A wave is like a trembling man suffering from an unending seizure a panic attack with a glowing beam. Isiewu came the next day when the moon was taking a long stride and leaping beyond the boundaries of Umuolu to another part of the world. His footsteps sounded loudly, followed by a rattling sound caused by the staff he held in his hand. He struck his stick several times on the ground as he got closer to Echi’s compound. His movements were slow and steady. Precise.
It was often said that when Isiewu walked in a hurry, he was being chased by his personal god for disobeying the task given to him, but when he walked slowly, especially when he wore his dreaded raffia cloth stained with blood in its centre, he was believed to be under the influence of Igweka-ala’s reserved spirit. Beliefs were essential to the people of Umuolu. They were the foundation of their existence.
“Greetings to the eyes of the gods. You are welcome,&rdqu
Olanna watched as the midwife left the room, gasping for fresh air. Bubbles of sweat flowed down from her thick hair and ran through the wrapper that covered her breasts. Her arms were involuntarily twitching, and her energy was dying down slowly. Once or twice, the midwife had noticed the first child head popping out from Olanna, but that was all. She didn’t see any baby come out with a frenzied cry.Olanna leaned on the bamboo bed with her legs spread wide apart. The bed was covered with dried leaves, which helped to relieve her back from the excruciating pain she was feeling. The midwife was talking to Echi outside, and she could hear her explaining to Echi about the complications that were occuring. She moaned as the midwife came back inside and adjusted her wrapper.“You must push harder this time. Let us go again,” the midwife said.Olanna nodded in agreement as she felt a strange sensation come upon her. She pushed the first
Many years had passed since Olanna walked through the surface of the earth with a gleaming smile that struck the heart of Echi. But nothing changed much. Echi and his three sons still managed to live through the years of her absence, still managed to cope with their daily lives with the absence of a woman in their household, still managed to go to farm, laugh, eat and sleep as if everything was normal. The only thing that was different and strange to Echi were the eyes of his sons. Eyes that asked about a mother who they only saw once during their birth.Echi was sitting alone in his room after breakfast, remembering how he had brought the body of Olanna to Okezie alone, in the same night she died. He remembered how he had wrapped her body in their marriage wrapper and fled with her corpse away from Umuolu before the village drums would be rolled to announce the death of another villager. That was the night when for the first and last time, he saw the face of hi
"Father!” Ofu called as they headed back home from the village market square. He was the first son of Echi.“My son,” Echi replied.“Are we going to fight the people of Umunsogbu?” Ofu asked. His voice was light, clouded with fear as he spoke in his childish voice.“I don’t know, Ofu.”“Father, I hate war. I heard from one of your friends that used to visit that war is terrible. I have heard that a lot of people get killed in wars. I also heard that my mother’s parents were killed in a war we had with Umuoku because they refused to give us a virgin last new yam festival,” Ofu said, clutching his hands.“Where are your brothers?”“They are behind us. I don’t think they would like it if you tell them to walk with us. They like staying behind every time we walk.”“Who told you that I wanted them to walk with us?”“Nobody!” Ofu replied, moving his clutc
In the evening, new, fresh palm fronds were passed around the whole village, signifying a new war. Weak men ran inside their homes, gathered their wives and children, and started a meeting on how they would successfully run away from the village withoutbeing seen. It was the next day, as early as the cock crowed that Echi got hold of his own palm frond. The dark greenish leaf disintegrated into different parts. As Echi observed the edges of the leaves, he knew his death was near. The death he had longed for and waited for many years was finally at his doorsteps. The passage to his dear Olanna was finally in his own hands. He strained his eyes to see the small drop of blood that was on one of the leaves. It was the smallest drop of blood he had seen on a leaf since he started receiving the palm fronds of war on his threshold.The thirteen emissaries sent to Umunsogbu returned in the afternoon with their leader, Chika leading the way with the message of Egwu
The war took place the next day with the men of Umuolu wearing stripes of palm fronds of war on their foreheads as they marched through the boundaries between Umuolu and Umunsogbu. They left their wives and children and diviners who refused to fight based on certain reasons, in the hands of their chief priest.The war was fierce. It was the worst war Umuolu people had ever fought since the beginning of their history. They marched to Umunsogbu with charms and amulets that Isiewu had specially prepared but were taken aback by the ambush that was laid ahead of them. The shocked men of Umuolu turned to face the enemies who were behind them only to find out they were not the warriors of Umunsogbu but mercenaries from Umuoku who had been paid well by Egwusinala to fight by their side.The warriors of Umuolu heard loud chants coming from their left side only to discover that the chants were from the people of Umuise who were approaching them with mac
The journey from Umuolu to Umuoku was a tough one for Echi’s young children, who he had purposely left. They were lucky enough to hide in a bush when the warriors of Umunsogbu came looking for them and burnt Umuolu to the ground. If not for a bird that whistled past them, they would have been caught and driven to slavery like the rest of the children.Ofu came back from urinating, moving like a fallen warrior. He squinted, searching around and looking for any sign that would spark a run, but there was none. There was no strange figure looming around or any warrior setting a trap for them. He stretched his hands and sat on the wrapper that was lying on the grass, with his eyes still watching for any dangerous movements. Still, there were none.A slight cough startled him. It came from Abuo. He moved towards Abuo and covered his mouth as quickly as possible with a cupped palm to prevent him from coughing.“Remove your hands from
The insinuation that Echi had been killed in the war between Umuolu and Umunsogbu left a fatal blow in the young heart of Ofu. He cried because he had never expected that the messenger who brought the message of the death of Umuolu warriors was also indirectly telling him that his father was dead too. Ofu stopped crying when Ato came back in the evening with mangoes he kept inside Echi’s goatskin bag he had carried along with him before they left Umuolu.“Why did you run away?” Ofu asked as Ato dropped the goatskin bag on the grass.“I was hungry, and both of you were also hungry. We would have had aching stomach tomorrow morning if I had not taken the decision to risk my life just to bring us these mangoes,” Ato replied. His voice sounded rigid.“Did you see any warrior of Umunsogbu?” Ofu asked.“I saw only a few men just moving around. They were hunters who had come to hunt grass cutters. Nothing big to worry abou
“We were lucky,” Abuo said as they leaned on a large palm-tree with long branches.“How were we lucky?” Ofu asked.“Snakes!” Abuo echoed. “We could have been bitten by large snakes in the forest.”“I doubt that. Our gods are very much alive.”“I thought so too.”Abuo picked a small stone and threw it at a lizard that darted quickly as soon as the stone touched its fragile body.“Do you miss Ato?” Ofu asked.“He had his own decisions to make. He chose to follow the hunter and leave us. Should I miss him for not taking me along?”“I knew that he would leave. I just sensed it.”“It doesn’t matter now,” Abuo said absent-mindedly.Abuo's skin was lighter tha