Child of god | book 1 ✅

PROLOGUE.

"Yes sir," the officers responded.

"What crime did he commit?"

The first officer spoke, "³Ọ ñụbigara mmanya ókè n'ọrụ ya and revealed his true self to three children of the world."

"Is that true Kwento?"

Kwento for the first time in years, hesitated before replying and that was due to the fact that he had been too high to even remember breathing, or at least, so he believed.

Onye ndu asked again. "Kwento, is that true?"

Idi ọcha hesitated but a mystified cloud hung on the air, so thick that it forced the words out of his mouth. "Yes sir." Yet again, his altruism spoke. He knew his limits and would never cross it on purpose for an intoxicated haze. He could swear, but he wasn't so sure. He wasn't so sure how to defend himself and how to deny that he'd been drunk on the job. What a life! ...telling a sober person to prove that he wasn't befuddled on working hours.

It was a well known fact that the gods joined hands to serve humanity, but a great deal of them had decided a long time ago that they would rather punish humans than serve them, and all those in this category were called rogue gods. While the work of the gods was to guide and protect humans, a great deal of energy was also spent wading off the black horses among them and thus, that makes this particular task a major in their daily jobs even when the special Operation Cops had been established for that sole purpose. Bad eggs affect everyone in the society indeed!

Ọnye nze was shocked. Revealing the true nature of the gods to humans was a big crime for so many reasons and the punishment was either mortality- to suffer by losing all the advantages of being a god, or detention in the lower prison for a million years, to be released on an almost impossible condition which mostly involved human interaction. That was what Kwento patiently waited to hear, the leader's judgement.

Onye nze knew that Kwento was one of the few hardworking gods they had. Even if he claimed to had forgotten, he had an help who always reminded him about this god and all his efforts in the human race. Now, how he could get drunk on the job was just so confusing and definitely not in his character.

"Are you serious?" Onye nze asked.

"I swear, ⁴amaghị m ka o si mee," Kwento said in attempt to defend himself. Maybe ọnye nze would soften the blow, but he didn't.

The throne room remained quiet, waiting, breaths bathed.

Onye nze struck his staff against the floor, growled and passed the judgement because he had always upheld his reputation of delivering judgement when needed.

"What will you do to him, Onye nze?" The first officer asked. He had bald head that sloped like a hill and he wore shiny shoes that could magnetize an oily engine with its lustre. Onye nze growled again before replying. "He should remain in the lower region till a child prays in his shrine."

Everyone gasped. The god of the innocent has had no prayer in his statue. Not a single presence it could lure other than leaves with long blades. ...and there was only one statue in the whole of Ala-ọnwụ which made his chances to be released smaller than a needle's butthole.

"-or," the leader continued. "He could always choose mortality."

Of all things, mortality? No one had willingly picked mortality in history solidifying the reason why the numbers of reject. Why then should he chose it?

Kwento could feel a hard pair of eyes on his head. He turned and his eyes met with the goddess he admired, Chimma. She stood out from the crowd as always, and in her brown eyes, expectation resided. She has always wanted them to get married as mortals, but Kwento could never leave the children of the world unprotected. He was their protector and that he would be.

"I choose detention," he said already loosing the fight left in his body as the SOCs dragged him away. The leader of the gods struck his staff and said, "5Ọtú a ka ọ gādi!"

And the guards who were already waiting dragged Kwento out of the castle and into the flying car to take him to the lower region where his cell was firmly locked.

*****

Endnote.

Translations of the Igbo words in italics.

1. ... We have brought the offender.

2. Is it only him?

3. He got drunk on duty ...

4. I don't know how it happened.

5. That is how it should be.

*****

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Em.