Dethroned episode 5 – 6
DETHRONED
Episode 5
By AMAH’S HEART
” Leave me alone .. why are you dragging me?.. leave me..” I screamed trying to wrestle free from the firm grip of the strange man who was not willing to giving up on his desire to drag me deep into the forest
The strange man is tall in statue and his face was blurry but his voice was as loud as thunder
” I have a message for you Rana.. follow me quietly so you will not get yourself ínjured and don’t worry I will not hürt you.. I know that is your actual fear!” The strange man spoke to me in a baritone voice. upon hearing the last statement I immediately behaved myself.
I stopped trying to fīght him off since it was futile anyways. He successfully dragged me into the thick forest and stopped at a spot whilst facing a giant tree.
‘ Oh gods of my fathers what am I doing here?’ I inwardly thought shaking in fear
I looked around me wondering if the man is an evïl person whose aim is to släin me here. ‘Oh gods of my ancestors please save me, please!’ I uttered a secret prayer in my heart
As if the strange man heard my inner thoughts,
he turned to face me and softly spoke to me
” you’re safe with me my child.. I told you earlier that I will not hürt you.. so all you need to do is to just trust my words!”
” Ho.. ho..how did you hear my thoughts..?”
“.. also did I just hear you say I should trust your words?.. how do you expect me to trust the words of a strange man I barely know..?” I lashed out at the man
The man chuckled and turned to face the tree again
” Calm down Rana.. I will soon release you to go home… I just needed to have a face to face talk with you here”
I busted out laughing as I heard the face to face part and I looked at him as I asked sarcastically
” Face to face you say?” I asked and the strange man nodded which made me laugh more
“.. well so you know.. I can not see your face because it’s blurry.. I am not blind yet I can not see your face though you are standing right in front of me”
The strange man busted out laughing hysterically without giving a reply,
It was followed by a deafening silence such that I became so scared
” Rana this tree here will be of great help to you in years to come.. and I am glad it is actually bearing good fruits” the strange man spoke out in parables as he smiled at the tree in front of him.
I sighed no longer interested in understanding his utterances, all I wanted at the moment is to get out of here as fast as possible
” Please what is it you want from me?.. I am sorry if I unknowingly committed any crīmë against you.. please do let me go..” I said each word slowly as I got down on my knees and clamped my hands together
The strange man heaved heavily before replying
” Arise Rana for you did me no wrōng.. I am here because I need you to do something for me..” the strange man said and paused to stare intently at me before he quizzed
“…will you do it..?”
” I don’t know what answer to give you.. everything depends on what you want me to do.. first tell me what is it you want from me then I will decide if to do it or not” I answered the strange man and at the same time I was slowly getting up from my kneeling position
” It is a simple task.. which is.. save your people Rana.. they need your help as my chosen priestess.. I will..”
” your chosen priestess?.. how is that even possible…? No sir you’re mistaken about me” I replied abruptly cutting his words short whilst shaking my head in disbelief
” You are the priestess Rana.. I have chosen you to rule my people and that is why you have the privilege of conversing directly with me..” the strange man said to me which made my brows crease in so much confusion
” what are you even saying?.. who exactly are you that it is not easy for people to directly converse with you..?”
” That isn’t important Rana.. for today, the focus is mainly on you and your assignment”
I busted out laughing aloud before I gave him a reply
” You must be one of the village comedians… because none of what you are saying actually makes sense to me”
The strange man breath out a deep sigh and turned to look at me with all seriousness. I stopped laughing immediately I saw the serious look on his face
” Rana you possess in you powers beyond what you know… this is why you currently have people who are on your tail to harm you”
” Okay lets assume what you are saying is actually true.. how did you know all this?.. are you a sort of god or something..?”
” I am only but a messenger of the gods but you will have unlimited access to the gods after you accept your mantle which automatically activates your supreme powers…
… believe me Rana.. you have what it takes to save your people from this plague” the stranger explained and it got me cracking up until little drops of tears came out of my eyes
” This actually sounds funny to me..” I said trying to control my laughter and then continued
“…but either ways I am sorry sir I have to reject this mandate..”
” Why Rana?.. so many folks would jump at this great news” the strange man asked with his eyes widened in shock
” Well I am different… for me I can not be a priestess because that will mean I stay celibate all my life… I am young and like every other maiden I dream of having a husband and kids who will call me mother.. so NO I do not want to be a priestess at all! You’re now free to pass it to those who craves the position” I blurted out and watched as the strange man begun chuckling
I wonder what I said that was funny.
” Rana your uniqueness makes you more endearing.. well unfortunately you can not run away from your ordained purpose.. although I must say that I’ve forseen that the path would not be an easy one to thread.. yet as a leader you must nurse the stamina to stand strong in the midst of storms and tríbulations”
” what are saying?.. explain what you mean by it will not be an easy path to thread.. what storms and tríbulations do you mean?.. or were you deaf when I said earlier that I wanted a simple life and wasn’t interested in all those things..?”
” give it time and you will understand all that I have said Rana… for now make sure to stay hidden until it is the right time to reveal you to my people.. stay safe Rana.. stay safe!” the strange man resonated as a warning before he slowly vanished into thin air.
I woke up in my hut, sweating and breathing heavily
“what kind of a dream is this?.. and why was the man saying those strange things to me..?” I thought and then concluded that it must have been hunger that actually such dreams this hot afternoon
” Oh, I am so hungry.. I couldn’t even find anything to eat despite walking all round the village today…
..I am craving for hot burnt yam with well roasted bush meat” I thought within me whilst licking my lips salivating.
I hissed as I realized that it will never happen especially not with the present situation in the village
The weather that I had assumed means well ended with nothing
No rain, not even a drop of it.
“..with this type of hunger in my stomach.. that strange man was busy saying that I am a priestess and the one to liberate people from a plâgue that is threatening to kíll me here..”
” ..well it is a good thing that it was merely a dream.. I can’t even imagine accepting such a despicable..”
My thoughts was interrupted by a slow knock on the door
” who is there?” I asked repeatedly but I got no reply and fear begun setting in as several thoughts creeped in
‘ why am I not getting a response?.. could it be Jack and James coming back here again?’
I soon gathered the little courage I had left and walked to the door.
with my heart racing fast, I pulled open the door
I met no one outside but lying on the entrance of my door were two covered calabash.
I was curious about who left it on my doorstep and scanned all around the compound but I couldn’t find anybody.
I shrugged as I opened the calabash to see what was inside and I got the greatest shock of my life.
Read – True love episode 13 – 14
DETHRONED
Episode 6
By AMAH’S HEART
” Now this is getting créepier than I thought” I said to myself whilst pacing around my hut.
I turned to look into the two calabash again to be sure that I was seeing rightly,
I even wiped my two eyes to be sure there was no fog covering them yet nothing changed
I was truly seeing several pieces of burnt yam in one of the calabash
and a big-sized bush meat in the other calabash which means my eyes are clear and not deceiving me afterall.
even though several minutes has passed, the burnt yam was still emitting smoke which shows it is steaming hot yam exactly like I had desired few minutes earlier.
by the gods, what exactly is happening to me..? am I dreaming or what…?
I was shallowing my saliva because the bush meat was looking really tasty and the yam was steaming hot as I craved for, yet I was scared to actually go an inch near it
” I think it is best I throw it away” I concluded in my mind but as I picked the two calabash up, the worms in my stomach begun protesting seriously
I couldn’t resist the urge seeing how well prepared the meat looked,
I wondered where it came from but that was the least of my worries at the moment
afterall whether I eat it or not I will still die if I don’t satisfy the worms in my stomach
That is how I ate the meal to my satisfaction.
It was delicious and the best sumptuous meal I have had in months. I even reserved some for tomorrow morning.
I thanked the gods of the land for the food and laid down to take a nap but I felt this irresistible urge to urinate.
The urge was so strong that I had to succumb.
So I sat up from the bed and moved out to the back of my hut to relieve myself.
I finished urinating when my eyes caught a big bush meat at a bush close to where I do urinate.
” Wow.. I guess the gods has finally decided to smile on me” I thought inwardly as I immediately pursued the meat into the bush
I pursued the bush meat until it completely disappeared from my sight.
I was so pained and was cussing in my heart as I was making my way back to my hut, but jerked when I felt a slight touch at my back.
I turned to see who it was. It was a fine young man, he looks familiar but my head couldn’t process anything at the moment.
” Beautiful maiden I saw you earlier when you were running.. I was wondering what or who was pursuing you until I looked closely and saw it was actually you pursuing a bush meat.. it’s quite unfortunate you lost it at the end” The young man said smiling and his humorous words got me smiling too
” You’re right.. I am still feeling pained though.. I wished I laid my hands on that meat and trust me it couldn’t have lived to tell the story” I answered still feeling ângry that I lost the meat
” I trust you beautiful maiden.. anyways my name is Eze.. I am the second son of Mazi Dede.. we’ve met before as children at the lantern festival which was actually a long time ago.. hope you still remember?” Eze introduced and I nodded slowly remembering that day.
The lantern festival is one of my fun time as a child. The games, the folklores by adults, the dances were so memorable till date.
So how can I easily forget it..?
Unfortunately, the festival happens once in two decades.
” You’re correct.. no wonder your face was looking all familiar.. well I guess you know my name already so no need for much introduction”
” Of course.. you are Rana, the daughter of Late Mazi Ameachi.. you’ve grown so beautiful and pretty over the years”
” I thank the gods.. Eze the last time I saw your father years ago.. he told me you were taken by a master to the neighboring community for a craft training…
…now seeing you back at the village… does that mean you are free from serving your master?” I asked him not necessarily because of curiosity, but because I only wanted to be friendly
” Yes I am free from serving him.. I had to come back a week ago and it hasn’t been easy with this current plâgue in the Land.. so I made it a daily routine to check out bushes to see if I will be able to gather anything edible for my aged parents.”
I sighed heavily because I would have done same if my parents were still alive
” I can understand Eze.. it is actually everywhere.. we can only pray to the gods to harken unto our cries and send help soonest” I replied him shrugging and Eze shouted with his hands up
” Ise!”
Eze and I talked some more before he walked me down to my hut and finally bade me farewell.
I opened the door of my hut and a huge mess greeted my eyes.
My clothes was laying shattered and my bed was turned upside down. My eyes scanned around and I noticed that the two calabash that contained the leftover food was nowhere to be found.
‘ what exactly happened here?’ I asked myself in apprehension
Then the words of the strange man in my dreams begun ringing repeatedly in my ears
” For now make sure to stay hidden until it is the right time to reveal you to my people.. stay safe Rana.. stay safe!”
I heaved sadly as I realized that I really needed to leave my abode as fast as my legs could carry me,
Seeing the way this whole searching thing is going I might not live to tell the story tomorrow. they failed to find me during the day then surely the will come back at night.
With that concluded, I packed up a few clothes into a bag made from one of my wrappers.
afterwards I sneaked out of my hut into the bush situated at the back of my hut.
I didn’t know where to go from here. Nothing was even making sense to me but I was hoping on the gods to help me scale through all this.
I kept walking deep into the bush until my feet became weak and I decided to take a rest.
After a few minutes of rest, I begun walking again and came across a stream.
Surprisingly it wasn’t dried up so I drank enough water to quench my thirst and then begun my journey again.
I just kept going without having an actual location in mind, and all I kept seeing was trees and forests, which got me wondering if leaving my village was indeed a good idea.
As I reached a particular location in the forest, I felt this air of familiarity. At that exact moment, a certain tree got my attention.
Looking closely I realized that it is the exact tree I saw in my dream with the strange man.
” what exactly is going on..?”
Tbc