"Only God knows how long I've been running for my life"….
I turned my head, looking sideways, and felt all the eyes and harsh stares on me.
air gushed around me, accompanied with dust and all these tobacco scent mixed together threatening to knock the life out of me.
On my left I saw Kario the bully,on my right Tim, with his pissed look, shooting glares that says if you're caught, you're dead
They were all running as fast as they can to catch up to me,,
But I kept running, running for my life and not giving up
I did with all my might....
At least that's what I told my self until one of the guys knocked me out
.....
You stupid girl, you thought you could run away from us, how silly you are,, he spatted
I could feel all the dangerous glares, already boring hole to my skull, if only that was possible
"Kario, we have to teach her a lesson,, Tim said coldly
He dashed quickly to my side, yanked me forcefully by my hair whiles my scalp burned with the sudden pain
Then all of a suddden I felt this harsh heavy blow on my belly, I gushed out air, muffling a cry that barely passed my lips. It was him, Kario.,...
I thought as much, what could I expect from this demon….
Guys we have to stop,,, you've given her enough lesson, I think it's enough, Sammy tried to empathized with my whole dreadful being.....
At least he was playing the good guy or was that a remorse, I don't even know…..
"Shut the fuck up" Samm, or else you will end up like her,,, I'm literally not done with her...
Unless she begs for forgiveness,,, Kario said disdainfully
I spitted over his face
" In your dreams,,, you rat, I said smugly
Quite satisfied with his annoyed and furious expression
Ooowh, so you get a mouth you little Bambi,, I will teach you in the harder way
Then I felt a sharp pain on my cheek…..
Yeah, I swore I tasted my own blood….
My vision blurred,,, yeah that was a slap,, a hard one....
What's going on here young fellows,,
My eyes darted to the woman in front of me
She was in her full glory
Wearing this calm but yet deadly expression ,,, only God knows what's going on inside her head
She wear her abani ,, that was trousers in our native language , a little strap of leather made from our famous Ubachi skin, lazily wrapped over her bosom
She wore anklets,,, neatly arranged in layers, showing her sheer freedom as an independent women in the tribe, no man dares to mess with her….
Talking of her red swollen lips, just from chewing colar nut every blessed day,,, adding to her intimidating aura...
A mere sight of her shakes the stubbornness out of kids and larger Mens…..
That's my Kubana Asena
.....
"I'm demanding an answer, don't let me repeat my self boys….
What the heck is going on here... she questioned calmly, buh the terror on the boys face showed otherwise….
********************
My name is Nia...
You're wondering how I ended up in this situation…..
Well there is this bunch of bullies I planned teaching a lesson, it was a little one,,, I didn't expect this to happen, at least that's what I convinced myself into believing ..
Well I was coming back from my daily routines as usual, and you're probably wondering what my daily routine is right, hunting bullies, yeah you heard me right, hunting them and making them pay for what they've been doing to these innocent souls…
I know it sounds risky but yeah, I do it anyways….
Coming from a family where many fear my aunty,,, paralyzing at a mere site of her made me believe I can be a hero
So I secretly spotted the bullies, the almighty "AST' squad taking their bath in the Kuala river..
I thought it was a perfect time to teach them a lesson
So I secretly dashed behind a tree, located their abani (trousers), that's what men in our village wear,, and mostly bare on the upper,,, they hardly put on shirt,,,,and that's because of their pride and ego,, well culture says
Whilst no one was watching , I placed my hands inside my egono sack that smells like rotten potatoes,,, roamed through it and finally landed exactly on what I was looking for
A smile played on my lips, I sprinkled a decent amount of ashashi powder, back then they were famously known for making deadly weapons during war between empires… a little to expect from a girl from a native warrior family, it was banned after the war but my family still possesses few
Buh don't worry it doesn't sting that much,,,
I ran back to the spot I was hiding before,,, waiting for what seems like hours before they came out for their abani,,, and exactly as I planned,,, I heard the first cry…..
The satisfaction was all over me,, I couldn't help but laugh at their helplessness…..
That's the mistake I made because I was laughing too loud that I forgot they could literally hear me ,,, it wasn't that much of interval,,,
Damn, I was caught ….. then something inside of me screamed run, I jolted awake from my victory and made a quick turn, dash forward to save my dear life…..
Kario, it's her
It's that Tom boy….. I heard Tim shouting out of pain and anger and something that I almost failed to catch, frustration???????
That guy doesn't know frustration,, from all that I know he was a bully,,, someone who causes pain and frustration upon others..
Then I heard that one voice,,, " Kario's Voice
"Nia" you're really dead today…
( End of flashback)
" Aunty,,, sh…..sssssh...she….." Sammy was so scared he almost peeled in his abani
He was shivering and shaking,,, he knew too well nobody messes with Asena Family"
For goddamn sake boy speak up, I don't have all time for you bunch of lazy ass doing nothing but finding troubles everywhere,,, now I don't even need to know,,, pick your damn ass on the floor and hurry back to your family's hat…..
They stood up quickly and rushed out of the place…..
" Kario….."" Aunty shouted his name,,, almost making him collapsed,,, but still hold on to his ego, faking a deviant face,,, he faced aunty directly,, looking her in the eye....
What do you want Asena,, Kario spatted,, that guy has an ego,,, I thought to myself
"I expected the least from you Kario,,, you're such a disappointment to your father the King,,, Udaka must be so ashamed to call you a son"…..
I could see Kario fuming,,, as if he would explode in any second
"And what about you Asena,,, if you call me a shame,, what of that useless girl sitting over there,,, know how to tame her,,, before putting your mouth at places it shouldn't "
" Beware of your tongue Kario,,,…that's too much of nuisances from a child of 15….
Now let me see you moving
I know that deep down Kario didn't want to,,, he gritted his teeth,,, something he mostly does when his Dahani is fighting to break through
Then all of a sudden we saw the changes,,,
Aunty quickly yelled,,, " don't think of it Kario,,, or else you won't like what you will see"
He just have to surrender, he knew better.
He left,,, pissed all over
Back to you young lady,,, stand up at once and follow me
I did as she said,,, not wanting to make her any more furious and worsen my situation,,, the last thing I wanted on my life list
"Baba,,, you need to have a serious word with this young lady",,, she is making mess every where she set her foot into,,,, Aunty said with that calm but yet daring expression nobody dares to challenge
Well nothing much to expect from a lady that wears abani
"She had that from you Asena,,, is that not so,, Baba chipped in
"Baba, you know you can't compare us both" right,,, I have my own trauma,,, she is pure, beautiful girl,,, no soul broken,,, she ought to show that energy
Now should I blame myself Baba, haven't I said enough, she refuses to listen
She is causing all this my early wrinkles
"Aunty Asena,,, I'm not trying to defy our culture",,, I think everyone has their own right to decide their own path,, you choose yours because of trauma,,, I choose my because I don't want to be like any other girls flaunting their curvy bodies in the Keke, I am Nia
Then I saw aunty breaking down again,, tears welled up in her eyes
"Nia, this is the dark side of me,,, I'm not proud of it,,,, oooh dear,,, how I hope you could shine in the Keke like other girls
"Nia look at me,,, when you look at me what do you see,,, tell me child what do see???
That's all that it took for her to broke into tears
My own eyes became teary,,, indeed she was broken,,, broken in all ways,,, all the scars on her body was prominent evidence, of the abuse she suffered,, years of torment, in the hands of men,,, I tried buh couldn't hold myself any longer,,, tears started streaming down my face. She choose silencing, the untold,,, something that they silenced her over,,, threatening to eliminate her family
But all these years,, the silence turn into something else,,, resilience,, fighting and that scared the men most....
"I've had my fair share of life my lovely niece, when the chance come don't hesitate Ohk", aunty said this with her assuring smile despite the sad and hollow feelings behinds it all, infront of others she was tough, but I only see a broken woman who choose aban( the aura of men) as her escape....
"That's enough my child,,, Baba was equally devastated. Don't let what happened today repeat itself,,, please did I make myself clear?? Baba said with a more serious tone
"Sure Baba"
"Hurry , go and prepare something for us to eat….
My feet carried me directly into the kitchen
Aunty will mostly be with me in the kitchen helping me out,,, laughter filling everywhere mostly because of jokes she tells me and all sort of gossips that takes place here…..
Oooh God, I'm missing her already
I started putting ingredients together,,, I felt little down but tried to push through with and finally made it,,, I prepared wale ( mostly made from pounded beans , rolled into balls with rice and fish) ,
"you must be thinking it's a simple dish, yeah and it taste superb
I did all the aftermath and served to my Baba and Makuna..
" your cooking is always on point,,, praised my Makuna"
"Yeah,, she had it from you Asena,, Baba calmly said
After that I went to other side of the river to pick some fresh herbs and flowers for Baba's medicine.