Once upon a time in a land not too far away, there was a village called Obache, hidden in the heart of Africa.
This village was scared, but villagers lived in harmony, careful not to upset the gods a collection of golden skulls housed in the priest's abode.
Ezemuo, the village priest, was revered for his unique communication with the golden deities.
The whole villagers will gather around Ezemuo, house seeking help from him ranging from sickness, spiritual problems and disases.
For only ezemuo could truly understand the golden skulls that adorned his huts.
The king himself had acknowledged him as his equal, and the villagers respected this,
His wife and daughter were the envy of many, stirring whispers of jealousy among the village women.
One faithful evening, as twilight painted the sky, ezemuo was returning from the palace.
Along the roadside, he spotted three young men, their horse stalled motionless and their faces etched with frustration.
They were strangers, their mode of dressing and slangs were foreign to the simple ways of Obache,
but whenever they find a visitor with such identity they will be curious wondering where the visitor was coming from.
Ezemuo watched them, a curious thought took root in his mind
My daughter is an epitome of beauty, much like her mother," he mused.
Why will she settle for a local suitor in this village while the looks of the young men am seeing is enough to be suitors for my daughter?".
As he approached them, he greeted
As they respond back with their voices trembling,
Spies in obache village? where do you hail from?" Ezemuo inquired sharply.
Greetings... We are not spies, but travelers. Our horse has faltered,
One of the young men named Uche replied.
"Your horse? maybe it's tired have you tried giving it food?".
As he walked away, he overheard their worries about shelter for the night.
Ezemuo despite being a village priest felt pity for the lads, for he knew they were not of his village.
Turning back, he invited them to stay at his home. They hesitated, wary of the chalk covered stranger with the appearance of a lizard.
He insisted telling them the nightly rituals held at their parking spot.
Out of fear the young men accepted his offer because they couldn't afford to die.
Upon arriving at the priests house, their jaw dropped by the shimmering golden skulls on top of the huts.
Ezemuo introduced his guests to his family, urging them to extend their hospitality. His wife, Ugo, inquired about their journey, but Ezemuo silenced her, insisting they respect their visitors' privacy.
dinner was served by ugo,
As ezemuo reassured them about their safety
As midnight approached, he led them to a spare hut, adorned with mesmerizing golden skulls.
As soon as Ezemuo was out of sight Uche begin to plot schemes of stealing some of the creepy priceless artifacts.
"It's a bad idea," Okafor interjected,
Let's be grateful for his hospitality instead of stealing one of his possessions."
Hospitality under my feet," benedict fired back, with anger evident in his voice.
Do you know how much those golden skulls will fetch in a white man's land?".
The others nodded in agreement, but Okafor hesitated. His gaze lingered on the skulls.
Their holow eyes seems to watch them. He couldn't bring himself to take one.
I won't be part of this," Okafor interjected, stepping aside.
His friends ignored his warnings, each concealing the golden skulls inside their bags, pressed tightly against their chests.
As dawn approached, the three friends fled to where they had parked their horse.
Their laughter echoed blissfully at their new fortune, unaware of the fate that awaited them.
As the first light of dawn crept over the horizon, the cock in ezemuo's compound crowed its third call.
The old priest, stirred by the sound, rose to perform his sacred morning rituals to honor the golden skulls.
Then he suddenly remembers his foreign visitors,
Upon reaching the visitor's hut where he had housed the three mysterious guests, ezemuo's heart sanked.
The young men had vanished like mist in the morning sun.
"Where could they have gone at this early hour?
Perhaps they went to feed their horse,"
He mused, leaving the visitors hut unaware of the deity they had stolen.
Ezemuo settled on a rickety bench, his gaze fixed at space, hoping for their return. But as time ticked by, it became clear they weren't coming back.
Ugo his wife, having just awakened, noticed her husband's solitary figure outside
"Good morning," she called out, "Have our visitors left so soon?"
At least they should have let me know they were leaving,
They seemed like such responsible lads, suitable as a suitor to Nkechi."
Their conversation was abruptly cut short as darkness enveloped Obache village, snuffing out the morning light.
"Why has the day turned to night?" she cried, confusion evident in her voice.
Ezemuo was still confused at the strange occurrence, he didn't waste much of his time,
He rushed to his hut, gathering the skulls together.
His worst fears were confirmed, his night visitors had stolen four of the deity and sprinted away.
Ezemuo exclaimed, raising an alarm to his wife and daughter.
See what has befallen us!" he exclaimed.
Those thives have cursed our village!!".
Tears filled ezemuo's eyes as he keeps rolling and lamenting on the ground.
Oh ezemuo when will you be wise? because the priest title doesn't suit you,
Can you see what your stupidity and greed has brought to our village? you went to bring in foreigners we don't know of,
And you want my daughter hands in marriage with thieves?," she sneered.
Crying wouldn't solve this, it's best you Appeal to the remaining skulls for guidance."
How dare you!" Ezemuo's anger flared extinguishing his cries.
Are you insane woman? how dare you address the gods whom my ancestors bow down to worship?
The gods are not to be addressed so casually!"
"And have you ever seen me appeasing the gods separately? I communicate with them all together",
As ezemuo and his wife exchange words their quarrels was interrupted by the anxious cries of their fellow villagers,
With their lanterns flickering like fireflies around their hut.
"What shall we do?" Nkechi's voice cut through her parents tension.
"You two should tell them I've been summoned by the king," ezemuo instructed his wife and daughter, hiding from view.
Ugo and Nkechi did as told, dispersing the crowd with ezemuo false tale.
But we've just come from the palace, and ezemuo was not there," grumbled Afam, an elder who despise ezemuo so much.
But why would Ugo and her daughter lie about the priest's whereabouts?" another elder mused with a sneer.
I believe they're all hiding something, and they're the reason why this strange phenomenon occured, we will find out soon enough," Afam concluded.
They all depart to their various huts with their flickering lanterns amongst the crowds.
Meanwhile, ezemuo, concealed from crying eyes, clutched one of the golden skulls to himself, as tears streamed down his face, mourning what his beneficiary impact on the strangers had caused him..
Obache village was enveloped in total darkness, that seems to grow thicker and more oppressive.
Lanterns casted feeble glows against the encroaching shadow of the villagers.
They whispered among themselves, their voices hushed with urgent, with their lanterns, as they tried to make sense of the strange occurrence that had visited them in broad daylight..
The king grew concerned about the occurrences in the village, he was about summoning his guards to go consult ezemuo in his hut.
But the village elders, who had visited ezemuo earlier, arrived with their flickering lanterns and unsettling news.
"Greetings, Your Highness," they bowed.
We went to ezemuo's abode, but his wife and daughter claimed he was already here.
The king's brow furrowed. "I haven't seen him," he replied.
The elders exchanged bewildered glances.
But why would ezemuo's wife and daughter lie about his whereabouts?".
I hope what Afam had said earlier isn't coming to pass.... ". one of the elders added".
Ezemuo had always been a noble man, that even the gods choose his transparency to save this land," the king replied with disbelief.
"If that's the case, something awful must have gone wrong" he continued.
"Guards assemble!! we need to pay the greatest priest of obache a visit," the king concluded.
Meanwhile, the cries of ezemuo pierced through the air in his hut, still clutching at the golden skull,
His tears fell freely as he pondered how to explain his actions to the king and the villagers.
Don't just sit down there crying like a baby, something has to be done the whole village is in a mess".
Ugo his wife retorted glaring angrily at ezemuo who still clutch on the skull to his chest.
Nkechi sat beside her father, her countenance etched with concern.
"Those foreign thieves had unleashed this malevolent darkness upon our village,
Ugo, interrupted. "We must seek help," she urged. "The neighboring village's greatest priest may know how to dispel this darkness".
Let's seek help before it's too late
To be continued if it encourage
