Oró - Venom

Welcome to Limitless! This is not part of the Tingles series.

It is another story entirely based on a real life experience. 

Enjoy❤️

“This tree is not good enough. Termites are bound to attack it”, she said to the foresters and lumberjacks behind her. She was the only woman among them. 

Her job was to go deep into forests and look for good trees that can be fell and processed into wood. She often got questioned about why a woman would take a job like that. But, she wasn’t born to be timid. Her name wasn’t Akinwunmi for nothing. 

She had always been dauntless and adventurous since she was little. Her mother was like that too. She died while saving a family from an accident.

“I’ve found one more here”, another of her colleagues said.  

She couldn’t hold the pee that was threatening to release itself anymore at that point. 

So, she said, “please I want to pee, you can go on with sourcing”. 

She walked farther into the forest away from the men’s gawking eyes. She finally found a spot and stood at ease to relieve herself. 

She was looking around the bush near her while doing her business when she felt something smooth...

“Ahhh!”, she screamed as the cold-blooded creature wrapped itself around her ankle, reveling in the hot liquid rolling down her left leg. 

It was as though the scream pushed out the last stream of pee because she immediately dropped her skirt and screamed louder. Her ankle was already being squeezed, she couldn’t feel any blood flow in the area. 

She shook her leg to stop the creature from moving but it only wrapped itself tighter. The impact threw her down.

She screamed again. Her whole body shook in fear and horror; her heart beating loud and fast. 

Her colleagues appeared seconds later. They hurriedly took big sticks to drag the limberless brute away. They began to hit it but it only got more fierce. 

Then, she felt it. The sinking of its teeth deep into her flesh. 

She gnashed her teeth and cried out. “Yeee, oró oooo” (Venom!!!)

The pain shot right into her skull. She could feel it in every part of her body. Then, she suddenly felt lightheaded and her eyes drooped till it was shut. Was she dying? 

She opened her eyes and winced in pain. A bed? She saw two of her male colleagues hovering above her. 

“What happened?”, she managed to croak out. 

“You are in the hospital, we had to rush you here after we killed the snake but...”, one said but got interrupted.

“Yes, the doctors already removed the venom and your ankle is dressed, they said you can go home by tomorrow morning.”, her other colleague said.

She looked around and saw other patients in the ward, some were groaning in pain while some were asleep. One had a cast on her arm that was being checked by a doctor while her little son sat by her bed, comforting her with tears in his eyes. She saw the doctor assure the boy that his mom would be okay. 

The doctor then walked up to her and said she could go home the next morning but she had to be coming every two days to dress the wound. 

She did as he said. 

She finished her treatment after four months and the wound was closing already. 

However, in the fifth month, the wound that was already healing started opening again with pus oozing out every now and then. 

She went back to the hospital, they cleaned it, dressed it again, and gave her drugs. 

A day passed, two months passed, but there was still no improvement. 

Then, one day she met an old man that looked like a traditional physician. He told her all her problems and asked her to follow him. When he got into his abode, he told his boys to get a knife. He cut the wound in multiple places and squeezed some herbs into it. 

The blood oozing out stopped and he said it was done. She went back home and when night came, the pain became torturous; times worse than it was before. 

A week passed and it was a new year already but her ankle was still swollen. The excruciating pain didn’t subside either. 

“Peju!”, she called out. Her only daughter had been the only one taking care of her since her husband died. 

Her daughter came rushing into her room, “Quickly go and buy a razor blade. I want to use it for something”, She said, giving her some cash. 

Her daughter soon came back with the blade. She collected it and told her to go and boil water. She wanted to know what exactly was the cause of the pain and swelling. And for her, there was only one way to find out.  

So, she went into the sitting room, placed the leg on a stool and looked for the face of the wound. She rubbed and pressed looking for any lump. Then, she felt it. She took the blade and gently cut the area she felt the lump in. Then, she saw a fang hidden in the wound. 

She screamed and tears flowed out of her eyes. Her daughter brought the hot water but her eyes widened in shock when she saw what was prodding out. 

She clamped her teeth on her lips and brought the snake’s teeth out of the wound. She dropped it. Then, pressed the wound’s sides to let the pus flow out. She sighed in relief when it was all out. The fang was the main reason behind the sharp pain she used to feel whenever she moved her ankle. It was also the one that wasn’t allowing the wound to heal. 

It must have broken in her ankle while her colleagues were trying to kill the snake. 

Her daughter cringed, “Maami! How did this thing stay in your body for so long? Thank God it didn’t kill you”. 

She pinched her eyes shot for a moment. 

Then, she cleaned the wound, wrapped it, and waited for a while before she went to the hospital again for a thorough checkup. 

THE END. 

Thanks so much for reading guys. You were probably expecting a third part of Tingles. Sorry, that would come next week for sure. Meanwhile, I hope you enjoyed this story. 

It is a true life story and yes, the woman is still alive and well. Make sure you leave a comment, I want to know what you think. You can also share this intriguing story with a friend. 

Don’t forget to check back next Saturday for another episode of Limitless. Till then, bye.❤️