Toc, toc, toc! Toc, toc, toc!

"Who is that?" A voice asked from inside the house.

"Uncle Bibi, it's me, your niece Suzie. Please, let me come in!!" The young woman responded.

Uncle Bibi opened the door and she stepped in.

"Uncle Bibi, I know you are already aware of the terrible news since your radio is always tuned to the local frequency. You never miss the newscast, do you?" The young Miss Suzie asserted.

"I am here to request your assistance in freeing Babida the lumberjack from jail in Okunde," she pleaded with her uncle.

Amazed by what just spiked his ears, Uncle Bibi shouted: "What? Tell me it's a joke, isn't it? Have you completely lost your senses, Suzie? Do you want Governor Kola II to hang us? That man is a half-god. He has the right to life and death upon us."

Uncle Bibi's reaction sent shivers down his niece's spine, making her to be uncomfortable and thoughtful.

However, after a while, she recomposed herself and then counterattacked her uncle's statement: "But what if the newborn Monster attacks the village and no one knows the whereabouts of Babida the lumberjack who is nonetheless a valuable human shield against that bird of ill omen?"

Uncle Bibi was tickled by the question of the young maiden Suzie. Disturbed by its relevance, he gently placed his left hand on his face and began to daydream. His thumb was under his chin while the index, middle, ring, and pinkie fingers caressed his cheek.

He began to have the troubling vision of how a ferocious Beast destroyed Okunde's south gate before blowing with the help of its large wings a powerful wind that ravaged people and their properties.

He looked even more desperate when he visualized the newborn Monster continuing its work of destruction by penetrating the imperial city Ekule and running toward the twin chalets to aggress him, Big Momma, and his lovely niece Suzie.

That image in particular was the u-turn in his objection to the young lady's request.

"You got me with that one. Well, wait for me here! I will be right back," Uncle Bibi told her.

He thereupon rushed to his room upstairs and after a few moments, he showed up with different outfits. He was clothed with a majestic brown and large cotton-made boubou along with a fedora hat of the same color and material as the gown which was lowered to his eyebrows. His feet were covered with black leather sandals.

He advanced toward his niece Suzie and murmured to her left ear: "Come my little darling! Let's go and save your lover!". Then he began to walk up to the exit.

Surprised by her uncle's allegation, the young Miss Suzie responded: "Lover? What do you mean, Uncle Bibi?"

He turned, stared at her, sighed, and mumbled funnily to her: "Lovebirds!", then left the house.

Stolen novel; please report.

The young Miss Suzie was electrified. For a few seconds, she remained immobile like a statue while frowning, and then she ran as fast as she could to catch up with her uncle.

"Wait for me, Uncle Bibi!" She shouted as she sped up to reach the position of the middle-aged man.

In the meantime, Emperor Batang V was in the lunar bedroom with his wife, Empress Serena.

The imperial couple could not believe the news from Okunde and wished Governor Kola II had consulted with them before imprisoning Babida the lumberjack.

They were annoyed that the arrest of the imperial hero was leaked to the public and they could unfortunately not overturn the Governor's decision. They in fact did not want to undermine the latter's authority over the area.

"By all the Saints, why did he take such a drastic measure? At least, he should have informed me of the situation," the Emperor deplored very upset.

"My Heart, pardon me but you have given so much liberty to your Governors. They have simply become little emperors over their zones of command. Today it's Kola II who is embarrassing your power. I'm pretty sure soon we shall hear wonders from the Governor of Okala in the west and that of here in Ekule. If I were you, I would repeal the current Constitution and make a new one that provides me with undividable Might," Empress Serena suggested to her husband, His Majesty Batang V.

"You have been warning me about this. However, as you very well know, it's my late father, the Great Batang IV who reformed the institutions a year before he passed away. He wanted to prevent me from the drunkenness of superpower," Emperor Batang V responded to his spouse.

"Fine then but now you are facing the consequences of the soberness of a dividable power," the Empress Serena regretted.

A FEW HOURS LATER...

The young maiden Suzie and her uncle, Bibi, reached the north gate of the imperial city Ekule. An imperial guard glared at them, a bit suspicious of their looks. He found it eerie that it was not possible to see their faces. Their outfits were regular ones but it was unusual for couples who crossed the gate to have their traits completely invisible.

"Excuse me, sir! Can you uncover your face?" The imperial guard asked Uncle Bibi who was purposely looking down, to make it even more difficult for the sentinel to see his eyes.

The young maiden Suzie witnessed their exchange in silence.

Uncle Bibi was taking too much time to answer and so the imperial guard commenced losing his patience. He reformulated his query with an even more firm tone.

"Sir, to pass the border, I will need to verify your identity," he said categorically to the traveler.

The young Miss Suzie felt things were on the verge of getting out of control. So she decided to intervene before it was too late.

"Excuse me, valiant soldier! The man right here is my dad, and he has been deaf and dumb since birth. He can only communicate in sign language," she told gently to the sentinel.

"Oh, sorry Ma'am! Now I understand his strange behavior. Please, have a safe journey!" The guard answered her and with a gesture from his head, he instructed a younger colleague to open the gate. The young Miss Suzie and her uncle thus crossed to the other side and were now hiking to Okunde's south gate.

"Darling, so I have been deaf and dumb since my childhood," Uncle Bibi poked fun at his niece and she laughed out loud.

"Haha, Uncle Bibi! That's in fact the best idea that popped up in my head at that very moment. Of course, Loba forbid, you are not deaf and dumb! Thank the God of the gods!" The young maiden Suzie reacted.

"But now for the next gate, I think it would be wise to separate and go one after another," she suggested to her uncle.

"You always come up with brilliant ideas, especially in critical times," Uncle Bibi said in appreciation of his niece's ingeniosity.