Chapter 3

That night, as I lied down, I had already concluded that the torment will surface shortly. But within me, I was going to use the my mother had told me earlier. The rain of fear had began to drench me.

My eyes remained opened as I was trapped in between two brothers. I tried every possible means to close my eyes and sleep but; sleep was far from me. After a long time has gone into the night, I fell asleep. I had barely sleep an hour before I was awoken by a touch of a cold palm. I opened my to see who had touched me, lo and behold I saw a figure of a strange man touching me. I quickly closed my eyes in pretense, at this time I had forgotten completely if there was any name to use that will scare any creature away, when I felt that the hands have left me, I opened my eyes again but this time slowly, then I realised that there were two- two strange men-like figures, they were taller than the height of any man I had ever seen, another horror set into the corridors of my heart when I noticed that their feet were not touching the ground, they were suspended two feet above the ground. I was stunned by what I saw, the wildest of imagination clouded my thoughts, on their heads were crown-like helmets which has a pointed tops.

My eyes were opened steadfastly as I behold the unfamiliar creatures that have appeared in the dark room. Within me was a battle of mixed feelings: fear and horror, peace and calmness, the feeling that it should just be a dream, as I child of my age, everything was unclear, my little mind was like suspended on a swing, the room window turned from north to south as the door moved form west to east at every blink of my eyes. My head ache for fear. Barely could I interpret the dilemma that came upon me.

Although, I could scarcely see them, everything my eyes beheld was far from clarity, the room had been darkened by the fallen night.

 The only light that had peeped into the room was a slight one, the low beams that I could see in the room was the shimmering illumination from the dwindled lamp that my mom had almost turned off as her custom was. The lamp must always be trimmed low during bed time. I was the only one awoke, and fear had paralysed my mouth from asking the creatures who they were. The thought of whether we had visitors that I wasn't aware flashed my mind a couple of times. "How did they enter the room?" What are they doing?" More streams of thoughts followed suit. As I watched carefully, I noticed that one of the creatures was permanently stationed at the door why the other moved around. When the moving creature came close to me, my head vibrated like one been electrocuted and I fastened my eyes closed, pretending again and again to had fallen asleep. The creature was not just touching me, it touched both me and my two brothers. That continued until I slept off.

By the time I woke up, I was alone on the bed, as the day has dawned for a long while, the time was about 9:am. I got and rushed out, my brothers had already gone to school; I greeted my mother, she then asked me how I was faring, "fine." I said. I will be interrogating my mom in a short time concerning the strange creatures that I  saw the previous night. When I awoke I felt stronger than how I w was before bed, I only was feeling a little dizzy, and tired over the long sleepless night. My mom saw that the stress of the elongated sleepless night was written all over me; although her mind told her that my weariness was due to the illness coupled with the torment I had always suffered, I noticed that she wore a look of surprise on her face, I didn't scream like I had always done. "Mama!" I called. "Mmn!" She answered as she quickly turned her face towards me. My face was already upon hers. "Did anyone come to our house last night?" I asked her expecting to hear yes. To my astonishment, she grimaced her face in a keen attention and astonishment. "No one came last night." she said. "But I saw two men in our room last night" I argued. "No body came!" She protested. "I thought that daddy came home when I had slept." "No one came she said. I was surprised, "I saw two men in our room, one even was touching us on the bed and the other stood at the door.

"It's a nightmare." She said. All my explanation ended up in futility, that day when my brothers returned home, explained to the eldest, but everyone was seeing things the other way. Like the child talk stuff, when I noticed the nonchalance expressed by everyone, I held my peace. 

As that day went passed midday, every kid had returned from school, by then I had been administered some doses of drugs, I got fed up staying at home, I utmostly wish that I will be joining my friends to play that evening, as stayed in doors, I had began to hear voice of fellow kid friends making gun sounds, kriii, kriii, others, tajan tajan, another set of boys were yelling, kpasss.... kpasss... kpasss... passes...

this was one of our civil war games.

"I have to join my friends." Was my first thought, I thought about the happiness, the frequent laughter and giggles,  the ranting and shouting. I thought about how I used to hide in the grasses just to shoot a friend who is playing the antagonist in fact I was lost in my thoughts: the pictures that filled my head were pictures of my play times.

After a long while of thoughts, I couldn't hold my self back from joining my friends, I went to my mom to seek her permission into going to play, but she refused- she disagreed all the possible reasons I gave for me to be allowed, but she refused them all. I went back inside the room to sit a little on one of our cushion, but I kept hearing the voices of my friends playing, I wished the more that I was within them, in the mist of those thoughts, I remembered that we had a back door. "Good!" I told myself. I sneaked out through the back door, I stood outside watching them as they played, I saw how a boy was caught by another boy, "If I were that boy, I wouldn't had been caught" I told myself as I watched and moved my body by the music of the play and wished often times that I was in the game, where I stood watching was far from the scene of where the children were playing, so I moved closer for a better view, I called some of the names: Sam, Murphy, Inalegwu... they only turned and looked at me, they seem to be too busy with their play time, I turned to look farther, I saw some grown-up kids playing a kind of local hockey game, every player had a stick which he uses to lam on a tire-like ball- a ball made out of a thick slippers, one team throws the ball to role to the opponents, and the opponents fires the ball back. 

My attention was turned towards them completely, I smiled often and frown seldom and sometimes I giggled. I saw a guy who ran after the ball and fell badly, everyone laughed at him to scorn, I also launched. I then moved closer to a wall which I leaned on while I watched, at that time, my strength had begun to fail me. I just wouldn't want to return home because the game was interesting. The two teams argued often and complained of been cheated by the referee.

As I leaned on the wall and being entertained by the game, I realised that I have stopped breathing.

I tried to breath, but all effort seem to be a waste, then I remembered the name, I tried to call the name, that was when I realised that I had gone completely mute, I couldn't say a word, my vocal cord was totally paralyzed. My heart pounded loudly like the sound of a local drum, the threat of death took over completely, I have heard stories of people who had died, I remembered how someone had said that the dead don't breath, I only was watching every one playing, I thought some will notice that i wasn't breathing, but no one seems to give any attention, I saw a man passing, I thought he will come to help me, but he passed and went his way. I tried to call the name again, but I couldn't. Then I remembered that I could speak in my heart, then I mentioned the name in my heart, when I did that, my breath was restored, immediately my breath was restored, I walked out of that playing ground as fast as possible towards home. When I got home, I told my mom about the experience, her facial reaction showed that she believed my testimony.

As that night closed in, I took my drugs, I was getting better, after we had eating, we all jumped into the bed, before long into the night, I had barely slept an hour before I felt those cold hands on me again, I opened my eyes slightly to see those strange creatures,  this time I remembered to call the name my mom had asked me to call, but my lips were glued in fear, "what if nothing happens?" A voice spoke to my heart. My two brothers were still fast asleep, non of them knew what was happening.

I kept watching them been engrossed in multiple thoughts. "Should I called my mother," I thought poped up in my heart. I was scared that my mom could be killed when she comes in in response to my call. I watched until I slept off. Those creatures kept appearing in our appeared every night for about a month, those days I prayed and wished that those creatures never appeared again. 

One night I had a dream where a man came into our room to over throw them, then after two nights they stopped appearing in our room in the night.