Telescopes above the clouds series (Sango's empathy.)

My name is sango, the yoruba god of thunderbolt and lightening. As an immortal god, I live on a cumulus expanse high above the atmosphere. As a duty of mine, I make sure I constantly look down on my mortals, through my divine telescope and make sure I oversee their affairs as such. Today was no exception, i ensured a majestic poise on my dainty throne as i peeped through my divine telescope. The enticing landscape of the yoruba land gives me such tingly pride, I'm so happy to god this people and i so much anticipate the next sango festival. So far today, it has been a wonderful view through my telescope as all my servants are seemingly having a swell time on earth, as i was about leaving my post to visit the gods lobby above the rainbow cloud. I noticed this:

On a marble stone in an abandoned quarry site sat a girl crying. She had just been abandoned in the dusty rugged terrain, to fend for her way out. In reality she was left for dead. I saw the crazy men, heading for their cruisers about six of them, with three entering a cruiser each. I watched the men with scorn as they left, however their is little I can do to them, I'm meant to let men, operate their affairs until the threshold that seeks our intervention, mine in this case, as the girl involved father is a faithful servant.

She soon found her feet and scrambled through the rugged terrain of the quarry site. As she struggled a scuffle through, she wondered what crazy fate bounded him to dare, he was someone she so much loved, now he was the one, whose gang robbed her of her father's money and left her for dead. she remembered hearing him say,

"I can't watch you guys kill her, she means so much to me, though not more than this money. He faced her right then and said,

I'm sorry baby, but this is not my fault but your stingy father's."

"Dare please don't do this to me, I don't care about the money,i care only about you. she pleaded tearfully.

"I know baby, he said but this is beyond me. this is the best i can do for you. good luck!" he turned to leave. She pulled him and ran after him, pleading and crying.

Dare pointed to his fully armed friends, "don't make them use those, please I'll prefer they not." He freed himself off her.

She let him leave crying and cursing at his wickedness.

It was an hour later and she was amazed by how much progress she had made, they blindfolded her on their way to the site so she wouldn't get her way out and hence be lost forever. however they were not so right. She felt she is on the right pat as her sharp intuition traced every turns they made on their way to the quarry. As a god I quite understand the possibility of such intuition, its disturbing how little human make use of their powerful minds. She however amazingly used hers well. Minutes later she was exasperated as she dragged herself along, right at that moment i knew she wouldn't last too long. I decided to help her, normally, I don't do rainfall, but the day's necessity left me with no choice. I found just the right cloud to motivate near by, I summoned the cloud to slowly drift towards where she pants, laden with exhaustion.

Clouds, even though being the bed rock of the kingdom of the immortals, yet it is also the human's rain maker. The cloud i placed on errantry gloom casted the area and awaited my command. I commanded it to rain. She felt relieved as rain started to fall, she noticed a tin can not too far away, it was with it she collected the rain water she drank. After she drank the water, i commanded the clouds to stop the rain fall, "mission accomplished" it afterwards drifted away from the place. You really need to wonder how on earth i commanded the cloud. Only a god, like me, understands the language of the inanimate. The soft shrills of her wearied steps filled the air, i smiled, wishing she could see how close the main road lies. Sooner than she knows it she appeared at the familiar main road. She was rough and sullied, she flagged down a red salon car which lucky enough for her halted a few meters away, she staggered towards the car, half happy, half confused. The driver of the car stuck his cute face out of the car unto the dirty appearance of the girl.

"please sir! please sir! can you give me a ride?" the girl desperately pleaded.

"hop in," the man coarse voice replied. She tried opening the back door. "front please!" he alerted her. she afterwards opened the front door and eased into the chair.

Jide, the nice young driver, surged the car unto the silent road.

"whats your name?" he asked.

"My name is shade," she replied.

"So what are you doing in such desolate place in grime, I'm sorry i said that.

"don't be, she said, bursting into low sobs. i was shoved into the middle of that quarry over there, by my boy friend and his gang. I was left for dead, however I'm stronger than they imagine."

In reality she was right, humans lack of adequate insight or most of the time means of exploiting them often punishes them more than help them. Human judge rather hastily, harshly and vaguely, however more often, they end up with the wrong judgement.

It had been like an hour's drive now and the city's familiar horns and honks filled the air.

"please here will be alright, she said.

He halted the car meters away, he slipped his cell out of his hands and said in a decent tone,

"Can i please have your number?"

shade looked at him half scornfully half surprisingly, "should that be a thank you for the help you just rendered?"

Jide busted into a chuckle, "of course not, common! Its just to call you later to check if you are alright."

She smiled, she was surprised she could manage to. "By the way, they took my cell with them so i have no number to give you. but don't worry, just drop your cell number, I'll call you when I'm sorted."

He unveiled from inside his pocket his leather wallet, he took out of it his business card and handed it over to her, "you'll reach me easily on the mtn number" he said.

"Alright! i promise to call, thank you very much sir. she replied. she waved him a good bye, he drove off and she advanced towards home.

She felt so ashamed of herself as she walked her dirtied self towards home. Soon she was welcomed home by her worried parent, she could hardly narrate her ordeal, she only yearned for a cold bath, a meal and afterwards a nice nap. she didn't wake until later that night when she eventually narrated her ordeal to her parents. I could see the look, in sangodeji's eyes, that money was almost a year's savings. He stormed out of his sitting room and entered the mini shrine just outside his house. He brought out the thunderbolt stone, and chanted the required summoning lines. I smiled up there in my throne, i knew its my time to intervene. I've just been summoned to tender vengeance, I stood from my throne stirred my telescope where dare sat, he was at a bar together with two out of the other five men. that was jackpot for me, i raised my hands up to gather charges from the ionosphere and when i brought it down, thunder stroked the three men down. Their body slumped into the marbled floor of the bar. The next target was dipo, he was at dinner table at home, he was just gulping his first bite when i struck him down. the next target was ayo, he was just knocking his door, however it was his dead body that was carried in. The last man was at a club, and that was where i struck him down too. Now my mission is accomplished. I descended the throne and took the cloudy steps to the god's lobby. As i ascended i wondered if the vengeance was really worth it.

Abd-hamid Abd-afeez. (TALESMEN)