บท 51: Fooling the gods
Ndubisi laid in the king-sized bamboo bed staring at the thatched roof wondering how he got here; form hungry looking to fine looking, from a poor accused criminal to a moneyed young man; managing such a large chain of farms and still in love with the most gorgeous woman in the whole world. He didn't ask for much but was given more than he deserved.
She has been gone for three days, though has sent words that she will be arriving the next day. He was really missing her; this would be the third night he has slept alone without her for over two years now. He has gradually worked his way into her heart gaining her trust and affection. He was now the one in charge of managing and running the affairs of the farms and any other business that Ego owns. What more could he ask of the gods? They have surely favored him beyond his wildest imagination. But like most ambitious people, he was not satisfied, there was more to be achieved, more possibilities to explore and of course another feather to be added to his already filled cap.
Ego arrived her compound evening of the next day. She was welcomed with smiles and pleasantries. Ndubisi wasted no time in reminding her of how she was missed. She settled in, narrated her whole ordeal to her lover before laying to rest from her long journey. Sleeping like a newborn baby on Ndubisi's hairy chest till midnight when she was forced out of bed by the urge to urinate. Slowly, she got out of bed; not wanting to wake him who was fast asleep, she gradually and silently pulled her wrapper from under him to cover her nudity.
Once covered properly, she came out of the master hut and was greeted by fresh air as the compound was sparkling with bright colors from the moon mixed with light from the torches now planted in strategic corners of the compound. She couldn't help but take note of all the changes that Ndubisi had carried out. He had added more torches, trimmed the hedges and added more flowers. The compound was very clean and well arranged, in fact, it had a different feel; everything was more beautiful. He must have been busy this few days she thought. She thanked the gods for replacing Nnanna with such an industrious and diligent man. As the days spent with him increased, the part of Nnanna still left with her died a natural death.
She was still admiring her transformed compound when her eyes met the hut where she has Nwaza kept and concealed. She hasn't laid her eyes on it since the last time they experienced a full moon. She hurried behind one of the huts close by to attend the urgency that brought her out in the first instance.
Done, she tiptoed back into the hut and commenced the chore of unraveling the protections she used to keep people away.
"Where could the bird be? Where has it gone to? Has someone gotten into the room and touched it? But there is no sign of forced entry at the door. Did the bird on its own escape? Have the gods decided to take back their gift? All these were running through her mind as she searched under the cage and around. This has never happened before; the bird was always in its cage whenever she visited. Already panicking, she began turning everything in the room upside down, screaming Nwaza in the process. Bloodstain and rotten flesh from the life rabbit she last fed it was all over the place. She hasn't cleaned like she does every Eke due to her journey.
As she searched, something flew down from the rooftop and landed on the cage top. She turned swiftly to see it was her bird; she grabbed it, filled with excitement she said "Oh what a relief to see you. I thought you have gone, leaving me alone. I traveled that's why you have not seen me these last few days. First light, I will be here to have this place cleaned up. That's by the way, I need money. Spent a lot on the journey I just got back from". Wasting no time and for a strange reason, she decided to raise the bird up above her head and began singing the Nwaza song.
Halfway through the song, abruptly there was almost silence. Ego felt a large cold fluid land on her forehead, it began racing down her face. When it went past her nose, a strong smell of bird feces filled the air. She threw down the bird, burst into long genuine laughter and with one edge of her wrapper she wiped the fetid substance off her face. Nwaza has never done something like this before; she has always taken the bird as very serious and mysterious not having time for petty jokes. Well, a bird defecating on one's forehead was a sign of blessing from the gods; so she thought.
She resumed the song but this time she didn't raise the bird up; you don't make the same mistake twice or it turns to foolishness. She has sung for close to five minutes, nothing extraordinary happened. Afraid and dreading that something was wrong; she brought out the bird from the hut and faced the moon directly. She sang over and over again till she lost count with each time louder than before until she succeeded in waking the compound and yet nothing occurred.
Ndubisi still deep asleep began unconsciously hearing what sounded like someone singing; slowly as he woke up, it became clear to him that it was Ego and she was actually crying. He hurriedly jumped out of bed and headed out to find everyone outside gazing at his love who sat down on the cold earth with legs agape, almost nude, angry and staring at just one point repeating over and over "Someone has tampered with my Nwaza!" a strange bird was in her hands.
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