' Ugomma ran and dropped onto the wooden seats reserved for her by the girls, breathless and smiling despite the dust clinging to her ankles. Laughter burst around her instantly.
"Hey, Ugomma!" one of them shouted. "We'll come and celebrate with you when your fiancé wins!"
"Yes ooo!" another screamed, clapping.
"You'll treat us very well!"
Ugomma shook her head slowly, a mischievous smile forming.
"No," she said.
The girls froze.
"I won't treat you very well," she continued, then leaned forward, eyes bright. "I'll treat you special. Like queens of the sea. You'll feast until your stomachs beg for mercy, and dance until your feet surrender."
The scream that followed swallowed the square. Obiagheli grabbed Ugomma's hands, filled with joy ,she smiles as she leaned against her lap like a child.
But joy is fragile.'
Ugomma remembers her promise she made to her peers.
By twilight, when the drums had fallen silent and the dust settled, Ugomma sat alone beneath the Tree of Mystery.
Its roots twisted deep into the earth, ancient and revered. Women who could not conceive prayed here. The sick slept beneath its shade, whispering hope into the bark. Tonight, Ugomma sat with her knees drawn close, staring at nothing.She wished the mystery goddess will make the impossible possible in her life at that moment
Across the village square, unseen by her, Ojadili sat on a rock, elbows on his thighs, head bowed.He had changed from the contest cloth to his casual wear .
Shame pressed heavier than any opponent he had ever faced.
He replayed the fall again and again. The moment his back touched the earth. The gasp of the crowd. Ugomma's silence.
In their land, failure was remembered longer than effort. Better to never rise than to rise and fall publicly. He clenched his fists, breath hitching, tears cutting through the dust on his face.
Ironically, they were still in the same square—back to back, divided by the empty arena that had broken them both.
Love moved first.
Ugomma stood.
She did not care what the girls would say. Or the elders. Or the parents who had taken her in after war stole her family. She turned toward Ojadili's compound.
At the same moment, Ojadili rose.
He would beg. Promise. Swear. He would hunt in the coming carnival, even if he had to bleed for it. He would restore their dignity before the year ended.
They collided near the edge of the square.
Both stopped.
Both stared.
Then they both ran and hugged eachother in tears as they comfort eachother silently.
Ojadili pulled her into his arms. Ugomma's fingers clutched his back as they wept, shoulders shaking.
"I promise," he whispered hoarsely. "I will restore our name. I will—"
"You don't need to," Ugomma interrupted, lifting her face. Her smile was tired, but real. "We don't need a feast to be happy."
"But people will call me ofeke ( a fool and a nobody) " he said, voice cracking. "Your parents—"
"They are not my parents," she said gently. "I am a war orphan. If they demand a feast, it is because they want to sell me twice."
Ojadili inhaled sharply, gripping her hands.
"I will still restore your glory," he said. "I swear it."
He did not finish.
The scream came first.
Then another.
Then many.
Not joy. Not celebration.
Terror.
Ugomma and Ojadili were confused as they looked into the village.
Smoke rose beyond the huts. Shadows moved violently against firelight. Steel flashed.
" Run to a safe place, I need to help the villagers " Ojadili said to ugomma as he heads towards the village to know what's really happening .
Invaders ! They were from the Powerful Kingdom across the River.
Men poured into the village like a flood—faces hard, movements trained. Some carried matchets (swords) and spears . Others carried guns, crude but deadly. One blast tore through a hut, the sound like thunder tearing flesh.
People scattered.
Children fell.
Blood darkened the earth.
Ojadili's breath shortened. Rage burned through the shame still clinging to him. He charge into the battle without any weapon of attack yet.
He moved silently like a ghost and quickly snatched an invaders short knife he keeps in his waist and with it he sliced his throat cleanly .Blood sprayed warm across his arm and face, In an attempt to wipe off the blood in his face , he smeared it diagonal running from his forehead to his jaw . He grabs the invaders spear.
There was no time to think. The other invaders notice him and charged at him , he threw the spear against two in a row , the first dodges it for the spear to strike the other in his forehead ,as it sent him straight to the underworld.
The invader that earlier dodges it turned forward to throw his own spear but Ojadili is already in the air , he back flip and strike him hard that he falls to the ground with a loud thud.
Ojadili stands unshaken.
A gun fired. The blast tore past his shoulder, slamming into a mud wall behind him and blowing it apart. The force alone knocked him sideways.
He rolled, sprang up, dodged another swing, picking up a cutlass of the floor, he drove his blade into a man's stomach.
The fight was chaos.
Ojadili moved like water—ducking under blades, twisting away from gunfire, using speed and his flexibility to survive where strength would fail. He fought beside Ikenna,a fellow warrior and champion , backs touching, breath burning in their chests.
But they were losing.
More invaders came. Better armed. Better prepared.
Ojadili saw it then—" this is not a raid.
This is a harvest."
"We are outmatched " Ikenna said to Ojadili. " What do we do ?"
Ojadili as he fights an idea struck him.
"We need to summon the gods to fight for us. We need to head towards the shrine ..."
" To the chief priest " they both said as they leave the fight at that moment to their fellow fighters and patriot of the community .
White and red cloth hung from carved posts. The air was heavy with incense and age. The carving of the god, ikenga loomed in silence.
The chief priest stood unmoving.
Ojadili and Ikenna enters the shrine facing backward.
"Summon them," Ojadili pleaded as he breaths sharply "Please."
The old man shook his head and looked into their eyes . "We can't , they attacked us when our guards are down."
" What do you mean ?" Ojadili asked as he breaths uneasily with fear.
"You can't just summone the gods in a haste , empty handed .We need large sacrifices to make them answer us in a time like this. And we aren't prepared for that." The Chief priest said.
That words touched Ojadili. ' Why didn't you win the contest ' his inner voice shouted at him.
Ikenna's face drained. He stepped back.
"So...so ..you are saying ." He swallows his saliva "we are on our own " Ikenna asked in fear ,eyes wide open as the old man nods .
"Fighting this war is suicide " he murmured as he staggers backward and ran for his dear life.
Ojadili couldn't turn back at his people, he left the shrine and charge back to battle .
Five invaders charged him.
He met them head-on.
Steel rang. Flesh tore. Blood splashed the ground.
He killed them—barely.
Adrenaline is rushing.
But unfortunately he saw Ugomma. She had been bound and was dragged into the captives nest.
His focus shattered.
Pain exploded at the back of his head as one of the invaders struck him with a blunt spear, blood poured out.
He fell to his knees .
Another invader with a sparkling sharp blade rushes to end him .
A voice spoke above him, calm and cruel.
"No. Don't kill this one." The leader of the invaders to the attacker .
Ojadili forced his eyes open.
" He's fighter , if we kill him ,it will be our greatest loss . Bound him he will sell well," the leader said. "Strong men bring good silver."
Darkness closed in as they dragged him toward the river—toward the waiting ship.
And as consciousness slipped, only one thought burned in his mind:
He had lost again.