The elders say however small a stream might appear, one does not walk across it.
The younger generation does not agree. It feels plenty information equals an understanding of how things work. What it overlooks is the things that come from experience and others that defy logic.
Owen comes from a hamlet in the heart of the Delta. It is a place of lush forests and farmlands that yield mammoth harvests.
Their hamlet has a stream, Obele: literally, small.
Except in the rainy season when it rushes past with speed, carrying debris, Obele is a calm, clear body of water.
The villagers drink from, cook with and bathe in it.
While swimming, one boy dared Owen to cross, Obele, to the other side.
It was such an outrageous dare that Owen boasted he'd top it. He would swim across, then walk back. To sweeten things, Owen called for a wager. Each staked 500 quid: winner takes all.
Both parties handed the money over to another chap.
Owen dived into the stream.
That was two days ago. He has not surfaced.
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