The early inhabitants of the land had a belief that twin children were an unnatural phenomenon and hence, had to be killed. They had no basis to their claims other than a ridiculous spiritual inclining. It is said, the “twin rocks” first appeared after the first set of twins were murdered and buried under the ground. The two rocks were barely small stones then.
As the atrocities of man towards twins increased, thus did the stones grow- into rocks and then ginormous mountains until the villagers feared for their safety. With religion and civilization, dawned the realization on the villagers that the act they carried out was nothing but barbaric.
Prayers were said, forgiveness was sought for, the murder was stopped and the mountains steadily dissolved into the two small stone statue we see today. It is said, the stones never returned to ground level in order to serve as a reminder and warning against such atrocities.
But then again, this story I got from my grandmother and it might as well be a tale of old time.
word count: 178 (oops, slightly over). This story is in response to Flash fiction for aspiring writers photo prompt challenge, where each week a picture is given and we are required to Write a 150 (give or take 25) word story on it.
Randoms by a Random 
Folks will forever remember Mary Slessor for her intervention. Never heard about the twin rocks but I trust my people with symbolism.
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Yeah, the killing of was a great tragedy. Hahah, the rock thing is all fiction. Tho where I come from, there are a lot of rocks there, and with them also lots of myth too.
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Oops! I had my Nigerian hat on there, story such as this always triggers the memory of the missionary 🙂
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That’s awful. I think people truly did some bad things not understanding that they weren’t really bad in days gone by. If you’ve ever read the short story ‘The Lottery’ it’s another good example. Great job
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I know right! Some culture s and traditions do more harm than good. Thankfully, its in the past. I haven’t read it. Does it also have to do with twin killing?
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No, a town holds a lottery every year to stone a person to death as a sacrifice, so their fields and crops grow etc… It’s really quiet horrifying I read in high school first time and it still makes a terrible impression on me.
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Excellent story Ameena. Great imagination! Sad tale of killing babies though. And sadly, it could have easily been true somewhere. Thank you for participating in FFfAW challenge. I appreciate you!
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Thank you Pj. It actually was a very common tradition in the eastern part of Nigeria. I am so glad those days are gone.
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I’m glad they don’t practice that anymore. Terrible! It was a great story Ameena!
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That was the strange old custom. I like your imagination when stones grow into rocks and then into mountains.
Sad but beautiful story 🙂
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Thank you very much NL. Btw, what a beautiful name, Madeeha 😉
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Thank you Ameena and yes I’m “Madeeha” 🙂
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Loved your take on the two stones. Very creative.
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Thank you very much. I’m glad you do 🙂
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Your creativity never ceases to amaze me! Great story, tho so very sad!!! So glad Nigeria doesn’t do that anymore!
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Awww, thank you Joy. Yeah, it really was a tragic history
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