THE WRONG CROOK

#Short_Story 

There lived a certain womanizer in a small village called Puje. He was so dangerous that almost every pregnancy in the village was believed to be his', even if the lady were single, married, widowed or divorced. 

#Ato was a hunter, and archery was his specialty. He could hit any target with his bow and arrows from 200meters out, he was that good. 👌

As time went by, some horny men in the village began to take advantage of his "randy-ness" to score goals in the village. Since Ato would always be the fall guy, after-all. 😂 😂 

Unmarried and ageing, Ato got tired of being flogged in the village square for pregnancies he knew nothing about. He decided to take a leave to another village for a while just to prove his innocence. 

After a whole year's absence, single girls in Puje were still finding it hard to locate their "periodic table". "How is this possible when the sharpshooter has left town?" The elders pondered. 

"Eghh ehhmmmm... Can I speak?" #Agabi raised a hand to seek permission from the village Chief whose favourite daughter #Ajuma was still on her knees searching for her missing period when he left home for this crucial council meeting. 

"Go ahead" the chief nodded. 

"I think Ato still sneaks into this village in disguise, shoots his arrows sporadically, and sneaks out again". Agabi said. 

"No wonder", everyone considered the thought for a moment. 🤔

.....................................

It was market day and Ato displayed his fresh bushmeat on a mat at the market in Ndo-Gani village. He had started a new life here, the people loved him for always providing the best bushmeat at a very affordable price. If only they knew he was collecting the balance from their daughters and wives, after-hours.🤣

As he used the horse tail to chase-off flies on his meat, he sighted a group of hefty young men approaching his stall. 

"Ahh! Good market has come. I'm sure a rich man has sent these men to buy everything I have on display", Ato smiled at the thought of that. ☺

The next thing Ato saw, was someone sprinkling water on his face. He had been knocked unconscious by the palace guards sent to bring him back to face the panel in Puje. 

As he opened wide his eyes, he saw four gurds standing above him with horse-whip in hand. He remembered all the damage these things had done to his skin over the years. 

"Guilty or not guilty?" Agabi demanded. He was the leader of the elders. 

Ato knew that whatever the answer was, he won't escape the beating. So he raises a hand and demanded to speak. Agabi shouted him down, but the Chief wanted to hear what the hunter had to say. 

"There is only one reason I am always brought to this council, and I have never denied whenever I am responsible. But I don't know why I was brought here today, as I've been away for over a year now." He tried to cry, but the tears refused to obey. 

"Call Ajuma and the other pregnant girls". The Chief ordered the palace guards. 

Agabi suddenly became a palace guard and headed for the door. 🤣🤣

The chief told him not to worry, the ladies were already waiting in the Sumkpa(lounge area).

As they all entered the chamber, Ato started laughing hysterically. 😂😂😂

"How many of you did Ato here inflate with his illegal pumping machine whenever he snuck in and out of town?" The Chief enquired. 

Ato started laughing again. 🤣🤣🤣

#whashawww...  A whip sent a sudden frown to his face. 😐

With their heads bowed in shame, none of the ladies could say anything. 

"You can all leave now", Agabi ordered the ladies. 

"Noooo", the Chief interjected. 

"Call the Chief Priest, he is also waiting outside. Let them swear on their life or confess the real culprit's name".

Immediately, Ajuma knelt down crying, "I don't want to swear, please. Ato didn't do this, it is either the Chief Priest or Manu Agabi." 😳

There was a day Agabi caught the Priest form a blanket on top of Ajuma as he strolled to the river for a bath, so to keep her little secret, he asked to partake in the scared ritual too. She obliged. 🤷‍♂️

Agabi denied the accusations because the entire village is still looking for the Chief Priest, who overhead how all the other ladies narrated how he fooled them into bed(or grass) with the promise of giving them a love charm. The man may have used his juju to vanish into thin air. 🤔

The village head of Ndo-Gani is known to be impotent and can't father a child. Well, his wife just gave birth to a child with long ears like Ato's ears, and his palace guards are on their way to bring Ato the Sharpshooter, to face the music. 

#THE_END.

©JBZ2020