OJADILI Episode 15 by Erasmus Ugochukwu Okafor

OJADILI Episode 15 by Erasmus Ugochukwu Okafor

**Secrets revealed**

It was a night full of fears for the princess as she sought shelter. She wasn’t even sure of where she was or where she was heading. Her promenade was informed by her heart that was overtaken by anger against her mom.

The pathway was very narrow while the shrubs flanked it as the journey progressed. It was a lonely moonlight walk as she hoped on meeting Ojadili or Ozowaraonaa in the bush. As she moved further away from the palace, she discovered that her body wasn’t well covered. She knew that the harsh hands of the cold must touch her, so she sought for shelter before the night becomes chilly.

As she treaded on the lonely way, she became weary and began to footslog on her way to oblivion. She couldn’t believe that she may not even be a princess because of what her mom did.

Further, into the bush, she kept walking; feeling uneasy and insecure. The strength and confidence she conjured which led her into the bush began to dwindle drastically.

Fearfulness and hopelessness began to journey down into her spines like a marauding beast preying on a helpless victim.

The only exhortative words that kept her moving was that ‘in every tunnel, there must but a light at the end’. All she needed was to see a light that shows that she’s near a village. She kept walking into the dark and drifting away in despair.

Lots of ideas began to conflict within her because she couldn’t go back or have the audacity to continue. The riotous nature of her thoughts got her indecisive because she hadn’t seen any of the two most important people in her life-Ojadili and ozowara.

When she was about to go back, she heard some clanks in the bush and shuddered. She looked around to know if she could find a shed but it was all shrubs and no trees in that part of the bush. She ducked and cuddled herself as her senses heightened. She wanted to know the exact direction the sound emanates from, so she remained patient and clever.

After a while, the monotonous sound died down and serenity restored. She didn’t move still but remained calm to ensure that nothing was coming after her.

After a couple of minutes, she heard the sound again, making her know that whatever was there in the bush knew that she was monitoring it.

In grave fright, as she quivered, she looked at herself and realised that she had the beads that showed she’s of royal lineage. She quickly removed everything and flung them into the bush. She didn’t want anyone to know that she’s a princess, so she stripped herself of the entire royal traces. She loosened her hair and made it unkempt; to make her look like a madwoman.

“Show yourself!” she shouted fearfully to whatever was monitoring her, “I have a gun and a knife, and I’m ready to use it if you don’t show yourself now,” she threatened emptily and quivered in fear.

She checked herself and realised that she still had the calabash chalk in her pocket, so she held it firmly in preparedness.

As she waited, nothing showed up, so she stood and began to move; though with carefulness as she tried to regain her confidence. The calabash chalk she had with her made her feel that she was safe, so the march trudged on.

Seeing a light afar made her heave a sigh of relief because she just realised that there was a village nearby. She exhausted her reserved strength running towards the direction of the light to avoid losing sight of it.

As she rushed, she felt as if she was being followed, so she began to run faster.

She succeeded outrunning whatever she felt was behind her until she reached the hut where the light was coming from. There were some other houses around the hut but the one she was close to was a bit far from other clustered ones. She didn’t know the village she was.

She cautiously tiptoed into the village. As she walked, she looked back at intervals to ensure that she wasn’t being followed.

Seeing that someone was in the hut and singing, she went closer and knocked. As she waited for a response, she kept looking backward in fear. She was surprised to see Edi abani (wild dog) coming towards her, so she rushed into the house for safety and slammed the door behind her.

“Onyekwa (who)?” the young beautiful maiden in the room shouted and used a wrapper to cover her nakedness, “why will you just barge into someone’s room while you weren’t asked to come in?” she blurted angrily, “Or did you think I didn’t hear you knock?”

“Sorry, ma,” the princess apologised and panted, “I saw a wild dog coming after me, so I rushed in for refuge,”

The girl was surprised to hear that, so she slowly shifted her window curtain and looked into the night and then smiled. “Sorry for the experience, but the animal isn’t harmful,” she said and went out to meet the animal. She stroked its furs and dropped some meats in a plate for it to eat while the princess watched in awe.

“But this animal is meant to be wild,” Chinonye pointed out, “why is it friendly to you?”

“Come closer,” the girl said beckoning the princess forward, “this kingdom is filled with love, so come and touch the animal. It won’t hurt or bite, especially when not angered by you. So come,”

Even though the princess took those words of encouragement with a pinch of salt, she still went out to meet her.

Getting closer where the animal was feeding ravenously, she jittered as she tried touching it.

The maiden supported by holding the princess’s hands and then made her touch the animal. After a while, she allowed the princess to do the touching without fear.

Princess Chinonye began to enjoy the touch as she watched the animal act harmlessly. She was amazed at that.

“I am Akwaobi,” the girl said and touched the princess’s unkempt hair, “let’s go inside because soon, you’ll see many of the animals gathering. I always feed them whenever they are around. You may be frightened to see them in numbers, so let’s go in,”

The princess smiled and said: “Thank you. I am Chinonye, even though I lost my way,”

“I see,” Akwaobi said observantly, “you look scared and haggard. You need to be fed because it seems you’re coming from a far journey,”

“Exactly,” The princess murmured as they went back into the room.

Akwaobi hastily finished fixing the dinner she was busy with and presented to the princess. “This is a special dish; an oha soup prepared with squirrels and snail. Sorry, did you say you lost your way?”

“Not really,” Chinonye replied, “just that…eh..eh” she didn’t know what next to say but had to change the topic of the discussion, “Your name sounds sorrowful. Why?”

Akwaobi smiled and said: “I marvel at the name too but a part of me likes it,”

The princess could understand why Akwaobi (a sorrowful cry) would bear such a name and still say she likes it. She didn’t want to ask more questions but shrugged and remained thoughtful about how to find her way back home.

“So what’s the name of this village?” Chinonye asked with utmost curiosity to know how far she’d gone from home.

“This is Onumajuru village, and the track that led you here is Ajo ofia (the evil forest). We hardly have visitors except it’s from the king who brings them in at…”

“Wait!” the princess said and stopped eating the food, “What did you just say?”

Akwaobi was surprised at the Chino’s reaction, so she became a bit concerned.

“I said that you’re in the most beautiful kingdom,” She replied, “But I’m surprised that the king wasn’t the one that showed you the way. It’s rare in this village for people to trace their way in. So how did you do that?”

The princess felt she was dreaming, so she stood to move but staggered.

Akwaobi rushed at her and held her so that she wouldn’t fall.

“I’m fine, thank you,” Chinonye said and feigned being cool but she still staggered when she was allowed to stand on her feet. “I think I’m a bit sick but I just need some rest,”

The princess just realised that the nzu (calabash chalk) given to her by Ojadili wasn’t even for a revelatory dream but to find her way to the kingdom believed to be imaginary.

After a series of deep thoughts inside of her, Chino smiled and said: “I’m glad I’m here. Since I was a child, my parents used to tell me stories about this kingdom but I never believed it exists until today. I used to think it’s just a myth but now I believe. Your king is a woman, right?”

Akwaobi smiled and didn’t answer that. She continued eating while the princess became afraid to eat. She felt that once her aunt sees her, she may be the next to be hypnotised into thinking that she’s from Onumajuru.

“Your face looks familiar, even though I can’t remember anything,” Akwaobi said and continued eating, “Which kingdom are you from?” she asked and concentrated on her food as if she didn’t want to look at Chino’s face.

“I am from….from….,” the princess faltered and thought of what to say because she didn’t see that question coming.

“Don’t worry about it,” Akwaobi said and chuckled, “if I were in your shoes, I’d do the same because you don’t know who to trust yet,”

The princess wasn’t relaxed anymore. She felt that she was meant to trace her way back to the spot where Adadimma was buried to plead on the king’s behalf. She knew that coming to Nwanyi ukwu ugiri (the woman of the wild mango) wouldn’t help without appeasing the murdered maiden first. She couldn’t eat anymore but kept thinking so deep as if her life depends on it.

“Can I ask you a question?” The princess said and looked outside the hut. She realised that the wild dogs were already about twenty waiting for Akwaobi to feed them. “Oh, the dogs are here already,”

“I told you they’d come,” Akwaobi said proudly but didn’t stand to attend to the dogs, “come and finish your food first. Meanwhile, go ahead with your question. I’m already curious.”

The princess didn’t even know how to start because she already knew that since Akwaobi is from Onumajuru, the maiden would be under the influence of Nwanyi ukwu ugiri’s spell. She was stuck as she looked steadily but absently at the wild dogs gathered around Akwaobi’s hut.

“Never mind, but how can I find my way back home?” The princess asked as she began to miss her home, “I hope these wild dogs won’t prey on me,”

Akwaobi smiled and shook her head. “Women always amaze me,” she said smilingly, “You found it hard to tell me the name of your village but you want me to show you the way out. How can I do that if I don’t know where you came from?”

The princess felt busted because she couldn’t just hide her village of origin if she must be helped to go home. Even though all she needed was a way to Ajo ofia to seek for Adadimma’s forgiveness.

“Okay, fine, I give you that,” Chino said and came back to the sofa where she sat before, “I need to apologise to someone who my father offended. She’s late though,”

Akwaobi then realised that Chinonye may be on a mission for reconciliation, so she narrowed her eyes and came closer to her.

“Tell me about it,” Akwaobi said looking meditative, “this village is peaceful, so I don’t know if the person you’re coming to apologise to is here. The only visitors we have are the ones that the king admits. The world out there is evil, so we avoid mixing with other kingdoms, hence the need to be solitary. It’s better to be alone than in a bad company,”

The princess was laden with the quest to find a way to enter Ajo ofia and seek forgiveness for her dad, even though she wasn’t sure of whom her biological dad is anymore.

After passing through some indecisive moments concerning being open to the stranger or otherwise, Chinonye began to cry.

Akwaobi was confused because she never imagined seeing such a beautiful girl cry. She cuddled her to make her calm down but that never worked. She even sang some sweet songs for her but all to no avail, so she began to dance for her. At this point, the princess who likes to dance a lot began to smile a bit.

Akwaobi knew that she’d gotten Chino’s attention so she continued dancing to the extent that the princess joined her.

It was surprising to Akwaobi that Chinonye could dance so well even to best her in the dance.

After dancing, they began to sing together. It became so obvious that Chinonye has a gift from the gods, making Akwaobi stop. She listened to the sonorous songs by the princess.

As her spirit led her, Chinonye went out of the hut fearlessly and met the wild dogs as she sang. She took her food and shared to them all; ensuring that they were all well fed. The animals all danced around in a circle while the princess stood in the middle and sang for them.

It was surprising to Akwaobi that the lyrics of the song changed to another soothing song titled ‘Gbaghara Nnam, ma laa n’udo’ (forgive my dad and go in peace).

The song was so sweet and interesting that the villagers began to gather in numbers. It was as if confusion was being created because some of the villagers began to get back to their senses. They began to realise that they were in a place they weren’t meant to be.

The voice of the princess broke the spell that got some of them bound in slavery to the king.

The anger of the king (Nwanyi Ukwu ugiri) was nudged, so she sent out some guards to arrest the singer. She has her powers too; therefore she knew that someone powerful and antagonistic just arrived in Onumajuru.

Akwaobi already sensed this, so she took the princess and fled into the bush. The same edi abani (wild dog) that followed the princess into Onumajuru kingdom took off with them.

Before the guards arrived, the princess and Akwaobi were gone.

There were riot among those who just realised that they were being hypnotised and those who were yet to understand what went wrong.

As the maidens ran away, they kept looking back to ensure that they weren’t being followed. When they’d gone deep into the forest, they rested under a tree.

“That was so close,” The princess said as she panted, “But I’m sorry for that confusion. It wasn’t planned,” she apologised solemnly.

Akwaobi didn’t talk but kept shedding tears and thinking. She was trying to imagine the kind of person the princess was. She fell in love with the princess’s nature and wished to be like her. As she shed tears, she shammed being cool and unmoved but the princess noticed that the girl was emotional.

Akwaobi began to move away while the princess and the edi abani followed. They kept going into the forest but weren’t afraid.

The princess was afraid at some point but she had to keep her cool and move with others.

Getting to a place that looked like there was an altar there, they stopped.

Chinonye looked at the altar and marvelled. She was surprised that she may be standing before a deity, so she tried to move closer for clearer observation.

“Wait, don’t go any closer,” Akwaobi warned, “I brought us here so that we wouldn’t be caught,”

The princess looked at Akwaobi; even though she couldn’t see her face clearly because it was dark. “You know this place?” she asked looking bewilderedly at the sacred altar that had some wild mango trees surrounding it.

“Here looks strange,” The princess said and tried to go closer but Akwaobi held her back.

“I said that you shouldn’t go any closer,” she warned, “this is an altar of vengeance and retribution. We’re standing in Ajo ofia already…”

“Oh really!”The princess said excitedly and knelt before the altar. “Finally, the gods brought me here,” she added in deep sorrow and remorse.

“What are you doing?” Akwaobi asked and tried to pull her up but the princess was unyielding.

“The atrocity my dad committed was in Ajo ofia, so I need to appease the spirits of Adadimma,”

“I guess you need to tell me what happened that made you come to this land,” Akwaobi said with curiosity, “You owe me that explanation because I didn’t just save your life; I risked mine too. Of course, I can’t go back to my village because I’ll be executed. So can you start talking?”

The princess felt that she had no option anymore, so she began to cry and sing to the altar. The songs she sang were so sorrowful that it could melt even the strongest of all hearts.

Akwaobi kept listening to the sorrowful songs. At a point, she couldn’t help but cry. She tried to hold back her tears, but she couldn’t fight it anymore, so she went to the princess and pulled her up.

“No, allow me in this penitential tears and songs,” Chinonye said insistently and continued singing but Akwaobi persisted and stopped her.

“Sit, let’s talk,” Akwaobi said and pulled her up, “Tell me the story,”

The princess cleaned her tears and said: “My dad murdered a virgin in the forest. It was in this Ajo ofia that it took place. He didn’t do it deliberately but accidentally killed her. Since then, her spirit has been haunting him. He isn’t aware of this journey of mine but I’m sure that he’s sorry wherever he is now. He even tried to use charms to appease the spirit but it didn’t work. My kingdom is torn apart because of this abomination. Even this Onumajuru kingdom is as a result of that mayhem. The king of Onumajuru kingdom is my dad’s younger sister,”

This part shocked Akwaobi, so she winced and muttered some indistinct words.

“The king, your aunt?” Akwaugo asked looking amazed.

“Yes, she’s my aunt and I’ve been so worried about her too,” The princess continued, “even this forest where the evil was committed transformed my aunt to this person she is now. She and my dad grew up in a broken home devoid of peace; that’s why she decided to find love and peace elsewhere. I learnt that this kingdom is filled with love and peace,”

“Of course…”

“But the foundation is shaky,” The princess interjected the clever remarks, “How can it be filled with peace and love when the entire villagers were stolen from other kingdoms. Assuming they’re allowed to make their choices, most of them would go back to their kingdoms of origin. It is wrong because they’re denied their freedom while they got slavery disguised as peacefulness. Think about it,”

Akwaobi discovered that the princess was factual and candid, so she took a deep breath and sat on the earth. “Your knee would soon be hurting. Sit too, I have something to share too,” she said and caressed the smooth sand on the earth,”

The princess sat on the ground and supported herself with her hands. She was curious to hear what Akwaobi had to say. “But before then, I have a question and confusion,” she said as she tried to look into Akwaobi’s eyes but it was dark. “My song did some magic out there but you weren’t affected even though you were meant to be the first. Why?”

Akwaobi smiled and began to hum some songs that the princess didn’t understand.

As the princess watched, Akwaobi stood, went to the altar, and lit the candles, making the entire darkness to be dispersed. The maiden went behind one of the trees, stayed for a couple of minutes as the princess waited. She came out dressed in an all-white gown like a priestess.

Chinonye was frightened, so she began to contemplate if she’d run or stay. Her curiosity skyrocketed as fears engulfed her. She had to stomach her fears just to be able to withstand whatever was coming to her from the stranger.

Looking at the wild dog that showed no fear, the princess had to be strong again.

“Are you a priestess?” Chinonye asked feeling cold with goosebumps all over her body, “who are you?”

Akwaobi had a staff in her hand as she came closer to the princess; even though the latter shifted backward. She raised the staff to the sky and yelled: “Madu mejoro, mana obi ka eji agbaghara (a human errs but it takes the heart to forgive)”

The princess didn’t understand what was going on, so she brought out the nzu she had in her pocket and began to chew them. As she chewed the nzu according to the dictates of her instincts, she began to see everything that happened between her dad and Adadimma.

The vision was so clear and vivid that she began to feel like rushing to the dying maiden she saw in her imagination; to wake her up.

As she kept watching the maiden die in her vision, she couldn’t hold back anymore. Chinonye rushed to the dying girl, held her, and shouted: “Do not die but live because my dad unwittingly did what he did to you,”

Opening her eyes, the princess realised that she was actually holding Akwaobi in her arms and not Adadimma that she just saw in a trance.

Akwaugo was dying as if she was replicating what happened to Adadimma some year’s back.

She was shocked to see Akwaobi pulsating as if she was gasping for air. She didn’t know who to consult, so she took the remaining calabash chalk and forced it into her mouth.

“Chew it, chew it!” she wailed as she shook her to wake, “do not die, please…please…please,”

She kept repeating her last words until it turned to songs in her mouth.

As she sang, it began to dawn on her that the exact location of the altar was where her dad murdered the innocent girl. The vision was clearer to her this time, so she began to shake Akwaobi vigorously to wake her. It was surprising to the princess that the girl quietly closed her eyes and passed out.

Checking her pulses, she realised that Akwaobi was dead, so she began to shout to the deity to wake her but all to no avail.

The princess couldn’t understand why her vision about the death of Adadimma affected Akwaobi. It wasn’t adding up at all. A couple of minutes earlier, Akwaobi was dressed like a priestess and was ready to reveal some things to her. This got the princess so restless because the girl that was of help to her shouldn’t die with the secrets. She needed a way to appease the spirit of the dead but the person who was close to helping out just died as Adadimma did.

The replication of what happened in Ajo ofia between Adadimma and Azuamailo got the princess confused. She was yet to understand the connection the young girl had with the Adadimma. Curiosity tore her apart as she whimpered in pains trying to wake her.

As Chino craved for the revival of the girl, there was a great wind that got her so frightened. She was cocooned in fear as she cuddled the lifeless girl in her arms.

OpraDre

To be continued…

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