A Collection of Short Stories

Eketi Ette
Behind The Scene
In this way they went on for four years, Uko happily gurgling in the barrow, his father
laughing as he pushed him along.
*****
A wail tore through the muted sounds of the twilight evening, startling everyone who
heard it. It was one of pure agony; guttural and helpless. It was immediately attended by a
blinding flash, much fiercer than lightning, which fired up the night sky. Several loud sparks
accompanied a subsequent wail. This time, people poured out of their homes, abandoning
their supper, curious to find out what was going on.
When she beheld the sight, Ima let out a loud wail. Her brother Essien was dangling from
the electric pole adjacent their house, his body burning from the volume of the electric
voltage that coursed through it.
“Nne mi oooo,” she cried, throwing herself on the ground.
Maria rushed out at the shout and in her haste, knocked over her plate of yam porridge.
Outside, her eyes quickly took in everything. The shocked, gawking neighbours. Her
weeping daughter. Then her gaze slowly went up to the spectre on the electric pole. Her
heart slowed to a stop. Then it began to pound furiously.
“He has taken his revenge,” she whispered.
They had to carry her inside. Hours later, to the consternation of her children and everyone
else, she wouldn’t stop whispering those words: “He has taken his revenge.”
*****
The truth never stays covert, least of all in a small town like Ikot Ntefon. Three days after
Essien’s death, a well-meaning customer stopped by Ete Ikpa’s house. The man had taken
to spending most of his days on his porch morose, mindlessly watching as people go by.
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