Naeto Kere!

Chapter 1.1

"Ah! My eyes"

Naeto stops her climb to shake her head at her father.

"But Uchi, you don't have any eyes so why are you shouting?" She asks, pulling her face into a frown.

Uchendu laughs loudly before putting his hands out to keep her from falling. She briefly wonders how he plans save her from the ground since she was quite high up in the tree.

"Please be careful" He says, "I don't want you to get hurt."

"Uh uhn! I won't fall" Naeto sticks her nose up. "Now shhh! I want to con... kentray?" She says, unsurely.

"Bibi, it's concentrate" Uchendu chuckles.

"Hmmn, I said that"

When she realises her short hands can't reach the fruit, she risks it all and jumps, making a grab for it. She falls.

Uchendu catches her

"Naeto are you okay?" He coos before placing her gently on the mat "I knew this was a bad idea."

She smiles widely, opening her hands to show him that she got her prize. Noting his stern expression, she thinks her father is angry with her but he gifts her with a wide smile.
"The gods! What do I do with you, this child!" Then, he proceeds to tickle her fiercely. Laughing breathlessly and squealing, she feels a sharp pain at her side.

  
   Opening her eyes, she finds that she's sprawled on the floor in her room. Her mother, Nica, signature frown in place, stands at the doorway. When Naeto sees her, she realises that mum must have kicked her. Twice. As usual.

"Get up!" Nica sneers before leaving the room.

It was just a dream.

Instantly, sadness overwhelms her and the tears come. These days, Naeto loves to sleep because that's the only way she can see Uchi and feel the warmth his love provides. She doesn't understand why mother never treats her like Uchi did or why her sisters haven't spoken to her kindly since Uchi left.

Everyday, mother kicks her to get up. Sometimes, she wishes mother could find a less painful way to wake her up because it always hurts the rest of the day. She likes to do all her chores as fast as possible so mother can be happy and Naeto can return to the land where Uchi stays now. Her dreamland.

As Naeto cries, she also gets scared at the thought that mother might catch her this way, wailing into the blanket Uchi gave her. The last time that happened, she was whipped and left hungry for the whole day. At that thought, her stomach rumbles loudly. She chuckles through the tears as she remembers how Uchi would say that a dragon lives in her belly.

"Don't worry Mr. Dragon, I'll feed you soon." Patting her tummy and whimpering, she cradles the blanket tighter to comfort herself.

After a while, she hears the whispers and laughter of her sisters and this sparks her curiosity.

Cupping the pain at her side, she dusts herself and heads towards the noise.