Alacrimia | √

Chapter Twelve

06:30 am, September 15,
Kogi State.

Waking up before the sun Eniiyi rubbed lightly at her eyes and tried to stand up but she was very weak and couldn't push her weight down to. So instead she settled for sitting up, pulling the blanket aside.

Everywhere was still cast in a misty blanket that filled the air thickening to fog in the distance.

Come to think of it, she was feeling a little okay now, still sick nevertheless, but not as worse as the previous night.

Then she remembered the events of the previous day. She sighed. Her suffering couldn't continue like this, she had to do something about it as soon as possible. The Decorated Bull had promised her more punishments for today. She'd only survived yesterday's by luck, if it continued today she'd die before the sun reached overhead.

She had to think of something if she wanted to live. If only she could find a way of communicating with her parents, maybe she could ask Lastborn for a phone when next he came. She sighed, by then it might be too late. Another thought travelled through her head and she sat up straighter. Or she could do what she'd done best in situations like this: faint. It had never failed to work, well except with her nannies, but then that had been because they knew her too well. This village people didn't. Maybe when she fainted the villagers would finally have pity on her and order for release her from this place to, hopefully, a hospital.

Or they could think she had died from her 'evilness' and throw her into the forest for sacrifice.

She shuddered at this thought. The latter thought seemed more likely.

Her sharp hearing picked up dull footfalls coming towards the single room. Somehow she knew it was the native doctor. He was coming to resume his child abuse again. She could feel her heart start to hammer faster against her breast. But it was barely sunrise!

Why me?

She had failed to ask herself that question since, because she couldn't quite wrap her head around it. Why couldn't it have been anyone else? Why couldn't it have been a villager? An older person? Why did it have to be her, she was just a child, for crying in the beer! She wasn't even a native of the village, and she definitely wasn't an evil person.

Fuck this village! Why were they so intent on labeling her the culprit of something they'd brought upon themselves? Why wouldn't they just let sleeping dogs lie, even if she truly was at fault? Her head was an endless road through which different befuddled thoughts wafted through.

Eniiyi got angrier at each answerless question as her mind started to overflow with them. She simply had to put a stop to this and get the hell out of the village!

With the bubbling anger came renewed violent energy. She stood up, wobbling on her foot then steadied herself. Although she had no plan at hand, she could still try to defend herself before the herbalist started his torture again.

The door slammed open and a moment later the native doctor came in through it. The man did a double take at the sight before him. The child he saw was very different from the one he'd last seen yesternight. That one had been so weak she couldn't stand but this one was standing firmly, her hands planted on her hips.

He started to mutter incantations. 'I see that the devil inside you has renewed your strength. I shall beat it out today.' He raised his whip to bring it down on her. 'Èsù*, I command you to leave this vessel right now!'

Eniiyi sidestepped so that the whip lashed the empty air where she was a second ago. She glared angrily at the native doctor, feeling the urge to jump at him and claw his large, yellow eyes out but the thought of touching him disgusted her. 'I've had enough of your shit already. If you raise your fugly, pudgy arms at me again I'll curse you to grow elephant ears, you dirty, scruffy child molester!' Eniiyi said hotly in one breath.