TREASURE OF DEATH

THE AILING KING

The king was sick. Wuraola the first wife was troubled. Since they got married twenty five years ago he had never been so sick.

It has been more than a month that he started with a fever; casual ailment that suddenly become life threatening. Death seem looming in no distant time. The time seem fast approaching when the king would transcend into the great beyond where he would no longer hear the crow of the c**k or answer to the gentle music of the palace.

Wuraola was troubled. She was depressed by the weight of impending deprivations of widowhood especially being a royalty. If King Akindele died, her world would end in gross darkness. It is better to die as a queen than outlive the king she thought.

What use? In an instance after the death of the king a queen suddenly becomes repulsive necessary evil like the menstrual cloth. Nobody gives her any recognition; the glory is gone to somebody else. All eyes shifts to the new crowned head.

In Arotile village, the queen only matters for as long as the king lives. Queen has no honour of her own but that which the king radiates. She is like the moon that basks in the resplendent glory of the sun.

In this light, a queen in Arotile will do all she could to keep the husband alive; by all means. The king stopped responding to our world. Akindele lived more in a dream world where the power of terror abode. He is silent to the world of the mortal as he's pulled deeper into the abyss.

Sometimes he would see an animal with ten heads coming to attack him and at other time he saw a kingdom where the people were half human half beast. He would jerk sometimes and start convulsively at other time. This got Wuraola on her toe.

The stress of these past days was telling on her. She was becoming sickly too. Then Wuraola became sick and was lay beside her husband. The palace and the entire village was troubled. People whispers while passing by: Seem the king would die in a couple of days.

In her sick bed she called Arogidigba.

"Before my voice is gone like that of the king, go call Baba Ifa who lives in the outskirt of the village. Tell him to come. For with the elders are answers."

Arogidigba briskly started out and without wasting time got Baba Ifa to the palace.

Baba Ifa began his incantations: "The word we speak to the mountains brings back echoes. Let the spirit world bring good echoes to us."

He placed his head to the ground as he was trying to pick words from the spirits.

"Wuraola, your husband will live and so would you. The sacrifice is: the womb of a young lady. The king needs to be given birth to again. After tonight he will die if the sacrifice is not carried out. Before midnight, get me the sacrifice; and the king would live again."

Baba Ifa stood briskly and was gone.

"Arogidigba, what are you waiting for?" The Queen's command was clear to him.

It was about 8:00 in the night, Arogidigba and five young men swore an oath and then disappeared into the night. They lurked around at one of the outskirts until about 10:00. Then appeared Ereke and Tito.

Ereke and Tito were lovers who were planning to get married in two full moon time. The men pounced on Tito while Ereke fled. Tito was dragged into a nearby bush and was strangulated amidst pleas which fell on deaf ears. Tito died.

They dug the knife into her bowel without any feeling whatsoever. They brought out her wombs as warm blood flows around and splashing on leaves and soils of the ground.

With the womb in their hands they rode two bikes with all their might to get to Baba Ifa before midnight.

He collected the womb and two eyeballs taken from Tito.

He placed the items in a pot which is on fire. He also added leaves of "akori" tree and burnt everything in there to ashes. He made some incantations: Oh let the King live!

Tito's body was found the next day. The season was evil, so no one dare ask questions. She was buried quietly as the parents mourn their lost.

This is the land that devours it's inhabitants.