The Nightmare

A story about a dream I had when I was young.

I had gone to the forest to fetch firewood with my friends. We were busy story telling as somehow lost track of time. When we realised it was getting late, we hastly started collecting firewood.

My friends had collected enough firewood and were ready to leave. Since I was halfway through, I tried to beg them to wait for me but all my pleases fell on deaf ears. I watched my friends balance heavy firewood on their heads heading home. 

I was now alone. The forest suddenly went silent. Few moments later, I started hearing some soft and distant rustling. At first I thought it was the Aura making that noise. They are known to make some weird noise sometimes. But then, as I sat there thinking about it, I realised that what I actually heard was a man like creature coming from a distance since I could hear his footsteps. 

The temperature was well below zero. I hid behind a small bush shaking and sweating profusely.  I could still hear the footsteps of the person approaching very closely. I started praying to God to protect me from the man who could possibly kill, rape or punish me. Maybe he was the owner of the forest and did not want anyone to collect firewood there. 

Before long. The man reached where I was hiding. The man was so gigantic. He appeared to be a fierce human being. Very strict and scary he was. 

"Child, come out", he roared. Upon coming out from my hiding point, he held me by the neck, put me on his back and we started the journey to whenever he was taking me. 

After like one hour, we finally reached his place. He opened the door, entered and put me down on the floor. I let out a shrill cry that could awaken the dead. He slapped me hard on the face and told me to keep quiet lest he break me into pieces. 

I tried to struggle for my freedom in vain. I finally gave up. I laid there on the floor waiting for the worst that was obviously about to happen. Since I was born, I had never been in such a terrible situation. 

Few moments later, there was a knock at the door. Upon opening, two strangers entered the house and without greeting me, they went straight and sat on the chair and started chatting. "So this is our next meal?" One of them asked. "Yeah, you know I normally choose the best meal guys, Hehe." The man that took me to the house replied. With the help of the two guys, they tied me to a pole in a corner next to the door and they went to  a room. 

A bad odour was coming from another room that was next to me. I could not sustain the smell anymore and decided that I wanted to find my way out. I didn't know that I was jumping from a frying pan to a blazing fire. 

I decided to cut the rope using my teeth since I knew where they hid the keys and could easily find my way out. In the process of struggling, one of them heard me and I heard him say to the others, "I can hear the food trying to escape. He must be an idiot to think that he can leave this place and go home alone." 

They came rushing to where I was and found me struggling with the rope. They held me one by the neck, the other by the stomach and the other by the legs. They took me to a room that seemed to be their kitchen. There was a pot boiling something. I could feel the hotness of the pot several distance away. My heart pulpitated as I waited for my death.

One of the men opened the pot as the others struggled to remove my clothes. I let out a shrill cry that could awaken the dead. As they took me towards the boiling pot, I continued screaming. My last scream was so loud that it woke me up. My father was struggling to open the door to my room. My cry woke everyone in the house including the siblings. Even the rats and the lizards were running everywhere on the corners of the roof wondering what was wrong. 

Our siblings laughed at me so much. What an embarrassment, but thanks God it was a dream. 

END