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THE BIRTH OF THE GODDESS

The royal king to the land of gwara kingdom was seen pacing up and down in his palace, he looked disturbed and was muttering prayers for his wife, the Queen to the land of gwara for safe delivery.

After a long and fruitless effort searching for the fruit of the womb, alas, God bless the royal couple, and now the queen was in the royal labor room, being attended to by various professional medical personnel from various places from the state.

The first scan when the pregnancy reaches its first four-month shows the baby to be a girl and the expected delivery date was a week ago.

King Obat got married to his heartthrob ten years ago, a year later, he has crowned the royal king to the land of gwara; a town located on the outskirts of Osun state and just a few kilometers away from ile life.

Power, wealth, and connection beyond his dream were all at his fingertip. He was blessed in everything except having a child. Being a Christian and a deacon in an Anglican Church, he loved his wife dearly and had made the vows for better for worse in the presence of men and God, for this, marrying a second wife is out of the options even though African culture allowed polygamy and is expected of a royal king.

Queen Mata was not only beautiful and well trained, but she had also been supportive and have stood with the king when things aren't half as rosy as this. Sacrificing her time, dream, and comfort for the king's goal.

Then after nine years of fruitless marriage, God finally bless the couple, their first thought was that the queen was sick as she was having malaria symptoms but She had returned from the clinic with a pregnancy confirmation result.

It was a joyous moment not only In the palace of Onigwara of gwara land but in the whole gwara kingdom. The people had waited so long for a successor.

Nine months later, the whole town welcomed the birth of the twins, the successors to the throne of Gwara kingdom. The twins were named Akira and Kira on the eight days according to tradition. Then the mysterious and supernatural occurrences begin. First was the fire that raced down the twin's room in the middle of the night. The whole palace was in mourning as they were able to quench the fire eight hours later after the whole quarters were burnt down. They expected to see the twin's remnant but were shocked to see the twins sleeping peacefully and unhurt. How they had survived an inferno that killed their two babysitters and a guard will forever remain a mystery.

The newly employed babysitters one day reported to the queen of what they glimpsed. Whenever one or both of the twins got angry or excited, fire will ignite from nowhere. The Kings and Queens were baffled.

Strange and supernatural things keep happening around the twins and there seemed to be no solution forthcoming. As they grew, their powers increased. As soon as Kira and Akira started talking, they had told all who care to hear who they are. They were supernatural human beings with divine powers and magic. They had once been born into this world but were killed during the twins killing that ravaged Africa during the 19th century.

Twins babies, according to some beliefs are not human, but very powerful beings. So powerful than the reverend witches and wizards and all cults group.

They are seen as a danger to the existence of the entire community because their ancestors told them the twins have strange powers. They see them as gods among men so, at birth, the entire village is alert that a threat and perhaps evil has been born into the community.

In some places, the witch doctors upon the birth of twins, invoke his or her spirit and perform customary incantations and enchantment to kill the twins whose deaths are simply confused as general infant mortality.

Since the cults of witches and wizards rule most communities, they ensure the twins die.

The consent of the witch doctors and community leaders is central to the practice in most communities and every native is aware of what's happening because, at one point or the other, every family had lost someone to the act. While some have lost four sets, some three, others more or less.

At times the witch doctors will feed the babies with a secretly prepared liquid after convincing the ordinary community that the liquid is water and that the death of the babies results from the activities of the gods. This is far from the truth as the water contains a poisonous substance. Most women went through unbearable pains as they watched their children murdered in cold blood and the women were tagged as unclean for giving birth to forbidden beings.

In some places, emissaries- usually the witches will be sent to strangle the babies or cover them with a broad calabash until they suffocate to death. This practice happened to different extents in such diverse ethnic groups as the Igbo and Ijaw of Nigeria, the Efik of Nigeria and Cameron, the Kikuyu of Kenya, the Kung of the Kalahari desert, the Maidu of northern California, the Khoikhoi of South Africa, the Akha of northern Thailand; were giving birth to twins was of greatest calamity and the Amhara of Ethiopia.

Twin killing ended in some societies when British Christian missionaries started to arrive. The belief that children are agents or spirits of the returned started to eradicate. But before, the human form itself was viewed as mutable, a mask that could be put on by spiritual or animal

beings. The belief was reflected in naming conventions as well, where children were often given names that indicate which spirit had returned to them.

Kira and Akira possessed all the eight types or arts of magic.

abjuration, conjuration, divination, enchantment, evocation, illusion, necromancy, and transmutation. Kira and Akira are not human but goddesses.

Elenu hunched over his television set with rapt attention. Things are happening so fast and he needs to keep updating.

According to the Nigerian emergency management board spokesman, 'everything had been put in place to manage the shock and the impact of the comet.'

"What a fib," Elenu murmured with a smirk.

Since it was announced some hours back of the incoming comet, nothing had been accomplished, except policemen put in drastic and important places and the sit-at-home order from the presidency. Everything remains normal, citizens were glimpsed walking on the street and discussing the events to come.

His office is fully furnished with electronics gadgets, and furniture, adorned with arts and drawings from different artists around the world. He adores beauty and worship technologies.

Suddenly, the light went dead. Elenu smirked the second time in a row in a few minutes. It's usual for light to be cut off and the total blackout is common. This is a country that had been battling with power shortage since independence and nothing seemed to be done about it.

He shouted at Zuma; his most trusted junior colleagues, who had been bound together with him for years. The fact the young security officers had no living family ignited in him a sympathetic kind of love as he can see himself in him.

Like him, he had no one also.

Zuma strides inside a few minutes later in his usual cleaned and well-iron uniform with his fixed smile.

"Nothing is working boss, the generator engine is just dead."

Elenu looked at the six feet man with a puzzled look and shake his head in incredulity. He just bought the generator machine a few weeks back.

"Of course, there is fuel inside," Zuma said, reading his mind.

Elenu laughed sarcastically as he strode out of the office.

Outside, he unlocked his patrol car door and beckoned to Zuma to enter. The young man entered with a smile, filling the front seat of the patrol car. Zuma; a thirty years old, and 230 pounds weight is his patrol partner and they are mostly seen together enjoying and drinking even after working time.

He inserted the car key and ignite it, the car produce a dead sound as well.

He brought out his phone, No service.

His wristwatch had remained exactly eight minutes to three. Everything seemed to stand still at that exact time. He unlocked the car door, alighted from it, and was followed by Zuma who was fixed with a puzzled look.

"Boss, what's going on?" He asked for the second time.

"Let's go find out," Elenu replied.

urging the remaining officers to go home and report when things get normal.

Suddenly, he heard a deafening sound close by as smoke aroused to be followed by more sounds of cars screeching and collisions.

A jet hovered closer dangerously, almost hitting the tower beside the Osogbo river, and descend to crash inside the river.

"What's going on?" Elenu asked a woman in a blue Ankara top and wrapper with a baby straddled on her back.

The woman spread her hands In all directions.

"What does it look like mister? The world is coming to an end and nothing is working anymore."

The fire had started from somewhere far off and the afternoon breeze is spreading it in all directions, the cars caught fires and keep erupting, killing all those trapped inside while those lucky living ones thronged along or were carried by well-wishers and sympathizers.

Even if the firefighters are called which is not possible due to the network breakdown, Elenu believed it's practically impossible for them to drive down here amidst numerous breakdowns of vehicles on the major and minor roads all over the city.

A few miles away, some local kids had gathered about to break into a jewelry shop across the road. Zuma looked at Elenu, expecting the signal to interfere.

A few meters away, some thugs had stabbed a shop owner who was trying to protect his shop from being looted.

Some ladies were screaming as some youngsters are trying to snatch their purses and jewelry from them.

A young kid of seven to eight years was wandering barefooted, crying, and asking for his mum and dad.

Suddenly, evil seemed to live everywhere.

Evil is no faceless stranger living in an unknown place, evil is in you and me. We are evil, the devil's anvil. We all inherited it, along with over pancreas and liver. It's in our DNA.

The first man on earth was disobedient, the second a deceiver and an accomplice, the third a murderer, the fourth was murdered. Humans' history from Genesis had been one of evil and sins.

Now humans can exhibit the evil in them without any fears of having to pay for it.

"Let's go and check the jet that just hovered past a few minutes ago," Elenu told Zuma.

A young man with Dreadlocks hair and torn clothes blocked the two men's way. He brought out a black pistol and unlock the chamber, displaying the bullet inside.

"Is he crazy?" Zuma asked

Elenu shook his head speechlessly. "No idea buddy." He replied after a long stare.

The young man on deadlock hair load the gun and gun and pointed it on his head. He pulled the trigger and the gun produce a dead click sound.

"You see mister, your guns don't work anymore." He shouted, dancing erratically as he mingled with the teeming crowd.

The two men walked towards the Osogbo river.

Far off the town stood a worried state as humans were subject to the worst of confusions and fear of the next few minutes. If just a blackout can cause all this within a few hours, humans had immediately displayed their evil side. imagine when the comet strike.

Elenu strongly believed the blackout has something to do with the incoming comet. He has a hunched this is just the beginning of something big, something unexpected. Fortunately, he had no one to worry over, except Zuma. Of course, the young man can take care of himself.

We are all in God's hand.

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