SHADOW SIXTEEN

The woman at the hair salon pulled out Ivie's hair, after she had loosed it, partitioned tufts to check for dandruffs, and to apply the blob of hair cream she had collected from the Soul Mate hair cream container. She asked Ivie if she wanted Ghana weaving or inner weaving, or just plain cornrows. Ivie thought for a while, then decided on inner weaving, it was said to help in hair growth, both length and thickness. She held a clump of attachment in her hands, oiled and combed into silkiness, and gave a little of it to the women when she stretched her hand, then she would winch when the woman start using it on her hair, and the woman in turn would murmur sorry and tell her to keep her head straight. Father Chibuike and the rest had left her, said today was not her lucky day to have fun, and when the woman said she would be done in two hours, he said they would come back by then.

"How is your mother?" The woman asked her. "Strong woman. Let God keep you alive for her o, she has seen a lot. A young girl like you, soon you'll get married and make her smile. You know you have to get married, right? You're not like all those girls that believe that a woman can decide not to get married."

Ivie wondered if this was an innuendo of acquaintanceship, or maybe the woman was talking to her with that familiarity because she knew her mother. "But a girl can decide not to get married," she said.

The woman spitted to the ground. "God forbid! What will you do with your life if you don't get married?"

Ivie was not surprised, many women believed a woman's life revolved around marriages, that was why most mothers did not mind giving their daughters out at the age of nineteen. One had said whether her daughter married at twenty-four or at twenty, she would still get married, why wait? Ivie scoffed. It was easy to see a woman as someone to birth and raise children, but the idea of a full human being with dreams and wants and ambition was exempted.

"You owe it to your mother, she has lost a lot. She gave birth to you and took care of you, you owe it to her," the woman continued saying.

"Since when has family relationship become transactional?" She asked, although she was not sure the woman knew what transactional meant.

"A woman opens her legs for two things, to get pregnant and to give birth."

And while Ivie knew she should have held her tongue back, she said, "You're saying nonsense. I pity your daughters, you're the type of mother that'll tell them to die in a marriage even though their husband is beating them."

"What did you say?" The woman paused to ask, a chance for her to apologize.

But she repeated, "I said you're saying nonsense!"

The woman, dumbfounded by the insult of a girl she was old enough to birth, looked at her, the tension thick. When she, in silence, continued the braid, she tightened it and Ivie's pride kept her from complaining.

Father Chibuike came back just as the woman was trimming the edges of the hair, and gasped. "Look how beautiful you are, Ivie. This hair do suits your face."

But the tension was too thick for the compliment to dissipate. The woman turned Ivie to face her. "The only reason I continued plaiting your hair was because of your mother, and it's also because of her I'm not slapping you right now. Rubbish! You won't see a husband, I'm telling you, with this attitude of yours," she ranted.

"Ah, what happened?" Simon asked.

"This thing that death has finished half of her family looked me in the face and insulted me. Me? If I married when my mates were marrying, I would've had two of you at home." The woman was shouting, raising her voice, and passers-by paused to watch.

"Madam, calm down," Father Chibuike said.

The words replayed in Ivie's ears; death has finished half of her family? She stood up and pointed at the woman's face. "Everybody has the right to be stupid, but you abuse the privilege."

"Ivie!" Father Chibuike called, displeased.

She turned around and walked to where the car was. The woman shouldn't have called her family. She was older, and so what? Wasn't respect a reciprocated act?

Father Chibuike apologized to the women. But the woman who had sprawled herself on the floor, shouting at Ivie's retreating figure, didn't heed to his words. Beside her, the housemates stifled their laughter.

Father Chibuike rose the woman to her feet, apologized again and paid for her services, adding extra naira notes to pacify her. "The hair is so beautiful, next time Aisosa will do hers."

"Please don't bring that death stricken thing here again," the woman said, a reference to Ivie.

Father Chibuike didn't like it. "I understand that you're upset, Madam, but please refrain from using such words."

"What did you say when she called me stupid? Eh? Go, just go, don't even bring anybody to my shop again."

As they left, Aisosa said, "She deserves the insult." And Father Chibuike laughed. He didn't glance at Ivie when he unlocked the car, and when he got inside he shifted the mirror so he could see her, his smile was gone."I don't know why you think it's alright to insult people," he said, "what is wrong with you?"

"You're not even asking me what happened?" She shot back.

"Do you think what happened is the problem? Do you think I care about what happened?"

"Then don't interfere," she nearly screamed, "you're not my mother!"

"Hey, young lady, don't talk to me like that." His gaze locked with hers in the rear view mirror.

"Leave me alone." Her eyes shimmered with tears. He didn't say anything when the woman insulted her family, he shouldn't say anything now.

"Since when did you turn this disrespectful?"

"Since death finished half of my family." Then she bowed her head against the seat and cried.

Father Chibuike sighed, started the ignition and drove out. He kept glancing back at her as her chest heaved. He knew he couldn't stop the car and take her in his arms the way he wanted, he sighed again. In the back, Itohan put her arms around Ivie and patted her back till her sobs quietened.

When they got back to the chapel house, Sister was pacing in front of the gate, Ivie's tears had dried on her face, and Father Chibuike was smiling, swinging the cellophane that carried her ice cream lightly.

"Sister Gabriel looks like she'll shoot you if she has a gun," Simon said as they walked towards her who had stopped on seeing them, and folded her hand across her and tapped her feet.

"Oh, this is not good," Itohan whispered.

"Father Chibuike," Sister Gabriel started, a futile struggle to keep her anger at bay, "I hope you know that I respect you? But it seems like you do not, because if you did, you wouldn't disregard my authority."

He took her hand and dropped the cellophane in it. "We just could not leave you out," he said. "I hope you enjoy it."

"Father, do you think a mere plate of ice cream will undo what you did?"

"And meat pie, " he added. "And no, it won't undo what I did, but Aisosa said the ice cream melts like butter, I was hoping you'd have the same experience."

"I wasn't going to do this, but I think I have to report to the Bishop, that's the only way you'll take my authority serious." Then she looked at Ivie. "I see you looking beautified and all, is this what you want for your life? This vanity?"

"Yes," Ivie shot. "Why? Are you going to beat me?"

Paul and Simon laughed, and Sister Gabriel shook her head. "This is what living in sin can cause, from calling a priest a liar to talking back to a priestess."

"Wow, it's nice to know that you and Father IK are close enough to share even the tiniest bit of information over a short period of time, at least I now know that if I can't find him, I can come to you."

"I don't know what you're trying to imply, but please don't make unnecessary assumptions."

Father Chibuike smiled. "I have to go, duty calls. It was nice spending time with you all." He turned to Ivie. "See you in church later."

And she replied, "I'm not coming."

"I didn't ask if you were"

"Yes, you did not ask, because you never ask, you decide what you want to do and then people have to follow." How she had gone from shy to look him in the eyes, and brave enough to talk to his face, she didn't know, but she didn't want him telling her what to do when he could reprimand her without knowing what happened.

"Ah, what happened?" Sister Gabriel asked, looking from the Father to the girl.

Gaga would have replied lover's quarrel, and while Father Chibuike wanted to make the same joke, he knew he shouldn't. He watched Ivie turn around and leave, watched her retreating figure until she disappeared behind the door.

Ivie was angry that night, and because she was angry, it did not occur to her that she would appear in an unknown place again. Again? She asked as she took in her surrounding, her wound from her last travel was still fresh, and she didn't have plans of getting another one. She sat on the ground, bringing her knees together to her chest, and resting her chin atop. Maybe she should just accept death, maybe death would be better than life.

She adjusted, and nearly shrieked when she saw the shadow at her feet. But it was that snakelike one. She signed, it should give her a sign or something if it was to be trusted, in the land of the living or dead, she didn't like the shadow near her. She had not had the time to tell Father Chibuike about seeing the shadow with Father IK, what did it mean? She had not seen the shadow around him before, was it because he was standing with Sister Gabriel?

She closed her eyes in thought, and when she opened them back, she was in a home, her home. The shadow moved in front of her and she followed it. What were they doing in her house? She opened the door, inside the room was her mother and father. Wait, did she go back in time?

Her father moved around the room holding a basin of water, and Ivie knew from the free moment that he couldn't see her. Her mother was on the bed, coughing and spitting. She didn't have this particular memory, her mother had always been the sick one in the family, so she couldn't make out from when this was for. But her father, it felt good to see him again, was squeezing the towel and placing it on her forehead. Then he told her he was going to call the local pharmacist. He ran out of the house, and Ivie saw her mother stand up, her movement wobbly. He dragged a box from under the bed and dipped her hand in it, searching for something. She brought out the ring, the same ring Sister Gabriel had, the same ring Ivie had come looking for, and wore it on her first finger. When her father came back, Ivie did not need to be told what happened next, because she remembered what had happened, remembered that the next day, her immediate elder sibling had said, "Ahn-ahn, yesterday mummy was sick, she's fine now, but daddy is now sick, is it turn by turn?"