***********#TEARS_Ap@rt***********
#EPISODE_09
“Oh my God! What’s happening here! quic-k, Ikenna,get the fire extinguisher!” Ikenna’s mom shouted as she saw the burning curtain.
Ikenna ran towards the kitchen while Joanna curled up in a corner, scared of what she had done.
How come she couldn’t control her powers?
Ikenna arrived with the extinguisher almost immediately.
They re-moved the safety pin and pressed the handle against the fire.
It quenched off Immediately and they breathed in relieve.
“What happened! There was no fire here.” Ikenna’s mom said, amazed.
Ikenna turned to look at Joanna, knowing fully well that she did it.
“Joanna,are you okay?” He asked softly and just then Ikenna’s mom turned to look at her.
Joanna kept quiet. She could not even greet the woman.
“You were the one in here….what happened?
How did my curtain catch fire when there is no fire around?” Ikenna’s mom asked.
Her voice was not gentle at all. Joanna bec@m£ more scared.
She looked at the woman again…and frowned, confused..her face looked seriously familiar.
Joanna stared at the woman, straight in the eyes,trying desperately to remember where she had seen her.
Yes! Joanna g@sped…in her blur vision. This same woman was the same person carrying the baby before it was collected from her..then she lost consciousness.
And the baby was her! How could this be possible?
What the hell was happening here?
She really wanted to storm out of the house and never come back but yet…she stood, looking at the woman.
“Mom, plea-se…be calm. It might not be her fault.” Ikenna tried to defend.
“Then whose fault is it? Whose fault…I’m asking you.
She must have been the one that set the curtain ablaze.
Yes, because there was no fire around! I’ve warned you to st©p bringing any one in here, especially girls….not anyone..not even your friends.”
Ikenna’s mom said angrily and went back upstairs.
Joanna stared after her as she went….her spirit desperately calling out to the woman.
“Make sure you pu-ll off the curtain for replacement before I come back in there.” Ikenna’s mom called behind her as she disappeared into one of the rooms upstairs.
Ikenna breathed in and looked at Joanna.”Don’t mind all those things my mum said. She was only annoyed.”
Joanna smiled.” It’s okay. I un-derstand her but I have to get going now.”
“Get going? To where? Don’t tell me you are going back to madam Kofta.” Ikenna questioned.
“Where else am I supposed to go to? Of course I’m going back there and this time around…I’m going to face reality at this point..
I found out I have no choice.” Joanna said, lifting her bag up from the couch.
She stared into space.
” And this time…I have no other choice but to use my powers for destruction.” Joanna added, going towards the door. Ikenna held her hand, pu-lling her back.
“No! Tell me you aren’t going to do that!” He said earnestly to her.
Joanna refused to meet his trusting gaze.
“I’m sorry Ikenna but I have to go now.”
“plea-se,just wait for some time. My dad’s going to come back soon.
He’s going to help you.” Ikenna pleaded.
Joanna lifted his hand off hers. “Thanks for everything, Ikenna.
” Without another word,she left the house.
Ikenna was heartbroken as he say heavily on the sofa, burying his head in his palms.
As soon as she was outside,in the street,she was in tears and rain began falling.
She had kept herself un-der control from bur-sting into tears in Ikenna’s house so the rain wouldn’t fall in there too.
Ikenna looked out into the sky as the rain fell, feeling sad.” Joanna is crying.” He mumbled.
Joanna sat beside a transformer after walking far enough from Ikenna’s house and thought about the woman, Ikenna’s mom. Why did she appear in her vision?
Joanna was confused. She was sitting there when suddenly she was over taken by sleep.
When she woke up,it was almost dark.
“Oh my God.” Joanna said rushing up on her feet as she carried her bag. She tried to walk but found out she could really not.
She was tired… hungry and weak. She dre-aded going back to madam Kofta’s house.
She was never going to go back…never! It was better dying here on the street than going back to that house.
Justina would be so angry now and Joanna knew they were searching everywhere right now for her and she really nee-ded to escape before they find out her whereabout.
Joanna walked slowly and slowly throu-gh a narrow area and rested her back on the wall.
Her school uniform was alre-ady dirty and by now…. darkness had circulated the whole earth.
Joanna sat down on the ba-re ground, telling herself she would not cry.
She heard footsteps coming her way and closed her eyes, retracing her step to the direction with her power.
Three men were coming her way and they weren’t looking so nice at all.
Infact,they had cigarettes in their mouth.
quic-kly, Joanna stood up with her bag and fled the area, cornering to the other p@rt of the road which was a desserted area.
When she turned to breath in a sigh of relieve,she immediately knew she had done a very big mistake.
Two men sitting on a wood stared back at her, cigarettes in their mouth too. A hvge sum of money was on the floor in front of them.
Thieves!!
Joanna froze as they looked at her, perplexed and furious.
“Who be this one? How you take enter here?” One of them said, getting up and looking behind Joanna.
“I’m…so sorry..I never knew someone was here…it was a mistake.” Joanna said, quietly moving backwards.
“Abi were’n she eleyi nii?we-ttin you dey talk? Na only mistake I gr-ab for this your wra-pping now!
You say na mistake carry you come here? we-ttin you still dey do here na?” The other one asked.
Joanna turned around abruptly and fled. She could have used her powers to do something but Joana was still scared about her powers.
She was yet to know what her powers were capable of doing.
“Guy we-ttin dey do you na? We for don chop that girl na! You no see as she fresh?” The first guy said as they watched Joanna disappear into the darkness.
“Man see eh,no be every time you go dey enjoy.
We get better business to do than to dey totori one small girl wey no even get better packing. Mtcheeeeww.” The second man said, going back to sit down.
She stood p@n-ting when she was sure she was a good distance away from the thieves.
She was about turning to go when she noticed a plate in front of the little bush beside her.
Joanna looked again, going closer and her stomach gave a loud growl at what she saw inside the plate.
Spiced concoction garnished with fresh tomatoes and garden egg. With a large fish on t©p.
“God…who could have kept such a delicious looking food here? ” Joanna asked herself not knowing it was a sacrifice layed for a god in a village.
She c@m£ closer to the food and bent.
She sat on the floor, dropping her bag as she carried the plate.
She looked around the dark area and when she was sure no one was coming,she di-pped her hand into the good and brou-ght out a handful of the rice.
Immediately she put it inside her mouth, Joanna st©pped breathing,her eyes growing wi-de.
Everywhere bec@m£ darker..more darker and darker till it seems she had become blind….
The plate of food dropped from her hand as she tried to stand up.
Immediately she stood up….she disappeared…
#EPISODE_10
Joanna could feel herself running throu-gh a dark and endless tunnel.
A bottomless pit.
Then she felt herself being lifted up and thrown on the ground,with a gentle thud.
She opened her eyes and g@sped.
Even in the darkness,she knew where she was.
Inside a shrine.
Joanna tried to stand up but her legs were in pains and she couldn’t do so.
She looked around and saw the alter with different idols.
A basin of blood layed beside the altar.
Joanna searched frantically about for a way out but found none.
If there was a way out of the shrine, Joanna was yet to see it.
Forcing herself to her feet,she looked about yet again.
She would never give up. She had always been courageous.
“No. I have to do something.” Joanna said and closed her eyes, gathering her powers.
Immediately,the shrine started to shake but Joanna didn’t bulge.
She closed her eyes ti-ghtly, gathering her powers then suddenly…a voice.
“Help…help me!!” The voice cried and Joanna f0rç£d her eyes open, burning fiercely with blue light.
Joanna was trying ha-rd , trying so ha-rd to control the blue fire.
She was losing it…she was losing the battle. Then she glanced at the altar and…
Boom! The shrine caught fire,over taking the voice calling out to her for help.
*********
Uganda!! What’s happening! It seems the shrine is in trouble!!” A gruffed voice said,grom the middle of people wearing white and red. Men and women.
Uganda the chief priest ran around the people, chanting his incantations.
He struck his stick full of cowries in the bushy ground and looked angrily at the dark sky.
‘That man!! That man in the hole who has come to preach false God to our people is up to something!
We must go back to the palace before this sacrifice. Now!!” Uganda said as they all lined up marching away, straight to the shrine.
The fire was coming closer and closer as Joanna stared in horror.
No! She would not stand and watch this fire roast and kill her here!
Wait….her tears….only if she could cry…her tears would s£nd down rain and quench the fire.
Closing her eyes, Joanna allowed emotions take over her b©dy.
Her eyes filled with tears, heavy tears as she blinked.
Uncontrollable tears ran down her cheeks and a heavy rain poured down right inside the shrine.
Immediately,the fire began quenching off.
Even though she was in tears, Joanna was smiling… smiling happily as the fire died down.
“Help me…help me!!” Joanna could hear the voice again and she ran around, trying to locate the direction of the voice but no!
It seemed to be coming from every direction.
Joanna stood at a soot, afraid to use her powers. Would she be able to control it this time?
Breathing in,she closed her eyes gathering her powers again.
She traced her step to the direction of the voice and opened her eyes.
She found it.
She f0rç£d her eyes open and fought greatly against the blue light and this time,she won.
quic-kly,she ran throu-gh a dark corner and lifted up a plank then looked in.
She g@sped.
Even though it was dark,she could see the owner of the voice was a man.
His hands and legs were tied.
“I’m sure you were the one God told me is coming to save me! Hurry up and do something! They are coming!”
The man said from the hole and quic-kly, Joanna gr@bb£d the ladder beside the hole and put it inside.
There was no time to get confused of asking questions.
She entered into the hole and yank off the rope from the man’s hand and feet and they both c@m£ out together.
“I know the way out! Follow me!” The man shouted.
“Hurry up!” Joanna said and they raced out of the dark corner.
They froze as they c@m£ out, standing face to face with Uganga and the people with him.
Uganda looked dangerous and murderous as he looked at them.
“You! Who are you and what are you doing in my shrine!
You foreign traitor..who has s£nt you here! How dare you try to rescue a traitor!”
Uganga roared and Joanna held ti-ghtly to the man’s hand.
“Tommorow..you shall face judgement!! Obudu!! Seize her!!”
No..no!! Joanna shouted in her head but she saw herself doing nothing to st©p them but instead she was surrendering herself..to them..
The next morning, Joanna could see clearly where she was.
A village.
She was taken out from where she was being kept last night and taken to the king’s palace with the offence of trying to rescue a traitor.
The king declared that Joanna should be buried alive.
That was the punishment in the kingdom to thieves and traitors.
Without wasting a minute,two guards carried Joanna and off they left for the bush in the company of the native doctor.
The villagers followed them too, wondering where the foreign girl c@m£ off.
“Who’s she? And why is she trying to save a traitor preaching a false God?
“Is she not too young to be buried alive?”.
“I pity her. May her soul rest in peace.’
The villagers continued talking till they got inside the bush.
Joanna could not believe that this was actually happening to her…that she was going to die like this.
When the guards gr@bb£d her and threw her into the large hole,which had alre-ady been dug out…very de-ep…she gave up on herself… losing her courage…
She tried bringing out tears..to cause rain but she couldn’t.
The first sand hit her in the face and she closed her eyes.
Was this how she was going to die?
But what was really her offence? How could a kingdom with so much wickedness exist?
Joanna could not even scream….she couldn’t do anything….she only gave up the ghost even before her death could come.
She suc¢v-mbe-d to death and closed her eyes more ti-ghtly as they started pouring sand on her………her face..her legs….her whole b©dy…the villagers watched.. watched and watched…. Joanna being covered up with sand……….
#To_be_continued…..
Buried alive!!
Poor Joanna,now what??
What next??.. Does that means she’s dead and gone??
Hmm….
Find out in the
Next thri-lling episode!!
.!!✍️✍️✍️