disappearance, and his search for her had thus brought no result. He had made complaints to his grandfather, king of Amihie, about his missing lover, and he'd consoled him and assured him that she would return to him in no distant time.
Igwe Ameruo was an easy going person and kind hearted, but he'd had problem accomodating Uju when she stayed there with Ifenna. Ameruo's children had found Uju's presence nauseating, probably because, she, as stated by them, had no background. This assertions had followed after Uju's reticence about her personal life and family. Uju didn't like telling people about her ordeal of life, especially that of the death of every members of her family. She thought Ifenna to be the happiness she'd found and thus, that would make her forget her past.
Ameruo's children kept pestering and torturing her until she played along with it. She sometimes got into fierce argument with them especially concerning home matters. Uju never liked involving herself in a fight, except for ones that she'd beat like her junior. She would be fast to apologise when the older ones try to get themselves involved, and Ifenna was sometimes her solace when there's much of it on her. Ameruo had fell out with her when she'd badly injured one of his young daughter, that was when she went out from there, and thus went to visit Adaeke, her closest friend whom she'd not seen for long, at which she got abducted on her way. Since then, noone had known her whereabout.
Ameruo's oldest granddaughter, Urunwa, was most worried, asides Ifenna, not because Uju's absence meant anything to her, but because of her missing cloth. Uju had worn one of her best clothes, to go and visit her friend since the owner travelled and would come back in three days time. Uju thought she must have done with it as she pleases, and thus return it back to the hanger after she would come back from the visit to her friend's house. She didn't have a good cloth to pose with, and noone would lend one to her, instead they would even jeer her in the process.
Three days had gone and Uru, as she was fondly called, had gone and come back, and had remained reddened about it. Who else would that be, since everyone except Uju was at home, and the dresses were still nowhere to be found. Uru turned her aggression towards Ifenna, tonguelashing hell out of him,
"Look at the kind of girl you want to marry. A thief that stole my clothing and jewelries and absconded with it."
"She didn't steal it, she'll return it."
"Oh, are you expecting her to return? Bet me, that she has ran away with it, and will not come back."
"Just leave me alone, I don't have your time." Ifenna stood up from his chair and moved to his room, distanting himself from his noisy cousin. She still threw words at him following him behind to make sure he gets every single word of hers.
"You better don't follow me with your gibberish talk, because I'll pull out that tongue of yours." he spake angrily to her, but she still paid deaf ears.
"You'll pull off my tongue? Have you forgotten I'm older than you?"
"More reasons you should respect yourself and be responsible."
"Not that I'm not been responsible," she gave him a look of despise, "you can't bring a thief into this house to steal my precious wears, and expect me to listen to that your advice." this words pained Ifenna but he tried hard to catharsize it. He thought of words to use to make her feel bad, like she'd done to him.
"You suppose to be bothered about your own life not mine. Like you said, you're old, and yet you're still shortening our food here. Why not think of giving out yourself to them on credit, if they're not forth coming. Or you think your father will take you as his third wife?" Ifenna got a slap on his cheek as a reply, he'd really said what had gotten into her nerves.
"How dare you insult me and my father." she said bitterly, almost in tears. She felt a slap wasn't enough for him, so she gave him a rough blow to the cheek. She'd indeed initiated a fight, ignoring that she might possibly be the victim, should a full grown man of youthful exuberance engage her in a duel.
Ifenna, thus reacted as expected, but it was really brutal. He pounced on her and gave her spines a blow from his elbow as she bent her head to grab hold of his feet up, off the earth. But he was able to overpower her with action from both hands and feet, until he'd weakened her by inflicting an indelible mark on her face. She'd tried restraining herself from crying out, having the feeling it would be most embarrassing of it all. Ifenna was able to lift her, and she found herself crashing against the pots of water. The noisy crash got the attention of everyone in the entire household who'd been unaware of what had been happening. They were heading to the scene where the noise came from. The noise from screeching plates made it vivid that there was a struggle going on, in there.
Uru was struggling to break loose off Ifenna's smother by hitting his back. Ifenna didn't get the message, instead he continued until he saw that she was calm. He stood up from there seeing her laying motionless and drenched in water, he moved bit further and saw people whose mouth were opened agape and he was in total confusion. All he could do was to rush into his room and lock the door behind him. Meanwhile, other family members tried to revive her, by making her recuperate, but it was futile, they thereby rushed her to one of the local herbalists. It was then that Igwe Ameruo had gotten to know what transpired between both of them.
Ifenna was insomniac over that day's incidence, he found his thought diverted from Uju to Uru. He hated his action and his conscience always kept pricking him from bed, that he felt like he was on a bed of thorns.
After keeping up for some time, still thinking about that day's incident, or rather accident, he felt his lost sleep coming back, and he 'crashed' on his bed.
He had a dream where he ran all day long on a lonely way in search for Uju, he'd searched all nooks and crannies of Amihie and yet his search yielded no result. On his way, he met Akwanwa moving in opposite direction. He hadn't seen her from afar, but had just seen her, just as if she appeared to him.
"My love, where have you been, why have you kept me worried?" he asked.
"Don't pretend like you come to look for me, go and look for Uju at your father's palace." she said in what he thought to be a strange voice.
He moved away from her, downcasted, but he remembered he'd not ask her something, so he turned back to Akwanwa, but she was no longer there. His depression got worse and he turned back to his right, and lo, his father's palace which was miles away was now few steps further. He went slowly into the palace, everywhere was silent like graveyard, there were no guards, messengers around to there, but he heard noise like that of those merrying. He went in to know what was going on, but to his utmost amazement, he saw 'his own' Uju and Aneke, his rival seated together like inseperable twins, on the backs of Kalu, his father, and Konaso, his rival, respectively, just like they were chairs. He saw also himself, and Aneke, his rival been used as table where they kept their food and drink. He then saw himself crying out, maybe to him,
"Please help me get out of here!" he also found his father, Aneke and Konaso, crying same.
Ifenna woke up from his horrible dream, and felt more worried about what the meaning might be.
While he still thought about it, he heard a knock on his door. He quickly remembered the incident of that evening. He thought it was morning already, so he waked up, stretched himself and brushed up and then went to open the door. He was so sorry to see his grandfather at the door, in sad mood.
"I'm sorry, papa," he apologised, "I've been in deep slumber, I just heard you knock now."
What a lie!
"What is this rubbish that I'm hearing?" the old man retorted, "and when did you become a beast to attack your own cousin in such manner?"
Ifenna saw that there was no need narrating all the incident, instead he apologised more.
"Please papa, tell me that she's okay," he said with anticipation.
"Stop pretending like you care, you scallywag! Even if you intended killing her, why make her go through such torture and ....."
"Papa, i said I'm sorry for everything that happened. It wasn't intentional, whereas she initiated the fight."
"Do you call that a fight? You're wrong. That was murder......." he hadn't finished speaking before Ifenna cut in.
"She died?" Ifenna said with great shock.
"I know you wanted her dead, but I want to break the bad news."
"Bad news?" Ifenna found himself crying and putting blame already on himself. Before Ameruo could say his next word, many thoughts had already ran through his mind at the same time. How could he have taken a life, and that of his cousin for that matter.
"You failed!" that was Ameruo's bad news for him. First of all, he paused to remember what was his last word before this, which made the old man said that he failed. He remembered thus what it was and he brightened up.
"She's alive! I thank our gods. Where.....where is she?" he heard Uru coughed, so he rushed in to her room, where she was. He met her in a subconscious condition, she looked very sick. Ifenna's mind struck him the more seeing the mark he'd inflicted on her. She turned her face to the other side of the bed and their face met, but she quickly closed her eyes and covered her face with her blanket, turning to the other end. Ifenna ceased the opportunity to apologise, he was convinced that she would hear him,
"Uru, I'm very sorry for what I did to you. I know now that I was wrong, having said cruel words to you, which I shouldn't have said to you as my elder. You were very right to have reacted the way you did, which was what anyone in your shoes would have done to her younger brother. I was too proud to realise this then, please find a place in your heart to forgive me. Get well soon, and I promise never to speak back at you again. I also want to........." the door banged, it was Uru's mother that came in, she was in rage, seeing Ifenna sit by her daughter's bed.
"Did I just heard the voice of that beast they call Ifenna?" before Ifenna could say a word, she brought out a small metal gong which was the first object that her hand could reach, and threw it at him. Ifenna rushed out of the room to avoid been hurt by the angered woman.
"Mama," Uru called out in a faint tone, "tell Ifenna that I forgive him with all my heart."
"You need to rest my daughter. Don't say too much word." she rubbed her hands and feet with coconut oil, and covered her with blanket, and proceeded to the sitting room.
Ameruo saw her sad mood, he didn't bother to ask what was the matter. Next, he saw Ifenna coming out from his room with all his luggages.
"Where are you going to at this time of the day?" Ifenna wondered what was wrong with the time, it was morning as he thought, and he did felt it would be the right time to leave before the day becomes brighter.
"But, its.....its morning." he stammered.
"It can't be morning now. This is midnight, as you can hear the owl crying, instead of the cöck."
Ifenna realised he'd misplaced time, so he had to reluctantly move in back to his room. He sat on the bed, deep in thought, since he was unable to sleep. Now he flashed back his mind to his dream, but he still didn't know what to make of it. The dream he had might mean that Uju, his lover and Aneke, his rival, are together in an undisclosed mission. He never wanted to believe that Uju of all people would be one of his enemies, albeit dreams like this could be misleading atimes, or could have another meaning. He tried getting all that out of his mind, as he lay on his bed. And he fell asleep.
Ifenna didn't know when the day broke, until he was awaken by one of his cousins, who'd informed him that he had a visitor. Ifenna didn't even hastened up to see who his guest was, he too tired to speak to anyone. He fell back to his bed and dozed off, not minding whoever his guest may be. He was just sick and tired of Amihie, and everything and every person of the trouble-filled Ameruo's household. He had prepared his mind to live with Ibe, his friend from childhood at Umudioga, and he was ready to bear the inconveniences that may arise, living away from royalty. He thought he must have gotten used to that, after all the times spent with Uju at the isolated area of Ozalla.
Ifenna stood up from his bed, after he felt his heavy eyes relieved of sleep. It was now time to leave Amihie, for good, but he still wouldn't leave without seeing his grandfather and briefing him on his new plan to leave his household where he felt so left out. After the fight with Uru, her brothers and sisters had developed a gross hatred for him instigated by their mother. This mother of theirs had never been in good terms with Ifenna and his mother, especially after her marriage to Igwe Kalu. Ifenna's mother was her younger sister, and she was elder to two other women and the youngest which was the male and successor of Ameruo.
Ifenna stood to his feet, washed himself, oil his skin and moved away.
*****
Ifenna walked along the lonely road of Amihie road, on a Nkwo morning to Umudioga. It would be quite a long time since he had been there. He had to be in his fatherland to get accustomed to the ambience of the place. He felt it was cowardice, for him to abscond from his reginal duties in spite of regicidal threat posed by his arch enemies, Konaso.
Konaso? But he's dead, and he (Ifenna) have no excuse for not taking back what rightly belongs to him. This was where to Ifenna had to find a shade to squat under, because the sun was getting hotter and he needed a place where he could think straight about issues affecting him.
The next thought that flashed in his mind was how he would overthrow Aneke's reign, now it wasn't fully established. He also couldn't help himself, thinking and asking himself what might have been the cause of Konaso's death. Now, Uju comes to mind, and also, HIS DREAM, how it related to the current issue. He started imagining the possibility of Uju, being the regicide perpetrator, been the stranger amongst them, only if Uju was really in that palace.
His deep thoughts made him unconscious of passers-by, of whom some greeted him but he didn't reply. He felt a warm slender palm crossed through his eyes, it was a female hand, and it must be someone who knew him very well, and vice versa.
"Uju?" that was the first name that came to his mind, but the hand still didn't go off his eyes.
"Uju, if its you, please stop this torture." the hand left his eyes, and he was able to see someone who appeared as a big surprise to him.
"Akwanwa!" his shock made him unconsciously drop his bag on the ground. He looked her from her head to her feet, in awe of her fairness, and her succulent body. He still couldn't believe his eyes, but he nevertheless, gave her a warm hug that lasted, that she had to pull away from his embrace.
"Why is Uju not with you? Seems thought of her have been occupying your mind lately," Akwanwa teased with sheepish smile.
Ifenna didn't know what he would answer her, he would be making fool of himself if he tried rebutting it. But Akwanwa didn't seem troubled with his obsession with Uju, not like she was a threat to her either. Ifenna tactically avoided that question, by digressing to another topic, it would look out of place if he tries telling her about her rival.
"Akwanwa, where have you been all this while?" She let out a smile which degenerated into wild chuckle instead of an answer he'd anticipated.
"I'm serious and I need answers only."
"I'm laughing at your confusion."
"Confusion?"
"Yes, and I've been avoiding giving you a difficult task."
"I don't still understand you,"
"Don't understand me until one day I'll catch up with you on one of your escapade with Uju, and will ask you to choose either her or me." she laughed out loudly.
"Then I'll choose the two of you, afterall men marry two wives."
"Me and Uju? Do you want people to call you a god?" she asked with a sardonic smile.
"Which I am already, but you didn't answer my question. Where have you been?"
"I can't tell" it looked as if the expression on her face changed to a moody one.
"You mean you can't tell me, Ifenna?"
"Until I see my mother first. I hate to tell this story twice."
"Is it that bad?"
"No, but bitter."
Ifenna sighed, and they both walked a long way till they arrived Umudioga.
The day had been a long one for Inene where she'd been made to stay in, under Agumba's custody. Just like Ulumma, she'd been trapped by one of his animal traps, and it wounded her badly. Agumba treated her with contempt like he did to Ulumma, but unlike the tigress, Inene was humble, and passive to his hateful treatment. She even confessed that she didn't deserve to live for her act, and begged for his mercy. Agumba was so awed by such sincerity, so he kept her and ordered Ulumma to clean up her wound. Ulumma blatantly refused, even when Agumba had used death to threaten her. If he wanted her leg cleaned up and she can't do it by herself, he should do it himself.
"Ulumma, you're daring me!" Agumba warned, but she was adamant. Inene in her pains, still understood Ulumma's feeling and she chose to clean it up herself.
"Are you sure you can do it?" he asked.
"Yes, I'm alright."
Agumba shrugged and called Ulumma to come with him, she answered him reluctantly. He then gave her hot water and balm for Inene's feet,
"I wonder why I find it hard to deal with you for your stubbornness, maybe, because you're still a child." he said without looking back at her. Ulumma gave a long hiss, maybe to spite him, but he ignored her and went away. She saw that he had left, so she carried the water to where Inene was, she was already helping herself to clean up her sores.
"Let me help you," Ulumma beckoned jovially. Inene was however surprised at her offer, she tried to decline because she thought that she had been forced to do it, lest she cause more harm to her, as a result of unwillingness.
"I don't want to bother you with my problems, just don't stress yourself. I'll tell him you did it."
"No! I'm doing this from the bottom of my heart."
"From the bottom of your heart? But not too long, you bluntly refused doing this when Agumba ordered you to."
"Yes, and that is because, he ordered me, like I were his slave," Ulumma said rolling her eyes away.
"Wait! But I thought you were his wife?"
"How? And what gave you that dirty thought?" she tried hard to restrain her anger.
"The baby!"
"What baby?"
"I see it all over you that you are carrying a child," she gave a smile, "or did he say you should not mention a word to anyone," Inene gave a wink to Ulumma, that indicated that she could be refering to Agumba. Ulumma didn't hide her shock either on the sordid guess Inene was doing here. Did she know the implication of what she was saying? No matter how she sometimes, provoked and rebelled against Agumba, she still dreaded the worst of his wrath.
"Stop saying that! Agumba have nothing to do with this." Inene looked at her like she'd swallowed a stone without drinking water. Ulumma was troubled inside by her questions, it was indeed hurting. She just have one way she could shut the mouth of the inquisitor. She dipped a piece of rag into the hot water which she'd mixed with salt, and perched it on her sores, which she did very hard. Inene screamed like a woman under pains of child birth, but she just had to feign remorse for doing it that way.
Good for her, she thought. Now the pains would shut her up, and lead her to take a nap afterwards.
"I now understand your tricks," Inene cried bitterly.
"But I was helping you, isn't it?"
"You helped me alot by shutting my mouth from troubling you," Inene said sarcastically.
Ulumma was striken silent, she looked like she was she was in a wild goose chase, trying to divert her attention. Inene ceased the opportunity to speak to her like a sister she'd never had, "What's your name?"
"Ulumma!"
"Alright, Ulu, I've come to like you like my own sister, I see some traits in you that is hard to find amongst most of our women. I've always asked my chi to give me a fearless spirit like yours. I've known you before now when you and your sister used to come to our village market to trade. We always talked about your sister, and our men never ceased to stare at her amazing beauty. I still wouldn't forget one day you fought with that vigilante who had always pestered our women. We were so happy for you, and wanted to make friends with you, but noone knew where you two lived, so we perceived that you might not be from our village." Ulumma was silent, but deep in thought. She'd thought that nobody knew nothing about her, all through her stay in Ozalla. But it wasn't balanced for her to leak her secret without she knowing that of the other. The only thing she knew about Inene was that she killed Konaso, which she overheard Agumba saying to her outside. But she wouldn't be sorry for a cruel monster of a king, who murdered her sister in a gruesome manner, she even loved Inene more for that step she took.
"Then how did you come to know Konaso, not to talk of murdering him?"
"Its a very long story, but I'll cut it short. During the time Ozalla and Umudioga were at war, men from Umudioga came and burnt down our Igwe's palace and they killed defenseless palace messengers and maidservants. So the Igwe was left with no other servants, so they asked for every family in Abomgbada clan, where I hail from, to produce one person each that will serve the king. The painful thing there is that families from other clans were not asked to do all these, but they had to force this on us because we were the only people that kicked against Konaso's tyranny. Our clan were the only people from Ozalla that intermarried with the people of Umudioga, and Konaso didn't liked that either, so he tried to banish some of us that went to marry from Umudioga."
TBC TOMORROW AT 11AM.
