The only child

CHAPTER 9

"Hey, keep quiet. Enough of those crocodile tears. We all know that you killed the Prince. Stop acting as if you are innocent ," a guard warned.

"I did not kill the Prince ," Kune cried.

"Shut up. This girl would make a good actress. Nonsense ," the third guard said.

Kune resumes soliloquizing again:

I am innocent, I am innocent

I committed no crime

Why am I suffering unjustly?

Why is my cry not heard?

I did not kill the Prince

People have turned me into a laughing stock.

"Shut up, if I hear any more words from you, I will kill you here and nobody would even know about it," a guard shouted.

"Please, pity me. I am innocent. I did not kill the Prince, please, help me. I cannot even hurt a fly. I did not kill him," Kune pleaded.

" I have a feeling that this girl is innocent. I think that her pleas should be heard," one of the guards, Yeyemi pleaded.

" Are you okay? No, can you just listen to yourself? You think that you can go against the King's direction? Don't even think of doing something like that. Don't even try it," another guard barked.

" Hmm…what if we kill this innocent girl for no reason. You all know that the people who we have killed in the Butu forest never pleaded this much. This girl's case is different. I have a suggestion. How about if she keep her safe somewhere until the whole matter gets clarified" a Yeyemi suggested

" Look, Yeyemi, I have no hand in this. What do you want to clarify again? What do you have to clarify? Will you go and force someone to come out and lie that he or she is the culprit?" a guard questioned.

"Ehh… enough!!! We adults should not behave like little children. We are grown. Let us keep moving. We still have about two hours to get to the Butu forest," advised the senior guard.

Ever since Kune was a child, she always had a phobia of snakes. Whenever she went to the bush with her mother, she always looked around to avoid snakes. Kune, although grown, is still scared of snakes. While she was being taken into the forest, she was still scared. She hoped not to see a snake. She kept rubbing her eyes. Her eyes caught a snake in the bush.

She shouted," Snake, snake. I just saw a big snake. Help me". She bursts into tears.

The guards quickly looked for a big stick to kill the poisonous snake. One of the guards saw the snake and killed it. Kune felt relieved at least for the last time in her life.

The last time Kune saw such a snake was about two years ago when her mother and her went to the farm. They were so terrified that they could do nothing to save the situation. A young man who also came to the farm helped her and her mother kill the snake. It was such a huge relief to them. It never occurred to Kune that she would see a snake again.

Suddenly, the weather changed. The rain began to drizzle. Soon, It started raining heavily. They all took shelter under a tree.

Everyone soon became silent. However, Yeyemi broke the silence.

" I told you all that this girl is innocent. You refused to believe me. See now, since we've been bringing people to this forest to kill, this is the first time we've been through all these challenges; First, it was a snake. Nowa it's raining heavily. We had just two hours to get to the Butu forest but now, we will be delayed here for another hour," Yeyemi said.

" Look, I don't care if this girl is innocent or not, all I care is that the assignment we were given should be completed successfully," a guard replied to Yeyemi.

It rained cats and dogs. After two hours, it stopped raining. Everywhere became as silent as a graveyard. Not even the Crickets or Frogs could be heard. Soon, a guard broke the silence.

" Let's move. We must get to the village at least, by dusk," he said.

By this time, Kune was already asleep. Yeyemi tapped her gently until she woke up. Kune had not

slept well for days. She gathered all her strength to continue moving. They again trekked for over an hour.She gathered all her strength to continue moving. They again trekked for over an hour.

Kune could see the Butu forest from a few meters away. Her heart skipped beats. Yeyemi looked at her with tears in his eyes. His heart felt so sick.

At the entrance of the Butu forest, a guard told Kune," Welcome". Kune looked away in disgust. They began walking in.

Kune saw human skulls on the ground. Also, she saw some half- eaten human parts. Those parts were eaten by wild animals after the culprits were killed. Kune then remembers a time her mother and her came so close to the Butu forest. She was still a child then. She tried to enter the Butu forest playfully. Her mother screamed at her, "Kune, my daughter, leave there immediately. Butu forest is a land of no return". Kune immediately left there as she was a very obedient child. These memories laid fresh in Kune's mind. She remembers them with each passing day.

Meanwhile, in Akumi, the Queen was still scared of what would become of Kune. She was so worried. She tried to persuade the King to take back his decision to send Kune to the Butu forest but she failed. Just then, the Princess entered.

"Mom, are you still worried about Kune? Don't worry yourself too much. You tried your best to save her. Don't hurt yourself with too much thinking," the Princess advised.

"My daughter, I feel really bad. That girl lost her father when she was thirteen years old and now, she lost her mother. She is also about to be killed. No, my heart aches. I honestly feel that she is extremely innocent. That girl is too young to kill. She can't even hurt a fly," the Queen, Munami said.

"Mother, it's okay. Don't hurt yourself with too much thinking. I will leave you for now," the princess said while getting up.

Meanwhile, Homa has been eavesdropping as it has been her habit. Immediately she noticed that the Princess had left, she went in to meet the Queen.