Authors Note

This book 'TAKEN' is a complete work of fiction and the sole product of the author's imagination. 

Any resemblance to anyone both living and dead, places or people is coincidental.

Please, no portion of this story should be republished or copied without the author's approval.

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Copyright © 2022 by Deb Emanuel.

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                                      [1]

           
             Madam Lukgud was just finishing my hair when I spotted an old-looking woman headed our way. My medium box braids were still in hot water waiting to marinate for a more relaxed braids.

My eyes followed her bent nature as she made it closer to the makeshift stall Madam Lukgud used for her hair-making business.

Our eyes met and I withdrew my gaze and focused it on other people making their hair in the large compound. Her grunt was loud enough to refocus my gaze on her.
She was now seated on one of the empty roughly made wooden benches in Madam Lukgud's stall.

    "Good morning," I mumbled, fighting off the urge to run.

Something about the old woman unnerved me. With all the stories about how old people, especially women could be witches or mind hunters filled my heart with fear.

            "Nne eze, welcome." I heard Madam Lukgud greet the old woman who hadn't lifted her gaze at us.

I also noted an echo of fear in my customer's voice. Her hands trembled while she dried my hair with a towel. My head lifted and turned towards her.

        "Are you okay?"

The woman nodded and continued drying my hair. I'd known Madam Lukgud for a long time since I was a little child. My mother always brought my sisters and I to her shop to make our hair.

She was never a fragile or fearful woman. Matter of fact, people feared her and avoided having issues with her, because she was loud and daring.
So, I was surprised to see her subdued and trembling at the sight of the old woman.

          "Nne Eze, odikwa nma?" (Nne eze, all is well?) Madam Lukgud meekly asked.
The old woman continued to stare at the floor while drawing lines with her walking stick.

         "Adaora, stop with this your ass-licking behavior. If I had a message for you, you would know." She paused without looking up. "And don't worry, no one is exposing your secret."

        "Then why did you come?" It was my voice that spoke.

I felt a hand cover my mouth before I could withhold my words. But unfortunately, it was too late. The words had already left my buccal cavity.

It was then that she lifted her head, her wrinkled face furrowed in a brow. Her eyes came at me like the lighting from the days of Noah. I shriveled in my seat, hoping to make myself invisible.

         "Child, did you speak?" Her voice struck me authoritatively.

My eyes went shut immediately while I squeezed myself back into the white plastic chair that carried my body.

        There was silence everywhere, as though everything came to a standstill. The noise from the market women and all their screams and laughter vanished.

It was as though I was no longer in the market. Not even the birds tweeted.

In my head, I was just repeating the lords prayer my mother forced us to say every morning. Funny enough, we didn't even like prayers. Not morning nor evening ones, we were just rebellious like that.

Prayers hadn't brought back my dad who left us in broad daylight, neither had it helped pay off the lenders who were on our necks. The rent and other bills were still unpaid.
If Mama Lukgud hadn't volunteered to make my hair, I would have still been walking around with very unkempt hair.

We've all dropped out of school because mother couldn't pay School fees for four girls while living in the small room we called home. So we never saw any reason that motivated us to pray.

But at this point, since I didn't know what was happening or going to happen, I decided to use the only priceless weapon I had, 'The Lord's Prayer.'

        "Your hair looks nice!" I heard the old woman's voice speak.

Madam Lukgud was wrapping the long braids with a hair band. I forced my eyes open and felt a hand on my head. She was standing a few feet away from me, her eyes intensely looking into mine.

           "Now get up. We have work!"

As if returning from a trance, I looked around me and people were still busy yapping and going about their businesses. My gaze turned to Madam Lukgud, and a mask of confusion filled my heart and face.

             "What's going on?"

She gently tapped my shoulders. "Nne eze would like to show you something." My head began to move vigorously in disagreement.

            "No! I will not go anywhere with her."

Before my words of disagreement could leave my lips, I felt the strands of my braids pull and a shooting pain ricocheted through my body.
The old woman's hand was still on my head,  pulling me

        "Please go with her." Madam Lukgud pleaded. I saw fear and pain in her eyes.

Whether she was afraid for me or herself, I couldn't tell.
Slowly, I picked myself off the chair and stood face-to-face with the old lady.

          "What do you want?" I asked again, keeping my tone borderline of fear and fearless. Either way, I wasn't about to leave with a total stranger.

She grabbed my hand and began to drag me out of the compound. Nobody dared stop her or interfere.

No matter how loud and how much I screamed, no one came to my aid. I tried fighting her off, but realized she was stronger than ten men. She pulled me as though I was a piece of paper.

As she continued to drag me through the market, through the dirty puddled water.
Everyone who saw me just shook their heads and went back to whatever they were doing. No one, not even a living soul helped me.

          We were now outside the market and towards the outskirts of the city. I was surprised at how fast she walked. I was sluggishly walking side by side with her, her right hand clasped my left tightly.

My body and my new hair were all covered in dirty black mud water. I stunk off fish, poop, and vomit.

But she acted as though she couldn't perceive the odor oozing out of my body.
I realized we made it to Egbu on foot. Mere driving from Ekeukwu Owerri to Egbu was almost a twenty to thirty-minute drive. How come we got there in mere minutes?

I watched her face twitch each time I tried to snag my hands away from hers. She hadn't spoken to me since she forcefully took me from the market. And I was too afraid to ask questions.

I was still lost in thoughts when she took a swift turn towards a large gated compound behind the Egbu Comprehensive Secondary School.
There was no one around except for bleating goats and squeaking chickens.

         I found myself seated on a pavement doused in fresh water from a hose. She continued to splash me until I was clean enough for her. Forcefully, she pulled me up and blasted more water on me.

My body trembled at the effect of the cold water on me. If it was the hot weather season, I would have relished this unsolicited bath. But because this was Hamathan, I wished she could have used warm water.

But anyway, I was happy to get the mud off my body. I even took off my clothes and engaged in the forceful bath.

After minutes of dousing me with water, She went into one of the rooms and brought me clean clothes and a towel.

         "Wipe and change!" She dumped the clothes on a dry bench above the pavement.

Soon, I was helping her in the kitchen, cooking food that could feed a hundred people.
Minutes later, I realized why we prepared that much food. People began to troop into the compound.
Fifteen men, I counted, and ten older women. Young girls my age were also there, over thirty of them. The rest were children.

            "Mama!" I heard the children call her.

Running towards her like chickens run to their mama. She went down gently, sprawling out her legs on the floor. As each child came, they sat on her lap, some even crawled on her back, others on her head.

They were everywhere, like ants. Even though I enjoyed watching the display of affection, I couldn't understand what they were doing here. Me, particularly,  what was I doing in their midst?

Night came and I couldn't sleep. I was paired with other teenagers my age. A large floor mat was placed at the center of the room. While the children slept in their beds, the teenagers slept on the mat.

A big girl was snoring loudly next to me while the other one was crying softly.
I couldn't sleep.

          "Was this a kidnapping situation or a ritualist situation?"  My thoughts kept wandering, splashing against the waves of many uncertainties.

My eyes continued to stare at the ceiling, but nothing could come to mind. I remembered my dad and how I wished he could have helped my mom. I wished he could have stayed and lived with us even if it was for a little while.

My heart went out to my mother whom I knew was going crazy right now searching for me.
But I knew, my father was gone and gone for good. Silently, I said that same Lord's prayer. Who knew, maybe it might work like Mother always preached.

        "You better sleep, tomorrow will be worse than today."

Startled, I turned to see the big girl facing me while curling her body into a fetal position. We didn't have blankets so were were meat for mosquitoes and the waft of air drifting from under the door.

        "I reject that!" I whispered, circling my hand around my head.

        "Reject all you want, these people are your god now. You better pray to them!"
Few minutes later, I heard her snoring again.

I pushed my head down and faced the whimpering girl who was now snoring softly.
The glowing light of the lantern above us reflected the tears on her face. I said a quick prayer for her in my heart.