Episode 2 – The Forest That Eats
The sun rose slowly over Igweoma, but the hearts of the people were heavy. The strange chewing sounds had become part of the night. Mothers held their children close, hunters sharpened their spears nervously, and the elders whispered prayers at the shrine.
Yet in the chief's compound, Amaka still smiled with quiet grace. She did not eat. She did not cook. She did not pound yam or fetch water. She simply sat in the courtyard, her long hair falling down her shoulders, her eyes following the movements of others with strange calmness.
Mama Ada, the first wife, was the first to speak her mind.
"My husband," she said boldly one evening, "this woman is not like us. She has been here for days, yet no morsel of food has touched her lips. Chickens and goats vanish, and hunters do not return from the forest. You must open your eyes."
Chief Okeke's face hardened. "Are you accusing my wife of witchcraft?"
Mama Ada lowered her eyes but her voice was steady. "I am saying only that her presence brings trouble."
But the chief dismissed her words.
That night, as the moon reached the middle of the sky, the chewing began again. Louder, heavier, as though the whole forest was feasting.
Children whimpered in their mothers' arms. The old drummers beat their talking drums in fear, hoping the spirits would leave them alone.
Chukwudi, the hunter who had lost his voice, sat outside his hut, tears rolling down his cheeks. He scratched shapes into the dirt with trembling hands, but no one could understand what he wanted to say.
By dawn, the village woke to find that two goats had been dragged into the forest. Their blood marked the path like a warning.
Chief Okeke grew restless. He called the council of elders to his compound.
"We must protect the honor of this village," he said. "People are afraid. They look at me as if I cannot control my own household."
The oldest elder, Papa Udo, leaned on his staff and spoke slowly. "A tree that grows crooked must be watched. A woman who refuses food is not ordinary. You must test her."
"How?" asked the chief.
Papa Udo's eyes were sharp. "Give her the sacred kola nut. If she eats it, she is of us. If she rejects it, she is not of this world."
That evening, in front of the villagers, Chief Okeke offered Amaka the kola nut. It was a tradition of unity, a test of truth. No Igweoma woman could refuse it.
Amaka looked at the nut in his palm. Her eyes darkened for a moment, then softened again. She smiled, and slowly reached for it.
The people held their breath.
But instead of eating it, Amaka placed the kola nut on the ground and pushed it back toward the chief.
"I do not eat this," she said softly.
A cold silence fell on the crowd.
Women gasped. Men murmured. Even the chief's face paled. But before anyone could speak, Amaka rose and walked back into the compound, her steps graceful, her face unreadable.
That night, the chewing did not only come from the forest.
It came from the very walls of the chief's compound.
The sound of bones cracking echoed through the yard. The guards who stood by the gate swore they saw shadows moving along the rooftops. Children in the nearby huts cried until their voices cracked.
By morning, one of the chief's guards was missing. His spear lay on the ground, but his body was gone.
The people no longer whispered. They spoke openly now.
"The chief's third wife is a spirit."
"She has brought a curse upon us."
"Something must be done."
But Chief Okeke's pride was strong. His anger burned hotter than his fear.
"No one will insult my wife," he thundered in the marketplace. "If you speak against her, you speak against me!"
The people lowered their heads, but their hearts were not at peace.
That night, the chewing was louder than ever.
And this time, the whole village felt as if something unseen was watching them.
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🔥 End of Episode 2.