Nearly an hour had passed since the sun climbed high into the afternoon sky.
Nothing.
The sky remained brilliantly clear, and the sun blazed overhead as though it intended to shine forever.
Still kneeling in her garden, Ego continued pulling weeds from the soft earth, but her confidence was beginning to crumble. The hopeful certainty that had filled her since dawn slowly gave way to doubt.
Then the familiar little voice returned.
"Well?"
"It's already afternoon."
"Where is this darkness your old woman promised?"
Ego sighed without looking up.
"It isn't time yet."
"Isn't it?" the voice replied mockingly.
"Or are you simply telling yourself what you desperately want to believe?"
Ego ripped another weed from the ground.
"It will happen."
"How do you know?"
"Because..." she hesitated, "...because my dreams have never deceived me."
The voice laughed.
"Dreams?"
"You trusted the words of an old woman who has already lied to you more than once."
"Have you ever seen darkness swallow the afternoon before?"
"No."
"Have you ever heard anyone speak of such a thing?"
"No."
"Then perhaps you've finally accepted the truth."
Ego dropped the weeds she had gathered and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
"You may be right," she admitted quietly. "Perhaps it was only a dream."
The voice sounded almost pleased.
"Now you're thinking clearly."
"Nothing is going to happen."
"The sun will continue its journey across the sky exactly as it has every day since creation."
"No war."
"No miracle."
"No magical bird."
"Only disappointment."
Ego stared silently at the bright afternoon sky.
Part of her wanted the voice to be right.
If nothing happened, she would not have to risk her life chasing an impossible prophecy.
But another part of her...
The part that refused to surrender...
Would not let go.
She slowly rose to her feet.
"I know the danger," she whispered.
"If I follow the old woman's instructions, I may die."
She swallowed hard.
"But since Nnanna left me, have I truly been living?"
The words surprised even her.
"I have survived..."
"...but I have not lived."
She looked toward the heavens once more.
"If this is truly a lie, then by sunset I shall know."
"But if it is the truth..."
She clenched her fists.
"I will not let this chance slip away."
The little voice scoffed.
"You'll regret this."
Ego shut her eyes tightly.
She pressed both palms firmly over her ears, refusing to hear another word.
Then she lifted her face toward the sky and shouted at the top of her voice.
"It will happen!"
Again.
"It will happen!"
And again.
"It will happen!"
Suddenly...
Silence.
Not ordinary silence.
A silence so complete it felt as though the whole earth had stopped breathing.
The voice inside her vanished.
Even the wind seemed to have withdrawn.
Slowly, Ego lowered her hands.
She opened her eyes.
Her breath caught in her throat.
The moon.
It was there.
Slowly, majestically, it was moving across the face of the sun.
At first, it appeared as though someone had taken a bite from the blazing disc.
Then, little by little, the darkness spread.
The afternoon light began to weaken.
The warmth faded from the air.
The vibrant colors of the world slowly drained away until everything seemed washed in strange shades of silver, violet, and pale grey.
A cool breeze swept across the village.
The birds stopped singing.
Goats fell strangely quiet.
Even the insects seemed to forget their songs.
People emerged cautiously from their huts, pointing toward the heavens.
Some fell to their knees.
Others cried out to their gods.
The entire world appeared frozen beneath an eerie twilight that did not belong to either day or night.
The deeper the moon moved across the sun, the stranger the light became.
It was bright enough to see...
Yet everything looked unreal.
As though creation itself had slipped into another realm.
Ego stared upward, tears gathering in her eyes.
"It is happening..."
She barely recognized her own voice.
"It is really happening."
Joy burst from her chest.
She laughed aloud.
Then she shouted toward the heavens as though answering the mocking voice inside her mind.
"It is happening!"
Her heart pounded wildly.
The old woman had spoken the truth.
Every word.
Fear and excitement wrestled within her.
Only moments earlier she had secretly wished the prophecy would fail, sparing her from the dangerous task ahead.
Now there was no turning back.
The gods had opened the door.
It was up to her to walk through it.
Without another moment's hesitation, she gathered the cocoyam leaf containing the maize kernels and hurried toward her hut.
Inside, she untied the bundle and emptied the grains into her wooden mortar.
She placed the pestle beside it before reaching beneath her bamboo bed for her torch.
The fire at the center of the room had almost died.
She knelt before the cold ashes and blew gently.
Tiny embers glowed red.
Another breath.
Then another.
A thin ribbon of smoke curled upward before small flames sprang back to life, dancing eagerly as though they too knew that this was no ordinary afternoon.