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SONGS OF OUR BROTHERS
Cause the sun to rise
Sing to the heart that weepsCause the moon to fallLet the heart that weeps singThey said we are a curseThey said we course the land with curseBut we are like Rehab the harmless dragonTheir ignorance were the cause that cursed the land.Cause the sun to riseThe blight of ignorance has walloped our mother with curse.But in our infinite troubleIn our heart melting like the oil from a candle waxThere lies the one, the king, the mother of all mothersThe father of all fathersHim and him alone took us inThere walked the king of kingsThe God of godsHim and him alone took us inShelters us, fed us and clothed us.There smiled the love of all lovesSaying, I will never leave you nor forsake youWe are EjimaWe cried,We screeched,we screamed,and the God of gods answered.Cause the sun to riseThe heart that weeps shall singThe womb that was barren has given birth to the child of promiseAnthony O. Godwin
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EJIMA PROLOGUE
It drifted into the room again. Silent at first, but slithering now like the heartbeat of a phantom. That tantrum of unspoken words. That stillness spoke louder than the voice of frivolity, drilling its ugly head into the faint of heart. She had heard it once, long ago, before she became a wife and now a mother. It had even smudged her courage, making her wonder if this was the end for her. No, it was not her end. It was their end. An end without a beginning. If tomorrow starts without her, she would gladly have these lovely faces with her. It was their end. The end of a life that was never lived. "Alu. Mmeru ala. Tufia!!" Njideka flinched but held tight the wrapped cloth as she hid behind the bamboo bed. It was a poor choice. Her heart raced as her eyes pierced the dark, towards the entrance. No one was in the room of course. They were outside. The brood of vipers that sought the head of her children were outside. Waiting, perhaps for the right moment. She knew the voice that h
EJIMA CHAPTER 1
Come on now. We are almost there. Ejima steadied her arms, with a sling and stone ready to fly. Her breath was calm as she waited from her hiding place for the animal to move closer enough. It was an antelope with brown fur and few white spots. There was no horn yet. But the rich dark eyes suggested that it was matured enough. It was nothing close to the one she had killed two moons ago. However, the size would generate an income that would serve for two or three market days before she comes back for a proper hunt. Songs of praise echoed from the mouth of the forest, merging with the weak afternoon heat and animating the leaves which carpeted the floor. The birds also joined the cacophony, as if warning the animal of the impending danger. It didn't listen, nor showed any sign to obey. One swing was all it took Ejima to let the stone fly. The motion was swift and before she could retrace her hands, the antelope slump to the side, dead. Her stone had found its mark on the animal's h
EJIMA CHAPTER 2
Call it luck. Whatever be the definition, but the way Fanyi's chest rose and fell in a constant rhyme made Uche wonder how the man had survived the first tribal war. They had raged into combat together and had battled death itself. However, fatigue was something their enemy had preyed upon. It was the same reason why some of the men had lost their lives, leaving memories and emptiness as a testimony. But how had the man survived? Ducking to the left, Uche jumped back, missing the wooden sword which swung freely above his face. "Same old tricks? Impressive." Fanyi said and took a different stance. It was the 'ice on water' stance. A technique that only a good swordsman can muster. Uche clenched his weapon. He had been on the defensive as always, waiting for the right moment. But knowing who his friend was, Fanyi would never leave a weak spot. The lanky man was too smart for that. "I will beat you on this one." "Not in your dreams," Fanyi said. The morning sun was on his dark skin
EJIMA CHAPTER 3
It’s been three moons since the episode in the forest, yet Ejima could not shake off those ecstatic faces. Their smiles still glossed her brave heart and mended it with a warmth that had kept her in disarray. Those bright eyes. They had glittered with the sun, chiseling on her soul, and driving her consciousness into that valley of hysteria. Her sleep had been inoculated with lurid sights which at a time made her wonder if she had offended the gods in touching the babies. She had even screamed herself up from sleep one night when she had seen a silhouette of some twin figures chasing her with a horsewhip. “Are you okay?” Ejima blinked and shifted her weight, hoping to find comfort on the wooden chair. She was terrible. The hollowness in her soul was anything but fine. This was the first sign she normally gets when she takes in. But her denial was something she was beginning to believe as truth. Yes, she was living a lie. A lie which she had perfected so well. "Don't worry, it will
EJIMA CHAPTER 4
The leaves had lost the morning dew and bashed her skin as she traced her way into the forest. The previously cleared paths were beginning to lose their visibility as the grasses tried to sprout their heads from them. It was becoming difficult to see the white sands, and even more difficult to keep the familiarity away. The moist decaying smell, the constant whistles of the birds, the shimmering sunlight which filtered from the canopies of the tall trees, creating a warmth that made her remember her evenings with her husband. She was trading this path again. Not because she was out to hunt. No, this was different. She was different. Those abandoned children were making her different. Gathering her sling on her waist, she rounded the last bend. Dried bones and leaves crushed under her weight. Decayed flesh of men and women alike. Fleshes of people who were rejected by the village. Men that had been buried alive. Lost in history. Forgotten. Ejima knew she was breaking the King's
EJIMA CHAPTER 5
The spark came from his fingers or was it his body? No, perhaps his soft lips were the force that was electrifying her, gulping her strength and leaving her moaning like a helpless child. He was a beast in the face of battle. She had seen him fight one or two times. But in bed, the story was different. His touch was as tender as the fur of a day-old chick and even though she had tried to master them, she always fell victim to this perpetual ecstasy that words can hardly express. “I wish I had you all along,” Nneamaka breathed in deeply as he caged her in his strong but tender grip. “Hmm, so romantic. Boredom would have killed us right before your late husband did. Besides, I have always been here. You were just too blind to notice me.” There he goes again, always with the habit of ruining the flawless moments. Nneamaka frowned and peeled away from him. It was a reluctant effort and even as she created a slight distance between them, she could hear the silent words that were yelling
EJIMA CHAPTER 6
Ejima wiped away the sweat that walked down the bridge of her flat nose, but sneezed twice when she accidentally sniffed the dust in her hands. She wiped the tears that followed and tried to return to work but leaned away when a sharp pain strode through her waist. She hissed out the frustration from her teeth and tightened her grips on the wooden hoe. All the light-headedness and the weakness she had been feeling for the last four months, had turned out to be pregnancy. A pregnancy she never wanted. It was a curse to her. A punishment from the gods themselves. Tightening her grip on the farming hoe, she bent carefully but without ease, and was glad when her hands touched the heap of earth and grass. With the hoe, she dug around the brown tendril and tried to pull with her free hand. The yam obliged at the first trial but snapped in two when she tried forcing them the second time. She murmured and continued with the digging, hoping to bring out the rest of the yam that was still under
EJIMA CHAPTER 7
The lights of the sun were hiding on the other side of the world and the birds were retiring to their nest by the time Ejima decided that it was time to go home, having fed enough on the bread of affliction. She tried to swallow but the fluid in her mouth was all gone. Her lungs were like the face of two stones rubbing over each other and her stomach hadn’t rumbled in protest either. She wasn’t hungry; the sorrow had made sure of that. What kept flooding her mind was all the time she had spent with Uche. He was her first love. They had met on the eve of the new yam festival after she had danced with some of the virgins that were not betrothed. It was love at first sight. He too had performed that day. He had wrestled with Dinta—who turned out to be Nneamaka’s husband—and had lost. The villagers had been angry with Uche, for losing the crucial wrestling match. Most people called him a coward. But Ejima had seen his failure with one eye closed. Even though Uche had denied it, Ejima coul
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