Yefon: The Red Necklace (36 page)

Then another step! I tried to convince myself that it was not happening. I closed my eyes and opened them, hoping it would be gone, but it was still there. It was as real as the day and as my bottom, heavy with human defecation.

I almost ran, but I knew that wouldn’t be a good idea. The lion’s prey-chasing mechanism would be ignited faster than I could blink.

Holding my ground, I breathed unsteadily. I repeated to myself, “I will not run. I will not scream. If I do, the lion will too,” as the lion continued to walk majestically towards me.

Running out of ideas, I began to speak in a loud firm voice. “If you are a witch sent after me, I am a daughter of
Ngonnso
, the mother of this tribe, and no harm can come to me.”

The lion quickened its pace as if it was going to run or leap and I didn’t know what to do. Out of some sort of survivor’s instinct, mixed with some of Kadoh’s unending fables, I quickly grabbed my bags, one in each hand, and raised my hands tall above me, widening my stance.

Maintaining eye contact with its shiny eyes, I started retreating backwards slowly, clapping, shouting, and waving my arms over my head.

My charade seemed to be working and then I hit a tree with a loud thundering sound. The lion growled deep in its throat and then leaped towards me. I grabbed a stick, ready to die fighting, and thrust it in the direction of the lion. It opened its mouth wide and tried to bite my neck and I squeezed my eyes shut, touching my
sha
η
g
. Then the craziest thing happened!

The lion disappeared into thin air! I couldn’t believe what I had experienced, and I looked around for a long time. There was no sound, no nothing. I remember holding the stick, still standing in attack mode and after thirty minutes or so, no lion. My
sha
η
g
was glowing on my chest and my ribcage was warming up as I panted. I was still breathing with difficulty. Had my
sha
η
g
saved me? What was this ornament on my neck?

Tears began to flow freely from my eyes. Even though I was shaking uncontrollably, I was happy. For one second, it didn’t matter if I was educated or not, I was just glad to be alive.

I watched a dirty bird land on a branch and feed its little one, and then I began to feel nostalgic for the village. At least I had food, and Kadoh to make me laugh when all else failed. Perhaps I was truly as ungrateful as people said; maybe I should go back.

I was in a state of shock for a while, and all I did was sit in one spot and stare ahead until something bit my leg. I cried out in pain and applied pressure to the area while looking around for the culprit. Whatever bit me had blended into the earth and I couldn’t find it. I didn’t know if it was poisonous or not, but I was already feeling sick.

Propping myself up against a tree, I limped until I found some herbal plants which I chewed quickly, shaking from their bitterness. My vision went blurry and then I fell asleep.

I don’t remember if I slept for long or not, but when I woke up, it was dark. With all the strength that I could find inside me, and looking around carefully to make sure there were no lions, I made it to my feet. My left leg was swollen from the sting, but thanks to the leaves, it didn’t hurt as much.

I propped myself up on one knee and untied the hem of one of my wrapper bags. I tore a long linen strip and put my foot on it. I noticed an aloe plant and used some to cover my swollen foot. The cooling gel worked a little magic. Looking straight ahead, my eyes focused on the prize, I started moving again. I started walking, hopping where I had to, and holding onto tree trunks when necessary. I even crawled at some point.

With a stung foot, it is almost impossible to cover any more than two kilometers by land, and when you are in pain, starvation takes second place. I dragged myself along until I could move no more. I was thirsty and tired and I can’t remember too much of the journey. I fainted half the time, and I swear that I saw an eagle hovering over me during the times that I was awake, as impossible as that sounds.

I approached a cooler, more hidden section of the forest and used some of the cold leaves to soothe my aching, swollen feet. The relief couldn’t have come at a better time. Dropping my bags, I stuck my tongue out and shook the plants above me. Tiny little droplets of water touched my tongue, face, and body. At a time like this, a drop of water feels like ten mugs, and with renewed strength, I continued my journey.

By sunset, I found myself in front of a babbling mossy creek. There was a shallow swimming pool for the rummager squirrels that had stolen my supplies. The creek had huge old rocks standing aloof in the water and ended with a waterfall so small one would think it was pouring from a teapot. Frogs croaked on some of the greenish rocks whose smell could maim your nose for years.

“Brekerkek coax coax,” the frogs croaked, and it made me think of Kadoh’s story about Naa’ and the frog. I missed home. I was like a man lusting after a woman. My eyes bulged out, and I was running purely on survivor mode. Even though I had never
eaten a frog, I immediately knew that their meat would be delicious so I set about trying to catch some.

I was too hungry to wait for the frog to be fully cooked, so I simply delved into the juiciness of its flesh. It tasted like birthday
jollof rice
, which is famous for its extraordinary taste. I roasted a few and put the rest in my bag for a later snack.

Laying by the bank of the creek with one of my books for a pillow, I exhaled deeply. The hardness of it was exactly what I needed to massage my aching back and neck. The air was refreshing and cold, and given that it was a starry night, I admired each shiny star. Who ever made this whole arrangement must have been great and watching those stars brought a number of questions to mind. Where did he come from? Did he have brothers and sisters? Did he ever have dreams? Was it even a he? What if it were a she? Where was she now? Why had she abandoned womenfolk to suffer in this dimension? There were no answers.

A firefly and its luminous family soon found their way around my wrapper, glowing in the dark as they flew around me and over the creek. It was so beautiful. I smiled at first, and then I began to laugh. They were my silver lining on a stormy night! Suddenly, my feet didn’t hurt that much anymore. I only had two bags now, and I unfolded one, for they were actually wrappers packed with stuff and tied up in a knot at the edges.

It was like one of those old Tom & Jerry cartoons. Whenever someone was kicked out from a house, their only possessions would be attached to the end of a stick, which they held as they walked away sadly.

I took out one of my books in an attempt to read but I was too tired and fell asleep, book in hand.

During the night, the spirit of
Ngonnso
visited me again. This time, I could see her more clearly. She was a very beautiful woman with a gold wrap on her head, and a beaded red
sha
η
g
similar to mine on her neck. I hadn’t seen the
sha
η
g
before, and I touched mine, smiling.
Her celestial light filled me, and once more, I felt truly peaceful. She looked at me kindly and said she was proud of me and would bless my head so that no harm would come upon me. She walked me into the creek, and washed my feet with monatomic
gold
.

“Daughter of the earth, your ancestors are with you. Call upon me whenever you are in need,” she said, in a familiar soothing voice that sounded like gentle echoes.

The music of the birds woke me up at the crack of dawn. At first, I didn’t move. I only opened my eyes to see the sun peeking out from behind the mountaintops. I smiled as its rays graced the earth, birthing a warm light that announced the coming of a new day. It was breathtaking.

My life had been quite colorful, but small things like this were the reason why I chose living over survival, and whether
Ngonnso
had really been there or whether I wanted it to be true, life must go on. I still had to get to the city, and the only way I could get there was by crossing through this hideous creek.

I did not know how to swim that well, my leg was poisoned, and I was famished by hunger and thirst. This was not counting how dirty and smelly the water was. It reeked of dead animals. Besides, water is even more dangerous than land for a woman like myself who comes from a mountainous region like Nso.

I looked behind me. The trees overlooking the creek hung low so that they would almost touch your head. I was far from home, but I had made it this far. If I died in that water today, I would know that I died fighting to make a difference.

I thought about my mother as well as Yenla, Kadoh, and Kome and I said a small prayer for them. In the difficulty of such a decision, I had no choice. I could lay here and die from the poison in my foot or go ahead, hoping that the small possibility of my making it would prevail.

Looking around, I spotted a tree. I decided to make a mark on the tree so that if I died, the children of tomorrow would know I was here. As I tried to pull myself up, I stood without difficulty, and I was surprised as I looked at my feet. They looked like I had been born this morning. They were soft, scarless, healed, and beautiful.

I began to cry. This was a miracle!
Ngonnso had
been here! This time I had proof! How could one explain this? That spirits were actually real! And immortals could cross the portal of life and come to aid humans in dire time of need. I think she saved me from that ferocious lion too. It’s the only explanation I had for
what happened in the forest that day. She also said that the
sha
η
g
chose its wearer. Perhaps this
sha
η
g
I loved so much was truly a symbol of an age-old cult or something even more exciting!

I quickly dismissed the thought, telling myself how much Kadoh will hear from me if I ever made it past this forest into the city. I would drive back in my car and pick her up, telling her all the adventures I had experienced.

I hadn’t really believed that I would live past this experience, or any of the other dark ones that were still coming my way, but this universe in which we find ourselves is a very interesting place that goes beyond the science used for building airplanes. There are inexplicable things that go on in the heart of Africa, which are far too complex to be explained in any journal.

After my leg had been miraculously healed, I bowed down and kissed the earth. “Mother of my people, I thank you,” I spoke to her, before removing one of the roasted frogs and offering them to her as a sign of thanksgiving.

Feeling like Thor among humans, I broke down one of the larger branches from the willow and used it to pull as many weeds as I could out of the pond water onto land. The pungent smell from these weeds, which could have been there for years, was worse than a bad case of rotten eggs, and my nose cringed as I pulled them out.

The stink was so poisonous that breathing was difficult. What was unfathomable was the possibility that I would have to swim through it. As I was working, a squirrel jumped on my back. Infuriated by this same scavenger who had stolen my food, I grabbed one bag and began following it, hoping to smash its little head to smithereens with my sack.

It ran so fast and my attention was so bent on catching the squirrel that I didn’t notice that I was actually jumping on the mossy rocks in the creek. I had almost crossed to the other side when I realized where I was and I screamed to myself.

“Oh no! Oh No!
Nyuy
save me! I am going to die,” I cried and then it hit me! The rocks were actually rooted at the bottom of the creek. Then I had to decide whether to just cross the creek to the other side and catch up with the main road by nightfall, or to go back and get the other books which were in the bag on the bank.

Before I could make up my mind, I heard the pounding sound of running feet, reverberating in my direction. I soon identified the runners as three palace guards and I had no choice but to finish crossing without my books.

Those slippery rocks did not prove easy to cross, especially jumping from one to another and looking behind at the same time. But with my heart beating in every direction, I finally arrived at the bank on the other side and ducked under some bushes watching as the muscle men looked around left and right.

One of them picked up my wrapper, and saw the books. His searching face turned into an angry scowl, and he whistled to his friend.

“This is unbelievable,” he said. Passing the books from man to man, they put them in their bags.

“We must take these back to the palace,” he said.

Tears formed in my eyes as I saw my books from Pa being taken away. Please, not those. Anything but those, I thought miserably.

One of the men touched the ground where I had lain, then licked it, then smelled it. “It is her alright.” Then he looked around, studying the area carefully.

I ducked my head so as not to be seen. I overhead their voices as I lay in the grass, afraid of the worst if I tried to sneak out from under these noisy leaves.

“She could not have crossed the creek. It’s too dangerous. She probably went to find some food. We will wait here,” one of them said.

That would have been fine, but another one, the one with red fiery eyes challenged the plan. “I will swim across, just in case she dared to cross.”

How he swam, I cannot tell since I lay beneath a pile of leaves. He actually came close and began poking his gun among the leaves looking for me. As he approached where I was, I thought the endless fluttering in my chest followed by the countless racing and pounding beats would give me a heart attack. I calculated the many different ways in which this could go, and they all led to one ending—my death.

I tried to think of what to do. Should I just jump out and surrender? Should I stay? What to do? What to do? And then he
stopped just before he reached my hiding place. I mean if he had literally taken one more step his gun would have touched my head.

He lingered there, and my breath quickened as I used every muscle in my body to stifle a whimper.