I regret ever being in this family.
“You're right." Mommy cuts in. "You should also regret ever being alive, because each time I'm called your ‘mother’ I gnash my teeth in pain.
Tufiakwa!,” She spat,
I can never give birth to a thing like you, God forbid it, and, Oh! Thank heavens that I didn't, I would've thrown you into that haunted hut in the village square, I swear.”
"Mommy, why do you all hate me so much?” I knew I'd just signed my death warrant, “I've tried to be your child, but you keep pushing me away and…”
A slap sent me reeling on the floor.
Like a hungry lion, my mother jumped on me, devouring me with every part of her body. Then she picked a stick and struck it on my back, that was all I could remember.
Some indistinct whispering brought me back to the moment. I tried to stand up, the pains in my back dragged me back.
Slowly, I turned in pain, trying to save my sight from direct contact with the hot smiles of the sun.
“No way!" I managed to say. "What am I doing here? Who brought me to this place?” I asked no one in particular.
I turned and saw faces around wondering what brought me to Papa Ejala's hut, widely known as the haunted hut in the entire village.
It was a little and worn mud building, with a thatched roof that seemed to sag under the weight of years.
The sight of it seemed like no one had stepped in there for ages, but Papa Ejala would always find comfort under that hut.
The villagers avoided him like a plague, and whispered warnings to their children.
I placed my hand on the door gently, it moved and was wide open. I entered and was bewildered to behold the heavenliness inside this detached hut.
“Welcome. I've been waiting for you." A man who sat on the table reading, said smiling at me.
“Papa Ejala?" I uttered.
“Yes my dear. Things are not always what they seem, only when you go closer and inquire of it, you'll understand what lies beneath the dirt and dust." He finished and served me tea.
We dined and discussed more. I found the peace and happiness I've never found before in this haunted hut.
I was amazed. The villagers had told me he was a wizard, that his hut was a den of darkness. But here, surrounded by beauty and wonder, I realized the truth.
As I left the hut, the old man handed me a small pouch. "A gift," he said. "For your eyes, to see beyond the surface and understand the mysteries that follow its trails.”