"Don't be too fast to judge, I've not finished yet."
"Okay, sister," she sounded jovial for the
first time.
"There was no way I could hate my mother's people........"
"Wait! You mean your mother is from Umudioga?" Ulumma cut in with a surprise exclaimation.
"Yes, she was from Iruabali clan, and she once told me that her father was the richest man in Umudioga and Ozalla, joined together, and he was the first ever ichie title holder. But he died mysteriously and her eldest brother, took over him. He was the richest Umudioga ever had."
"If your grandfather was so rich, how come noone heard about him in our neighbourhood?" Ulumma countered, been a daughter of Umudioga from that same clan.
"What do you even know about prominent men? If....."
"Do you know my grandfather? He was a famous trader who traded with the whitemen on timber and oil palm, only that he trespassed by cutting down a tree in a sacred land dedicated to Amadioha , and Amadioha striked him with swollen stomach." Ulumma said sadly.
"Ulumma, I'm confused here!"
"Over what?"
"What you said about your grandfather. Does co-incidence happen like this? Or are you not from Ozalla like I thought?"
"I'm not from Ozalla. I'm the daughter of Ararume, a rich man also from Iroabali clan of Umudioga, murdered by a monster of a brother they call Madueke, since then my life have never remained the same." Ulumma cried aloud, as she reminisced the bad days of her life.
"I can't believe this! So you are truly my sister?" Inene screamed.
"How?"
"All the name you mention are the exact name of my mother's brothers."
"Your mother is my dearest aunty, Adaku?"
"Yes!" she jumped happily and hugged her.
"Your real name is Akunyeli!"
"Very true!" she said hugging her tighter.
"Good memories, when we played together anytime your mother brought you to our house. You were really troublesome and very smart also." Inene blushed with a sheepish smile, "I just don't know why death has brought us this misery." Ulumma lamented.
"I just blame everything on my father, for making life difficult for her. My father was fond of taking numerous wives and concubines for himself, and of all his wives, noone was from Abomgbada clan. The four of them were all Ozalla women from other clans who segregated people from Umudioga. They called us all sort of names, and treated us with contempt. And the worst of it all was that my father would do nothing about it, even when my mother complained, instead he'll add to my mother's injury by castigating her, after he had listened to the embellished tales of my step mother. Madueke's greediness and quest for material things, wouldn't let him see the real truth. Instead he threatened my mother never to accomodate her if she opt out from her marriage. Only if your father were alive then, my mother wouldn't feel this much hated that led her to her early grave." tears was dripping from her eyes.
Ulumma had compassion for her, and felt pity for her even if she had the worst story to tell. But Inene hadn't finished telling her story,
"My step mothers and my father, aided by that treacherous Madueke, all killed my mother. And yet they desire to do the same to me. They sold me out to Konaso to work as his slave." This was the part of the story Ulumma was keen to hear about, how she eliminated the tyrant of a king.
"But there was one man from Umudioga who was there for me right during my suffering in the hands of my step mother. I came to love him, and he also loved me, from then on, we married secretly, because at that time Konaso had enforced a law against people from Ozalla marrying from Umudioga. He forcefully dissolved the marriage of those who were already married and sent the women from Umudioga packing to their father's house. Umudioga was very angry with this decision and they also reciprocated and the whole enmity between the two began. It was after the war that we were forced to the palace, and we took up the duty of slaves. Some young men from Umudioga who survived the war were taken as Prisoners of War and were forced to do hard labours, of which my man was amongst them. Konaso kept torturing them, and killing them until there were only nine of them. Thanks to chi that my man was amongst the lucky nine. Then one certain morning, Igwe Konaso lined up the nine of them and whiped them so hard under the scorching sun, he was demanding for answers to the whereabout of his son's killer, but they had no idea of it. He locked them up and threatened to kill all of them the next morning if there wouldn't provide the killer of Mba, his son. Your sister I'm sure, was also locked up as the prime suspect. It was that night when he was having his night meal that I poisoned his food, and ran away. Even if what I did was very bad, I still had no option because I don't want to lose my husband."
"You did the best thing any sane person would have done to protect her loved one." Ulumma said affectionately.
"But I still wonder who might have killed Mba, and I still have the fear that Aneke might take up the issue from where his father stopped."
Ulumma had nothing to hide here any further, Inene had opened herself to her, it was now her turn to open up.
"I did!"
"You what?"
"I killed Mba!" she sobbed louder, "he forced me with the help of his guard, and slept with me. I was so deeply bitter inside losing my virginity to someone who wasn't my husband, and that rage prompted me to stab him to death with his own knife, which my hand was able to reach quickly. His guard came with the same intention and I did stab him too. I never knew it would lead to this, I would have bridled my temper." she cried bitterly. Inene moved closer to her to console her.
"Its okay, sister. You should see that as past. We should be thinking now of how we can save your sister from those evil men. They may kill her on your account."
"Uju is the least person I feel anything for," Ulumma retorted, " I don't care whatever happens to her. She is a betrayer."
"There is no wrong your sister might have done to you, that is unforgivable." she said with a look of perplexity. How bad could Uju have wronged her to warrant this bitter hatred?
"Not Uju's own. Do you know that she was the cause of all this. First, she was the reason Mba came into our hut in the first place. Mba was admiring her, and when she was running away from him, she couldn't even tell me her sister, that there is danger ahead. She left me alone unaware, and," she broke into tears that she couldn't say any further. Inene held her to herself and consoled her, she wiped her tears with her wrapper.
"Don't cry ada , whatever that have happened are all in the past, and that doesn't stops her either from being your sister."
"You don't understand, Inene. Uju had sworn to make my life miserable, I never knew how serious she was until now, Agunna wouldn't have seen me suffer like this, if he was alive."
"What? You mean that strong boy died? How?"
"I can't just tell how it happened. Just in one night, we were mourning the death of my mother. He went outside the compound and got missing. Just like that!" she winced in pain of the mind anytime she reminisced this indelible and aghast part of her story.
"And Oby?"
"That was the one I told you that Konaso killed." she cringed in intense bitterness, "and look at me now, I'm carrying his grandson, will my sister's spirit ever forgive me?" she slumped on her knees to the earth, raving with slurred speech. Inene made intense effort curbing her, and soon she succeeded in making her sit back on the upholstered chair beside her.
"See Ulumma, it was never your fault, and it would never be. You now have me by your side even if you had noone else." Inene held her close to her, and she sobbed and rested her head on her bosoms. Just then, Agumba came out from his room while they held each other. He had compassion for them while they told their bitter story, because he eavesdropped. Ulumma was first to see him come out, and she wiped her face and went to confront him malignantly.
"You mean you didn't go out to see your friend again, because you wanted to eavesdrop on our discussion. What kind of a spoilt silly child are you?" she blasted.
"Me?"
"Don't mind her, she was not too strong," Inene tried to come in between them, but Ulumma was louder this time around,
"Do I blame you? You're just like the proverbial he-goat that was invited for a banquet in the king house, and served expensive food and wine in large quantities but yet it still ravaged and ate up the flowers in the king's garden." Agumba gave her a resounding slap with his left hand, which Ulumma wasn't able to contain. She found herself fall on the floor subconsciously, hitting against the earth. Agumba left her without saying a word, and Ulumma opened her mouth to speak but she couldn't utter a word. She'd gone dumb.
The misty dusk of Nkwo market day, saw the arrival of Ifenna and Akwanwa to Umudioga. They'd spent good number of hours on the road, strolling, discussing, playing and joking, like they'd been doing before they were parted.
They arrived at Ararume's compound at Umudioga, where Akwanwa's family lived, hoping to give them a surprise barge in. Ifenna who was the architect of such idea, was to go and alert the insiders.
"You wait here, while I go in there and make a surprise announcement. I am to announce your arrival and immediately your name is mentioned, you can now match down to this place. Are you set?"
"Ever ready!" she laughed. Ifenna tiptoed in a way such that the dropping of a needle on the ground was much louder than his footsteps. He went first to the kitchen, hid himself by the wall of the building. He made noise on the kitchen door, hoping that someone would come asking who it was. He made that same noise several times, until it was getting louder. He then moved to the door of the house to let loose the handle of the door, it was now glaring to him that he had been flogging a dead horse. He was disappointed to have found noone sitting either outside or inside, which made him give up all his ideas. He came to Akwanwa dejectedly,
"What happened? Is everything alright?" she asked with fluttering heart beat.
"There are noone in the house." Ifenna lamented. Akwanwa was also disappoint, not because of the empty house, but because of Ifenna who'd changed mood for reasons which was as well as no reason.
"Is that why you frown like you ate unsqueezed onugbu leaves?" Ifenna found himself almost worked up over something that didn't matter that much, hence he found some words he would append to suit his countenance, and denying that his mood was never in connection with his disappointment.
"Then what is it?" she asked with a smile.
"Nothing."
"Nothing?"
"Amadioha eh!" Akwanwa was startled by a scream coming from behind her, she turned to see Onyema, her brother, standing with his arms lenght matchet almost dropping from his hand. Beside him standing was a pregnant woman holding a basket full of utazi leaves, she was as dark as coal, with long slender legs. She didn't look bad, Akwanwa could presume her to be his wife.
"If I didn't see someone standing here with you, I would have thought I just saw a ghost."
"You didn't see a ghost, you saw your sister," she said with a smile. She went closer to him and gave him a hug to prove that she's human, and not spirit, like he may be thinking. Ifenna waved to him with a casual smile, Onyema waved backed but didn't return the smile, but instead turn back to his sister.
"I'm really happy you're back to us. You don't know how you kept mother worrying. She'd gone sick severally and if not for Agumba she would have been dead by now." Akwanwa took her stares back to the strange pregnant woman who had gone tired listening to them and had gone to squat under a tree.
"Who is she?"
"She is my wife."
"And where is your other wife? I mean Nweke's wife," she said stammering.
"You talk as if you've forgotten who she is. How do you want me to keep that witch in my house as wife?" he said turning away from her. Akwanwa stepped towards his gaze, so she could make sure she could be sure she communicated to him sights and sounds.
"See, Onyema. Neither do I like her a bit, but since tradition demands so, why not do it to save your head. I mean if she strikes diabollically, her deed will be justified because its her right."
"And what happens to my own wife?"
"She is still yours and nothing will stop that."
"Let us stop discussing about this and talk of something better," he said waving her words off, to show how uncomfortable it was for him.
"What of tradition? Are you going to defy it?"
"Oh, Akwanwa stop it! Stop it!" Onyema barked at his sister in a way that startled her.
"Hehehei, what is going on here?" it was Nwabiala who had just came into the scene. She'd been surprised over Akwanwa's unanticipated presence and Onyema's rage on her, hence divided. She had to intervene, if not for anything, but for her most cherished daughter,
"Akwanwa, my daughter!"
"Mama eh!" she ran speedily and overwhelmed her stamina with an embrace. They two were on the ground already, but the old woman would never mind, rather they exchanged their happiness, sitting on the floor.
"Akwanwa is this really you?"
"Yes, it's me. I really missed you all." she said patting her back, she then rose to her feet and gave her a helping arm to the old woman, "Stand up, mama and let's go inside."
"No, my daughter. We're going to Agbukwu."
"Why not here?"
"This house is evil, I vowed never to move in here again, or have anything to do with Madueke's household."
"But I've walked a long way already, and I'm very tired. Now that my brother and his wife are here, we're complete already, and we can spend the night here." Akwanwa kept pressing on while his mother kept on refusing but Akwanwa prevailed when she remained insistent by going in herself. Nwabiala was helpless, and could do nothing more to stop her, so she consented. She kept looking around like she was expecting a wild beast to come out from anywhere.
"Mama sit nu!" Akwanwa held her hand like a toddler learning how to walk. Nwabiala sat on the padded sit reluctantly like there was pin in it. Behind them, was Ifenna following gently, he'd been silent all through their pleasantries.
"My daughter, where have you been all these while?" she said coldly.
"Mama! Allow your daughter to rest, you know I've walked a long way," she said with a smile.
"No my daughter, not in this one, you will tell me why you left," it was now that the woman remembered that her daughter left with someone, so she quickly had to snap in, "Where is Mgborie?" Mist of tears clouded Akwanwa's face when she asked her about her half sister, not knowing how to start telling the story.
TBC AT 3PM
