First of all, I would like to say a big thank you to those of you that voted for me in the etisalat flash fiction of 300 words max. If you haven't read it yet, you can see it here:-
http://prize.etisalat.com.ng/a-mothers-bane/
Last week, Bella Naija also published one of my writings (http://www.bellanaija.com/2014/11/27/ugochi-ukah-i-am-what-my-grandmother-ate/).
Today, I have a new story for you and as usual, please leave your comments here and don't forget to share, below. Thank you and Enjoy:-
Photo credit:
babyworld.co.uk
“He came to me” Amaka said, looking a
tad flustered.
“What
came to you?” Nkechi asked uninterestedly,
barely looking up from her novel and sipping her drink.
“Uncle Joseph” Amaka replied.
“Mhmm?”
Nkechi grunted.
“He tried to rape me.”
Nkechi was so startled that she spilled
some of her drink and almost choked on it. “Is
this a dream?”
Amaka nodded slowly.
“Haa!”
Nkechi sighed aloud. “Okay then but I’m not in the mood for any scary moonlight tale. It’s nearly
midnight and I want to finish reading this book so that I can return it by tomorrow.”
“Just listen please; it has a happy
ending” Amaka said.
“Please make it short.” Nkechi said,
pushing her novel aside.
Amaka continued. “He tried to rape me
again…”
“Hold
on. You said ‘Again’. So is this a recurrent dream then?”
Amaka nodded again and continued.
“This was the third he had come. I was lying
down on my bed, half-asleep. As usual he did not knock before coming into my
room. He used a chair to wedge the door so that no one could come in and then,
he quickly undressed. Thereafter, he pounced on top of me and before I could
scream, he covered my mouth with his hand. Then he asked to dance and every
time I refused, he hit me hard. So even though there was neither music in my
ears nor in my heart, I danced, and danced, and dan…”
“Okay
I get your point, you danced! What happened next?”
Nkechi interjected impatiently.
“Yes, I danced with as much strength as
I could muster although I felt dead inside. I hoped that the dancing would make
it quicker so that he would go away but instead he continued; much stronger and
striking me even harder, even though I was dancing.” She took a deep breath.
“He struck my cheek once again, making
my face turn to the right. Then, my eyes beheld it! In the midst of my tears
and sorrow, it was as if my prayers had been heard and answered. I looked at
him; his eyes were tightly shut, his sweat dripping all over my body like
midnight dew. So I danced the best I could, so that he could enjoy his music
even more. I slowly reached out for it and whilst he danced along, I pierced him,
just at the right place, with the right depth. His eyes suddenly opened and
this time, I was the one that quickly covered his mouth before he could scream.”
She paused. “And just as he lay still on my bed, I woke up.” Amaka added smiling,
concluding her story.
Nkechi did not look amused and her mouth
was agape. After a short pause, she cleared her throat and asked angrily “What part of this story is happy?”
“Oh! It is very happy for me because I
know that he would never come to me again. And I forgot to tell you what the
best part was. It was you who saved me! So thank you” Amaka replied cheerfully
and hugged Nkechi before walking out of the room as if nothing was amiss and
leaving Nkechi open-mouthed again.
Nkechi shook her head and tried to resume
reading her novel but she could not concentrate anymore. She had always known
that her cousin, Amaka, acted queer most of the time but she found this story very
disturbing. Could she have been talking
about a spirit husband? She had heard of such stories but had never really
believed them. She shrugged and decided to go to bed without finishing the
novel.
***
It was as Nkechi walked past Amaka’s
room the next morning and stopped to check if she was awake, that she froze at
the door. Amaka’s stepfather, Uncle Joseph, was lying on Amaka’s bed in his
pool of blood with a knife in his chest; the same knife that she had used to
peel some oranges the previous evening and had forgotten in Amaka’s bedroom. Nkechi let out a scream and Amaka who had
been sleeping right next to him woke up.
Have a beautiful week :). Follow me on twitter @vivio_gogo and IG:@ugochiukah
