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NEW LIFE - Chapter Eighty-eight
Paul Okeke sat near the office of the mission station, watching some English men leave and enter the building with lopsided gait. He was still admiring the structure of the station when he saw Anne Streamer walk past him. She was not wearing her French pleat like the first time he had seen her rather she allowed her hair to fall down and form long straight curls. Paul Okeke wondered why the hair color of English men and women were different unlike his fellow Igbo people who shared the same color of hair with him–black.
"Did James come with you?" Anne asked. "If he did, I would like to see him immediately."
"What if I told you he is not with me?"
"You will have to take me to where he is right away."
"I left him in one of the Igbo villages close to where I live. He is in Umuise."
As Paul Okeke spoke in his husky English accent, Anne eyes seemed to sink inside as she heard her brother was living with the natives of Igboland. She sat down close t
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Shading Black NEW LIFE - Chapter Eighty-nine
You are welcome," Okoli said. "What can I do for you?"Nnadi shook his head and sat down. "A lot of things are going bad in Umuise. The gods must rise up from their slumber and fight their battle.""What battle will the gods fight?""The battle against the white man who dwells in our midst."Okoli hissed and drank his palm wine. "The white man has brought a disease but instead of Osisiakalaka to admit it was a disease, he decided to accept the disease and force us to welcome it." He paused. "If by chance, the gods permit me to see that foolish diviner from Umudike and I have a stick with me, I will make sure I break his head with it.""The gods forbid you from saying that," Nnadi retorted."The gods will only forbid people who don't follow their ways.""How can you suggest breaking the head of a diviner? We are talking of a man that the gods have chosen to carry their message."Okoli laughed loudly. "Nnadi! Sometimes I wonder w
Shading Black NEW LIFE - Chapter Ninety
Okwudili was in his hut. His wife, Isioma was also there with him. Her hands were around Ojiugo's shoulders, comforting her as she cried. He could not go to Ezeugo's compound because of the fear of Okoli attacking him from anywhere. But, he had experienced greater fears that were worse than what he was imagining. One of them was the death of Ezeugo— a death he had predicted would come to pass.Many people who knew Okoli would be surprised if Okwudili told them he was yet to claim ownership of the land that caused a major dispute between them. But, somewhere in the lines of brotherhood and family, Okwudili knew Okoli was a man of patience who derived joy in inflicting pains on his victims or perhaps he was afraid that the powers that where involved in the death of his brother would haunt him down. Who knows?A shrill voice rang behind the door and it was followed by a bang. "is anyone at home?"The reply that followed next came from the lips of Isioma. "The
Shading Black NEW LIFE - Chapter Ninety-one
here are situations in life that are at the same time ridiculous and comical. Kathleen Streamer always believed that life was composed of two irreplaceable elements; the tragedy arising from a totally unamusing situation and the comedy that the perpetrator feels. The attitude of her husband was expected. A broken man with a vague feeling of not being good enough could do anything to prove he was the perfect father of every child. But who said he was a bad father? Kathleen Streamer was in perfect ignorance of the whole affair. The short letter from the mission school was brief. Her husband, Richard Streamer had violated their school policy by destroying a property owned by the school. According to the letter, he had smashed a jar filled with holy water. How could he refute the school's judgement on his son when James had gone on his own accord? In the rage of that long night when he sat down and explained his plans of leaving for Africa, he had forgotten to tell her about the disaste
Shading Black NEW LIFE - Chapter Ninety-two
The people of Umuise often said that when a man rubs his foot on the ground, he leaves behind a footprint that can be washed away but when he speaks a word, it no longer ends there but lives forever in the heart of the person who listened. The words Okoli said to Ifeme had a strong effect on him. It made Ifeme to disapprove and condemn all his father's actions in front of Akwaudo and this did not come as a surprise because it was expected.The rage started the day after Okoli sent him out of his hut. At first, he started with a slow pace, trudging with sluggish steps in no particular order. It increased steadily and he started stomping around the compound, crushing anything that came on his way until Akwaudo came.The loneliness in Akwaudo's face weakened him. It made him feel bad as if he had the opportunity to do something about it but refused to not take it. So on that day when his father provoked him, he calmed down and explained to her what had transpired in Okoli
Shading Black NEW LIFE - Chapter Ninety-three
Efulefu was lost and he had to find a place to hide from his master that was chasing him from behind with a machete. If he failed to hide he would die. He was running down the middle of the path when the rope on his waist fell down and hit the sand. The path was clear and open. Every tree he passed was still where it had been in the beginning. Their branches were brown and leaves, green. His side hurt because he had been running for a long period of time but Osisiakalaka was in no haste to stop pursuing him.The sound of Osisiakalaka's footsteps behind him made him push himself further down the path. He knew what he had done was against the rules Osisiakalaka had set for him when he decided to be his companion."Pray that the gods don't allow you to fall as you are running so fast because if they do, I will make sure I seep the little life that is remaining in your body for having the bravery to steal my o
Shading Black NEW LIFE - Chapter Ninety-four
Okuata's hut was a sedate hut. It had different orange trees surrounding the compound with some shrubs scattered around by the corner of the hut. She had a small vegetable garden at the back of her hut where she planted tomatoes, cassava and some bitter leaves which she sold at the market place. In front of her hut, she kept three bamboo chairs were visitors sat down when they came to visit her.Ifeme sat on one of the bamboo chairs while Akwaudo sat on another bamboo chair beside her. She was nursing a small boy that was lying on her laps. She tied a thick wrapper that covered from her breast to her knees and constantly adjusted the wrapper when her son pulled it downwards. Her daughter whose name was Ngozi was sitting quietly in the threshold, fanning hot African pear that were spread in a small woven mat. Small logs of firewood that had been lopped off leaned on the wall close to Ngozi. The were black at the ends as if they had been used before to cook food tha
Shading Black NEW LIFE - Chapter Ninety-five
About fifty years ago when the grey boxes covered the sky and blocked out the sun with their mass, the services of a diviner was greatly needed in a village suffering from lack of rain. The name of the village was Umuoku and their chief priest who solved these kind of problems had recently passed away, making it impossible for them to communicate with the gods without the help of a potent diviner. A meeting was called in the village square and elders were invited to share their thoughts on the issue. The grandfather of Ibekwe was also invited and he came with his wife Ihuoma.When the meeting started, Ofu was given the privilege to address the crowd and he took the opportunity by walking straight to the top of the podium."Great people of Umuoku," Ofu bellowed, "Wonderful people of this great village I greet you all.""Yaa!" The people responded."Everyone seated today in this gathering is aware that I a
Shading Black NEW LIFE - Chapter Ninety-six
nSilence had engulfed the hut of Okwudili since the fight he had with Okoli. The small laughter that followed after the death of Ezeugo was not there again. The moon and the sun seemed to be natural enemies now since the moon cursed the sun for shinning when Okwudili fought Okoli and the sun cursed the moon for not shinning when Ezeugo died. Movements had also been reduced, and an unseen boundary had been set in Okwudili's threshold, prohibiting anyone from going in and coming out. There was also another great desire that had left them. It was food. He no longer had the appetite to taste anything nor the strength to walk towards the kitchen and lit the firewood for cooking. His compound seemed to be housing the bringer of evil, Ekwensu or perhaps Ekwensu was living with them without being seen. Ojiugo pattern of coughing and shedding small tears after her husband's death had changed to rolling and filling her eyes with large amount of tears. Isioma on the other hand had beco
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