The Stranger Who Came to Our Village at Midnight
Episode 2: The Chairman's Secret
The entire village meeting hall was silent.
Nobody moved.
The photograph Chike had placed on the wooden table seemed to carry a terrible secret.
The village chairman, Chief Eze, stared at it with trembling hands.
"Where did you get this photograph?" he asked again.
Chike folded his arms.
"I already told you. My father gave it to me before he died."
Chief Eze swallowed hard.
"Your father was a wicked man. He destroyed many lives in this village."
Chike laughed bitterly.
"That is interesting. Because my father told me that you were the reason he never returned home."
The elders began whispering among themselves.
Chief Eze suddenly stood up.
"Enough! This meeting is over. Nobody should entertain this stranger again."
But Chike refused to move.
"I haven't finished."
He reached into his brown bag and brought out a small black recorder.
"My father recorded something before he died. I believe everyone here deserves to hear it."
He pressed the play button.
At first, there was only static noise.
Then a weak male voice filled the room.
"If anyone is listening to this recording, it means I am probably dead. I want the truth to come out. The night my house was burned, I saw the faces of the men responsible. They were not strangers. They were my closest friends..."
Suddenly, the recording stopped.
Chike shook the recorder.
"What happened?" one of the elders asked.
"The battery is dead," Chike replied.
Chief Eze immediately relaxed.
"Take this boy away. He is trying to disgrace respectable men."
But before anyone could move, an elderly woman entered the meeting hall.
She was Mama Nneka, the oldest woman in Umuora Village.
Everyone stood up to greet her.
She ignored them and walked straight towards Chike.
"Young man," she said quietly, "what is your mother's name?"
Chike looked confused.
"My mother's name was Adaora."
Mama Nneka's walking stick dropped to the floor.
She covered her mouth with both hands.
"Jesus!"
The chairman looked at her angrily.
"Mama, what is it?"
She turned towards him.
"Twenty years ago, we were told that every member of Chief Nwankwo's household died in that fire."
She pointed at Chike.
"But this boy is not supposed to be alive."
Chike stepped backwards.
"What do you mean?"
Mama Nneka began crying.
"Because I was the one who carried you out of that burning house."
The room erupted in confusion.
Chike's eyes filled with tears.
"You knew me?"
Mama Nneka nodded.
"Your mother handed you to me that night. Before she disappeared, she whispered something I have never forgotten."
"What did she say?" Chike asked.
Mama Nneka looked directly at Chief Eze.
Then she whispered:
"She said the man who ordered the fire was not your father's enemy."
She paused.
"He was your father's own brother."
Everyone turned towards Chief Eze.
But the chairman was no longer standing.
His chair was empty.
And outside the meeting hall, the sound of a motorcycle engine disappeared into the darkness.
TO BE CONTINUED...
What do you think?
Who ordered the burning of Chief Nwankwo's house? Why did Chief Eze suddenly disappear? And what other secrets is Mama Nneka hiding?
Share your theories in the comments. Episode 3 is coming soon.
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