CURSE OF THE LIVING DEAD PRINCESS

CHAPTER TWO

Christmas Eve broke in the cold gaiety of the harmattan haze which always heralds the season in these parts. As was often the case a day before Christmas, life in Ominede proceeded in fast motion.

The air was thick with Christmas fever, and the village pulsated with preparations and expectations of a great festival. Even the biting harmattan cold did not deter townspeople from rousing early and rushing to the market for last-minute shopping. Only the likes of goats, sheep, pigs, and fowls awoke from their slumber grudgingly, as if aware that the day was the last for many of them—animals for Christmas feasts were usually slaughtered in many homes on Christmas mornings.

The Emike family woke up unusually early, for they were to travel that morning to Amakri, the hometown of Mrs. Emike. The decision to visit Amakri had been taken by Pastor Emike the night before. The family's initial plan had been to spend Christmas in Ominede, but the preacher changed his mind on their first night there. He had felt a sudden stirring in his spirit to travel to Amakri and spend Christmas with his in-laws instead.

A prompting of the spirit, he called it. A bemused Mrs. Rebecca Emike had protested that she was yet to visit any of her own in-laws, but she gave in eventually to her husband's change of plans. She was glad, though, that this rare Christmas holiday away from church duties in Onitsha was a rare opportunity for the Emikes to spend time with her family in Amakri.

The family of four were on their way before 7:00 a.m. Amakri was about fifty-odd kilometres from Ominede and Samuel was sure he could make the journey in good time. Sitting in the back seat, Samuel Jnr. and Joseph, preschool sons of the preacher were excited as their father's Lexus SUV drove out of the village. Junior, as Samuel Jnr. was fondly called, was the family's first child. He was a calm, handsome boy of five, and he had a striking resemblance to his father. Joseph was a year younger and he was a restless little lad whose delicate features were said to have been inherited from an uncle in his father's family

Samuel hoped that his impromptu decision to spend Christmas at Amakri would turn out to be a pleasant surprise for his in-laws

And were his in-laws surprised!

As was usual in these parts, no sooner had the Emikes arrived than a small crowd of Rebecca's immediate and extended family members gathered around their car to welcome them. The welcome party included her mother, younger brother, uncles, aunts, cousins, nieces and nephews, and many others she didn't know from Adam.

It took the better part of half an hour before Rebecca's mother - who everyone called Mama Rebecca - could have her daughter, son-in-law and grandsons to herself. The old woman was especially pleased to see her grandsons. She was a pleasant-looking elderly woman who had a ready smile for everyone who crossed her path. A retired health officer of the State Ministry of Health, Mama Rebecca and her late husband had lived, worked and raised their children in Onitsha. She had relocated to Amakri only when her husband died.

"Look at Junior! You have grown so tall. You will be taller than your father in no time." She lifted Joseph onto her laps as soon as everyone settled down in the living room. "And see how Joseph has grown into a fine boy..." Mama Rebecca was fond of her grandsons.

She wasn't the only one who was excited to see Junior and Joseph. The two boys had almost been mobbed by the crowd of relatives who welcomed the Emikes. Pastor Samuel couldn't help thinking that the welcome accorded his boys was a bit overdone. He would find out later why everyone was so excited to see his children.

Pounded yam and ugwu leaf soup, the sumptuous meal with which Amakri people welcomed visitors, was served mid-morning and Pastor Samuel and his family ate to their satisfaction. Mrs. Emike and her younger brother thereafter set out to greet some close relatives in the community, as was customary for family members visiting from the city.

The Emike boys were eager to explore the town. It was their first time in their mother's ancestral home and they wanted to see as much of the town as they could. Their father took them later that day on an exploratory tour of Amakri in his car. They spent an hour driving around.

The boys were fascinated by nature's beauty that was evident everywhere in the town - the beautiful hedges bordering homes; well kept front gardens; exotic flowers growing wild in several fields; domestic animals roaming freely around the town and different species of birds too numerous to mention. The Emikes visited the town's main square which doubled as the weekly market, as well as the daily market, the king's palace and the town's government hospital.

They were surprised to find the town's only primary school in ruins. The school's four buildings were dilapidated, their roofs blown off by rainstorms and the entire compound overtaken by bushes.

The discovery was puzzling and, as they found no other school in the town, Pastor Samuel put the question to his mother-in-law that night.

"That primary school has been closed for almost twenty years," Mama Rebecca announced. "The local government shut down the school because it had only a handful of pupils. They said it was a waste of government money running the school."

"So where do the children around here attend school?"

"We have only a few children of primary school age in this town. None has been born here in a very long time. People are afraid to make babies here. You must have noticed, too, that young people are scarce in Amakri. No young person living here was born here. They were all born outside this town and only came back to live in this land because their parents live here." Sadness suddenly enveloped Mama Rebecca.

Pastor Samuel was shocked. "Are you serious, Mama? You mean no child has been born in this town for decades ?"

"You heard me right. The few children you see in this village are here with their parents for Christmas. The few teenagers who live here permanently were born outside Amakri. They came to live here only after they crossed the age of five. These kids attend school in neighbouring villages."

"This is unbelievable!" Samuel exclaimed.

"I was as shocked as you are now when I came to live in Amakri after my husband passed on. Children born in this land die before or after they reach the age of five. It is widely believed here that the land is under a curse. The abandoned school you saw today was once teeming with pupils."

"This is incredible! There must be an explanation for the juvenile deaths. You are a former health worker, Mama. Isn't it possible that this village is suffering from a plague of some sort? You know, an epidemic, a disease no one has discovered?"

Mama Rebecca shook her head. "The state government has sent several health missions to this village. There is no health challenge here. None of the deceased children in Amakri died of any known medical cause. I strongly believe that Amakri is under a satanic attack. A terrible curse."

Samuel frowned. "Mama, why didn't you tell me about this ... this supposed curse? You know I am a pastor. I run a deliverance ministry..."

"I didn't see the point getting you involved," the old woman cut in. "I was told when I came to Amakri that many powerful men of God have tried in vain to break this curse."

Samuel had something to say to that, but he chose not to continue the conversation. What his mother-in-law had just told him was simply uncanny.