Ujanga Maa (The Saviour) – Episode 1
The night was eerily silent.
Every sound was heightened to hair-raising volumes.
The forest path was deserted, and even the nocturnal animals did not stir. It was not a night for a normal person to be found outside the security of the walls of a building.
But Efie was not normal. And she was on a mission.
As she walked, she muttered incomprehensible words under her breath, kept company by the sound of blood rushing up her head and the sensation of her heart being squeezed tighter.
Each step led her closer to the clearing where she knew they would be; The savages who took the only thing she had left in this world.
*****
“They are coming for me, Efiesisi.” These words came from within a small dark shack hurriedly erected, a temporary hideout from the evils lurking without. The voice belonged to a young boy curled up in a corner, his back against the rotting wall of a bamboo, and his hands resting on his raised knees, and his head bowed, as if in mourning.
“Ka ano tom!”, came a sharp whisper of admonition. Efie glared at the boy, and turned back to look cautiously through a gap in the wall to the outside.
“Do not tell me to shut up, Efiesisi,” he said, “do not-”
He could not continue, for sobs wracked his body. She turned, her heart melting at the sight of his face, crumpled up in a mixture of anguish and fear, and moved swiftly to the boy, placed his head against her bosom, and began to rock back and forth. She sighed in relief, as she felt his body relax, his sobs becoming sniffles. She raised his head and looked directly into his eyes.
“Med○ wo. You hear? I love you, and i will die fifty times before i let anything happen to you.”
***
With her words ringing in her ears, Efie drew courage, her firm steps a result of the anger boiling in her gut. They had made her out to be a liar. They had taken him and she could not stop them.
Her anger quickened her steps to a trot, then a jog, and finally she was running as fast as her long, lithe legs could carry her, towards the lights she could see in the distance-
She had to save him.
WHAM!
She was on the forest floor, legs sprawled in awkward angles, blinded momentarily by the swift blow to the side of her face. As she struggled to get up, she felt large, rough hands grab her ankles in a vice-like grip, and began to drag her into the thick, away from the path. Efie tried desperately to kick, her arms flailing, her screams piercing the night air.
She was struck again. And all was still.
© SonsHub Media | Written By Toyin Uzoma
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Toyin Uzoma is a vocalist, writer, motivational speaker, editor, content writer and TV presenter. A student of Imo State University, studying English Education and Chinese Language.