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EXILE - Chapter Fifty-seven
Adaugo rushed forward and hugged Ifeme as they approached her compound. Her wrapper, made of red and yellow stripes proudly hung on her waist, shielding the region between her waist and her knee. She covered her developing breast with a different piece of cloth with a material utterly distinct from the wrapper she had worn. The orange tree which stood at the side of her mother's hut dispersed some of its leaves with caution as it dwindled to the sound of the incoming rain. A smile appeared on her face as she saw Ibekwe standing behind. Solitary. Watching the birds chirp while flying past the orange tree.
"Ibekwe are you not going to hug me?" She asked.
"I think I am fine without that. Besides, you have Ifeme by your side," Ibekwe replied.
"So you are still going to avoid me like you did before?"
Ifeme interrupted. "Leave him alone. Let my brother do what he wants. You cannot force him."
Ibekwe folded his hands, watching the little show that was pla
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Shading Black EXILE - Chapter Fifty-nine
Ibekwe quickly bolted the door as he entered the room he shared with Ifeme. The room was poorly litted, almost dark. He cupped his hand and yawned, stretching his elbows sideways. The moon was slowly shrinking as it prepared to announce the coming of a new day. Midnight. He crouched as he took his sleeping wrapper and spread it on top of the bamboo bed. Satisfied with his effort, he carried the fading palm oil lamp and dropped it near the door. He knelt down as he pressed his lips tightly. He prayed for a short period of time to no god in particular. He prayed that whoever was looking at him should guide him. After he was done praying, he slipped into the bamboo bed.Ibekwe twisted his head from one point to another as he stared at the ceiling blankly. He kept on changing his sleeping position until he accepted that no position was suitable for him unless he stopped thinking. After wrestling with sleep for some time without
Shading Black EXILE - Chapter Sixty
Ibekwe got up quickly as if stung by a bee. He stretched his eyes to where the palm oil lamp rested, quietly. Slowly, he moved towards the palm oil lamp to check what could have possibly made the lamp to give up its light. After several failed trials of reviving the lamp from its gloomy mood, he dropped it and returned to the bamboo bed. He laid down straight, closed his eyes and prayed for the lamp to come back to life. He kept on praying until he felt a touch on his lap. It was a gentle touch.The palm that rested on his lap were soft. They were like feeble palms that had not smelt the pain and suffering accompanied with manual work. The palm circled around the ball of his foot and stopped, then moved up to his knee and continued. Ibekwe smiled when the palm stopped at his thigh.At first, he thought it was Ifeme's palm but he knew it couldn't be him, lying on the bed and touching him. He opened his eyes widely and saw the face of a woman or more like a girl. S
Shading Black EXILE - Chapter Sixty-one
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Ibekwe sat on the bamboo bed and swung his feet to the floor. His drowsy eyes persuaded him to fall back and rest on the bed, and sleep but he snubbed it."Lie down on the bed," Osisiakalaka husky voice filled the room. "You need to sleep."Ibekwe laid down on the bed. The room was quiet and from the charms and amulets that were hung on the wall, he knew he was inside Osisiakalaka's temporary dwelling place. He watched as Osisiakalaka paced from one end of the room to another before he spoke again; his face was red and his lips were pressed tightly."What were you doing here?" Osisiakalaka asked.Ibekwe kept quiet."Why didn't you go home when you saw the words written on the statue?" Osisiakalaka asked again, sounding differently."I wanted to see you because I was still having strange dreams, thoughts and sometimes I feel my mother's presence. I also talk with my conscience. I am not normal."Osisiakalaka stroke his beard. "You woul
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"Wake up Ibekwe," a voice said.Ibekwe got up slowly and retreated back to the bed when he saw the figure of a woman. He shouted Adaugo's name. Three times he hollered but no one beside him responded."Ibekwe! Are you alright?" The voice asked.Ibekwe strained his eyes till he grasped the full image of the woman in front of him. His mother, Akwaudo."Good morning mother," he replied slowly."You had a terrible sleep last night. You almost got your father angry," Akwaudo said, drifting away from the bed."But I slept pretty fine. My visit to Osisiakalaka made we feel better.","If screaming the name of Adaugo in the middle of the night is the result you got from yesterday's visit to the shrine then you need help. Several times you yelled her name. I already warned you and your brother to be careful around that girl. I will have to see her parents even if it is the only way I can keep you safe.""Don't do that mother. It is not n
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Shading Black EXILE - Chapter Sixty-five
Children clapped as they circled a glowing fire. They sang an Igbo song and when it ended, they laughed, jumped and stamped their feet on the ground. The parents of the children were clustered in one part of the village square, chatting in low voices.A child spotted Ibekwe and ran to him."How are you?" Ibekwe asked the child."I am fine," the child responded with flickering eyes.Ibekwe carried the child on his shoulders and was spinning the young boy in a playful manner when a short woman approached him. From the giggling coming from the child, Ibekwe knew the woman was the child's mother."The gods will bless you my child. I have been looking for my son everywhere," the short woman said."He is a good boy who likes to play," Ibekwe replied.Ibekwe handed the child to the short woman and she dragged the young boy into her arms. Suddenly, Ibekwe felt an urge to ask the woman why children were playing close to the fire but he r
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