₦airaland Forum

CHAPTER ONE
Bereni’s heart pounded heavily in fear. He was not sure he would survive. Flashes of Biobele’s dying moments crossed his mind as he ran. Biobele was his elder brother, a stronger lion -but he had died. A rat killed him. Now, Bereni’s own legs were not moving fast enough. He wished at that instant that he could fly. Never in his life had he been threatened by such a small rodent. Ever since he was a cub, he had known the rat to be fearless, the greatest terror to his kind.

When Bereni reached the huge silver river, panting vigorously, he slumped. There was no more strength in him. There was no where else to run to. He felt betrayed. He surrendered. He knew no more what it meant to roar.

The grey ugly rat caught up with him, pounced on him and tore him apart...
Tekena smiled as he recalled that story his grandmother told him when he was six years old. She had told him the story meant more than a rat chasing a lion. He never quite understood it then. He was only trying to understand it even now. That story always came to him when he was in trouble. At such times, he felt like the scared lion, about to die. Sometimes, he felt like the rat, small and powerful but insignificant. Today was one such day. He was in trouble but he didn’t feel like the lion or the rat either. He felt like a nineteen year old that he was, standing in cold sinking mud and carrying on his head a rock twice his size.....

Read the rest of Part 1 here ....
http://nemisblog.com/tekena_part_1/