Life and Nature

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Prologue

1.) And so, on the twentieth day of the sixth month of the year, in a small community in Nassarawa State, Nigeria, tragedy struck.
2.) Marauding herdsmen from the far North arrived at the farm estate of Lapai, a respected chief in the community.
3.) He was hacked to death. His wife was defiled repeatedly before they slit her throat. Bitrus, his only child, had both his hands chopped off before the herdsmen let their cattle graze on the chief's vast crop farm.

Bitrus’ Friends Share His Pain
4.) When four of Bitrus’s friends heard of the tragedy that had befallen him, they gathered together and traveled from their school to comfort and console him.
5.) Their names were: Ignatius, the bald-headed student of Philosophy; Tabitha, the daughter of Bello, the Ilorin man; Powe, the repentant militant; and Rahmon of Nembe.
6.) When they saw Bitrus without arms on the hospital bed from a distance, they could barely recognize him. They wailed loudly to show their grief.
7.) Nurse Samantha approached them and begged them not to shout, for they were in a place where noise was not permitted.

Bitrus’ First Utterance
8.) Eventually, Bitrus spoke, and he lamented bitterly.
9.) He said: "Why do wicked men do wickedness?
10.) Why do men desire to see their fellow men suffer afflictions by their hands?
11.) Why do men think solely about material things above humanity?
12.) I was born perfect and intact; my parents blessed the day of my birth, having the solace that they had given birth to one in whom they might live on.
13.) Now my lot is a pulverized pie in the sky. Rest has eluded me; gory scenes fill my brain."

Ignatius' Response to Bitrus
14.) And then Ignatius the Philosopher replied to Bitrus:
15.) "Hold on and let me speak, please. I have completely diagnosed that which affects your brain.
16.) On the left hand side, there is nothing right, and on the right hand side, there is nothing left.
17.) The world, this world in which we live, was never perfect. Humans kill for everything because of anything.
18.) We’re born, we live, we die; life goes on.
19.) I beg of you, choose now between life or death, giving up or holding on, living in the past or enjoying the now."

Bitrus’ Second Utterance: A Response to Ignatius
20.) Bitrus spoke again: "Do you want me to speak?
21.) Now I shall speak: heavier than the sands of the desert are my misery and troubles; I choose death.
22.) I actually died the day my parents were slaughtered."

Tabitha's Utterance: Response to Bitrus
23.) Then Tabitha, daughter of Bello, replied to Bitrus: "As a woman, I speak.
24.) I have seen a pregnant woman carry a dead baby, only to be delivered after nine months.
25.) I remember the young lady who had a premature birth, and the baby is alive to this day.
26.) Let us commit our ways into the hands of God, that we may see no evil.
27.) If God didn’t take your life, Bitrus, do not attempt it."

Ignatius’ Utterance: A Response to Both Tabitha and Bitrus
28.) Again Ignatius spoke his word: "Nature does not know evil from good.
29.) The rain that flooded a town also waters the plants; the earthquake that kills people is not actually a disaster but what makes nature whole.
30.) We may pray from now till eternity, but nature’s course will never be reversed.
31.) We must learn to accept the evil that we cannot change and smile at the goodness that comes our way. We have our choice, for we are the gods."

Bitrus’ Third Utterance
32.) He spoke: "I rejoice, for I am blessed with friends who care.
33.) As a god, I choose to smile and live on. I will change that which I can and leave those things that are beyond me.
34.) After all, many fish in the ocean do not know their parents, and the birds of the air care little about what to eat or where to sleep.
35.) Now, will anybody tell me the current happenings in the world?"

Powe's Response to Bitrus
36.) He replied to Bitrus, the son of Lapai: "War everywhere, killings in all places, and no good news from the media, I tell you."

Ignatius’ Utterance: A Response to Powe and Bitrus
37.) He spoke: "Perhaps you do not know; the media is all lies which only project that which suits its owner. The world, as it seems to be so big, is in you.
38.) Your life is your world, and there is absolutely nothing meaningful in this world. Live as it comes, in the power of now. For we cannot leave life alive."

Prologue
39.) Behold, the world is vanity, and every man shall pass away. Many are the things that will happen after our death, but we will never be part of them anymore.
40.) Instead of investing in the unseen and unknown, why don’t you make this world a paradise?
41.) Profound, peace profound.


#Fiction


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