A Collection of Short Stories

Fourteen Years
Bankole Banjo
Ray’s submission was as expected. Having contributed several short stories to Jaguda
Quarterly, the young writer’s love for blood and gore had become familiar. A cursory
scan of the opening paragraph once again proves the genius with which the writer curates
devastation.
However, there was something unnerving about this entry that suggested it was more than
fiction. A sinister veil clung to every word, and line after line, the tale built to a tempo too
haunting to dismiss.
The Editor-in-chief reached for his Dunhill cigarette, lit up, laid back on the recliner, and began
reading the story a fourth time.
***
The mandate was clear: they were to bring his head.
The Hyenas understood the task. The legend had been told from generation to generation.
They were the privileged ones; the ones chosen to add another glorious chapter to the legacy
of the Society.
The six of them waited in consummate silence.
In a few minutes, they would earn their spots in the Hyenas’ Hall of Fame and become part of
the Hyenas’ thriving folklore. They would be immortalized.
This was the day the Hyenas had chosen. They would rejoice and be glad in it.
*
Church bores him. The rites and rituals are a drag. For many years he avoided any kind of
congregational worship. But this day, he is left with no other choice. He had asked the hand
of a retired Archbishop’s last daughter in marriage. There was no way the renowned clergy
man would give his blessings anywhere else but in church.
“If anyone has any reason why these two should not be joined in holy matrimony, please
44
Tales from the Other Side