Avenging the Avenger

The weather was calm. That strange, unusual calmness, which deceives evening farmers, deceptively enticing them to stay back in the farm and do more work, only for them to be caught up with nightfall, and they struggled to get home. The sun had gone down to where it rose that morning. The day creatures had had their last meeting, and were hastily heading to their asylums, to avoid the merciless bows and arrows of the night hunters. Farmers were heard greeting one another, as they were going home. The trees by the wayside were receiving the last slap of the cutlass for the day, as the wayside trees receives the early and last greeting of the farmer's cutlass. Like a thick, heavy, black blanket, darkness was beginning to descend, as it chased the sun. On the stem of the oji tree was a seventeen years old boy, seated. His name was Udene. His cutlass was before him, his empty water jar, which was bought by his mother was beside him. He held his dyed raffia hat, which he bought from Nwankwo, the palm wine tapper, the last Afor Market day. His small but sharp eye was a confirmation of his name, Udene, as he could capture an image urgently. He didn't know why he was named Udene, vulture, by his parents. His chest was partly covered and partly open, he wore a torn cloth. He was sure that no one could wear something more decent or finer than that. "Are you going to the farm to get a wife or to work?" Had been his father's question when Udene tried putting on something more better to the farm. He was raised to see the farm not as a choice but a responsibility to embrace. Even though he did not like the waking up early and spending the whole day in the farm, that was kilometers away from home, and the idea of taking a day to rest cannot be granted, unless it was not a planting season. He remembered when Kanayo, his stepbrother feigned sick, and decided not to come with others to the farm. Papa asked Kanayo twice whether he was ill. His voice deep, suspicious and threatening. Kanayo concurred that he was having a strong headache, which could not allow him to sleep well at night. Papa gathered herbs and gave to Kanayo mother to prepare medicine for Kanayo, while the other six children left to the farm. At the middle of the day, Papa returned home, and could not find Kanayo at home. He had gone to play. Papa took a charcoal from the fireplace and marked something on the wall, an evidence that he came home. Kanayo's mother saw Papa before he returned back to the farm. He worked with the other members of the family, until they could barely see themselves, as it was getting darker. Kanayo's body understood better that day than his ear, as Papa's cane was fiercely working on his body. After flogging Kanayo, Papa went and tied him to a tree, and he could not eat for the next three days. "A stained, dirty hands makes an oil mouth" Papa told Kanayo mother when she came to plead after the second day that Kanayo should at least be fed, when he observed the leanness of his countenance. After that day, none dared to stay home when others are going to the farm. And Udene, being the first son of his mother, and the second son of his father, had been going to the the farm the day his hands could cross his ear, till he turned fifteen. So, as he sat on one of the ridges resting, others had gone home, but he stayed back to finish the portion his father gave him to mold ridges. He fixed his glance, and was watching his left toes, imagining how big the toes were become. When he stood up, and could not see his shadow on the sun, then he realized that it was time to go home. He took his Cutlass, and turned to leave, but suddenly, he stopped. What he saw paralyzed his body, he legs knocked together in fear, he knew shouting could endanger his life. He could not devise anything else to do, than to lay flat in-between the ridges, and began to crawl to the nearby bush to avoid being seen. His father had talked with fear about what he was now seeing. His grandfather was dies like that. It was inscrutable to them about the reality of the horrible event, but it was a reality they have come to embrace, even though they had no idea on how to wage a war, and had Obodoukwu liberated from such horror. Udene crawled as fast as possible to the bush, and skulked where he was sure he could not be seen. What would have happened if that bush had been cleared by Nnaemeka, his stepbrother? Udene watched with fears and pain, as the victimized prey was torn apart. Blood spattered all over the place. The cloud wailed, and with a slight lined lightning, the could was parted together, and a mighty thunderstorm. The legs and hands that looked like that of a human. The hairs that hairs that covered the eyes of the beast makes it more terrified. Had Papa not said that no one who looked at the beast will die. Udene thought to himself peradventure he will die, but he had seen the beast and its eye. Why had no one Challenged the beast that had caused the painful havocs? Many children of Nnaemeka's age had been fatherless or motherless, and some orphaned, because of the beast. Widowhood had been on increase since the last Ayaka Masquerade festival. The most painful to the entire community was the death of Izuora. Izuora, a huge, gallant, round-faced warrior. Izuora whose heavy dark skin glowed, as that of a new born baby who had been using ude-nji as a cream. Izuora had led the community severally in a war with the neighboring villages, and had not been defeated, neither recorded any serious casualty among the other recruits or warriors. It was two weeks after Izuora had taken in Uremma, his love, after their celebrated marital ceremony that he was killed by the beast, on his way to the King's palace one night. Dinta Oguebego who was badly wounded by the beast, escaped that night, as he overpowered the beast with his anunuebe. Izuora was buried after three days, and Uremma, became a widow. As Udene remembered this, he became more fearful, what would happen if the beast discovered that he had skulked there? His jaw dropped, cold blood rushed into his head. Hot blood rushed into his stomach, he was panic stricken. The hairs on his had an emergency standing ovation. Before Udene was the beast. The eye was more b****y than Udene had thought. He froze, as the beast stood before him. He knew there was an alternative. To attack the beast before it could attack him. It was better killed fighting, than killed a coward. At that strange thought, Udene reached to his cutlass. He thrust it towards the direction of the beast, eyes closed. He was overwhelmed by his disbelief that the beast had not yet pounced on him. Opening his eyes, he saw it was only him, with the cutlass. The beast had vanished. As he stood, akimbo, panting and sweating. He heard the sound of Ikolo, then he realized that someone had been killed by the beast, apart from the one the beast devoured in his presence. He looked around, packed his farm implement. "Where did this beast live?" Udene asked himself. He was not expecting an answer. No one knew the answer. His eyes was taken to the direction where the beast had devoured the person. He knew something had to be done. He must track that beast down and had it killed. He was still contemplating, when Ikolo Wooden gong sounded, and he left the farm and returned home.