Alacrimia | √

Chapter Seven

01:32 pm, September 7
Kogi State, Nigeria.

Eniiyi's shoulders slumped in dejection as she looked away from the computer screen she'd been staring at for fifty seconds. It wasn't as if they didn't deserve her anger towards them, she just couldn't help wishing it hadn't ended like that. She'd have loved to hear reassuring words from them after she was done venting. She sighed. Now she'd never get to see them again till October. What with Uncle Felix leaving in two days. This made her miss her poor tablet more.

'It's alright, don't cry now.' Her uncle pat her back.

She turned to glare fiercely at him. 'What makes you think I'd cry?' She stood up, slightly cheesed up.

'I'm going out.'

'Suit yourself, niece.' Uncle Felix was blasé about it but he looked amused.

The sun had managed to get hotter and more scorching than minutes ago when she left it. Even from beneath the shade of the porch. She winced, wishing she hadn't come out at all but she wasn't going to go back inside and face Uncle Felix's sickly sweet, annoying smile.

So she braced herself for the worst from the sun and stepped down from the porch.

Going to Lastborn's place was probably the best option, since she didn't know any other person close enough to go visit. So she went towards his house, hoping she'd catch him at home without his prick of a father.

She hadn't walked for five minutes when she noticed that her surroundings were unfamiliar. Yes, she didn't know many places in the village, Lastborn mostly took her around, but this place was definitely not where she'd seen before.

The smooth untarred road had given way to a scanty path with fluffs of short grass at irregular intervals. And ahead lay acres of forest. She turned around, there was actually a clear path leading away, so that must have been the way she'd come from.

'Gosh, how could I have missed my way?' She planted her palms on her waist and looked around, confused, and a little scared, though she wasn't ready to admit that second fact.

Thoughts flitted through her mind. What if she was really lost for good? No one would find her! Or . . . she gasped, what if she got childnapped?! In this kind of place, no one would find her! Or what I'd she was near those shrine things the children had told her of, where they keep idols?

She tried not to panic and started making her way back, creeped.

As she was retracing her steps, a wooden signboard with chalk scrawling captured her attention.

'Balo Alra . .' she tried to pronounce the wordings but she could hardly make out the smudged letters. But she did see one sign that was an arrow point to the right. She followed the arrow with her eyes. There was a footpath that stopped at the entrance of a cross-bamboo fence.

Okay, that signboard meant there were houses to that side, after all why else would someone put a signboard there? She could go that way and, hopefully, get directions back to the main road.

She reached the gate and tried to knock on it but it just swung in. Startled, she jumped back.

'Oh,' she said on noticing it was unbolted.

Should I go in? she asked herself. Was that really the wise thing to do? What if she was walking into the lion's den on her own with her own two legs. As a sensible child, she knew she shouldn't enter a strange place, but she had to get back, and this was the only place to turn to for help.

She mentally reprimanded herself for getting lost in her thoughts and subsequently, herself. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she pushed open the wooden gate and peered in. Everywhere was dead quiet. So, she stepped in, holding her breath, waiting for a dog to spring on her for trespassing. And did she hate canines!