Stranger than Fiction tales
Eyo had relocated from his village of Iti Ubong to the Etu Ubon village where he intends to ply his trade as a raffia basket maker. In Eti Ubon he had met Bassey, a quiet introvert who walks the fringes of the community and does not seem to have any friends. However, due to constant meeting in the market place the two started developing some sort of friendship. Though Eyo did not know much about his new friend and Bassey did not seem to want to tell much about himself despite the fact that Eyo has revealved to him practically eveything about himself.
The two started seeing each other regularly and started doing things together. In all this, Bassey still remained mysterious and quite secretive about who he really is.
It got therefore that one day the two friends decided to go rabbit hunting. This is an exercise that is usually carried out very early in the mornings when the animals are supposed to be still groggy from the night’s sleep. Therefore, they were to leave before the first cock crow; the period between the going to bed of the moon and the rising of the sun. That darkest period of the night when all human beings and animals are in deepest sleep but spirits walk.
Bassey had drifted into wakefullness as he heard his name being called repeatedly. Knowing it should be his friend whom he has appointment with that was calling him, he scrambbled up from the bed, speedily dorned on his clothes, pulled his cutlass and native shovel from under the bet, grabbed his hunting bag and dashed out. He saw his friend beckoning him from the other side of the village square, and took off to catch up with him. However, as fast as he runs, he seemed not to catch up with his friend who continued waving him to catch up as he goes into the forest . Also, as he calls out to Bassey, he does not answer in words but just waves him on to hurry up, even as he goes deeper into the dense forest.
With a strange sense of foreboden it slowly started dawning on Eyo, that he has never been this deep into the forest. They do not have to come this far for rabbit hunting. They could easily do that in the farmland and not so dense forests around the homesteads where they live.
Then something strange started happening. A sudden eirie glow started emanating from a part of the forest ahead of them. Then smoke started belching into the air, followed with crackling flame. This is then joined by a wierd humming and guttural sort of singing.
Then Eyo caught up with Bassey, who was stading at the fringe of a clearing in the forest. What he beheld froze him to the spot. With round frightened eyes he gazed at a drama that is absolutely spectral. A very heavy borne fire was raging in the forest. Dancing in very grotesquely fashion, with contorsion of the bodies round the fire were some equally wierdly clad entities. As they gyrate, they leapy athletically into the air. Somehow, Eyo noticed that these dancing creatures as revealed by the fire light have three toes and three fingers, instead of the normal human five toes and five fingers.
Chills ran down Eyo’s spine. And that was when it occurred to him that Bassey had not uttered a word that morning. So, he turned and looked at his friend and observed that his face was glowing in the light of the boorne fire and that he was gazing hypnotically at the drama round the fire, as someone under a spell.
The knife which Eyo was holding dropping from his hand and impels in the soft earth of the jungle floor. as he bends down to pick it up,he sees his friends feet. They have three toes each.
