One of my old short stories from 2013. Since we celebrating Salah, decided to share it. Enjoy


FENCES; SALLAH RAM
He lived in a ‘face me I face you apartment’, no fences. Struggled all year long to save enough to buy the Sallah ram. Sallah came; ram came much to admiration of the whole area. Word got around his averagely below lower class neighborhood like wild fire, “The brother for that ‘face me I face you’ don buy ram”. Children gathered around the front of his no fenced compound where the Sallah sacrificial lamb…’ram’ was tied awaiting its inevitable execution. Only Mallam Garba could afford to buy a ram in the whole area and his house was fenced. Dawn till dusk kids came with their own portion of grass to feed the ram making sure ‘Brother’ saw them. Brother became a local champion; his ram was even more of a superstar than he was.
Night came brother could not leave sallah ram outside now, not in this neighborhood, he didn’t want to wake up to tales of how Mustapha or even Kelechi miraculously got a Sallah ram as his Sallah or pro Christmas gift… No.
What to do now?, he couldn’t as well stay up all night watching the ram now, or he could he? ' No no no, stop thinking like a poor man. You have to leave it outside in this fence-less compound…sadly, but wait there’s Bruno now'… yes Bruno, his RUTHLESS ALSATIAN ( I had to write that in upper case. the dog is ruthless) … the most feared living creature of the neighborhood. Police cell or Bruno? Ah the police are your friends oh. With Bruno there, no one would come near Sallah ram…at least no one in his right frame of mind. Gladdened hearts sleep well, sleep well he did, right after he firmly tied Bruno just a few feet away from Sallah ram. That should do the job.
Maybe he was too glad, because he slept too well and too deep. So deep was his slumber, he didn’t hear Sallah ram scream…no bleat (or whatever the hell rams do) for help, no he didn’t, he was too glad at heart. Brother finally awoke, the voices outside were loud enough to do what Sallah ram couldn’t. His semi-conscious mind was sharp enough to catch a few words like ‘kill, Bruno, Sallah, ram, eyah’ and whatnot. Those were the ones that mattered though, Brother jumped out of bed, nothing could have stood in his way, not the incredible hulk nothing…no one.
Brother’s scream pierced the Sallah morning, dripping with the agony of a man that just lost an only son.
Bruno sat beside what was remaining of Sallah ram, mouth dripping with blood.
Sallah ram (or what was left of it) lay on the ground unmoving, probably on his way to ram heaven…. Death is inevitable after all.
Life’s humor is the most twisted, you think I’m lying? Ask Brother.
Barka de Sallah