Urenma episode 12 – 14
urenma
Chapter 12
“Obi m before I met you, I thought that being a princess of the gods was a great thing, but right now I no longer wish to be a princess of the gods. I only want to be your wife and love you till my life fades”. “Then ask the gods for more time” “As a princess of the gods, I am forbidden to marry any mortal man. I cannot marry you Obinze”. Obinze felt his heart explode with pain when he heard Urenma tell him she would not marry him. “Now you know the reason I have been a sad woman for weeks. I am permitted by the gods to love a man and yet not to marry him. Oh! How I wish I was born a mere woman”. Obinze was so shocked that he went numb. Right before his eyes his world came crashing. All he could manage to ask Urenma was, “How much time do you have before the gods summon you?” “A year and six months”. “Then we will make it the best period of time you spent amongst mortals. When I go hunt you shall go with me and when I go to farm we shall sit together under moonlight and tell ourselves how much we love each other. The gods may deny us marriage but they can’t deny us love”. “But Obi m, what if people begin to wonder why we refuse to get married, how shall we answer them?” “Don’t worry about that, when you are caught in the arms of love, you won’t worry about what people are saying”.
And so Urenma and Obinze began to live and love each other like they had planned. Okeke and Ngbankwo tired all they could to persuade their daugjter and Obinze to marry, but they gave no heed to them. The villagers and those in lands afar off wondered and gussed as to why their long awiated wedding would not take place. One night when the love in Urenma’s heart had grown to such a height as she could no longer resist giving Obinze her body, she went to the river world to strike a deal with the elder gods.
Before the gods she made her plea, “It is said amongst us that the gods can do no wrong; but having lived as a mortal woman in over seventeen years, I have seen far too many wrongs committed by the gods. None of you here has lived a mortal life and so cannot tell what it means to fall in love. You sent me to dwell amongst mortal by my request and gave me permission to love and yet would not allow me to marry the man I love. This in the sight of a young mortal woman I have been all these years is cruelty. Now I know why mortals blaspheme gods and we in our egos destroy them. Oh elder gods! I demand to know, what shall it cost me to marry the man whom I love?” “If you marry him in rebellion, he shall be destroyed the moment he uncovers your nakedness, and you shall be stripped of your powers and shall roam the forest until you die”, declared the head of the elder gods. “Is there no way I can marry this man and not incur the wrath or curse of the gods?”
There was silence in the room for what seemed eternity. Eventually one elder spoke up. “There is a possibility you can marry the man you love, but the conditions are grave”. “Tell me the conditions and I will fulfill them”. “If the gods grant you permission to marry the man whom you love, your powers shall not be taken from you as a princess of the gods, but you shall in no condition use them as a princess of the gods in the world you now dwell as a mortal being. In the case you fail to abide by this one condition, you shall be cursed to roam the forest and to devour the flesh of men until death meets you or until your head is removed and thrown into Nwangele River. As for your position as a princess, it is eternal, it shall never be taken from you”, announced the second elder god.
Chapter 13
“The condition is grave, my lords. Why can’t you strip me of my powers and thereby take this curse far from me?” “You are the first princess of the gods to dwell amongst men and as it is you will be the first princess of the gods to marry a mortal man, the bars must be set so high so other younger princesses will not follow your example. If you truly love your man as you claim, accept our condition and leave, a life awaits you in the land of men”, said the head of the elders gods. Urenma knelt down and declared. “I accept your condition. I agree to never use my power as a princess of the gods under any condition while married to a mortal man!” All the elder gods, the twenty of them, stood up and declared, “You can marry the mortal whom you love and bear him children; you have our permission!” Urenma stood to her feet and fled the scene. She had no time for pleasantries; she wanted to return immediately and begin her wedding plans. When she woke up on her mat from her journey to the river world, she was over joyed. She wanted to dash out immediately to Obinze’s house to break the news that she would after all be getting married to him, but then she remembered that it was too early. If someone or anything attacked her on her way, she would not want to use her powers. She wanted to learn to live without making use of her powers. Life without making use of her powers would be strange and she wanted to get a hang of it; so she waited till dawn. Before she told her parents, she dashed down to Obinze’s house and broke the news to him. Obinze didn’t care what Urenma traded with the gods to get their permission for them to marry. He was getting married to the woman of his love and that was what matters.
A few weeks later their wedding was announced, and on the wedding day many people came to celebrate with them. Okeke and Ngbankwo slaughtered cows and prepared foods. Obinze who had become wealthy as well slaughtered cows and made sumptuous meals for his guest. The display of the wealth in the wedding and the kind of personalities who graced their wedding had not been seen before. Long after the wedding, tales of it still resonated in Ukeh and the lands around it.
Not so long after their wedding, Obinze and Urenma had two children, a boy and a girl. They were a happy home and the envy of many people. They had everything they needed and much more. However about six years into their marriage, Obinze’s wealth began to diminish. His lands stopped yielding seeds abundantly; his cows, sheep, goats and chicken began to die like those of the others and Obinze could not explain why. When that had become a major source of worry to him, one night Urenma seeing how troubled he had become woke him up from sleep and explained it all to him. “All your wealth came from me as a princess of the gods. But since I chose my love for you over my princess position in the river world, we have to now live like ordinary people. The gods are slowly taking everything from us which came as a result of my position. I still have my power but I cannot use it to reverse this current trend. The gods are testing me to see if I will break the deal I made with them”.
Having understood the situation Obinze promised Urenma that he would work h-rder to keep their wealth from completely diminishing. However, Urenma knew that his hærd work would not change much. A few more years down the line, Obinze lost all his wealth and become as poor as he was before he met Urenma. His change of fortunes puzzled the land of Ukeh and all who knew him. Things got so bad that Urenma had to be going to her parents who were still rich to get what they would eat; and that was their saving grace. Okeke did as much as he could to save his daughter, son-in-law and their children from starving to death.
Though Okeke went from one oracle to another to find out why his son-in-law suddenly fell into abject proverty, the truth was hidden from the oracles.
Chapter 14
Obinze did not for once let it bother him, he took solace in his ravishingly beautiful wife and children, and allowed tongues to wag as much as they wanted. Later rumor was heard about a tyrant who destroyed and annexed lands. It was said of the tyrant that no voodoo or weapon could stop him.
People claimed that powerful and callous gods backed him up to create a new kingdom for them. At first the people of Ukeh and their neigbours scoffed and dismissed the rumor. But after two years, what they taught was a lie began to unfold in nearby communities.
The tyrant who was called Ogidi was indeed ruthless; he slaughtered villages and castrated men. Oracles and medince men could not stop him, men and kings sought parleys with him but he refused; he preferred blood and slavery.
When he heard of the tale of the beauty of Urenma, he desired her and set his eyes upon Ukeh to destroy its people and make it his own. By then Ukeh was filled with men and women who had fled the blood thristy tyrant to take refuge in it. When they heard Ogidi was coming, the people of Ukeh began to flee to lands they heard were safe. However most of the way to Ukeh had been cordoned off by the soldiers of Ogidi. In the light of imminnt death the men of Ukeh began to scheme ways to survive.
When they heard Ogidi had a desire for Urenma, they offered to let him have her in exchange to leave their land alone. Ogidi accepted their terms, but it was all a deception. His plans was to take Urenma from them and then behead Obinze and all the elders before subjecting their village to slavery. Okeke being a wealthy man was made aware of the scheme of the elders and so ran to inform Urenma and Obinze.
To buy them time, when the warriors sent to bring Urenma to Ogidi arrived at Obinze’s compound, Obinze welcomed them well and informed them that he knew why they had come. He actually offered them drinks and then sent them back to Ogidi with his offer, “Go back and tell Ogidi I will bring my wife to meet him at the square. Tell him that I will fight him for Urenma and Ukeh, if I defeat him he would then retreat from Ukeh and leave us alone and if he defeats me, my head and my wife shall be his to take. Tell him I am Obinze, the undefeated wrestler and champiom hunter in Ukeh land”. When Ogidi heard Obinze’s terms he laughed and asked if Obinze had not heard of him at all.
Soon Obinze’s terms spread thoughtout the land and hope began to rise. Those who had seen him fight began to believe that perhaps Obinze would save them all. When Urenma heard of Obinze’s offer she went berserk. Obinze told her that he would rather die fighting than to watch a man take his wife and behead him. Urenma took Obinze into their hut and cut off a flock of her hair and tied it around his w–st; right before Obinze eyes the flock of hair disappeared into his body and Urenma said to him, “Now you are like a god. This is the only way to defeat Ogidi. After this battle I do not know what the gods shall do to me. But whatever they to chose to do, I shall be glad that I lived by yourside, loved you and die for you. When I am gone remember to tell men that I die for love”. Having begun to use her power, Urenma raised a pillar of cloud around her parents and two children. Her parents were stunned to see what their daughter could do. They couldn’t say a word; it was as if the power of speech were taken away from them. She drew close and whispered to her parents, “Now you know who I am. I am of the gods”.
After she had put her parents and children in the protective pillar she called Obinze and announced, “I have hidden my identity for long, now Ukeh and those who seek her downfall shall know who I am. I am one of the gods! I will fight by yourside my love!”
To Be Continue……….