The shout from the neighbourhood came through the cracks in our wall, it reaches my heart before my ear, my eyelid pulled up disrespecting the normality of gradual opening. I whirled my way off the bed, my swift move made the iron made bed sound in annoyance.
The shout came again with other echoing wailing, I stumbled out also noticing my parents are not in the house, this made my fear grow then I run out of our main entrance. The little crowd that gathered makes it impossible to believe the time is just awhile pass the second cockcrow. I run my eyes round the gathering, I saw mama holding onto my cousin, what I saw was her slippers, her constant wearing it made it a symbol of recognition, I walked nearer to behold a beheaded figure. Travelling cold seized my vein giving me goosebumps and sending me to my knees. I knelt there trying hard to cry but there seems to be a rock in my throat, holding my words and brewing my gathered scream down to my abdomen, I tried standing up then staggered to Ozohu side, I finally let it out, the much gathered scream. I see Ozohu lifeless body stick to my mother's blood socked wrapper.
"How did it happened?" a man from the crowd asked my uncle, it is the vigilante of the community. "She went out to ease herself around past midnight, her mother discovered she isn't back to bed so we went out to look for her, after minutes of disappointment I decided to inform my brother and his wife then together we went to search and this was what we found..." he said pointing at the dead body as his quivering voice gradually goes to an end.
Some men from the crowd took Ozohu's dead body away. Screams and wailing followed, I cried as I gradually reached out to mama's arm. "Adano, adano, adano..." she called my name as she drew me closer and cried more. "When will this end." a woman said between tears. "Yes when will it end" I muttered. This is not the first time this is happening. Election is a month ahead and this is our share of this season's calamity. Ozohu is gone but who is next?
©Yusuf Muyibat Avosuahi
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