Death can't die

It was one of those nights when the moon was dim

The clouds had began to speak from when the sun went to sleep, the breeze that evening was confused on which direction to go the night was calm and terrifying too

Papa had smelt the rottenness of the night So he brought out his old hunters gun along with his only surviving bullet

He stared at the sky like he was counting the stars, Looking as if he was watching a very interesting film

We know he saw nothing

Papa was blind, he had lost his eyes during the civil war

But Papa could see, he sees what an ordinary eye could not see

Strange old man,he never misses his step even in the dark, makes us wonder if he really is blind or even old

Papa was strong and brave too, every night before bed time

Papa would always tell us stories of how he fought in the Biafran war, how he was my age but a strong young soldier

Frightening stories about how bombs fell from the skies

How mothers would die with their babies mouth on their breasts, How men were eating men because there was no food left, how people who were hiding in dark caves where they were eaten by animals no one ever saw

I always enjoyed Papa's stories and always pray for the night to come so i would burn fire wood and we would sit outside and wait for him to tell us his stories while he eats, A dramatic narrators he was as his stories were filled suspense and energy

But that night was different, papa had ordered us to remain inside even if it was still early

Get into your huts, dont even come out to urinate he said

His voice has changed tonight, Nnank'e said in a lowered tune

Papa sat outside till mid night I had watched him from the hole in our wooden door

Soon the dogs had began to bark furiously, papa ran inside our hut and asked us to hide under our bamboo bed, He took his matchet with his left hand while holding the gun on his right,

Bare chested he stood just in front of our door, waiting for the horro of the night, the stranger of darkness

I heard it, I heard the numerous footsteps of death crawling rapidly into my ear drums, inflicting me with more fears, papa's last bullet was fired but no one screamed, his matchet had hit the stranger severally but the stranger had refused to fall

Then I Saw it, I saw papa's legs being lifted from the ground, he struggled like the hero he was, gasping for air, losing his last breath then droped to the ground, falling with his knees first before his head was chopped off from his neck, killed with his own matchet

Nananke's heart jumped out of her body, she wanted to Scream but I held her mouth

Then we saw it, we saw his legs walking towards the direction of our bed, his booths stained with papa's blood,

He capasided our bed and I saw his face, i saw death's ugly face, he had tribal marks, too many to count.

He looked like a man of war, someone who had lived for millions of years, his eyes were red, his muscles were strong and firm, he looked indistructable with no emotions on his face

He grabbed me and flung me on the wall close to the door, I fell asleep, I slept for a long time and when I woke up, he was gone, he was done

My eyes were still blurry, I couldn't see clearly, I felt too dizzy to even concentrate, my mind was trying to memorize what had really happened

And then I saw her, Nnank'e was lying on the floor

Broken, torn, looking drained, her dress was covered in blood, he had killed my sister, forced himself on her until she died

Raped the living life out of her and when he was done, ripped off her heart, her bulgy beautiful eyes and her melodic air piercing voice

She laid there helpless, lifeless and terribly cold, I carried her in my arms and cried till I lost my voice