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 could tell that their bond had begun that night. The very first night they met. That was the first time they had spoken to each other. The first time they ever touched, and the first time they had kissed. A few months of courtship and then he proposed. Twenty years later, yet it felt as if it were only yesterday. They had promised each other forever. To be together no matter the circumstances. Their love was like living charcoal that never goes off.

Or was that an illusion?

Ejima hissed and placed the rag on her head. Perhaps their love was nothing but a harmattan fire, which burns wild for a long while but dwindles to nothing when the winds cease. In her case, children were the wind.

She picked up the basket of yam and steadied it on her head. If only she could just bear him a child. Maybe their love would go back to being living charcoal. If only the gods of the land would let her have this baby. She would be called a mother and would join the mother’s circle.

She walked out from her farm, using her free hands to keep the tall grasses from her eyes. She had not consumed this amount of time on the farm before, not since she took in though.

Another woman, to share my husband’s bed? The gods forbid.

She wiped her eyes. Her lacrimal gland must be running empty now, but that didn’t prevent the heat in her gaze.

The sandy path continued as she followed them toward the familiar direction of her house. If only her husband would give her this one chance, who knows what would happen?

“You must have mud in your ears,” A voice said.

Ejima turned her attention to the woman standing some paces away from her. She was dark-skinned and stood closer to the ground, using a dried cedar branch as a walking stick. Her name was Adaku, one of the village midwives.

“Good afternoon…I mean…good evening, ma.” Ejima fumbled with words but hoped to keep her face stern.

The crease on the older woman’s face deepened.

“I have been calling out your name, yet your ears remained adamant as though I was a fool.”

“I am sorry. It wasn’t intentional.” Ejima curtsied, trying to remain neutral.

“Please keep that to yourself. I just want to remind you that I am coming to collect my money first thing tomorrow morning,”

“But…” Ejima stammered as she shifted her posture to the other foot. It was hard to divulge if the discomfort was from the weight of the yam or the sudden realization that she was in debt. “My…my husband said he would clear the debt,”

“Well,” The woman shrugged, “Where is your husband, because the last time I checked, he was in the King’s palace, taking a new marital oath and denouncing the old one.”

The basket of yam wavered on Ejima’s head from the surprise that suddenly made her bones weak.

“That…that’s impossible. My morning rose can never do that to me”

“So you are calling me a liar?”

“No, you misunderstand me. But you see,” Ejima searched her head for words “My morning rose and I have discussed this matter. I was even the one that advised him to take a new wife.” The lie tasted good on her lips, but they made her stomach churn, giving her a nauseous feeling “We would all live together” She continued “But, taking a new oath in my absence? Never. My husband will never do that.”

“Ehh?” Adaku pursed her lips, and then nodded, “Okay, perhaps I was the one that heard false news. But, tell your, evening rose. I shall collect my money tomorrow. Please.”

“I will, thank you for your kindness,”

“Don’t thank me yet, because if you fail to provide my money, I will not help wash you up when that thing” Adaku pointed at the bulging stomach, “Comes rushing out”

Ejima considered the triangular-shaped face woman for some time. A voice in her head was yelling at her to say something rash, but it took all the discipline in her to stay calm. Adaku had said ‘washed you up’ instead of saying ‘help you deliver. But Ejima gulped the insult with the lie that still lingered on her taste bud. She was in debt and her anger would do no good.

“I will pay you and you will help me deliver my baby,” Ejima said and turned away from Adaku.

She continued on the path home, keeping the dark-skinned woman anywhere but her thoughts. What perturbed her was the fact that her husband was taking another wife in her absence. It was taboo. The village custom forbids a man from taking a new oath in the absence of the old one. It was believed that a new foundation doesn’t produce a good result unless the old one agrees or was destroyed. But which of the two-step has Uche defiled?

She held the basket tightly, hoping to keep her shaking fingers steady. She had no place to go. Her parents had died of leprosy when she was still five years old. Maduka—her uncle—had brought her up. He had warned her not to marry a warrior, that the warriors of Ame were not always trustworthy, especially in marriage. While the argument does not hold water anywhere in the kingdom, Ejima had sensed that there was something else that the old man was hiding. She had tried asking him, but that hadn’t ended well. Maduka had disowned her instead, saying she was just as stubborn as her father. Maybe he was right after all.

No, it can’t be. Uche loves me and he wouldn’t do such. He loves me. She consoled herself as she rounded a bend that brought her husband’s compound into view.

Sounds of drums and singing spread through the evening air. She paused and listened and was happy when she heard the sound coming from Dinta’s compound. It was hard to discern the voice of the talking drum from this point. Perhaps Nneamaka’s eldest son has finally been initiated into the warrior fraternity.

Ejima brought down the basket of yam from her head. Her neck stretched, and her body relaxed, grateful for the yoke that had been taken away from them. She wiped her sweaty face and body with the rag and hurried toward the Dinta’s compound. She wouldn’t miss Nneamaka's son’s initiation, not for anything.

The entire villagers, it seems, were in the compound, screaming and shouting for joy as the drummers gave them the best beat to go with their happy feet. They were in their best attire, and the dusty air blended with the aroma of different delicacies that circulated the whole place.

Ejima brushed through the people, feeling embarrassed that she was underdressed. Curiosity was the only thing that propelled her feet. She wanted to be sure that Kelechi—Nneamaka’s son—made it successfully to the initiation. She would go back home and dress up afterward. She even had a gift for him. A little sword she had bought from the Afor market.

Her coppery eyes fell on her friend, Nneamaka, who was sitting close to her son and was nodding to the rhythm of the music. The smile that mellowed the woman’s face made Ejima’s heart skip. She had never seen the woman this happy, and seeing her now, she prayed silently that those smiles would not depart from her face. Nneamaka had been through a lot, especially since she lost her husband some months back. So yes, the happiness she wore this evening looks good on her.

Ejima wanted to surprise her friend, so she hid behind the cashew tree, hoping to avoid Nneamaka’s eyes. The woman had forgotten to invite her to this wonderful ceremony, but it was fine. It was not the first. She will have to hurry back home and dress up. She wanted to be presentable when she gives Kelechi the present she had bought for him.

Tracing her steps back, she hurried toward the direction where her basket was. But…

The dancing suddenly ceased, and the sweet melodies of the drums stopped all at once as if compelled by a spiritual force.

Ejima turned her bright eyes to the drummers, but her smile dwindled to confusion when she noticed the choirs of eyes that stared in her direction. Nobody moved, even the nursing children had stopped sucking from their mother’s breast and were shooting her a dubious gaze.

She licked her lips, clenching and unclenching her sweaty palms. She felt empty and naked. The tattered sack clothes she wore made matters worse.

But why is everyone staring at me like this?

That answer came when she saw him, sitting right next to Nneamaka. She had not seen him before because she was too engrossed with the reason for the occasion. She had mistaken the music for Kelechi’s transition into a warrior. This was no transition. It was a marriage ceremony.

“What are you doing here?” Uche stood up slowly. His bright eyes were burning. She could feel the heat emanating from them.

“I…I came…” Ejima stammered as her eyes fell on Nneamaka. Something in her snapped when she saw the smiles that mortared the side of the woman’s lips.

“Go back home,” Uche screamed and pointed in the direction of their house.

“You heard the man, Witch, go back home.” Someone from the crowd said.

Ejima heaved and turned away from them. Her head was heating and her vision was becoming cloudy. She thought she had cried her eyes to drought. But she was wrong. Fresh drops were gushing out from her eyes now, heating her cheeks as they strolled down.

Of all the single women in the kingdom. Why my best friend. Why?

The question kept popping in her head as she turned back home.

The whole crowd was shouting at her now, calling her names she didn’t know a human being could bear. As she walked away from the compound, she didn’t know what happened, but she felt her world spinning. Her legs wobbled and the next thing she knew, she fell face-first on the dusty floor, bouncing on her stomach and rolling to the other side of her body.