Ologbo

“Ologbo” is one of the outstanding stories of the first biannual International Short Story Contest 2018 written by Ibrahim Olayiwola Yusuff, Greenwood House School, Lagos, Nigeria.

Ologbo

It was a Monday morning, on my way to the soccer camp. My mum told me a spooky story about a cat named Ologbo. Ologbo went to soccer camps. Ologbo was always stealing the best players in the camps and hypnotising them to be on his own team and making their parents very worried.

When we got to the camp, my mum told me she is going to pick me up the next weekend and that I should have a good time.

The next day, something strange happened at twelve midnight. I heard screaming and shouting. It woke everyone up! The best footballer in the soccer camp, Bamidele had been kidnapped!

The security guards were asleep and there was a videotape on Bamidele’s pillow. I secretly took it and ran into my room. I played the tape; I saw a cat on the screen of the TV. The cat was dancing and sang:

O is for obtain, I obtain the best

L is for leap, I leap from place to place

O is for obscure, I am very obscure

G is for gold, the people I kidnap are as precious as gold

B is for best, the players on my team are certainly the best

O is for Old Bill, I have never been seen by any Old Bill”

Someone knocked on the door. I removed the videotape quickly and hid it under my bed. I opened the door. It was the second best footballer and the smartest in the school, Emeka. He told me the person that kidnapped Bamidele must be coming for him too so he asked if I could sleep in his room and I was too kind to say ‘no’. Then he started singing:

“Ho! Thank you, thank you, thank you! We can catch that kidnapper! Ho! Thank you, thank you, thank you! We can catch that kidnapper! Thank you, thank you, thank you! You’re the only one who said yes! Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

At twelve midnight, Emekaand I were still awake in Emeka’s room when suddenly we heard a “meow” sound!

The sound was very similar to the rhythm of the cat that was singing in the videotape, but instead of real words, it was “meow” the cat used. Emeka was as white as snow. He was shivering with fear. Then he turned into a brave boy and started shouting, “Who’s there? Come out where ever you are or you’re going to taste my new recipe for a blazing knuckle or dead slap!”

Then I saw the shadow of a cat! It started singing:

“Let me have young, smart Emeka

His shadow will be so black

He’ll be a jolly good boy

He’ll be on a team named Lagos

He’ll never ever be the last

His shot will be like a blast

He’ll run like lightning

Everyone will be frightened

He’ll be my number two

He’ll tell everyone ‘boo’

Hand over little Emeka

Or he’ll be kidnapped in a sack”

The cat jumped on our bed! Emeka went under his bed. The cat was holding a knife. The knife was three inches away from me, until I heard a loud noise! Someone shot a gun! The cat fell right on the floor!

Emeka got up. He was the one who shot and he was holding a gun! Someone started knocking on the door. I opened it and it was Bamidele. He said the cat was an evil cat.

The next minute, police cars were parked in front of the camp. They rushed into the camp and took the cat away. All the boys in the camp came out and we all started to sing:

“Bye bye cat, see you never again!

Bye bye cat, you have been enough trouble!”

I still don’t know who the cat was. That’s a mystery for you.