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Maria Found Her Lost Treasure / Plz I Need D Link Of Black Maria (2) (3) (4)

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Re: Black Maria by stuff46(m): 6:58am On Mar 13, 2015
present
Re: Black Maria by LarrySun(m): 9:54am On Mar 13, 2015
*Chapter One - IV (continued)*

He stood up and returned to the busy street; the street appeared somewhat busier because labourers and professionals were beginning to return home from work. Even the market men and women were already locking up their shops and kiosks, except for the few traders whose goods were sold better only at nights. The little boy walked among the pedestrians; he didn't fit among these respectable and well-dressed people. Unlike Black, these people had their destinations; there were fathers, mothers, children and relatives waiting for them to come home. They had roofs over their heads and warm beds for them to rest the heads. They were nothing like this homeless boy walking among them; the boy who knew not what tomorrow would bring, the boy whose future seemed particularly bleak.

It was now totally dark, but Black didn't stop walking. He walked far, far away from the market square. He had initially thought about sleeping in one of these vacated shops but he couldn't find one not under lock and key, except for the few palm oil kiosks that had been so greased that anyone who lingered therein would be soaked with the oil. He needed a place where he would not have to add more dirt to the filthiness of self. The moon shone brightly in the sky and the stars were blinking like a man with seeds of pepper in his eyes. Cold, once again, was descending; Black began to feel chilly again. He wished he had taken his mother's blanket when he was being evicted from the house. Even though the roof of the house was always a sieve whenever the sky wept, and the walls were cracked with enough openings to accommodate a boxer's knuckle, the house still felt like home to Black. And the ejection from this house was the extremest depravity that could be subjected on his person; an act of wickedness only matched by the demise of his mother.

Then far ahead, Black caught the silhouette of something shaped like a bridge, but he was not entirely sure. It was too dark to be certain of what one saw from that distance until one was close enough to it. As Black walked faster towards what he thought he saw, he prayed it was really a bridge. He had never reached this part of the city in his entire life but he could recall that his father had once driven him and his mother on a bridge. He was still too young then, he could not even recall what had warranted the trip or where they were headed. But he could vividly remember seeing vagrants and beggars sleeping on the sidewalks of the bridge. Black was sure that many of these wretched people had chosen the sides of the express as their homes. Those times when the younger Peter was looking at those impoverished through the glass of his father's car, he never considered the thought that he would one day fall among the class of these poor, pitiful human beings, but here he was today.

He could now see it more clearly; it was truly a bridge. Black sighed inwardly, he was going to pass the night here. But unlike those vagrants he had beheld, he was not going to sleep on the bridge, he would spend the night under the bridge. He walked into the dark abyss of the bridge's underside. This place was less cold. The covering of the strong concrete that made up the bridge provided a considerable protection against the unfavourable weather of the night. It was now so late that everywhere was gradually getting deserted. Soon, the motorists drove their vehicles to their homes, the night hawkers closed for the day, the traders packed their goods and left for their houses; silence finally ruled in the city.

The bright moon above cast its light on the massive bridge, the bridge in turn cast its gloom on the ground beneath; the shadow it created was so enormous that Black wondered if King Kong stationed itself on the edge of the bridge, waiting to devour the homeless boy. Black found a comfortable part of the bridge and lay himself there. He was so tired from walking such a great distance that he slept off as soon as he closed his eyes. He was even oblivious of the swarm of mosquitoes that celebrated his arrival.

He had barely enjoyed a half-hour shut-eye when he woke up again. It wasn't the mosquito bites that woke him, it wasn't a sudden insomnia, and it definitely wasn't the cold. He was woken up by the repeated taps from another man's hand. Black's eyes had adjusted to the darkness of his environment, he woke up and saw three grown-ups staring at him. Two of the three men were muscular, and they were wearing T-shirts. Black noticed that the third man's dressing was somehow silly. The man was without any visible muscles and, in addition, as slim as any human could possibly be, yet, he was wearing a muscle shirt. Didn't you have to possess some muscles to wear a muscle shirt? As Black stared at these three grinning men before him, he knew that they didn't come bearing good tidings. If given a choice, he would rather be at the mercy of Chief Salami's thugs than at these devils smiling at him.

Black noticed that these men had something in common; they were all smoking something that didn't smell like cigarette.

"What is your name, boy?" The toughest-looking one among the thugs asked.

"My name is Black, sir."

The man looked puzzled at hearing the name. The other men were lighting another stick of whatever they were smoking.

"Black? As in colour Black?" The man asked again.

"Yes, sir."

"Is that your real name or nickname?"

"It's my surname, sir."

"Then what is your first name, young lad?" The man's voice was getting thicker. Black could sense the note of irritation in the man's voice.

"My first name is Peter, sir."

"Why didn't you tell me that before?"

"I'm sorry, sir."

"Were you trying to play smart with me?"

"No, sir."

"Were you trying to make me angry?"

"No, sir."

"But you've made me angry. I'm really angry now."

"But you're smiling, sir."

"Good observation. I smile when I'm angered. Do you know why I'm angry, Peter?"

"Because I didn't tell you my name, sir?"

The thug shook his head.

"No, it's not that. Well, not only that, actually."

"Why are you angry, sir?"

The man stared at the boy for a moment and said, "Boy, if you fall into a lion's pit, do you know what will happen to you?"

"The lion will eat me, sir."

"Do you know why the lion will eat you?"

"Because it's hungry?"

The man shook his head again, "No, not that."

"Because it's bloodthirsty?"

"No, not that either. The lion will eat you up because you have invaded its territory."

"But in the Bible, the lion didn't eat Daniel."

"Exactly! The lion didn't eat Daniel because his name was Daniel. They would have eaten him up and used his bones to pick their teeth if his name was Peter."

This analogy was too complex for the young boy to comprehend. Black looked at the other men, they were smoking copiously and staring hard at him. The eyes of the slim man scared him most. Those eyes were granite hard and totally emotionless; they were like the eyes of an angry corpse. Black was momentarily more afraid of the slim man than of his muscular compatriots.

The man speaking with Black continued, "Young boy, I have a very bad news for you."

"Bad news, sir?" He wondered what news could possibly be worse than all the misfortunes he had experienced in the last couple of months.

"The bad news is that you are in a lion's pit and we are the lions."

This statement befuddled Black; he was finding it hard to picture the three thugs going down on their fours and transforming into a pack of carnivores with manes.

"You have invaded our privacy." The dead eyes spoke.

Black looked at the three lions and asked, "Are you going to eat me?"

The third thug grimaced, "Aw! Of course not. That's disgusting. Do we look like cannibals to you?"

"I'm sorry for invading your territory, sirs. I'm going to leave now." Black wondered where he would go in this silent night if he vacated this place for the thugs. He wished he also had muscles, he would beat the three men to a pulp if he were powerful. He had seen a movie where a single cowboy beat up five other cowboys. Black wished he was a cowboy and had a horse of his own, and a whip.

He made to rise but was firmly held down by the first man. The man's hand was big and strong, it hurt Black's shoulder.

"Not that fast," The man said, "You have to atone for your sin." He turned to his friends and asked, "Guys, what punishment should we mete out to the sinner?"

The second thug stared at Black with those deathly eyes again and a wicked smile came to his lips. He removed the stick from between his teeth and said, "Let's stone him."


********************************************************


Larry Sun can ghostwrite for you (novels, short stories, biographies, autobiographies, etc) at an affordable price. Contact him via email (larrysundynasty@gmail.com) or through +2349061754872. God bless you.

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Re: Black Maria by LarrySun(m): 10:01am On Mar 13, 2015
hormoryhemii:
I heard a voice saying unfollow this thread, immediately I knew it was the devil speaking, I had no option than to resist him and he fled........


an emotional piece it is, especially where he had to place the leftover of the loaf of bread on her remains.

#bigboizdontcry##
Thanks a lot, sir. I wish Black could have your kind of signature. smiley
Re: Black Maria by LarrySun(m): 10:03am On Mar 13, 2015
kingphilip:
wow larrysun the great is back
welcome back boss u r truly the best

well this piece sure is gonna b great the previous updates speaks much volume
continue d great work boss
Wow! The king is here! You're welcome, your royal highness, sir. I've missed you. smiley
Re: Black Maria by LarrySun(m): 10:04am On Mar 13, 2015
zyzxx:
larrysun nearly made me cry

Dis wonderful

Welldone sir
Thank you, sir.

1 Like

Re: Black Maria by LarrySun(m): 10:06am On Mar 13, 2015
Nickymezor:
This piece is very touching cry...weldone Larry.
Thank you, ma'am.
Re: Black Maria by LarrySun(m): 10:07am On Mar 13, 2015
Evangelio:
I will not cry....................... I won't..................... I said i will not!............Oh man.....
LOL!!! cheesy Hilarious post!
Re: Black Maria by LarrySun(m): 10:08am On Mar 13, 2015
lenmafon:
a touching and emotional piece. thanks for the update. but u still have an unfulfilled promise o! oga Larrysun
The Collaboration, right?
Re: Black Maria by LarrySun(m): 10:09am On Mar 13, 2015
Divepen:
Hmmm...
Black nation
Divey!! It's been a while, bro!
Re: Black Maria by LarrySun(m): 10:10am On Mar 13, 2015
jasmine2013:
I love love love this story
Thank you, ma'am. smiley
Re: Black Maria by LarrySun(m): 10:16am On Mar 13, 2015
Nmeri17:
Larry your story is quite sorrow inducing. I don't mean this wrongly but it is mood dampening and nearly gory. I don't mean it in a bad way tho. nevertheless I shall not cease to follow so as to savour the victory lap Peter is bound to run in the end.

PS: you're a writer I hope to be like when I grow up cheesy
Thank you so much, sir. Lol! I wrote a short story, too. It's a screwball comedy. It's titled The Coffin of Errors. You may read it if you haven't.

God bless you, sir.
Re: Black Maria by LarrySun(m): 10:17am On Mar 13, 2015
stuff46:
present
Stuff! You're highly welcome, sir. smiley
Re: Black Maria by Nickymezor(f): 10:56am On Mar 13, 2015
LarrySun:
Thank you, ma'am.
Ur most welcome smiley
Re: Black Maria by jasmine2013(f): 1:33pm On Mar 13, 2015
LarrySun:
Thank you, ma'am. smiley

You're welcome sir
Re: Black Maria by Nmeri17: 1:33pm On Mar 13, 2015
LarrySun:
Thank you so much, sir. Lol! I wrote a short story, too. It's a screwball comedy. It's titled The Coffin of Errors. You may read it if you haven't.

God bless you, sir.
I've read it twice. I think it was your ist work I read. it had an effect on me that saw me quaking with laughter and sweating in both armpits tongue

Amen smiley
Re: Black Maria by kingphilip(m): 4:16pm On Mar 13, 2015
LarrySun:
Wow! The king is here! You're welcome, your royal highness, sir. I've missed you. smiley
missed u n ur stories more

I was overjoyed wen I saw you've started the long awaited black Maria

welcome once again the literature section was a shadow of itself wen ur stories wasn't here

carry go I will follow this to d end
Re: Black Maria by Marcela04: 7:37pm On Mar 14, 2015
D 1 nd only LARRYSUN, I trowey salut. well don nd am fully present.
Re: Black Maria by LogoDWhiz(m): 1:26am On Mar 16, 2015
Interesting.

Looking at how Peter Black will survive his travails!
Re: Black Maria by MightyFortress: 7:05pm On Mar 16, 2015
Nice story.
Re: Black Maria by LarrySun(m): 7:22pm On Mar 16, 2015
*Chapter One - IV (Continued)*

The other men cheered to this suggestion. The young boy sighed. He was tired; tired of life, tired of being afraid, tired of the sufferings, tired of everything. If these men were going to stone him to death, so be it. He had tried his best to stay alive but life didn't work well for him. He was not going to plead for his life; he was not going to embarass himself and beg these hooligans to spare his life when he knew that they would not; they were angry lions that had gone out of control because their 'territory' was invaded. He wished he had died under the blade of one of Chief Salami's thugs. He knew it was better, quicker and less-painful to die by the razor than by the numerous stones hurled at your vulnerable body. Well, let them do it and get it over with. They would be doing him a favour; he longed to see his Mami again.

But to Black's utter surprise, instead of stones, the thugs were bringing out new sticks of what they were smoking from a bag the second man slung over his shoulder. He was curious to know what they were smoking; he had never before seen or smelt those kinds of cigarettes. He asked:

"What are those?"

The slim one smiled at him and answered, "They are called Cannabis, my dear."

"Cannabis sativa," said the first thug.

"Indian hemps," declared the second.

"Ganja," uttered the slim thug.

"Cathedral," the first thug took it up again.

"Wand of Jah," Second.

"Dirty Rose," Slim.

It was as if the trio was having a battle of soubriquets. Black was confused; he didn't know what to believe, he was staring at the men as they continued giving strange names to the sticks.

His first thought, according to the slim man's statement, was that they were going to throw the stems at him. The slim man noticed the confusion written on his face and said, "You are going to smoke what we're smoking."

The man lit a stick and handed it to the boy. Black held it and looked at the men, confused.

"Smoke it," the men ordered in unison.

Black slowly brought the stick to his lips. He gingerly held it there with his teeth.

The men watched him and laughed at his inexperience. The boy was totally at sea about what to do next. He wondered how the men were able to blow smokes out of their mouths and nostrils like dragons.

"Suck on it," one of the men said.

"How?" Black asked between his teeth.

"Like you would suck on your mother's breasts." The slim one said and the other men laughed.

Black was offended and angry at the man's statement. He wished he was also older and more powerful. He would not stand anyone disrespecting his mother's memory. And to supplicate his lack of physical strength, he rewarded the slim man with a look filled with hatred.

"Suck on it," the first muscled man commanded again.

Black pulled a sharp drag on the cigarette. He immediately began to cough serially. He could not stop coughing for a long time. The men laughed at him the more; it was an uproarious mirth that resonated and abused the quietness of the night. Black desperately wished that someone would come around and rescue him from these evil men. His wish was not borne of fear but of exhaustion. He was getting tired of the act these men were subjecting him.

His coughs had barely subsided when the slim man asked him to suck again.

"You have to do it slower this time. Watch me."

The hooligan took a slow but long drag at the stick and blew the smoke in Black's face. The little boy coughed fitfully again and the men resumed their laughter.

"Smoke the damn cigarette!" The second thug suddenly growled at the boy.

Black sucked the weed and coughed again. The men hooted maniacally at him as he smoked, they were having a nice time. When he finished the first stick, the thugs handed him another. The little boy was made to smoke five stick until he refused to smoke anymore. They offered him a sixth stick but he refused to take it. He was getting dizzy already; his vision was getting blurry and his headache was returning.

"I can't take anymore," Black broke out, "I'm not feeling well."

"Smoke this last one," the first thug encouraged.

"No," replied the boy, "You said the same thing with the second one."

"I promise, this is the last one."

"It's making me feel sick. I can't take anymore." He had barely finished the sentence when the slim thug suddenly dealt him a vicious blow on the side of the face. The attack sent the boy reeling on the slab of concrete beside him. The slab gave him a sharp pain at the pelvic region. A little boy of his age could have screamed out in pain but Black did not even give a groan.

Painfully and slowly, he rose up again. The left side of his face was instantly grotesquely swollen.

"Take the damn cigarette!"

"No, I will not."

Another blow landed squarely on his right eye. That, too, was swollen shut. This time he fell down on the hard floor without the will to rise.

"Get up." The first thug ordered, but Black remained lying down there. He crouched himself painfully, almost into a ball. His eyes were shut, his side hurt him terribly and his head ached with a splitting threat.

"This little brat is trying to pull stubbornness on us." Observed the piqued second thug.

"We'll teach you to always obey orders." Said the slim thug.

"And accord respect to your elders." The first thug.

The three men, the three touts, began to administer beatings on the poor boy. They kicked him vigorously, one of them carried him high up and threw him hard on the floor. Blood spurted out of his nose and mouth. There was a deep gash on his forehead where he had it on the hard floor. He was beginning to lose consciousness. The men had ripped the shirt off his body, and his skin was grazed and bruised. He was racked with pains all over.

Then one of the men, the slim one, brought out a small knife and slashed Black's back.

The boy cried out!

The man advanced to stab him in the neck but was held back by the first thug.

"We don't need the mess. He'll soon be dead, anyway. We can't have a corpse in our territory." The man turned to Black and said, "Boy, stand up and run for your life before we change our minds."

Black attempted to stand but fell back, the sharp pain that came from his legs was unbearable. His legs were useless; something must have broken. Because he could not stand, let alone walk, he resorted to crawling. The men watched him grimly as he slowly circled about before them. At first, he hit the concrete because he could not see clearly. He was bloody and weak, but he managed to crawl his way out of the men's territory.

The moon shone on his naked body as he slowly crawled down the quiet road, the blood that gushed from his back forming a trail behind him. Even a snail would have taken offence at his slow pace, but each crawl sent a shiver of pains all over his body. There was a time he wanted to surrender to the darkness looming over his consciousness but the voice in his head urged him to heave one more crawl after another. One crawl at a time, slowly but surely, he had to move on. One, two, three, rest. One, two, three, rest. He was in the middle of a long but quiet street. It was dangerous to remain here; he had heard many stories about desperate ritualists that populated the city. They would find nothing wrong in beheading helpless young boys like him. He crawled forward, more determined than before. He decided that even if he was going to die, he wasn't going to lose any part of his body to any ritualist.

He heard the crickets chirping in the distant as he heaved painfully. He even thought he spotted a parliament of owls among the few trees in the street because he could see many pairs of shinning orbs in the branches.

For over an hour, Black crawled limb-by-limb away from his attackers. He remained immobile for a few minutes, exhausted and out of breath; the pain was killing him. When he thought he could not go on anymore, he spotted a church with a concrete cross proudly erected on its roof. With the last ounce of strength in him, he crawled towards the chapel.

He passed out when he reached the entrance.


********************************************************


Larry Sun can ghostwrite for you (novels, short stories, biographies, autobiographies, etc) at an affordable price. Contact him via email (larrysundynasty@gmail.com) or through +2349061754872. God bless you.

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Re: Black Maria by Nobody: 7:56pm On Mar 16, 2015
LarrySun:
Divey!! It's been a while, bro!
Yes sir...
Enjoying this story..From left, right, front and Back
Re: Black Maria by bigsholly(f): 8:11pm On Mar 16, 2015
Larrysun can you skip a little, this suffering is too much for a 10 years child biko. Can't witheld the tears any longer
Re: Black Maria by Randyblincks(m): 8:50pm On Mar 16, 2015
this is just the beginning...
PETER U MUST SUFFER!!!
Re: Black Maria by Nmeri17: 9:55pm On Mar 16, 2015
Randyblincks:
this is just the beginning...
PETER U MUST SUFFER!!!
Lucifer is that you undecided

6 Likes

Re: Black Maria by LogoDWhiz(m): 9:59pm On Mar 16, 2015
Hmm!

Horror and Pity

I feel pity and sad for poor black.

Looking forward for the climax of his sufferings.
Where everything will change to good.

1 Like

Re: Black Maria by betybuk(f): 10:06pm On Mar 16, 2015
Pls av mercy on the poor little boy ! I av almost cry my eyes out ......... Weldone OP !
Re: Black Maria by Nickymezor(f): 10:40pm On Mar 16, 2015
This update really made my eyes teary cry...Well done OP.
Re: Black Maria by skinnybleed(m): 9:15am On Mar 17, 2015
Bro u nailed this update, so so emotional, funny and realistic....nice one!
Re: Black Maria by plainmirror(m): 2:22pm On Mar 17, 2015
Holy mary!
I am stoic but this story is getting emotional.

#BraveBlack
Re: Black Maria by LarrySun(m): 3:46pm On Mar 17, 2015
Chapter One - V

Gently came the soft hand that tapped the poor boy; even the kindly tap sent him a mildly painful sensation on his bruised skin. He slowly opened his eye to behold a strange environment. He was in a neat room, and the first thing that caught his eyes was the poster on the wall; it was the picture of The Last Supper. There was Jesus Christ sitting between some men. From the picture, it was evident that the men were dinning, as the big table bore different dishes and goblets. The image on the wall momentarily caused a rumble in his stomach. He suddenly felt a pang of hunger. He looked round the neat room; the walls were painted blue and the ceiling white. A checkered carpet covered the floor and he discovered that he was lying on a large bed that would have comfortably slept four people; the covering of the bed was white, the blanket, too. Beside the bed was a small table bearing syringes and drugs.

He wanted to rise but he was too weak to lift himself. As he tried to fathom what had happened to him, an old man stepped into the room. The man was clad in a white cloak that draped from his neck right to his feet and the hair on his head was both greying and receding, at alarming rates. He was old enough to be the boy's grandfather; the grandfather he never knew. The man who fathered Peter's father had died long before Peter was born.

The old man smiled when Peter opened his eyes.

"You're finally awake!" The man beamed.

Black asked, "Where am I?"

"You have been unconscious for three days."

"Where am I?" The boy asked again.

"I found you three days ago at the entrance of the door, you were bloody and unconscious. What happened to you?"

Black looked at the man suspiciously; he had grown to become wary of strangers because they always seemed to reward him with nothing but pains. A part of him was expecting the strange man to unleash on him a vicious slap; he had reflexively steeled his body for the attack but the slap did not come. His eyes caught the poster again and he said aloud:

"I'm hungry."

"Yes, you should be. You have been on drips since the past three days." The man went out of the room and returned with plates of steaming pounded yam and stew. The boy sat up and ate the food voraciously; he ate like an animal, he could not recall having eaten the food in all his life. He was barely swallowing a morsel before sticking another into his mouth. As Black dined pitifully, the priest watched the boy's ravaged body. The child had grown very thin from starvation, his body was bruised and swollen; there was a long line of wound on his back. The injury could have come only from a very sharp weapon.

Seeing this boy, the priest recalled the holocaust of the Civil War he had experienced twelve years earlier. He recalled meeting one particular child during the time; the child, just about six years old, had been so thin with starvation that everybody wondered how he still remained alive and managed to trek to the refugee camp where cups of milk offered the malnutritioned infants. He recalled hearing the sordid story of that child. The boy, on hearing that food was being distributed in a neighbouring village many kilometres away, had left his own village and trekked naked through the forests and swamps for half a day. The child's will to live had moved everyone to tears as they listened to the little kid; his story had planted optimism in the minds of many of the war victims who had given up on life. While the child was walking through the forest, an unkindness of ravens, a murder of crows, an exhaltation of larks and a pack of vultures had accompanied him. After some times, the birds became bored with his journey and had flown to other parts to find more interesting activities, but the vultures remained stedfast; they were interested in picking out the thin filaments of flesh covering his bones. The little boy knew that he dared not rest or the vultures would immediately pounce on him; they could eat him up while he was still alive, so he had to continue remaining mobile and upright. As he trekked in the hot afternoon sun, some of the vultures had also chosen to follow him on foot; they were eagerly waiting for him to collapse so that they could have a new meal. But the boy didn't give them that pleasure; he trekked without respite to the food camp. The little boy was determined to live, against all odds.

The tortured body of Black pulled at the priest's heartstring as much as the Biafra boy's story has done twelve years earlier. He felt as if the situation was a replay of circumstances. The compassion he had had for that child of over a decade earlier was now being directed towards this current one. After listening to the Biafra boy's story, the priest didn't know what became of the child after praying for all the children. He didn't know if the boy still remained alive thereafter or he had finally surrendered his soul to a better one in the afterlife. The priest had made a grave mistake for leaving that boy there in the camp, for he later learnt that depraved soldiers had stormed the camp and massacred the innocent famished civilians. The priest, on hearing the news of the genocide from the little transistor radio he owned, had broken and wept like a child. He should have taken the boy with him when he was leaving. He should have borne the responsibilty of protecting the child. But he didn't. He had left instead; he had rejected the boy. This was 1980; if he had taken care of the boy, the child would be eighteen years now, for the boy was only six years old when he had walked nak*d and dirty into the food camp.


********************************************************


Larry Sun can ghostwrite for you (novels, short stories, biographies, autobiographies, etc) at an affordable price. Contact him via email (larrysundynasty@gmail.com) or through +2349061754872. God bless you.

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Re: Black Maria by LarrySun(m): 3:48pm On Mar 17, 2015
Now God had given him another chance; He had placed another child at his doorstep after twelve years. The priest knew without a doubt, without being told, that he had to protect this child. He would have to protect him from the harsh climate of this wicked world of diseases and starvation. God had given him another child.

The priest had no child of his own. He had never married; he had become a sworn celibate at eighteen years old when his father collapsed and died on another woman during lovemaking; the other woman was not his father's wife. The woman had pushed his father's corpse off herself and had made a hasty retreat with only her wrapper. Later rumours had had it that the woman's husband had spelled his wife reproductive organ. This meant that any man who engaged in adulterous act with her would pay with his life. The priest's father was one of the numerous adulterers who had slumped and died on the promiscuous woman. There, while watching the reneging old hag, the priest had sworn never to engage in any form of sexuality with any woman. And there was no day he regretted his vow, even with the denial of an offspring. But the Creator had been kind to him; He had given him a first child which he rejected, He had now given him another, the priest was not going to reject this one. He knew a third would never come forth if he lost this one, too.

As he watched poor Black, the tears that ran down the priest's cheeks were both of joy and sorrow. It was sad to see a boy of such minute senescence endure a suffering of such monumental proportion. The sight of the boy's wrecked body was too much on the ageing priest; his emotion got the best of him and he broke down right in front of Black. The priest knelt before him, threw his face on the floor, wailed audibly and prayed to the Almighty. Black, however, on the other hand, paused at the moment of putting a morsel into his mouth and watched the old man's strange actions. He was wondering what had gone wrong with the kind man. He watched the man's performances with admiration. As he watched, he felt a certain connexion with this strange man; there was a feeling of belonging here. He felt like he could trust this man, he could tell him anything. The man could solve his problems; if he couldn't solve them, he would share in them and make the problems bearable. Unlike the other people he had met, this old man was the first person to sympathise with him.

After his prayers, the priest stood up and gave Black a weak smile, the boy could not return the smile. The priest walked towards the boy and sat beside him on the bed.

"What is your name, young man?"

Amidst the feeling of comfort he just welcomed, Black instantly cast a wary look at his host for the question asked. That was the same question Chief Salami had asked him before ordering for his execution. A part of him believed that the priest could be a homicidal maniac.

The priest caught the fear in the boy's hesitation, he placed a reassuring hand on Black's bony shoulder and said, "You can talk to me. No one is going to hurt you again, I promise."

There was a look of genuine pity on the man's countenance and this made the boy relax. When he spoke, his voice sounded better because he had eaten good food and drunk pure water; the victuals were already giving him better strength. His lost flesh would be regained if he continued everyday with this kind of meal.

"My name is Peter Black."

"Where are your parents?"

"My parents are dead, sir."

The priest sighed at the reply; his intuition had told him that the boy was an orphan. It was only mostly orphans whose situations would be rendered so pitiful.

"What happened?" The priest asked.

Then the boy let it out; he told the old man everything that had happened to him after his father's imprisonment. He told the priest about all the circumstances that surrounded his parents' deaths. He spoke about Chief Salami and his own juvenile decision to avenge his parents' demise. Black narrated everything, he left out nothing. The priest listened to the boy with concentration; he did not attempt to interrupt Black with any question for fear of the boy clamming up and refusing to speak further. New rivulets of tears escaped the priest's eyes as he listened to the boy. When the boy finished narrating his experience, the priest was filled with so much empathy he was forced to hug the boy very tight as he wept and prayed.

"You are safe now. You are saved." He kept repeating.

After some few minutes, the priest left the boy to rest; they both needed a little respite.

Black slept again and dreamt about his mother. Mami was weeping.

*****************************


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