A Righteous Man (Trespass collection) by Tochi Onyebuchi

Author:Tochi Onyebuchi [Onyebuchi, Tochi]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Amazon Original Stories
Published: 2022-02-24T00:00:00+00:00

Yours as always,

Nathaniel

My Dear Theresa,

I have been bedridden for some time. And I fear, in my absence, the Devil has been at work in the village. Solomon, when he brings me food, also brings news of the villagers’ doings. There was recently a stillbirth, and when he told me this, I must confess to my shame that a grain of relief nestled at the bottom of my heart. I had not imagined the previous day’s wailing.

Solomon brought me food this morning, as I could not get up from bed. When he asked me why I was ill, I told him of what we saw last week, what everyone saw last week. But he told me a thing that has left my heart immensely unquiet.

He told me that last week, no one had touched that hill. There were no slavers. There were no slaves. But, rather, one of the hyenas had finally mauled its handler. Over this, he began to weep. I suspect the sight of those slaves was an appearance so horrid that the poor boy has simply blocked it from his memory.

The Harmattan winds blow, and when the sand and dust cease to swirl, there are fewer people here than before. The villagers think a vengeful spirit has descended upon them, but I fear a more terrestrial explanation. I fear that slavers are abducting members of my congregation, and every day before Solomon leaves, I advise him to exercise caution and to be vigilant.

“Of the Devil?” he asked me when I first offered my admonition.

I paused and waited for words. When none came, I said only yes.

Do you think it is neglect of my ecclesiastical duties that has led to this Bedlam? This turmoil? When the children were caught up in learning their catechisms, there was much flowering about the place. The weather smiled kindly upon us. The pathways were filled with laughter. My presence was welcomed. Even though we spoke different languages, I felt that when I communicated with the villagers, I was being understood. Only when I saw the hyena men did I taste disharmony here.

One morning (or evening; I have lost track of the moon’s movements), I asked Solomon to stay with me, hoping that his mere presence would loosen my tongue or shift some of the rocks clogging my throat and I would be able to speak the Word to him. Instead, when I found I still could not speak intelligibly (my words, when I speak, are confused), he told me of the hyena.

(By the way, Solomon has begun to dress like a proper Englishman. When I showed designs to the local seamstresses, they fashioned him proper Western dress so that when he visits me, he more and more resembles the denizens of London. I thought, when I first proposed the idea, that the sight of him in these habiliments would bring me joy, that it might be another piece of home, of Enlightened England, that I could bring here. But now I wish I had suggested a traditional habit instead.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.