Igboland, 1781
The first feeling of discernment may not be easy to deal with. Living alone in the outskirt of a large village where everyone interacted with each other but avoided a particular person based on some rules is even harder to deal with. The loud cry of condemnation can terrify a human soul to the point of suicide.
The village in the east was not far from the village in the west but they did not live in harmony because of an ancient history that told tales of wars with bitter endings. Apart from the village that lived in the north, the village in the east was not at peace with any other village. True, they had large farms with fertile loamy soils that could turn a yam tendril into a full-blown adult at one thrust. Still, they didn't have the capacity to maintain order in their village.
The time for wars had come and gone. Men were only interested in drinking to stupor. Women were only interested in distinguishing between old clothes and new ones. Children were not left out in this parade of shame. They got involved in torturing themselves with bamboo sticks. If a strange man should suddenly arrive in the village of the east, he would be surprised at what his eyes could see and what his ears could hear. There was no room for reasoning neither were there rooms for progress. The people in the east just wanted relaxation. They wanted a life where everything could be done with the snap of a finger. They wanted a life where they would be free while other people begged for their freedoms. They didn't bother too much about threats because they believed the mistakes of their ancestors had been undone, fixed and thrown away from the reach of a potent seeker.
They were very few men in the village who cared about change. They were tall, huge and caring. They tried to bring back law and order to the people of the east. They didn't succeed. The few that survived the villagers’ fists, ran to the village in the south for protection.
The people who were members of the village in the east thought they were gods so they didn't care to pay respect to any supreme being who lived in the sky. They mocked any villager who brought up suggestions that involved them making sacrifices to Igweka-ala. If that villager was lucky enough, the people in the east would make sure the news didn't go smooth. They were cruel when it came to justice. They were compassionate when it came to hedonism.
The second woman to complain about the attitude of the people in the east was burnt on a stake. Her burnt body was torn into pieces before she was buried. Some people said she was the daughter of a werewolf who left the village a century ago when he could no longer quench his desire for flesh. Others said she was a witch who lost her womb to a deity.
The people living in the east held an annual festival to respect the presence of the full moon in the sky. They sang, drank, laughed and had orgies. Old women slept with their sons. Fathers raped daughters. Virgins became experienced in one night.
The sexual lifestyle of the people in the east cost a lot of problems for them especially when it came to identification of fathers and mothers. A man could become both the grandfather and father of a boy. A woman could become both the grandmother and mother of a girl. If the situation was worse, a man could become the great-grandfather, grandfather and father of a boy. There were a lot of irregularities in the training of children. It was a crime to give a child breast milk. The liquid was seen as a reminder of their sinful nature. Still, all the mothers living in the village gave their children breast milk in private places.
Apart from their immoralities, the people in the east also loved an open declaration of trust. It was believed that two souls attached together could form a binding force as long as none of the partners failed in their promise to keep each other's secret. Though it may sound quite unrealistic, the people in the east believed that every member of their village was born with a secret. If a person gets to the age of sixteen without discovering their secrets, the penalty was death by hanging. They would be dragged slowly to the center of the village. The oldest man in the village would officiate the ceremony while the oldest woman in the village would arrange the grave of whoever that was to be murdered.
The people in the east made sure that every victim who was scheduled for hanging did not escape their fate. But there was one particular woman who ran away from the village after an attempt to capture her failed. She was neither tall nor short just average. She had the abilities to see far without stressing her eyes. She didn't make a lot of friends among the people of the east because they had murdered her mother who was the second woman to complain about their attitude. She ate, slept and cried alone. Many times, she would wake up in the middle of the night to see the face of the moon. After she escaped from the village, there was chaos among the people in the east. No one had ever dared to go against their laws but she did. They searched for her but didn’t find her. Her name was Nwakaego.
London, 1786"My husband did not commit suicide," Mrs. Blackwheel said, tapping her foot on the wooden floor. "He was murdered by an unknown man."The Judge wiped his mouth with the back of his hand as he told a man dressed in white to present his facts."On July, 1781, Mr. Blackwheel's dead body was found on top of a bridge with a knife in his hand. According to onlookers, they had seen a man leave the scene with a necklace he had taken from Mr. Blackwheel’s neck. There was no evidence of struggle between Mr. Blackwheel and the man who Mrs. Blackwheel claimed to be the murderer of her husband.""Is that all?" The judge asked.There was a short silence. The man dressed in white inspected the piece of paper he was holding."Anything else, Mr. Strange?""Nothing of interest, sir.""If you are withholding information that may lead to a better understanding of the case we are dealing with here, I advise you make a reasonable decision
Igboland, 1786Nwakaego did not have a bright start to her life like many women of Igboland would boast of. After running from the village owned by the people in the east, she took refuge in a village named after the first man to kill a python in Igboland. The name of the village was Umuaka. It is true that great people are created to face challenges because without the fear of falling apart after a long walk to freedom, they may never understand what they were created to achieve.Nwakaego was not from a great family. She was not special in any way but she had been visited by a man with a skin color as white as the snow. She could remember the night clearly when he pressed his body against hers and promised to never leave her. It was five years ago but the memories were still fresh in her head as if it happened yesterday.Nwakaego was tired and sleepy from the exhausting experiences she had the previous night. Finding a home in Igboland especially when you are a fu
Pennsylvania, 2019Maria stood in the dock gazing steadily at the tribunal chairman who adjusted his glasses over the bridge of his nose before speaking."Did you kill the boy?" The chairman's voice rang clear in the air."I did not," Maria responded."But you are accused of murder.""I did not kill the boy, sir."She heard the raspy voice of the chairman from a deep black hole in her mind as she proceeded to face the prosecuting attorney. The court was filled when her case started in the morning. As an hour passed, then two, and it became clear that she wasn't going to accept the crime, some people left making promises of taking justice into their own hands if by chance she came out alive. There was only sadness in her eyes as she watched her friends turn their faces away from her in shame."It is tragic to see a beautiful lady of your status go to prison. However, no matter the circumstances that might be adduced to explain human ac
Pennsylvania, 2018"Where is my hat? I dropped it on this table."Maria moved slowly as she spoke to her students. The class was filled with thirty students that were evenly distributed into fifteen girls and fifteen boys."Did any of you see my hat?" She asked again as she looked from one drawer to another.The class was silent. At that moment, It was clear that no one had seen her hat."It is under your desk," a boy said, pointing his finger in the direction he spoke about.Maria sighed as she picked her hat up, wondering how she had managed to not spot the thing that covered her head throughout the day. Was she turning blind at a tender age? Carefully, she looked up at the boy. He was small and timid."Well," Maria sighed. "I suppose you are blessed with a good eye, my child. What is your name?""John," the boy replied."John who?""John Bleat!"She looked at him as though she had heard the sound of something
Pennsylvania, 2018Maria feet dragged on the concrete floor as someone led her to the basement. His breath was heavy as he howled, supporting his mournful cry with a moment of despair. He led her slowly to the narrow stairs then to the kitchen, his hand circling round her arm as he dragged her along."You have to be strong so we can finish this journey successfully," Maria's captor spoke for the first time.She did not answer. She was almost dead from an hour of continuous dragging and pushing with no support. He shook her hard on her head, yelling as he ordered her to say something."I don't know what you are talking about," Maria said without looking at the man who had total control over her.She rolled her eyes as they got closer to a door. She felt strange, possessed and completely famished. Carefully, Maria's captor released his grip from her arm and pushed the door open. He waited for something to happen; nothing happened. Maria h
Pennsylvania, 2018"I saw it in my dream. I am as sure as hell that I saw a strange creature in my dream," Maria explained."You have to do more than talking for me to believe what you are telling me," Uju said, lowering her head so that Maria could watch the shampoo out of hair.Maria brought the hot water closely, and within seconds Uju could feel her scalp burning lightly."Did you heat the water above a hundred degrees?" Uju asked, feeling agitated."I maintained a stable temperature. You have nothing to worry about."Uju felt relieved as Maria assured her that the water was safe for her hair. She had learnt a few thing about taking care of her hair in a month with Maria than she had learnt in the entire twenty-six years she had spent in Nigeria."So, tell me about your dream again," Uju urged her as she relaxed a bit for the water to fall freely and land inside her bath tub."I saw a man who was like a wolf. He had claw
Munich, 1454"Believe in the Lord and you insult our faith," she sighed."I never wanted to be a part of this in the first place," he said."You can't go back. It is too late."He walked toward the forest; when he looked back he saw her still standing in the rain; she had not moved an inch. She will have to accept I can no longer continue in vain, he thought. She has to accept the path that I have taken.Rain was falling again; the path that he stood was going to lead him to the other part where the Christians resided. A small community with a Reverend as its head. The community that was once his home in the past. He waited about two minutes for her to look at him but she did not. He turned and walked, his head down, his hands closely in front of his waist, going to meet his family."Will you forsake the brotherhood in a time when the full moon is yet to arise from its covers?" She asked.He looked at her with round helpless blue eyes. He was still poised, wondering if she understood w
Pennsylvania, 2018"Well, that was quite a hell of a party for one night," Uju remarked as she and Maria entered her room after spending time in a night club that was strictly for heterosexuals."I can't believe they chased the gay guy out of the club," Uju muttered. "He was nice to me when he offered to buy me a drink.""He is into men not women. You shouldn't let his kind gesture trigger a love impulse in that brain of yours," Maria joked."Do you blame me for falling for a man? After all, falling for him just shows how sexually active I can be, and laughing as he spoke about his dog is a civilized way of expressing my love for him.""Love?" Maria paused, looking mischievously in Abby's direction. "Can you hear what you friend is saying about love?""I can hear her loud and clear. It is not surprising that she feels rather obliged to share her thoughts about the guy to you, to all of us.
Chibuzor Victor Obih was born in the southern part of Nigeria. Delta State to be precise. His writing includes essays, poetry and short stories. He likes to play soccer, read, study and above all, write. He is currently a fourth year student of a renowned public university in Nigeria. The University of Port-Harcourt is where he is pursuing a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering. The Last Full Moon is his third book and his third attempt to explore the beautiful world of a novelist.
Kano, 2022There was no light. There was no sound. There was no imaginary figure running around his mind and playing games with him. The road that was up above him was clear and black. Fear, Ifenna now realized, was an intense rush of displeasure that motivated a man to run for the security of his own life. Short of breath, he fumbled through the blackness towards the road, almost staggering, almost allowing the image of seeing Kelvin raising a gun and shooting at him revolve around his head. He found a soft spot and made an attempt to rest when he realized that he had to make sure that Jane was safe. But how could he reach her when he couldn't remember where he had last seen his phone? Just then, as he was thinking about the location of his phone, an alarm he had set up in his phone about a week ago to make sure he attended all the morning exercises class rang. He reached out towards his left pockets and brought his phone out. He smiled as he felt grateful that some unfo
Pennsylvania, 2022Maria sat very still, listening and not listening. She was looking at the face of the man who had come in place of James Blackwheel, to ask for her forgiveness and understanding. If someone had asked her to repeat the words of the preacher, she would not have been able to do so without making a single mistake because she didn't understand what he meant when he told her to forgive and forget. She didn't understand the ease he felt as he let those words slide out from his tongue as if it would take away all the atrocities that James Blackwheel had committed in his life. But she felt and sensed the genuineness in the preacher's voice and she saw meaning as she tried to reason in the same plain he was reasoning. As the preacher talked more about forgiveness and its positive impact in the modern society, a vast dark silent void lifted away from her eyes and she could see familiar images which grew large and powerful; familiar images of Blackwheel planting hi
Pennsylvania, 2022Not once during the five days following the explanation behind Uju and Abby's death had an image of their dead bodies buried underneath the ground come into Maria's mind. She had thought about it bitterly until she could no longer cry or think again. She had thrust the whole scene back and forth, and there it still lay, monstrous, horrible and terrifying as it had been before. She was not much of a believer but she believed in the power of words and truth. And to think that her ancestral father, James Blackwheel who she had never met was involved in their deaths made her feel awful and sad. She was not so much in a bad stupor or in a wayward lane with brown leaves falling quickly with no end. She was in a bizarre situation where she saw Uju and Abby begging for their lives and being punished for doing so.Having been briefed by Detective Doe about the incident that had kept her in the dark, she made a quick call to Clark with the hope that he would answe
Lagos, 2022Kelvin stopped listening, feeling fear for the first time. He had not thought that the message sent to him using a foreign number was a solution to his love problem with Sharon. A solution that came with a price. How could he explain to Ifenna that the gift Maria had given to him during his last trip to America was greatly desired by a group of people who tagged themselves as members of a secret organization called the 'Priory of Göteborg'? Oh, Lord! He was drunk. The members of the 'Priory of Göteborg' were all drunk to think he would accept their offer and take the life of Ifenna because of love. How could he? The instructions he had gotten from them was clear and simple. Take the necklace and eliminate the target. But how could he do that when he was greatly attached to Ifenna in ways that the members of the Brotherhood didn't understand? How could someone who knew absolutely nothing about his life choose him as a tool to achieve their quest? What
Lagos, 2017KELVIN:Hey! How are you doing? I finally came back! I missed talking to you! How have things been going on your side?BELLA:Hey! Good morning! Or afternoon to you I think! It is great to see you back. I missed you!KELVIN:I missed you too. Good afternoon!BELLA:It is 7 am here and I'm hooking up my morning coffee drip. The weather is really not that bad. I am sure you can relate with the feeling of the weather. It feels cold but it isn't. I think the weather is in a good mood today.KELVIN:So, do you have a pipe inside your body? That is great! Honestly, it is!BELLA:I don't have a pipe inside my body! Coffee is great! Lol! All day long! I never see the need to sleep.KELVIN:You seem happy today. That is a good trait.BELLA:I suppose so.. every once in a while it happens. I guess I am happy today because you finally came back. It is always great to reunite with a long lost friend even if he has
Lagos, 2017KELVIN:What is your real name then? Mender? Bella? I don't want to make any assumptions about your real name so you wouldn't feel bad about it. I was trained to accept people's decisions on things affecting them. I respect privacy.BELLA:Hi. Your pic is adorable. Whose baby? Is that you?KELVIN:No! Just placed a baby there because I have been unhappy lately. Glad you like it.BELLA:I love all babies but more from a distance lol. When they are close they are all noisy, little germ machines lol. Except for my children, they are perfect, naturally perfect. They don't look like pumpkins with bitter tears.KELVIN:That is good to hear. So, which one is your name? Mender or Bella?BELLA:Bella. Bella is my real name.I was planning on using Mender as a pen name for a new genre I am working on. Like I told you before if you can remember, I am an author.KELVIN:Alright. That would be a lovely ide
Ontario, 1983It was morning. The church bells had just began to ring when Blackwheel arrived. In the dark and silent room, the drab light of the weary sun outside filtered in through the silky curtain, allowing a limited passage of light. Already, the coming of the sun had been announced through the sound of the bell like a messenger sent forth to disseminate information for the time being."I have to prepare early. I don't have much time for myself or for anyone," Blackwheel muttered to himself and yawned. He was feeling tired from the long walk he had had a day before.Sitting himself up, in an upright position, he held his head with his hands as if he was trying to adjust it and move it away from his neck. It was as though his mind was about splitting from his head. His eyes roamed to the door which led to the entrance of his room when he heard a noise. He was expecting someone but due to the delay, the little hope that rose in his heart about ten hours ago had died dow
Lagos, 2017KELVIN:Why? Is there a problem.ZOE:Just have different priority lately.KELVIN:What kind of priority. I thought we promised to be really close?ZOE:Yea, we did! Someone close to me went through a difficult ordeal and I spent a lot of time with him, I have had to babysit my three year old nephew a lot. Also, I reconnected with a friend I haven’t seen in six years and I am trying to write a novel, and even after a full regiment of antibiotics my cough is getting worse. Sometimes life happens. If it is a problem for you, then maybe don’t wait after me so much. I can’t promise hours of texts daily. I spend already that time nearly daily just answering everyone who texts me and ask for help with their writing or publishing platforms (on top of everything else), social media is turning into a full time job and I am trying to reduce that and keep my focus on writing but it is hard. I only have so many hours in