short stories

The Choice Of Umoanjah Useshen

"The world was to me a secret which I desired to devine." - Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.

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Humans yearn for knowledge like we crave delicious food. It's not necessary for our survival, but we want it anyway. Sometimes desperately. We want to know so much; To know the meaning of life. To know what will happen after we die.

Umoanjah Useshen was no different.

When he turned five, he could recite historical events better than a history teacher. At the age of seven he knew every tale of the Bible; aware of Adam and Eve's exile from Eden after eating fruit that gave them knowledge of good and evil. On his 10th birthday, he had abandoned religion and turned to science instead. When he became fifteen, he had gotten the knowledge he seeked. That's when it began.

It was the day he disappeared.

Heartbreak, grief, anger and sadness was left behind. A family that couldn't accept the loss of their son and brother they adored. They prayed to God, hoping he was safe and that they would see him soon again. But years passed and he didn't return. What once was well known became nothing more than a story, a myth about monsters and evil.

"I'm telling you Sara, stay away from the woods or Umoanjah Useshen will catch you!" Stig threw a wary glance at the gnarled trees closest to them. They gave him a distinctive feeling of unease and he'd like nothing more than to move further away from the ominous silhouettes.

"But look at them! The trees have leaves on them. Leaves!" She was bubbling with excitement.

"Exactly, isn't that enough to make you suspicious?" He glared sharply at her, "Since when do trees look like that? They're supposed to be dead, not green and alive..." Suddenly a movement far away caught his eye and his breath hitched. He blinked, it was gone. "Did you see that?" His voice was shaky and the fear shone through.

She snorted, "I didn't know I was paired with a coward." There was obvious disdain in her tone as she continued, "I would have gotten another partner if you had warned me."

Irritation bristled to life. "As if! No one besides me is willing to work with you," He spat. It wasn't a lie either. "Everyone thinks you're reckless, dangerous and annoying." He almost added, 'and they're not wrong.'

She gritted her teeth, "Whatever. Let's get this over with it."

"Finally," He muttered, barely audible.

His stomach twisted when they got closer to the corpse-ridden river. Some resilient flies buzzed around, enjoying their dinner. Mauled faces stared at them with dead eyes, but it was the gut wrenching stench of rotting flesh that made him feel truly sick.

Sara seemed to share that thought as she wrapped a scarf around half of her face. Her muzzled voice came through, "Okay let's do this quickly. Find the body, get the letter, return to the base." She teased him, "Umoanjah Useshen might catch us if we stay too long."

He huffed in annoyance as if he wasn't scared, but secretly he got chills from the name and threw another hasty glance at the forest. There was no movement this time.

They worked in silence, dragging, inspecting and throwing away corpse after corpse. It took hours before Sara let out a triumphant squeak, soon waving around a blood-covered envelope in the air. "I got it!"

"Great, let's go then..." He said as he waded through the murky water, covered in filth.

"Not yet, I want to see the trees first."