Folktails✔️

17•

F O L K T A I L S
•Human?•
Ikenna found it hard to make sense of the senseless smile that was plastered on his face with no intent to eradicate itself like facial expressions with even a dash of rationality behind them did.

He found himself smiling at the muddy ground, the soaring birds, and even the dirty pigs oinking away by the garbage dumps sites, and Ikenna severely hated pigs. The creatures were just too entirely untidy for his liking.

The world felt like such a safe haven and beautiful sphere now that he had faced his fears and admitted them to himself. He had wished to let her know about the stance he now took on their relationship–whatever they were now–but he put away his plan, deeming his confession to be too sudden and also giving in to his worry about a negative reaction from her end.

Even though she had thrown herself at him severally and flirted with him whenever she had a chance to, figuring out her true intentions was much more harder than Ikenna had ever wondered them to be. He concluded with painful difficulty that he would leave be the issue for now and focus on what he felt and what he prayed her to feel as well.

"Shall I buy myself a new loincloth to impress the lady?" Ikenna muttered to himself as he passed by a pothole of ugly water, his nonsensical grin widening to the point that it threatened to stretch his face out of place.

Things of vanity like fashion and well changing trends never succeeded in keeping Ikenna's attention or bending his rigid will to honour their tempts. Yet, now, as he took the deep trail leading further away from his hut, he could not help but contemplate a change of his attitude towards clothing and fashionability in general. 

"I should get the latest fur print in style." He concluded in hopes that the one he harboured affection for would notice and somehow take a liking to his new object of calculated interest and attention.

The sky overhead had taken on an azure hue by the time Ikenna arrived at his destination. Stripes of white streaked through her skin of beauty, drawing designs that had no business bearing semblance to existence of life yet managed to tell stories in the forms of little clouds.

Little heated pebbles got stuck in between Ikenna's toes and he shook them off by wriggling his feet back and forth while feeling their burn sting just a bit.

Leaning against the wooden fence that surrounded a vast expanse of uncultivated land behind the sacrifice house, he took the time to survey his surroundings.

In little words, all he saw seemed to suffering from one of the Sun's greatest attributes—hotness. The trees slopped under the torment they were under like they had been drained of life. No animals could be found as they had found spots to hide in broad shadows. Even the grainy sand particles trembled and vibrated in their numbers and they made Ikenna wonder if the soles of his feet weren't already charred.

The heat was thick and suffocating, enclosing in from every angle possible, pushing humidity into a great slice of boiling asphyxiation. Ikenna swore he could taste the sultriness pressing on his lips and forcing into his throat. There was just no escaping.

"My son, you have come." The trill of the known yet unfamiliar voice resounded through the wooden and mud slabs of the shelter.

"Yes wise one. I have come to seek your unmatched wisdom."

"You have not followed my advice. Why do you come again?"

"What advice great one?" Ikenna asked just as his mind wandered to what Ikemdili's reaction would be if she found out he had visited the seer against her request. But then again, her words entailed specificity towards her presence with him during any summonings. She did not address the issue–if there were any–of him meeting the native Doctor alone, and that was enough convincing Ikenna needed to carry on with his task.

"Where are the charmed beads I gave you?"

"They lost themselves oh wise one."

"Do you imply that you lost it yourself my child?"

"It broke off on a branch while I was working in the farm and could not be threaded back."

"Why did you not return back to me with this problem?"

"I was occupied with activities of life great one, but I truly know that my excuse is not a good enough reason for my sin and for that I am sorry."

"You need not be sorry to me Ikenna." Her throaty voice resonated throughout the shrine. "The only one who needs such sympathy is yourself. The charm was meant to protect you from evil. Do you know the many spirits trying to capture your soul?"

Although Ikenna felt confident in his decision about refusing to visit her about the lost charms, somehow her words managed to cause a feeling of dread slowly wash over him so that he was perspiring more than one would deem normal.

"Wise one," a hint of unsurety had carved its way into his once steady pillar of conviction. "those beads were made out of Alfafa wood, that I know of. But what was their use?"

"How do you not know the use of Alfafa wood my ignorant son? How do you not know that Alfafa wood is the only way to hurt a spirit of the water without killing them?"

"What?" Ikenna's mouth hung ajar. "Why was that given to me?"

"I saw a vision of you been seduced by a water myriad and so I gave you protection. You defeated the purpose of my intervention however, by losing the beads."

"Thank you wise one." Ikenna muttered. "I do have a question to ask you."

"And what will that be?"

"Why would I be in need of a contraption capable of hurting a spirit of the waters?"

"The question should be why wouldn't you?" She raised a bushy eyebrow at him. "All spirits from other worlds desire to ruin the lives of humans. Isn't that enough reason for you to keep them away from yourself?"

"I suppose it is, but I just fail to see the use for violence or pain. I..."

"My son have you been bewitched?"

"Of course not great one. You would had known by now if I was."

"Then of lately, have you come in contact with any creature at the river especially at night time?"

"No." He gulped. A lump had formed on his throat and he found it difficult to swallow. He recounted the experience of finding Idemili on the river bank, numb with the cold and almost as white as snow. She was beautiful even then. The thought came passively.

"They are known to beguile men with their powers and force them to do their bidding. There are not many men known to have overcome the seduction that comes with such creatures."

Ikenna breathed in and out twice, struggling to control his trembling lips but failing anyway just as he couldn't stop the single thought from plodding over and over again into his mind.

What if she was not human?
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