PHOTO PROMPT Copyright-Madison Woods
The War
One day in Chad, returning from a dental appointment in the bush, we came upon a tree which separated two villages.
A man with a spear stood by the tree not far the road we were using.
“You can’t go through here, turn back!” he said.
“What’s happening brother?” my driver asked.
“There’s a war here … our cattle have been stolen by thieves from that village!” he said pointing to a burning village not far away. “They killed one of them to eat! We’ve placed the skull as a warning to all!”
We turned around and took another road.
Written for Friday Fictioneers – this is a true story, except for the tree with the skull.
Bastet and Sekhmet's Library 
What a great frightening story!!
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It was pretty frightening when it happened.
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I’m glad there was someone there to warn you and that you listened.
janet
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There was no thinking twice about taking the advice, believe me! Georgia
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Flight or fight. In this case – they chose flight, which was probably smart! Nan 🙂
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Yep .. there is some wisdom in not sticking around when people ar in-fighting like that.
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Wow … I was hoping this was *not* a true story … evidently it WAS?!? So glad you listened! Ugh!
But … brilliantly written, as always!
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Thanks … that was the strangest dental appointment I ever went to.
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No kidding!
I read “dental appointment in the bush” and thought, “Whaaaaaaaa?” And evidently it went downhill from there!
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Yes, I lived out in the middle of Chad in a small villiage. There was an evangelist mission about 100 klicks from where I lived and they had a hospitol and dental care center. Unfortunately the dentist did root canal work on a molar that time and I lost it a few years later … it just kind of fell apart.
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Oh my. So the story kept going long after the story!!!!
o.O
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Yes … one of the pitfalls at times of being nomadic.
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Wow that kinda put things in perspective. Life is not so bad…
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Yep … I do so agree.
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Dear Georgia,
That’s one unforgettable walk home from the dentist. Truth can be stranger than fiction for sure.
Good one.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Dear Rochelle,
That was certainly outside of my usual dental experience. It has stuck vividly in my imagination too.
Thanks.
Ciao, Georgia
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Georgia, That was some experience. Good thing you didn’t get drawn into the conflict and safely got away. Well written. 🙂 —Susan
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At the time it was a little scary, I admit it and was happy when we turned around. 🙂 Georgia
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