Sally Island 29

Omin had noticed a young woman, Algoma. Algoma Was a single mom, her husband had died when Oyibos invaded their lands and killed many of them. Displacing them and pushing them to a place where they now live in constant fear. Due to the past experiences, they developed the new culture of eating strangers. During wars, the Ugep people after killing their enemies eat them in an effort to scare away others who might have the intention of attacking them. And the process worked well for them, because as soon as the legend spread across that the Ugep people ate human flesh, they were left alone by the Oyibos who initially invaded, killed their men and raped their women. Algoma was pushed to become a hunter and a caterer since her husband died. And to feed her kid, she had to constantly hunt fishes in swallow streams and animals on the island. Omin had from the bushes noticed her and learnt the times she usually come to fish from the waters. Omin wanted to become friends with her, maybe just maybe she could teach him the language so he can easily adapt to the cultures and at least stay alive until whenever he can leave the deadly island. So that day, as Algoma Came fishing as usual, Omin sneaked up on her from behind. Knowing how deadly the Ugep people could be, Omin knew it wasn't going to be safe coming out to talk to her when he can't even speak the language, especially when she was fishing with a spare in her hand. So he waited patiently In the bushes for Algoma to get done with her fishing. As she walked home with her hunt dog, Omin sneaked up behind her with his sharped small weapon. 

Being in a bush infested with dangerous creatures and wild animals, Omin had learnt how to survive in the wild. He has a carved rock he sharpened to a knife-like structure he usually used to kill animals. Not knowing what Algoma was capable of, being that she was from a dangerous tribe, he used his weapon to hold her hostage. Apart from the strange dangerous animals Omin encountered in the forests, animals totally different from the usuals of Sally island, Omin witnessed a lot of cannibalism. The Ugep people practiced ritual cannibalism of blood enemies, in common with other coastal tribes around them. They believed that eating the captive's flesh would transfer the captive's power and strength to those who consumed him. Hoping to get the kind of power the Oyibos had, The natives tied a captive to a stake. While dancing around him, they would dart in, slice off a piece of flesh and roast it in front of the victim in a prepared campfire. Then they would devour it. Omin threw up many times watching from the bushes before he was able to get used to it. So sneaking up to Algoma was a huge risk for him since he hadnt learnt the language, he knew he could be killed if caught. But he wasn't going to keep hiding forever, he really wanted to learn the language. Walking down the road with Algoma, Omin didn't pay much attention to Algoma's dog to notice it had disappeared from around her. Algoma had trained the dog well and was hoping it would act on it's training. And it did, just when Omin believed he had everything under control, the dog jumped on him. 

Knocking down swiftly from behind to the ground. Happened so fast he didn't even know when Algoma snatched her bow and arrow from her dog's mouth and pointed it at him. Omin was backed into a Corner, he felt it was it this time, the Ugeps were going to eat him up for good this time. And he wasn't going to struggle with it like he did last time with Eve dragging him to the deep end of the ocean. Algoma knew what she was supposed to do at the time was let her arrow pierce through Omin's chest, according to her tradition anyway. But looking at him, she couldn't just do that, she expected him to say something, since he looked so much like one of them, he didn't say anything. Omin had figured that for him to survive any more minute on that island, he had to act dumb since he can't speak and at least look like them. She stood close enough to hear his heart pound from his chest and sweat break out from his skin. She knew he was very nervous but wanted to act up, she thought it was cute for him to be afraid. Men around the Ugep Island don't get or even act scared, they are too serious all the time it gets boring. So she thought it would be a little fun taking him home and messing around with him a little before handing him over to the villagers to take care of him. But couldn't even ascertain if he was truly a stranger because he looked so much like one of them but he can't speak. Then again the village was such a small one, everybody knew everybody. So since she didn't know Omin's face, she had decided to hand him over to the villagers later for them to handle. 

She pushed him up and pushed him to walk after she had tied him up. Hands tied strong, Omin walked in front while, he had quickly drifted from his fears as he walked into the village from the hills, giving him a clear view of that the village looked like. He hasn't been to this part before. This was the inner part of the village where the kids and women stay, the outer parts was mostly men who lived in the huts. Probably to protect the children and women from whatever was coming from outside. Their houses were totally different from what Omin had grown up with in Sally Island. Wigwam is the word for "house" in the Ugep island, Sometimes they are also known as birchbark houses. Their huts were small houses, about ten feet tall, made of wooden frames which are covered with woven mats and sheets of birchbark. Some of The frame were shaped like a dome, like a cone, or like a rectangle with an arched roof. Once the birchbark is in place, ropes or strips of wood are wrapped around the wigwam to hold the bark in place. Wigwams are good houses for people who stay in the same place for months at a time. They lived together in settled villages during the farming season, but during the winter, each family group would move to their own hunting camp. The Wigwams didn't look portable, but they were small and looked easy to build. Seemed like what families could build every year when they set up their winter camps. Some were made of a cone-shaped wooden frame with a covering of buffalo hide. Like tents, they were carefully designed to set up and break down quickly. Seemed like they moved a lot and as they moved from place to place, each family would bring their own and hide tent along with them. Coming down from the hills and viewing the houses, it appeared like an entire village could have their houses packed up and ready to move within an hour. With really old sticks, maybe because from my observations there were fewer trees on the Great Plains than in the Woodlands, so it was important for Them to carry their long poles with them whenever they traveled instead of trying to find new ones each time they moved.

Algoma was carrying her tray-like basket of fishes and fruits she had plucked on their way back walking behind Omin as they walked into the village. Everyone seemed too busy to notice Omin was a new face, his tattoos were able to make him blend easy for the moment. Algoma knew that at some point, the villagers would find out, so she quickly took him to her quarters. As soon as she walked into, her son came running like he has been expecting her for a while now. She had a cute son, at least that was what Omin wanted to tell her, if only he could speak their language. He really wanted to learn, but that wasn't coming. She came close to him and tried starting a conversation, she didn't do that initially in the forests because she didn't believe it was safe there, she had hope that when she took Omin home and gave him another chance, maybe he would open up and talk, but she really hoped Omin wasn't a stranger because if he was, there was nothing she could do to help him, the villagers would certainly eat him. Her son too was very inquisitive and wanted to know who Omin was, the young lad asked so many questions the mom had to send him off to go play. Since his father died in battle, he hadn't seen any man close to their house or around his mom. His father was such a warrior that even at death, the villagers feared his family. It was like a sign of respect not to go after the wife of a late warrior unless you prove yourself as strong and courageous as the late husband, and so far, in the village no one wanted to take up that task. Algoma being a warrior on her own scared a lot of men away from around her. She didn't need any support from anyone as she could defend herself in any fight and can hunt alone to provide for her son. Which was very rare among their women. Her son was very excited to see a man around, he needed a father figure so bad, but Algoma wasn't having any of that. She quickly sent her son off, making sure they didn't get to bond knowing Omin will soon face the death penalty.

Story: Nnagoziem TheVyrus Udensi 

Illustrations: Chevellin Pierre and Joseph Kendy