She wept seeing him in pains.
With his right arms and both legs sprained off joints and profuse bleeding from his nose and ear, the injury he'd acquired was an eyesore.
This was too bad to be true! She wished that she didn't even wasted much time talking to Ajuka when she could have reverse this lurid scene. Not to forget the nefarious 'demon' Akwanwa who had made things like that.
She winced her body like she was the one in his condition while Ararughi was making every possible means to revive the young man at the very edge of death. She bit her lips, cursing Akwanwa with every words that came to her mind. An incorrigible blood sucker, an infamous enigma and every bad name on earth. But would that reverse the deed that has been done? There was an incipient irregularity of heartbeat felt in his chest, coupled with the numbness in his metacarpi.
Dim, dimmer and more dimmer his eyes went, Uju quickly knelt beside him, shaking him gently to be sure he was still awake. Everyone was running here and there fetching all species of medicated leaves, to restore him back to normalcy. Uju felt an unconscious dropping of his neck away from her bosoms to the opposite direction.
"Aneke! Aneke! Aneke!" she shook him violently, but there was no response. Ararughi bent himself towards him blowing the leaves he'd put in the smoke at him, he didn't cough.
Tension heightened amongst the men, as more effort was made to revive the young man, but all was futile.
Ararughi stood up moved to one side of the bush, while everyone was so curious about what he wanted to say. He shook his head,
"So this is death!" he said with a rueful smile.
The word "death" sounded like a metal gong in Uju's ears. She didn't want to believe that it had happened.
"No! My husband can't be dead! Aneke is not dead! Don't tell me that." Uju screamed.
Some men had just arrived to witness this scene. Those were the men who had chased after Uju to know where she was heading to. They missed their route, hence the reason for their late arrival.
They'd come and had witnessed this unfortunate incidence, they'd asked many questions but how would it be answered. That someone who'd left the house hale and hearty had met his death on the way? What mystery.
Uju was left alone to her tears, everyone was too shocked to even console a weeping woman.
They surrounded the corpse, examining it one after the other, shaking their head and moving away.
Together, they wrapped the corpse in a cloth, and carried it back home.
Uju didn't go with them, she went straightforward into the village in hunt for the blood sucking demon called Akwanwa.
Her temper boiled like steam, with incipient bad blood towards Akwanwa kept heightening at each step she made to Umudioga. Whoever she met she asked about where the heinous girl resided.
She was going to kill her, she said to herself. This same girl who'd succeeded in taking away Ifenna from her, had successfully, inflicted another big injury in her heart by killing her husband on their wine-carrying ceremony.
Soon, she got into Ararume's compound after a long time not visiting there. Nothing much had really changed there, except for the house which had gotten to a state of dilapidation, as opposed to the newly renovated building she'd left to serve her banishment. She was here looking for Akwanwa. One would wonder what she was going to do to her.
"Akwanwa, come out here and face me," she challenged, "you move like the coward you are, and attack from the back. Shameless witch! Come in any form you like, a grasscutter, an antelope or even a lion." she said with partial tears.
Someone was coming out from the house, Uju posed herself for a fight. She was disappointed that it wasn't Akwanwa but her mother, Nwabiala who'd been sleeping that had come to know who was barking.
"Who is that person that have sworn to disturb my peace in this house," as she came outside and saw Uju she said sardonically, "oh you!"
"Tell Akwanwa to come out from where she is hiding o!"
"Shut up," she snapped in, "do you expect a married woman to be in her father's house, you envious and embittered heart!"
"If I'm the one that is envious as you have said why did she kill my husband behind my back?" when she mentioned this word, it was usually accompanied with tears.
"Go away, witch. You've succeeded in killing your husband, and you want to put it on my daughter," she moved and brought out her tongue before her face, "you failed! Witch!"
Uju was boiling in anger while the older woman kept raining insults on her, she had to leave the ranting woman and go her way. She came for a purpose, and exchanging words with a sick old woman wasn't part of it.
She surmised from the look of events, that Akwanwa would be with Ifenna wherever he was, if she wouldn't be hiding like a coward would do.
She'd already left Nwabiala to her ranting, and had gone making enquiries about Akwanwa's whereabout.
At last, she found herself in the territory of her adversary, after walking a distance to get to that point. She looked up, down, left and right, in alert of unexpected terror. The adversary was never to be trusted when it got to do with a fight, she might come from behind, anywhere, but it is an act of cowardice.
The door was slide open, and Uju posed for a duel but was disappointed. It wasn't her but her husband.
Uju's temper fell lukewarm when she saw him, come out.
"Where is she?" she tried maintaining her stern look, but he wouldn't shiver at that. Uju, he know, was harmless and nothing related to her look.
"What troubles the unfortunate lolo of my enemy?" he asked returning her stern look with a wild grim, "Are you not suppose to be carrying your wine to your lord?"
"Do you mean to say, "what troubles the b1tch from burying her beast"? " that was Akwanwa coming out from the room with full ego, leaning on the door. That was just insult added to the injury she'd inflicted on her. Her inciting statement had just proven her suspicion right. Not to ignore the fact that she was proud of her act.
"So its true! You killed him," Uju said in tears.
"He was already doomed and destined to die, you know his father was a heartless murderer, and his death was well deserved, because curse flow in their blood."
What wicked statement to make, which got to show that she had no remorse for what she did.
Uju made a belligerent approach towards her, but she was calmed by the warm touch that drew her back gently. She wasn't defiant, moreover, Ifenna wasn't violent, pulling her towards him. He said nothing, only leaving her to her stares at Akwanwa.
Akwanwa rolled her eyes past her and went for Ifenna's hand, she was going to make more inciting comment, Uju can melt if she wants to.
"You see my dear sister, the father of your husband killed my brothers, as well as your sister, and many people from Umudioga, and gave us the biggest blow by killing our king and sitting on his throne," she got more serious while speaking, and also pointing her fingers to her face, "yet you have the temerity to come here and defend that demon."
"Yes, Akwanwa, Konaso deserved the worst, but Aneke was a good person, very unlike his father. Why did you kill him? Have you not done enough? Taking Ifenna from me, and now you killed Aneke, my husband." she said in tears.
"Cry no more! The gods have just brought justice upon our land, and the rightful king have come to take his place," she said lifting Ifenna's right arm to the air, while he remained supine like a carved object, "and his lolo will be also be at the helm of power, overseeing the entire affairs of the umuada as the queen of the entire Ozalla-Umudioga kingdom."
Ifenna smiled sheepishly as she crossed his arms round her shoulder.
"And don't worry about your well-being," he said with a soothing smile, "we will accomodate you like a sister, and member of our family."
"Where?" Akwanwa cut in, "she can't stay in that house with us. She will go back to her husband's hometown, or rather the forest where she belongs." Ifenna didn't object, while Uju was slightly dazed. It seems Ifenna had been hypnotized to bow in acquiescence to all she says. That is, Ifenna on the throne would also be tantamount to a kingdom ruled by Akwanwa. His soul was tied for life, that he couldn't take decision of his own, she wouldn't let her plans go smoothly.
"Akwanwa, i would rather die than see you sit on that throne. " Uju swore with sand in her palms.
"Then try me!" she retorted with a wild smile.
Olieze's days in Aro had been hell. Oppression from her mother's sister was becoming unbearable, and she'd been regretting ever coming there to find succor.
Right from the first day she stepped her feet in that house, the troublesome woman, who was the youngest sister of her mother, hadn't conceal the bad blood which she had for their family. She couldn't bear this anymore, the world seemed to be turning upside down.
This sort of approach she got from her kinsmen wouldn't be unconnected to her father's misanthropic lifestyle, in which he had made himself repulsive to almost all.
Asides been an irritable tyrant, late Konaso was an incorrigible misanthrope. During his lifetime, he always made enemies with other kingdoms, instigating wars even when there was no need for it.
In this case, every villagers had been made to have visceral dislike for anything from Ozalla. People even called them cursed, hence dissociating themselves from any association with anyone from there. There had been mild speculations in Umudioga that Konaso might have regretted his act and was trying to make it up by merging the two kingdoms, to make reparation for his kingdom.
The idea behind Abodioga kingdom, was strongly detested by the people of Umudioga because they wanted to save their reputation, but they had a weak resistant force, as they had most of their strong men consumed by the war.
That brutal war against Umudioga had earned every villager from Ozalla, hate from all the surrounding villages, and here it was affecting Olieze.
She woke up one faithful morning, not talking or greeting anyone, but going straight out of the compound. Noone cared to know where she was going to. It was none of their business wherever she went.
Olieze was really up to something nasty, but they cared less.
Olieze felt her life been shattered. What was the need to be alive, when you are been rejected by everyone. It was just as bad as being an outcast.
Olieze sat under a palm tree by the road size thinking about her life, where and who would she run to, now it seems everything was lost.
When she had ran out of her maternal home, she had an initial motive of ending the miserable thing called life, somewhere. But on a second thought, she decided to eject such thought from her mind. She hated her thoughts for that, it went too far. She had a brother, and an only surviving brother for that matter. Despite being despised by her brother just for the sake of a woman, there was no need seeking death not for anything her brother might have said to her.
Besides the fact that what her brother did to her is forgiveable, it would also be shame on her side to terminate her life.
She found herself walking on a stray path, where she was going to she didn't know. How unconscious deep thought could make someone be. Olieze was just sauntering in a lonely path of a bush, not even bothering to know if it was safe for her to do so.
She only walked few steps further, and was stopped by a heavy downpour which she saw closer to her. The sight of it was like mystery because where she stood it was a fair weather, but only ten steps could lead her into the land where it rained. She had never seen such mystery in her life before. What had she gotten herself into?
She tried dodging the rain storm by diverging into the other pathway which was more bushy, still she didn't know where she was going.
Could she have been lost? While she was looking around to see if he could spot a person in sight, she felt a sharp piercing pain on her foot. She had stepped on an object, and it was so painful and she was sure that she had incurred injury on the process.
She looked downwards to see what had caused her so much pains, and lo, it was a trap. How come she hadn't seen it at the first glance.
She cried out in pains, that people might hear her from a distance,
"I'm dying, somebody help me!"
"You are not dying," she turned her neck to see who just spoke to her. She was quite a young woman who might be of the same age bracket as her. Not only that also, she was pregnant. Of all people, it was a pregnant woman who came to her rescue. She was actually Ulumma, but Olieze wouldn't know because they've never met before.
"How in this world did you get into this Agumba's troublesome and restless trap?" she said as she got her foot out of the snare. It hurt her so much and she was bleeding profusely. Ulumma took straps from plantain sucker and clothed her wound.
"It is raining towards that direction," she pointed to the particular place she'd seen the rain, "so I left the major route to avoid getting drenched."
Ulumma looked perplexed at her description. If it were raining, she would have seen or heard when she was coming. Where she was pointing was also the direction to Agumba's court.
"Rain? Where?"
"Over there, I can still see it from afar," she was still pointing to that direction. Ulumma's was more bewildered that she almost doubted if she was really sane, or could it be one of Agumba's tricks.
Seems like that, Ulumma remembered she'd gone through same experience before coming to encounter Agumba. Could it be Agumba's way of welcoming visitors? She kept on asking herself questions which only her would give the answer to it.
Well if that is the case, then she is welcomed. Even without that, it was in her discretion to help someone whom had gotten into trouble since she was the only one around. But she still wondered why Agumba hadn't come to the rescue himself as he had done when she and Inene had experienced such.
"Please would you come with me to the house, so that I can take good care of your wound,." she said with a jovial smile.
"You are really taking me to your house?" Olieze said incredulously. This request Ulumma had made was very unusual, especially now that people discriminated people from Ozalla. She managed to leap on one foot and go with her new host.
TBC AT 8PM
