Nnechi’s blood was still flying to earth when Wawa’s lash caught her in mid-air as. The snake’s guts made the first impact, hitting her in the face. The snake snarled around her, and once again its fang caught her, this time on her breast. With the snake wrapped around her twice and sunken fangs, Wawa had to pull harder to release his whip. Nnechi spun; her dress came loose off her chest where the snake’s fangs had sunken, more blood crashing for earth.

    The eaglet’s head, still falling, bumped on a smaller branch, jolting it back to consciousness. For fear and disorientated by the goings on, it started shrieking, just like its mother, only louder. As it cried for help Alabo could sense her worry. He stood still, transfixed as the eaglet continued flapping frantically. “Stay still!” Alabo felt like suggesting to the little bird, “Stay still, your mother is coming to save you.” But no word escaped him. All he heard was the slow droll of the flapping eaglet and another drone of the swooping eagle, coming down, swooping in to save her chick.

Nnechi’s blood travelled downwards, spreading as it succumbed to the gravitational pull. She saw the splash, in slow motion and reached out to catch her essence. With blurred vision, it was becoming increasingly difficult to stand still as she still felt as if she was spinning around. Life was slowing down for her. The sting and freeze hit her chest and she felt the numbness strike her feet too. With her lighter hand, she clutched at the ball of spreading blood. What she saw was her baby, Alabo, falling. With her one and only efficient hand, she reached to catch him instead, throwing herself forward, not quite reaching it. The women and children watched as Nnechi dropped to one knee, weighed down by her poisoned hand.

  The eagle saw she could not save her chick but continued anyway. The eaglet was falling too fast and its struggle to take flight was sending it everywhere. The eagle knew she had one choice to make. It was the eaglet or her life. No way could both of them be saved.

 Nnechi’s blood continued on its descent, as it journeyed south, it continued spreading wider, moving away from its previous host, yet narrowing as it pulled itself to nature. A drop hit the ground sending up a little whirl of dust on impact.