Part 2 (2)

A sudden astounding vibration shook the earth with incredible strength. The deer painting canvas on the wall crashed against the floor. The petrol lamp, as well as the dishes, and the cup on the table on the left side of the room trembled.
Babida's beloved ceramic vase of roses did not withstand the wrath of the earth either. It fell off the wooden stool at the left corner of his bed and made a deafening noise that baffled his small ears.
Like a leopard, the woodsman stood off the soil and sprung toward the door, which he unlocked to have a glimpse of the outside.
The night was at its fullest. The sky was gloomy and the moon was grey, not a good omen according to the Batang empire astrology.
Trees had lost a few branches. Old roofs had succumbed to the earth strike and were torn. Even the kennel of Babida's neighbor's dog was damaged. The puppy was barking and running across the lawn frantically.
People of the neighborhood got outside their homes to witness the extent of the destruction. They plunged into deeper sorrow when they caught sight of the bad forecast in the heavens.
While they were interpreting the meaning of the ominous sign, a strident howl emerged from the east. It seemed to be far beyond the limits of Ekule. Its intensity hinted it was above the cliff adjoining the neighboring village, Okunde. And the cliff was nothing else but the forbidden mountain.
"Something has happened in that cursed hill again." Babida whimpered to himself.
"And I must go find out tomorrow morning what it is." He completed his statement. He then went back inside his shelter and took a rest.
The earthquake had ceased and Suzie was assessing its sequels on the chalet.
Fortunately but strangely not even a glass was destroyed. Just dust had aroused a little bit and was causing grandma to sneeze.
"What, what...was...was that Suzie?" The old lady laboriously asked her grandchild while trying to contain a sternutation.
"Especially the mysterious scream which originated from that doomed mountain?" She wondered.
Suzie was busy searching for any havoc in the house, so she did not react to her grandmother's queries. She kept on with her detective mode. She knocked lightly on the walls to test their post-earthquake solidity till an angry voice interrupted her.
"Suzieee, do you hear me?" Grandma roared vehemently at her granddaughter who was ignoring her.
Shocked by the sharpness of the tone, Suzie blenched and almost lost her balance as she stepped over the wooden statue of a lying Katanga lion that was placed on the ground.
"Sorry big momma!" She apologized while she had her two hands on the upper part of her Kaba.
"Well, uncle Bibi certainly has answers to it." She replied to her grandmother's interrogations.
Toc, toc!!! Toc, toc!!! Toc, toc!!!
Someone banged repeatedly at the door.
"Suzie, open, darling! It's me, uncle Bibi. Are you safe?" Uncle Bibi's voice resonated from outside.
"Oh, oh, talk of a Monster and he will surely appear." Suzie addressed her nanny while rushing to the door, which she unlocked.
Like a mad buffalo, uncle Bibi entered the house and looked around to perceive any suspicious movement.
"Thank our ancestors! You are all fine." Uncle Bibi sighed relieved, his eyes heaved to the sky, and the palms of his two hands stuck against each other.
"Bibi, was it that bird of ill omen that was howling?" Grandma asked her son while displaying a sign of anxiety on her face.
"But it can't be. It was beheaded by that lumberjack." She went on, answering thus her question.
"You are right mommy but I guess that Monster had procreated before attacking the empire. It was killed but no one ever inspected the mountain afterward." Uncle Bibi assumed, then gently hit his forehead with his right hand as he just realized how terrible such an eventuality would be.
"Procreated?" Grandma blurted confused.
"If that was indeed the case. Why has it taken so long? Why did it take fifteen years for its progeniture to reveal its existence?" She interrogated her son who remained silent.
Suzie observed her grandma and her uncle elaborate on a topic that was again a few hours ago unknown to her. Despite her shaky knowledge of the past, she involved herself in the discussion and began to make assumptions.
"My thought is that the Monster indeed laid an egg or more. How did it copulate? It's a mystery but anyway it has a descendant." She brainstormed. Big momma and uncle Bibi were listening to her carefully.
"The fact that a big howl emanated from the forbidden mountain right after the earthquake is not a fortunate coincidence. I believe the power of the vibration fractured the egg's shell, ending therefore a fifteen-year-old maturation." She deduced while her audience looked at her dazed by the fertility of her neurons.
"Oh my goodness! Suzie, you're a G-E-N-I-U-S, genius, darling." Uncle Bibi told her, eyes wide open, jumping and tapping the ground at a rapid speed.
"Clap here my little angel! The plausibility of your hypothesis is simply mind-boggling." Grandmother complimented her while showing the palm of her right hand to perform a high five.
"Okay, it's time to go to bed now." Uncle Bibi said to the two women.
"Both of you, climb upstairs to your rooms! As for me, I will from now on sleep on the old hammock. Batang empire is no longer a haven." He asserted.
The two ladies did as uncle Bibi had suggested. The latter kept a close watch over the chalet. He stayed up for a while, then when he got exhausted, he stepped inside the hammock and fell asleep.