The Runaway

The Runaway

The road was dark. The night sky covered the earth, and the bright moon proudly shone on it. He had been walking; for how long, he didn't know.

All he knew, was that he had to get away fast.

The Ras people were not one to forgive. They thought he killed their daughter, but he didn't. How could he? When he was very much in love with her. The way her copper skin illuminated in the setting of the evening sun, the way her curly waist-long hair hung in coils over her shoulder. The ample move of her hips, and the proud way she walked. Nadiya was everything he dreamed of in a woman.

Sadly, their relationship was a taboo.
Not because he was not good enough for her, No, not at all. He considered himself well to do. Being the son of rich merchants and also having a booming business of his own, he was by far better than most people of his age and status.

His only crime was being part of the Leyi clan.

For reasons unknown to him, The Ras and the Leyi clan hated themselves so much, that it festered and grew in their oblivious children. It spread to their grandchildren and great-grandchildren, leaving them festering generational hate over and over again for something they didn't know or understand.

To make matters worse, their leaders were all immortals. No one knew for how long they had lived, and no one cared to ask.

He fell in love with Nadiya at first sight. He for once had never understood the reason for hating the Ras clan, and so when he saw Nadiya, he was a bit conscious about her views of him. He was happy to find out that she also shared the same views with him.

They met every day, always meeting at the river point where the borders of their clans clashed. They talked about everything; food, love, and their culture. Nadiya was proud of hers, just as he was. They both wished though, that their clans would put down their swords and stop fighting each other.

They fell in love, and doom hovered above them.

It was the highest taboo for any clan member to fall in love with someone from the enemy clan. That spelled instant death for the said person. So many had been killed because of that.
He never thought that one day, he would find himself in that same position.

Nadiya begged him to take her away, saying that she couldn't live without him. He felt the same, and so together, they planned their escape. They would leave for the far lands, far away from anything that had to do with their clans. They would start a new life amongst the free people, people not held down by stupid rules they knew nothing of.

The day came for them to escape, and that was when everything came crashing down.

He and Nadiya hurriedly yet quietly made their way out of their clans. They were almost at the border that would lead them to the far lands when suddenly, Nadiya was shot dead with a poisoned dagger. He watched in horror as the love of his life fell down with a knife sticking from the back of her head. He bent to her, sobbing profusely, and then heard the shout of her people.

"Leyi filth! what have you done!"

Quickly, he stood up, raising his hands,
"Nothing, I did nothing." he cried out, his tears pouring heavily. But he saw the hatred they had in their eyes for him, and also for her.

That was when he understood.

They killed their sister, just so they could kill him.

Without thinking, he did what his body told him to do at that moment.

He ran.

He ran like he never had before, not caring about the roads he took or where they led to. He ran for hours, days, till he lost count.

Now, he trudged through the darkened road, hungry, tired, and thirsty.

So great was his fatigue, that he didn't even see the person in front of him, and bumped right into the stranger.

"I apologize," he said quickly, his heart beating fast. He released a sigh of relief when he didn't see the familiar forehead tattoo of the Ras clan on the stranger.

"Foreigner," the person said.

He tried taking a closer look at the stranger, but it was futile as his fatigue had begun to affect his eyesight.

"Please help me," he begged hoarsely.

"With what?" the stranger asked.

"Well," he gulped. "This road, where does this lead?"

"Nowhere good." The stranger answered calmly.

Confused, he asked. "How would you know?"

"I came from there." The stranger deadpanned. "And trust me when I tell you, it's the last place you want to be."

©Obasi Naomi