SOMEWHERE IN AFRICA

Chapter 1: The Dilemma

Weeks had passed since the last of the mysterious incidents that had forced themselves upon them. However, her sorrow seemed not to have come to an end just yet, as she mourned day and night.

Every second of her life since then had been so weird that her husband, Chief Ibikunle, found it very difficult to keep his arms folded, and he left home in search of a lasting solution.

In her husband’s beautiful mansion in the city of Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria, Mrs. Ibikunle was sitting on the perfectly tiled floor in the living room, wearing an all-black attire—a unique dress code for a person who is grieving, having lost loved ones, especially younger members of a family or relatives.

Tears streaked down her face as she reflected on the recent sad events of her life. Abidemi was the first child of her four daughters; she had been in the labor room for days, enduring pain and difficult times during childbirth.

All efforts by the CMD, Dr. Bintu, who had been having sleepless nights since she was admitted, as well as those of the other nurses around her, went in vain as she finally gave up the ghost two weeks after being admitted to the hospital.

Right at the visitors' corner, people were allowed to wait for their respective relatives who were in the hospital, and the news of her daughter's death reached her.

“What was that supposed to mean?” she asked, pointing her index finger at the stretcher that had been pulled out of the ward.

When no one was ready to say a word to her, she stood on her feet, looking very angry, and said, “Are you people deaf, or have you all gone insane?” Her anger increased as she pressed further, wishing someone could just tell her the blunt truth about the fate of her admitted daughter. She raced toward the moving stretcher in a bid to catch up with the nursing team assigned to take her remains to the hospital mortuary.

Having realized what she was up to, her husband, Chief Ibikunle, who was sitting among the visitors, rose to his feet and walked up to her, saying, “Woman, God is the sole giver of life, and He is also the taker. He does as He pleases; do we have the right to question His decision? No!” he courageously said, trying to calm her down.

“So, she’s truly gone?”

She abruptly interrupted as she childishly displayed and untied her wrapper, which was then thrown on the floor and appeared to be very difficult to control.

“My Abidemi is dead just like that," she let out a snappy, false laugh as she continued. "That must be a joke.” She was racing up and down in a circle, attempting to bite whoever came closer to her.

It took a hell of an effort before she could finally be calmed and accept her fate before leaving the hospital for her husband's house on that sad day.

Her reflection on the past didn't stop there; she took a deep breath and then shook her head left and right while sitting. She rose to her feet and walked a few meters across the large living room to the window. She pulled the blinds aside, revealing the outside world with a clear view of the sky. She looked straight and deep into the beautiful sky for a few minutes, and then she began another reflection on a recent past event.

Right in the compound, they stood beside one of the chosen expensive cars in the garage for the day's outing, having set out for an event on a Saturday morning. The arrival of a visitor was announced by the gateman, who was at his duty post. He was asked to check who it was, after which he was told to open the gate, having realized he was their son-in-law.

Mr. Quines was the husband of their second daughter and had come to break the sad news about his wife, who had died early in the morning while in the labor room. This news wasn’t expected; Mrs. Wuraola instantly collapsed on the floor as soon as the sad news was broken.

The visibly affected husband was in a dilemma; he summoned the courage within as he sought the assistance of everyone present. She was assisted into the vehicle and rushed to the hospital, where she was able to regain her consciousness. At the end of this, she took another deep breath, still looking sad, and another reflection on the sad events of the past took place.

While in the kitchen, putting things together for the day’s breakfast, she heard the voice of Adebimpe, her third child, who had come on a visit alongside her husband, Dr. Woleola. She immediately left the kitchen to meet them in the living room.

“See who has come to pay us a visit,” she happily said as she abandoned what she was doing, dropped the knife in her hand, and gave a warm hug to her son-in-law and then her daughter.

“The latest couple in town!” she said, gazing directly at her as she continued. “I honestly love this couple’s outfit,” she jokingly admired, sending them a lovely smile as she continued. “You guys are really amazing. Your combination reminded me of our own days too; my childhood days, back then, were satisfactorily spent. Your father and I never went out separately during many occasions we attended; we were more or less like twins. Humm, darling, you just needed to see us together back then. Adebimpe mi," she placed her right hand on her heavy tummy, saying, "Let me assure you today, your delivery day shall be free of any difficulty and excessive pains associated with childbirth; my Creator shall ease your way through the process. No one has ever used knives on a goat while in labor; you will never have any of your babies with the help of knives. Apeke mi, a safe and pain-free delivery is your portion every time you go on your knees in labor, in this world.”

While this was going on, Adebimpe started coughing, and this went on ceaselessly for a few seconds, after which she began complaining about stomach pains. Gradually, she started losing her strength until she fainted and was immediately rushed to the hospital, where she passed away.

Returning to her senses, Mrs. Wuraola sobbed bitterly as she dragged back the blinds and gently walked to a corner of the living room. There were some beautiful pictures of the children placed side by side on the wall. One was picked and taken off the wall; she looked very closely at it and said, “Ekunsumi, I will protect you with the last drop of my blood. Your fate shall never be like that of your elder sisters. I shall not weep over you as I did over them; my God shall always watch over you, and my journey here in this world shall be greater than that of a snake that crawled across a rock without any trace.”

While she was lost in thought, she heard a sound from a car outside, but she was too far away in her thoughts to notice it. The Chief had just returned from his efforts to uncover the mystery behind their ordeal. His personal assistant alighted and quickly opened the door for his boss immediately after the driver had switched off the car engine. The Chief climbed down and handed his suitcase to the assistant, then he followed him straight to the living room.

Her mind had wandered far and was met with despair. He moved closer to her and said, “Woman, when exactly are you going to end this? Months have passed; the deed has already been done. Your health should be considered if you choose to continue doing this.”

His attention shifted from her face when he noticed the picture in her hand. He collected it and said, “See, it is my prayer to ensure she outlives us after we have grown old,” he boldly stated, pointing a finger at the picture as he continued.

“She won’t share in the fate of her sisters; death won’t be our portion in this home again. Cry no more; I have decided to visit a sorcerer whom I recently ran into. He had predicted what we're experiencing today and had warned me against rejecting his advice.”

He had recently been told about the possibility of facing some challenges that would be too heavy for him unless some steps, which to him contradict his beliefs, were taken.

Having witnessed the deaths of his children, the warnings of the sorcerer had come to fulfillment. A few days later, they had been on the road and had traveled for some hours, very far away from the city, heading straight to a village on the outskirts of Abeokuta.

After driving through the smooth and rough parts of the road, they reached the last junction described in their directions. They turned right after locating the signboard with the address, Apagun Village, their destination.

A few minutes later, they began to see muddy houses on the left and right as they navigated slowly through the untiled rough road. It was a sparsely populated village. Looking left and right as they gently drove on, they spotted a muddy house with the inscription boldly written on the front. The chief realized they were already at the place they had left home to visit.

“Slow down,” he said to the driver as he peeped through his side window. “Reverse the car a bit. This is where we’re coming.”