GUDUNA AKEYI

It’s the middle of the night, and almost to your ear, there is no sound that you can hear except for the one standing in the sky. Then the ground starts shaking, and you say an earthquake came. The ground begins to crack, and some kind of smoke comes out. Finally, a white thing peeks out from the top of the grave, confirming it’s a corpse. Its body is covered in blood. The corpse starts moving underground as if in a race car, appearing like a scene from a dream.

In a state of shyness, the bride says, “Amen” to her groom, praying that God blesses their life together. Before they finish praying, Ahmad quickly turns his head to see where his bride is. His heart is filled with relief and happiness. He checks the clock on the wall, noticing it’s almost 4:00 a.m. “Sweetie, it’s very late. It’s almost 2:00 a.m. Let’s not be late,” he says. He helps Ahmad get up, and they stay on the bed.

Mid-conversation, he touches her nose and asks, “Are you shy?” From that moment, she suppresses her anger. “Today, I am finally embarrassed,” she says, finding it difficult to admit. Suddenly, they notice a fire in the house, accompanied by a strong wind as if from heaven. Annoyed, Ahmad exclaims, “NEPA has cut the power again, God’s son! It’s really hot tonight. I’m going to start the generator.” They try to put out the fire and return to bed. Noticing that the fire won’t die down, Ahmad attempts to get up and turn off the AC. To his surprise, he steps into water and submerges his foot. Startled, he quickly checks his phone and switches on the light to see what’s going on.

Startled by a sound, Ihuba’s father springs from the bed. Shortly after, he accidentally steps on the bride’s feet. Kidima and Razana rush over, asking, “What’s wrong? What happened?” Ahmad responds, “My blood is flowing like a river. I’m drowning in it.”