Ajali

The revelation

the child will be a great person, but may also be a curse to the community if not guided properly, for he possesses extraordinary powers. which would manifest with time. The child is a special gift from the gods but also a means where evil can trade; he warned. Ada wanted to refuse this child at first, for what is the gain of training a child when he will not be useful to his parents. On a second thought, she accepted regardless of what comes. The pressure from the society alone encouraged her to do this. Umunachi women are known for the gift of child bearing. Any woman who finds it difficult conceiving is seen as cursed by the gods. As Ada carried the little child, the name she will give her son pop up in her mind.

"Uwabuahia" meaning the world is just a market place. Even though a woman is not given the privilege to name a child in the community, she would personally call him that. It is a norm that once a child gets to its last trimester, a name has already been arranged by the elders of the land together with the child's father. To them, it means the child will feel safe on its arrival bearing mind the preparations made for him or her. Im this case, Ada's husband only prepared a male name; "Ajali" meaning "son of the earth". He also reminded Ada of his initial decision regarding a female child.Indeed there is this belief that the world is just a passage through which we join the next world. Ada smiled to herself, she realized the name would give her strength to accept whatever the future offers.

As she cuddled the baby he immediately sought for her breast which she helped him with. The most amusing thing is how the gods blessed children with parental instinct. The tiny child suckled his mother's breast and Ada couldn't help but feel fulfilled.

The noise from the neighbouring village caught her attention. she heard some wailing voices and she wondered what had happened this time.

The elders of the clan had gathered with low tone, some of them were still in their morning wrapper. It has become a norm that an elder is seen in the morning, with a wrapper which is tied loosely and folded in a circle below the abdomen,with bare chest and chewing stick in the mouth. Some go to the length of calling their relatives to share a palm wine or halt before going about the day activities. Ada strained where she was still lying on the mat to grasp what they are discussing, but her curiosity was quenched easily as Ugomma came back to announce the news of her husbands death. On hearing that, she remembered what the medicine man had said..."Two captains cannot be in a ship". Realization dawned on her, 'could it be that...? oh no!. what is this I have done?. She left her child on the mat and ran towards the front hut where her husband corpse lay. she questioned those she met how it happened, and they explained that few hours ago, he was relaxing on his chair when he suddenly turned pale, eyes shooting out, with much saliva on his mouth.One of them said;'we tried putting spoon in his mouth to prevent his upper and lower teeth coming together because we thought it was convulsion,but all our effort to prevent this doom was to no avail. Ada cried bitterly after hearing their narration. some of the women who had gathered already tried consoling her asking her to go back and tend to her new born.

It was until then that Ada realized she had hurriedly left her baby all alone on the mat when the shock news came. She ran back to the hut where she gave birth only to find out that a very big snake had bathed the child with its tongue. The snake still wraps itself round the baby's foot..The baby on the other hand is smiling in his sleep.

'Indeed you are protected by the gods'. Ada said a few prayers to the gods and waited for the snake to leave. The snake had seen her on arrival and had started crawling towards the little opening at the back door.

Rumours went round about the birth of the child and the mystery surrounding his birth. some who suspected the child might not be real said Ada must have slept with the devil himself. Others only blessed her for experiencing motherhood at last.

After the burial of her late husband, Ada mourned her husband as the custom and traditions required after which she moved on with her life. Her focus was how to train Ajali and give him the best a mother could give to her son. Ajali on the other hand grew to be a very handsome Lad. He has a pointed nose, thick eye brow with long lashes like that of a female.His dimples on the two cheeks are so evident especially when he smiles. This has made him the favorite of some villagers who love to tease him whenever he passes.

His growth surprised people a lot. At his tenth year, he has already developed beards just like most adolescent, with a deep voice and broad shoulder. Ada wasn't surprised at all because Ajali walked when he was three months old.

It was one morning when she left him on the wooden bed infront of the hut to sweep the compound, Ajali had ran to her and was eager to sweep. she had pleaded with the little thing not to make people see him. It was to be perceived as an abominable act for a child of three months to run while his mates were still learning how to sit.

The child listened to his mother and went back inside the little shrine in his mother's hut where he occupies most of his time.