Caravel

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 3

The moist smell of the morning that filled his nostrils and the dew running down his back did not seem to bother Okafor at all.He whistled along with the birds singing high in the trees, watching he sky brighten as the sun rose lazily and the crowing c**k announce it's arrival was just the way he loved to start his day.

''Hmmm" he mumbled bringing the carved stone closer to his eyes to observe the sharp edges and grinned in happy satisfaction. He picked up a stick lying next to his foot and tied it to the stone, when he was done he put it back on the ground. There were others like that lying on the floor he looked to see if it was enough and indeed it was.Okafor rose from the stone on which he had been sitting, brushed off the stone fragments from his wrapper and tied it tightly around his waist.

''Adaeze! Adaeze!" He called

''Yes papa!" Came a voice from inside the hut

A tall beautiful girl emerged from within, her dark skin decorated with black artistic design.She had a piece of wrapper tied around her chest and another on her waist which as also graced with beads as was her neck ankles. Her hair was plaited bound with thread into four sections.A sight to behold.

''I will be joining the men for the hunt this morning."

''Would you like to have something to eat first before you go?"

''Oh not at all, there's no time for that,the other men will soon be here"

''Okay but you will at least have water before you leave"she insisted and hurried to the kitchen behind the hut denying him the chance to protest. Okafor shook his head

''Just like her mother"he thought

Okafor was a huge man though touched by time, the white hairs on his head and wrinkled skin were it's only effect for he was as strong as ever.His thoughts were distracted by the loud voices drawing closer to his compound,men both the youthful and aged walked into the compund.

''Igwe!!!!" They hailed bowing

''You are all welcome"okafor replied smiling at the men whose attention seem to be directed to something behind him.He turned to see what it was.

''Good morning"Adaeze greeted the morning

''Good morning"they chorused hypnotised by her

She handed the cup to her father and stood quietly as he drank from it.when he was done he gave it back to her, wishing them good fortune she returned back to the kitchen. Once she was out of sight,the men commended her beauty some even requested to have her hand in marriage.

Okafor's shoulders rose with pride and he laughed

''Adaeze will make her own choice"he replied them. It was an uncommon answer and indeed it was his uncommon ways that made him king.

It was so many years ago when it happened, yet he could remember it all as though it was the day before.His village was raided, the night was cold because it had been raining. Ifeoma, his wife had just set down dinner when a man staggered into the hut and collapsed on the ground. Ifeoma who was the most famous healer in the village did her best for him but it was already too late

''Leave this place! they are coming! Leave now!" He struggled to say before he died.He was one of the King's guard.

Hurriedly they scurried to get what they would need and fled.Okafor can still remember what their screams were like and how the fires lit up the night sky . Ifeoma who was heavily pregnant soon became very exhausted and they hid behind some bushes and hoped for the morning.

Many days they walked feeding on fruits when their food ran out before they got to the next village . Unfortunately at the entrance the guards prevented them from coming in and turned them back apparently rumors of the raid had spread like wide fire and so afraid of being raided they would not let in people who sort refuge in the fear that the raiders may decide to come after them.

''We cannot let you in but you can find refuge in the evil forest no one ever goes there, only the cursed" the guard said

So they went on their way heading to the forest, it was not long before the contractions started and ifeoma could go no further. She had helped so many women deliver their babies but now there was no one to help her except her husband who knew nothing of it.Scared and confused he felt helpless,he did whatever instructions his wife struggled to give amid her pain and the baby was born.

''It's a girl"he said with wide smile holding the tiny baby in his arms

''Let me see her"ifeoma requested weakly

Okafor placed the baby in her arms.

''What a beautiful child you are,Adaeze will be your name"she said kissing her forehead.She smiled at Okafor, slowly her eyes closed and she passed.

All his life he had been taught how a man should always show strength no matter what and crying was a demonstration of weakness. He had constantly prided himself in being a man but at this moment as the tears ran down his cheeks he realised it was strength to cry when in his heart he wanted so much to do even more to ease the pain he was feeling.

He took the baby and put a wrapper around her.Okafor buried his wife, grieving for many days without food or water but he constantly fed the baby as he journeyed with her to the evil forest. When he finally got to the place, he put the baby on the ground,head bowed he fell on his knees and sobbed.Suddenly he heard the baby laughing, he lifted his eyes slowly to look at her, her tiny hands were swinging in the air trying to caught a beautiful butterfly flying around her. He smiled at first and then joined her laughter. Rising to his feet he picked her up and for the first time he noticed she looked just like his wife especially her beautiful brown eyes.At that moment her smile broke through his grief and love filled his heart so he decided to give her a home.

For the weeks that followed, he busied himself with building a hut and taming the land which he eventually did. The child was strong and seemed determined to live, she was never sick , hardly cried and grow strong. Once she was old enough, Okafor strapped her behind his back and began searching the forest for people he could help, those banished into the forest and if any was found , he would take them back to the hut to feed, cloth and help them start a new life. Soon one hut became two and two became many more.One day, after Okafor came back from his search, the people came together to his hut,they called him out and made him king

''We have decide to become one people with you as our king and may your household rule over us forever" the eldest man said and as he bowed down, the rest of the people did likewise and so the village was founded, it was called THE VILLAGE FOR STRANGERS.Together the people worked together and built a palace for Okafor it was the biggest compund and had the largest number of huts,which were the widest and tallest in the village.

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Reaching out for the leaf, she plucked it from it's banch and placed it into the basket she was carrying ,it was filled with leaves.Taking a moment, she examine the garden and was satisfied with the view.She was heading to the kitchen when she first hearrd the sound, it was coming from far away.

''What is happening?"she wondered as she stuffed the leaves into the pot, fiĺled it with water and placed it over the fire.Adaeze threw in more firewood and waited for it boil then she took some of it into a bowl . One her way out the kitchen to the hut she noticed the noise drew closer to the compound although her curiosity rose she decided to concentrate on her work. Nnamdi was sitting on the mat when she walked in

''How are you feeling today? She asked handing the bowl to him

''Alot better today"he replied with a weak smile

''I can see that, drink up so you can get even better"she said smiling

Adaeze was the strongest healer in the village,her father had told her that he noticed she had a kin interest in healing at a very young age and she preferred being by his side whenever he was taking care of someone sick than playing with the other girls.Okafor was not a healer but had picked up the skill from helping ifeoma whenever he was not farming or on the hunt and it became very useful to him in caring for the people he found.Adaeze learnt from her father and soon became even better, she was a natural.

The noise was now in the compound she went out to see what it was and there was a crowd of people.Two men were carrying something, she moved closer to see what it was, It was a man! She stopped in her tracks in utter amazement, never had she seen anything like it, his skin.

''He must be cursed"she thought finding the courage to continue to walkcloser

The man was unconscious and looked wounded, his skin was like the stones at the bank of the stream that was the only way she thought to compare it.

''Papa what is happening?"she asked once she got close enough

''We were checking the traps on our way back from the hunt and we found him fallen into one of them, he was unconscious but we managed to pull him out"

She looked at him closely, he was carrying something across his shoulder and his clothes were stained in blood

''Take him to that hut"she ordered the men pointing at it and quickly headed to pick herbs and make medicine for him.

''My king, live forever! This man has been cursed by the gods look at this skin, ghost like, I fear his curse may fall on us all" Ebuka spoke boldly from the murmuring crowd

''Oh my people, let us not be quick to forget that most of us standing here today were said to be cursed but look at us now our children playing in our compounds, our barns filled and our health good. Do not turn your backs now because we all were once like this man needing help.Do not forget in this land no one is turned back at the gates so we shall take him in"Okafor charged the people

''Igwe!!!"the praises rang and one by one they felt.

In the hut, Adaeze was kneeling beside the man with a bowl of water and using a piece of cloth to clean him up.Her father walked in and joined in helping her clean off the blood and mud that he was totally covered in so they could try to heal him.

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In a shock he opened his eyes, he turned in direction of the sound that woke him nothing was there but the wind shaking the trees. Knight neighing made him even more frightened his eyes moved over to the carriage and something moved.Quickly with one hand,he lit up a branch that had been lying on the ground in the blazing fire and held up his sword in the other.

''Is anyone there?" He asked frightened turning around quickly at the sound of a branch breaking.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed his face from behind.

In a shock he opened his eyes again all he could see was the roof of the tent he looked around, there were maps lying on the table at the other end and suddenly a hand grabbed his face from behind.

Diego woke up in a shock, he couldn't see a thing only thick darkness he tried to moved but felt pain all over his body and his head so he laid back down and drifted into sleep. For several days he could hardly keep awake, his eyes open for a moment and there she always was sometimes rubbing something on his leg or his chest other times forcing some liquid down his throat that was usually bitter before he drifted off again.

One morning he eyes opened and this time he was wide awake.He sat up and looked around absolutely clueless of where he was .Diego tried to get to his feet but fell back down severally, his right leg had sticks bound firmly to it, finally on his feet,he limped towards the door. The sun rays was blinding so he held his hand over his eyes, slowly he became accustomed to the light and his environment became clearer.It was a large compound with houses made of clay and a fence from tree branches, a strange environment indeed he thought. Diego was confused, he had no idea wear he was.

Suddenly Diego saw a girl emerge from one of the huts, Her skin was dark like he had never seen before,she was carrying a bowl that slipped from her hands when she saw him.The girl ran towards him excitedly, she spoke to him in a language he did not understand. It might have been the look on his face because she pointed to the stone beside him and he sat down. She knelt down in front of him and reached out for his injured leg, Diego made to pull away but the look on her face made him stay still instead.The girl was very gentle as she examined his leg and slowly it all came back to him again, he was not quite sure if it was in a dream or in reality but he remembered he had seen her before doing the same thing she was doing now, trying to help him.She was beautiful.

When Adaeze was done she went into the kitchen, got some food and set it before him.She stood waiting for him to eat it but instead he did nothing so she took a bite of the roasted yam after dipping it in red oil. Diego watched her and did same, the food had a strange taste in his mouth, so he spat it out immediately and she screamed at him in anger.The anger Diego saw on her face made him take and swallow the second bite and the next and the next till he was all done.Adaeze smiled heartily.

The days that followed were different soon he was strong enough he often tried to leave the compound and was stopped every time by an older man who he decided was the girl's father but he never stopped cause the very next day he would be seen trying again.Diego was curious about this place he had never seen anything like it before in all his life, Adaeze noticed it on several occasions she caught touching thing around or staring with such a look in his eyes like that of a child discovering the world for the first time.

One morning while preparing to go to the stream with the other girls, Adaeze had an idea to take the stranger to the river with her.She imagined he would love it after all the water falls from the rocks she thought. He was already wide awake when she walked into his hut and he sat up when she came in.She motioned to him to follow her and he did.Limping slowly behind her aided by a stick, Diego was quiet, it was the first time he ever left the compound and he wondered why and where they were going. Soon they were joined by some other girls,as they walked along the village, there was a constant stare at him people who walked by murmured and pointed at him and this made girls giggle.

Finally they got to their destination, the breathtaking sight of the water beating down on the rocks made Diego stand and stare in awe even more as the sun rose reflecting over the waters simply magical. Diego watched silently as they lowered their water gouge and filled it up after which they sang and played in river, they look truly happy and free from any worry he thought.

For the rest of their journey back, Diego wondered how simply these people lived their lives oblivious of the difficulties they had to face on a daily basis. The rest of the world lived a much more easier life than they did but yet they were the happiest people he had ever seen always singing and having a hearty laugh.It was a very long walk and he's feet began to ache badly and though he wanted so much to take a rest but he did not want to seem weaker than the girls.Soon enough ever stride was made with such an effort until his body gave way and he fell to the ground and passed out.