MY NIGHTMARE

GLOWING EYES

Cecilia sat in thoughts as Rita prepared a breakfast of pap ( a product of fermented corn which was grinded and sieved ) and fried ripe plantain with bean cake. She didn't know what to think anymore. First it was the trance, now a healing power. Could this power of healing be extended to other people? She prayed for her daughter's safety and feared that people would tag her a witch when they realized she had healing powers.

They ate breakfast in silence but a lot of emotions clouded their thoughts.

Rita was on her way to fetch drinking water from the village stream when she saw a group of people gathered around an unconscious body of a toddler. He wondered away from home and ended up drowned in the village stream. His mother was wailing and refused to be consoled.

Rita felt a sudden urge to go there, a force pushed her closer even when she resisted it with all her strength. With the speed of light, she got there and stepped forward, held the child's hand and closed her eyes. People wondered what she could be doing but they still allowed her to continue because her boldness was extraordinary. She was known as a calm maiden who never got involved with too many people. On a normal day, she would just peep and pass but her pushing through the crowd meant she was in for a serious business.

She muttered few words: " A chọrọ m ọgwụgwọ nsọ n'isi gị ugbu a"

Immediately, a great force overwhelmed her, her eyes started glowing, she was lifted two feet above the ground with the boy in her arms. The atmosphere changed and people were in awe. She let out an ear-piercing Scream as she absorbed his pains. Slowly his eyes began to flicker. He opened them and looked around, then called his mother. Rita was lowered to the ground, her eyes returned to normal and the force left her.

She fell to the ground and became very weak.

The woman grabbed her son, hugging, kissing and checking his body all at once. All attention was on him and they didn't know when Rita left the scene. She walked slowly along the bush path like someone whose strength has been drained by an unknown being.

When she got to the stream, she sat by the bank and thought about what happened in the past few minutes. Wow! She could heal not just herself but someone else. She could raise the dead.

This got her more confused,so, she decided to recount this experience to her mother when she got home hoping to get answers.

Cecilia waited for Rita to come home but she was taking ages to return. This got her thinking, in fact, she feared for the worse. What if something has happened to her? What if she saw "Ekwensu" again? She was pacing restlessly as Rita approached sluggishly. "Something is definitely wrong", she said to herself. She rushed towards her daughter who gave her the water pot and they both went inside. "Rita my daughter, what happened"? she asked.