8 In the Evil Forest

Ego took the leaf-carpeted path into the thick forest; the grasses were wet under her feet. The undammed trees were skyscraper tall making them the towers of the forest. The forest smelled strongly of rotten animals and wet woods. She could feel the warm morning sun peeping through the leaves to rest on her face and skin. She stood still, raised her face up with her eyes closed, she breathed in the exhilarating power of freedom, saying within her that today will be a good day.

The orchestral sound of the birds warmed her as she walked through the nut-brown cold forest. As she went further into the forest, she navigated between the huge spread-eagled roots of the big trees, twisting like the great backs of sea dinosaurs. Mushrooms grew under the shady roof of the forest. She could feel the wet cold leaves kissing her hands and feet as she walked by.

The sight of squirrels playing and jumping from one tree to another was common; no wonder nuts were scattered on the floor of the forest. Pair of black eagles was screeching high up above the canopy of trees. Their cruel sharp eyes were always on the lookout for the next animal that will be devoured. During the time of extreme hunger and starvation, they even attack humans. While on the other hand; vultures the scavengers of the bird world, with their un-feathered necks are always on the lookout for the remains of dead human and animal.

From time to time she had to stop and remove the wet thick cobwebs from her face with her hands, so she could see clearly what she is searching for. With her short rusty cutlass, she cut through the bushes, making paths where there were none.

The orchestra of birdsong was later joined by the laughter of hyenas; she sighted them from a distance not far from where she was. She quickly hid behind a big brown Iroko tree; resting her back against the rough tree bark. This aged Iroko was an epitome of old age; it was clearly over five hundred years of age and has creaking branches. She remained there, hiding for them to pass; so she can continue her search.

Ego has been searching for this herb with her eagle eyes for about forty minutes now but has not been lucky; she had to venture deeper into the evil forest still full of hope and patience, telling herself that she is not coming out of the forest without those leaves.

It has been over two hours now, Ego still hasn't seen the leaves; so she kept going deeper into the forest until she suddenly saw a medium-sized plant the height of her waist-line that looks like Ngbada; the plant she has been searching for these past five hours. When she went forward to take a closer look at the plant and her joy knew no bounds when she discovered that truly it was it. But her joy was cut short when she discovered it was just the one, which will not fetch her enough money. But without any other option, she quickly began plucking the leaves off the plant and added them to the other leaves she has been gathering in her long search in the evil forest.

Ego was still ripping the leaves off its stem and placing them into the raffia basket she came with when she heard rustlings of the leaves behind her. She had heard this sound before but hadn't paid close attention. She heard footsteps of someone or something behind her and it seemed this thing was coming for her. Ego felt a rush of fear wash over her, she could hear her heart racing faster, a lump formed in her throat making it impossible for her to swallow or breathe properly. Sudden cold gripped her making her unable to move any part of her body, especially her legs. She could hear the sound of twigs breaking; she could also hear the leaves slapping against its body.

Ego just stood there shivering feverishly like a dry leaf during harmattan wondering what could be coming behind her at this time of the day. Could it be robbers, slave traders – it is a known fact that slave traders tour this forest looking for victims, or maybe it is a hungry wild animal like a lion or leopard. She was still trying to picture what could possibly be coming behind her when the steps stopped. It was now like the thing was just a few centimetres away from her and was now reaching for her shoulders or wrapper. In the spur of the moment, her impulses made her take a quick twist to look at who was about to attack her from behind, but to her greatest surprise, it was just a cute harmless dog.

The dog was coated with a mixture of white and brown shiny soft hairs. Its eyes were warm brown, glittering eyes like diamonds. It was lolling its tongue and wagging its tail excitedly. It was a large dog with a small snub nose and floppy ears.

Ego couldn't help but laugh at herself; it was so rib-tickling. "So you are the one that wants to scare the broad daylight out of me?" She asked the cute thing reaching out to touch it; that was when she noticed the cut on the left hind leg of the dog and her new friend has left a trail of blood behind it. She immediately had compassion for the poor thing; it looks so innocent and well fed.

Oh! What happened to you? You must have stepped into a trap that was not meant for you. Where is your owner? What are you doing out here deep in the forest alone? Where did you come from? All these and more were the questions Ego asked it but of course, it didn't answer, except to purr and rub its body on her leg. It was in pain and if not treated, could die of excess bleeding.

Ego was now in dilemma of whether she should use the herb that has taken her about eight hours to find in saving the life of a dog she just met or just turn the other way and walk away. The latter seems to be the right choice, which is what any other person would do as the sale of the leaves is her only source of livelihood, but she couldn't abandon the poor dog. She decided to treat the dog for she can still look for more leaves another day, moreover, she had gathered other herbs and wild fruits that could still fetch her a reasonable sum.

From her basket, she pulled out different medicinal herbs and squeezed them. She spat on it to bring out more liquid and increased friction until she was left with a greenish substance and gently applied it to the wound. The dog whimpered in pain but Ego held fast till the bleeding stopped. Luckily, the dog didn't bite her; it seemed to understand that she was trying to help. After a while, the dog limped away without a backward glance.