OJADILI The Mystery Boy Episode 11 by Erasmus Ugochukwu Okafor
**The call of destiny**
Ojadili was so happy that he finally used the Orji Igbo (Igbo kola nut) to trace his way to the palace and healed King Azuamailo. For the first time in his life, he felt like a great man and an achiever.
He didn’t feel like staying in the palace, that’s why he left after reviving the king. As he followed his instincts but not knowing his destination, he got lost in the bush. It was then that it became clear to him that he was unwittingly going back to the same Obiakpo forest he dreaded.
“Where am I and where am I supposed to be?” He murmured wearily as he trudged on the muddy earth.
Getting to an Ukwa (breadfruit) tree, he looked up to be sure that he wasn’t under a ripe ball of Ukwa. Being that the fruit falls whenever it’s heavy enough up there, he had to avoid being directly under it. Once ukwa falls on someone’s head, it’s either an outright death or the neck of the victim tilts. It’s also considered a bad omen for Ukwa fruit to fall on someone’s head in Igbo land. It’s sometimes seen as a punishment from the gods on the victim.
Ojadili was so tired that he needed to rest, so he looked up at some big balls of ukwa fruit up there. Taking a deep breath, he said: “Great tree, I have nothing against you but came in peace. Provide shelter for your visitor and don’t destroy me with your fall. It is ominous for you to kill me, please allow me to rest awhile under your shade. I know that Igaghi egbu onye chi ya egbughi (you won’t kill someone whose god hasn’t destined for death), so allow me rest,”
After saying that, he wearily dropped under the tree and leaned on it panting heavily.
‘Who or what am I?’ he thought absently, ‘a sojourner or a vagabond. I need to have a clean shave and look neat; not looking like a beast. Even Umuabani that is a god looks neat. I need to shave but can’t find an aguba (clipper)’
As he was deep in thoughts, he drifted away into in a trance. Ojadili saw himself in his compound in Umuabani village. He was shocked because no one saw him when he returned home. He needed to rest from a long journey, so he entered his room.
His hut was well-kempt, unlike the way he used to leave it. He was so thirsty, so he checked the clay pot where he stores water and found no drop of water there. He was pale due to this, so he lay down and began to rest.
After a while, he felt as if someone touched him, so he got up but saw no one. Still feeling thirsty, he got to up to find his way to Ubommiri River but remembered it wasn’t nkwo market day. Ojadili hissed and remained seated on the bed to think of a way out. He was surprised that he heard a knock on the door. Since his ex-communication, no one visits him, so he was shocked.
“Who’s that?” he hollered to scare the knocker away; that’s if he was a thief or an enemy.
“It’s me, your boy,” The sweet innocent voice echoed in the silence.
“My boy?” Ojadili repeated thoughtfully and tried to get up but was too weak to do that, “Open the door. It’s not locked,” he added and waited to see who was knocking.
Ojadili was surprised to see the hooded boy carrying a jar of water as he entered. He was surprised that the boy knew exactly what he wanted and came to quench his thirst.
“I came to fill up your water pot,” The hooded boy said and began to empty his pot of water into Ojadili’s pot.
Ojadili then remembered that his pot was always filled without knowing who does that, so he smiled and said: “Umuabani, so it’s been you all these while. Why are you so benevolent to me even when I never consulted my ancestors for help?”
The boy continued filling the pot. He goes down the stream, fetches water, and comes back to pour into Ojadili’s pot. He continued this until the pot was filled.
Ojadili noticed that the more the boy filled the pot, the more his thirst for water diminished. When the last pot of water was poured into the clay pot, Ojadili stopped being thirsty.
Ojadili was surprised that he wasn’t thirsty anymore, so he knew that it wasn’t normal.
When the boy tried to leave, Ojadili held him by the robe but he slipped away from his grip. “Please, don’t go Umuabani,” he pleaded, “I have many things I need answers to, so stay and explain to me why…”
“I’m not Umuabani,” the boy interjected in that sweet voice and went to the door but didn’t leave.
“I don’t get it,” Ojadili said confusingly, “the last time we met; you said you were my ancestor, Umuabani. Why are you denying it now? I’m confused,”
The boy chuckled and said: “This has been my problem, and this has been your problem. We have the same problem of assuming a lot. No wonder we assumed that we killed our parents with Otanchala powder,”
Mentioning Otanchala powder got Ojadili shocked because; on his list of priorities, unravelling the mystery behind his parents’ death was the most pronounced.
“Otanchala powder?” Ojadili stressed groggily, “But why using the word ‘we’. If you’re not Umuabani, who are you?”
The boy smiled and unhooded himself. Ojadili was surprised to see the young version of himself at the age of nine standing before him.
He was shocked that he shivered convulsively. Speechlessness overtook him as he stared at himself standing before him. He was engrossed in deep thoughts as he moped absently at him trying to figure out what was going on.
“Who are you?” Ojadili asked again and tried to grab him either by the neck or force him to reveal his true identity.
“Don’t be smart,” the boy said, “I am Ojadili, so you can’t kill me and you can’t catch me. If you want to capture me, capture yourself first. If you want to defeat me, defeat yourself first. We were born into a home where we were so pampered that we couldn’t be useful at young age. Even when we tried to be useful, our parents took it away from us because they didn’t want us to suffer. Think back and remember when a scorpion bit you at a young age and made you cry so hard. That scorpion’s bite made our dad, Amaraegbu, to send our mom, Agbomma parking. We cried a lot to have our mom back but Amaraegbu nna anyi (our father) didn’t listen to us. When our dad felt he was satisfied, he brought her back. It wasn’t just that he punished her for letting us be careless but a reason you need to find out in future. Dig more. Due to your laziness, our laziness, I began to lend a helping hand when we were excommunicated. That’s why I always fill up your water pot and sweep the compound. I wanted you to grow up but you didn’t, instead, you decided to drown yourself in Ubommiri River. Did you think that suicide would make you run away from your destiny? No is the answer. Mmiri doro n’eju, doro nwa nkita (the water left in the gully, is meant for the dogs to drink). You decided to run away again from Amachara after healing the king. Why do you always run?”
“But, I didn’t run from…”
“You even ran from Obiakpo forest when you were supposed to be useful there,” the little boy interposed, “A pure blood is meant for the sacrifice that would unravel the great mystery but you chose not to search for it. Your mind and heart were obsessed with the quest to leave the forest. The revelation of the meaning of the strange language depends on the sacrifice. Look further and you’ll see it. Meanwhile, go back to Amachara; destiny calls. And as for the death of our parents, you started having the revelation in the dreams, but you always wake up panting. Assuming you knew the gift you had in you, you’d have prevented them from dying. They died of natural causes from the gods because they tried to hide you away from your lineage and true purpose of life Stop blaming yourself for their death,”
“But why then did I wake up having the Otanchala powder with me?” Ojadili asked seeking some expatiations but the little version of him didn’t reply to that.
“Wake up, Ojadili because this isn’t real but a dream,” the boy clamoured, ”One big ripe ukwa fruit is about to disfigure your neck right now. Wake up!” He yelled; hooded himself, and left immediately.
Ojadili suddenly opened his eyes and remembered that he was sleeping. He didn’t remember the warning of the little boy on time but when he heard some clanks above his head, he ducked and dodged. He was surprised that a heavy ukwa fruit fell beside him, shaking the ground beneath its fall.
To his greatest surprise, there was a snake, echi eteka (cobra), that would have bitten him but the ukwa fell on it and destroyed it instantly.
“Obiara igbum gbuo onwe ya (back to the sender),” he yelled with his hands akimbo, “That was close. Very close,” he added and began to leave. He’d just gained some strength so the journey to oblivion continued.
As he walked away to nowhere pondering on the dreams he just woke up from, he saw nwa uriom okuku (a chick) being hunted by a hawk.
He yelled: “Cha-cha-cha” to chase away the predator but the marauding beast insisted on preying upon the innocent and vulnerable chick.
Ojadili chased after the hawk; though it succeeded picking up the chick. The hawk was fast but Ojadili was faster as he kept yelling and throwing stones at it.
As the heat was much, the hawk couldn’t succeed flying away with the chick, so it dropped the innocent bird. Ojadili ran as fast as he could to catch the bird so that it wouldn’t fall on the ground and die. Before the chick touched the ground, Ojadili captured it but ended up inflicting pains on himself. He had bruises on him but he didn’t care. He was happy for saving the chick.
Looking at the beautiful uriom okuku, he smiled and said: “Now you’re safe, friend. But how can we locate your mom?”
Ojadili looked around to know if the hen that mothers the chick was around but saw none. He looked up straight ahead and saw the hawk laying ambush at osisi nkwu (palm tree). It was obvious to Ojadili that the hawk would come back for the chick, so he began to leave with the vulnerable creature even without knowing where he was heading. As he walked through the narrow pathways, he stopped seeing or hearing from the hawk. He heaved a sigh of relief and continued his journey.
Getting to a fork on his way, Ojadili didn’t know which side to follow. He was confused because he didn’t know if he was moving away from the thick forest or going deep into the heart of it.
He got tired, so he stopped to rest. He dropped the chick to rest too. As Ojadili relaxed to figure out which side to follow, he found an aguba (clipper) lying casually on the floor and was amazed.
“The gods are always wise,” he smilingly said and dropped his bag and began to have a thorough shave. Ojadili shaved neatly even without a mirror. He looked so handsome that no one who knew him as the hairy boy could ever recognise him.
After shaving, he picked up the chick and said to it: “We may be lost again because we can’t find our way to Amachara. The little Ojadili made it obvious that I am running away from destiny. I used to think it was Amirioma that I was destined for, now it’s Amachara. Let’s hit the pathway and find our way to the village. Do we go left or right?”
Still confused even after his words of exhortation to himself, he closed his eyes to guess which of the roads to follow. As he did the guessing, the chick began to chirp loudly again, making him open his eyes swiftly. He discovered that the hawk was around again. He tried to chase away the hawk but ended up dropping the chick unknowingly. He felt outwitted when the hawk rushed to the chick before him and picked it up again and flew away.
This time, Ojadili knew that the hawk was ready to eat the chick, so he chased after it following the south fork of the pathway.
Ojadili kept uttering “cha-cha-cha” to make the hawk drop the chick but all to no avail. It was as if he had extra energy in him that made him keep running; up to an hour without stopping.
Ojadili was surprised that the hawk later dropped the chick since the pressure what much on it. He still didn’t allow the chick to die, so he picked it up.
Ojadili couldn’t understand why the hawk was bent on devouring the chick, so he protected the chirping creature with his life.
Looking up to know where he was, Ojadili was so surprised that he was in Amachara village already. He was wowed because he never knew that the hawk led him to the same village he was meant to be.
Seeing how happy the people were made him happy too. He noticed that everyone was so happy as if there was an occasion going on in Amachara. Beautiful maidens admired him but they noticed that he wasn’t from Amachara due to his strange way of dressing. Even though Ojadili looked so cute facially, he was tattered in dressing, so he had to change to something decent.
Checking through his knapsack, he found nothing else there except all that was there before. He saw the Nzu (calabash chalk), the empty jar of the potion he used to heal the king, and obere udu (a small clay pot). He didn’t know how to proceed because he had no money to buy clothes.
As the men and maidens passed him, he looked at them in surprise while some of them laughed at him. The ladies admired him, the men laughed scornfully at him, while the children addressed him as Onyeara isi di mma (the sane madman).
Being that he still had his hunting bow and arrow, he checked around and saw a nearby bush. He didn’t hesitate to enter there for hunting.
People rushed to the palace for a celebration while Ojadili rushed into the bush to kill an animal he’d sell to buy cloth. He didn’t care to ask what was taking them to the palace but was bent on changing his rags to something more presentable.
It didn’t take much time for Ojadili to succeed in killing a big antelope in the bush. He was wowed at how easy it was hunting it down. The size of the animal was going to reward him with nice wear for sure.
With happiness, Ojadili stood by the pathway waiting for passersby to buy from him but he didn’t succeed. He was surprised that everywhere was deserted. He had hope of seeing people still, so he waited on.
Suddenly, Ojadili saw some guards and noticed they were the village vigilante.
The three men saw him and noticed that he was a stranger, so they tried to capture him. He didn’t resist arrest, making them not touch him yet.
“Why are you arresting someone innocent?” Ojadili asked looked surprised, “I am a hunter and I simply captured an antelope and wish to sell it to buy clothes,”
The guys observed him from hair to toe and realised that he wasn’t insane as they thought.
“He isn’t a mad man after all,” One of them said as he observed the big antelope, “What a big catch you have here,” he added and tried to take a closer look at the animal but Ozonnia, the second guard stopped him.
“Ucheadinisi, you don’t know the intentions of this man,” Ozonnia warned, “so you’re called Ucheadi and you’re acting like one too…”
“Bia, Ozonnia, I have warned you to stop addressing me as Ucheadinisi (brainless head),” Ucheadi warned as he brandished his machete before him, “The full pronunciation of my name is Ucheadi-ka-esi-che-ya (the mind isn’t always the way it’s perceived). Stop abusing my name or we’ll fight,”
Ozonnia and the third vigilante, Okoroigwe began to laugh disdainfully at Ucheadi who didn’t find it funny at all.
The teary laughter got to the nerves of Ucheadi, making him leave with anger even when Ojadili tried to stop him.
“Leave him to go biko (please),” Okoroigwe said laughingly as tears of laughter blurred his eyes, “he wants to fight Ozonnia while the real wrestling is going on at the palace and he’s here ranting like a parrot,”
Ojadili, on hearing about wrestling knitted his brow. “Wrestling? What wresting?” he asked making the two guys burst into laughter again as if he was stupid for asking such a question.
Being that he already felt that Ucheadi was the friendliest one among the three, Ojadili rushed towards him while Ozonnia and Okoroigwe continued laughing at them.
Getting closer as he tried to catch up with Ucheadi, Ojadili shouted: “Nwanne chere (brother wait). I need your assistance,”
As he rushed after him; he still tried to balance the heavy antelope dangling on the stick he used to carry it.
Ucheadi didn’t stop but continued leaving grudgingly because he was already badgered by his supposed friends.
“Brother, I’ll share the money with you if I sell this animal,” Ojadili said trying to entice him but Ucheadi continued walking away. Ojadili stopped, feeling that the angry man wasn’t ready to answer him.
As Ojadili turned to go back to those mockers, Ucheadi stopped him.
“What do you need?” He asked frowningly, “I hate it when those supposed to be my friends end up being the reason for my constant sadness,”
Ojadili felt pity for Ucheadi, so he turned to him and said: “In life, you shouldn’t allow others to be the reason why you smile or cry. Always be the source of your happiness. Secondly, if someone mocks you or jeers at you, stop and ask questions to know if you need to forge ahead or correct some mistakes. Remember that when the tiger runs and looks back, it’s not out of fear…”
“But to check the distance he has covered,” Ucheadi completed the proverb for him, “It seems you’re real nwa afo (son of the soil). But which village are you from?” he asked cheerfully feeling exhorted with Ojadili’s words.
Ojadili was happy that Ucheadi was happy again, so he handed over the Uriom Okuku (the chick) to him. “Hold it for me because my hands are full. Do not hurt it,” he added and positioned the antelope well on his shoulder. “I saved this chick from a hawk. I wish to find a way to save it further by raising it to a hen or cock. I’m sure the creature has its life purpose too,”
Taking a closer look at the chick, Ucheadi smiled and said: “Why do you have to guess if the chick would grow into a male or female? I already know that this animal will grow into a cock, akpu oke (strong male),”
Ucheadi sheathed his machete and held the chick carefully with his two hands. He grinned as he admired the little creature.
“I’ve been looking at the adorable bird but can’t understand how you knew the sex of the chick,” Ojadili said as the heaviness of the antelope began to make him feel aches on his shoulders.
“I grew up rearing animals; especially birds,” Ucheadi said and played with the chick.
Ojadili didn’t want to argue or dig deeper into questions because he was more concerned about changing into decent wear. “Who do I sell this antelope to?” he asked looking searchingly around but saw no one. “Does it mean that the entire villagers are in the palace?”
“Of course,” Ucheadi answered, “special wrestling and dancing competition are going on today. This is a way of celebrating the return of the great king back to life. The champion among the wrestlers can make any request, even if it’s to marry the beautiful princess. The best dancer could be married to the prince as his second wife since Onodugo has a wife already. The best dancer can choose what she wants and it’s done for her,”
“That’s great,” Ojadili expressed bewilderedly. “I want to witness such a ceremony,”
“But your cloth is a rag, so you don’t need to go there. You’re unworthy,” Ucheadi said and giggled, “But how did you get to looking this tattered?”
Ojadili didn’t reply immediately because began to feel strange. He felt as if a part of him was getting lost when it was mentioned that the wrestling champion could marry the princess. He couldn’t explain why he felt that way about it. Even though he wanted to pretend to be okay with it, he knew that he was afraid of someone else marrying the princess. He tried to deny himself of those strange unexplainable feelings by dropping the antelope on the floor.
“I think I’m not interested in whatever that is going on there,” Ojadili said in pretence. He sat on the floor and rested while Ucheadi stood beside him and watched.
“I will do you a favour,” Ucheadi said and smiled, “I’ll take you to my house to give you a fine cloth made from the skin of edi ohia (wild dog). It was sewn on Nkwo market day, that’s why I call it ‘Nwankwo’ (child of Nkwo). I kept it for a special celebration but something inside of me is pushing me to give it away to you,”
Ojadili was so happy, so he leapt with joy and pulled him into a hug.
“You will suffocate the chick biko (please)!” Ucheadi complained and pushed Ojadili away, “I don’t need any payment for this. Just put on the cloth but no need going to the palace except you just want to go as an observer,”
Ojadili was pregnant with joy as he imagined getting a cloth without paying a dime.
“Do you know what, nwannem (my brother),” Ojadili said gleefully and managed to carry up the heavy antelope, “have this as a gift from me too,”
Ucheadi rejected the offer and smiled. “Assuming you’re giving me the antelope without any gift coming from me, I’d have accepted,” he said and pushed the animal away from reaching him, “meanwhile, if this is trade by barter, the cloth isn’t a fair exchange for the big antelope. Yours is costlier than mine, so keep it,”
Ojadili felt so elated. He simply smiled and patted Ucheadi’s back. “Let’s go to your house then. I can’t wait to get rid of these filthy rags,”
Ucheadi took Ojadili to his house and gave him the cloth he promised him. It was a perfect fit for him.
Ojadili was so happy that he was given such a gift. He didn’t have to waste time but began to go to the palace. He left with the antelope but left the chick in Ucheadi’s care.
On getting to the palace gate, Ojadili was allowed to go in because the guards thought he was an Amachara man. The competition was strictly for Amachara people, so no stranger or non Amaracha person was allowed to attend.
When Ojadili entered, the people’s attention was centred on him. The king even noticed that attention was being shifted from the competitors to a stranger.
King Azuamailo continued enjoying the show and pretended not to notice the distraction until it became obvious that he couldn’t allow such to go on. He whispered to one of the guards to check what was causing the distraction.
Achikolo, even though he wasn’t the one sent, went ahead and met Ojadili before the other guards arrived.
“You’re strange,” Achikolo said to Ojadili.”If you’re not from this village, gbakaria nkita usa n’oso (run faster than the gluttonous dog)”
Ojadili didn’t bat an eyelid but held tenaciously to the antelope as he waited for other guards to show up. When they came to him, he followed them to meet the king.
Ojadili’s entrance made the competition to come to a halt.
The people were all surprised to see a boy so cute, making some of those who saw him earlier to murmur. The maidens all had eyes on him as they speculated.
No one recognised that Ojadili was the same hairy man that saved the king from the dead; even the observant princess couldn’t recognise him.
Ojadili stood before the king; with the antelope still hanging on his shoulder. Looking at the beautiful princess honourably seated beside her dad, his heart raced faster. He tried to control his emotions and concentrate but he seemed lost in thoughts without even knowing why he was drawn to her.
At intervals, he swallowed spits and tried to pull himself together. He lost his composure because he was around the princess, so he tried not to look at her anymore.
The king raised his staff making the wrestling music to stop. He beckoned Ojadili forward to know his mission to the palace.
There was a deafening silence at this point as everyone looked on speculatively.
When Ojadili came closer to the king who looked suspiciously at him, he said: “Long live the king of Amachara. I’m sorry to…”
“You’re to listen and not talk!” Ichie Utaba, the sarcastic cabinet member yelled at Ojadili.
“Ichie Agwanti,” The kingmaker, Ichie Okafo whispered to Agwanti, “Can you tell this clown that he needs to watch his utterances, especially when a stranger is in our midst. Soon he’d start saying he’s my elder while the jejuneness of his behaviour always pronounces in his attitude,”
Ichie Agwanti nodded and called Ichie Utaba to order, even though it wasn’t done without a complaint from the sarcastic man.
“Nwam, who are you, and what brought you here?” The king asked Ojadili that looked bold and daring.
Ojadili didn’t even know what to say or do. He wanted to tell them that he was the one that healed the king but he had no evidence to prove that. Even if he told him the truth about himself, his new looks would make them not believe him. The overhaul of Ojadili’s appearance made it hard for anyone to guess.
After a while of thoughts as the people waited for him to reply, Ojadili said: “I’m a stranger who got lost on my way. I have no home and can’t remember anything about me,” He lied, “As I was hunting in the bush, I met one hairy diviner that claims to be a son of the gods. He handed over this antelope to me and said I should give it to the king of Amachara,”
The guards unsheathed their swords immediately because they felt that Ojadili was an intruder who wanted to infiltrate the palace cunningly.
The king smiled knowing that Ojadili could be lying. He shook his head and yelled: “Speak the truth child or you’d have your head separated from your neck! Who are you?”
Ojadili knew that his pranks were being busted, so he tried to conjure the self-confidence to disguise his lies. He took a deep breath to gain the lost composure. He had to rehearse his next statement thoughtfully to avoid putting himself in trouble.
“I haven’t been to Amachara before,” Ojadili began constructively; “I came as a messenger to the king because I was sent. The man I met in the bush gave me this antelope to deliver to the king. He said that he was the one that revived the king from death but couldn’t wait to be properly thanked. If I’m lying, your majesty should know because I wasn’t here when it happened. Sorry to ask this,” he added looking audaciously into the king’s eyes, “Were you not revived by a hairy diviner?”
“This boy is overbearing by asking questions while he should be replying humbly,” Ichie Utaba pointed out but the king didn’t yield to his objection.
The king was happy this time remembering the benevolence of the man that revived him. His interest was aroused by Ojadili’s mention of the healer he hoped to see someday,
“Please, where is he now and how can I find him?” The king asked looking so curious and attentive.
Ichie Okafo went closer to the king and whispered: “Don’t be too quick to believe him. How are we sure that the meat he brought here isn’t poisoned?”
The king chuckled and nodded; with a promise to heed to Okafo’s wise counsel.
After taking a proper look at Ojadili, the king said to him: “How am I sure that the healer was the one that sent you?”
Ojadili smiled, dug his hand into the knapsack, and brought out the small jar that contained the potion used in reviving the king. The jar was empty though, but it was evident that it was the same that was used to bring the king back to life.
Everyone, especially the king was amazed. If not that Ojadili looked different, princess Chinonye would have known who he was. The change was so much that it was hard to know that the hairy diviner was the one standing before them all.
“I believe him,” The princess whispered to her mom who sat adjacent to her, “this was the exact jar of the potion used to revive the king. I am sure of this,”
“Omachancha (Encyclopaedia),” The queen jeered and snorted, “won’t you keep your mouth shut?”
“Sorry, Nne (mom),” The princess apologised and kept calm even though she still had a lot of questions to ask her mom concerning Ifenkili’s claims.
“That means the stranger I saw pre-empted your actions,” Ojadili said smilingly and handed over the empty jar to Achikolo, “give it to the king,”
“And the antelope too,” King Azuamailo added with untold happiness, “even though my saviour isn’t here!” he shouted to the hearing of the gathering, “I’m happy that he sent his regards. This antelope is exclusively for the king. Anything that comes from that man is a blessing; therefore I can’t wait to eat it. If the strange diviner could revive me from the afterlife, he has no reason to kill who he revived. Bring it forth,” he added and waited until Achikolo brought the animal to him.
The king felt the furs of the antelope and smiled.
“Ezigbo anu (real meat)”
Ichie Agwanti whispered to the hearing of the cabinet members.
“What do I owe you as gratitude, my son?” The king asked looking so cheerful, “meanwhile, you have a name?”
Ojadili knew that he already earned the king’s trust; even though the queen mother was still sceptical.
“You owe me nothing because I was just sent here to deliver a message,” Ojadili said pretending not to be interested in a kingly reward, “My name is Ozowaraonaa. Like I said before, I got lost in the forest but in search of a home. I don’t know who I am but I wish to know that someday. I’ll be taking my leave now, my king. The bush remains my home for now but…”
The king waved in the air to shush him. He smiled and said: “I think I can now connect the dots. You were in the bush without shelter. You met the magnanimous man who sent you to me believing that the only way I’d repay him is by putting a roof above your head. Welcome my son to my kingdom. I’m not always too good with accepting strangers, but since I owe that diviner my life, I’ll do it for him through you. You’re welcome, nwam (my son),”
The people clapped for the king even though the queen mother wasn’t too comfortable with that decision. She felt that her husband was being hasty with the conclusion, so she hissed and left the arena into her chamber.
The king looked at her as she left and muttered: ”Umunwanyi na akpom asi (women and hatred)”
The princess was so happy seeing Ojadili even without knowing the reason why she that happy. She went closer to her dad and whispered: “He can stay here in the palace if you want to give him your kingly blessings and consideration. He’s more useful here than…”
“No, he won’t be in the palace,” The king objected blatantly, “but he’ll still be in the village. I’ll ensure he gets a comfortable hut as his abode while he’s being monitored, furtively,”
The princess frowned at that decision but was still happy that Ojadili wasn’t sent out of the kingdom entirely.
“As the king pleases,” Chinonye said and quietly went back to her position.
“I’ll accommodate you, my son,” The king said again making Ojadili kneel and cry before the people.
Ojadili was emotional because he felt that after a long time of roaming in the forest, he finally got a place to lay his head. At the moment, he felt that he was exactly where he was meant to be.
“The wise king, I thank you,” Ojadili said and genuflected before him.
“I’ll announce your residence soon but let the wrestling continue,” The king said happily and offered Ojadili a seat, “Ozowaraonaa, you’re a special guest, so enjoy the show with us. This is a rare privilege but since it’s the wish of my anonymous deliverer, I have no objection to that,”
The wrestling and dance competition continued while Ojadili sat and enjoyed the show. As he watched, he felt like participating in the fight because of the princess but it was obvious to him that he wasn’t going to win. The chosen men looked so virile and strong. Aside from winning or losing, he wasn’t even qualified to wrestle because he wasn’t from Amachara. He’d also be asking too much if he dares to seek permission to fight. That carelessness could make him lose the king’s favours that he already gained. Ojadili simply observed the wrestling with awe and fear until Azuanuka, the son of Ichie Okafo won the fight.
The people celebrated the winner while Ojadili drowned in fear as he awaited the request of the winner when he finally has the chance to speak up. He was afraid that Azuanuka would be asking for the princess’s hand in marriage, and for that, he drowned in untold anxiety.
The princess kept looking at Ojadili on the sly and feeling that she’d met him somewhere but couldn’t remember where, how, and when. Her attention wasn’t centred on the fight anymore but on Ojadili. Even though she tried to pretend about her stealthy look, Omasiri was observant enough to notice what was going on.
In the dancing competition, Olamma, the daughter of the sarcastic Ichie Utaba won, making the dad dance around celebrating the unexpected victory.
Ichie Utaba rushed to the kingmaker to give him a celebratory embrace but Okafo wasn’t too happy with him because he was still angry at him.
Ichie Okafo was so happy that his son won the competition but didn’t dance around like Ichie Utaba. He simply hugged his son and assured him of how proud he was for having him as a son.
The celebrations went on while Ojadili was lost in thoughts as he was cocooned in fear of the aftermath of the competition.
To be continued…
