THE CURSED LANTERN Episode 7 By Okafor Erasmus Ugochukwu
Having slept for three nights with the bitter kola and scent leaf under his pillow as instructed by Mmirimaraugo, Amandi got up feeling strange on the fourth night. It was a couple of hours to dawn, and it was pretty dark inside the hut.
He got up feeling weary but couldn’t sleep anymore. He groped for the lantern in the dark and later found it. With two pieces of stone, he ignited the fire and lit the lantern. It was surprising to him that Ikem was sitting meditatively on his mother’s bed and not sleeping.
It was obvious to Amandi that the little boy was sad. He quickly went to him and touched him gently. “Why haven’t you been sleeping?” he whispered to avoid waking Ozioma up.
Ikem didn’t answer that question but remained thoughtful and as he shook his head intermittently.
“I had a dream I just woke up from,” Amandi said whisperingly to Ikem, “For the first time, I saw the face of one of the children I used to see carrying lanterns and crying. I have had a series of nightmares and trances concerning this, but I kept wondering what it could be. The child that always carries the brighter lantern said that I am one of them; that’s why they come to me. I kept wondering what she meant by that but couldn’t understand it. When I wanted to know more, she started crying louder to a deafening point. I tried to cuddle her for comfort but she disappeared angrily. For the first time, what I saw in the dream world reflected in real life. Look at my hand,” he said and showed his slightly burnt palm to Ikem, “The lantern I touched burnt my palm. When I woke up, I felt the pain. It isn’t as burnt and painful as it was in the dream but this is an indication that a message was being passed but no one could interpret it to me. I heard about the witch known as the Lantern woman. I heard it from a little bird; precisely from the night guards. It made me interested to know if it’s possible to see her. Maybe she could have a solution or answer to the questions that have been affecting me for a long time. Since I met you, I discovered that you’re of great talent and an embodiment of natural gifts from the gods. Can you help me?”
Ikem kept gazing absently at the mpanaka (lantern) as if he didn’t hear or understand what Amandi was saying. He simply took a deep breath, looked at Amandi in the face, and shook his head. He continued to stir at the lantern feeling awful and hissing at intervals.
Ozioma was fast asleep and didn’t know that Ikem and Amandi that were in the same room with her were having some chitchat.
Amandi was curious and concerned about what could be going on in the mind of the little boy. He couldn’t understand anything but at the same time, didn’t want to badger him with questions and demands.
When he felt that the little boy may not be interested in his questions, he got up and quietly went outside.
The moon was still full and the night a bit cold, but he didn’t feel the hands of the cold due to how tense he was at the moment. He sat on the bamboo deckchair and relaxed his back on it facing up.
“A beautiful weather indeed,” Amandi said in a low tone as he gazed at the firmament, “if my life can ever be half as beautiful as the stars, then I am satisfied and complete. May the gods make it fruition, Iseee (amen). I am yet to understand what those children want from me and why my palm burnt. They seemed like forcing me to action but I have no clue of what to do and how to help. It hurts though,” He looked at the palm and caressed it a bit.
Amandi felt that someone was around him, so he turned and saw Ikem carrying a duvet made from the furry hide of the lamb.
Ikem threw the blanket at him, “Take this to cover your body. It’s cold out here,”
Amandi was happy seeing him, so he took the blanket and covered his body. It was really chilly that night. “Thanks,”
“The name of the girl is Chinualumogu (May the gods fight for me),” Ikem said as he remained standing behind Amandi.
Amandi was confused and felt as if what he heard wasn’t from Ikem.
“Did you just say something now?” He asked looking worried and eager to hear more, “did you just mention the name of one of the children?”
Ikem smiled, came to him, and sat beside him.
“Sometimes I say things but forget I said them,” Ikem said and caressed Amandi’s hands, “you’re hairy, brother Amandi. Maybe you don’t need the blanket anymore,”
“Yes, I was created that way but what do I need it for if it can’t change my life from sadness to happiness?” Amandi said and hissed, “You mentioned one name…hmmm,” he hummed as he tried to remember the name he heard, “help me out, nna (boy),”
Ikem dropped himself on the ground and started playing with the sand.
“Join me, Bro Amandi, let’s play,” he said beckoning him forward.
“Do you know how long it would take before dawn?” Amandi asked feeling awkward about the time of the night.
As he continued to play, Ikem suddenly felt strange, so he got up and looked at Amandi. “There is something I just felt now,” he said feeling weak and sad, “why am I feeling like this?”
Amandi rushed at him and held him so that he wouldn’t fall. He placed him on the deck chair and made him relax.
“Take a look at the moon and feel better,” Amandi said as he stroked his hair gently, “so what’s making you sad?”
Ikem shook his head feeling confused, “Someone needs my help but I don’t know who that person is. She is in trouble right now and a problem needs to be solved. If I am not fast enough to help her, she’ll die. The problem I have is that the place I am meant to go for her help, you’re not meant to go there. Not yet, at least. Why this puzzle from the gods? They always reveal things to me but will leave it as a puzzle to get me confused. Don’t they know that I am just a child,” he added jejunely feeling sad.
Amandi cuddled him to make him feel warm. He already knew how the young boy felt because he feels the same way sometimes. He pulled him into a hug and kissed his hair.
“The gods have a way to trick us, but one thing I have noticed is this,” Amandi said as he searched inside of him to find the right words of explanation to the child of prodigy, “The foolishness of the gods is better than the wisdom of men. They are wiser than we humans, so they know better. Whatever they reveal to you becomes the extent of your knowledge. So relax and keep digging. I have stayed for long trying to understand why I keep seeing little kids who do nothing other than cry. They carry thousands of lanterns but once they see me, they’d start disappearing one after the other until the last girl. It was only last night that I saw her sad beautiful innocent face for the first time,”
That last part got Ikem interested, so he turned and glimpsed at Amandi’s face under the moonlight. He looked intently at him as if he was wondering about something or trying to make some meaning out of something.
Amandi couldn’t help but notice that the little boy was beginning to see more than his puerile mind could comprehend. He needed to help Ikem but didn’t even know where to start.
“So who do you think that needs my help?” Ikem asked looking even more confused than Amandi.
Amandi didn’t even know how to answer the question because it was as if the boy was growing into being wiser than he could understand. He sometimes had his heart sinking into his belly whenever Ikem wants to ask questions.
“That question is a puzzle,” Amandi replied with a tensed mind, “I have tried to know if you could understand what my dream was meant to be but you didn’t. I wish someone could just explain a few things to me but the gods like creating puzzles and expecting us humans to solve them. The confusion here is that you said that where you’re going I am not meant to come there too. You’re just a kid and would need me as a grown-up man to accompany you wherever you want to go. If I don’t go with you, you’d be scared and may not be able to face the problem or achieve your goal,”
Ikem felt so weary thinking about the truth in Amandi’s assertions. He knew that he was right but couldn’t bring a solution or suggest a way forward.
“There is something I want to tell you,” Ikem said looking searching around to ensure that no one was earwigging on their conversation.
Amandi was so keen to hear what Ikem had to say. All he wanted to hear him speak about was the numerous questions he had; both asked and unasked. He simply needed an answer to his questions.
“Please, go ahead and tell me, Nwata dimma (good kid)” Amandi said and held him by the shoulder, “feel free to let me know what you have for me,”
Ikem simply smiled at Amandi’s statement and shook his head accompanied by smiles.
“What I have for you?” he asked and heaved a sigh of dissatisfaction.
“Yes, what you have for me,” Amandi iterated trying to know what was wrong with what he asked.
Ikem leaned on Amandi’s manly body and said: “How did you get so much strength without knowing that you do?”
Amandi couldn’t explain that or answer the intelligent question. He had no answers to that because he knew it was a gift from the gods, so there was no explanation for that. He simply crossed his legs and continued to wag his tails.
“I can’t explain,” Amandi muttered, “We all have our different gifts and may not be able to explain them. Those are gifts from chi-ukwu (god in heaven)”
Ikem thought about the reply, nodded, and smiled.
“I find it hard to understand your dreams but I understand other people’s dreams,” Ikem said making Amandi be shocked, “your mind seems impregnable and I can’t explain why,”
Amandi tried to figure out some meaning from the statement but he got his mind enveloped in obscurity. He thought that Ikem was the answer he was seeking but the statement from the little boy got his attention tilted into naught.
“So none of my dreams could get explained?” Amandi asked with despair and melancholy.
“I didn’t say that,” Ikem replied abruptly, “but all I can say is that I can’t chew more than he that healed me of toothache,”
That proverb was clear to Amandi but he didn’t understand the contest it was used. He was simply hollow and bereft of comprehension at the moment. He didn’t understand what Ikem was trying to say because the last time he checked, he couldn’t understand his dreams. If he was meant to know more than Ikem in terms of dream interpretation, why wasn’t he able to understand or explain anything about the lonely lantern? He was simply numb at the moment.
“Which location is your help needed; for you to save someone that is about to die?” Amandi asked thinking deeply to understand what Ikem was hinting.
“What’s the location that you dread most,” Ikem asked feeling enthusiastic to forestall a mistake he clued about, “Okay let me narrow it down. Where is the last place you wish to be right now?”
Amandi stood for some time thinking about his worst nightmares. All he could think about was Umudike kingdom. He tried to shove off the thoughts but it kept leaving flashes of memories inside of him. As he tried to answer Ikem’s question, he kept wondering why the boy talked maturely like an adult. To him, Ikem was an adult encased in the body of a child.
After a while, even though he wasn’t sure, Amandi decided to give it a try and clear his doubts. “I hail from Umudike and that’s where I ran away from seeking refuge to avoid being enslaved by Mmirimuo (water of the spirits) deity,”
After saying that, Amandi wasn’t sure if his statement made any sense at all but he already bared his mind and was willing to accept suggestions from the little boy.
Ikem didn’t talk but kept nodding making Amandi wonder if he was still seated next to a kid or an old man.
Amandi needed a reply from Ikem but the little boy said nothing at the moment. At a point, Ikem became so afraid and held Amandi so closely.
Amandi didn’t understand what was going on. He scouted around to be sure that nothing was making Ikem scared that very night. He held him and tried to drag him into the hut but the boy wasn’t yielding to that. Amandi was confused because he thought that Ikem wanted to be protected from whatever was coming after him. He simply held the boy closely feeling his racing heartbeat. He didn’t want to bother Ikem with questions; therefore, offered him ample time to feel better and talk when he is ready.
“They want to sacrifice her at Ngene River because she aided your escape to this kingdom,” Ikem said making Amandi start thinking.
After a while of deep thoughts, Amandi sprang up. “Ojiugo nwannem (my sister)!” he hollered making his voice travel far to a distance.
Ozioma who had been sleeping soundly suddenly got up and realized that the lantern was lit but Amandi and Ikem weren’t in bed. She became curious and staggered to the door to know what was going on. Seeing the two boys relaxing and conversing made her smile secretly as she peeped from the window.
“Nne is here but don’t look back,” Ikem muttered to Amandi, “I know you’re tensed but don’t allow her to know anything. Sit and pretend. When she’s gone, we can continue,”
Amandi feigned being relaxed and comported but was so overwhelmed that he felt like rushing to Umudike that very time of the night.
After a while, Ozioma went back into the hut.
Amandi and Ikem never talked about any other thing except allowing that silence to take over the moment.
When Amandi was assured that Ozioma was already sleeping, he pulled Ikem closer and said: “Ojiugo was the only person that knew about my exit; therefore, she’s in danger.
Following your logic, the only place you’d want to go that I cannot go with you is Umudike kingdom,”
“Then I will go there alone,” Ikem said feeling as if it was an easy journey.
Amandi couldn’t imagine seeing a seven years old boy going to Umudike alone through the bushes. It wasn’t easy thinking of what the mother will go through if such happens. He already knew that Ojiugo needed to be saved as fast as possible but the task of allowing that little boy to go alone was a risk he wasn’t willing to take.
“I will go with you until I get to the boundary of Umudike and Oduma,” Amandi promised believing that Ikem would buy the idea but the expression on the boy’s face said otherwise. Amandi was daunted as he awaited his reply.
“You’d be caught,” Ikem said unequivocally, “and that spells doom for you,” he reminded him.
“I don’t care about the penalty anymore. After all, my life and destiny are already jinxed, but Ojiugo still has a promising future,” Amandi said without thinking of the implications of his action, “I need to save Ojiugo because it’s possible it was because of me that she was captured. Now she is to be taken to Ngene River where she’d be slain. I must go with you,” Amandi insisted. “Your mother won’t even allow you to go. And if you must go if it’s your destiny calling, you can never go alone. You just a mere kid, so think about it,”
Ikem thought about what Amandi said and chuckled. He acted as if Amandi didn’t know what he was cluing about. The boy simply shook his head and patted Amandi’s back twice.
“I am kid, yes,” Ikem said with smiles, “but a mere kid? No, I am not,”
Amandi understood what he meant but that never made him think of allowing him to go alone.
“Okay, accepted,” Amandi said looking around to ensure that Ozioma was watching them anymore, “what if you go with one of the village night guards? I have made friends with them already. You saw them escorting me to this place, right? If you take off first thing at dawn, by evening you’re back. I would have discouraged you from going but this is my sister we are talking about. Let’s save her,”
Ikem smiled seeing some senses in the suggestion. He felt that Amandi was right because he couldn’t have gone alone. Even though he accepted the offer, he wasn’t sure that the guard would keep his mouth shut when they are back. He needed to embark on the journey incognito.
“What if going with the guard makes the matter worse?” Ikem asked, “Seeing a warrior with me must make the people of Umudike raise an eyebrow to that but going alone will make them see me as a mere child,”
Amandi wanted to refute that but the boy was so right that the importance of his assertion couldn’t be overemphasized. He didn’t want to accept that Ikem would go alone but the boy was being seriously logical and making him shudder at his wisdom. He had to think of a way out even though he was fidgety already because of the danger his sister had been exposed to.
“Yes, you have a point here,” Amandi concurred, “but I’m more concerned about the bushes and scary pathways leading to Umudike,”
“I’ll go with him,” someone that was hooded said and entered from the nearby bush.
Ikem and Amandi were startled hearing that, so they swerved to see who was there but couldn’t see the person’s face.
Amandi quickly grabbed Ikem and push him behind him to face whoever was there making them curious and jittery.
“Show your face or I’ll use the machete on you,” he threatened; hiding his hand as if he had any weapon but he was just bluffing.
They were surprised to see Princess Ugbegbe when she unhooded herself.
Amandi and Ikem suddenly went down on all fours in reverence to her.
“My princess, how did you get to this place by this time of the night?” Amandi said restively uneasy around her. He unwittingly scrambled to obey.
“Get up, you two,” The princess said and came to the nwanyi noduru okwu (dwarf wooden stool) and sat, “I wanted to reward you for besting Imo in the wrestling at Azummiri River but you said you needed none. I think that saving your sister, Ojiugo could make me feel better,”
Amandi was jaw-dropped as he stared at the princess with great surprise. He couldn’t fathom how she was able to sneak out of the palace without any of the Umudimkpa (super five) guards. He was speechless and moping as if he just lost his senses. He didn’t know what to say or what to do, so he fretted being around her.
The princess already understood what was going on with him, so she tapped at the deckchair next to her, “Sit and relax,”
Amandi hurriedly obeyed making the princess stifle the incoming laughter. She held her mouth with her palm to avoid embarrassing the already embarrassed boy.
“My princess,” Ikem called and came to her. He leaned on her body and snuggled into her arms, “how did you come out here and what brings you here?”
The beautiful princess simply smiled and cuddled him closely. “I came to see my good friend but he feels lowly and unworthy around me. I want to come into his life to know what he knows and help me in any way I can but …”
“I’m sorry about that, my princess,” Amandi cut in, “please…I…I am sorry again for speaking out of turn,”
“It’s okay,” The princess said and beckoned him forward to sit next to her. “Meanwhile, it’s already dawn and the first crow of the fowl is heard,”
Amandi acted as if he just had his senses back. “Oh, I never heard it,” he said apologetically as if he offended the princess, “we are in deep discussion, so we didn’t even…”
“I heard it,” Ikem entered, “I thought you did too. Now I see how troubled your mind is,”
The princess couldn’t help but notice how smartly Ikem spoke. She looked at him closely and shook her head.
“Now I’m beginning to think that who is seated next to me isn’t just a mere kid,” she said and kissed his forehead, “we’re going to Umudike together, my little friend,”
Amandi was happy but at the same time unnerved because he may be exposing the princess of another kingdom in danger by allowing her to go to Umudike.
“You may need to rescind that quest,” Amandi advised, “except you’ll go with your guards to…”
“I’m going with no one but Ikem,” the princess insisted, “allow me to help Ojiugo out lest she’d die,”
“Sorry, my princess,” Amandi entered feeling a bit relaxed with her, “how did you know about Ojiugo? Have you met her before?”
The princess smiled and shook her head. “No, I haven’t met her,” she said with a smile, “I was eavesdropping on your conversation for long,”
“Wow, that means you’ve been out of the palace for long,” Amandi said while Ikem nodded but didn’t talk because of how he was groomed.
“Ikem,” The princess called and patted his back.
“Yes, my princess,” the little boy answered with a bow.
“You can go into your hut, let me tell Amandi something,” she said and nodded to make him understand, “I promise to leave in a short time with you. If we do not leave on time, Ojiugo may be sacrificed, and that’s not what you want. If the gods can reveal it to you, it means they want the girl to live,”
Ikem was so happy and feeling elated to embark on such an important first assignment. He couldn’t imagine being the hero and saving the day. Traveling to Umudike with the princess was what he considered an uncommon privilege. Since he was born, he hadn’t left Oduma for once, so he was excited to go to Umudike. He quickly got up and rushed to the hut. On getting to the door, he stopped, looked back, and said: “Thanks, my princess for saving my mother and me from the punishment meted out on us. We appreciate. You’re a good woman,”
The princess was so happy hearing that, even though she still couldn’t understand the force that led her to defend the widow and her child. She waved at Ikem excitedly. “Just wait for me in the hut. We’re leaving soon,” she promised. Turning to Amandi, she said: “Why are you staying in my kingdom without permission to do so? The night guards could be in trouble for allowing it,”
Amandi went on his knees with his palm jammed together in a plea, “Please, my princess, forgive my manners. I was afraid that I’d be sent back to Umudike kingdom, and that’s the last place I need to be right now,”
The princess didn’t get it. She became suspicious that Amandi could have committed a crime that made him run away from his village.
“What have you done?” she asked feeling so eager to hear him out.
“My princess,” Amandi muttered with tears in his eyes making the princess uneasy seeing such brokenheartedness that made a man shed tears, “I am confused too,”
“Hey, nwoke mara mma (handsome man), you don’t need to do this,” she said to comfort him. She went closer and pulled him up into a hug. She patted his back gently. “I don’t know what you’re passing through but all I can say is that I’ll protect you with my last strength no matter what it takes,”
That solemn promise got Amandi so emotional that he felt both comforted and loved. He was so happy that someone of such status made such an earnest promise to him. He tried to kneel but still had the princess’s hands wrapped around him.
“Thanks, my princess,” he said and wiped his tears.
Seeing that the princess was becoming emotional, he gradually ended the embrace and shifted a bit away from her.
The princess realized that she almost lost her self-control around him, so she heaved a sigh of relief and silently thanked the gods for using such a virtuous man to bring her back to her senses.
“I will and must keep my promise,” she reiterated.
“But I’m sorry to say that you may not be able to protect me from the anger of my earth-mother,” Amandi said feeling gloomy and dispirited.
Ugbegbe was surprised to hear that, so she winced as she thought about what could have caused such to happen.
“What on earth did you do to have attracted the anger of your personal chi (god) to yourself,” she asked feeling perturbed that Amandi may not be as innocent as she thought, “I demand you tell me everything now!”
Amandi knew that it was an order and no more a request, so he had to open up and tell the princess everything.
“I lost my parents when I was very young,” he began with a sad tone, “I can’t even have a clearer picture of what they look like. My father was a great hunter while my mother was well known for her diligence in farming. Many people hired her for farm works while my dad had more demands than he could supply in his bush meat business. He continued amassing a lot of wealth that made him be among the richest men in the Umudike kingdom. I really can’t say what happened but they died mysteriously. This story was according to Mazi Esomchi, the great storyteller,”
Serenity and meditations thrived between them at the moment. The monotonous hooting of the owl lingered in that silence. The princess was thoughtful while Amandi was brokenhearted.
“Go on, I’m listening,” the princess said with a nod of approval.
“Since that time, I began to live in hell in my father’s house,” Amandi went on, “my uncle, Obidinazu, and his wife, Arunne turned my life into misery. I have been suffering like someone who is enslaved to them. My father’s Ikenga was nowhere to be found. My uncle hid it from me since childhood,”
“What kind of wickedness is that?” Ugegbe asked feeling furious about it.
“The worst is that many times, they starve me of food and give me nothing,” Amandi continued, “even on an empty stomach, I must go out and fetch water as early as when the first crow of the fowl is heard. Sometimes I even go out at midnights to fetch water at the stream. There was a day I was whipped with a stick from Anunuebe tree,”
“What did you just say? Anunuebe?” The princess asked observing the scars on Amandi’s body, “no wonder you have all these scars. When you won the fight at Azummiri River, I saw the marks on your body. I thought that too many fights must have made your skin this rough. I never knew it was out of molestation and maltreatment. But why would they use such a stick on you?”
Amandi shrugged showing that he had no clue. “I can’t say what happened, but after using that Anunuebe on me, I woke up the next morning to see a dead Eke (python) at the door of my hut,”
The princess suddenly sprang up with confusion. She was beginning to understand the mental stress of the poor boy. That narration made her understand how complicated Amandi’s life was. So much pity was drawn from her. She wept silently.
“Who killed the python?” she asked, “maybe that wicked uncle of yours did that. But continue. I’m listening,”
Taking a deep breath, Amandi looked into the sky feeling so hurt. It was already dawn and the neighbors could pass and see the princess. That would put him in trouble and he wasn’t ready to allow such to happen.
“My princess,” Amandi called in a low tone, “it’s already morning and you may soon be found. I am very sure that the palace guards must have started searching for you,”
The princess realized that Amandi was right and there was no time for them to continue the discussion.
“So who is Ojiugo?” she asked hastily to cut the story short.
“She’s my step-sister,” Amandi replied hurriedly too, “she has been the one that stood by me. The chief priest said I’d be the one to carry the coffin of the python on my head, dig the earth, and bury it,”
“Aru! (Abomination)” she exclaimed, “why will you bury the python that you didn’t kill? Why didn’t the chief priest consult the gods to know how the python died?”
Amandi hissed severally feeling bad about the whole thing. It was as if everything became evergreen in his mind’s eye; making him wish he didn’t even start telling the story at all.
“The gods have been silent and there is nothing that could be done about it,” Amandi grumbled, “that was why Ojiugo aided my escape. Now she is in great danger and about to be sacrificed at Ngene River. I wish to go and sacrifice myself for her freedom but Ikem said that I wasn’t meant to go with him. The boy has a lot of gifts that no one knew about; not even his mother. Everything unlocked when he met me. I am yet to understand why my presence brought the best in him. The hidden part of him became bare to the limelight when I entered this compound. In a nutshell, Ikem is a moving deity,” Amandi hinted. “You’ll soon know who he is,”
The princess was surprised to hear that. She shifted her glance to the hut and saw the boy peeping.
Seeing the princess, Ozioma slowly dragged the little boy into the hut to avoid attracting her attention.
“I’ll be glad to know more,” the princess said feeling happy, “I have noticed things about him but couldn’t understand it. Now it’s clearer,
”
“There is a lot I will bell you but let’s save Ojiugo first,” Amandi said and got up, “if you must help her, it’s now because today is Eke Ututu market, and that’s the only day that the sacrifice to the god of Ngene River is made. Ojiugo is definitely going down today,”
The princess couldn’t understand how Amandi knew that Ojiugo was to be sacrificed. She had a lot of questions but the urgency of the need to save the girl made her hasten up before the guards starts looking for her. She quickly hooded herself and went to the hut.
Ozioma trembled at seeing her because she felt unworthy to have such a royal visitor in her poor home.
“My princess, I don’t know why you chose to visit my compound this early morning,” she said and prostrated before her; with her face down, “I have no kola to offer. My boy already told me what the mission is all about. I am afraid that I’ll be in trouble at the end of the mission. Even if you succeed, the story may filter into some ears and it would get to the hearing of the king. I would be punished. The worst would be for the people of Umudike to capture or hurt you. I will definitely be killed by hanging. And what about my son, my pride, and the joy of my life? I feel for him more because I can’t breathe at all once anything bad happens to him. My hands are tied because Amandi’s sister needs to be saved. I suggest you go with the guards, even if it’s just one person,”
The princess felt so sympathetic but had no choice. She just had to be brave and safe Ojiugo before she’s sacrificed. She simply looked into the hut, saw two beds, and knew that Amandi sleeps there too. She felt a bit jealous as she tried not to imagine how long a night is while two adults sleep together in the same hut. When she felt that she was becoming distracted by those ungodly thoughts, she pulled Ozioma to a hug.
“You’re a good woman and you deserve the best man,” she said to the widow. “Release your boy now let’s start heading to Umudike. We’ll be back before nightfall. I will protect him at all costs. That’s a promise,”
The princess didn’t want to be moved by the incoming tears clearly announced in the eyes of the widow. To avoid crying with her, she left the hut immediately taking Ikem with her.
Getting to Amandi’s postion, Ikem touched him and whispered: “There is a secret about me that my mother doesn’t want me to know. It was revealed to me when I entered the hut. We’ll be back soon,”
The princess tried to hear what Ikem whispered to Amandi but couldn’t. She simply held him closely as they left.
Looking back when they got to a distance, the princess felt like telling Ozioma and Amandi not to be too close when they’re gone but she began to feel that she was losing her mind to think of such. It was then she noticed that she was having tender feelings for the stranger. She hit herself on the chest to avoid thinking of such an impossible mission. She simply headed out and continued along the zigzag pathway out of Umudike.
Amandi was yet to understand why Ikem talked about a secret that his mother never wanted to divulge. As he did that, he kept looking at Ozioma and couldn’t think of anything. He simply knelt down, looked up at the sky, and said: “Chukwu abiama (God), please, go with them and come back with them. Ojiugo must not die, instead of her to die, let me go to Umudike and be enslaved to the deity,”
Ozioma was moved by that gesture, so she walked slowly to him with tears in her eyes. She pulled him up and embraced him. “I am more disturbed than you know but we have to be hopeful that they will come back victorious,”
Having said that, she held him by the hand and took him into the hut.
Ozioma was surprised feeling relaxed in the arms of Amandi but she didn’t have to think of anything to avoid breaking her oath of celibacy.
Ikem was so disturbed as he silently prayed for Ikem and the princess to come back safely. As the thoughts cocooned him in that uncertainty, the name of the little girl that Ikem mentioned inadvertently resounded in his head.
“Chinualumogu (May the gods fight for me),” Amandi pronounced audibly and smiled.
‘I am glad I just remembered her name’ he thought.
Ozioma heard him but didn’t understand what he meant by the name. She looked at him and said: “Chi gi ga-anuru gi ogu (your gods will fight for you)”
Ozioma felt Amandi made a statement with faith but didn’t know that he was just mentioning a name. She understood it literary but that wasn’t what Amandi meant.
Amandi didn’t have to explain anything to her. He simply pondered the meaning of the name and tried to make a sense out of it. He was still baffled at the moment. He simply let out a wintry smile showing how agitated he was.
#OpraDre THE CURSED LANTERN THE CURSED LANTERN THE CURSED LANTERN THE CURSED LANTERN THE CURSED LANTERN THE CURSED LANTERN THE CURSED LANTERN THE CURSED LANTERN THE CURSED LANTERN THE CURSED LANTERN THE CURSED LANTERN
To be continued….
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