Igboland, 1786
Nwakaego 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.
Pennsylvania, 2018Maria didn't sleep very well and she could feel it as she opened her eyes to the simulated light of the morning, the blue light bulb burning its peculiar light as she felt a strange peace descend on her spirit. The room she was sleeping in was a familiar room with its red-painted simple walls that constantly reminded her of the past. A past that never existed but was there, in the back of her mind, connecting her to memories only a few could understand. Even in the midst of all her confusion, there was a certain reassurance which she gathered from this newfound reality. The first was understanding that the necklace she wore on her neck meant something to her, if not a lot of people but her.She thought of the last discussion she had with Uju and Abby. The wavy atmosphere that filled her spirit. It calmed her"Get up from the bed," Uju's voice filled her room. They were staying together for a
Lancaster, 1790The story of James Blackwheel, human at day and werewolf at night was no common one. It spread throughout England, travelled with any person who was present when Mr. Strange spoke of his atrocities, his crimes committed against nature. To be a sinful man was one thing to pay penance for. To commune with the devil and be in his own image and form was unacceptable. The conditions were clear. James Blackwheel, father to three children and husband to Elizabeth Blackwheel had made an irreversible choice. He had sat on the same table with people who the church despised and had thrown his family's name into the dust. Therefore, he had to pay for his sins, he had to bear the consequences.Being dead automatically liberated James Blackwheel but as God had declared in the Book of Moses saying with a great voice that the sins of the fathers shall be passed unto the children and even up to the fourth generation, so was the case of Blackwheel's f