Three generations episode 4

THREE GENERATIONS

WRITTEN BY: OGECHI ALABI

CHAPTER 4

Nwakaego was amazed at the change of character of her husband’s family. The women who should know better joined in castigating her. She knew there was a battle ahead but for now, she had to mourn her beloved husband who took a risk that ended his life just to be with his family. She knew he was rushing home to be with them as she wasn’t feeling well when he left the weekend before.

As the days went by, reality began to dawn on her. She asked her stepmother to go with Obi to pack her things. She told her where everything was and how she was to pack them. When they came back, her stepmother said Obi refused her packing all her items which caused a quarrel between them. One of the neighbours came in and asked what happened. When he was informed of Anozie death, he asked after Nwakaego. Then he said they couldn’t take anything from the house unless Nwakaego was present. No one could stay in the house until Nwakaego came back and gave authority. He allowed her stepmother to pick some of her personal items from the house. He bought padlocks and locked the entire house both the front and back. He then called the security to inform them as the area was regarded as Railway Quarters for only railway staff.

Obi didn’t come back until a week later. He was furious. He was not allowed into the house and he couldn’t apply for Anozie’s gratuity and benefits. Anozie had removed him as his next of kin and in his place put his wife Nwakaego. If they wanted anything from the Railway, they had to go through Nwakaego who was in mourning as per custom.

“Why would Anozie make a woman his next of kin? Why? The say Rivers women worsh¡p a water goddess and use their powers to control men. Are you sure Nwakaego didn’t join them? Anozie’s elder sister asked.

“They asked me in four places if his wife is a Rivers woman and I said no. They said it was strange for an Igbo man to give rights to his wife. Unless there is more” Obi replied.

“She has charmed him. I had to squat when my brother has a house in Port-Harcourt. Whatever Nwakaego did, we will undo somehow”

The hostility towards Nwakaego increased. It was only her father-in-law who supported her. He gave her money for her upkeep as she wasn’t fed in the house and also a share of whatever was harvested. It wasn’t enough but it was something. She focused on taking care of Nwanneka and managed herself. She cried most nights and was a ghost of herself. People thought she had run mad when she walked on the road talking to herself and not responding to anyone’s salutation. It broke her father-in-law’s heart but he couldn’t do much. His wife and children had ganged up against Nwakaego that he had to hide to support her. They believed she killed Anozie for his possession. His mother reminded her at the wake of every dawn.

The grief had taken a toll on Nwakaego’s body. She went into premature labour in the wee hours of the morning three months after Anozie had died. She dragged herself from her room in pain and knocked on her mother-in-law’s room door. She asked who it was and Nwakaego told her she was in labour.

“It is too early to go out. You are a woman, endure the pain until it is safe to leave the house and call the midwife. I will not encounter a ghost this night because of you”

Nwakaego laid on the floor by the entrance. She gro-ned in pain as the contractions became closer. She was getting weaker as the pain hit back to back with less than a minute interval. When she couldn’t endure it anyway, she let out a loud scre-m which could be heard houses away. Her father-in-law rushed out of his room and so did other members of the extended family. Nwakaego was sweating profusely even though the weather was chilly as it had rained earlier. Some other women from neighbouring compounds came to the house. Immediately, some of the men went to call the midwife while the women helped prepare her for the delivery. All this while, her mother-in-law remained in her room.

Nwakaego was delivered of a baby boy a few minutes after the midwife arrived. He was underweight and didn’t cry at birth. They kept him warm but after a few hours, he was as cold as ice. Her son didn’t make it; he had gone to join his father. Nwakaego was too weak to cry. She laid on the bamboo bed she was given and stared into space. She was tired. She was tired of life. She wanted to leave and join Anozie. She believed she would be happy with him. She was more grieved about Anozie than her son.

A week after she had the baby, she didn’t eat. She drank only water and laid on the bed indifferent to happenings around her. As was customary, her stepmother came to help her recover. She observed she had been neglected and not attended to. It was as though she was left to die. She confronted Nwakaego’s mother-in-law.

“She is an adulterous woman. She killed my son and now the child from the adultery refused to stay. She should be shamefully sent out of here”

“You have made a grievous allegation against Nwakaego. You have, with your words, questioned her fidelity to her late husband. I am taking Nwakaego back with me so she doesn’t die here. Her kinsmen will be informed of this accusation I know why you and your family members are trying to kill Nwakaego but you will not succeed”

Nwakaego was taken to her father’s house. Everyone in the compound wept when they saw her; she was a pack of bones and looked very close to death. Her father felt slighted by what Anozie’s people did to his daughter. He came out of his room welding his cutlass charging out of the compound. His kinsmen stopped him. Nwakaego’s grandfather spoke to his son saying,

“Violence is not the answer. They have presented strong accusations against Nwakaego. The onus is on them to prove it; they need two witnesses who were present when the adultery happened. People die by accident all the time so why is Anozie’s case different? His family has erred. If Nwakaego is looking like this a week after giving birth, then I wonder what she looked like when she was pregnant. That’s what we should find out and get our witnesses. It is against our custom for a widow to be neglected by her husband’s family especially when pregnant. We will also accuse them but first, we need to investigate and hear the wh0le story”

It took a month of care for Nwakaego to recover fully. She wore her mourning clothes but she didn’t look or act like a mad person. Her family prepared their case against Anozie’s family. When they went there, they came with war. Anozie’s kinsmen sat together with them in the obi. They offered them kola nut but they refused. They went straight to business.

“We have been informed there is an accusation of adultery levelled against our daughter by your family. When such happens, you are to send the child back with the message of what she has done, instead, she was left to die of neglect”

Our in-laws, we do not know what you are talking about, we know the customs of our land and we did not send a delegation with the accused to you so why are you saying this?” the spokesman for their kindred replied.

“Well, your wife, Papa Anozie, made this accusation to my wife. She said my daughter Akwaego was in an adulterous relationsh¡p and got pregnant from it. The adultery killed her husband Anozie and now the child. This was a serious accusation so I waited for my daughter to recover fully as she was brought in half-dead, and I asked her. She told me everything. Anozie has no son now because of the wickedness of his mother”

“Don’t say that. How can you accuse Mama Anozie of killing her grandson? What proof do you have?”

“When my daughter was in labour, she crawled to her mother-in-law’s room and begged her to help her. She said she couldn’t encounter ghosts at that time of the night and asked her to wait until morning. By the time help got to her, she was too weak and the baby was distressed. He came out weak and didn’t cry. If she had been attended to earlier, the midwife would have turned the baby before it got tired. But your wife refused to call the midwife. She didn’t need to go; she would have sent some young men to get her. And even during the delivery, your wife did come out of her room. I have witnesses who will testify to this. Now, who will carry on Anozie name?”

“This needs to be investigated. But you know Anozie’s mother was speaking more out of grief. She didn’t mean what she said and she wasn’t speaking for the family. Only the men speak for the family. We regard women’s talk as hearsay”

“True, but when my daughter came back home, I wept. She was half-dead in her home, with her husband’s family. I was told before she gave birth, she would wander around the village talking to herself. That was how she handled her grief and no one helped her except her father-in-law. Other members of your family accused her of killing her husband. I have witnesses to what I have accused your family of.”

“Nwakaego is our daughter, why would we want to neglect her? Anozie’s mother might also be grieving and behaving badly in the process. Please forgive them”

“I will not go further because Nwakaego has asked me not to and also because Anozie was like a son to be. I would like to keep my daughter during her mourning period so she will be well taken care of. Your wife and children might in their grief do her harm”

“But it is our tradition that she mourns in her husband’s house,” the family spokesman said quite confused at the suggestion.

Anozie’s father shook his head, bowed it and then said, “She can stay with her family; I permit her. Shamefully, I can say there is no one here that will take care of her. She is better off with her family so she doesn’t die prematurely. But please, tell her to pay us visits frequently especially with our granddaughter”

That night, Mama Anozie fought her husband. She called him unprintable names. He allowed her to misbehave knowing she would summon the children to join her. True to his thoughts, they were in the house that weekend. They insisted Nwakaego must come back and complete the mourning period in their house. They claimed she wanted to continue her adulterous ways after killing their brother. They planned on when to go to her village to bundle her back.

“You will do no such thing. I am disappointed in you my daughters. You have shamed womanh-od. You think I do not know the reason you want her back. You are afraid she would go behind you to Port-Harcourt to collect Anozie’s entitlements. She is not like you. When she was here and with child, how many times did you offer her anything knowing she came back with nothing? Your mother here refused to feed her, Nwakaego only cooked when she was not around. Your mother left her in labour agony when she should have asked me to call the midwife, she made her gro-n in pain while she went back to her bed. She was left alone. Your mother killed Anozie’s son and it can be proven. If you bring Nwakaego back, I will make sure all of you suffer. I personally will report you to the Igwe’s council with evidence. Your mother will cease to be my wife and you the children will be punished for being conspirators. Anyway, Nwakaego’s father will rather shed blood than let his daughter come back here to suffer”

There was silence. Their father had never challenged their mother before. His voice was so stern that they knew he meant every word he spoke. They looked at each other but no one was bold enough to say a word. If their mother leaves the house, it will spell doom for her. How do you lose your home at an old age? They respected his wishes. They instead sent Obi to ensure Nwakaego hadn’t visited Anozie’s office for his entitlement.

Tbc