The Last Time I Saw My Friend

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They say everyone has a story in their lives that they would never forget, well here's mine.

I hail from a small village known as Ejiji village. Our village wasn't as developed as the cities and big towns out there. We had just one community school which almost every kid in my village attend.

Like most villages, we had a king who was the ruler and number one citizen of the village. Our king was like a demi-god, anything he said stands. No one had the right to oppose him as that could attract a severe punishment.

Our small kingdom had rules guiding them, some of this rules were so outrageous and inhumane but you see, in those days the white men haven't come with their religion then, so we the people of Ejiji served the god of thunder known as Amadioha.

And like other deities, Amadioha was a god of human sacrifice. I remember our chief priest would occasionally offer sacrifice to Amadioha when ever the people needed anything. Our prayers varies from a healthy harvest of our crops, to the peaceful celebration of our yam festival. I remember asking my dad one day where the people used for the sacrifice were found, father had laughed that day and told me when I came of age I would know the answer to that question.

Despite our strange customs and traditions everything went well until one day when our king died mysteriously. Me and my friend Chidioke were in our classroom when one of the parents ran into our class and told our teacher that she had come to pick her child. I can remember her telling my teacher of the news of the kings death and how our village town crier had said that seven heads were needed to bury the king and unlike the past sacrifices that demanded the heads of strangers, the gods needed the sons of the soil.

Immediately, a quick assembly was organized, and we were quickly asked to go home. Though we were happy about the emergency holiday but the reason for the holiday got me and my friend worried.

Normally, we would have waited for our parents to come pick us but the school authority had said they wanted to lock down the school and no one would be around to watch over us, so me and my friend decided to walk home ourselves, it was on this journey that we encountered some of our palace guards. I was the first to see them coming towards us with palm fronds in between their lips.

And everyone in the village knew the warriors were only seen with palm fronds in between their lips when they're about to carry out a sacrifice. I quickly tapped Chidioke on the shoulder to alert him of the incoming danger between taking to my heels. Chidioke followed suit behind and to our great dismay, the warriors too started running after us.

There were many ways we knew we could use to get home from school, and so I decided to follow a short cut. The race was going on fine until Chidioke missed a step and fell. I would have stopped to help him up but the warriors were close behind, so I kept on running, I ran until I got to our little hut.

The next day, the town crier made an announcement that everyone could go about their normal business as the sacrifice had been completed.

I had gone to Chidioke's hut later that day only for me to hear the news that he never returned the previous day, my friend never got home.


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