Three generations episode 67

TITLE: THREE GENERATIONS

WRITTEN BY: OGECHI ALABI

CHAPTER 67

Nwakaego was the one that put the call across to Chidi herself. She sounded quite cheerful. She then told him she would like to see him in her village that weekend as she wanted to discuss something with him. He agreed to come.

Chidi had cold chills after the call. Her granddaughter comes to see him and now she was wanted to see him. He was worried. He hoped it wasn’t what he thought.

Chidi came into the compound and into Nwakaego’s house. He was surprised to see everyone there. He didn’t need to be told, his worst nightmare had become a reality. His mind had told him continuously, Nwadiuto’s visit was not a coincidence, but he always shoved it aside.

“From the look on your face, you already know why you are here” Obi announced.

“Nwanneka, I asked you if she was mine but you denied it. I suspected. I know why I am here. Nwadiuto is my daughter. The moment I saw her, I felt it.”

“We wouldn’t go back to the past. She has found you and wants to be associated with you. We need to right this wrong. The land has to be cleansed. It was partial cleansing that was done years ago. We will go to see the king of your village who is the custodian of your traditions and then he will refer us to the chief priest”

“Talking to the king, wouldn’t it expose us?” Chidi asked.

“He won’t expose us. He will also be sworn to secrecy. We have to act fast and get this over and done with.” Uncle Obi replied.

They went to meet the king who welcomed them well. He asked every other person to leave his presence as he had been briefed that it was a sensitive matter.

“This is a dicey situation. The child has survived until now?”

“Yes, she has”

“Usually if the cleansing was not accepted. The child will be dead after ten days which proves she was born out of incest. Are you sure he was the only man that had carnal knowledge of you?” he asked Nwanneka.

“I am very sure sir. I was a V-rgin and we did it once and that was it” Nwanneka replied.

“Let the chief priest tell us what to do. Let me ask him to come and consult here for us”

The chief priest arrived half an hour later. He took a close look at Nwanneka before he saw Nwakaego.

“Ehen. I remember this case. Nwakaego, if you remember, you asked us to cleanse the land without them walking around the village unclad and sprinkling the cleansing water. I did that but now, for this girl to find peace in her life, they need to do the ritual”

“How can we avoid doing it?” Nwakaego asked.

“You can’t avoid it. This child will have so many misfortunes immediately she clocks 25. She is doing very well now; am I correct?” they all nodded. “She will face terrible woes if it isn’t done and done quickly. Any man she marries will die. She will never have children as they would die before they are five years old. Sickness wouldn’t leave her body. Every money she makes will be squandered. If you had confessed to me then, I would have told you the implications of your decision. Now, it is inevitable from what I am seeing”

“So, it is still the same remedy? What is the implication to Nwanneka and Chidi?”

“No implication. Nothing will happen to them. The girl is the one that has a lot to lose”

“How would I allow my daughter to walk unclad around the village in the afternoon for people to see her?” cried Nwakaego, “her life will be destroyed. Hasn’t she suffered enough?”

The king stepped in at this point and said, “Emotions are high. Go and think about it and come back in two days, your lives will never be ruined as long as I am alive”

That night, while the elders held their meeting, Nwadiuto spoke with Josh. She told him all that happened. He was very attentive like always but unusually quiet. She heard someone in the background, it was a female voice. He responded to the person by saying, “Can I have thirty minutes of privacy please. Thank you”. Then he said

“Hello? Are you still there?”

“Who was that?”

“A friend”

“Which friend? A girl is in your house?”

“Is that strange? I’m not g-y”

“I could have sworn you were”

“She just came in from the US and is staying with me during her visit”

“I never heard of her”

“Concentrate Nwadiuto, what if nobody is around to witness the cleansing?”

“I don’t understand”

“I mean, what if the village is completely des**ted for the cleansing. The villages can be enticed to leave the village with something they wouldn’t want to miss. Your people could org-nize a bazaar or event that will attract their attention. If they find out they will be going back home with gifts, they will gladly attend”

“Wait, let me take this to my mum”. Nwadiuto jumped up and rushed to where the meeting was being held. She announced to them, “My friend has a suggestion which I think we can explore.” She put the phone on speaker, Josh, please repeat what you said” He repeated it.

“This makes sense” uncle Onyedika replied. “I will take it up with the chief priest. We can even mount military police to stop anyone from coming into the village after they have all left. We can do this in conjunction with the king. We have found a way around this. Thank you. Gentleman, what’s your name?”

“Joshua Osagogie sir”

“Joshua, I will like to meet you. You are a smart man. I was told you are a branch manager; you’ve just earned yourself a customer. Take good care of my niece”

“Uncle, he is just a friend” Nwadiuto insisted.

“If I believe that I will believe anything. You can leave us now”

Chidi asked, “Is he the same guy you came to Nsukka with?”

“She came to Nsukka with him? This is serious. Anyway, we will talk about that later. Nne, excuse us while we continue deliberating”

A date was fixed. Announcement mandating everyone to be present at the function that day was made. Reminders were sent out. Incentives of free transportation were provided. It was arranged a month away. It was a very long month. Nwanneka and Chidi weren’t allowed to put their money into the plan.

The king and the chief priest agreed to Josh’s idea. Nwakaego and uncle Onyedika org-nised a funfair bringing in bouncing castles, wheels, train rides, swings and other gadgets for their amusement. There was also an array of different types of food. Raffle draws where prizes such as motorcycles, gas cookers, sewing machines, and so on can be won. There were also competitions between the two villages. Everyone present went back home with gifts. Since Nwakaego’s village was smaller, the competition was held in her husband’s village (that was how they sold the idea to the king of Anozie’s village). They both agreed on it.

They were scared; both Chidi and Nwanneka. When they had the opportunity to talk, Chidi apologized for what he did. He confessed to her he was in love with her then and didn’t understand the implication until he heard about the cleansing and he suspected the child was his. His infatuation for her cleared the moment she told him the child wasn’t his. He decided to get married as his mother had been disturbing him to give her grandchildren.

Nwanneka forgave him. She knew how love could consume you. She saw it with Paul. He had refused to talk to her but send her messages through her mother. Her mother, surprisingly, liked Paul. He spent every Sunday in her house having lunch with her. She asked her mother to date Paul and she called her terrible names which made her laugh. Her mother wasn’t one to pry but she knew she was dropping subtle hints.

The entire village was des**ted and military police were stationed at strategic positions to ensure no one enters.

The Chief priest explained to them what to do. He told them to get unclad. Nothing artificial had to be on their body. They were to carry the calabash and use the palm fronds to sprinkle the water from the calabash around the village. They had a starting point and ending point. One of his servants was to go with them; he had also been sworn to secrecy.

Nwanneka quickly took off her clothes. Chidi was shocked at how she did it with such speed and no shame. She told him she would have stripped in the presence of people just to give her daughter a good life. Chidi looked at her. She was indeed a good mother just like her mother.

They went around the village stark unclad and sprinkled the water as instructed. The cleansing took more than an hour to conclude. Where Nwanneka got the strength to conclude without fainting was surprising to even her.

Back at the chief priest’s shrine, he collected the items used for the cleansing. He prayed for both of them. He asked them to wait so he would confirm if the sacrifice was acceptable and Nwadiuto was free. While he was away, Chidi and Nwanneka were separated from each other. Taken to the stream to bathe and dress up. When they came back, the chief priest was smiling.

“The coast is clear. Your daughter’s destiny has been fully restored”

Nwanneka broke down crying. They were tears of joy. She didn’t face disgrace to save her daughter.

“I have to tell you this. I suggest you take it after your mother. You hærdly come back to your father’s compound. Even if you don’t come, give food to the widows, train the children whose families have none, help people in need. Just give your uncle or even your mother money for it every year. Let it be your money. You will be richer than your mother and misfortune will never come your way. Look at your mother, I took this risk with our ancestors because of her. She trained two of my children many years ago and both of them are abroad now. I am sure she doesn’t know what she did for me years ago but she is reaping the benefits. That’s what you need to do. Touch as many lives as possible. You will be very successful and happy. I see you will be very happy.”

Chidi asked the priest, “Can I call Nwadiuto my daughter now? Can I confess to my wife? I think she deserves to know as we don’t hide anything from each other. I wouldn’t want her to find out any other way. And she already loves Nwadiuto as her own”

“She is your daughter but she can’t be called that in public. What both of you can do is rekindle your friendsh¡p such that if she calls him daddy, no eyebrow will be raised. Please, no s€×ual encounter, only friendsh¡p”

“We will never make such a mistake again. Thank you. I will come back to appreciate you” Chidi answered.

Nwanneka asked to speak with the chief priest alone. She asked him, “I have a lover, I hope this will not affect him”

“No, it will not. He will benefit from your good fortune if you do as I said”

Uncle Obi was waiting for her outside the village. He asked her “Done?”

“Yes uncle, it is over”

“Thank God. I couldn’t bear to stay at home waiting while you were here. Onyedika and your mother had to be at the funfair. I will let them know you are back. Come with me.”

How it worked out so seamlessly was a wonder to all of them. The villagers were very happy with what they got. Nwakaego, Nwanneka and Nwadiuto cried tears of joy and relief. They hugged uncle Onyedika and uncle Obi. Nwakaego couldn’t believe Obi will do this for her. He went out of the way to make sure everything worked out well traditionally. He never mentioned it to Chinyere. It was left for Nwakaego to tell her co-wives the truth.

Nwakaego cried further that night. She could see the seed she had sown germinated and favoured her. There was no scolding or shouting rather they were all solutions driven. She was also taken aback when Nwanneka told her what the chief priest said about her. She didn’t remember training his two children in school. No good deed goes unrecognized.

Nwadiuto was very happy. That night she called Josh to share the good news.

“I hope you are at peace now. No more crazy ideas”

“Says who? I am still doing that thing since I am now cured of whatever it was that was worrying me”

“Enjoy, you deserve it. Take care of yourself. I will be busy tonight”

“Hasn’t your friend left yet? She has stayed for a month now”

“She will be here for three. She is acquiring experience from Nigeria to work with the World Health org-nisation.”

“Really? She has taken so much of your time; we don’t talk like we used to”

‘You ladies are so demanding.”

“You ladies? Are you categorizing me now?”

“Am I hearing a tone of jealousy?”

“Call it what you want to call it but I am not in their category; I am special”

Josh laughed so loud it annoyed Nwadiuto. Now she felt how he feels each time she talked about Malik to him. She was angry with him and didn’t call him for two days. He allowed her to cool off before he called her and asked if she was back in Lagos. She said she wasn’t; she was going to Nsukka to see her stepmother.

“You didn’t share that with me. I thought we were in this together”

“Your girlfriend is too demanding; she might not allow you to travel at this time”

“My girlfriend? I never told you about a girlfriend. When you come to Lagos you will meet my friend. I haven’t asked her out yet. You will tell me if I should”

“Is she pretty?”

“Very. Like Naomi Campbell. She has her facial look and a model’s figure”

“Your description of her is even intimidating”

“Nobody intimidates you. Go and see your stepmother. I have missed your jovial and bubbly self. Now this is over; we can hang out more often”

“I will come back on Sunday; I want to spend the weekend there”

“We will see on Monday after work”

“That’s fine”

Nwanneka felt good. Everything was over now. She needed to exhale and just relax. She decided, on the s₱0t, to travel to Port-Harcourt and meet with Paul. She wanted to have some tender loving care. Although they hadn’t spoken, she was certain he would receive her once he sees her. This made her smile.

She told her mother she has taken a week off to just relax. She claimed she was travelling to Abuja to chill.

When she got to Port-Harcourt she called Paul but his phone wasn’t connecting. It had been acting this way for some days now when she tried to call him. She decided to just show up which she knew was dangerous because he might have company but she wanted to see him before she lost her nerve.

She got to his house and rang the bell from downstairs. There was no response. She rang it continuously but still no reply. She went back to the security man. They told her to wait for him, he would soon be back as he went out wearing shorts. She waited in the car. She was surprised when the security knocked on her window to tell her he was back. As she entered the gate, Paul was at the entrance of his stairway with a lady. He almost dropped what he was holding.

“I surprised you. I was in town and wanted to see you. How are you doing?” Nwanneka asked him smiling.

The lady with him looked at her from head to toe and asked him for the keys to the flat upstairs. He ignored her. He asked Nwanneka instead, “When did you come into town?”

“About an hour ago. I’ve seen you and I am going back to…..”

The lady interjected and said to Paul, “Give me the key let me go upstairs”

“Upstairs where? This is my wife. Where are you going? Is it because she is calm? Go back to the car and wait for me.”

“Don’t bother, I will stay in the hotel” Nwanneka replied.

“You are staying with me.” He asked the driver to bring up her luggage while he went upstairs to open the door for her. He told her he wanted to put the lady in a cab home and he would be back shortly.

Immediately he dropped off the lady, he called Fidel excitedly. “She‘s in my house. She is currently in my house”

“How come?”

“She came on her own”

‘I told you it would work”

“Chic dey with me sha”

“But she is in your house now”

“Yes she is”

“She doesn’t care. Treat her well. Give her a memorable time.”

Back in the house, as he came into the sitting room he went to her.

“How are you?”

“I am good”

He gathered her in his arms and then he k-ssed her passionately. It was inevitable what was going to happen. There was no resistance from either party. He took charge and made sure both of them were happy. He was obviously happy and couldn’t take his eyes off her. He couldn’t believe she was laying with him in his bed.

He was even more excited when she told him she was staying for a week. He didn’t go anywhere. He worked from home for the entire week she stayed with him. He tried to take control of his emotions and avoided telling her he loved her. Instead, he showed her how much in the way he treated her both on and out of the bed. She never mentioned the girl he was with; he also kept mute about her.

When she was to leave, Paul didn’t want her to go. He had tried preparing himself for the moment but he wasn’t ready for it. He went into a sober mood and was unhappy. Nikky promised him she would visit again soon.

“When will that be?”

“Next month for a weekend. There should be a public holiday so we can do four days”

“It’s so long”

“Then, come to Lagos. I can’t spend the night but I can see you”

“I will come if you can spend a full weekend with me. I have a friend who owns a resort. We can spend the weekend there”

“When?”

“Two weeks”

“I won’t come next month then”

“You will, we are spending four days together then”

“If it is too close, wouldn’t it be suspicious?”

“Do you care? Because I don’t”

“Nobody knows about us”

“I know. I want more but I am ready to wait for when you are ready. By the way, your house is completed. I am working on other projects with your mother. She is a delightful young lady”

“Young?”

“The guys wanting to date her are younger than her but she has refused their advances”

“I refused many. I couldn’t resist you. You make me do stupid things like show up at your doorsteps while you had a babe with you and still stay”

“I sent her away when I saw you”

“I know”

“It will never happen again. I promise”

“I am not saying you shouldn’t have your girls”

“I don’t need them if I can see you every fortnight. I want to be with you and only you”

Nwanneka smiled. She knew he meant it. It has been a crazy week. She wished this could be forever but then.