Edoh dosed off, as the faint sounds of commotion betwixt the doctors and the nurses drowned him. he found himself in a forest, only he was not himself as he could hear earthworms moving in the soil beneath him, birds singing a thousand melodies different from what he was used to, he closed his eyes thinking It was somehow a dream.
Only when he looked down at his legs did he realize they were four not two and the sand of the forest felt mushy beneath the paws he once called feet, then the scents kicked in, and he could sniff different creatures and the flowers, golden and ripe as autumn.
“I am dreaming he thought or perhaps I am dead” Then a rabbit made a sudden move just left of him, he could see its silhouette even behind the greens and he followed it slowly at first then faster and faster as the wind gushed behind his hears he felt happy I am no longer a sick little boy.
Edoh had been sick from birth, sickle celled Edoh was what a bully in school called him. His friends Jide and Aliu knew all about sickle cell because of him and they were never far away. Except when Edoh went hunting with his wild Uncle who did hunting the same way the Indians did, with arrows dipped in tree sap.
“We were here before they all came” He often reminded Edoh, especially when they come across foreigners camping and hunting in the forest. He would hiss and great loudly as though he owned the entire forest.
Edoh owned the forest now as he ran leaves splashing around him, he could smell the scent of the rabbit, stronger than it had been. Then he caught it, teeth first, the thirst was satisfying, as was the chase.
Back at the hospital, Edoh was stiff, lying on the straight narrow hospital bed that was covered with white bed sheets. together, the room was warm despite the air conditioner muzzling out wisps of cold air. His mother’s eyes were filled ready to drip at any time, while that of his father seemed grotesque like an image on the wall.
Unem couldn’t believe this was happening to his son, “the gods are cruel” he was seen muttering.
Save for the duo and the nurse coming and going out each time adding another puff of fluid into the drip that hung above Edoh’s head or checking his vitals and recording in a long placard that never seemed to get exhausted, the room was quiet.
A cluster of people was outside and some were in the waiting room waiting for news either good or bad.
Among them was Ajo their next-door neighbor standing in the corridor with both hands firmly placed on the pavement.
“He has never been this sick” Ajo their neighbor said, to a man in a grey kaki that matched his beard.
“They were lucky he survived this long” the man replied,
“They should ease his pain and let him go” he added, to which Ajo hissed and shaked his head. He wondered why people gave up so easily.
Edoh was not in pain however, he has never felt this energetic all his life.
He saw what he truly was today as he was lapping water at the bank of a stream. He gazed at the reflection of a mountain lion for while, bringing out his tongue and winking his eyes, and he felt funny and wished Jide and Aliu could see him.
He thought of going home, but he was scared.
“What if I get knocked down while crossing the road,” he thought.
“Or worse I get shot and eaten” he knew the Ikot people were predominantly hunters and it won’t take long before he will be shot if he tried for home.
He narrowly escaped one of such that morning as a hunter aimed for him, the flashing sound of the bullet as he raced still perturbed him. He tried to beg him to stop but it only came out as a roar and then the rocks saw him to safety. The thought of him hanging on a rope by the roadside made his stomach stiff.
The previous night it was fire, he has always been drawn to fire, forgetting that he was no longer human and wanting the warmth from the fireplace. A few shots in his direction had sent him scampering away, the rock was cold but it was all he could get.
This night he found a cozy cave littered with dried leaves that made crunching sounds upon his arrival. The air was filled with a strong scent, at first, he couldn’t tell what it was until he saw the paw marks left behind by a previous guest.
Edoh was settling down for a rest after a hectic day when the old lion came in, it took him by surprise and he jumped up to his feet.
“Who are you,” The old lion asked and started towards him sniffing the air.
Edoh was surprised that a lion could speak.
“I am Edoh,” he said, this time it didn’t come out as a roar.
The old lion paused thinking for a while before shaking his head.
“You have been in that skin for a long time boy,” he said and narrowed his eyes at Edoh.
“Any longer and you will be dead in the real world” he added.
Edoh had no reply and started with “How, why, who are you” he said finally.
“That is not your concern, but the human soul is not meant for a lion’s body,” the old lion said.
The old lion told Edoh what happened to him and how to fix it.
“You will have to go to the hospital then,” he said.
Edoh was scared and confused. “How will they allow me to gaze upon my body and mutter the sacred words when I’m a lion”
The following night was the fifth day and come seventh he would be lost, both as a human and as a lion. The old lion’s words still startled him.
“No one had ever returned in a hundred years” he had said.
At the hospital, Edoh was now in a coma and a breathing tube protruded from his mouth with the sounds of machines like a timer.
The fire helped Edoh stalk the hunters the previous night as he started his journey, he couldn’t waste a day, he followed them after the fire went out in the morning till they came close to the highway.
Edoh studied the signs from the safety of the shrubs for a while before he knew which direction to follow and by nightfall on the sixth day he was in the city moving from house to house in the shadow.
He knew the hospital and before long it came to view.
Then he did the unthinkable as he scaled the fence and made for the ward where he was kept. The tiled floor was so slippery he couldn’t run fast. He manage to enter undetected but as he came into the second ward a nurse saw him.
He was so scared but little did he know she was scared too, it was only after she dropped the papers and fainted that he knew how scared he was. He ran into his ward sending weepers scampering off as he barged into the room.
His dad grabbed his mom and they jerked backward, his mom did not scream and then he muttered the words and slumped on the floor.
“Edoh, oh Edoh my boy,” his mom said as he opened his eyes.
It was morning and the news on the hospital tv was showing animal control carrying off a loosed lion back to the zoo.