MAMI WATA (MERMAID)

That night, we gathered by the river bank. Emeka swore he had seen the most beautiful woman on the planet. He called her- Mami Wata. She gave him a message for the village. Ola, Ani's priestess, Ani is our goddess of fertility and mother earth led the way. We followed like lost children behind her. It was almost midnight. The river was calm, but the sky thundered. It's still the rainy season. We sat huddled under a coconut tree, and listened for her. At the stroke of midnight, the calm river stirred from pouring rain. Then stopped. An eerie silence enveloped the night. The crickets, and croaking toads stayed quiet as if on cue. We shivered from the cold rain under the gaze of a moonless night. I pointed to the river. A green light glowed, flickered, then moved towards us. The river became a green watery mass. Ola, instructed us to close our eyes. And we obeyed, the heard her move, and speaking in a strange language we did not understand. It sounded like a language from other worlds. We were clueless about the strange language, but knew she was communicating with other worlds. I peeked. The most beautiful woman stood at the river bank in a glow of green light. Ola walked towards her. Her voice faded as she walked away. Emeka tapped my shoulder. He was peeking too. What we saw, overwhelmed our senses. We passed out in unison on the cold wet ground. When we came to, the green light was gone, and so was Ola. The river was calm. Everywhere was pitch black. The moon stayed a no-show. Emeka whispered, as if afraid to admit the obvious, "where is Ola? How do we go back to the village without Ola? Ani's priestess.