ANYAUWA; THE EYES OF THE GODS #AwakenYourLiteraryMind........By Chijioke

He always walked amongst them, watching quietly, unseen, unnoticed. He is the eyes of the gods, ever watchful, listening to every whisper. Some even say that he hears the thoughts of men. Anyauwa; is talked about only in the folk tales where he acts as an assurance of the gods staying true to their words. On that night, Anyauwa was watching when Uche  awakened his brother Ekwe for the late evening hunt. The night was quiet, only the hooting owl kept it awake. As they made it to the forest, the twitching of the dried bushes provided a continuous companion and the smiling moon made the path clear. Ekwe struggled to stay awake but Uche walked on and urged him to keep up with his pace.

As they got to where they laid their trap to catch òsa ( the squirrel), they saw neither the trap nor the òsa nor the enticing food they kept to draw the òsa into the cage.

"What happened here? Who stole our trap?" Uche asked, looking at Ekwe whose face was filled with confusion too . 

"Amadioha!!!" He exclaimed looking to the sky. "Who dares to steal from the poor?"

Just then, as if it were a sign, the sleeping night came alive with a piercing whistle coming from all directions.

Ekwe hid at the back of Uche as hefty men with a well padded chests emerged from the bush, armed with bows, arrows and machetes. They ignited the night with their torches.

Uche and Ekwe knew they were in trouble. As the men drew closer, Ekwe shouted "Mama o, help me"

"Silence, grab them" said their leader with a thick voice. "Now we can bury our king"

Anyauwa knew that his wings would have to fly faster if the boys were to be rescued. He flew back to the eye socket of the gods and awakened Amadioha whose thunder lighted the sky. The thunder travelled for miles as guided by Anyauwa.

The men were still marching the boys to their doom when Amadioha's thunder struck four of them. The others tried to flee but their feet were stuck to the ground as Amadioha took the form of a fiery tongue hanging on the air.

"Who dares harm my children?" His voice rang out. The men were trembling with fear, the leader could only mutter incoherent words.

"Ah ah our king is dead and we are here to get slaves that will accompany him to the grave as directed by IKUKU the gods of Agbaland."

" Let them go, and If you ever come into my land again, you will be burnt beyond any grave." Amadioha said.

Uche and Ekwe were set free and they took to their heels running faster than a gazelle. What they had seen tonight was beyond the tales of the tongue. Amadioha returned to its chambers and Anyauwa pulled away from the socket wandering around, watching, listening quietly, unseen, unnoticed.

image credit- Favim