AMARA [An African Mini story]

4. The sun deity

Anyanwu stood in front of them. "As I said earlier, Anwu, the sun deity will decide her fate, not you. Be quiet, all of you!" As soon as she spoke, they all went silent. She looked up at the blazing sun and began saying incoherent words... this went on for half an hour. She then faced them again. "Anwu says that the only way to save your people from the misfortune of her birth is by offering her as a sacrifice to the demon. She will be taken to the boundary between our village and the dark forest and tied to the tree of death. So that the demon will have a taste of her flesh and be satisfied. That is the only way to rid this land of the bad luck she has brought upon it".

When Anyanwu said those words, the look of relief that appeared on the villagers' faces made it evident that I never meant anything to them.

Before the words left her mouth, the youths brought a rope and tied my hands backward, then they dragged me along the path leading to the boundary between the village and the dark forest, with the priestess and my Father following silently.
When we reached the boundary, the priestess ordered them to stop. Then, she began to speak;
"Young girl, we are at the border of the village, this is the last chance you will ever get to bid farewell to all you hold dear. Because once you are tied to the tree of death, you are not to speak a single word!".

I could not stop myself from crying, my heart was too heavy for me to endure. It felt like a bad dream.
Everything I wanted in life was being snatched away before I could have them. And no one shed a tear for me, not a single soul. They all glared at me, throwing harsh words my way.

"Papa, Papa, please help me I beg you. Please father, if I have ever wronged you, forgive me but don't let them send me in there pleeeassse..."

He looked at me with tears in his eyes.  "You will have to do this, my child, it is for the sake of our people. Think about all those who have died and make this sacrifice for the living. I cannot be unfair to our people, for them, I would give up anything. You will meet your mother soon, I wish you a safe passing, my dear". Just like that, he turned his back.

Stubborn tears flowed down my cheeks. I turned to the other members of my family. My stepmothers and sisters all had smiles on their faces, and Chimma looked more than satisfied with my situation.

That was when I realized that this was the best thing that could happen. They would never let me live in peace anyway. So maybe death was the only remedy to my loneliness.