After twenty years waiting period of childlessness, characterized with three infant mortality, a girl child was born to the family of Ben and Cecilia, her name, Ijele.
Ijele is a beautiful damsel born with some unusual traits, at birth she was born with a full dental system and her hair locked and dreaded. At midnight, all through her childhood she will always stay awake crying or laughing happily as she lay on her bed, and when she grew up to the talking age, she will always go out at midnight and sat under the apple tree that stands in the middle of their compound, clapping and chatting with some unseen people. This has always marveled her parents and all her relatives. An Ogbanje child she is called.
Ijele is known for her adventurous spirit and her love for exploring the woods in her village. Ijele has several unusual gifts; she understands the language of the birds, even the herbs and the trees in the woods whispers to her ear. And every wildlife becomes docile before her presence, as they can feel her empathic and gentle soul, she is a friend to all wildlife that lived in the woods.
Ijele never became a vegan but was born a vegan from childhood, she detested meat and lives purely on veggies and wild honey that she collects from the woods. She does not feel the stinks of a bee and neither do any sharp objects was able to pierce her body, an unusual endowment that every other child have always envied her of, she was obviously unlike every other girl in the land of Kamuku.
Kamuku a beautiful land lying between the smoking hill of Zuma and the ancient forest of Amuku. A land blessed by nature, enriched with vast natural resources, with a serene environment quite and peaceful. But peace was far from the land, as the the people of Kamuku are constantly plagued with an inevitable danger that visits the land from time to time.
With her heart of empathy, Ijele Love to help people solve their problems, she doesn't like to see people suffering. The people of Kamuku troops to their compound seeking remedy to one ailment or the other, as her unusual gifts has turned her into a traditional healer with the help of Roots and Herbs.
On one faithful morning, Ijele was returning from the woods, for she have spent the night in the woods, a ritual she normally embarks on occasionally, a few pools from her house she could see a crowd that gathered in her compound, this time they were not people waiting for herbal medicine, as she can hear them wailing and crying, she increased her pace and ran into the circle of people, lo and behold, she could see her parents and most of the patients she left behind as she embarked on her journey yesterday, all were lying lifeless in the pool of their own blood, devoured! She failed down in tears as the sight of those bloods broke her empathic spirit into a million fragments. Ijele wept uncontrollably. It's the werewolf! Dikeogu, her only surviving uncle said to her, as he tries to pull her up, consoling her in his arms. The deadly monster have visited our household this time, he added.
The youths of Kamuku village together with some elders took the corpses to Ille forest, a small piece of gazetted land that serves as a burial ground for all that died the unnatural way, there they performed the necessary burial rites and buried them all.
While returning from the burial site, Ijele asked her uncle, how come I never heard of this werewolf? Oh! you have never heard? Well! Probably because the last time it visited the land of Kamuku was ten years ago, you were but five years then. It was this deadly monster that wiped out the household of Abel, ten years ago. In fact the people of Kamuku had thought in their minds that this ugly ordeal was over, he said. Because when we were much younger, this happens every two years, he added.
From my youth age, I have joined the search party combing all the known forest of Kamuku, including the Zuma hills in search of this ugly monster that prowl the land at night but we have returned home without success, nor have we even for once sighted it, he added.
That same evening as she was still consumed in her sorrow, Ijele did not notice Dikeogu, as he walked up to her under the apple tree, hanging on his left hand was his Deng gun and a matchete in his right hand, Ijele, you can go inside now and get some rest, I'm joining the search party tonight with other hunters and the youths, he said to her. This time we will not return until we seek out and kill this ugly monster, enough is enough! He added, as he left to join others at the village square.
In the heart of the Amuku rain forest, a group of hunters waved in, their torches flickering against the bush as they scrutinize every nook and cranny of the woods in search of the deadly monster that have hunted the land of Kamuku. By his unwavering determination matched by bravery, Dikeogu led the hunt, following faint foot prints traces of the monster through the tangled mangrove towards the edge between the Amuku rain forest and the Zuma hills. With each step forward, a heavy tension hung in the air.
Suddenly, a haunting howl echoed from the hills, sending shivers down their spines. The Monster was near. With hearts pounding, the hunters pressed on, their senses heightened as they spread out at the foot of the hill. Suddenly, a gigantic shadow figure burst out from the darkness, with a ferocious eyes gleaming in the moonlight. It was the werewolf, poised to defend itself against the encroaching hunters.
Dikeogu together with the other hunters aimed their weapon at the monster, in click of a second, there was a rain of bullets, spears and arrows on the monster, but little did they know that they wrestle not against flesh and blood but against a demonic spirit in the skin of a wolf. In a swift quick move, so fast as the speed of light, the werewolf devoured them all, leaving no one to tell the story.
As days turned into weeks, with no words from the hunters nor any single return among them, the people of Kamuku land was thrown into deeper mourning. With a heavy heart, Ijele said to herself, what else am I doing here? Life has made me an orphan without even a single relative, it's better i go into the woods and look for this monster that have made me an orphan, if I die, I die with honor other than dying here in loneliness.
Determined to find a lasting solution to this eminent danger that is killing her people, Ijele embarked on a quest to seek out this encroaching evil.
That same night the king's emissaries sent out on a search party, came back with an ugly news regarding Dikeogu and the other hunters.
Ijele veered into the woods with a holy anger. In the woods, still deep in agony, groaning and weeping uncontrollably, her cry threw the entire forest into a mourning session, summoning all the wildlife in Amuku forest to her space, all the trees stood still without a leave flapping, despite the cool breeze of the night, the birds and the crickets were all around her singing a solo song to her, they could all feel her sorrow due to their deep connection. As she was still crying, a white owl came and peaches on her shoulder, be strong! The owl said to her, for you were born for this, the owl added. In a flash, an inner strength immediately build up within her, she stood up, not knowing where to go or what she was doing, the owl still on her shoulder. She began to take a walk. The owl whispered to her and said, look over there, get some of that leaves, and that one too on your left. Ijele pluck seven leaves both from the plants as she was directed. Squeeze both leaves together and rub it below your left eyelid as you sleep tonight, they hold the answer to your questions, the owl said as she flew off her shoulder into the woods.
Deep in slumber, Ijele began to dream as she rested her back on an ancient oak tree, she saw a little young girl with a rope round his neck, hanging on the oak tree she was laying her back on, with her eyes gorged out, dead and swinging on the tree. The sight of this terrible incident startled her and she jacked back to consciousness.
As she was still pondering on her dream, lo and behold! Stood before her was a gigantic figure ten times the size of a matured German Shepherd; the monster itself! Startled but not entirely afraid, Ijele courageously stood up, standing face to face with the monster.
Looking into the piercing eyes of the werewolf, she saw not a monster, but a desperate soul seeking out a revenge for the evil that was melted to her decades ago. Surprisingly, tears of blood began to drip down the eyes of the werewolf as both stood still facing each other. With a heavy heart of compassion, Ijele stepped forward and offered a reconciliation hand to the werewolf. The werewolf steeped down and lowered herself before Ijele. She lean on the werewolf, holding and massaging her head, the werewolf began to tell Ijele the story of her life.
Twenty five years ago, I was a child just like you, Ella was my name, due to my strange gifts and supernatural endowments just like you, they always call me an Ogbanje! There lived a certain wicked sorcerer who also doubled as the priestess of the land, with her evil power she inflicted on the people of Kamuku a deadly illness, she was making a fortune at of it, and the people who could not afford her bills were dying. As this things was revealed to me and I began to seek solution for my people. She became aware of the revelation I had.
On one faithful day, with the help of her evil charm, she convinced the king and the people that I was the cause of Kamuku's predicament, because she was afraid that I will expose her evil deeds someday. But my greatest pain, was how she bought over some Kamuku's to bear false witness against me. My only crime was that I'm an Ogbanje! A naturally endowed child who was unlike every other girl child in the land of Kumaku. Before the king and the general assembly of the people of Kamuku, my voice failed me, I could cry, shout and say every other words, but whenever I want to reveal the truth, my voice will fail me again, her evil spell was upon me, I could feel it but there were no time at the moment to rush out to the woods and get some herbs to break her evil charm. In order to please the people, the king condemned me to death, they took me forcefully and hanged me by this oak right before us here.
Because my life was cut short, no proper burial rites given to me and my corpse was never buried, the portal never opened for me to transit, my spirit roamed this wood for years till I found refuge in a dying wolf, I took up his body and vowed for a revenge! A course I have indulged diligently waiting for this day to come. Now that I have meet my kind, so compassionate to make amends, I hope for a peaceful transition soon, the werewolf added, as she started off to leave.
Ijele became more heart broken as she realize that the true enemy was not the werewolf, but the fear and prejudice that lies in the heart of men, which is far more a danger than the werewolf.
As Ijele took the news to the king and the people of Kamuku, the people repented of their evil deed and declared a seven days mourning period for Ella's spirit. As part of the restitution to appease Ella's spirit, the ancient oak tree was cut down, and a ceremonial burial was conducted for her and all traditional burial rites observed in her favour.
More worthy to mention was the tradition that followed this, from that very day, every Kamuku indigene was required to receive a pierce and wore a ring on it on the lower lips to signify their vow never to bear false witness against each other anymore. A tradition that's kept till this day.
As the traditional rites were over, the people of Kamuku eat and drank as enduring peace have returned to the land. The people danced and sang tales of Ijele's bravery, accolades was given to her as a Ogbanje child who brought salvation to the land of Kamuku through her gifts.
Consequently, children born with dreaded hair locks together with some uncommon traits, enjoys a more relatively peace and admiration now than ever in the land of Kamuku. Through her patriotic act of bravery and Love, Ijele was able to conquer the fear and prejudice in the hearts of her people.
Till date, it has become more honourable to be an Ogbanje in the land of Kamuku than just being an ordinary child.
The End.
