26 The Journey

Like the ancient Greeks, who once they arrive an enemy shore, burn down their ships themselves; there is no going back, no giving up and no last-minute second-guessing, it is a kill or get killed situation. The only man you should trust and spare is the one standing next to you. Ego burnt her own ship when she stepped out of her hut and shut the door behind; looking brave like a Greek warrior, except she trusts only herself. She was prepared physically, mentally and spiritually, with the mortar on her head and torch on her right hand; she took her first step into the blackness of uncertainty whispering in her heart "Hell will always come before you grow..."

The earth was dead. There was total silence everywhere with no movement of any kind. Total darkness was over the face of the earth. With her torch, Ego started her sojourn, walking slowly as she was unsure of what lies ahead.

She had hardly taken ten steps when she began hearing footsteps approaching from behind. It sounded like that of a multitude, like the whole village was behind her. The closer these strangers got, the brighter her surroundings. "The light must be coming from their torches", she reasoned.

She stopped, stepped away from the path, waiting for them to pass so she could continue. They came close to her and stopped as well. From the reflection of their torches, she saw their shadows. They were a family of four - two children of the same height as their mother and father. At first, she thought it was just an ordinary family returning home. But it got creepier when they stopped as well. It was like they were after her like they wanted her to look behind like they were tempting her to say something to them. Ego wanted nothing more than to turn back and shout at them, to ask them what they wanted from her and why were they following her? They should either pass or return to where they are coming from; unfortunately, she couldn't do that because it was against the rules.

All of a sudden, one of them zoomed past her with the speed of light, almost knocking her off balance and the mortar almost fell, but she held on firmly to it and once she regained her balance another zoomed past her. She took a quick look and was horrified to see that it was a touch hanging in the air with no one holding it. It was floating in the air and moving with speed. She was yet to recover from that when the rest of the strange family followed suit; leaving her covered in goosebumps and shivering in the cold air. It took about two minutes for her to recover from the horrifying experience. She had expected things like this, she was thankful she still had her life, so the best thing was to continue the journey.

Increasing her pace, she walked already covering a few distances when she began faintly hearing the voice of a man calling her name. She turned to the direction to see a naked child covered in beautiful patterns made with white paints. He was naked because it was considered a luxury for babies and young adults to wear clothes. They are left to wander around naked or sparsely covered in loincloths.

"So you can see me! You can hear me! Thanks to the gods! I have patiently waited for this day to come" The young boy said rejoicing and excited.

Ego wondered what such a young boy was doing out in the open by this strange time? She went closer to have a better look at him and discovered his eyes brimming with unshed tears that shone brightly, reflecting the colour of her torch. He was around nine years of age; lack of eyelids gave his eyeballs a popping look as they swivelled in their sockets. He gave Ego a welcoming smile, exposing his blood-stained teeth. She swiftly pulled away from him terrified by the sight of blood.

"Don't be scared. I know I look awful, but I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to go back home to my mother" he said as tears streamed down his cheeks, and him expecting her to say something. Ego didn't respond, she couldn't for the sake of her mission. She just gazed at him with no sentiment.

"I have been stuck in-between worlds for over twenty years now. I was murdered by my stepmother on this very spot for being the first child of my father. She wants her own son to inherit our father wealth" he said as more blood dripped down from his mouth with pain in his eyes and voice.

Ego now had compassion for him but was still sceptical as ghosts are known to be deceitful and fallacious.

He continued in a soft tone filled with anguish and remorse "She brought me here under the pretence that I was going to help her with a bunch of firewood she had gathered. I bent down to pick up the bunch when she struck me from behind with a heavy log of wood. I fell down only to wake up moments after to find me standing over myself. I called out to my lifeless body that was still lying in a pool of blood. She broke open the left part of my skull; she must have kept on striking me after the first blow that knocked me out. I screamed at her, calling her names, threatening to report her to my father and the Igwe.

She didn't respond to any of my abuses and wailings. I tried grabbing any part of her but couldn't as my fingers kept passing through her as I became like the wind. That was when it became clear to me that I was now invisible to her and that I was now a ghost". He paused, shaking his head as if in pain. After a few seconds, he continued

"I watched her quickly dig up a shallow grave, throw me into it and covered it. I was there watching and couldn't do anything to stop her"