bed before puking
violently all over the mad floor.
She has also tried herbal supplements. Nothing
has worked. She was afraid to sleep alone
because if she can't wake herself up someone
has to be there to make sure it doesn't get her.
There was always fear. She didn't know what
had happened to Abednego, she really went
through emotional days of her staying alone
with her child. Not being able to live as a free
person. As a woman, having to ask for
personal necessities. And having to wait for
someone to bring a bit of food every time they
are starving, it was very exhausting.
"I am tired of waiting to see my
husband I am a human being, a mother, a woman; I think I deserve all of this.
I AM VERY TIRED, I THINK IT'S THE
END OF THE ROAD FOR ME
Why? Because I am tired. Tired of running, of
living a frightening life, being separated from
my child and not being taken to die in the
woods just for the selfishness of a king. No, I
am tired of living like this. I am broken down,
tired of this kind of miserable life." She
lamented.
The whole village was searching for her, every
villager had surrendered their boys to king, but
she was the only one who had gone into hiding
The king had imposed heavy measures on
them if they didn't find this disturbed family,
this disturbed woman and her only child. In
one weeks time and the gigantic man was to
come for the child, but they were into hiding.
No one knew the fate of Abednego, neither his
wife.
Abednego's wife was indeed tired, not only
mentally, but also physically. She was
emotionally sick. From doing too many crafts,
crying too much, and having visual problems
along with feminine disorders, it wasn't
something to think of. She had developed
continues bleeding, and cramps. Therefore,
she always felt very weak and sluggish.
She took all the medicinal herbs she could and
tried different types of natural treatments, but
she couldn't see any results. She couldn't go to
the native doctors due to the outside situation.
For the whole week her rescuer searched for a
native doctor who would come and treat her
but they couldn't find one. As the taboo was, a
native doctor was not required to go to a
patient, the patients are the ones who went to
the native doctors because the native doctors
had a shrine where they performed their
magical healings.
At the beginning, Nina's problems were
bearable. Her concern was to have her husband back and villagers who could listen and understand her. She wanted someone to make them feel like they were not alone, some one to help eradicate the pain that was eating her like a rotten wound. During this time, she experienced two very serious heart spasms,
she lost her ability to speak twice, she had had multiple nervous breakdowns, but she never
lost hope.
Anywhere she went, informers from the king
followed. She had to move around, so she
asked those she thought to be friends if she
could stay at their homes for a couple hours.
No one welcomed them. But they understood.
For days now, She had toothache; she tried
dealing with it by taking herbs. Her teeth
broke, so She tried shaving them down by all
means possible. She put banana leaves in her
mouth while eating. She even tried getting rid
of her teeth by hitting with a stone. She tried
living without help, because she didn't have
the courage to ask, just in case they said no.
TWO OPTIONS
Overall, she was done. She was tired. She had
two options;
Her first option is to turn herself to the king
and get killed, and get killed.
Her second option is waiting for death, or
blindness, or suicide.
NOT BEING ABLE TO DO ANYTHING
Not being able to do anything, being trapped
really hurts her. She lost what makes her
human. She had wanted to die many times.
She felt as if her life was not her anymore.It
was hot everywhere, no place for Nina to run
to. The king had positioned informers
everywhere, until the scheduled day for Nina's
child to be taken to the palace for training as a
killer soldier.
Imboko is a king known in the village of
Namamali as a cruel king, everywhere he
passed by, you were to bow down, he was termed as 'the god of Namamali village'. It will
be remembered when he did the worst by ordering men, women and children to be skinned, boiled, decapitated, blinded, strangled, hanged, burned, roasted, hacked, nailed, buried alive and stabbed.
Those who never adhered to his orders were
brought down in his court by his troops for
torturing and slaughtering in front of him. He
was referred to one of the evil rulers in human
history. His last invasions was remembered as
bloodshed battle because he invaded a certain
kingdom from the countryside and slaughtered
the entire village in their wake. He never
spares a single person where he invades.
He rose to the kingly sit after killing his
brother.
"There, where I have passed, the grass
will never grow again," he remarked on his
reign.
One evening Nina waited for his friend who
was hosting her. It was not in her friend's mind to stay till late, knowing that she was hiding Nina in her house. Till sunset she had not returned home, Nina was worried. A cold frenzy blow up in her system. She relied on her friend for food. Since there was no any
food in the house and Nina's child, Kipili, was crying all day long due to hunger, she got up, took an old shrimp bag and off left to the market. The market wasn't within reach, it was far away from the home, about four hours walk.
As she was still pondering, she heard someone
crying outside the house.
"She is no more...I have never seen
anything like this, this is terrible!"
Nina walked stealthily towards the door,
holding her child in her hands perfectly. She
opened the door and to her surprise she saw
her neighbour's friend standing there. She was
startled. A knife in a hand, trembling
tremendously.
"Run...!" She yelled at Nina.
"I said....r.. run for your life!" She
shouted on top of her voice and later poked the
knife harder in her chest, blood gushed out
splashing in Nina's face.
"R....run...f..or your..li."
Before She could utter the last word, she
slammed on the door way and fell down
heavily her head smashing on the metal object
used to shut the door. Her head crushed and
the brain splattered all over the doorway.
Chapter 10
Imboko got information one morning as he
was Sun basking.
"We finally got the lady who is
hosting Nina and her child." Reported one of
his informers.
"We did thorough investigation and traced where they are hiding, although we don't have any information of the whereabouts of her husband." He reported.
Nina's friend's name was Aloice, she knew what Nina had succumbed to, she she wasn't ready to see her friend die of hunger and in the cruel hands of Imboko's soldiers. She was ready to defend her, no matter the outcome.
She knew her home was hidden and no one would trace it. So she accepted to hide Nina there until the day her husband was to surface.
Aloice was out to the market to buy food for
Nina and her baby boy Kipili, little did she
know that fate awaits her. After midday,
Okusimba, the owner of food shop in that
small market of Namamali, noticed an unusual
number of villagers gathering outside the
market next to his shop.
One of the villager moved closer to the door
and peered out. Dozens of people were inside the market and the town's main thoroughfare.
The crowd was swelling. Soon there would be
more than a hundred people. Okusimba could
not remember seeing such a crowd in
Namamali outside of a traditional holiday.
As she watched king's soldiers pass his shop
bearing Aloice into the small jail house. The
soldiers was followed by more people and
cries went up from the crowd accusing Aloice
who was taken into the jail house of being a
threat to their king's instructions and hiding
wanted people in her house; thus causing
death of innocent people in the village. From
behind a narrow metal gate at the entrance to
the king's court, soldiers replied that Aloice
was innocent. She was a minor offender, the
officers said again and again, as the crowd
grew in size.
The soldiers said there was no evidence Aloice
had committed any crime, and that she had
been taken into the king's for "rumours of hiding wanted person" after they were accosted by local residents.
But the mob outside the king's court was in the
grip of a different version of events, a story
stirred up somewhere unknown and spread
through the king's informers."Please everyone
be alert because a plague of disobedience has
entered the village," said the one person from
the crowd.