Captive No More (Part VI)
Captive No More (Part VI)
17
Tanto, my grandfather’s dog
was busy harassing a lizard
of strange bodies.
He did not hear them
and he did not see them
but he could smell them
within fifty yards from him.
He compared the scent
with other scents from the compound
eliminating one by one
all the characters living and dead
that he had come across
in his eight years
of dogging around the neighborhood
come rain, come shine
come harmattan, come whirlwinds
which he particular loved
as the air turned round and round
and he spun around chasing it.
He could also smell the rain
which was still several miles away
but was certainly inching its way
Nearer and nearer without falling.
18
The fat red neck lizard
was nodding its head up and down
as it stayed low enough
to drive Tanto crazy
Yet far away enough
On the craggy adobe wall
to feel safe and free
of Tanto’s predictable chasing.
They had been playing the same game
for a couple of seasons
and the agama lizard could feel
that Tanto’s enthusiasm and speed
was already slowing down
even as its own energy
was just starting to grow
as its red neck began to glow.
But the agama could feel
that Tanto was preoccupied
with some unseen character
as he stopped chasing it
holding high his head
and fanning out his ears
trying to catch some sound
far from where he was.
It smelled evil to him
and he wanted to find out
who it was that reeked so bad
and what their business was
within the walled compound
of the chief’s mansion.
19
Tanto moved away from the agama
to a special hidden spot
where he could watch my grandfather
without losing the scent
hanging so heavy
in the air.
To his annoyance
the scent was not getting nearer
but seemed to sit on one spot
which he found curious.
Suspicious of this stagnant scent,
he moved away from sight
and hid behind a dead tree
which has lost most of its barks
and was lying on its side
frequently playing hosts
to rodents and wild squirrels
hiding their loots in shallow burrows,
for rivals to discover and steal
as they sought rivals’ banks to loot.
20
As Tanto settled inside his favorite hole
within the dead tree trunk
his gaze spanned the spot
where Akin was playing
and he could still keep an eye
on the mischievous agama
halfway up the adobe wall
within twenty yards from him.
Tanto knew the scent belonged
to at least three people
none of them female
none of them children.
He kept his nostrils open
and scanned the air with his ears.
21
Suddenly he saw them
and within a matter of seconds
they pounced on Akin
as he dashed out of his hiding
and sunk his teeth really deep
on the calf of the one
nearest to him
biting as hard and as sharp as he could
Without letting go,
looking to break some bone.
It was that same moment
that a bolt of jagged lightning
lit the evening sky
tearing it to shreds
and a loud thunder crashed
striking the dead tree trunk
making a roaring sound
more frightening than he had ever heard.
Startled, he let go of the man’s leg
because he was petrified
by the sudden firework and terrifying noises
when the thunder rumbled
and the electrifying lightning struck
with ferocious fury.
That was when the sky opened up
and a storm of rain
so heavy began to fall
pelting him with rocklike stings
that for a moment he couldn’t see
where he was
and couldn’t smell where
the strange evil men went.
But he noticed with great concern
that Akin, his watch,
had also disappeared
with these foul-smelling strangers.
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