CHAPTER ONE bring friends to the house because it was a usual thing he

always did and it appeared he could not stay home and play
alone. Immediately his Aunt left, Junior decided to go inside
Junior was a very calm and respectful boy. He lived with his
and sleep for fear of breaking the rules and regulations set by
Aunt called Aunt Suzanne in a village called Ndumbi. He
his Aunt a few minutes ago. As he lay in the bed quietly, he
loved to play all day long but would always run as fast as the
fixed his gaze at the extreme top of the bed where her Aunt
wind whenever he heard his Aunt yell out his name to come
usually puts her bible and purse. At times she kept some
home and run an errand. At age eleven, Junior was able to read
monies there because she trusted Junior and knew very well
perfectly and could do simple calculations, and due to this
that he never stole in his life and would never dare. So as he
most of his friends always came to him to assist them do their
lay down glancing round the room, he saw a matchbox, beside
homework. However, Aunt Suzanne was always heard
his Aunt's Bible at the top most part of the bed, his Aunt had
complaining about Junior's curiosity and little gossips about
used it the previous night to light up a mosquito coil and kept
any thing he heard from outside. Even though she had given
it there so that the next morning she could send it back to its
him a severe flogging some time ago for bringing into the
rightful place. But as she was in a hurry this morning, she did
house a very dangerous information which could possibly
not remember. Out of curiosity, Junior picked up this
breed conflict between two families, Junior would always
matchbox and removed one matchstick from it. Without
forget and carry on with this unwanted attitude. One faithful
thinking about the consequences of the action he was about to
morning, Aunt Suzanne told Junior to take care of the house so
engage in, he struck the match and held it in a playful position
that she could go to Sanko, a nearby village to greet a friend
as it burnt closer to his fingers. He dropped it on the bed and
who had lost her husband a day ago. She warned Junior not to
removed another match stick and did same. The third time he
removed another matchstick, he noticed an unusual smell.
Before he could look round to check what was happening, the
mosquito net that was tied to the edges of the bed had caught
fire. It started melting faster and this innocent boy tried
quenching the little fire by gasping out air into the fire but his
attempt failed. Then slowly, the drops from the melting
mosquito net which fell on the bed sheet also started melting
the bed sheet and the room was gradually getting filled with
smoke. Out of fear, Junior quickly picked up the pillow and
started beating the bed sheet and the mosquito net at the same
time. This action quenched the little flames and at this moment
his heart was beating faster and he was shaking at the same
time. Then he quickly run out of the room and fetched a
bucketful of water and returned into the room. Solo, Junior's
friend who happened to pass by Junior's house to check if
Junior was around became the first eyewitness of the scene. He
helped Junior to throw the water in every corner of the room
so that if there was any little fire anywhere, it could be
quenched. Afi, a female friend of the same age as these two
friends, who saw the scene decided to join them in combatting
the fire which nearly consumed Junior and her Aunt's house.
They poured the water on the bed and on the floor leaving the
bed and the other objects in the room very wet, including the
mattress and the bedsheet. At this point they became afraid and
started thinking of the mess they had caused. Solo brought an
idea that they should lock up the room and go out if not,
Junior's troublesome Aunt would not spare them if she came
back to meet them in the room. Eventhough Junior, who knew
his Aunt very well wanted them to clean the room to a avoid
another flogging, but on a second thought, he agreed to his
friend's suggestion and assumed that he would tell his Aunt he
did not know the one who caused the mess. They therefore
locked the room and run to a nearby playground to play
football with their friends.
CHAPTER TWO
They played the ball and made a lot of noise. At a point they
would engage in a petty argument especially when there was a
goal which the other team members did not want to accept.
Solo was left footed and a very good player. Junior too could
play both left and right, making him an excellent player but
Aunt Suzanne would not allow him play football because she
thinks football would make the little boy stubborn. But she
would allow him to go out, hung around and play other games
with friends but anytime she sees him playing football she
would call him to come home. She often told him she did not
want him bring home any injury because she had no money to
take care of him. But when she travelled to a different village,
it gave him the opportunity once again to join his colleagues
on the field. After a few hours of playing football, Junior
became tired and hungry at the same time. He was supposed to
take his lunch but he was afraid that Aunt Suzanne might be in
the house and he would face the hell that was about to befall
him. He went to a nearby Palm tree and lay under it in order to
take some rest. In a few minutes later, Junior fell fast asleep
and was snoring as if he did not sleep last night. Solo tried
waking him up but his efforts failed. Junior is the type who is
always difficult to wake up anytime he falls asleep. Sometimes
Aunt Suzanne would sprinkle cold water on him before he
opened his eyes. All the boys left to their various homes
leaving the little boy who kept on sleeping under the palm tree.
It was almost seven o'clock when Aunt Suzanne returned from
her journey. She called out Junior's name but Junior was
nowhere to be found. She wondered where this boy had gone
to at this late hour. It is unusual for him to be absent from
home when it gets dark but why has today been an
exception...? The middle -aged woman kept on pondering. She
decided to go inside the room to check. Upon opening the
door, the smell from the mess created by the two friends
coupled with the scent from the melting objects struck her to
her utmost surprise. She wondered what could have happened.
Initially she thought it might be the village thieves, Manu and
his friends, who could even steal meat from soup when one
was far away from her cooking pot. But on a second thought,
she convinced herself that it would be her own Junior because
a thief would not lock up the room and put the keys back at its
usual position. Aunt Suzanne had a specific place where she
kept her key and it was only her and Junior who knew where
the key was. She screamed his name once again and her
immediate neighbor's daughter, Afi who had been at the play
ground in the afternoon told Aunt Suzanne where Junior had
been sleeping since afternoon. Out of fear and panic, Aunt told
Afi to go with her to the specific place where Junior slept.
Surprisingly Junior was not there. Another child who had been
at the playground in the afternoon, by name, Koo, said he met
CHAPTER THREE
Junior walking towards the chief's palace. Aunt became very
much afraid because it was dark already and the atmosphere of
Ndumbi was very calm. All children were in their houses and
At this moment, the moon had appeared high above the sky,
she feared that something evil might happen to the little boy so
shining brightly and fireflies moved to and fro while crickets
she asked Koo to join them in search for him.
made their usual sound from far and near accross the village.
All this while Junior was in Solo's mother's house sitting with From a distance, children were heard making joyful noises in
other children round a log of fire on which the evening meal of the neighborhood under the moonlight while other children
Solo's family had been prepared. stayed in their homes quietly listening to stories from their
grandparents. All this while Aunt Suzanne was still looking for
Junior who was chatting with Solo and other little children in
Solo's house. As they got closer to Solo's mother's house, Afi
suggested that they should check in that house because Junior
is mostly seen with Solo. True to her words, Aunt Suzanne
saw Junior sitting with the children round the log of fire and
without any further waste of time Auntie threw herself on
Junior in order not to allow him escape. The rest of the
children screamed out of fear and fled as though a snake had
appeared in their midst. Aunt Suzanne started beating Junior
with all her strength paying no heed to the wails and screams
from the little boy. The rest of the boys watched the scene
helplessly, wishing they could do something to save their
friend from the situation but they knew Aunt Suzanne very
well and would not try. The last time when Aunt Suzanne had
a similar encounter with Junior, it kept much fear in these
children as they tried stopping Aunt when she poured her
anger on them caning them together and accusing them of
being the ones who had influenced Junior to be a bad boy. So
knowing this, no child wanted to intervene. So after beating
Junior for some time she began to drag him towards home. She
kept asking him why he caused that mess in her room but the
little boy could only sob and could not explain himself. It was
Afi, the little female friend of Junior who tried explaining the
situation to Aunt Suzanne since he was an eye witness to the
situation. Upon reaching home, Aunt Suzanne threw the boy
inside the room and instructed him to sleep immediately.
Junior went inside sobbing tearfully and trying to sleep but the
pains from the heavy slaps and blows from Aunt Suzanne still
exerted an unbearable pain on him. Aunt Suzanne kept on
ranting and scolding Junior for his unbecoming attitude. He
partly blamed the peers of Junior for being the ones
responsible for the boys recalcitrance. She is the type who
doesn't let a matter go so immediately, unless she keeps on
ranting and spitting out all her disgust untill she is tired and
exhausted. As she went on and on, the friends and
sympathizers of Junior who followed the scene to the house
started leaving one after the other as she kept on talking. After
a short while she went in to check if the little boy was asleep.
She nodded her head when she heard him snoring on his small
mat. Time was already far gone and after tidying up the room
and putting a few things in order, she went in and threw
herself on her bed.

CHAPTER FOUR
It was the next morning at Ndumbi and a few people came
around to say good morning to Aunt Suzanne. Junior was
already awake and was surrounded by the house fowls which
were expressing their excitement as Junior threw the grains of
maize on the ground for them. Aunt Suzanne was very hard-
working and was counted among the few people in Ndumbi
who proved to be very successful in animal rearing. It was
Junior's duty to feed these animals every morning and it
looked surprising when sometimes Junior would not be awake
but these fowls would wake up and gather at their usual
feeding place waiting for Junior. They would rush over the
grains of maize, chasing one another, jumping and clasping
their feathers against one another in an attempt to get control
over the feed. The hens would guard the feed and allow their
chickens to have a few pecks , and the chickens who's beaks
were not strong enough to peck the grains would wait for the
mother hen to crush the grain into pieces for them to feed.
Then once a while one would spot a cock crowing and chasing
a hen to mate and after mating the hen will shake its feathers
vigorously while the cock would shrug its feathers and move
in a semi - circular motion around the hen. Sometimes Junior
and his friends became very excited when two fowls engaged
in fighting. They would choose sides and support their
favourite fowl and be clapping and chanting while the fowls
fought fiercely. All this while Aunt Suzanne was busily
sweeping her compound while responding to people who
greeted her while passing by her house to their farms. Others
also came to greet her and find out how her friend who lost her
husband at Sanko was faring. It has been a normal practice in
Ndumbi that when it's day break one would pass by his
neighbor's house to say good morning. Others also came
around just to greet and find out why Junior cried so much last
night. "It is his stubbornness that made him cry" Aunt Suzanne
remarked and laughed when one neighbor asked. Aunt
Suzanne was in her late forties but was so energetic and fit as
though she was in her early thirties. She is dark in complexion
and is heavily built with heavy arms which made her very
strong in carrying out her daily routine. She called out to
Junior to be getting ready so that they could go to the farm.
Aunt Suzanne had a small farm near the Ofuofu river. She
cultivated pineapple, tomatoes and yam. She loved to go to the
farm with Junior most of the time not only because Junior
could help her in her farming activities but that would act as a
check on the boy's life in order not to allow him enter into any
trouble when he's left to stay home alone. She called out three
friends of Junior, Koo, Solo and Afi to come with them to the
farm so that as she harvested the yam, the children would park
them into the small farm hut. The children run into the house
with excitement, each one picking his favorite farm tool and
jumping on the way with joy since the farm would save them
from the endless to and fro errands that they would be running
for their parents the whole day. Aunt Suzanne placed her
basket on her head and set off to her farm. She walked briskly
with the basket dangling on her head while calling unto the
children to hurry up. The children loved to go to the farm with
Aunt Suzanne even though whenever she got angry she
insulted the children and threatened to beat them. She would
prepare yam with kontomire stew with palm oil for these
children and they would eat to their satisfaction but would not
tolerate laziness in the farm. Junior had a dog called Buffalo,
which was Aunt Suzanne's only companion whenever she
went to the farm alone. Buffalo was black in colour and very
energetic which would never allow a rat to escape whenever
they met tête a tête in the bush. At this moment Buffalo was
already in front of the children waving it's tail and running
ahead of them.
CHAPTER FIVE
They got to the farm at sunrise and started digging out the
yams. The children too were very hard working and did their
best to convey all the yams to the farm hut. From time to time
she would call one of the children to bring her water so that
she could quench her thirst and continue the work. Aunt was
not growing any younger but could work more efficiently even
more than a young farmer in his early thirties. But at times she
would over work and come back home complaining about
waist pains. She was very skilful in this activity. She would
steadily dig the raised earth, taking her time to remove the yam
from the mounds without breaking it into into pieces. Junior
could also do same but it mostly took Junior a great deal of
time before he completed one whole process. He harvested the
yams for Koo to carry to the farm hut while Aunt also
harvested hers for Afi to carry to the farm hut. The children
were gradually getting tired as a result of the constant to and
fro movements in carrying the yams to the farm hut and then
back to the point where Aunt Suzanne and Junior harvested the
yams. They went on and on with the work untill the sun was
directly overhead. Aunt Suzanne looked into the sky and
realized that it was time for her to prepare the afternoon meal
for the kids. Left to her alone she could set up fire and bury a
piece of yam in it and in an hour time, the yam would have
been well roasted and the only task left is to peel the burnt
portions off and that yam alone was enough to serve as lunch
for her. But today she has got extra workers who are working
so tirelessly for her and therefore, deserved a better and
delicious meal. She paused the children and asked them to go
and get water from the stream so that she could use it to
prepare the afternoon meal. She asked Afi to go to a nearby
cocoyam plantation and bring some cocoyam leaves to be used
for the stew while the three boys, Junior, Koo and Solo went to
the stream to fetch the water. Aunt returned to the farm hut to
initiate the lunch preparation process while Afi and the three
friends are away on an errand. She removed one big tuber of
yam and started peeling it away as Buffalo lay beside her
trying to trap some flies that are hovering around it's ear.
Whenever Buffalo returned from the stream before Junior it
was an indication that Junior was on his way back from the
stream. Koo took upon himself the task to carry the water
while Junior and Solo held some pieces of Sugarcane which
they got from Azupiah's farm. Aunt Suzanne and her
surrounding farm neighbors maintained a very good cordial
relationship and could come to each other in exchange of
certain basic necessities like salt, cutlass or even a cooking pot
for cooking whenever the need arose. Upon reaching the farm
hut, Aunt Suzanne became very furious after seeing the long
stretch of sugarcane that was dragged along the way to the
farm hut. She angrily questioned Junior why he decided to cut
the sugarcane when Azupiah, the owner of the sugarcane
plantation had come to give them several warnings concerning
people who steal his sugarcane. Junior was quiet. Aunt
Suzanne asked them to return the sugarcane to where ever they
got it in order not to spark any conflict between her and
Azupiah. This man was a very wicked man who often chased
people with cutlass from his farm and at times he would set
traps in order to catch people who walk through his farm. He
was a man in his early fifties with a bald head and the name
Azupiah was given to him because of the baldness of his head.
He knew Junior very well and had warned him several times
never to enter into his farm but Junior would never pay heed.
There was even a time when Junior went to Azupiah's farm
with his gang and stole his pineapples and palm wine. He tied
torn pieces of a red cloth indicating that no one should enter
into his farm but Junior and his friends enjoyed going to Aunt
Suzanne's farm largely because of Azupiah's farm products,
especially the palm wine. Whenever he saw Junior's footprint
and comes to warn him, he would deny that he did not go
there. So this time around, Azupiah is crazily hunting for
Junior to use him as a scapegoat. But Junior was very smart
and would always outwit him any day. When the lunch was
ready, the children ate together from a large bowl while Aunt
sat separately scrapping off the burnt portions of the roasted
yam which she buried in the fire long before she finished
preparing the lunch. After they had all eaten to their
satisfaction, they went back to work for a few hours before
leaving for the house. Aunt Suzanne gave the children some
pineapples from her farm to take home which made them very
excited as they thanked Aunt Suzanne and set off running
home with Buffalo. Aunt followed them with a bundle of
firewood on her head while Junior carried his Aunt's basket
which contained the cooking pot and the utensils used to
prepare the lunch. When they got to Ndumbi, the sun had
already settled and all of them dispersed into their various
homes.
CHAPTER SIX

It was another beautiful morning and the atmosphere at

Ndumbi was very calm. People were already awake and the
women had already started sweeping their compounds. Others
preparing breakfast for their families, the men clearing the
bushes around their houses to keep the surroundings clean, and
the young girls queued up with pots on their heads going to the
stream to fetch water. It was a Taboo to go to the farm on
Sunday so all the inhabitants of Ndumbi often engaged in
domestic activities such as weaving, moulding and carving.
These were other alternative vocations that the villagers
mostly engaged in on Sundays and it proved to be financially
helpful to them aside farming and fishing. Other informal
professions such as hunting and going to the forest for
firewood were all prohibited. It is believed that Sunday is a
sacred day and the gods of the village and the ancestral spirits
often visited the village on this particular day. For this reason
no villager was allowed to walk outside the village premises.
The only farthest point one could get to is the stream that lies
very close to the village where the villagers fetched water for
their daily activities. Failure to adhere to this taboo was
punishable by fining. There had been several occasions where
people have been fined at the chief's palace to pay huge sums
of money and at times certain specific animals were demanded
to be used as a sacrifice to appease the gods for breaching the
rules of the land. There was a time the village thieves, Manu
and his gang always invaded Azupiah's farm in the night to
steal some of his crops and vegetables, and this man had no
other option than to lay ambush in his farm overnight waiting
for these thieves, the next day was a Sunday and when it was
day break, Azupiah on his way back to the village met one of
the village elders - the father of Manu the thief - who reported
Azupiah to the chief and his elders. An announcement was
made and the entire village of Ndumbi came together to
witness the scene as a whole grown and matured man who
knows the rules of the land decided to go contrary to the laws
of the land. Azupiah was called to the middle of the yard,
asked a few questions and when he was unable to give any
answer, the chief executioner of the palace gave him a severe
flogging after which he was hit with a Thousand Ghana Cedis
fine, followed by an irritating hooting from the village women
and children. In fact, that day Azupiah's soul nearly escaped
from his body as he stood in the middle of the crowd trembling Solo badged into the house calling Junior loudly. They did not
with his Wellington boot. notice that Aunt was in the house but upon seeing her, they
suddenly kept quiet and went straight to her and greeted her.
They told Aunt in a very polite tone that they wanted to go and
CHAPTER SEVEN
play with Junior at the playground. Aunt allowed Junior to
follow them and they all run out of the house in excitement.
Aunt finished picking the chaff from the grain of beans and
Due to this the villagers were very cautious of the taboos of
kept the beans on fire while sitting under the palm tree in her
the land and obeyed it keenly without hesitation. It was already
house chatting with Solo's mother who had come to visit her.
sunrise and almost every household had finished taking their
Solo's mother is Aunt Suzanne's childhood friend and for this
breakfast and others had already began their home based
reason they often had a lot to talk about anytime they met.
vocations. The obedient and hard-working children were
Sometimes they often recalled their youthful fantasies and
sitting by their parents learning the skill and running errands
laughed hilariously as if the problems of this world had
for them while the disobedient ones roamed about aimlessly,
nothing doing with their cloak. Aunt Suzanne lost her husband
playing and engaging in all kinds of vices. Junior was in the
years ago, and her three children who were all females got
house with his Aunt picking some unwanted grains of beans
married to men of different villages while Solo's mother lived
from a bowl of beans which they intended to use for lunch that
with her last born, Solo and two of her grandchildren. The two
Sunday afternoon. Aunt Suzanne sat on a mat on the floor and
women spent a great deal of time talking about business,
the bowl of beans placed on her laps while Junior sat on a
farming, family, and their youthful lives several decades ago.
small stool and as a family, they picked the little stones from
Aunt Suzanne noticed that the beans was simmering out of the
the grains and chatted happily. Then all of a sudden, Koo and
cooking pot and without hesitation she rushed to the cooking
pot and opened the lid after which she pulled out some of the
firewood to lower the degree of heat that caused the boiling
beans to rise up. At this moment, Solo's mother rose up and
told Aunt she had to get back to the house to put a few things
together in the kitchen for her family. The two friends said
good bye to each other as Solo's mother walked with a
conspicuous sluggishness, trying to tie the cloth around her
waist properly to prevent it from falling off.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Afi called the boys to wait for her as she kept on running after
them with the little basket placed on her head. Junior and Koo
were holding sacks while Solo held a bucket and they were all
in a haste, running and hopping to accomplish their mission
before the sun gradually sinks into its domicile. It was already
three o'clock pm and the boys together with their female friend
found their way out of the village and were heading towards
the Ofuofu river. These kids must have taken their time to
sneak out of the village because no one was supposed to walk
outside the village premises on this particular day, but
whatever it is, the kids were already on their way to the Ofuofu
river. They had planned since morning that in the afternoon
they would go to the Ofuofu river to catch some fishes. So all
of them were fully prepared with their sacks and baskets ready
to fill them with the fishes that they would catch. Within the
twinkle of an eye, the children were already at the riverside. It
was a very large river which had a small wooden bridge
accross it through which the farmers crossed to their farms.
whenever it rained, the river would swell up rumbling and
splashing outside its corridors making it very dangerous for
people to go there during the rainy season. However, the river
had a lot of fishes where most of the fishermen often went to
fish which served as a means of livelihood to them. Women
from distant and nearby villages also came to the river site to
purchase the fishes who in turn send them to Sanko and other
places to sell at higher prices. But on this particular day the
riverside was very quiet. No one came there on that particular
day so the children were there all alone, each one holding a
hook and line which had a worm hanging on the hook to lure
the fishes to the trap. Koo, who was the oldest among the boys
was very skilful in this activity. He would wait for the fish to
come around the hook and in an attempt to eat the worm that is
fixed on the hook, he would quickly pull the hook and line out
and the hook will hijack the gills of the fish bringing it out of
the water and leaving it on dry land. The fish will be
wallowing and jumping, attempting to escape but Afi, who
could not use the hook and line, would quickly pick the fish up
and drop it in her basket and cover it with a sack in order not
to allow it escape. After some time the four friends realized
that they had had enough fishes and this made them very
excited as they started making calculations on how much the
fishes would be sold to give them money. Suddenly, Koo who
was the oldest among the children decided to jump into the
water. The rest of the children applauded him for the acrobatic
style he deployed in falling into the water. This excited the rest
of the children and they decided to join except Afi who was
the smallest and the only female among them.
CHAPTER NINE
Solo and Junior followed Koo who was leading them to swim
to every corner of the river. He was a bit more taller than the
boys and could stand upright indicating the area of the river
which was deep and the area which was shallow. So along the
line, Koo got to a point which was very deep but since he
could swim very well, he stood upright, splashing his feet
against the water underneath and this enabled him to suspend
as though that portion was not deep. So thinking that the place
where Koo stood was shallow, Junior Jumped from the point
where he stood to the point where Koo stood but his feet were
not able to touch the ground. He started sinking down the
water. He called out for help raising his hands, and trying his
possible best to spring up to the surface of the water but his
strength failed. Koo tried holding him but since his legs were
not touching the ground, he was not able to pull him out of the
water. Junior kept sinking and crying for help but anytime he
opened his mouth, water entered into his mouth and he kept
swallowing the water while the flowing river gradually carried
him away. Koo tried his best to save the dying boy but anytime
he tried, the two of them would be sinking at the same time.
With this, Koo became afraid and left Junior to his own fate
and run out of the water. Junior raised up his hands, struggling
to breathe, and kicking his legs in an attempt to save himself
but he was weak now. Afi cried bitterly and was running into
the water to save her friend but when Junior shrieked for the
last time, bringing his head out and sinking once again, Afi
became afraid and run back to the shore of the river. Junior
could no longer bring his head out for air. All they could see
was Junior's hands raised above the surface of the water
waving as if he was saying goodbye while the river carried
him far away till they no longer saw him. Solo and Afi stood
helplessly and wished their friend could come out of the water
but before they could realize, Junior was gone, they broke out
crying uncontrollably and running towards the house leaving
their fishes behind. Koo did not know what to do. He was
afraid of what would befall him that very day at Ndumbi when
he got back home. He kept on looking at the direction of the
river where Junior had been carried to and calling his name,
weeping and wishing he could come back, but there was no
sign of Junior anywhere around. Koo remained standing at the
riverside alone. All he could hear was the bubbling sound of
the water and anytime he called Junior's name, he heard his
own voice echoing under the wooden bridge. He stood
helplessly, still weeping and trembling with fear. When he
realized he was the only one left at the riverside, he began
walking towards home.
CHAPTER TEN
The news shook the entire village of Ndumbi and the young
energetic men started running towards the Ofuofu river to see
if they could do something about the missing boy in the river.
The women stayed home weeping and trying to comfort Aunt
Suzanne who was wallowing on the floor crying bitterly and
mentioning Junior's name repeatedly. She rose up trying to run
to the riverside but was restrained and held tightly by Solo's to save his life. So after everything had been done, the village
mother and other women who tried their best to comfort her. elders came together and called all the little children of the
Before they could search for the body of the little boy, they village and advised them on the need to observe the taboos of
had to poor libation to seek permission from the spirit living in the land and the danger of going to the Ofuofu river on a
the water before they could set foot in the water. The elders of sacred day.
the village went to consult the gods of the land and the gods
told them the river had decided to punish the village for
allowing the children go there on a sacred day. And without
the libation, they would not be able to find the little boy's
body. So after the libation some of the men went to the far end
of the river and others also went into the interior part of the
river and within a few minutes, they lifted up the little boy's
body and headed towards home. The boy was already dead and
people wailed bitterly as they approached the village with
Junior's dead body. The entire village of Ndumbi came
together to make arrangements for the little boy's burial.
Customarily, a child's dead body was not supposed to be kept
till the next day so the burial of Junior was done that same
evening leaving the village dwellers in tears, especially Afi
and Solo who watched Junior dying but could not do anything