Email: Ryonkachi@gmail.com
Phone: 08133859690 (text messages only)
Author's Name: Kachi Nwani

This is an intellectual property, re posting this story on another blog, forum or facebook is allowed as long as you give credit to the Author.

Dedication : This work is dedicated to Rev Bro Kesiki Simon, who encouraged me to write.

For more stories from the Author's nib, visit aretewrites..com

The drums beat wildly, resonating deeply in the thick dense canopy, a rare fraternization of plants and animals, combined to form together a near perfect union, in the common quest of survival. The tall evergreen trees stood majestically, ruling over all things green, providing the platform on which the climbers grew, struggling to rise above the choking dominance of the canopy. The drums beat even wilder, giving pulse to the life that abound in the forest. The forest now breathed with a singular heartbeat, it was as if all the individual heart beats in the forest harmonised into one giant heartbeat, bringing the forest alive as singular being. Black feet clothed in dust moved rhythmically, dancing to the tunes of the dwarf drummer, whose dark skin was now agleam with sweat.
No other festival attracted so much people, no other festival generated so much sweat, indeed, no other festival required the deified expertise of the dwarf drummer, whose skin now sagged under the weight of his age. His skills like wine, got better with age. He had his way with the drums that evoked emotions, that unlocked the beast within wrestlers, sent dancers into a temporary burst of malady, in which they danced without consciousness of the present, lost in celestial trance built on the tones that were supplied by his drums.
As much as Malaika hated it, the Owambe festival finally came to an end. The mammoth crowd now split into groups of twos and threes, except for the group in which Malaika was in, she was alone. She watched as the titled men left, walking in their usual unhurried manner, their youngest sons carrying their stools for them. She watched the dwarf drummer delicately performing his closing rites, beating the tones that signified the end of the ceremony. It was said that the ancestors departed to their resting places at the anthills when they heard the Jegede, the rites which the dwarf drummer now performed. She stood up and dusted her buttocks and made to leave the village square. She walked lethargically, exhausted by the festival. Her back now ached slightly, she knew it would get worse in the morning. She would take the mountain passage home, it spared her the stress of going through the pathways that meandered through the forest, as if on a quest to visit every tree in the forest.
She loved going through the caves, the vast emptiness sang songs to her spirit. In the dark, empty cave, she felt the silence press heavily on her shoulders, the only thing she now heard were pellets of water as they made their way down after a futile attempt of clinging to the cave roof. She walked slowly, taking her time to savour the awesomeness of nothingness, the grit and languor she had felt after the festival disappeared, in its place was an inexplicable calm, lightness of head and spirit. Tales of sinister spirits dwelling in holes and crevices in the isolated cave were rife, however, it did not deter her. So as she slowly walked through the cave that evening, she knew all was not well. Upon her hung an air of difference, she knew something was either added or subtracted, something had moved place, the particular order in the cave her spirit had subtly harmonised with had disappeared, there was disorder. She could not immediately place her hands on the difference, but as she walked deeper and deeper into the belly of the cave, her instincts were telling her to retreat but her curiosity kept pushing her, prodding her to discover the unknown. She threaded, although with caution, but she still threaded, walking slowly as she soaked her legs In the cold water that flowed from under the ground.
She turned right, heading to the passage that eventually led to her house. Immediately, the colour of the water changed from the crystal clear liquid that showed the pebbles underneath to a murky red liquid. Then she started perceiving an odour so repugnant she had to cover her nose with her hands. Immediately, she became apprehensive, her heart was now in a painful race, her head got lighter and lighter as she inhaled the odour. She decided to continue going, however, slowing her steps. The she saw a thick, nebulous smoke approaching her, that didn’t deter the curious spirit she had had, she pushed on, unsure of what lay ahead. Then she saw it, she let out a loud searing scream that cut through the empty stillness of the cave. She dashed of, running in the direction of the village.

To be continued.

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