Curiosity would not allow Ego to wait for them to reach her. She started walking toward the group until they were only a few feet apart.
Among them was a young man whom Onumara introduced as Ndubisi.
He was lean, almost gaunt, with a bushy moustache and the weathered appearance of someone who had spent too much time struggling to survive. His clothes hung loosely on his frame, and there was a peculiar sadness in his eyes—a deep, settled sadness, as though he had been carrying the weight of the world for years. He appeared to be around the same age Nnanna had been when he died.
Onumara explained that they had found him not far from the hut. According to Ndubisi, he had been living in the forest for some time and had never seen an old woman or a dog anywhere around the place.
Ego barely heard the rest.
The moment she looked at the young man, an inexplicable sensation passed through her.
She knew him.
Or at least, she felt as though she did.
His face was unfamiliar, yet strangely familiar. Something about his eyes, his posture, and even the way he stood made her feel as though she had known him for years. She searched through the corridors of her memory, desperately trying to find where she had seen him before, but nothing came.
"Ask him to come forward," she instructed Onumara.
Onumara motioned to the young man, who had been standing a little behind the others.
Ndubisi stepped forward.
The closer he came, the stronger the sensation became. Even his scent stirred something deep within her—a memory buried somewhere beyond her immediate reach.
When he was asked to speak, he looked directly at Ego.
"I have seen you before."
Ego stared at him.
She knew she hadn't met him in recent memory, yet something inside her insisted that he was not a stranger.
"I don't think I have seen you before," she replied, slowly shaking her head.
"So you don't remember me?"
Now the encounter was becoming both fascinating and unsettling.
"I think you must be mistaking me for someone else."
"Your name is Ego?"
"Does knowing my name prove anything?" she asked. "Many people know my name. That doesn't mean I have met all of them."
Ndubisi studied her for a moment, apparently convinced that she genuinely could not remember him.
"All right," he said. "Let me cut to the chase. I first saw you at a wrestling match in Umudibia some years ago."
Ego's eyes narrowed.
"I have attended many wrestling matches. What happened at that particular one that could possibly jog my memory?"
"I don't remember the wrestler's name anymore, and I can't remember his opponent's face either. But he became champion that day."
He paused, searching his memory.
"He defeated his opponent by raising his right leg and swinging it over the man's head. The man landed flat on his back."
Ego's eyes suddenly widened.
"Oh!"
She pointed at him.
"It is you!"
Ndubisi smiled.
"You were the young man who kept staring at me. You could hardly take your eyes off me that day."
Ego almost laughed.
"I remember you now."
"That's not exactly how I remember it," he replied with a grin. "I took my eyes off you a few times to watch the wrestling."
"You still look beautiful like that day," he said.
Ego smiled shyly.
"It is the work of the gods."
For a brief moment, the amusement disappeared from her face.
"You said you first saw me at that wrestling match. So where did you see me the second time?"
Ndubisi's expression immediately became serious.
"Here."
He glanced around the forest.
"In fact, I believe I saved your life."
Ego's smile disappeared.
"You saved my life?"
"Yes."
"How?"
Ndubisi looked around at the people standing nearby.
"For what I'm about to tell you, I would prefer some privacy."
Ego looked at Onumara and the others.
"Please, give us some space."
They reluctantly moved away.
Once they were out of earshot, Ego turned toward him.
"Go ahead. Tell me."
Ndubisi cleared his throat.
"About twenty market days ago, I was being chased by a group of men. They had been ordered to bring me back dead or alive."
"Why?"
"I still don't know. I was accused of a crime I had nothing to do with."
He shook his head.
"I ran into this forest because it was the only place I thought they wouldn't find me. But they followed me."
Ego listened carefully.
"I passed this hut that night. There was a fire burning inside, and I saw a woman outside. It was dark, so I couldn't make out her face. But I was certain someone was standing outside the hut."
Ego's heart began beating faster.
"I kept running until I was deep inside the forest. I found a huge tree and climbed into its branches. From there, I watched the men searching for me. They searched for a long time but couldn't find me."
He paused.
"Eventually, I fell asleep."
"When I woke up the following morning, I noticed something covered with plantain leaves not far from the tree. I climbed down, went over to it, and removed the leaves."
Ndubisi looked directly into Ego's eyes.
"You were underneath."
Ego's expression changed.
"Me?"
"Yes. You."
He spoke with certainty.
"I remember faces. I don't forget them."
Ego said nothing.
"You were burning with fever. Your body was soaked with sweat, yet you were shivering violently. I thought you were dead at first."
He continued.
"I pulled you out and immediately realized that you were the same woman I had seen outside this hut the previous night."
Ego stared at him.
"I made a stretcher from bamboo and brought you back here."
He gestured toward the hut.
"I made a fire, then went home, collected some herbs, and returned. I boiled them and managed to get some of the mixture into you."
"And you stayed here?"
"Yes."
"For how long?"
"Until the following morning."
He looked around the hut.
"This place was in terrible condition. It looked abandoned. I spent part of the day cleaning it up while taking care of you."
Ego's eyes widened.
"I stayed with you throughout that day and into the next. The following morning, I went out to check my traps and gather firewood."
He paused.
"When I returned, you were gone."
Silence settled between them.
Ego looked at the hut.
Then at Ndubisi.
Then back at the hut.
Everything she thought she knew was beginning to unravel.
"So you are saying you were the one who rescued me?"
"I believe so."
"But I don't remember any of this."
Ndubisi shrugged.
"You were very sick. Your fever was severe."
He stepped closer.
"Look at me again. Maybe something will come back."
Ego leaned forward and studied his face.
His eyes.
His nose.
The shape of his mouth.
The faint scar above his eyebrow.
Nothing.
She searched her memory until it hurt, but there was still no recollection of him carrying her, treating her, or even speaking to her.
Finally, she leaned back and laughed softly.
"I still can't remember anything."
Ndubisi smiled.
"But how am I supposed to remember any of it if I was suffering from such a terrible fever?"
He nodded slowly.
"Perhaps you can't."
Ego lowered her eyes.
But something about his story troubled her.
Not because she doubted him.
Because his story explained too much.
The old woman had claimed she found Ego buried in a shallow grave.
The old woman had claimed she pulled her out.
The old woman had claimed she made a bamboo stretcher and carried her back to the hut.
She had claimed she treated her fever.
But now Ndubisi was standing before her, telling almost the exact same story.
Except there was one important difference.
He had no reason to lie.
Or at least, she could not yet see one.
Ego slowly looked toward the dark entrance of the hut.
For the first time, a frightening possibility entered her mind.
What if the old woman had never saved her at all?