Adu woke up screaming after having one of his scary dreams. Cramped in the family hut were his father, mother and two younger sisters. His mother, Chidinma quickly rushed to get a bowl of cold water and a small towel to cool his temperature and clean the sweat off his body. She placed the cool towel on his forehead even as Adu continued to shake all over.
Chidinma's face was filled with concern as she conveyed her thoughts to Adu's father. "Kalu, I am worried. Is this how it was for you?"
"No, definitely not. Adu's recurring nightmares are not part of the spiritual rite to adulthood. At least we still have a week before Adu and his peers go through the change in the forbidden forest."
With tears in her eyes and Adu burning up with fever beside her, Chidinma besought her husband to allow Adu skip the rites. "Never! It has never been heard that the son of the Lion skipped the rites. Never, not in my lineage and it would not start with me. Woman, have you forgotten that I am one of the respected chiefs in this village? You want to bring eternal shame on my bloodline? We are a respected warrior tribe in this village. We don't back down from a challenge!" Kalu's deep voice boomed in the family hut.
Chidinma gazed at her son, "I am sorry, Husband. It was not my intention to anger you nor do I want to bring shame on our family but Adu can always join his peers next year."
"My answer is still No, Chidinma. First thing in the morning I will go to Eze, our spiritual head. I believe he will have a solution to this. It's 2am. Let's all get some rest before the day breaks. I believe by tomorrow this issue will be a thing of the past."
……
The cowries fell out of Eze's hands and dropped into the calabash rhythmically. Eze murmured some incantations and peered into the calabash with his watery glassy eyes. "Hmm....hmmm....I see," Eze whispered to himself then glanced at Kalu intensely and continued his incantations.
Suddenly, he stopped, stood up and broke into some sort of dance, twisting and turning. He stopped abruptly and shouted, "Kalu! Do you know what this means?" Kalu looked bewildered.
Eze continued talking, "Your son is not a broken or a disoriented boy as you may think. Do you really know why your lineage is called the Lion tribe?"
Kalu answered sharply with pride in his voice, chest pushed forward, "It is because of the bravery with which my ancestors dispatched our enemies in the Great Battle."
Whack!!! Eze slapped Kalu strongly across the face.
"You fool!!!" Eze frowned at Kalu. "Didn't other warrior tribes join in the Battle? Did they not all show bravery?! Hmmm...it seems the story has been watered down. Don't you know that your lineage was anointed by the gods and chosen to bear the mark of the Lion? The mark bestows the carrier with uncanny abilities of speed, strength, bravery and intelligence but the mark has ceased to occur in about a hundred years because it was corrupted and used for greedy purposes."
Kalu was amazed. "Hmm..I had never really heard about that part. So how does this concern Adu? He doesn't bear the mark and he is ready to undergo the rites of adulthood in the forbidden forest. But all he does is scream late at night and when asked he says he does not recollect his dreams."
Eze laughed,"You are such a novice! The last person that bore the mark had similar issues. It is after they undergo the rites that the mark will appear."
Kalu could not believe his ears. "Are you saying.....?"
"Yes!, Kalu! Adu has been anointed by the gods. All the screaming, burning fever and loss of memory is the beginning of the changes taking place within him and when he completes the rites, the transformation would have been complete. Make sure no one knows about this because the Darkness that quenched the light of the last Lion Warrior is still very much around. Speak of this to no one."
Kalu nodded, filled with pride. He thanked Eze and promised to keep the revelation a secret. Kalu couldn't be prouder of his son, Adu.
What a captivating story! Reminds me of Chinua Achebe's books. If I was Kalu, I'd be proud too that my son would be stronger and powerful as a warrior after going through the change and the rites.
The dialogue between Kalu and Eze was a funny one. Why did Eze smack him like that? Lol!
You did great with the prompt. Welcome to the Ink Well community. Looking forward to reading more of your stories. 🙂
Thanks for giving your fellow author great feedback, @kemmyb
Thank you for your kind words and time you took to read through the story.
😁😁😁Eze was disgusted by the ignorance mixed with pride showed by Kalu, hence reason for the slap.🤣
Welcome to the Inkwell community. You have offered an interpretation of the prompt, change, that has several levels. There is the change, of course, that is experienced by Adu. Then there is the change in Kalu's perspective. And, finally, the change that the tribe will experience with another generation of leaders who bear the mark of the Lion.
The voice with which the story is told is fitting for the scene and the content. The dialogue is effective. Good job!
Thank you for posting this story in the Ink Well community. We ask all community members to support each other by reading and commenting on stories. (See The Ink Well community rules on our home page.) This helps our community thrive, and also makes you eligible to be chosen for a spotlight in our weekly highlights magazine. Thank you!
Thank you for the warm welcome to inkwell and for also reading the story. Am delighted to be part of this community.
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A teenager faces a spiritual change brought about by the gods, as he faces the approach of his rite of passage from child to adult. Excellent reason to write. You deal with one of the most important changes in cultures because of its psychological and communal consequences.
I liked your story, @daveyjones7 !
Thank you for really taking the time out to read the story.
I really enjoyed reading this story, @daveyjones7. There's an interesting dynamic between the sets of characters - Kalu and his wife, and Kalu and Eze. The revelation that Adu is not ill but is instead preparing for a transformation, and taking his rightful place as anointed by the gods, is really quite breathtaking. Thank you for sharing your story in The Ink Well! I look forward to reading more of your work.
Really happy you enjoyed and found the story interesting, your words of encouragement means a lot to me especially coming from one of the admins😁😁. Thank you for taking the time to read the story.
Wow! I really enjoyed this story 😃, the setting, plot and theme were unqiue. Then your characters are amazing and funny (Eze and Kalu)🤣🤣.
Kalu is now a proud father who will watch his soon become who he is meant to be as predicted by the gods of their land.
Wonderful story!. I anixously wait to read your story again
Thanks for your words of encouragement and i am happy you enjoyed the story
What a fantastic story! Your writing sure is captivating and this very different from what I usually read. Thank you for sharing this story, I enjoyed it a lot.
I am really glad you enjoyed the story. Thank you for your words of encouragement
Amazing story! I loved it. I love the Nigerianness of it. The beauty of the ancient beliefs. Extremely captivating and well written.
Thank you for the encouraging words.
Please say that we get a part two!!! I want to follow Adu into the Forbidden Forest! I hope his father will keep the secret.
Hahaha...hmmm...🤔 Fingers crossed. Thanks for the taking the time to read through.
Mr. Kalu's fears for his son turned out to be a blessing in disguise right? 😁 Something he barely know or understand.
Thank you for reading through the story.
😁😁 I actually wrote a line at the end of the story that would have created suspense and probably turn the story into a series but later edited it out so that the story can have an end. Thank you for reading and enjoying it. For your words of encouragement, it really means a lot.👍