บท 5: Top Secret

Not only that their eyes remained wide opened in total surprise, they continued to look at each other as silence began to prevail.

It was after some couple of minute an exclamation fell from the mouth of the eldest priest which in that manner broke the silence and which in same manner caused the witches to begin their evil and continuous laugh again.

A person who will see the end of the ocean must be ready to swim the ocean irrespective of the dangers that will be involved. This was the case of the priests and Osabiegun as the witches awaits their answer.

Maybe their heart exploded in fear again as the eldest witch threw the question If they can't do it. They looked at each other again and again as the eldest priest stammered until he was able to make a complete statement that they can and will do it which led the eldest witch into a smirk that was loud enough for all of them to hear.

The reason why they were then soaked up in their trepidation silently yelling for salvation was what the witches asked in an echo as they all busted into another episode of laughter.

It remained a taboo to not provide the witches what they bid as they now confirmed to the witches they would provide what they want the next night after they have collided together for a short while which caused the witches yet another rounds of their evil laughs.

But if the next night came, and they failed to provide the sacrifice as they have now confirmed, the anger of the witches which will cause all children in the land of ifa-ile to die at once and as they did not want that, they confirmed again that indeed by every means they will provide the sacrifice by the next night.

Osabiegun who had before placed the calabash down as instructed by the eldest priest and had risen up was led back by the eldest priest who was now chanting another song which praised the witches and in same vein appreciated the witches for their support anytime they needed them.

The further they went back slowly with Osabiegun who walked in the middle, the eldest priest who led the front and the second priest who came behind will not look back to where they laid the calabash as if they would, they have disrespected the witches which remained a taboo and the consequence might be a thunder striking them to their death from the sky.

The witches who continued to stare at them as they go and immediately they couldn't be seen anymore in the darkness which now overshadowed them started again with their dance as they moved their body slowly in rhythmic steps and their eyes they continued to roll while their head shook slowly along their body.

They in that prompt made the calabash which was laid down for them disappear into their realm as the calabash cannot now be seen by a person who was not a witch, and they now began to feast.

Instantly as Osabiegun and the priests reached the palace and as immediately as Osabiegun will carry his staff which was before left in the palace, he roared again as the priests knelt down before him and a eulogy of his name they continued to praise him which then made him calm.

A tortoise will not disobey the command of its shell lest, it dies of the attack that confronted it. Their shell can only be saved when it answers to the will of the witches if they want victory or needed their lives for a very long time.

Osabiegun then immediately summoned the other chiefs and elders including the rest of the priest to the palace with the guards he had sent to wake everyone of them to laced their legs to the palace even if the sky was emitting thick darkness, the meeting must hold.

One after another, the chiefs and elders began to arrive even so at the middle of the night and as in that prompt to which each chiefs and elders arrived they prostrated before Osabiegun which was always a sign of respect to the King in the land of Ifa-ile.

The moment their number were completed the bad news Osabiegun breezed out from his mouth collapsed all of them into dilemma as they all felt reluctant to wanting to provide what the witches bid.

The consequence was clear and total understood by Osabiegun and even the chiefs and elders as everyone was familiar with the ways of the witches even so, it remained a hard task for them to provide the sacrifice they asked.

The jaws of one of the chiefs which expanded and rolled out the question of how they were going to get a pregnant woman who was only pregnant for four weeks triggered another confusion amidst their meeting as it remained one of the hardest task in Ifa-ile for their birth attender to be able to tell the exact weeks or months a pregnant woman was pregnant for.

It was at this moment they knew exactly it was very unfortunate that in the whole of Ifa-ile it was only a woman who helped pregnant women give birth in her house as some other women finds it as a terrible job to have and others were just to scared to see a baby coming out in between legs.

Osukapo who was the then queen and the mother of Oranmiyan was already awaken by the steps of the chiefs and elders who had visited the palace in that ungodly hour.

Her curiosity was what brought her out of bed as she walked with her footsteps making effortless sounds that she had by mistake woken up no one in the palace except those who were already awaken.

The presence of Oranmiyan could have been needed in the palace as everyone needed to put their heads together to reason out a solution but the thought of the beauty of Okiki-osupa filled his mind as he continued to think about the moment he was going to see her again. This in that way caused his absence and the meeting going on without him.

Osukapo remained behind the mat which served as a curtain that covered the entrance to her chambers and to Osabiegun's chambers; eavesdropping their talks which was already giving her fright.

Her fright was the push she needed to make her presence known to Osabiegun and to the chiefs and elders as she has now revealed herself by stepping out from where she hid.

The chiefs and elders could not help but be surprised as even Osabiegun had opened his mouth and berated a sharp sound of exclamation for it was a sign of disrespect to the king is he was being eavesdropped.

Osukapo can only be pardoned because she was a queen and if it were to be any other person, his or her head would be celebrated for Sango; a good sacrifice which smoke would have aroma to the sky in a broad daylight.

Even so, a question had been thrown to Osukapo for the reason she stood in her darkness looking for what was not lost. Though she opened her mouth but her confidence wrapped in her tension which pushed her was already buried within her as she now began to stammer.

She would not even wait some more that she now walked back slowly into her chamber with total disappointment written upon her face.

Her curiosity yet bothers her that no matter how she had laid down her head she jumped up again and secretly walked back behind the mat eavesdropping their discussion.

Osabiegun had summoned the birth attender to the palace as everyone of them now awaits her presence.

The birth attender was an old woman with a hunch back who could not do but walk with a stick served as staff and if care was not taken might be mistaken for a witch or was pronounced a witch by few of the men in the village as their belief would always whisper to their ears that every witch was old and ugly most especially with a hunch back.

Maybe it was due to this reason these men with this belief had never taken their pregnant wives to her for child birth but travel down to another village as they feared that the child would be initiated as a witch and that would have been their greatest regret and sorrow if they have their child as one.

The presence of the birth attender in the palace caused a long silence as everyone was surprised to see that she could make it to the palace at even that middle of the night even though it was them who summoned her.

She picked her sit before the throne down on the mat which was laid at the center of the palace after she had knelt and kissed her forehead on the mat. She looked up slowly as her head tie almost fell away from her head to which she had woven it.

The moment she laid her walking stick on the mat as almost immediately she sat down, she looked to Osabiegun without blinking and uttered the words to remind Osabiegun she had been summoned if at all he had forgotten.

Her words brought them back from their surprise as Osabiegun greeted her back by raising his horsetail whisk to touch both of her shoulders.

The chiefs who had looked again at one another and the elders who had looked at Osabiegun and quickly looked away left Osabiegun to throw the question if all pregnant women in her care were all feeling fine.

She could tell from the actions she saw the chiefs and elders portraying that there was a snake in the hole as she asked if everything was alright and respectfully asked Osabiegun to cut to the chase.

The eldest priest who had taken the mouth of Osabiegun to talk and as the demand of the witches as been revealed to her caused her jaws to expand which opened her mouth widely as she was left in a bombshell.