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as soon as she reached to the riverside. Just then, Mr. Drood and his cohort rushed out of the house, looking about. They managed to find the footprints of the boy in the sand, and Drood was displeased. Angered by the turn of events, the man smacked Drood on the cheek and warned, “Do not waste my time again!” The man turned and moved into a shadow. Mr. Drood adjusted trousers and walked away.

CHAPTER 6
Aunty Mabel



The last time Mabel and her sister met was when she got married, and that was now sometime in the past. Thomas was wrapped in her arms when the boat reached the riverside. Happy that she would finally meet her married sister, Mabel jumped out of the boat and moved toward her house with a good speed. Trip-trap, trip-trap, she went. But the sand did not allow her to move as fast as she wanted. Mabel was eager to see her sister before stopping at the station to hand over the child to the police, but as she tried to keep a good pace Mr. Francis, who was sitting at the foot of an almond tree, saw her. Initially he did not want to attract her attention because he was sad, but when he noticed that the middle-aged woman had a child that looked like his son, he jumped to his feet and raced toward her. “Good afternoon, Mabel!” he greeted as he fixed his gaze on the child.
    Mabel was excited to see her sister’s husband after so many years. “Good to see you, Mr. Francis. How is your wife?”
    He smiled and replied, “She is fine!”
    â€œI hope you can take me home?”
    â€œYES! BUT…” he stammered.
    â€œBefore you take me home, I need to see the police.”
    â€œFor what?” Mr. Francis managed to ask.
    â€œI found this child on my way here. My plan was to reach your house and ask your wife to take me to the station, but there is no need since you are here.” She gave the boy a stroke on the head.
    Mr. Francis looked at the boy and swallowed hard. Then he requested, “Let me have the baby!”
    Sensing no danger, Aunty Mabel handed the child to him. She smiled, rubbing her hands together like a poor soul that had won the lottery. Thomas began to play again as soon as he touched the warm hands of his father. “The baby seems to like you!” she whispered.
    Mr. Francis heaved a sigh of relief and replied, “You are right. Thank you for bringing my son back!” He held the child close to his chest.
    Mabel frowned. “I don’t understand…”
    â€œThis child went missing some hours ago. We came to the riverside together but I left him to play with a doll on the sand and went into the boat. But after working awhile, I raised my head and was surprised to see that my son was gone. No one seemed able to give me useful information about his whereabouts. So I sat at the foot of that almond tree, praying that God would bring him back to me.” He looked at his wristwatch, “The day is far spent. My wife will be worried now because we left home without breakfast!”
    Mabel shook her head and told him how she had found the boy. “You are lucky. I saw your child crawling out of the compound of an old man who had been accused of rituals in the past. I almost left the child, but something in me told me not to. As he crawled after my dog, I picked him up. After waiting for sometime on the street, and no one came to claim the child, I decided to take him to the police station.”
    Mr. Francis was humbled by the tale as tears gathered in his eyes. Then he said, “Thank you, Mabel. What would I have told his mother?”
    â€œThank God the worse did not happen.”
    Happy that his son was back in his arms again, Mr. Francis led Mabel to his house.

BLAIZE AND THE MASTER OF ENCHANTMENT

 

CHAPTER 1
Horrible Flood

    It was the rainy season: the din of children on the street, women singing like birds at the dawn of a new day, and farmers with smiles upon their faces showed that the people loved the season. The