when the sky burned
469 Words
Chapter 1: The Girl Who Chased the Wind
"Adaeze!"
The voice echoed across the compound.
"I know you're hiding! Come out this instant!"
A giggle escaped from behind the mango tree.
Sixteen-year-old Adaeze pressed a hand over her mouth, trying not to laugh. Her little brother, Chidi, crouched beside her, his tiny shoulders shaking.
"I told you Mama would find us," he whispered.
"Shhh," Adaeze replied. "She hasn't seen us yet."
Just then—
"There you are!"
Mama folded her arms, pretending to frown.
"So this is where my two helpers disappeared to?"
Adaeze burst into laughter and ran, Chidi chasing after her. Mama caught them both before they reached the gate, pulling them into a warm embrace.
"You two will be the reason I grow old before my time."
The three of them laughed together.
To Adaeze, moments like these felt endless.
She believed they always would.
---
Their village came alive every morning.
Women swept their compounds while the smell of roasted yam drifted through the air. Children raced barefoot along the red-earth paths. Farmers carried hoes over their shoulders, greeting one another with cheerful smiles.
Everyone knew everyone.
No door stayed closed for long.
No child went hungry if a neighbour had food.
Adaeze loved her village.
She loved the evenings when stories were told under the moonlight, the festivals filled with dancing, and the sound of her father's deep laughter whenever Chidi tried to imitate the village chief.
"This place is heaven," she often thought.
---
Later that afternoon, Adaeze followed her mother to the market.
She greeted nearly everyone they passed.
"Good afternoon, Mama Ngozi."
"My beautiful Adaeze!" the old woman replied. "Have you decided to become the first female doctor from this village?"
Adaeze laughed.
"Not doctor."
"Nurse?"
"Yes."
"A nurse who will treat everyone for free?"
Adaeze smiled mischievously.
"We'll negotiate that part."
The women around them laughed.
"You have a sharp mouth," Mama said, shaking her head.
---
As the sun began to set, Adaeze sat beneath the giant udala tree with her closest friend.
"If you had one wish," her friend asked, "what would it be?"
Adaeze looked toward the orange sky.
"I want to travel one day."
"Where?"
"I don't know... somewhere beyond this village. Then I'll come back and build a hospital here."
Her friend smiled.
"You dream too much."
"Someone has to."
A cool breeze swept through the tree leaves.
For a moment, everything was peaceful.
But across the village square, a group of men stood unusually silent around a small radio.
Their faces had changed.
One by one, they looked at each other with worry.
Adaeze noticed them.
She frowned.
"What happened?"
Her friend shrugged.
"I don't know..."
Neither of them realized that the news coming through that tiny radio would soon change their lives forever.
- Writer
