ANGELS DO CRY. (PART 1)

The woman in travail screamed,an eerie sound in the dark. Deep convulsive waves contorted her features as she felt the agonizing contractions from the pit of her protruded belly, through her entire body. Then the urge to push came again.
 The woman pushed. Pushed. Her teeth gnashed as she stifled the overwhelming urge to scream her lungs out. The clouds above had turned a dark shade of blue. The wind howled angrily,the blinding flash of lightening illuminated her twisted face in the dark as she thrashed in the sands, all alone in labour.
As a rumble of thunder shook the earth, the woman let out a final  guttural sound and pushed with all her might. A squirming red faced baby slipped out of her and she weakly cut the tie that held her to it. No sooner had she done that than she felt the pool of blood gush from her. With one hand she held on to the crying bundle and tried to rock it. Her strength was fast fading; she needed to take it away..just anywhere - it would be safe. If the villagers of Omodu got wind of its birth,that meant the instant death of it. She staggered to her feet,wincing in pain. She made to take a step but faltered. Heaving a deep breath she tried again. Slowly she moved,and moved,slowly..slowly..slowly through a narrow path towards the outskirts of the village.
The sky suddenly opened in a blast of rain. A dejected sob caught in the woman's throat as she shielded her child in the crook of her arms. At some point she tripped, but by a stroke of luck she found her feet,more determined to get Angel out of Omodu. Yes,Angel would be her daughter's name. "Angel.." she tested the name of her lips,looking down at the small,blood coated baby who seemed to stare back at her. Was it a small smile she saw lurking around her lips?  Oh no! The woman quickly negated that uncanny thought. But she found it a trifle disturbing that she'd stopped wailing,instead had an usual calmness about her.
 She soon found her way to Omukpe,the neighbouring village. Slowly she moved towards the first hut that greeted her eyes. Her breaths were coming in short gasps now. Her head was spinning,yet she managed to hold on to her baby. She knocked on the door. There was no response. She did knock again and was glad when the door creaked open to reveal a bald headed man.
"W-w-who are you?" he squinted his eyes in the dark,taking in the bleeding form of a woman with child. Without waiting for a response,he took the child from her and called on his wife in a loud voice," Ulo! Ulo! Please come quickly! " Ulo rushed out,saw the crying child in her husband's arms,the weak looking woman and then quickly helped the woman into the hut. She lay her gently on the mat and got hold of a piece of cloth and a bowl of water. She bent over the near lifeless form of the woman and began to wipe the blood off her body.
Ulo paused midway when the woman's cold hand reached out and grabbed her by the arm."Stop..." she whispered hoarsely."I won't live...."
"You shall live!" cried Ulo, wiping off the last of blood stains.
"Who are you? Where are you from?" Ulo's husband asked from behind them. The child had quietened in his arms now and was looking so peaceful.
"I-i-i-i am Ugoji.. from..from..Omodu village. I've lived..lived..as..as..an outcast..in the village..since..since I got defiled by a stranger..in..in the..forest -" she trailed off,staring into empty space. Ulo and her husband were conversant with Omodu's punishment for defilement. The victim was either banished from the village or lived there as an outcast   -No one traded with such a woman who was regarded as loose and if anyone was caught interacting he was banished too.
"Do you have any relatives?" Ulo interrupted brokenly. Her eyes were filled with sorrow now.
"I am an..orphan..My daughter's name shall be called Angel...Someday she'll find..the..stranger who robbed me of my innocence. She shall avenge......." She breathed her last. Ulo let out a loud cry.
 "Shhhhh..." her husband's forehead drew in a tight frown, "We should be thankful to the gods that it's late so we can easily dispose her body in the evil forest. Should any Omodu villager know we took her in you know what that means." He said.
Ulo nodded her head slowly. It was true what her husband said but the lifeless cold body of the woman tore at her heart.
 The body was thrown into the evil forest soon as they got it all wrapped in black cloth. All through the night Angel cried and finally drifted to sleep shortly before dawn.
To be continued..

Written by Osarhieme Okungbowa.


Hope you guys enjoyed my story?*big grin* I wanted something epic..something kinda different. Will continue later today,ok? Kisses.