THE LEOPARD'S MIRROR (Part I)

. It landed without a sound on the red dust ground, its limbs absorbing the weight like a seasoned predator accustomed to silence.

mountain breed from the northern savannah, acquired at Nkwo Idu market for what many believed was a laughable price. The man had cared for it obsessivel

"that beast will pay the dowry for my second wife

en eyes glowing like molten brass. Something ancient stirred in its chest as it

amily's old hunting dog, jolted

soldier responding to an unseen command. I

the unmistakable silhouette of a double-barreled shotgun e

m egbuo m!" cried

barked across the dimly lit dorm

om his bunk. He was drenched in sweat, breathing like he had outrun a thund

tepping out of his cubicle with a heavy flashlight. The sharp beam

dnight drama are

ng. "I... I don't know

e shook his head and flashed the light directly in Ugochukwu's eyes. "

," Ugochukwu said q

rrow. Before morning assembly. Wri

Pref

bedient juniors. Ugochukwu sat down

shoulders but couldn't find sleep. His

a le

king ofe onugbu, or his sister Ob

ith eyes like

creamed... inste

eopard in real life-

ancestral hometown, Obeledu. He and his older sister had fallen asleep on the mud veranda after ea

ndomly-or perhaps somethi

ghts hovered i

s, he ha

hts didn't. They stared-still an

the cry:

ortured bleat

she was. Then the thud-like a sa

f the blood trail. Their best nanny goat, gone. Just a dark red p

zi Agbu,

his teeth! This is the fourth goat this moo

nd his mother was in a mood to talk,

animal skins like clothes and become beasts. True, not all

during moonlit stories, his compound walked around by children playing catch

costume?" Ugoch

N

me the

de it like air

beast ble

ling it to fetch bushmeat, chase bullies, or leap across rooftops. He dr

e the da

was caught.

n twin d

ther said, clutching

f the Ebeagu, the leopard line, but that chapter had closed. The last to bear

d comfo

l to

, the memory had retur

dream. But was

eep in his chest, something curled-something ancie

e would begin asking qu

om his

rom b

new: the shrine-keepers. The

rue, from Dibia Ozo, the last liv

eyes might r

wu would no

ld loo