The only child

CHAPTER 7

Kune sat staring at the moon through the little hole in the prison. She seemed hopeless. She remembered what her mom told her when she was still young. She always spent time with her mother. Recalling her mother's encouraging words: "Kune, my daughter. Always remember that there is light at the end of every tunnel. Always stay positive. Learn to never give up. Try to think outside the box. Don't just relent on your efforts. Learn to be a strong woman. Be persistent. And above all, have faith". These words always rang in her head. She never knew that these words would come into play one day. She then remembers that her mother is late. Her sweet mother is no more. It still feels like a dream to her. Her heart always bleeds whenever she remembers her mother. She bursts into hot tears. She immediately wiped her tears. Just then, the Palace guard comes.

" Come out, the King wants to see you," he said. He dragged Kune out. When Kune saw the King, she paid obeisance to him.

" Stand up. All I came to tell you is that you are going to the village council tomorrow morning to face judgment for the consequence of your action," the king said while leaving. His facial expression revealed how annoyed he was with Kune.

Kune could not believe her ears. Is she dreaming? Could she be woken up? Her going to the village council means death. Since, nothing better comes out from the meeting. Her father's brothers who took everything they had from them are also among the village council. She went back to the prison. Her mind was not settled. Her mother's words rang in her mind again:'' Always

Always remember that there is light at the end of every tunnel……. Try to think outside the box". Being inspired, she got up looking for a means of escape. She paced about in the prison room. She viewed the prison room but all she could see was a small hole which her hands could barely fit into. She wondered, " can this small hole make me survive?". She thought to herself:" If I can find something to expand the hole, definitely, I will escape". Just then, she remembers that there was a time ago when she made a hole through the wall using an iron rod. She then thought to herself: "that's what I will use. So, where can I find a rod?". She looked around, then her eyes saw a rod hooked to the iron gate. She immediately pulled it out using all her might and tried to expand the hole with it. She used all her might in trying to expand the hole. He kept digging the hole continuously. She finally expanded it to her body size after three hours. She saw a guard coming to check on her so she quickly pretended to be asleep.The guard got there, looked at her for about some seconds and left with the impression that she was asleep. Kune laid as calm as she could. Immediately she sensed that he was gone, she got up. She squeezed her body through the hole till she fell outside because the prison was so high. Then, she got up with some bruises. She silentlyShe silently groaned in pain. She tiptoed until she got to where a guard was sleeping. She looked around to see if other guards were around. The key to the prison's main gate was with him. She looked around him until saw it in his pocket. She carefully tried to remove the key from his pocket. He then sneezed. She hid herself from him. After some seconds, she tried to remove the key again. She struggled for some minutes until she succeeded in bringing the key out. She crawled to the main gate and tried to open it without making a noise. She finally succeeded. She sneaked out of the prison yard. She got outside. She ran into a thick bush and ran as fast as she could. Meanwhile, the guard had woken up. He quickly ran to check on Kune but could not find her. He immediately alarmed the other guards. They went into the bush in search of her . Kune ran until she started feeling tired. She sat down to rest a bit. A few minutes later, she heard the sound of footsteps running through the bushes. She ran again. Then , she stepped on a snail shell which pierced one of her feet. She groaned in severe pain. She got to a tree with a hole and hid inside it. The guards ran to a spot with three pathways. They saw a blood stain on one of them. So, they went through that path. When Kune saw one of the guards, she was dumbstruck. She knew that any moment from now, she would get caught. Her heart bled. She tried to crawl from this tree to the next tree. She stuck to the tree. Then, she saw a guard approaching. The guard stood directly on the other side of the tree. Kune froze. Her heart skipped beats. The guard looked around in trying to locate Kune. He suddenly looked behind and saw Kune. She tried to run but did not succeed. The guard caught Kune and alarmed the other guards.Then, they carried her with all carefulness.

The King, the Queen, the Princess, the guards, the maids, the elders, the Chiefs, the villagers and Kune are all present at the village council.

The head Chief begins," You all are welcome. We all know the reason why we are here. It is because of Our late Prince and Kune. So, whatever the judges say is final".

" I greet you all, my people. This girl here is guilty of killing my son. She was the last person who gave him medicine. Since then, my son never woke up. I hereby demand that justice be met out," the king said.

" I greet you all, my people. All evidence points toward Kune. Even if she is innocent. How do we know?" the Chief said.

"I am innocent ," cried Kune.

" Shut up ," a guard shouted.

"She is guilty. She killed her parents. Now, she killed the Prince," another Chief said.

"Are you so drunk, to forget that the Prince died before Kune's mother died?" a Chief questioned the latter.

" Mr man, mind your speech. I am not your mate," the latter challenged.

" Hmmmmm………May we not become victims of circumstances. Please, let Justice be tempered with mercy. I am a mother. This girl is an orphan. She has no one……," the women leader said before being interrupted by another Chief.

" She is a murderer. Enough of all these pleas. Judges, do your job," a chief shouted.

There was an argument among the Chiefs. The Judges whispered into each other's ears.