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EXILE - Chapter Sixty-nine
An hour had passed when a pregnant Chinelo had left the shrine and Osisiakalaka had succumbed to her grief and commit an enormous crime against his moral code of conduct. Abortion. He dropped the palm oil lamp and opened the door slightly. The yellow light flickered, showing the faces of two matured men. He looked at the first man. The man's lined face crinkled into a smile.
"Great one! We greet you," the man chorused.
"You are welcome servants of the gods. You may come inside and sit down," he replied and waved the lamp on their faces as if he was trying to ascertain their identities.
As the two men entered inside the shrine, Osisiakalaka peeped to see if anyone was hovering outside the verandah of the sacred place of the gods. Pleased with the fact that it was only the two men and him that were around the vicinity of the shrine , he shut the door.
"How are your wives? Are they well?" Osisiakalaka asked.
"Great one! They are well."
The two
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Shading Black EXILE - Chapter Seventy
Anyone who knew Okoli well would know that his spirit has not been at ease for the past six days. Apart from discovering Nnadi cheating on his wife with Chinelo, he did an abnormally weird thing for the first time in his life. He beat Akwaudo.The pain of the beating that Okoli gave to Akwaudo was felt strongly by no one but himself. He did not care about the recent unannounced visits of his mother-in-law or brother-in-law rather he was more bothered about what he did. The fact that he turned his anger towards Akwaudo and beat the hell out of her. But could he be judged? In times of despair, a man of his time could be involved in anything as long as his name was preserved. Ezeugo shamed him and in return, he had to shame someone. Unfortunately it was Akwaudo who received the shame.Also, in their time, women running away from their husband's compound and seeking refuge in their parents home were common. They would sway their waist in a desolate manner, clutch their han
Shading Black EXILE - Chapter Seventy-one
Akwaudo came in the morning when Okoli had gone to see Nnadi to deliberate on important issues concerning their families. The bruises she got from him had gradually subsided and were slowly transforming into dark spots. As she entered Okoli's compound, Ibekwe heard the sound of her exculpating voice and came out from the hut to hug her."How are you doing Ibekwe?" Akwaudo asked, squeezing his head on her breast."I am fine," Ibekwe said and asked. "Why did you leave us and run away?""I didn't run away. I went to see your grandparents," Akwaudo replied."Why didn't you take me along with you?""I forgot, maybe next time I will take you along with me. Cheer up Ibekwe and help me call your brother.""He is coming," Ibekwe said. "There he is.""Mother!" Ifeme said, running past Ibekwe. He hugged Akwaudo."How are you Ifeme?""I am fine."Ibekwe went inside and brought water for her to drink. Akwaudo drank.
Shading Black EXILE - Chapter Seventy-two
"I am sorry," Ibekwe said."Why are you sorry?" Akwaudo asked.She flounced slowly down the stream and stopped when her feet touched the water. Then, she bent down, rolled her hands in the shape of a cup and forced some amount of water into her palms. Ibekwe was watching. She lifted her right hand upwards and moved her left hand to the back of her right hand. Ibekwe knew what was coming. She got up and ran towards him. Before Ibekwe could stop the impending danger, she threw the water on his face. It spluttered round his face and flowed to his chest. He fell down."You are happy with what you did?" Ibekwe asked with a large smile."I am. Just wait and see what I will do again."Ibekwe stood up and saw her run back to the stream. She was having fun with him. He waited and watched as she took some more water from the stream and splashed it on his face. She laughed loudly. He had never seen her laugh in a lively and energetic manner before.
Shading Black EXILE - Chapter Seventy-three
The town crier sounded the metal gong, summoning the indigenes of Umuise to an important meeting in the village square. Men, women and children came out from different directions and as always, the children carried low stools from behind while the adults led the way.Osinala was the oldest man in Umuise. Also, he was once the richest man in Umuise before the incident that occurred between his son and Okoli swallowed a huge portion of his wealth. As was tradition, the oldest man was allowed to address the crowd if a good orator was not moved to speak. As the people of Umuise clustered in the village square, whispering about the unfortunate death of a man who looked like a diviner in a stream owned by Umuise before being reduced to silence by the metal gong of the town crier, Osinala was allowed to address the crowd."People of Umuise! Great people of Umuise!" Osinala chanted."Yaa!" They chorused."Great and wonderful people of Umuise!""Yaa!"
Shading Black EXILE - Chapter Seventy-four
The mourning group came in the afternoon. Their dirge was followed by a series of turbulent clappings that rung through Osinala's busy compound. The group mainly consisted of women who had their bodies painted with charcoal to express their mood. Some of the women sang the dirge while lifting their heads up and moving slowly, with confident voices that could move the heart of a violent soul to repentance others just walked.They continued their dirge, wailing and stamping their feet on the ground until Adaugo's mother came out from her hut and begged them to come inside and eat. But they refused. Although Adaugo's mother was bitter and felt the loss of her daughter more than the mourning group, she tried to hide her sorrow and put on a smiling face because she knew that Adaugo was dead and gone, and nothing could be done to bring her back not even if she attempted crying all the days of her life.Two hefty men came in the evening when the mourning group had departed an
Shading Black EXILE - Chapter Seventy-five
After the burial of Adaugo and the unknown diviner, another meeting was quickly called and the people of Umuise gathered in the village square to hear what the council of elders had to say concerning the removal of the New Yam festival which some of them had refused to accept and the issue of Osisiakalaka's long stay in the village.Ekwensi was given the privilege to start the meeting and he did. He stood up and saluted the people with a short wave. He walked to the podium and waved again. The people of Umuise murmured as he began to speak. His speech was eloquent and sharp as he stressed the need of the elders to continue with their decision to stop the New Yam celebration because of the strange incidents that were happening in the village. He also mentioned Osisiakalaka name and appreciated him for the wonderful ways he has used to solve some of the problems of the people, emphasizing on his importance to the people of Umuise and the neighbouring villages. In the end, he be
Shading Black EXILE - Chapter Seventy-six
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Shading Black NEW LIFE - Chapter Seventy-seven
James Streamer stared at the beautiful landscape, a mile away from him. His wispy blonde hair protruded from his brown trilby and covered some parts of his thick brownish eyes that were stretching to catch a glimpse at the beautiful terrain of Umuise. The year was 1873, more than a decade before the partition of Africa in a Berlin conference between 15 November 1884 – 26 February 1885. The meeting that saw the dark continent shredded into pieces and given to fellow European brothers.James blew his blonde hair with the air from his lungs, almost in a whistle and it retreated immediately. Holding his luggage firmly with a tight grip, he reassured himself that his journey had finally come to an end.The wooden luggage he held was a gift his father had given him in England. The luggage had an inscription that was carved with an old rusted nail to form a name written in bold letters: JESUS CHRIST.The most exasperating conditions James had to endure sinc
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