Prologue

                                    

                                          

  Prologue 
The sun turned a beautiful golden red colour as it set behind the mountains signalling the end of another beautiful day. 
                          
The thatched roofs of the huts shone in the golden light and the whole village was spun in beauty. The sunset was a beautiful thing to behold from the mountains.
                          
The night spirralled in quickly and the darkness brought with it, it's terrors. 
                          
An old woman sat at the front of her Hut looking towards the darkening skies with a frown etched on her wrinkled skin. 
                          
'Mama!' a young boy of about five screamed happily as he waltzed his way towards her with the little speed his tiny legs could offer. 
                          
The old woman's face crinkled up to a smile as the little boy ran towards her. 
                          
'Where have you been? You made your grandmother wait for you,' she scolded gently with love in her eyes. It was obvious she treasured this little one. 
                          
'I'm sorry mama,' he apologized lowering his gaze to the ground, 'I was at the stream,' he continued as a smile lit up his tiny face as he brought his gaze back up. 
                          
'Really? Tell me all about it,' she cooed him.
                          
'I caught a fish. It was so gigantic,' he said excitedly using his hands to exaggerate. His grandma laughed at his story as he continued telling her of his adventures.
                          
'And then there was a big dragon, it had wings grandma and it could fly and he stole my fish and that was the reason I couldn't bring the fish back to you,' he said cheekily looking up at her wrinkled face as if he was daring her to doubt him.
                          
His grandma opened her mouth slightly in shock. She didn't know if she should scold him for his excessive imagination or the fact that he was lying.
                          
She laughed, 'enough with your stories little one. Grandma has had enough, let's go inside.' She looked at the already darkened sky with a sad face before standing and holding the little boy's hand and moving into the Hut. 
                          
He wouldn't shut up and his grandma laughed at all his tales.
                          
She placed him on the mud bed, gently rubbing his short kinky hair.
                          
'Tell me a story,'
                          
'Once upon a time, there was a strong little boy who loved his grandma and he would leave the house and explore the village and he would come back with tales to tell his old grannie..'
                          
'Grandma, is this story about me?' he cut in, looking at his grandma suspiciously.
                          
His grandma faked a surprised expression, 'and why will I do that young man? Go to sleep.'
                          
'Grandma...' he whined as she ruffled his hair again. 
                          
'Go to sleep Tobi so you'll grow strong and protect your old grandma,'
                          
'Love you grandma,' he said, halfway deep into his sleep. 
                          
'Love you more munchkin,' she whispered, covering him with a tattered cloth. 
                          
The sounds of hooves plummeted the soft earth and cut through the eerie silence with a dull sound which kept on increasing. The screams from afar sliced the air like sharp blades. The old woman sat upright in fear jostling her old bones. She rose up quickly waking her grandson. 
                          
'Whatever you do Tobi, don't let them see you,' she whispered to the poor boy who had no idea about what was going on.
                          
'What's going on mama,' he asked groggily.
                          
'Promise me you'll be strong. Be strong for your mama, okay?' Tears dropped from her aged eyes as she looked at her grandson for the last time. 
                          
He took his chubby little palms and wiped away her tears and in that moment her dreams were fulfilled. She couldn't ask for more. All she wanted was a son who would wipe away her tears and in his own little way, he fulfilled the dream his own father didn't. She would die a happy woman. 
                          
'Don't cry mama, I'll protect you,' he said and her heart clenched in pain. 
                          
'I know you will son,' she nodded 'but for now I need you to hide here and don't come out until they leave okay?' she said with desperation as she hurried him out of the bed, her eyes darting here and there for a hiding place. 
                          
She kissed his forehead and placed him behind the mud bed, put him inside a raffia basket before placing a raffia mat on him. 
                          
'Don't come out Tobi,' she whispered fiercely as hands pounded on little rickety wooden door threatening to pull it apart.
                          
The soldiers broke in the house, seizing her by the throat while another drove a sword into her heart and before she gave up the ghost she looked at Tobi peeking beneath the basket and she screamed, 'NO!' shaking her head vigorously trying to tell him without letting the soldiers no that he was there. 
                          
'Such a pathetic old witch,' one of them said and they laughed leaving the Hut and the sound of their hooves went further into the darkness to the next hut to perpetrate their evil acts. 
                          
He came out of the basket and rushed to his grandma. 
                          
'Mama, wake up. Wake up. Why did those people hurt you? There's so much blood,' he cried shaking her body as much as his chubby hands could.
                          
He ran and got a rag cleaning the deadly gash the sword had left. 
                          
'Why did you tell me not to come out, I would have protected you grandma,' he cried as he washed her wounds with his chubby little hands. 
                          
He held his grandma and wept since she refused to wake up and the next morning, he was found, his sleeping body holding tightly, his dead granny. 
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A\N: Hi sweethearts. Hope you loved this prologue like I did. Anyway I have good and badnews. Bad news is that, this book will likely have very slow updates due to the fact that I am in school but I'll try as much as possible to update whenever I can. Good news is that I have finally completed survival. Please feel free to point out errors and feel free to let me know your thoughts. This is going to be another beautiful journey. Love ya. 
                          
Nesi🖤