The Punctured Flower

The sound of the local gong interrupted the tranquillity that the people of Izega had enjoyed for a long time. The Ibe Ukwu Festival had come!
The women of Izega were elated at last! The time to prove their daughters’ womanhood had come. Akunna was cracking palm kernel nuts when she heard the sound. Her dreaded day at last! She had been fed with the itinerary of the supposed virginity preservation ritual called “Ibe Ukwu Nwanyi”, an ancient practice in their land that was segregated mainly to tame women’s promiscuity, and also to preserve them for their future husbands. She just turned eight, and her tender mind still reminisced on the story Nwakaego, her best friend, told her on their way to Uli River. Nwakaego was mutilated last season and the gruesome experience still sent cold shiver down her spine, when she narrated her ordeal in the hands of Ndi Nne Ukwu, the old septuagenarians who specialize in that act.
“My daughter, that announcement was for the likes of you who haven’t been initiated into womanhood; in the next market day, we’ll go to the cave for your “Ibe Ukwu”, Nne calmly told Akunna while cracking the palm kernel nuts. Akunna went mute for a long time. Nne understood her fears.
The hut was dark and grimy. Akunna could not sleep, as she wallowed in fear throughout the night. Her mother had earlier on reminded her of their journey to the cave tomorrow. Hence, her mind was greatly troubled.
Many girls had arrived with their mothers to the cave be core Akunna and her mother arrived . Looking at the faces of the young girls seated, there were mixture of fear and curiosity. The silence that enveloped the cave was interrupted by the sudden outburst from a girl mutilated. The horrific outcry heightened the fear of others as each of them clinched to their mothers tightly. The room looked like a Slaughter with blood stain plastered on the wall. Akunna was terrified by the monstrous looks of the “Ndi Nne Ukwu”. They held her down and spread her tiny legs apart.
Akunna had a struggle with them when she saw the razor approaching towards her direction. She wriggled in pains, while trying effortlessly to lose herself from their grips. A sharp instantaneous pain swept through her entire being, her womanhood had been punctured by tradition!