THE UNKNOWN HANDS (EPISODE THIRTY-THREE)

STORY SERIES

...I thought of climbing a tree but another thought reminded me that it could be too risky. On looking up again, I noticed that it had finished eating and was coming slowly towards my direction. I crawled as quickly and as noiseless as possible and hid myself

under the shrubs. After a while, I looked up again and it was gone.

I heaved a sigh of relief and sat up pondering over the danger I had put myself in. I was thinking of what step to take when I started to hear trumpeting accompanied by intermittent gibberings. There were howlings, growlings and every kind of noise and I was almost turned deaf. I lay flat again and from that position I watched a group of big elephants with their large trunks and tusks moving slowly by. Sitting on them were some apes which I discovered had seen me. They all alighted from the elephants and were soon jumping towards me while the elephants simply ambled on undisturbed. I quickly got a long dry stick and instinctively started swinging it in all directions with all my energy and with my eyes firmly closed. When I later opened my eyes, I saw the ugly creatures jumping away, gibbering as they went.

I guessed it would be better if I climbed one of the big trees so that I would be able to survey the area clearly as well as hide myself away from danger. I was walking slowly with my measured steps, towards a big tree that I knew could serve my purpose well when I noticed a long multi-colored rod lying in front of me. I took a dry long stick and attempted to roll over the rod to see what it actually was. At once, the object rose up in defense; it was a terrible looking cobra! I bolted away as soon as I was able to get over the shock. I stood at a distance and, watching its mouth wide open, I thanked my stars that I had not touched it with my hand. I later saw it crawling away and from that moment, I knew my eyes shall know no sleep in that forest.

I was totally exhausted and needed rest. Besides, acute hunger was dealing with me a devastating blow and I realized that if I didn’t find something to eat immediately, I was going to collapse. I needed just anything to fill my stomach, just anything I could find. It was, however, obvious that finding anything in that jungle would be an impossible mission. I looked around if any fruit was available. I got to a palm tree where I luckily found some of the fruits littering the place. Even though I was sure there was very little those could do to quench my hunger, I still picked them and started biting them one after the other.

Perhaps because there was no hope of finding anything there, I noticed that I got a bit okay and felt some energy pumped into me.

With a renewed vigor, I later climbed a very tall tree, From my vantage point; I looked around, and was surprised to see at a distance, a multitude of gorillas with their hands placed on their heads, moving round an object in a circle.

It was later when they started moving away and some of them carried the object formerly on the ground on their heads that I was able to see that it was another gorilla. Considering its stiffness, I guessed it was dead and I realized that what I had been watching was their own kind of funeral ceremony. I found it difficult to believe and was still thinking deeply about this experience when I started to hear rumblings and murmurings from inside the tree I was. I nearly jumped down from it but for its height. I knew if I did, that would be the end and almost immediately, my mind went back to the circumstances surrounding Baba’s death and how he had fallen off the tree. As I balanced myself on its stem and gradually descended from it, I felt some hands holding me tightly in the waist and I screamed on top of my voice. Then, the hands released me and I hurried off it.

In my stampede, I later stood on what I thought was a big dry log of wood, thinking, it was the only safe place. I suddenly noticed a movement of the supposed wood and I quickly got down from it only to discover that what I had thought was a dry wood was indeed a giant python! It would have attacked me outrightly when I had stood on it but for its length. It was unbelievable big and long, and its head was hidden in a distance somewhere under the shrubs. It merely shook it body and then continued crawling away. I quickly left that section of the forest and tip-toed away. I got to a place where I saw a big stone and decided to rest on it for a while. I had barely sat down when I noticed that the stone was rising up and I made efforts to jump away. It was too late and I had lost my balance and fallen on the shrubs. From where I lay, I watched a huge tortoise swaggering away majestically; apparently what I had thought was a big stone.

I began to wonder why every animal in that jungle was over sized and I later came to the conclusion that it was probably as a result of either so many years of undisturbed existence or that I was in another world entirely.

The next moment,…to be continued on Tuesday.

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