The seed

Chapter One: The Seed

In a quiet village called Kafin-Leda, where everyone knew everyone, lived a sixteen-year-old boy named Jamil.

Jamil was not a bad boy, but he was lazy. He hated farm work. While other boys woke up early to follow their fathers to the farm, Jamil would always find an excuse to stay behind.

That Tuesday morning, his mother called out to him.

"Jamil, take your hoe. Your father is waiting for you at the farm!"

Jamil was still lying on his mat. He didn't want to go. He looked outside; the sun was already hot. Then an idea came to his mind—a small, quick lie.

He ran to his mother, breathing fast and pretending to be scared.

"Mama! Mama! I went to fetch water yesterday, and I saw a big snake at the farm! A python! It was near our yam ridge!"

His mother dropped the pot she was holding.

"What! A python? Are you sure?"

"Yes, Mama! Very big, black, and long! It wanted to bite me!"

His mother did not waste any time. She ran outside, shouting, "My son saw a python on our farm! A big python!"

Within one hour, the news had changed.

One woman told another, "Jamil saw two pythons!"

That woman told her husband, "Jamil's family saw five pythons and a lion!"

By evening, the whole village was saying, "Nobody should go near the bush area! There are snakes everywhere!"

Jamil sat in his room, listening to what his small lie had become. He wanted to say, "Mama, I was lying," but he was afraid. He feared they would beat him, so he kept quiet.

And that was how one small lie, born on a lazy morning, gave birth to a generation of lies that would soon put the whole village in danger.