Chapter 2

Agbokim Falls

Continued from here

 

This time, the tumble down the tunnel wasn’t so bad. She was still slammed into the walls of the tunnel over and over again but the wind wrapped around her body like a soft cushion, shielding it from the hard walls of the tunnel. Ada squeezed her eyes shut and screamed all the way down. Suddenly, the tunnel threw her up with a giant belch and she landed on her bum smack in the middle of a forest. She opened her eyes slowly. There were giant trees all around her. Some tall and skinny, some tall and fat enough to be a house, some with lush green leaves, some without. All of them seemed to be trying to touch the sky and for the longest time, they all seemed to be dancing as they swam before her eyes. Shaking away the feeling of dizziness, she got up slowly, dusted her clothes and turned around to explore when whoosh! Something heavy rammed into her from behind and she fell flat on her face. Zigi’s square glasses landed next to her right cheek.

“Phew! Sometimes the tunnel ride is even more fun than the sight!”

He felt on the ground, right next to her eye for his glasses, picked them up, put them on and rose. “Here …” he offered her his hand “Get up, we don’t have a lot of time”

Ada spat a blade of wet grass out, ignored his hand and stood. “At least say sorry”.

“For what?” He perched his glasses on his nose.

“You knocked me down! You could have hurt me badly”

“No, the wind knocked me down and I fell on you. So blame the wind”

“Oomph!” Ada stormed off.

 “Careful, there are man-eating vines ahead and scary steps!” he shouted at her back. She kept walking. “There are two bottomless pits too! You can fall to your death!”

Ada stopped instantly. He ran up to her, grabbed her hand and started walking. “Sorry. Can you hear the birds?”

Ada listened and then she heard the distinct harmonious chirping of birds. It sounded like they were whistling one song in unison.

“There are many types of birds here. Bird watchers come here a lot.”

He dragged her through the lush green forest to a narrow path going downhill with wet slippery steps covered with a bed of green leaves and bracketed on both sides by hundreds of green and brown hairy vines.

Ada stopped.

“Come” he tugged at her hand. “We have to hurry. There’s a lot to see and we have to get back to school soon. Hold on to the vines”

He led her carefully but quickly down the path. They had walked for about ten minutes when suddenly the sound of thunder claps filled the air.

Ada stopped and pulled her hands out of his. “What’s that?!”

“Come on! It’s the waterfall, we’re almost there” he grabbed her hand again and continued walking.

But the thunderous sound seemed to be coming closer and closer.

Ada stopped. “I want to go back! I don’t like that sound! It’s scary. I want to go back”

“I thought you wanted to see a waterfall! Some of them are really loud!! This one is one of the loud ones. It’s the sound of the falling water! Don’t worry, it’s just water, Come!”

“No! She turned around and started walking back up the hill.

“I promise. It’s not scary! It just really loud but it’s not scary. And you’ll take a picture to show Iphie and her friends!”

Ada stopped.

“Ada, just imagine the look on Iphie’s face when she sees your picture. But you can’t take the picture if you go back now and without a picture, no one will believe you!”

She turned around.

“Good! We’re almost there” He grabbed her hand and ran so she wouldn’t change her mind.

The sound of the water was almost ear-piercing now. Ada swallowed and started trembling. Maybe I should just go back.

As if Zigi heard her, he stopped. “We’re here. Close your eyes.”

Ada stopped and squeezed her eyes shut immediately. Then she blocked her ears with her hands too. Zigi grabbed her elbow. They took twenty steps and stopped.

“Now, open your eyes”

 

 

to be continued …

see you same time next week …