Chapter 10 THE FINAL KOKROKOO

It began, as many things do in Sikakrom, with a chicken.

But not just any chicken.

This was Kokrokoo, the legendary rooster of Nana Kwabena.

He had one eye, walked with a limp, and crowed like someone gargling ginger tea.

Yet, he was loved. Respected. And feared.

Because every time Kokrokoo crowed... something strange happened.

Babies stopped crying.

Rain started falling.

Palm wine tasted better.

So, when Kokrokoo stopped crowing one morning, the village held its breath.

"Eiiii! It's the end times," whispered Auntie Akos.

Pastor Isaiah agreed. "Prepare the anointing oil. And maybe some jollof rice."

Meanwhile, Kokrokoo sat silently in his coop, eyes closed, as if in deep meditation.

T.T. the Trickster leaned in. "Maybe he's on a spiritual retreat."

Kweku "Google" checked his Science for JHS book. "Chickens don't take sabbaticals."

The village called an emergency meeting. Again.

This time, the decision was unanimous: hold a festival to honour Kokrokoo and maybe, just maybe, he'd crow again.

And so, The Festival of the Feathered Oracle was born.

Everyone wore chicken-themed clothes. Drummers played rhythms inspired by egg-laying patterns.

Auntie Mansa made a 3-foot-tall kokrokoo cake half vanilla, half banku.

The children performed a dance called "The Mighty Flap."

Finally, at sunrise, the people gathered in silence before the coop.

Nana Kwabena stepped forward. He knelt. "Oh, great Kokrokoo, voice of dawn, symbol of waking, friend of fufu... speak."

Nothing.

Then a sound.

"Krrrrrreeeeeeee-kokro-koo!"

Crooked, broken, and glorious.

The village exploded in cheers.

Kokrokoo strutted out, flapped one wing, and pooped on T.T.'s shoe.

Everyone took it as a blessing.

That day, Sikakrom celebrated not just the chicken, not just the snails, but the entire journey of madness, laughter, and unexpected wisdom.

Because sometimes, the best lessons come wrapped in laughter.

And in Sikakrom, they always come with a proverb:

"When the drum beats nonsense, dance wisely."