Ezeabata In A Golden Marriage

CHAPTER 21

Echeta watched for a while as Olumide fought back tears narrating the strange ordeals he has been through in life, he started out by telling him his qualifications.

"Would like to take few mintues to calm down. I can literally see how you're fighting tears Olumide" says Cheta as he grabs his tissue pack, squeezes out some and puts it into Olumide's hands.

"No am good. These tears won't stop coming 'cos i been through alot moreover am glad i finally get to share this burden i have been carrying with someone who can listen. It's strange but i feel blessed right now." Explains Olu wiping tears with the tissues given to him by Cheta.

"Good to know you feel that way and can confide in me. Thanks" says Cheta

"I should be saying thanks to you not the other way round. You hardly come across people who sincerely have you're back in today's world.  Everyone puts their own palava (troubles in pidgin) ahead of anything or anyone else you know. Anyways such 'they say is life'."  Olu sighs and continues

"I finished with a bachelor's degree in business administrations from lagos state University and like i said before, i have been beaten by life, so many ups and downs yet almost nothing to show for it. All my life i waited to finish school and get a good job,  marry and settle down. This i was working towards until one day during my final year in school, i got a letter from my dad, requesting me to come home immediately.

You see Cheta we are seven Children born of my father and mother. I have five sisters who saw the world before my brother and i. The African thing you know, a woman in a man's house, feel threatened when she births only females. There was pressure from her inlaws to produce male children or they will be forced to bring in another woman for their brother. Thank God that eventually, today education has helped in granting the understanding that a man is responsible for the gender of their children not the woman". Says Olu and Cheta nods in affirmative and Olu continues

"My father loved my mum and wasn't willing to marry a second wife so they walked the world trying to find solutions to that problem. They finally found some herbalist who they claimed helped my mother to conceieve and bore my brother and four years later the same so called herbalist helped again and my mother conceived again and had me.

We grew up fine and life seemed normal until my brother a palm wine
Tapper and a fearless one at that went tapping one early morning,  when he couldn't sleep and while riding in his boat across a river alone, he heard strange voices of one talking and singing and rode towards the direction the sound came from. When he got there he didn't see anyone so he tied his boat to a tree and went his way to do the business for the day. It was after climbing the palm tree, he saw from afar a strange being talking and singing while bathing in the river. Ah! I wish he never came down from the tree. He could have at least looked away but for his daring and fearlessness". Olumide hisses and continues

"He came down from the tree and got there just staring at the being. Angrily she says 'do you not know that anyone that sees me won't live another day?' My brother challenges her and tells her that he too is a tough nut to crack and that her curse won't hurt him one bit. He then demanded that if she is that powerful, she should give him wealth instead of cursing him, so his family and him will be rescued from the abject poverty they suffered. She was amazed at his bravery and says if after what you saw today, you live then you will be wealthy but if you as much as tell anyone what you saw here today, not only will you suffer poverty but you will not make it beyond seventy four years of your life on earth and the being disappeared." Narrates Olu.

"Are you serious?" Asks Echeta, perplexed by what he was hearing even though he is well aware of the kind of wickedness and strange happenings that goes on in the world. He isn't ignorant of the truth that such wiles of the enemy existed.

"I am dead serious. My brother passed out when he was found in the morning by some other people in his kind of business and some farmers. He was wasn't speaking neither was he making any sense as much as he spoke words from his mouth. So they brought him back home. My father and poor mother couldn't bear it. My father sent a letter to me requested that i come home immediately saying my brother was seriously sick.

I sent a message back to them telling them to do anything they could for him that i will come right back home after my final exams which was close by. I kept praying the little i could for him which i believed helped because after my final exams, i left for the village immediately from school. I had gone to school that morning with my travel bag already parked with the things i needed and with my little savings from side hussles (odd jobs in pidgin) i intended to do my best for my brother, we were close as the only two males in the family.

I got home and when i saw my brother, i couldn't help but cry. You see Cheta this life is deeper than what the ordinary eye can see. My brother  despite all my parents running around was in a very devastating state, like a living corpse. My parents had taken him to the same...

"Herbalist that they knew in the time past yeah?" Intercepts Cheta

"How did you guess that right" Inquires Olumide

"Well it's quite obvious that they would think to take him there since their consultation at his place the last time 'supposedly' worked for them. Abi?" Questions Echeta with his fingers up and shaped in quote

"So does it mean that his powers didn't necessarily work?" Asks Olu

"Not really. All the devil has is tricks and moreover when he gives with the right hand, he collects with the left but let's talk about that later. Continue please" Requests Cheta

"Hmm i see (nodded Olu) Anyways i told my mum to go home with dad to relief her of the stress of having to take care of my brother, she needed a break.

So all treatments proved abortive despite how hard the herbalist tried
At a time he brought in some of his colleagues but to no avail. My brother's hands and legs were chained he almost looked epileptic and helpless and all i did was cry and hope for the best.

One morning the herbalist called me and told me there was a cure and because he was feeling bad for us he intends to go all out to assist but that he will need money to peform a sacrifice to transfer whatever was wrong with my brother to another mad woman who was brought to his place for cure. I guess since the woman's loved one wasn't around, he wanted to take advantage of the whole situation. I wasn't down with him on that idea at first but he went on and on saying the woman's case was a lost battle and i agreed. I regreted my desperation that day years later but it was late.

I gave him the money he required,
He said i should go home and return in the morning with my parents to take my brother home that the sacrifice will be done that night and he didn't want me around as what he wanted to do will not require misplaced attention. The seriousness with which he said what he said made me leave without questions but i left optimistic and happy on hearing that my brother goes home with us in the morning. I got home, told my parents all i could but avoided some details to avoid problems with them. Eventually to calm them down, i told them that my brother is much better and the herbalist had asked that i bring them to him tommorrow, as my brother will return home with us. At the sound of that, they were joyous.  I had my bath ate and went to bed but couldn't sleep.

All through the night i was awake as my heart Pondered and wondered at what could be going on over there. It took a long while but i finally gave sleep a chance.

Early hours of the said morning, i woke up early, sudden fear and sadness crippled me, i couldn't stand up from where i laid. I couldn't explain why but something didn't feel right especially when i remembered that poor woman that is too carry my brother's lot on top of hers, it felt really wrong and tears ran down my eyes as i asked myself  'isn't that someone's loved one too?'  'What have you done Olu?' I sat up with my both hands under my chin, feeling greatly remorseful and my mother called out to me to bath, get ready and come have breakfast before we left home that morning. Mmmm i couldn't eat anything despite my mother's persuasions" Sighs Olu with a loud hiss, he sobbed deeply

"Wow!" Exclaims Echeta

They were silent for seconds.