MY HUSBAND IS A RIVER SPIRIT

EPISODE 2: The Man From The Water

The morning after I saw him, my mother woke me up with cold water. "Amara! You slept by the river! Have you gone mad?"My wrapper was still damp. Sand was in my hair. But I was not cold anymore. My skin was glowing, like someone rubbed palm oil on me."I fell asleep, Mama," I lied. She hissed. "If your father sees you, he will beat you. You know you are not supposed to go near Osimiri River after 6pm. That river does not like women! "But I could still hear his voice in my ear. You called me. In school that day, I could not concentrate. My best friend Zainab kept nudging me."Who is the boy? You are smiling like mumu," she whispered. "No boy," I said.But by 5pm, my legs were carrying me back to the river. I didn't want to go. I swear. My body just went.He was already there. Sitting on the same stone. This time he was wearing a white shirt and black trousers. Like a normal Yahoo boy. But his feet were not touching the ground. And his eyes... his eyes were still river water."You came back," he said. And he smiled. My heart almost stopped."I did not call you," I said, trying to be strong. "You are a spirit. Leave me alone. "He laughed. The water behind him laughed too, small waves clapping. "Amara, I am 300 years old. I have seen many girls. But you... on the night you were born, your grandmother brought you to this river. She said, 'Osimiri, take this child as your wife when she grows. Protect her.' She promised you to me. "My mouth opened. My grandmother died when I was 2. My mother never told me this. "That's a lie! My grandma cannot promise me to a river! ""It is a blood promise," he said, and suddenly he was in front of me. He did not walk. He just appeared. He smelled like rain and fresh earth. "And last night, you cried by my bank. You said, 'I wish someone would love me for real.' You called me. A promise and a call... now you are my wife. ""I am 18! I want to go to university! I don't want to marry a spirit! "He looked sad for the first time. So human. "I know. That is why I will wait. But I will not wait far." He brought his hand close to my cheek, but did not touch. The air between us was hot. "Every man that tries to touch you now will run. Because you have my mark. ""What mark? "He touched my collarbone lightly with one finger. It burned. Not painful. Like cold fire. I looked down. There was a faint blue circle, like a small wave, glowing under my skin. It faded. "Amara!" A loud voice shouted. It was Chike, the boy who has been disturbing me in our street. He was running towards us with a machete. "Leave my girl alone! "My spirit husband did not even look at him. He just looked at me and said, "Watch. "Chike ran, and then as soon as his leg entered the water sand, he slipped and fell face flat. His machete flew. He screamed. The river water behind us rose small, like it was angry. Chike got up and ran away shouting "MAMI WATER! MAMI WATER!"I started shaking. "You will kill people because of me? ""No," he said softly. "I will only kill the ones who hurt you. "He then brought out a small black seed, like a river stone, and put it in my palm. It was warm. "Plant this behind your house. When you miss me, water it. I will come. ""What's your name?" I whispered before I could stop myself. He smiled again, and this time I saw his teeth were perfect, too perfect. "Your people call me Osimiri. But you... you can call me Kael. "And just like that, he walked into the river. He did not swim. The water just opened and swallowed him. I stood there, holding the black seed, my chest beating like drum. On my way home, all the boys on the road who used to whistle at me suddenly kept quiet and moved away from me. My mark was working.