Tammira Of Busha
By: Stella Macus
Tags: Fiction Writing, Storytelling, Fiction, Stories, Stories And Culture

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful damsel called Tammira. She was the daughter of a bronzesmith and they both lived in the village of Busha.

Busha was separated from the outside world by a great quagmire called Mudisar in their local dialect. Any stranger who attempted to cross to this village met his end in the grip of this great mud.

Many suitors, who came from distant lands to woo this paragon of beauty, could not cross over to meet her. Anyone who attempted perished in the mud. Tammira did make matters worse as she scorned with a burst of sinister laughter as they all perished in the mud.

Her father did not like her attitude and will always warn her to desist from it, but she paid no heed to his advice.

She was so proud of her beauty, that she had no regard for any man. For this reason, every man in the village of Busha gave up on her and decided to sit and wait to see who the lucky man will be. But guess what? They waited for a very long time. This made her father worried because he hoped that Tammira would move on with her life after the death of her mother.

One fateful evening, a strange thing happened. Tammira was gazing over Mudisar, which had claimed the lives of her suitors in the past.

All of a sudden from the blues, she noticed a small vessel gliding in thin air over the great Mudisar, advancing towards where she stood. On this vessel stood a very handsome and charming young man. She had never seen such handsomeness before.

The man stretched forth his hands and said “Come to the home of the Gininis, where you’ll have all that the human mind can flatter.” The vessel has by now reached where she stood. She stepped in without a second thought, and the vessel zoomed off with great speed.

In a flash, they arrived at a strange and misty realm. As the vessel glided, Tammira turned around and saw that her prospect had now turned to a terrifying beast who was actually the god of the Gininis.

The Gininis was thought to be a myth by the people of Busha. The myth had it that the Gininis were demi-gods that inhabited the realms of Proadira. They were known to occasionally materialize in human form with the purpose of wooing beautiful damsels to their doom. They used them for breakfast, lunch, or whatever.

Tammira screamed helplessly as the Gininis bound her in chains and threw her in a subterranean dungeon. The Gininis don’t kill their victims immediately because they have a fattening schedule to keep. In this schedule, the victim will be fed fat, so that they’ll be enough meat.

Back in the village of Busha, Tammira’s father was worried to the bone about the disappearance of his daughter. He searched every nook and cranny with the help of the villagers but she was nowhere to be found.

They finally decided to consult the village Medium and they were informed of her actual situation. Everyone was in shock but of course, there was nothing they could do. The villagers had not left the village because of the quagmire that separated the village from the outside world.

The Medium revealed a risky and narrow pathway through Mudisar and strictly warned that any miscalculated move will result in death. Tammira’s father decided to take the risk alone to find his daughter, so the villagers stood and watched as he cautiously found his way through the great mud. He succeeded in getting across for once in the history of Mudisar’s existence.

He started out almost immediately in the search of his daughter through the thick and eerie forest of Omazin.

He traveled for three days until he got to a very misty spot. It dawned on him that he had reached the realms of the Gininis, based on his knowledge of the myth.

As he approached their castle, he could hear the thunderous howls of these hideous monsters as the frolicked within the fortified rocky castle. This castle was huge and the walls were covered with thick and slippery slim. Tammira’s father had no other choice than to take the risk of climbing.

He started slowly, up to a certain level, and would slip down dangerously to the base and started all over again. He decided to use a small dagger that he had in his possession to do the job and he began to make progress.

Tammira’s father got to a window and he overhead a group of Gininis discuss thus: “We’ll have a nice dinner by noon tomorrow and our belly will be caressed by Tammira of Busha. She thinks she’s pretty, of course, she’ll be dead gorgeous in our belly. Ha! Ha! Alagbinshonaka!

Tammira’s father was frightened at what he heard but was more frightened when he saw their horrible sight that he almost lost balance. He managed to hold still till the room that hosted these abominations was well cleared. When the room was clear, he climbed into the room through the window.

Tammira’s father wondered where his daughter would be within the great castle. He started searching until he got to a stairway that went through the ground. This led him to the dungeon and funny enough, it was unguarded because the Gininis had never been confronted by rescuing hands.

He opened the iron gate and saw his beautiful daughter-Hmm! Did I say beautiful? No way! Tammira was now fat like a balloon and her once beautiful face had faded like a dying flower. The Gininis had probably completed their fattening routine.

Tammira was happy that her father had come for her but he wondered how they would get out as he had a rough time getting in especially as his daughter had added an extra pound. They both moved stealthily about the castle in the cloak of darkness, looking for the nearest exit.

There was no Ginini insight because they had congregated in a special arena within the castle for sports. Their terrifying howls shook the castle to its foundation based on the success or failure on whatever game they were playing.

Tammira’s father saw a key on the floor. The key must have been dropped by a Ginini in charge of the gates. They decided to try the key on all doors that they came across. They did so until they came to the main gate that led out of the castle. Tammira’s father tried the key and it swung open with a creaking metallic sound. They quickly and quietly fled to freedom.

Success would have been theirs, but Tammira’s weight gain made a spoil of the escape. She could not move fast because she panted and sweated profusely at each step, so her father had to wait on her to catch up. They spent days in the forest of Omazin, searching for a way out and having the fear of being caught.

They finally got out of the forest and were once in front of the great Mudisar that separated their village from the outside world. As Tammira’s father stood wondering and trying to figure out the particular spot that the village Medium had told him to tread, the weather suddenly changed.

There was a great breeze followed by terrifying howls of the formidable Gininis. Tammira’s father knew for sure that the gods were clamoring for their sacrifice.

There was no time to waste so he quickly found the spot and started moving through the great mud. The breeze and the howls of these monsters were now becoming intense, so much that their feet started to shake on the narrow path that they trod. Tammira’s father shouted to his daughter not to look back or she would perish.

Tammira was so frightened and tired that she barely heard his warnings. Suddenly, the breeze and the howls of these monsters stopped and Tammira heard a soft enchanted call that spoke thus: “Come to the home of the Gininis and you’ll have all that the human mind can flatter. Come, my queen, come my tukino and be by my side forever.” Tammira turned her head slowly and then quickly when she had heard this. In a split second, she found herself falling into the quagmire.

Tammira’s father heard the screams of his daughter calling: “Father! Save me! The Mudisar have got hold of me!” But her father could do nothing as he was now great paces ahead of her. Tammira’s weight made the mud swallow her faster. She screamed and screamed to oblivion.

Tammira’s father had by now gotten to the other side. The bronze smith stood for a while, looking at the mud that had claimed the life of his daughter, then he suddenly broke down in tears and lamented: “Oh! Mudisar! Mudisar! What have you done to the souls that you have of claimed all these ages, The Gininis of Proadira took my daughter and now you!”