Chapter 74

"And what's so special about that day besides the fact that the most beautiful woman with the most beautiful heart that I've ever seen was born?" 

"That's the day my exile ends. I get to go back home and my full powers will be restored onto me."

"Hmm..." He slowly nodded his head in a thoughtful way then decided to play along. "So, it means you won't return to land anymore?" 

"Yes... My grandmother doesn't like it when mermaids flout the rules..." She answered.

"Right...your grandmother again... The one I've never seen and the one I might never see... You said she's a goddess, right?"

"Yes."

"I'll like to meet her." He teased.

"She has nothing against humans but I don't think that she'll take to you."

"Then I've got to make a good impression on her then. Speak and bow to her, the way I'd to the Queen of England." He placed his hand on his chest and put the other behind him then bowed to Ewatomi who giggled.

Suddenly, a huge man ambled towards them and unintentionally brushed Vincent with his side, causing him to stumble forward and fall on against Ewatomi, driving them both to the ground with him on top of her. "That's a giant!" Vincent's eyes widened in amazement as he watched the giant move into the crowd of spirits.

"Why are you so surprised to see one? In the bible, when angels came down from heaven and laid with the beautiful women, their offspring were giants." Ewatomi reminded him.

"Yes, but I never thought that I'd see one. They don't exist anymore."

"In the spirit world, they still do." She said to him and he turned his head to stare into her eyes. "I think you are getting too comfortable lying on me."

"Yeah..." He absentmindedly whispered, lost in the beautiful depth of her eyes. Without being aware of it, he began to slowly lower his head towards her, slightly tilting his head to the side so that he could capture her lips when a crow noisily alighted on his back.

Startled, he sprang up and the crow quickly flew away. Stretching a hand down towards Ewatomi, he helped her get on her feet then she dusted her body with her hands.

"I think that I've seen enough for today. I had better head back home now." He said, feeling a bit awkward at the fact that he had gotten too carried away and had almost kissed her and he decided that once he got home, he would write a letter to the bishop again about how he had almost lost his restraint and given himself to the act of temptation and also how Ewatomi claimed that she would shape-shift into a mermaid on the day of her twenty-fifth year.

"Alright then... In order to keep you safe, hope you don't mind if I walk you home?" She asked, clearing her throat too and avoiding eye contact with him.

"I don't." He said and they turned away from the market and started for his house, taking a different route. On their way, none of them said a word. Each of them was lost in their own thoughts and until they reached his door, they individually battled with who should break the awkward silence and start the conversation first.

 When Vincent turned to thank her, much to his dismay, he realized that she was gone. He simply sighed and unlocked the front door, knowing that he would still get to spend some time the next day, for she ought to come to church for their one-on-one study and he looked forward to seeing her again.

But unknown to them, Labake and Adunni who were hiding in a nearby bush in temporary human forms had been the ones to interrupt the supposed kiss.

                                                                                    ★★★

Six days later, Vincent walked into the house, looking dejected. He had waited for hours at the church but Ewatomi had not shown up for that day. He was almost tempted to go look for her but he decided against it since it was getting dark. As Vincent ascended his stairs that night and was about to walk into his room, he paused when he noticed that his bedroom door was wide open. When stared into his room, he was surprised to Sewa on her knees tending to someone sprawled on the floor. 

More surprised because the woman had never come into his room to do anything else besides clean it, he was about to ask what she was doing on the floor when he noticed a wide-smeared stain of blood on the windowpane and down the wall to the floor as if someone had slipped against it. 

Wondering who was injured, he stepped into the room. Approaching the housekeeper now, he realized that the person whom the housekeeper was tending to was no other person but Ewatomi. In alarm, he quickly went on a knee beside Ewatomi and noticed that she was unconscious and bleeding.

 Half of her face was severely burnt; some parts of her body were scalded as if someone had thrown hot coals against her flesh, and she had uncountable signs of snakebites all over her body.

"What happened to her?" He asked, his heart pounding in his chest now.

"I don't know..." Sewa answered. "I was downstairs, making dinner when I heard a heavy thud up in this room as if someone had fallen. Since I knew that you were still at the church, I was certain that you weren't the one. So, I paused what I was doing and came up here to see what was going on, and that was when I saw her against the wall, panting heavily as if she had just barely escaped with her life and she is bleeding too." The housekeeper explained.

"Who could have done this to her? What could have hurt her this bad?" Vincent asked, almost panicking.

"Father, I really don't know. I'm as confused as you are."

"Quickly, let's get her to the hospital!" He anxiously said, slipping his hands under her shoulders and trying to lift her off the floor. "Please, Sewa, help carry her legs. She's hardly breathing. She needs immediate medical help. I can't let her die."

But Sewa hardly moved, rather she remained calm and collected. "Father, we do not have a hospital in this village yet. If we have to take her to one, then we will have no choice but to go all the way to town, and there are two problems that will make that near impossible."

"What?" Vincent asked.

"Getting to town will take three hours or so, and besides, we do not have a proper means of transportation to transport her there."

"But her father has a truck. I could quickly go fetch him." Vincent said.

"No, father." The older woman refused. "I'd rather you do not bother."

"Why not?!" Vincent was perplexed now. "What's the problem?!" He asked in frustration, having a feeling that the woman was still keeping something from her. "Just say whatever it is you are keeping from me, Sewa!"

She heaved a sigh now and said, "I don't think it's wise to even take her out of this room at all. If Ewatomi could come all the way here after being attacked, instead of fleeing to her own parents' house, then I've a deep feeling that she knew that she'd be safe here. For all we know, whoever did this to her might still be out there searching for her, and trying to take her back into the open means that they can easily find her, and delivering them into their hands just like that will definitely spell doom for her, especially when she's this weak and helpless."

Vincent gave a sigh of resignation now. "You are right." He sat down on the floor, his elbow on his raised knee and his head resting in his hand, then a short silence ensued. "So, what do we do now? We can't just leave her here like this? She has suffered severe burns and has lost a lot of blood. She might die." He said in dread.

"We will find a way to treat her." Sewa assured him. "Although, from the look of things, she was attacked by an evil person. These injuries do not look ordinary to me, and right now, she has a lot of venom in her system that would have killed fifty ordinary human beings a long time ago. I don't know how she's still able to stay alive but if she's willing to fight for her life, then I'm willing to help her."

"I don't get it. How do we help her if we can't take her to the hospital? Do you have any anti-venom, painkillers or can you treat severe burns?" Vincent asked. "How do you people in this village even treat yourselves? Don't you people ever get sick?"

"Of course, we do, father, but we are still very traditional. We have been using traditional means of treatment for centuries and it has been working effectively for generations... Although, when Abeni came into this room and I found her, the only request she made was that I get her bible, and she has told me where to find it. She hid it under a rock close to the stream. I am a traditional healer and I'll rush home as quickly as I can to fetch everything I'll be needing for the course of her treatment. Then first thing tomorrow morning, I'll go to the stream and get the bible for her."

"But why is she unconscious?" Vincent asked in great distress. "She'd have been able to tell us who had attacked her."

"Father, you have to understand that the numerous snakebites have taken their effect on her. I want you to know that she'll be in a coma for a few days or a week or two, but be rest assured that she'll come out of it eventually... As for now, we do not need to bother ourselves about who had attacked her, what we should be more concerned about is her safety and how to get her treated and make sure that she heals from all her injuries." She got off her knees with a grunt and started for the door.

"Sewa." Vincent quietly called and the housekeeper paused and partially turned to look at him. "I want her to stay here until she recovers, but you have to give me your word that you'll never report this to the church." He implored.

The older woman smiled. "I'm not a talebearer, father. I knew that Kikelomo was here several days ago, yet I told no soul."

"You knew?" Vincent stared at her in surprise. "She assured me that you didn't see her come in."

"That doesn't mean that I didn't see her go out either. She seemed angry on her way out and didn't bother to even hide her presence from me anymore. That girl is evil, father and I'll advise that you stay as far away from her as you can." Sewa said, then assured him, "Not to worry, I also care about this girl. She once rescued my daughter from being raped by some men from the neighboring village during the Yam Festival nine years ago. I've always been looking for a way to repay her for her kindness and now, the opportunity is here."

"Thank you." Vincent said, sighing and the woman smiled at him again, turned and left the room.

Sitting on the floor with his back against the wall, Vincent gently lifted Ewatomi's head and placed it on his lap. Half of her face was blackish-red from the burns she had sustained and her knees were bruised which indicated that she had fallen several times while trying to escape from her enemies. 

She was really in a bad state and he felt like helplessly breaking down and crying, but he knew that doing so wouldn't change anything about her situation, so instead of succumbing to his emotions, he simply closed his eyes and slipped into prayers while she remained unconscious on his lap; her breath, shallow. 

                                                                                 ★★★

Osun emerged from the water halfway to face the three mermaid Queens who were waiting on her waters. She had a hard look on her face which showed that she was not pleased to see them.

"An unexpected visit this is." She said sourly to the Queens.

"I don't intend to tarry, Osun. I'm here to state my business and be gone." The Cuban Mermaid Queen stated.

After acknowledging the Queens of Cuba, Ireland and Ghana by addressing them by their names, Osun asked, "So what brings you all here? Or to be polite, what shall I offer you instead for this unannounced visit which you have paid me?" She asked in irony.

"Keep your hospitality, Osun!" The Cuban Mermaid Queen said, tersely, raising a hand. "I'm here to inform you that the hunter ship has already set sail to Africa!"

"And should I be bothered?" Osun asked in an indifferent tone.

"Of course, you should be worried!" The Cuban Mermaid Queen stated. "They'll be here in two months! You know that they are coming straight to this village of they set course for Nigeria!"

"I've told you before and I'll tell you again, I'll be prepared when they come. My daughters and I can take on them!" Osun said, undaunted.

"Osun, you don't know what you stand against! You underestimate these men and your pride shall be your folly! Anyway, we will be here to help you fight this battle whether you like it or not, but we still need what we have asked you for." The Cuban Mermaid Queen said.

"Like I told you before, Head Mermaid, I have no such daughter. Let it go already!"

"Then who's Ewatomi?" The Cuban Mermaid Queen asked and Osun stared at her in surprise. "Your granddaughter who's half-human and half-mermaid, the one you banished to land because of her inability to control her rage or have you forgotten so soon that she exists?!"

"You have been spying on me?!" Osun angrily asked. "You had no right to infringe on my waters without my permission!"

"Yes, I do! You might be the second-in-command, but don't forget that I'm the head and I wield the authority to do whatever I want to on any water I deem fit!" The Cuban Mermaid Queen imperatively stated. "I don't care why you have banished that girl but you are to give her back her powers and make her return home as soon as possible!"

"She's my daughter and she's my responsibility, which means that I'll deal with her whichever way I deem fit! I will only give her powers back to her when the time is right! Just in two months and she's free to come back home!" Osun answered.

"Osun, you will do as I say! Two months is too long a time to wait! We need to prepare her before our adversaries arrive on your waters!"

"I have never gone back on my word before, Head Mermaid, and I won't start that now!" Osun adamantly said.