It rained cat and dogs from the noon time towards the evening, heap upon heaps of dirt lay along the road, from wherever the flood swept it, the ground was wet and muddy. Goosebumps rested on my skin, It was a cold night, I had just finished talking to my family about the need to persevere in tough times and was heading back to the room.
My mind took a walk down the memory lane as I lay on my bed to sleep, through the period of war when I was a child..
On one of such days in the midst of bubbling activities, an insane rumor had spread like wild fire in the community of Abor; the rumor made some people laugh, some others shivered in fright and left majority wonder in amazement because it was ridiculous to think that there was a flu that made brothers behave like strangers.
The industry of Abor soon returned as it occupants were courageous and hardworking admist them were farmers, hunters e.t.c the preposterous rumor wouldn't stop them.
"Let every man that hath ear, let him hear" I could hear the town crier's voice from a distance without making sense of what he said. The sun beat us down while we removed patch of Earth from the Yams we rooted that day. "Let every man that hath ear hear" the voice of the towncrier was becoming audible and he passed his message. Silence filled the air, the weight of the news was too heavy a burden to bear tears filled my Papa's eyes, he was close friends with the chief. Chief Nzor kicked the bucket before the first cock crow; he died of the flu.
For the first time, Abor began to acknowledge the existence of a flu that seemed like a joke; the village became cold, fast becoming a shadow of itself. Every Man with his household prayed to his chi and offered sacrifices to the high God pleading with him to keep the ailment from him and his household. They tried to appease the high God because many thought "it was the end of the world". No bubbling activities with your neighbor, or handshake with your brother, fear and terror rose upon the land.. Our crops suffer the heat of the sun, rotting underneath the Earth. All who defied the rules died after a period, more people died of hunger than the plaque. It was war, only it was without spear and guns, it was invincible.
But in the midst of all this was a lifting in our hearts, one that looked death in the eye and uttered "where is the sting?" We recognized the terror of fear and confronted it with the courage that filled our heart, but most importantly we learnt to share ourselves with other's when we could because it was the best to offer.
How exhilarating it was that in the midst of a plaque, Man could survive, thrive anywhere around any circumstance. I know this because my father learnt how to build objects with the dust of the earth and other families in the community did more amazing crafts
This is why I said to my Family that cold night "we may have be on lockdown but we can't be locked down" because in the midst of all the hopelessnes, there is a tunnel leading us to light.
Please like, comment, I'd like to hear your thoughts..😊
This is well written. You have good ability to express yourself in writing. I am looking forward to see more of what you can achieve.