OJADILI The Mystery Boy Episode 14 by Erasmus Ugochukwu Okafor

OJADILI The Mystery Boy Episode 14 by Erasmus Ugochukwu Okafor

**What dreams couldn’t reveal**

The night was filled with nightmares and revelations to Ojadili and the entire royalty. The confusing part was that Ojadili and the princess didn’t dream about what they expected to see. It became obvious to them including the king and the queen that the palace was about to be torn apart.

The chirping and sweet whistling of the early morning birds greeted the palace at dawn. The clement weather smiled down on the people but amid that clemency, every mind was disturbed about the previous night.

The king couldn’t sleep well because he kept thinking of the secret that had been a burden to him. He wanted to talk but had no one to talk to. He thought of the implication of telling the wife what happened in the past. He was afraid of breaking his home without knowing that a more serious problem was looming in the shadows. Untold fears overtook him even when he tried to pretend that Adadimma should remain in his past.

The queen was the most disturbed because she couldn’t even close her eyes all through the night amid the cuddles from her husband. She felt bad for not meeting up with her promise to the princess. She just realised that the king’s secret she was eager to know about may not come so soon. It was evident that the princess wasn’t going to divulge any secret to her anymore; that’s retaliation. She was even more disturbed about the parentage of her son and what would become of him when he finally tries to lift the sacred staff.

It’s traditional and compulsory that the heir must be recognised by the sacred Machikwe (If the gods agree) staff before he’d be made king. The adverse effects of the staff on a usurper made the staff to be popularly known as Isigebuogidi (the head that can carry the pillar) staff. That sacred staff is used to know if the heir is capable of being the king or if he’s supported by the gods to lead.

Even though her son has royal blood gallivanting in his veins, the queen wasn’t sure that he’d be able to lift Isigebuogidi staff without being made mad by the gods. She’d been so frightened when Onodugo’s wife was barren but when she finally conceived of a child, the royal staff issue became her problem.

The princess who was hoping to have a dream concerning the secret in Amachara ended up seeing Ojadili’s ancestors, making her more confused. She had a series of dreams but none made sense to her, so she woke up panting.

Ojadili who felt that he knew it all ended up being more confused by the revelations he got in his dream.

Everyone woke up feeling so confused.

Onodugo wasn’t left out because he began to have nightmares lately. In his dreams, he sees himself being chased around with javelin by king Azuamailo. The dream kept repeating itself every night to the point that he became gravely concerned. The chronicity of the dream introduced uninvited mental torture; hence, his discomfort. He couldn’t disclose the scary reoccurring dream to anyone; not even to Uremma, his wife.

The morning was bid welcome by upheaval when Onodugo was heard shouting in his hut.

Everyone thought that his wife may have committed suicide again, so they all rushed to meet him.

Achikolo who was assigned to him rushed straight to the king’s chamber with fear to report the issue. The other three guards gathered around the heir to calm him down as they waited for the king and the queen to arrive.

The king was already disturbed by the loud cry, so he got up and dressed up hastily but shabbily just to know what was going on.

The queen was more disturbed because of her sensitivity to anything happening around Onodugo. Her state of guilt had eaten deep into her. She blames herself for any misfortune that befalls her son; a characteristic she had in common with the king.

Ojadili was confused when he looked outside his hut and saw everyone rushing towards the hut of the prince. He was surprised that he didn’t get any revelation to that effect, so he shrugged and remained where he was; though with heightened senses and attentiveness. He knew that soon he’d get the news from a little bird because ofia kwu nti (the bush listens too)

The king couldn’t rush to Onodugo’s hut but inquired from Achikolo to know the cause of the turmoil. He was duly informed that Onodugo’s wife just had a miscarriage; therefore lost the long-awaited baby.

Hearing that news tore the king apart and made him melancholic to the point that he locked himself in his room and cried like a child. Every predicament on her son breaks his heart because he believes he was the cause. He kept blaming himself for building a home on a shaky foundation. He thought that he’d been forgiven by the spirit of Adadimma but just realised that he was too far from the reality.

The queen rushed to Onodugo’s hut and saw everything as blood gushed forth from Uremma. She summoned Oborochi without delay to intervene immediately to save Uremma’s life before she loses much blood.

As all these happened, the princess was afraid to even step out of her hut. She got the full details of what happened from Chizaram who was tipped by Achikolo; her admirer.

The palace was overtaken by sorrows and grief at the moment.

Onodugo who has issues with tension management couldn’t bear it. He’s usually the soft-hearted kind; a shred of evidence that he doesn’t have Azuamailo’s blood in him.

The princess was angry that she didn’t have the dream she was meant to have but saw entirely another thing. She was disturbed that she didn’t foresee the miscarriage. She was even more disturbed that she didn’t have the dream she collected the calabash chalk for. She was just demoralised and worked up as she twirled on her bed with distressful thoughts.

After a series of disturbing thoughts, she decided to confront her fears. She got up and began to go straight to Onodugo’s house. Getting there, she saw the queen crying and observing the palace physicians as they did their work.

Onodugo wallowed in sadness and wagged his crossed legs in anger. He thought that the gods were already merciful but he was wrong. He was already joyful that his shames had been wiped away but what he got was worse than he imagined.

Looking at how Onodugo suffered broke the princess’s heart, so she looked angrily at her mom and said: “May the gods judge you,”

After uttering that mind-troubling statement, the princess left and began to head to Ojadili’s hut. Anger predominated in her at the moment, so she lost her temper.

The queen knew that for her daughter to say such a thing to her, it wasn’t just mere anger. She knew that whatever moves must be moved by something. She was assured that there was something the princess knew that she didn’t want to talk about in Onodugo’s presence. Due to this, she excused herself and began to rush after the princess.

The queen was so afraid and confused as she chased after Chinonye but the latter kept walking as fast as she could.

“Stop please!” The queen shouted making the princess start shedding tears as she ran away from her.

Getting to Ojadili’s hut, the princess knocked at the door and waited while the queen tried to catch up.

“Ozowara, please, I need your help!” The princess yelled as she kept knocking impatiently and crying.

It was like a scene being created in the palace, making the maidservants start speculating.

Ojadili opened the door for the princess to come in but saw the queen approaching too. Feeling unworthy to have the queen in his abode, he rushed out of the hut and waited for her. As he waited, he remained in genuflection.

When the queen got to the hut, she looked angrily at Ojadili and pulsated with disgust. She felt that whatever made the princess say what she said was coming from him.

“Long live the queen of…”

“Keep your greetings,” the queen snarled at Ojadili and entered the hut forthwith.

Ojadili remained in that genuflection as the queen tried to persuade her daughter to talk to her. He dared not enter the hut to avoid intrusion or encroaching on their privacy. He waited outside the hut.

After a while, Ojadili summoned the courage to face the queen, so he pulled the curtain aside and said to her: ”My queen, the kingdom is shaky. The foundation isn’t strong, and lots of secrets have crippled it,”

Looking disdainfully at Ojadili as she imagined what or who gave him the authority to speak, the queen shouted: “I know you’re mayhem to this palace and shouldn’t be allowed to stay an hour longer. You have confused my daughter and made her turn against me,”

Ojadili didn’t reply but took his bow and arrow and began to go out for hunting. As he left, the maidservants admired him but he didn’t even notice anyone. He found his way out of the palace into the bush to hunt.

Looking around Ojadili’s hut, the queen shook her head in disbelief. He snorted and said: “I can’t imagine that out of the entire unoccupied huts, it’s Odiwaragboo that you gave out to the stranger,”

The weeping princess couldn’t reply to her mom but kept thinking deeply and gnashing her teeth in anger. She tried to stop her tears but got her eyes more blurred by them. Thinking of the situation and pains that Onodugo went through made her stream with inextinguishable tears.

“What has he done to you?” The queen asked looking so unsettled and nervy, “why did you invoke the curse of the gods on your beloved mother?”

The princess looked tearfully at her mom, hissed, and grumbled: “The question should be ‘what did you do to us and who is our dad?’. Don’t pretend as if you didn’t understand me because you do,”

The queen was shocked to the point that she became bedazzled as if she just exposed herself to the harsh sun. She suffocated in deep thoughts as she tried to figure out how the princess knew about all these. She didn’t just have to accept being guilty until she was sure of the force she was fighting against.

“Who gave you this fake information?” The queen clamoured, “I’m sure that this stranger penetrated the palace for a purpose. This place was hitherto impervious and impregnable to calamity but he has succeeded. Now, he’s lured you into this. I’m not afraid of who you are, my daughter, but who you’re becoming,”

The princess looked disgustedly at her mom and pitied her. She was drowned in bewilderment as she imagined how hardhearted her mom’s had become. She couldn’t imagine that her mother was still denying a known fact. Out of fury, she cast a stony gaze at the queen.

“Nne, the calamity is you,” The princess blurted out and got up to leave but the queen slapped her out of anger.

Ugoeze was shocked that she slapped her daughter out of anger. She was speechless because she never imagined that she could slap her daughter. She tried to appease the princess but Chino pushed her hand away.

“Wait, mom! You slapped me for the first time?” she asked and looked so confused, “You just tugged the strings of discord and you’ll reap what you’ve sown. The seed of calamity you just planted will soon germinate,”

The princess began to cry and rushed out of the hut. She bolted out of the palace hastily to avoid being stopped.

The queen followed too with a heavy tread. She couldn’t run but trembled with fear.

Seeing Isikotebu afar, the queen shouted: “Go after the princess and bring her back without delay!”

After saying that, she walked around in confusion. It became glaring to her that the secret she planned taking to her grave was about to be bare.

Isikotebu rushed after the princess but was surprised that she’d disappeared into the thin air. Without time lag, a search party of seven men was formed even without the queen’s knowledge. The search team comprising of the palace guards and the village vigilante went in search for the princess. Isikotebu headed the search to ensure success.

The queen felt that she just made the gravest mistake by slapping the princess. It was obvious to her that the princess may angrily lay bare what she knew to the king. Ugoeze wasn’t ready for such humiliation. She wouldn’t mind committing suicide or self-exile than face such Ije Ifele (show of shame). She didn’t even know that a search party had been formed.

Isikotebu didn’t want to alert her until the princess is found.

Waiting for about a couple of hours without seeing the princess or the guards, the queen began to ask questions to know why she wasn’t back yet. She roamed in the palace hiding away from the king to ensure he didn’t know that the princess was missing. As she sneaked around and avoided her hubby completely, she bumped into Achikolo; the gossip boy. Seeing Achikolo, she dragged him to a corner and ensured that they were out of sight from the king’s chamber.

“Where are Isikotebu and the princess?” she asked as she shivered with great fear and anxiety.

Achikolo looked around searchingly and whispered: “The princess is nowhere to be found. A seven-man search party has been formed and they are already…”

“Chim egbuokwam ooo! (My god has killed me)” she growled but closed her mouth with her palm to avoid being heard, “search what?” he asked confusingly.

“Search party, my queen,” Achikolo reiterated, “And from what I’m observing, no one knows where she’d gone to,”

Beads of sweat were announced immediately on the forehead of the queen due to the news. She became giddy as if she was about to faint. To avoid blacking out, she groped for support until she touched a wall. She leaned on the wall and throbbed with fear, “Kedu ifem ga akolu dim oo? (What will I tell my husband)” she yelled in a controlled exclamation, “I’m finished,”

Achikolo didn’t understand her but rushed out and got a seat for her. He made the queen sit and rest as the she panted and gasped for air.

The most torturing part was that the secret the queen treasured for years inside of her was beginning to break her down. She needed to talk to someone but didn’t know who to confide in. She just felt that Ojadili had ended up fulfilling his nefarious mission in the palace. It dawned on her that her worst nightmare had visited her without her permission.

The king began to grow suspicious because he expected the queen to come and update her about Uremma’s wellbeing. He was even surprised that his daughter that was meant to come and see him didn’t show up. The dots weren’t connecting. He even noticed that everyone in the palace was acting strangely and avoiding coming to see him too. It was Ugonnia (the palace chef) and few maidservants that came around to attend to his needs. Even though the palace is very big, it wasn’t big enough for the princess and queen to be away for long. As the cock crowed, the day aged, and the king began to ask questions.

The fear of the unknown heightened to the point that the queen sneaked into the barn just to avoid being seen by the king. She wanted to know what the princess knows so that she’d either bribe or convince her to keep her mouth shut.

It was only Achikolo that knew the location of the queen; hence being a confidant even though he didn’t know why the queen was hiding in the barn.

Most of the day, the princess wasn’t found and Ojadili wasn’t back too. Much fears and tension were created because the king couldn’t contain his confusion and curiosity anymore. It became obvious to him that there was something wrong in the palace. He couldn’t even see Isikotebu when he needed his attention.

Observing the faces and actions of everyone in the palace, the king was convinced that he was being avoided. He noticed that there was something they all knew that he wasn’t abreast of. He summoned the few guards and maidservants around and made them gather in the palace.

When they all gathered, king Azuamailo looked at them one after the other to know if he was going to uncover what was being kept secret. As he couldn’t understand their body language, he said: “Otu onye gbaa izu, ogbuo ochu (two heads are better than one)” still looking at them, he muttered: “Something is going on in this palace but I’m left in the dark. Where are my daughter, my wife, and some of the guards? Isikotebu is nowhere to be found too and it’s already evening,”

The people were all quiet and fearful to talk because they heard that the queen didn’t want the king to know about the princess’s disappearance.

Still waiting for them to talk, the king hollered: “Can someone talk before I unleash my anger on you all,”

They all trembled in great fear as they avoided the anger of the king. The ones in the front row began to shift backward while the ones at the back pushed them forward.

As the drama lasted, the king throbbed with anger and impatience.

Out of fear, Omasiri said: “My king, may you love long,”

“Go ahead, because you’re meant to know about the princess’s whereabouts,” The king said and listened attentively. “What’s happening in this palace?”

“Start talking before we’re all punished,” Ochomma whispered to Omasiri and prodded her from the back.

“Let me be, please,” Omasiri replied swiftly but not to the king’s hearing, “why didn’t you speak up since. You want me to be the scapegoat?”

The king saw them murmuring but didn’t understand what they were talking about. At a point, his suppressed anger blossomed again.

“What is going on here?” he barked at them all making them jittery. “I will hang you all if you won’t talk or tell me what I need to…”

“The princess is missing,” Omasiri uttered impulsively in fear.

“And the queen is hiding,” Ochomma entered, “Yes, she is hiding because she could be the cause of the…”

Chizaram nudged her to shut up, making Ochomma feign that she was coughing. She continued coughing until the king asked her to go for some water.

“But why is my wife hiding and where is the princess?” The king asked looking more confused, “I don’t understand this. Why won’t someone tell me something reasonable? The last time I checked, we were all good and I had no issues with my family…” he paused and thought for a while. “Wait… did the queen do anything to my daughter?” he inquired.

Everywhere was calm because no one wanted to say anything. They didn’t know what to say because they weren’t privy to what transpired between the princess and her mom. They knew that the queen had a quarrel with Chinonye but hadn’t the details.

As the moment of fear flourished, Ojadili entered carrying a deer and a grasscutter.

Everyone was surprised because they thought that the princess was with Ojadili. They expected him to come back with her but that wasn’t the situation. They all murmured making the king more suspicious.

Ojadili was surprised seeing the gathering, making his cheerfulness to change to confusion. Seeing the mood of the moment, his smiles was gulped by speculative looks. He couldn’t understand what was going on, so he slowly dropped the animals and went closer to the king.

“Long live the king,” he said looking confusingly at him, “what’s happening and why…?”

“My daughter is missing and the queen is hiding,” The king interjected cleverly, “do you know anything concerning this?”

Ojadili was surprised that the little drama that started in his hut had turned to something more serious. He couldn’t fathom what went wrong and why the princess would be missing. At that time, he was just benumbed.

After a while, as he tried to figure out how to come in, he said: “I think the princess sneaked out of the palace to seek for a cure for the wife of Onodugo,”

The king didn’t understand it, so he got more confused.

“The wife of Onodugo just lost her child, so why is the princess going out without my permission? How can she bring back a child that has been lost? Oh God!” he bellowed excruciatingly, “She must have gone to the evil forest again to seek Ojadili’s help,”

Ojadili was disturbed at this point, so he said to the king: “In my dreams, I always see Ojadili and he communicates to me. So you may need to allow me to take up the search. I will find a way to connect to Ojadili either physical or in the realm of my dreams. But you may be happy to hear that what Uremma had in her womb wasn’t just one child but two. She just lost one and the other remains. I guess the princess had gone to seek herbs to protect the second foetus from being lost too,”

Ojadili didn’t even know why he lied that Uremma had twins but realised that he just ended up revealing the truth.

The king was a bit relaxed with the news but still disturbed by the princess’s adventurous life.

The king was happy but was confused about how Ojadili and the princess knew about the twin. Notwithstanding his glee, he felt the risk the princess could be facing by going alone into the evil forest.

“How then did you know about all these?” The king asked looking more inquisitive.

“As I said, my king,” Ojadili replied boldly, “I see Ojadili in dreams and he reveals things to me. I saw this last night in my dream,”

“Now I believe you’re not just someone missing his road but someone sent by Ojadili to be of help to me,” The king said with a tinge of smile on his lips, “so how can my daughter be located?”

The question was hard for Ojadili to answer because he had no idea other than going into a search like others did.

“My king, I know it’s not going to be easy but you need to calm down and wait,” Ojadili said and began to leave, “I must come back with the princess; that’s my word of promise,”

The king was a bit consoled by the hope he just conjured from Ojadili’s promise. Even though he was a bit happy and hopeful, he still needed to know why the queen would be hiding because of it. It has always been no secret in the palace that the princess always wants to prove her healing prowess. So it was hard for the king to understand why such would make the queen mother be in hiding. He was bent on knowing what happened.

As Ojadili was leaving, he had a vision. He saw the queen about to commit suicide, so he stopped on the way and shut his eyes. His instincts informed him to check the barn, so he did.

Getting to the barn, he saw the queen with a large quantity of rahugaba (sleep on) potion, so he rushed at her and collected it.

Sniffing it, he realised that it was an injurious substance, so he winced.

“This devil again,” The queen said with tears and fell on the filthy ground. She got her dress bedraggled with the dungs of the cows. “I’ve lost my daughter because of you. I’ve also lost my husband, so why am I still living?”

Ojadili pulled her up and made her sit even when she was stubborn and unyielding. He didn’t even know what to say to her at the moment but kept watching her closely. He put the potion in his knapsack and shook his head in dismay.

“Where is the princess?” He asked in a low tone and looked around but didn’t see anyone but animals and foodstuff. “Why did you choose to destroy your home?” he queried looking at the princess with pity.

The queen looked up at his face and nodded. “I said it,” she growled, “you fed her with lies and…”

“I told her the entire truth, my queen,” Ojadili retorted, “for how long will you keep hiding in guilt?”

It was obvious to the queen that Ojadili would stop at nothing until she’s exposed, so she held him and said: “From the first time I saw you, I knew that you were going to destroy me. That was why I never wanted you to come into this palace. I guess you’re stronger than I thought. Please depart now and allow my family to be in peace,”

Ojadili smiled and pitied her because he knew that the queen would be making a mistake to allow him to leave the palace. “I’m here to save and not to destroy but you’ll have a great price to pay. Let me allow you to be. But for your information, I just saved you by telling the king that the princess went out in search of shrubs to heal Uremma,” Having said that, he stood to leave.

“Wait,” the queen said and looked thoughtfully at Ojadili. She couldn’t comprehend why he lied for her. “Since you came to destroy me, why did you lie to save me?”

Ojadili didn’t tell her why he lied. He simply said: “Go back to the king to avoid exposing yourself sooner than you think. But know this: Onodugo can never survive if he lifts the Isigebuogidi staff. If he does, ogidi ga anyikwa ya olu (the pillar will break his neck). Take your son back to her dad because the kingdom where he comes from is without an heir. You’d be doing so much good to that kingdom because the king of that village is suffering and grieving for being heirless. Make hay while the sun shines,”

The queen was shocked by this, so she knelt before Ojadili and said: “Who are you?”

Ojadili smiled, looked into her eyes, and whispered: “I am a messenger of Ojadili. I’m the one crying and seeking peace for others while he doesn’t even have a rest of mind,”

The queen put her hands on her head and continued moping at Ojadili like she just lost her senses.

“Nwam efukwa (my daughter is lost)” she cried out in anguish, “and there is nothing I can do to bring her back,”

“Go back to your husband because it’s already late and the fowls are going to bed,” Ojadili advised, “As for the princess, leave that assignment to me. I’ve already promised the king of my help. For this kingdom to survive this, you and your husband should make confessions to each other. You’d start it first,”

The queen felt how difficult it would be to tell the king about her extramarital affair. She sensed she couldn’t do such, so she shook her head disapprovingly.

“No, I can’t do that, son,” she said to Ojadili trying to convince herself that it was a wrong call to make, “I should die than say such to him. He’d kill me,”

“Esu mara ihe tubalu onu gboo (The wise millipede began making a hole on time)” Ojadili said proverbially and continued walking away.

“But how am I to tell the king that his supposed son is from Umabani?” The queen said making Ojadili to be shocked because he didn’t see that coming.

“Umuabani?” Ojadili asked looking so baffled, “I don’t understand you?”

“Yes, Umuabani,” The queen repeated, “It’s unfortunate because, among the seven villages that fought each other in that Iwenwanne War (brotherly fight) war two were arch enemies. Amachara the first son started it with Umuabani, the last child. My dad told me about this story a long time ago. This is the reason why Amachara stopped any marriage connection with other kingdoms; especially Umuabani that is the arch-enemy to Amachara. The Iwenwanne war was of old but the eventuality lingers till this generation. It’s ancestral and we can do anything about it,”

Ojadili was shocked to stupor because he never knew that Amachara and Umuabani were the major reason for the Iwenwanne war. He became interested to know more but the queen didn’t know any other thing to tell him.

“Are you saying that Onodugo is from Umuabani?” he asked in confusion, “If he’s of royal blood, it means he’s the son of Eze Ozoemena,” he added guessingly.

“Yes, he’s the son of King Ozoemena who happens to be the arch-enemy of my hubby. Due to the aftermath of the Iwenwanne war, malice have hung around for years. Do you know King Ozoemena?” the Queen asked looking at Ojadili.

Ojadili couldn’t answer that question because the status quo remains that he lost his memory. He couldn’t even wrap his head around the incredible revelation, so he moaned saying: “Dibia gworo ozo, mana ozo gburu dibia (The diviner’s divination has become his weakness). No one knows it all; not even the soothsayer,” After the expression, he shouted: “Umuabani eeeee,”

As if he was struck dumb, Ojadili put his hands on his head and didn’t say anything again.

The queen inquired to know his connection with Umuabani but Ojadili said nothing.

In speechlessness, Ojadili began to leave the barn. As he left, he hummed some sorrowful songs while the queen looked in confusion. He couldn’t’ help but imagine Onodugo being the son of King Ozoemena of Umabani. He never knew that his revelation of Onodugo’s parentage came from his village of origin.

OpraDre

To be continued…

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