Clouds of dust rise and fall to the ground as his large feet move to the rhythm of the drums. Stomping and jumping at intervals, the melody from the ogene drives him to the left and the right ends of the field. Thrills and cheers emerge from the crowd as his arm and back, dark and shiny like ivory, shine with sweat as he moves. His feet slam the ground continuously, one foot with the force of 10 men. The masculinity of the strong African male is on full display as Anorue showcases his energetic art. The art of dance. Anorue, the infamous dancer from Umunoha; the delight of the Prince, entertainer to the Bourgies, Children will do anything for him, tourists are attracted by him, visitors look forward to his performances, maidens fight over him. Especially the light-skinned maidens, his renowned ‘spec’…

The UMUNOHA square is lit with activities; buyers and sellers interact loudly but not loud enough to drown the music and cheers coming from the crowd. The festivities are so much that Nkechi’s screams did not seem to make any difference until 4 young men emerged and begun to chase down an unknown person. The hot pursuit sends bottles crashing to the ground and pandemonium engulfs the entire west wing of the square and like wild fire, it spreads fast…

She tries to massage the ragged edges of his finger nails on her right cleavage, it is visibly red now and swelling but she’s too worried to care about that right now. “The more you rub it, the more it swells Nne. Wepu aka?” (Translates- ‘best take your hands off’) Her stepmother advises her and she stops rubbing her cleavage almost immediately. “This cannot happen to me please. I can’t lose that necklace…” is all her mind cries out. “Hai! white gold!!, 24Karat!!!” The value of the precious white gold is all that seems to matters to Aunty Ogbenyealu at this point. She intends to get the attention of more people and tries to lurch forward in the direction of the curious crowd; Chief Mrs.’s left hand holds her back. “Chai! Can you imagine? This thing dey pain me fa… Can you just imagine these people aunty?” Aunty Ogbenyealu complains bitterly in her defense… “No this is rubbish now….Haba!” Madam Kano is her alias, one she attributes to her ‘vast’ knowledge of the Hausa language.

Anorue stares in the opposite direction to find more than half of the crowd’s attention off him and on Aunty Ogbenyealu. Swiftly, Nkechi sets off in the direction of the pursuit. Chief Mrs., her stepmother, places both hands on her head, her face shows fear; “Let somebody hold her o… Okechukwu! Oke!!!” Her screams come quite late as the engine of the matte white elegant B3AST, BMW S1000RR power bike, revs like a pretty Beast. The earth on and around it trembles and all the village children cheer in excitement. Nkechi’s left hand turns ‘her brother’s’ power bike on while her right hand handles the matte white helmet with the number 46 designed on either side. Expertly, she rides out of the Square and on to the bush path through which she saw the thief escape. Leaves and tree branches adorn the path on the left and on the right, heavy adrenaline surges through her veins, all she can think of? Her mother’s necklace…. The entire square chases tirelessly behind her; determined to get to the end of the matter… Anorue is amazed. “Who is that?”, his jaw drops slowly…

Nb: Shadé is a compilation of short stories. The story of Shadé was wrapped up last week. The Dancing Thief is a New story. I hope you enjoy it…😎