It was on a Friday morning. Baba was getting ready for a prayer meeting twenty miles from the village when Li rushed into his hut
'Baba,' she called.
'Yes, Li. What is it?' he asked
'Baba, do not go to prayer meeting today. Please do not go!' she pleaded. He stopped fastening his bag and turned towards her.
'What do you mean?' he asked, a little puzzled.
'Something bad is going to happen, really bad,' she said breathlessly.
'Child of the devil,' Baba thought. Then aloud with undisguised irritation, 'What is going to happen?'
'I don't know,' she wavered, embarrassed by his intent gaze, 'but I had a dream last night, a frightening dream,' she began. He burst out laughing. Li stopped short, cowed. 'Go on, prophetess. What doom did you see?' he said mockingly.
'I was in a strange compound,' she began again, but now unsure of herself, 'in a strange village. There were many people sitting in the dust with their backs to the wall. I walked towards them and peered into their faces, but could not recognise a single person. Their faces were long and sad, and nobody spoke to me. Nobody moved or smiled at me. I noticed some had dust in their hair and on their faces. It was strangely quiet - as if I was in the graveyard. I panicked and tried to run, but tripped over outstretched legs. I screamed and bolted away from the courtyard. Outside, in front of the compound, I had to stop because there was an obstacle in my way. I took a closer look and discovered fresh, brown mounds all over the place, ten, twenty, thirty. I screamed and woke up.' Li was trembling at the memory of her dream.
Baba was now quiet now and listening to her.
'Baba. I have a strange feeling something bad is going to happen. I had this feeling during the dream, and I still have it now.'
There were tears in her large round eyes.
Baba looked at her for a long time, wondering what kind of child she was. He didn't know how to tackle a child with such strong inclinations towards evil. 'I must discourage her,' he thought.
By now Li was thoroughly embarrassed under his silent gaze.
'Yes, what a strange dream for a child of your age,' he said finally. 'Look, Li, you are imagining things. This is the work of the devil.'
'Yes, Father,' the poor child replied foolishly.
'Stop thinking about bad things. Your dreams at night are simply what you think about during the day. There is nothing in this dream. Forget it, child.
He made to put his hand on Li's head, but she dodged. Wiping the tears that had started steaming down her face, she left her father's presence. Somehow, she felt cheapened in his eyes. Li had always hung on her father's words as the ultimate truth but, somehow, what he had said about dreams being a reflections of earlier thought did not sound right to her. She knew there wasn't a streak of evil in her and she never thought of bad things during the day. If her daydreams were anything to go by, she should be dreaming about paradise. One thing was clear to her. Something bad was going to happen, whether or not dreams were a figment of her imagination. She had had such dreams before and whenever they were accompanied by a certain weird sensation, something always happened. She kept quite for the rest of the day, unable to confide in anyone for fear of being ridiculed.
***
It was late afternoon, and the shadow had started to lengthen when a procession of three lorries arrived at the Memorial Hospital. Nobody seemed to have taken much notice of the vehicles, until a bell rang twelve times. It was the death signal of the missionaries. At almost the same time, a woman came running from from the direction of the hospital, wailing at the top of her voice. Panic broke loose in the village. People started running in all directions, but mostly towards the wailing woman.
Amidst the barking of the dogs, women in a state of confusion could be heard calling or cursing their children.
Everyone was asking everyone else what had happened. The woman was surrounded immediately by a group of people, but she was too shaken and breathless to speak coherently. She simply pointed in the direction of the hospital.
'Accident!' she gasped 'Terrible, ghastly accident from... a.. neighbouring village. Go and see for yourselves. God... what a sight!'
Extracted from The Stillborn by Zaynab Alkali.
'Baba,' she called.
'Yes, Li. What is it?' he asked
'Baba, do not go to prayer meeting today. Please do not go!' she pleaded. He stopped fastening his bag and turned towards her.
'What do you mean?' he asked, a little puzzled.
'Something bad is going to happen, really bad,' she said breathlessly.
'Child of the devil,' Baba thought. Then aloud with undisguised irritation, 'What is going to happen?'
'I don't know,' she wavered, embarrassed by his intent gaze, 'but I had a dream last night, a frightening dream,' she began. He burst out laughing. Li stopped short, cowed. 'Go on, prophetess. What doom did you see?' he said mockingly.
'I was in a strange compound,' she began again, but now unsure of herself, 'in a strange village. There were many people sitting in the dust with their backs to the wall. I walked towards them and peered into their faces, but could not recognise a single person. Their faces were long and sad, and nobody spoke to me. Nobody moved or smiled at me. I noticed some had dust in their hair and on their faces. It was strangely quiet - as if I was in the graveyard. I panicked and tried to run, but tripped over outstretched legs. I screamed and bolted away from the courtyard. Outside, in front of the compound, I had to stop because there was an obstacle in my way. I took a closer look and discovered fresh, brown mounds all over the place, ten, twenty, thirty. I screamed and woke up.' Li was trembling at the memory of her dream.
Baba was now quiet now and listening to her.
'Baba. I have a strange feeling something bad is going to happen. I had this feeling during the dream, and I still have it now.'
There were tears in her large round eyes.
Baba looked at her for a long time, wondering what kind of child she was. He didn't know how to tackle a child with such strong inclinations towards evil. 'I must discourage her,' he thought.
By now Li was thoroughly embarrassed under his silent gaze.
'Yes, what a strange dream for a child of your age,' he said finally. 'Look, Li, you are imagining things. This is the work of the devil.'
'Yes, Father,' the poor child replied foolishly.
'Stop thinking about bad things. Your dreams at night are simply what you think about during the day. There is nothing in this dream. Forget it, child.
He made to put his hand on Li's head, but she dodged. Wiping the tears that had started steaming down her face, she left her father's presence. Somehow, she felt cheapened in his eyes. Li had always hung on her father's words as the ultimate truth but, somehow, what he had said about dreams being a reflections of earlier thought did not sound right to her. She knew there wasn't a streak of evil in her and she never thought of bad things during the day. If her daydreams were anything to go by, she should be dreaming about paradise. One thing was clear to her. Something bad was going to happen, whether or not dreams were a figment of her imagination. She had had such dreams before and whenever they were accompanied by a certain weird sensation, something always happened. She kept quite for the rest of the day, unable to confide in anyone for fear of being ridiculed.
***
It was late afternoon, and the shadow had started to lengthen when a procession of three lorries arrived at the Memorial Hospital. Nobody seemed to have taken much notice of the vehicles, until a bell rang twelve times. It was the death signal of the missionaries. At almost the same time, a woman came running from from the direction of the hospital, wailing at the top of her voice. Panic broke loose in the village. People started running in all directions, but mostly towards the wailing woman.
Amidst the barking of the dogs, women in a state of confusion could be heard calling or cursing their children.
Everyone was asking everyone else what had happened. The woman was surrounded immediately by a group of people, but she was too shaken and breathless to speak coherently. She simply pointed in the direction of the hospital.
'Accident!' she gasped 'Terrible, ghastly accident from... a.. neighbouring village. Go and see for yourselves. God... what a sight!'
Extracted from The Stillborn by Zaynab Alkali.
No comments:
Post a Comment