Olokun pt1 (the wind of destiny)

Another Chapter In A Tragic Book

Chapter 12

21 OCTOBER 1990

Ekiata felt sorry for the people in the tale he had just heard. He did not know them or how their story was related to or solved his current problem. Their lives are totally different, a valid and unquestionable fact. But come to think of it, they shared something in common; the injustice of having to watch the life of a loved one get ruined, because some unseen forces, who had issues amongst themselves felt that their war could not be fought without the involvement of innocent powerless humans who knew nothing of the root of the battle between them. They did not care if the person in question or their families were willing to accept the huge burden, the only thing they cared about was that someone did their sorry work for them and the glory for the deed was given and the people who faced the danger received goats or chickens, they gave the people in question powers; powers which did more harm than good to them, powers associated with a lot of taboos, powers that enslaved those who wielded them, powers that separated loved ones. Anyways that was another matter, right now he had to get to the Olokun priest's house, he had to find a way around this problem and if necessary a way to ease this burden from his shoulders and that of his young child, one thought lingered in his mind though, why had his mother told him this story? Because it had not shown a way that would bring a solution to this problem. If she had not told him the story in order to provide a solution to his problems then why had she told it to him, she had not even spoken her mind on the situation on ground and her behavior generally since she came to his house that morning had been all-round strange, she had described the color of the child's eyes even before seeing them and she had rushed out of his house like one who was being chased by demons to the Olokun priest's house and had kept a quick pace since then to his house. He did not want to hurt his mother's feelings but he had questions and if they were not answered, this niggling feeling of fear and confusion would not go away. “Mama” he called her with fear in his voice and confusion in his eyes.

Turning to look at her son, she saw the concern in his eyes and said with a compassionate voice; “Omo ni mè, I see the pain in your eyes and I hear the confusion and fear in your voice, but I want to let you know that everything is going to be alright and that this occurrence is not a strange one, your daughter is not the first and I do not think she would be the last one to go through this experience, I know you are wondering why I told you the story as it does not provide an answer to your question nor solve the situation at hand, but I want you to know that this situation is like a coin, with two sides, it can either be good or bad.” “Mother you are worsening my situation”, he said, looking even more confused than he was before, “All these parables and proverbs are not giving me the answers I need mother, first you tell me of a story that has nothing on common with me, next you tell me my situation is like that of a coin. Please I am tired of all these stories and wise words mother and I do not think I want to hear them again, all I want is an explanation mother, and a very clear one, not words laced with hidden meanings. “Now, I see your father's impatience and none of my wisdom in action, Do you not know that life is a deep experience and that such proverbs and mysterious words help to convey heavy thoughts to those it is intended for and still make sure those who are not meant to know anything about it do not understand whatever is being discussed, especially if it is a delicate matter, we are in Agbonifo’s street and I know that you are aware that nothing is a secret on these streets, and if one is not careful, words spoken against another person would get to their ears even before they are spoken. I taught you better dear, and these repetitions are not necessary”, she said as she waved to the pregnant woman who roasted corn at the last junction before Agbonifo's house. She was evading his questions, but it did not go past Ekiata, he noticed it and it angered him. Why would his mother do such a thing at such a time, she knew that he needed all the answers he could find and he needed it quickly, he was not going to allow her do this especially not at such a time. “Mama please stop all these evasions and give me the answers I need, do not give me that look of confusion because I know that you know what my questions are and you have most of the answers, if not all”. He ended. His mother was cut off guard, there was no way she was escaping this, she had been beating about the bush, since not because she wanted to keep her son in the dark but because she wanted him to hear everything he needed to know from the lips of the Olokun priest, most of which would be unpleasant to him. “Since you want answers Alexander, you will have them, but I am not sure I can give you all of them, but that which I have I will give you......”, “Go on with it Mother” he interrupted her impatiently”, “I am Eki, my mother was the last connector, I was the little child that watched the river swallow the bodies of both her parents, sometimes I ask myself what would have happened if she had done the right thing and taken the right precautions, I spent my youth searching for answers to these questions and what I learned after my search was that nothing happens without a reason and that God allows tragedy to happen for a reason, maybe if my mother had not died I would have not been able to go to the big city of Benin and see life from another angle and I would probably have not met your father, so hold on strong my son, because this is a war which God has given you a capacity to fight, and please close your mouth, it will not be a good thing if Agbonifo's children spread the word that you attract flies to your lips with your inability to close them”, she ended as they arrived at the Olokun priest's house.

The whole area around the compound was deserted except for three little children who played a game of soccer with a rotten orange that was on the verge of being totally squashed from the strain of different feet hitting it from all sides, in front of the priest's compound. “Okoro”, Ekiata called out to the eldest of the children, he wondered why he and the rest of his siblings were not in school. The boy ran over to him and bowed to the ground greeting him and his mother who replied with a nod and a beautiful smile as she touched his shoulders motioning him to stand up. “Ndor, why are you not in school and where is your father?”, he replied “He is at the shrine Eepa, he asked us to be on the lookout out for you, that is one of the reason I and my sisters did not go to school”, “Okay, lead the way to the shrine”, Ekiata replied gruffly. He was not happy about any of this, this issue was ruining his crystal clean reputation and rubbing his integrity and honesty in the dust, it was already enough that he had birthed a connector then this!!!, This was not how he had planned to spend the few years before he retired. While he was lost in thought, the boy took his siblings inside, asking them to not come out till their mother came or he came back and after closing the door and making sure that they had securely locked the door, he trotted towards the shrine. Ekiata was so lost in thought that it took a nudge from his mother to bring him back to reality. In a matter of minutes they were in front of the shrine, Ekiata was not prepared for what he saw, he had expected to see a mud house just with palm fronds for a roof, he had expected to see chalk and the blood of chickens used to make markings on the wall, he had expected carved idols all around, but what he saw shocked him, it was a white house with corrugated metal sheets for a roof, there was no blood on the wall and no marking of chalk whatsoever, he made the sign of the cross as he entered the corridor.

They were led to a very clean living room with not even an iota of dirt nor any graven image whatsoever. Some minutes later Agbonifo walked in, instructing his son to go home and with his little ones before they got tired of staying inside and decided to come out. “Eliee Nnem Agbonifo greeted as he bowed to the ground to which she quickly tapped him so he could stand up then he walked to the armchair that faced Ekiata and sat on it. “Ekiata I know that you are not a patient and not one given to much talk, so I will go straight to the point”, he said as he took his seat, “Your daughter's situation is not a problem, is not a bad thing, it is something that will be of benefit to both you, your family and our community at large......”, “Agbonifo please stop”, Ekiata roared as he rose to his feet, from the stories I have heard, a connector is nothing but a sacrificial lamb whose life is served on the platter of the desire of your gods and the necessity of a people who care nothing about them, people whose own dreams are ignored just because some spiritual entities find it pleasing to feast on vulnerable people and their ignorance”. Agbonifo was shocked, he had not expected such an outburst from Ekiata, and yet his actions were understandable, he would do the same thing if he was in his shoes, but they had no choice here, there was nothing that could be done except to cloak her powers, till was of age to decide if she really wanted them, he would suggest it and see what Ekiata's reaction would be. “Ekiata, I understand how you feel, please sit, I have a suggestion though, seeing as this powers in question have become a bone of contention, I would suggest that a cloaking spell be used on her in order to protect her and keep her powers hidden till she's of age to decide whether she wants them or not”. Ekiata's mother was satisfied with this, it was glaring on her face what her thoughts were, it was a good thing as it would give her the opportunity to teach her child all about her powers in order for her not to make the same mistakes her mother made. But Ekiata was not happy about this suggestion, it was like giving a temporary solution for a permanent problem, like moving the inevitable forward, it was not totally escaped just shifted to a later date, but before he could say anything, he felt his mother's sharp fingers dig into his arm, looking up at her face the look he received was a deep dangerously piercing “Ekiata do not speak again, accept that which is given to you and stop this petty attitude of being insatiable, ”, Ekiata was livid, he rose and snatched his arm of her grasp, her fingers left a scratch on his arm which began to ooze blood, he stomped out of the house and walked home.

When he got home, he met his wife packing the clothes from the morning's washing into a bowl, they were dried already. “Welcome home my husband”, she said but he did not hear her, his face was as dark as a thunderstorm, that face was laden with worry pain and frustration, and she knew that it would not be nice to follow him immediately and barrage him with questions, so she kept folding the dried laundry. Minutes later, just as she finished folding the laundry, her mother-in-law walked in also, and she was not smiling, to make matters worse, she walked towards her with the ‘it's your fault things are not right look’, and Eliza was not sure she was ready for whatever would come out of it. “Good evening mother, I hope you are fine” she asked with a firm voice even though her heart was beating at a very quick pace, and to this question she got the classic look that every African mother was an expert at giving, so she dropped her head and carried her laundry basket with her and started going inside, but was stopped by her mother-in-law's voice saying, “Eliza, how do you soften that stony heart of his?”, Eliza was shocked at the question and she was rendered speechless for some minutes, she did not even realize her mother-in-law was in front her already “Did you hear me?”, she asked, “I am sorry mother”, Eliza replied, “I was thrown aback by your question, the truth is that, I do not have any control over Alexander whatsoever, he is a man who follows his heart and does not do anything that he does not find comfortable with”, she replied, suddenly she noticed that her mother-in-law's legs were shaking, she was definitely hungry, she had not had any breakfast before going out this morning, so she said, “Mother, I think it would be better if we had this conversation after you have eaten your breakfast”, Eki had not expected it to be so evident that she was extremely hungry, this certainly for matters of the belly, but this part of her body had a mind of its own and she was not going to argue with it anymore or she would fall down, besides she had not had any breakfast before embarking on that trip to Agbonifo's house, which she certainly did not regret, not just because it helped her to make a sensible decision which her son was too angry to make, but because she had finally been given a second chance to help prevent another tragedy. “I am hungry and I am grateful that God has given you a keen eye for things, maybe then you will understand your daughter's situation”, she side with a very tight smile, not failing to notice that Eliza's calm face now carried a worried look, she did not hate Eliza but she was not comfortable with her, when her son had told her that he was going to marry an Ibibio woman, she had not been too pleased, not because she had anything against the Ibibio people but because she had expected her son to marry an Obti woman, she had made her reservations known to her son, but it only made him dug in his heels on the matter, and when she had gotten to know her, her reservations were even stronger, she had none of the patience of the Obti women and Eki had feared that the union would not last, she had tried to talk her son out of marrying her but she only received a gruff nod and weeks of icy stares and being totally ignored by her son, that was when she knew that this was a battle that she would not win so she gave in, she had feared that the marriage would not last, but to her surprise, it had and much longer than she had expected and that was when she had finally accepted Eliza fully into the family and right now more than ever she needed her to use her charms on her son to accept her decision.

After a sumptuous breakfast of boiled yam and garden egg sauce, Eki knew it was time to have that discussion with her daughter, as she bent to pack up her plates, she said “Leave them, we have a very important and delicate discussion”, “Okay mama, but let me bring the child here so I can breastfeed her, she has been very patient with me today, she slept through out the time I washed the clothes and I know she would be hungry by now”, she said as she carried the baby out of the crib and put her to her breasts, taking a seat in front of her mother-in-law. Eki cleared her throat and asked, “Where is your husband?”, “He is in his room with his face to the wall, he clearly does not want to speak to me, should I call him here mama”, “No my child, what I want to say is for your ears only”. “Something was not right”, her mother-in-law had never called her ‘my child’ before, not even at the hospital whet she was in labor, and now she wanted to tell her a secret, she hoped her daughter was not going to be used for or involved in any ritual, she would not accept it at all not even in death, yes her child was special but no one would use that as an excuse to possess her with evil spirit or anything of such sort, she had chosen not to think of her child as a connector but as a messiah to her generation but before she made her objections known, she would listen to whatever her mother-in-law had to say. “Okay mama so what is it?”, “It is about your child, she........”, “What about my child?, Is she going to die?,”, Eki laughed cynically “Do not be ridiculous, nothing is wrong with her child and she certainly is not going to die, I just want to explain who your child is to you and everyone at large, and why her life is very important”, “Ah thank God”, Eliza said heaving a sigh of relief, and then Eki went on to tell her about her mother and about Cassandra's powers, when she got to the part where Ekiata stormed out of the Olokun priest's house, she smiled understandably, then. She asked “So mother what is the way forward?”, Eki smiled and said “Finally someone who understands, I asked Agbonifo to perform the cloaking ritual, and he gave me this cowrie bracelet to wear her, and he warned that she must never take it off and one more thing that she must never go to the river till she comes of age and is fully aware of who and what she really is”, “Okay mama” Eliza answered as she put the cowrie bracelet on her daughters wrist, and immediately the color of her eyes changed to the piercing brown that it was at birth, Eliza was relieved, she would never have accepted this but since it helped keep her daughter's powers hidden, she accepted it, right now she would accept anything that would protect her child, she was brought back to reality by her husband's voice as he walked in, being he was, he went straight to the point, “Mama, I have decided to take my family to the city of Benin”, His mother could not believe her ears, “But....”, She started to say but was cut short by “I have made my decision and there is nothing you will say that will change my mind, we will leave in a month's time. Elizabeth please come and give me food, I am very hungry” he said walking out of the room. None of the women argued, because they knew it was useless.