Chapter 20
The next day at daytime, the villagers were silently facing the community podium the environment was in a down energy. On the community podium, Fante the guilty one was silently facing the villagers on a rope round his neck. On the farthest side of the podium, Chief Ashanti was there standing beside a pull the handle.
Everybody at that time was silent waiting for Chief Ashanti to pull the handle to open the ground to where Fante was standing to suspend him on air. Everybody in the community was feed up with the cult because of the killings that it had done making it risky to walk at night. Suddenly Chief Ashanti let go of the handle where he then walked and stood before Fante facing the villagers, then he said,
“Before I do this I had something to let out of my heart. On this podium, I did a sin that I can never forgive myself and the sin that I did is when I pulled that handle killing an innocent man to the family and friends of late Ofori I ask for forgiveness. What I cannot believe is that my friend my brother my colleague was all behind this so if you think you are there hiding our God will bring you to us.”
Then Chief Ashanti turned to Fante moved closer and to give him his last respect he asked him, “Say your last words.” Then walked to where the other clan of elders was sited. Chief Ashanti walked to where Owusu sat and whispered to his ear, “After he talks go and pull the handle,” and then Chief Ashanti walked out of the podium.
Immediately Owusu walk to Fante and said, “Brother speak out what is in your heart.” Leaving of the Chief at the scene it indicated the giving up where it transferred the energy to the villagers because they followed their leader.
Fante then turned to the villagers and for a moment, he faced the people silent trying to thing the right word to explain himself. The right word that came out of his mouth were, “Sorry to our son Ofori and before I leave this world all I want to say.” After the words he scanned the people with his eyes to see them the last time where he stopped to see Boateng was in the midst watching him. He continued with his speech, “Don’t do anything bad convincing yourself you are doing it for a good reason.”
After the word, he faced Owusu to where he was standing beside the handle and nodded to him once. Owusu responded by slowly handling the handle. But before he pulled the handle an arrow flew and stubbed Fante’s neck. Fante slowly closed his eyes losing conscious as he was smiling and watching people running up and down.
In the next moment, Chief Ashanti was kneeling before a Mogumo tree praying under his breath. As he praying two soldiers went and stood beside him where he then finished. Chief Ashanti after praying he stood turned back and saw the two soldiers’ where one of the soldiers asked,
“Everybody but Fante’s family has left the scene.”
“What is the family saying?”
“They are only asking for the body of their loved one.”
“And the one who shot the arrow was he found.”
“No, it was too first that we could not even saw where it came from.”
“Ok go take out the body and help the family to take the body to where they want it to be buried.”
Both guard in respect faced down and said, “Yes sir.” Then they both turned and walked away leaving Chief Ashanti looking sad. After some moment Chief Ashanti facing the guards, he turned to the sun where it indicated it was at noon. With no hesitation, Chief Ashanti walked away.
In Chief Ashanti’s home, Ama was sited outside her father's hut busy looking at the bracelet around her wrist. At a distance, Chief Ashanti walked slowly into his compound looking sad. To where Ama was sat she noticed her father where she paused looking at him reading his mood.
Chief Ashanti looking lonely walked to Ama. Immediately her father reached near her she stood to give her father a sit this was a sign of respecting not only your parents but also the elders. Chief Ashanti looking stressed up he walked and sat on the seat where his daughter stood beside him facing him.
Ama after watching her father for some moment she turned wanting to leave. He was not in a good mood to talk to. But before she made a stape away Chief Ashanti called out, “My daughter.” Ama immediately paused where her father continued, “Can you please give me some water.”
Ama without a word she moved into his father's hut and walked out with a bow of water to where she handed over to her father. Chief Ashanti immediately took a sip of the water where Ama was standing beside him. She was feed up with they was leadership was draining her father where she asked, “Father when are you going to stop hurting yourself in the name of following the rules?”
Chief Ashanti stopped drinking water and placed the bowl of water in the ground faced his daughter and asked,
“My daughter this is my purpose I have nothing else to do.”
“The rules were made to serve us not us to serve them.”
“My daughter when you grow up you will understand some things.”
“Understand what father? You do things you tend to regret in your life due to following the rules.”
“The rules I follow benefit others.”
“Stop pretending you are the good guy here and you have the power to stop female circumcision which kills many women in our community.”
Immediately Chief Ashanti stood slapped Ama and shouted, “How dare you question our norms.” Ama immediately pissed she ran away leaving Chief Ashanti silent standing. Chief Ashanti turned to the guard, who was beside him and asked, “Am I a bad person?”
Standing with what his leader always says he responded, “No.” at the time everybody believed for a woman to mature it was a must to pass through that rite of passage through it lead to many deaths no one woman was to question the community norms. He asked the guard again, “And I have ever done my judgment wrong?”
“No.”
“Make an order first in your family so that you can keep order in the community, ok go and call Boateng.”
The guard nodded his head once then he walked away where Chief Ashanti sat back on the seat.
It was in the afternoon and Chief Ashanti was walking beside Boateng on Chief Ashanti’s farm. As they were walking Chief Ashanti said,
“I have called you to talk about the killings that happened.”
“Are you talking about Fante’s killing?”
“Not about that. Is about the killings that are done with this unknown creature.”
“Finally you have talked about it. My fellow guards were beginning to question why are you not talking about it.”
“At first I did not take it seriously and also I did not know what to do.”
“Now what is your say about this?”
“The only way is to find the creature and kill it because it's bringing a bad reputation in our community.”
“What reputation has it destroyed for our community?”
“The creature was the reason why the Portuguese left.”
“How did you know all this?”
“The Portuguese lady.”
“Now say your plan how to kill it?”
“We need advance plans to catch a creature with such abilities.”
“What are these abilities you are talking about?”
“For now what I know is that it has immersive strength and durability our ordinary weapons we cannot defeat it.”
“Where are we going to get the weapons from?”
“We have to ask help from others communities.”
“What about the secret book in the community secret store?”
These words made Chief Ashanti suddenly stop faced Boateng where also he also stopped and faced him back. Then Boateng asked,
“What is wrong about the book?”
“It is a good plan but ho we will open the book?”
“In a situation like this, all we have to do is to break the locks.”
“It is a taboo and we also don’t know what was the spell cursed upon the book if we break it.”
Boateng responded as he continued walking and Chief Ashanti followed him,
“In life, for you to achieve some things you must take some risk. Are you waiting to act when half of the people in the community have been killed?”
“Some things are greater than ourselves.”
“Maybe the book was made because of this time be a man and let us go and break it at least.”
“What about the other clan of elders?”
“Let this be between us.”
After the words Boateng paused to see Chief Ashanti’s facial expression. Chief Ashanti paused faced him and agreeing with him he nodded his head silently.
It was in the late evening Chief Ashanti and Boateng were standing beside the door to the underground store. Beside the door to the underground store, two guards stood holding a flaming torch and a machete for attacking anybody who intruded the place.
At a distance, a man walked toward them while carrying some tools that were supposed to break the lock of the community secret book. As the man was walking towards them, Chief Ashanti asked Boateng,
“Is this the man?”
“Yes, this is the best man I have ever met in these things.”
Immediately the man reached to them he stretches his hand to Chief Ashanti to have a handshake to create a good relation with the man. Immediately they stared shaking hands Chief Ashanti said facing the man direct to the face, “What you are going to do now you are not to speak about it.” Then the man nodded to Chief Ashanti continued shaking hands with the others.
The two masculine guards opened the store gigantic door where they handed over the flaming torch to Chief Ashanti and Boateng. Chief Ashanti led the way in as they walked the three of them in. Chief Ashanti slowly moved in the store and stopped at where the book was looking astonished. Boateng who was beside him asked,
“What’s wrong?”
“The book is supposed to be here.”
“What do you mean?”
Chief Ashanti in shock slowly turned to Boateng with a lonely look where Boateng also mere faced him back.