Adanma stared at her reflection through the water flowing in the stream. She looked like every other girl in the village but villagers thought otherwise. Her appearance was striking and beautiful but a huge birthmark on the left side of her face caused people to term her as being cursed by the gods.
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Her mother had sent her to the stream to fetch water and fill up the drums in the house. On getting there, the few girls that were bathing and playing at the stream avoided her like a plague and took to their heels.
She felt like an outcast in her hometown. It wasn’t her fault that she was born like that; even her own mother harbored so much hatred towards her. Mazi Oyenma; her father was the only one that stood by her.
Adaugo, her friend was her emotional support whenever things got hard and she couldn’t bear the heat. They had been friends since childhood and had sworn an oath to stick to each other. Both girls’ parents were initially best of friends before they started having children.
Their parents had already planned how they’d extend their friendship to their children but when Adanma was born with a huge mark on the left side of her face; her parents were isolated by the villagers even when her mother birthed her.
Ever since that day, she had lived in isolation from her peers and kept to herself. She busied herself with house chores and working on her father’s farm. Adanma also enjoyed her father’s company; he believed that his daughter was a blessing from their gods and not a curse as everyone had said.
“Why did the gods have to bring me down to this earth if it's to only wallow in shame? I feel so useless living here.”
Instantly, a woman emerged from the water with a knife to strike her down but she dodged. “We were mistaken, you’re not a curse. You’re the key to bringing this village back to its glory, you must die!” The woman screamed and threw the knife at her but it bounced back.
She looked curiously at Adanma’s neck and realized there was a talisman stopping her from attacking. The woman tackled her to the ground and bashed her head on the ground. She held her neck and jacked the talisman.
Adanma jolted from her sleep, sweating profusely. It felt real but she realised she was only dreaming and took the handfan nearby to fan herself. Mama was seated near the mat, with her head bent. It was eerily quiet and the crows crowed intensively; five perched on the hut looking like they held a secret meeting.
“Mama, are you okay? What are you doing there? What is going on Mama?” She queried, looking scared. Her mother seemed different, she could feel it but she didn’t know how. She moved backward and tried leaving the hut but an invisible force stopped her.
It threw her backwards to the ground and she touched her neck hoping to find the talisman her father gave her for protection but she couldn’t find it there. She screamed when she felt a hand on her shoulder; it was her mother.
“Adanma, do you have the mind to lay hands on the woman that birthed you? Ehn?”Mama sneered. Her eyes were rolled backward without the pupils showing. Adanma’s eyes widened in shock at her appearance because she looked like the woman in her dream.
“Mama, please I’m sorry if I did anything wrong to offend you.
Please, don't kill me, mama. You're my own mother, please don't forget that.” She pleaded, with tears running down her face. Mama cackled evilly and dragged her by the hair towards the mat.
She screamed out of pain and begged continuously hoping to draw the attention of neighbours. She threw Adanma roughly on the ground and forced her to drink a liquid substance in a calabash. The taste was awful which caused her to spit out but it had already started taking effect in her body.
Adanma felt lightheaded and laid her head on the mat. She couldn’t move any of her body parts or try to run away because the substance she drank paralyzed her. Her eyes rolled as her body quivered and shuddered in pain, she looked on as her mother drew white chalk on the ground; making a sign.
“I promise it wouldn't be painful like you expect. We need to be fast, it’s almost sunrise.” She sat down with her legs crossed and sharpened the bronze knife she retrieved from her wrapper.
“Why mama?”
She explained. “Your blood is needed to appease the gods. That mark on your face shows that you’re the destiny child that would save us from the prophecy of doom. Look at it as being a hero to our village, at least you have a good use now. You should be happy Adanma.”
Adanma cried and wondered why the gods chose her; the cursed child. She had always thought she was a curse and had no use in the village.
Mama drew a long line on her arms and legs to draw blood.
“Your blood needs to touch the earth. I can’t kill you instantly, you have to die slowly and bleed to death.”
“Please, mama.” She whispered, closing her eyes slowly.
“The gods' wishes are to be fulfilled,” Mama muttered.