Chapter 4 4

As soon as the door was shut, my mother dragged me to the backyard and started making incantations while pounding something that looked like a stone.

" What are you doing?" I asked her sitting down on the stool because of how tired I was. I didn't know that I had been missing for over five hours. It was already early in the morning, but it felt like I was gone for just an hour .

" I'm mixing a cleaning potion my daughter. Who knows what saw you out there! Where were you? We checked the full forest for you" She asked walking towards me and making a straight line on my forehead with the mixture.

" I was- I lost my way. I was leaning on a tree unconscious and when I woke up, I just walked back home. It was probably because of my headache." I lied holding my head to play the part. There was absolutely nothing wrong with me. In fact, I needed answers but the only person that had a little idea of what was going on, was Kaelor.

" I'm glad nothing happened to you. Imagine if you came in contact with a snake or worst of all, the beast" She said whispering the last part. The fact that every one had the same mindset that the beast would have hurt me made me feel irritated.

" Why does everyone think that the 'beast' had something to do with it" I air quoted.

" What if I was just being a clumsy and unobservant person to realize that my latern wick was already very little and because of that, I was anxious and had a panic attack" I said as a matter of fact.

Staring at me with disbelief and something else I couldn't pin point, she sighed.

" You're probably right. There's probably no such the as the beast and it's all a legend to avoid children from going out at night. I just need to rest for a while. I'll be fine by noon" She said smiling gently at me as she walked away.

Looking at the sky, I realized that it was almost noon because the sun was almost at the middle directly on top of me. Unwrapping the leaves that I had gotten from Kaelor, I saw that there were different types of leaves in it.

'To stop the nightmare' his voice said in my head.

Beast?

No, he wasn't.

If he was, he won't be worried about whether I was having a nightmare or not.

After some seconds of deliberation, I decided against taking the leaves. I was going to see the nightmare through. The fact that I had the same nightmares every night meant that there was probably something I needed to see in it. Exiting the backyard, I went straight to my room where I dropped the leave wrap neatly beside the clothes I had folded earlier in the week.

Once that was done, I went to the communal well to fetch water for a bath.

" Hey Zara! How are you feeling?" I heard someone greet as I was getting closer to the well.

" I'm doing good, thank you" I replied simply dragging the bucket out of the well. I couldn't place a name to the face that greeted me, but I knew that he was one of the men I had seen in the meeting house the night I went missing.

" I heard you saw the beast last night but you escaped, is that true?" He asked glancing at me to see my reaction. Staring back at him without any body language that would give me out, I chuckled.

" I'm sorry for laughing but I don't know where you heard such a tale from" I answered pouring the water I was holding into my bucket. I knew that the villagers were gossips but I never took them for liars also. On a normal day, I would have ignored it and just allowed the rumor spread because it wasn't going to affect me, but I wasn't going to let anyone lie about the incident.

" I'm sorry if I got that wrong. I just thought you were kidnapped according to the Legend. I-"

" It's okay. Kindly tell the others that what you just told me is false and just a silly rumor. If I heard such tale from one more person, they'd get it hot from me" I warned as his eyes shone with surprise. I was a quiet young lady, yes, but I hate when others spread false tales against other people.

" I understand Zara, I mean Zaraiah" He corrected with a small bow then turned and walked away.

As he was walking away, I breathed out and sighed then continued filling my bucket quietly.

***

" Zara?" I heard my mother call out as I was putting on my Shea butter.

" I'm coming mother" I replied trying to dressing up quickly. When I was done with lubricating my skin, I used a strip of cloth from other strips I had in my collection and packed my hair backwards to avoid the heat that came from it falling on my neck. My hair was really beautiful, It was dark and very voluminous, with tightly coiled curls that bounce and swayed anytime I moved. I love the way it felt against my skin. It was soft and springy to the touch during the cool weather but right now, I preferred it packed up. Once I was done dressing into my clothing, I looked into the mirror that my father gifted me and appreciated what I saw in it. It was made with obsidian, and according to my father, the mirror has always been in our family so it became a heirloom.

" Yes?" I answered as soon as I entered her own room.

" It's quiet late, would you like to have dinner now? I've already prepared it and it's in the kitchen." She informed supporting herself in order to lie down on the bed comfortably.

" I'm not really hungry, maybe I'll eat tomorrow morning instead. Where's father?" I asked wondering why she was the only person in the room by this time of the night.

" He went to brief the other elders regarding your incident" She answered yawning and stretching out on her bed.

" Okay, I better go to bed now. It's almost 11pm" I stated bending down slightly and giving her a peck on her cheek.

Smiling, she did the same on my forehead and closed her eyes. Closing the door after myself, I went back to my room and laid down quietly staring at the ceiling. After raising the clothings I used to cover the open windows, I blew out my room candle and closed my eyes.

' Sleep tight my Zara' I heard a familiar voice say as sleep finally engulfed me leaving a small smile on my face.