Chapter 4: The Tragic End
668 Words
The next morning, just as Ifunanya had predicted, the British soldiers arrived with their heavy weapons. They marched in perfect, tight formations, their red coats bright against the green foliage. At the front of the line walked Ifunanya’s mother.
But they did not realize Umuoka was ready. The moment the soldiers stepped into the clearing near the creek, the war whistle blew.
"Oya!" the war chief roared.
From the dense bushes, the warriors of Umuoka erupted. The British commander frantically shouted orders: "Fire!"
A deafening volley of gunshots shattered the morning peace. The British expected to see bodies drop, but thanks to the powerful Odeshi charms the chief priest had prepared the night before, the bullets did absolutely nothing. The lead projectiles hit the bare chests of the warriors and bounced off like small pebbles. Panic broke out among the British ranks, and they began losing the battle rapidly.
Seeing her vengeance slip away, Ifunanya’s mother grew desperate. She quickly rushed to the British leader. "Retreat for now! I know what to do to break their power!"
She ran past the frontline battle, slipping into the heart of Umuoka. She sprinted straight to the village square, right to the main sacred shrine close to the palace. With a bitter sneer, she committed the ultimate, unspeakable taboo—she climbed onto the altar and peed on top of the shrine, defiling the holy ground to break the village's spiritual protection.
As she ran back toward the forest, she passed the barred windows of the palace prison. She froze, seeing Ifunanya watching her in absolute horror.
"So, it was you," her mother whispered with wild, maniacal eyes. "You betrayed me for them. But it doesn't matter. The goddess will unleash her wrath, and you will die right here with them."
Out in the forest, the consequences were instant. A British soldier pulled his trigger, and this time, an Umuoka warrior fell to the ground, blood pooling in the dirt. The Odeshi charm was broken. The British began shooting down the other warriors, and in no time, all the brave men of Umuoka lay dead in the forest.
The red coats marched straight into the defenseless village. The King finally realized his sacred shrine had been desecrated. He tried his possible best to win the battle with the few guards he had left, but it was to no avail.
The British colony slaughtered everyone in the village. They tore through the palace, dragging Ifunanya out of her cell. The colonial government declared she was the one who had betrayed their initial march by warning the village, and they sentenced her to immediate execution.
Ifunanya’s mother stood by, watching as the soldiers pointed their rifles at her daughter. In that final, horrific second, the blinding fog of her hatred vanished. As the triggers were pulled and Ifunanya fell lifeless to the ground, the motherly love she had buried rushed back all at once.
The crushing weight of what she had done hit her. She had sought to avenge her husband, but instead, she had murdered her own child and destroyed an entire land. Only the little children of Umuoka were left alive, dragged away in chains as slaves for the British colony.
Unable to live with the suffocating guilt, Ifunanya’s mother untied her wrapper and formed a noose, tying it to a heavy tree branch beside her daughter's body. As she slipped her head into the knot, she wept bitterly, whispering her very last words into the wind:
"I want to come to you... so you and your father could forgive me for what I did."
With a final gasp, she kicked the air, joining her family in the silent depths of eternity, while the whispering creek continued to flow, carrying the blood of Umuoka away forever.
- Writer
