The Brink of Life

Growth - The Unpleasant Experiences

Adejolu fell silent for a moment, and then his expression changed to a rather serious look. Even in the dim light provided by the crescent on the moderate sized compound, Adetola could still make out his grandfather’s facial outlook, and this particular mood change to him felt palpable even if he were miles away from him. So, he asked, “Is everything okay, grandpa?”

“Certainly, everything is fine, my dear.” He paused a moment, and then continued, “I’m simply contemplating weather it’s a good time to say this to you. I want you to be prepared for the similitudes of life, even though, there doesn’t seem to be any way to prepare for it than to experience it. And reality, my dear, is beyond description.”

Adetola, immediately fell into a very attentive mood.

“Evil exists in this world, you see, and sometimes, even to good people, bad things happen and sometimes, there is no rational explanation for this. Although, the bible states that, ‘like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, a curse without a cause will not fall on it’s intended victim. Perhaps, what we face is a situation of lack of knowledge of the cause. This simply is an admonition to you, that you should live your best life now, and as well prepare for the evil day, because, it comes to everyone in life.”

Adetola didn’t know what to make of the advice, or if he should even consider it an advice. It felt more to him like a prophecy of sorts.

“I probably shouldn’t have said that. You will always be fine, my dear.” Adejolu said after a moment’s study of his grandson’s reaction. And, then, he added, “We should go to sleep now, it’s late night already.

Adetola clicked open his phone, and said, “It’s only 25 minutes past 10, papa.”

In any case, tomorrow is a beautiful day, catch some rest now. You’ve just arrived from a long journey.” He really wished he had not uttered that last statement. What was he thinking anyway? Saying something like that to an 18 year old.

The following morning, Adetola got out of bed as early as 5:00AM. He almost couldn’t sleep all night, in part due to the excitement of his current reality of an holiday in the village with his grandfather, mixed with thoughts of the same man’s last statements before they retired for the night. Nonetheless, he still tried to develop a static website from the video lectures he downloaded. Jquery gave him issues, he didn’t even understand what it means. But, he continued till 3:00 AM when he started to doze off in front of his laptop. By 5:00PM, a nightmare woke him up. But, he had taught himself to not be bothered by nightmares. Still, he remained in his room, anxiously waiting for the day to break. He enjoyed every bit of all the conversations they had. But, that last part about evil happening to good people felt odd to him. It was like a reality he had not been exposed to, a portal to a mental dimension that had been short against him, until then. In any case, he loved his grandfather even more, for telling him about harsh reality. Something else, struck him. It was as if, even his grandfather had not fully figured out why bad things happen to good people. He had said it, more like a thought he was processing, than a form of knowledge he was passing across. “Apparently, it is true that old people don’t know everything, after all.” He felt even more stupid now, that he hadn’t realized that earlier. “What kind of 18 year doesn’t realize that no one is omniscient except God. Ugh!!” He slapped himself on the forehead, and then suddenly remembered his website design practice. He picked up his laptop again from the side of the bed he put it. “I’ve got a company here, if the day has refused to break” he heartily said. He went to bootstrap to use some of the NavBar frameworks. He had downloaded the template of the site he was going to design earlier in the night. He chose a template that looked similar to an accounting one. He was trying to manipulate the Nav items using divs, on the CSS page. He was still stuck on it when his grandfather came to knock on his door to greet him good morning. He was shocked to find that it 2 hours had passed already in the space of simply trying to stick nav bar to the top, and manipulating the items.

He got down from his bed immediately and prostrated to greet him. Just as Adejolu was going to reply his grandson, there was a knock on his front door.

“Nkaaro. Ologi ni oo. Ye si lule?”

“Eye mee boo o. Mee lule” Adejolu replied the woman.

“Did you specifically request for a pap seller to bring for one for you this morning?”

“Not exactly” Adejolu replied with a grim face. He wished the woman had not just interrupted his first morning session with his grandson. “I just happen to be one of the first set of default people she brings it to, almost every morning as soon as she finish preparing it. Do you care for some?”

“I’d like to know what it tastes like.” Then Adetola paused a moment, as if in a thoughtful mood. I didn’t think I saw her the last time I came around.

“No. you didn’t. she just started hawking about some six months ago.” And then he quickly added, as if trying not to forget to elicit an information before events overtake it.

“You don’t take pap in Ibadan?”

“Not exactly. We are more keen on custard and the likes, but, never the local pap. I thought you knew.”

“Well, they are all in the same family. Maize, Guinea Peas, etc. I hope you don’t purge on this though, considering you haven’t taken it before.”

“I’m willing to take the risk.”

Adejolu smiled.

“By the way, grandpa, I’d like to visit the village stream this morning. I hope it’s not far from here.”

Adejolu fell into a thoughtful mood for a moment, “You didn’t seem interested in the place, the last time came around.” He said, trying to proof to his grandson that the not all the aged are quick to be forgetful after all.

Adetola smiled, and replied, “I was only like 12 years old back then. I’ve picked up new interests since then, certainly.”

The old man smiled in return. “You most certainly have. In any case, let’s attend to this pap woman first. We’ll figure that out afterwards.”

They both went out, through the corridor which serves as the only linkage to the front door, and found the elderly woman, about Adejolu’s age, sitting on the veranda, which is only a coach of block and half, higher than the ground level. Adetola wasn’t sure how to place his thoughts. An elderly woman hawking pap around the village. Does she do it just to keep herself busy, or she really needs the funds. He knows that sometimes elderly people engage in various activities of their choosing, just to kill time, and then make money from it. some of it even consider it as exercise. His own grandfather does subsistence farming as a pastime. That realization has a slight amusement to him this morning. In this woman’s case though, Adetola hoped that she was doing it just to kill time as well, and not as a mainstream income source. It would be a sad thing if the later were to be the case.

“Nnle oo. Iin ban mu ooni muri maarun abo aa.”

“Iin lukan laaje eeyi un tan? Oti oo. Omo fe to wo. Sin a kiri luroole?”

“Me ti mo sa.”

“Oda”

“Oora awe”

“Ekaaro ma” Adetola responded, prostrating. His dialect is terrible. So, he decided against trying it with the old woman. It’s safe enough that he understands conversations spoken with it. he helped her place the aluminum bowl that contains the pap back on her head, and then she makes her way out of the compound.

He headed back inside the house, and makes his way to the kitchen to put water in the kettle and place it on fire. He was impressed to find that even his grandfather had gotten an electric kettle. The old man is trying to keep up with the modern life, after all. Adetola was quite sure that his grandfather’s adoption of modernization is as a result of his having been schooled. His dad had mentioned that the elderly man and his wife were teachers in the village’s community grammar school, before he retired. It was from his income that he ensured the education of his children, and that includes his father. Quite a spirited and agile man, Adetola thought, with much respect.

The elderly man met there and assisted with mixing the pap.

“I can do that as well, papa. I used to mix custard back at home. It shouldn’t be that different.”

The elderly smiled, “You probably can indeed. But, this is a little more technical than those ones you’ve mentioned. Let me show how it’s done first, and then you do it by yourself next.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Adejolu thought, he certainly smiles a lot. Something that isn’t quite common in the city. A lot of people seemed particularly serious faced up there, and he wondered why that is. Perhaps, it is due to the harsh realities of life. The things they have to face, in order to make ends meet for their family. For the first time, the consciousness of the importance of having parents, people to look out for you and provide your needs, dawned on him, and he was deeply thankful.

“Nnle lule oo.”

As much as Adejolu enjoyed the company of people, he wished they would hold off this morning, at least for him to spend quality time with his grandson. “There’s someone at the door, again.” Adetola had finished placing the kettle on the gas, and awaiting the water to boil. So his Adejolu requested that he continue stirring the pap, while he go check out who’s at the door. “Just keep up the stirring as you have seen me do, till all the lumps in it dissolve. Got it?” “Perfectly sir.” Adetola replied excitedly, while he watched his grandfather head out the kitchen door, with a smile on his face.

Adejolu unlocked the metal latch behind the sitting room door to gain access to the outside compound. This time, it was one of his two favourite friends at the door, with his granddaughter as well. “You son of a gun!” Adejolu exclaimed with laugher. The two men hugged as though it’s been ages since they last saw each other. Akinwumi is a man with an average height, with round face and pot belly, which he got through heavy drinking. One good side to that is, he has never been caught in any gutter. In fact, he made certain that he does not drink whenever he went to any party. So, only his very close friends knows about his drinking habit. Another thing Adejolu admire about his friend, which he still considers a mystery is that he doesn’t readily get drunk. One aspect they all know they’d certainly loose if they competed against him, is in who to get drunk first in a drinking competition. One time they were on a social gathering where the elderly in the village gather at their usual hideout. These three seldom visit this joint, but, on this particularly occasion, Adeniyi, their third was going to mark his birthday, and had asked them out to the joint. “Just for casuals. We’ll be back before nightfall.” He persuaded them, and they all obliged him, particularly because it was his day, and he was going to be the host. On getting there, another group of friends had challenged them to a drinking competition. “Nothing serious. We’ll stop as soon as one person starts to show signs of getting drunk. And that person it is that looses” one of them had said. Reluctantly, they agreed, and very easily they won. Adejolu will not forget that day in a hurry because he the memory was still fresh in his mind, how he panicked for Akinwumi who represented the three of them. His wife would show him shege, (as they often describe) if he dared got home drunk, and the remaining two of them by extension. She would know that her husband wouldn’t have gotten drunk in a public place, without the presence and support of his closest friends. Their own wives would hear about it, and that would mean trouble on all sides for them. It was a real gamble they were taking. Their hearts were so out that they gave up the price despite winning the game. The idiots had the guts to offer each one of them a free cup of palm wine, as the winning price. The lousy lots. The joke’s on them. In reminiscence though, Adejolu wondered why they had not negotiated and agreed on the what the price will be for the winner, right before the competition started. It must have been the panic from the start, he rationalized. Adeniyi had said with a stern warning on their way home. “This is so not happening again.” And no one had dared to open his mouth in objection.

His attention shifted to the young girl beside his friend whom he recognize so well. “Young lady, how do you do?”

Akinwumi replied, “You do remember her, right? The last time she came around was about three years ago.”

“Certainly, I remember Oluwadamilola, your last granddaughter born by your last son. You two are particularly fond of each other.” Adejolu was particularly more happy to see his friend than he would have thought. “Are you just going to stay out here or you want to come inside?” The three of them went to the living room.

“She came in three days ago, and that is why you haven’t seen me for about a week now. I was preparing for arrival and when she came, we started to gist, and keep me company.” Akinwumi announced to his friend with smile littered across his face.

“So you stole my friend from me, eh?” Adejolu said to Dami. Akinwumi like himself had lost his wife. In fact both women had died together in an accident while travelling to the UK. The bus they boarded to Lagos from Ado-Ekiti, had developed a flat tire on the road, and the driver had panicked due to passenger’s pressure on him to stop the bus and change the tire. He was on high speed, and when he got hailed down by an oncoming vehicle. He didn’t get that one’s message, but had slowed down a bit, when another vehicle overtook and it was that driver that informed him of his flat tire. Still on high speed and pressure from passengers, he suddenly mounted the brakes and the vehicle summersaulted. The two woman had died instantly on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway. It was a fellow passenger who knew the families and was in the same hospital that narrated the story to them. Both men’s friendship had gotten stronger since then. They allowed themselves to become solace points to one another, which provided them strength to get past the pain and sorrow, to camaraderie and then brotherhood.

“Just a week sir” Dami replied with a smile.

“I wouldn’t have forgiven you if you had taken longer.” Adejolu replied the small girl.

Just, Adetola emerged from the kitchen with a small metal bowl of piping hot pap, with milk and sugar slayed on the top.

Adetola took a look at it and looked alarmed, “This boy will kill me”, he said laughing. “Not me and you will take that, son.”

Adetola was confused. “What happended? I prepared it exactly as you described.”

“I can see that. And then you went extra mile. When did you and I agree on all these whist substances atop?”

“They are just milk and sugar.” He paused a moment, and then exclaimed, “Oh! You don’t take sugar.”

“Exactly, why I have been able to stay this healthy despite everything my eyes have seen in this world.”

Adetola didn’t understand how he couldn’t have added them. Even with custard, he still added those. He had never taken any such without garnishing with milk and sugar. Sometimes, he substituted sugar with honey. They are default ingredients with such food as far as he knew. And then it occurred to him, that he should have requested for honey instead or better yet, asked if he would even prefer anything alongside to take with his pap. Thankfully, there’s some more left in the pot.

“I’m so sorry grandpa. There’s some left in the pot hat hasn’t been mixed with sugar and milk, yet.”

Adejolu smiled at his grandson. “Meet, Oluwadamilola. Akinwumi’s granddaughter. She’s about your age, I think. Am I right, Akin?”

“She clocked 18 last week. That was why came here to celebrate her birthday and Christmas with me.” Akinwumi replied proudly.

“Adetola clocked 18 in September, right?” Turning to his grandson to affirm that he had not been erroneous.

“Yes sir.” He turned to the lady, “Nice to meet you, Dami.”

Chapter 5

There’s always something to celebrate at every full moon in Efon-Aaaye, Ekiti, their ancestors firmly support them. This time, their Queen was due to put to bed the second time, having only just given birth this time last year and four moons, the felabration is an endless one for the royal family – heavens truly beam on them and by extension, the entire village, which is in blessings of several sorts -rain falls as due and expected, the new yam came out rather earlier than expected, hunters get more and bigger games than usual, other harvests were bountiful; and the villagers rejoiced big. Everyone was preparing to have a grand reception into the world for the royal child.

It was in the night and the moon outside the royal agbebi’s hut, which is within the palace compound was full, and activities were going on here and there to ensure the safe delivery of another royalty.

Meanwhile, inside the palace, the King and his chiefs were earnestly anticipating the outcome of the delivery exercise.

“He’s got to be a boy”, the king smiled out, suppressing the tension that has built up inside of him.

“But, you already have a son, kabiesi, certainly, a female child would not be bad, you know, so the equation will be balanced -A prince and a princess in the palace. It will go more to emphasize our king’s wealth”. The otun reasoned out. “Abi, ki ni e so pe mo wi, eyin oloye”? ( Or what do you think of my statement, my fellow chiefs?)

“It is no longer news that we’re in the era of free words, so, whatever you have chosen to say, is your business”. The king replied. As far as he was concerned, the question was directed to everyone present in the room, Otun had only applied tactics so as not to seem rude to the king.

And just as the Balogun was about to talk, iya agbebi ran into the palace open court where kabiesi and his chiefs are, and then, the dissipating tension in the room built up again.

Kabiesi was the first to get up from his throne as though it had been an enduring hot seat for him all along the chat with his chiefs.

“iya agbebi, what is the matter? He asked.

*************************************************************************************

Meanwhile, somewhere down in the village’s forbidden forest, a leper was in pangs due to labour pain. She had been banned to the forest this time nine moons ago as a result of leprosy, with pregnancy that no one had knowledge of. Now, her delivery was due, but, no one was available to help her.

She screamed and pushed with the entirety of her strength as though her life depended on it, (although, it truly did) and then her thighs gave way, but, so, did her life.

*****

As though uncertain of where she had suddenly entered into, iya agbebi stood motionless for some few minutes that seemed like painful eternity to the king and his chiefs, as she stepped right at the centre of the open court.

They looked expectantly on the woman, as though she were about to grant them access to heaven or banish them to hell. And then, eventually, she found her voice.

"Your wife is alive and well, Kabiesi". She said.

The king roared with laughter and it was not until then that he realized that he'd been feeling heat in his body, even in the humid weather of the night.

"And my son, is he well too? Can I go and see the both of them, now?" The questions rushed out from his mouth like torrents of rain.

"Not yet, Kabiesi" Iya agbebi replied with a sad look on her face.

And then, the king was alarmed, for he noticed the change in iya agbebi's facial expression.

"what is the problem?" He asked.

" It was a still birth, Kabiesi." she replied.

*****

The infant that had just dropped between her thighs lay there as though lifeless, still on the ground in between her legs, when she woke up. It was to her surprise that she awakened, for just some minutes ago, she thought she saw herself lying unmoving on the leafy ground, and she thought she was too tired to move herself, so she decided to take a rest before she continued on her journey to where she does not know, but, then, she also saw her child who told her that it was not yet her time to embark on such a journey, only for her to wake up due to the wails of the child.

*******************************************************************************

It was a full moon in the palace compound, and the light smiled at everyone who saw it, including the king and his chiefs who are now sorrowful to tears, as a result of the news of the royal birth which had refused to happen.

The king sat awake all through the night in his mini throne, looking at the smiling moon as though it was giving him a message, but then, he thought it was simply making mockery of him, as though a tide of unobvious warnings which neither him nor any of his chiefs had taken cognizance of; had turned around against him. Under normal circumstances, the king would have looked keenly back at it to decipher what he was being told by his dear friend, as he often consider the moon, for a reason that is mysterious even to him, he simply realized that he has liking which is beyond his explanation for the crescent.

But, at this moment, his mind is in too much of a chaos that he feels too distraught to communicate with his pal, his only concern now lies in how he would console his queen and that he figures is beyond his reasoning.

But, he went to the hut where she was supposedly to have delivered, anyway, with nothing in his mind, including the motion of the legs that carried him, but, he has to be by her side, he figured that, that’s his place at this time of their grief.

His chiefs followed him, not knowing where he was going, but, they didn’t want him to grief alone. This has been his fifth year on the throne and his third year into marriage and he grew up with most of them, for they were children of the chiefs who had served alongside with his father before he slept with his ancestors. So, they know him quite well and loved him, not just as their king but, much more their benevolent friend.

As soon as they stepped outside of the main palace building, the otunba, his best friend, knew immediately where he was going and so signaled immediately for the guards to inform the women attending to the Olori, to get the dead infant away from the mother, so that the kabiesi will not see him.

Iyalode and Iya agbebi were the ones who went to bury the infant in the village’s forbidden forest, accompanied by two of the palace guards. Just as they neared heart of the forest, they heard soft wiles mixed up in another sound much like that of a rapidly moving breeze; coming from nearby, neither of other could tell in particular in which direction it was coming from, for it seemed to surround them from every angle.

“Wait” Iyalode said, and turning to her side, asked iya agbebi, “Did you hear that? “

“I thought you didn’t notice it” Iya agbebi, replied.

Being already in dread of where they are, they simply dropped the corpse right on the spot and turned back towards the village, without anyone of them as much as tilt head an inch backwards. It was almost a race for them that early morning around 2:00am.

Upon her waking up, she realized that her baby still lay there between her laps, lifeless. But, she could still here some painful cries and unless she was hallucinating, she decided to find out where the wails were coming from.

She had not moved too far from where she was when she saw the little figure wrapped up in leaves of forest tress. Only the face was visible and she wondered how it got there.

In a mixture of fear and pity, she unwrapped the leaves and carried him and just then she saw the mark which she knew for everything in the world, for she herself has it. It was the natural mark that always come with everyone born in the royal family of the Efon Alaaye kingdom.

***************************************************************************************

Night times and bliss are sometimes pals, but, at some other times, they seem like cat and rat. For this royal lady who had been banished into the forbidden forest for a reason which up till now she still wonders how it happened; she was not quite sure in which feeling of emotions to place the events which have unfolded before her this night, for while at some point, she feels thankful for her restoration back from the lifeless land to that of the living; which could have counted as a bliss unto her, she was also not sure how to place the situation of the royal child which now lay in her arms, that to her is mystery, while though she was not surprised to find royalty in the forbidden forest, she wondered what offence he could have committed or what accusation could have been laid against him, as to warrant his banishment as punishment – but then, wonders shall never end.

Iyalode and Iya agbebi got to the palace gate almost with breathless gasps, neither of them uttered a word all throughout their journey back home and it was because they were in the company of palace guards that had prevented them from taking to their heels since their encounter in the forest.

On getting back to the palace, both women found the Olori in the palace courts together with the king and as if by some mystic chance both of them felt nothing but pity and love for the royalty at that moment. Not that the feeling was unusual, but, at that very moment it was overwhelming so much that not even the fear that chased them up to frontage of the courtyard could make them ruin the pious unity and silence they met. It was all they could wish for after the ordeal of the night, and then, it was without their knowing it. When the day dawns, they would tell the tale. They certainly will, they unanimously agreed without voicing it to one another. And so, they left for the guest wings in the palace compound, where they would spend the rest of the night. Daylight is a friend, and an enemy of their enemy, fear. So, they eagerly awaited it till they drove off to the peace of sleep. Amen!

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In the space of five years between the time of the royal still birth (as the village people now call it), there seem to be normalcy restored to the village and in fact, that, with prosperity as a cherry to their cake. It does look like their wrongdoing (whatever it was) has been forgiving by the gods after all.