SON OF THUNDER

CHAPTER 3

At home, Angela was becoming uneasy. Soon, her uneasiness gave way to restlessness. Her restlessness soon degenerated to panic as she waited fruitlessly for James’s return. She peep uncountable number of times through the window to see if he was returning. She later thought may be James hid somewhere in the compound and did not go to the stream after all. This thought gladdened her heart. She went outside and searched for James in all conceivable places he could hide in the compound but did not find him. As she searched even in places that could not hide a chick without success, her hope gave way to despair. She became more worried than ever.She could not imagine what might have happened to James. She began to reproach her herself.“What a big mess have I gotten myself into? How do I explain this to anybody? Why did I let him go again after he return safely from the first time? What devil made me to insist that he returned to the stream knowing that people are f*******n from visiting Shalala stream late in the night? My G, if you save me from this trouble, I will never be mean to people again all my life,” she prayed.She stayed awake all night waiting for him to come back but to no avail.Angela did not close her eyes at all that night. Any attempt at sleeping ended with a terrifying dream and she would wake up with a scream of terror.While Angela was trying to come to terms with her hallucinations, James was somewhere in the bowel of the stream with the guardians of the stream some having important talks.Very early the following morning, she went to the stream after searching futilely the whole house for James. She got to the stream and met some kids already fetching water and playing around the stream. She noticed that one of the kids was bathing with James’s bucket.She quickly walked over to the intrepid boy and questioned him angrily. “Where did you get this bucket from?” she asked him“I saw it here when I came to fetch water,” the boy replied innocently, looking at her straight in the face.Angela’s anger waned and she became more apprehensive. She sensed danger. She asked everybody there if they had seen James but none had seen him that morning. She was visibly melting under the weight of her guilt but she would not want in the stream to notice it.She pulled herself together and left for home. At home, she was restless and uneasy. She decided to confide in one of her few friends. When she got there, she shared her story with her friend, Norah.“In as much as I agree that the boy should deserved serious punishment for laughing at you, I do not understand why the only punishment you gave him was to send him to Shalala stream when you know that the stream is out of bounds in the night. You don’t give children that kind of punishment since you know the dire consequences of it,” Norah blamed her seriously.“I have come to seek your advice on what to do to resolve this matter and not to add more blame on me. I am losing my head here,” she said.Norah sighed.“How do you want me to advise you now? What I suggest is that since you have searched for him everywhere, you have to report to the police,” Norah suggested.“What do I tell them because even the police know that no one is allowed to go to that stream at night?” she asked.“You won’t tell them what actually happened. You will tell them that you sent him on an errand and he ran away. In that case, they will help you search for him and also check him in his mother’s place.”Angela heeded the advice and they both went to the police to report the matter. The police men on duty asked her so many questions which she answered. Luckily for her, the police men that were on duty when she had a case with those two ladies earlier that month were not on duty that day. So they were well-attend to. However, the police advise her to go to James’s village and check if he had run home probably because he did not like the way he was being treated.Angela was unwilling to go to the village because everyone in the village knew her as a very wicked woman and that include James’s mother.“How can I go to the village to face my entire wicked detractor?” she asked herself. “None of them will believe me and they will even raise some damaging allegations against me because I have quarreled with almost all of them,” she thought.“How do I face his people if by mistake he did not run home?” she asked her friend, Norah.I can’t answer that question. Let me be going I have an appointment to catch up with,” Norah said and left for home.Angela’s countenance changed. “Are you saying you will not accompany me to their village?” she asked her friend, pleading.“I am sorry I can’t. I have wasted almost the whole day with you. Good luck. I will check on you later to know how you went,” she said increasing her pace.Angela was disappointed. She really needed company and Norah was the only friend she had and now her only hope was lost.