The Village Thief

I was seated on a low stool, helping Grandma peel some Egusi (melon) seeds, as she fanned the embers of the firewood, into a cackling flame. It was one late evening, the sunset was a ball of dull gold, melting behind the hills, the chickens clucked in the compound, seeking their dinner before retiring for the night, but I was feeling so sad. My pregnant white goat had simply disappeared into the night with no trace at all, it was my favourite because I had taken care of it ever since it was just two weeks old. Even when my Grandma had re-assured me it would be found, I still felt so bad.

"Grandma I forgot to feed it last night and it must be very hungry wherever it is." I pouted.

"Don't worry about that, we will find your goat." She patted me gently on the back. I nodded my head in agreement even when I knew it would only take a stroke of luck.

For weeks now, the villagers have been lamenting over the theft of their goats. Almost every dawn, someone would wake to shout that their goat had disappeared from their premises and the rope had been cut clean, with no tracks. The elders in the village convened meetings, to find a solution to the problem.

“Grandma, Amukwe... does he still have that eye problem? ” I asked that evening.

"Ha, where did you see Amukwe again! Grandma asked brusquely.

"I don't like him, I have the feeling that he sees more than he makes people believe, even the way he sneaks around people, it irritates me. What if he's the goat thief, the one responsible for all the missing goats in this village?"

Grandma quickly covered my mouth. "Don't let anyone hear this nonsense that's coming out of your mouth.... Aaa, how can you go about accusing people when you don't have any proof?"

Then one night, I heard a sound. I had purposely left our big brown billy goat outside, praying that the goat thief would come along that night.

And I really got lucky

It was past midnight. I was lying on my mud bed, with Grandma a few feet away, snoring gently, her wrapper wrapped tight. I heard a shuffle—then a low bleat. I tiptoed to the window and peeked out. The Moon shone so bright as if there was a conspiracy between girl and Nature.

That was when I saw him—Amukwe! Amukwe who always wore dark glasses and claimed he had eye problem, infact who pretended he couldn't see clearly. He was dragging the Billy goat by its rope, quietly heading toward the back of the compound. My heart nearly stopped. So my suspicions were right all along! Amukwe was the village's goat thief.

The next morning, I couldn’t hold it in. I told Grandma everything.

Grandma... I saw him last night. He was dragging our goat through our backyard. I think he’s the thief that everyone has been looking for!”

"Who?" She asked in a surprised tone.

"Amukwe! It was him Grandma, I saw him clearly." I maintained my stance because she was looking at me with that “Are you sure you saw him?" Kind of stare.

“You saw Amukwe? With a goat? At what time?” She was squinting at me.

“Past midnight. I heard a noise, checked the window. He didn’t see me. Our goat was crying small-small (bleating softly probably because its mouth was covered).”

She didn’t shout and she didn't doubt me either. She simply tied her wrapper tight, fetched her walking stick from her room and marched to the village square like a woman on a mission.

That afternoon, a crowd gathered. Grandma, with fire in her eyes, confronted Amukwe in front of the elders and the people.

He denied it at first, claiming that I must have been dreaming. But the stolen goat was found tied up behind his hut, along with a sack of ropes and a pot of goat meat stew.

He was disgraced and asked to pay for every goat stolen in the past few weeks, with a warning that he would be responsible for any missing goat henceforth.

Later that evening, as we sat watching the stars above in the sky, Grandma turned to me and said, “In this life, my child, truth is like smoke—it always finds its way out. But sometimes, you need courage to let the cat out of the bag.”

All images are AI generated.

I am @edith-4angelseu and thank you for stopping by my neighbourhood.