Episode 11
Mamiwota Is After My Life ๐ญ
I watched helplessly as hubby lifted his mother, and started hurrying out of the room.
“Where are you taking her to?”. Sasa asked, getting on her feet.
“Hospital”. Hubby replied from the door.
She ran after him.
“Nothing should happen to my mother”. She was crying.
I and the three other neighbors with us ran out after them.
“Nothing will happen to her”. One neighbor tried to comfort her.
“Please, take care of the baby”. Hubby shouted out to me through the car window.
I didn’t utter a word, I could only nod. I watched on until Sasa got into the backseat, and they drove away.
“Don’t worry, she will be fine”. One neighbour assured me.
We went back into the house. The baby was still sleeping. The neighbors, after muttering words of consolation to me, picked their belongings, and left.
I picked my phone, and put a call through to my bestie.
“Hi, Angela. There is problem oo”. I said as soon as she picked up.
“What is it again?”. She asked.
“My mother-in-law. She just slumped”. I announced.
“Jesus!. Where is she now?”. She asked, concerned.
“Hubby took her to the hospital”. I replied.
“Oh God. I pray nothing happens to her”. She prayed silently.
“Which is why I called”. I said.
“Hmmm?”. She hummed.
“We need to visit oma mmiri”. I suggested.
“Like seriously? After you’ve disobediently taken the baby to the church?”. She yelled.
“Angela, I was helpless. There was nothing else I could have done, and you knew it”. She asked.
“So what are you going there to do now?”. She asked.
“I’m going to plead with her to spare my mother-in-law. She should give me..”. I said.
“Wait. Don’t tell me you think the goddess has a hand in your mother-in-law’s ailment”. She interrupted.
“Ofcourse, yes”. I replied.
“How are you sure?. You need to stop linking all your problems to the mamiwater”. She began to lecture, but I wasn’t moved. I was so sure mamiwater was the cause of my mother-in-law falling. One minute she was happily devouring the mountain of jelof rice her daughter has dished out for her, the next minute, she was and the dishes were lying apart, with one oblivious of the other.
“She is responsible. Please, we need to go”. I continued pestering her.
She began to stammer.
“Hmmm, the thing is, I, I’m not. The truth is I won’t be around tod. I would be going to see my mom in the village”.
“I see nothing wrong with her”. The doctor had said.
The priest came over in the evening.
“But she is not conscious”. The daughter replied.
Sasa entered the ward with a spiritualist.
“How are you sure the mamiwater is responsible for this?. You should learn to stop linking everything to the river goddess”.She began to lecture me.
“You must come with me, please”.I pleaded.
She paused her breathing for a while.
“Hmmm, the thing is, I, I’m not. The truth is I’m not around right now. I’m at, Mbaino as we speak”. She said.
From the way she stammered, I could tell she was lying. We’ve been friends for ages.
“Angela, please, don’t do this to me. You know I cannot go there all alone”. I pleaded.
“But that is your problem, not mine”. She blurted out. This story belongs to Joy Ifunanya.
For a split second I was dumbfounded. Yes, the problem is mine, but she got me into it after all.
“Do you remember you were the one that got me into this?”. I had to remind her.
“How is it my fault?. I was only rendering a helping hand”. She said.
After much persuasion, she agreed to go with me.
“It’s late already. We shall leave tomorrow morning”. She said.
Hubby and Sasa returned around 7 pm, picked some stuff, and drove out again. They were in such a hurry that they didn’t answer any of my questions.
Hubby came back alone very late. The baby was asleep already, and I was waiting in the living room.
“How is she?”. I asked, worried.
“She is still unconscious”. He said, sadly.
“What did the doctor say?”. I wanted to know.
“Nothing. He’s seen nothing”. He replied.
After he left the next morning, Angela boarded a taxi to the house, and together with the baby, we left for the ocean
The mermaid was seated upon her throne.
“Why have you failed to listen to instructions?”. She spoke angrily at me. Her eyes were red and fierce that Monday morning.
“I’m so sorry. I never mean to disobey you. It’s my husband and his family”. I began, with tears in my eyes.
“That is the reason I’m going to keep her in captivity until y’all do the needful”. She’s Continued, like I have not spoken.
By ‘her’. I knew she meant my mother-in-law.
I looked at Angela with an expression that suggests ‘I told you’ .
“If nothing is done in the next 10 days, consider her dead”. She’s said, and that was her final word before she disappeared into the deep.
“I think it’s high time you told your husband what’s going on. Let him know so we he can be of help. He may even agree to go and pay homage to the goddess, Who knows?”. Angela was saying on our way home.
I shrugged and smiled bitterly.
It’s not her fault cuz she doesn’t know the man I married…he can never go fetish.
“I will find a way to resolve this too”. I promised myself.
When we got home that afternoon, hubby was at home.
“I have been calling your number. Where have you been?”. He asked.
“I forgot to go with my phone. I went to church to pray. I was worried about mama”. Tears were never far from my eyes. So I let them flow freely.
He moved closer to me and held me on the shoulder.
“Don’t worry yourself, mama will be fine. The archdecon was in the hospital this morning”. He assured me as he helped me wiped the tears off my cheeks.
“Oh that’s great news. So how’s she now?”. I asked.
“Still unconscious”. He replied.
Later on, I talked him into going to the bathroom to have a cold shower while I quickly run around to make him something to eat.
While he eats, he told me of how one of the nurses in the hospital has arranged for a spiritualist to come see mama the next day.
My countenance changed instantly.
“What? Why spiritualist?”. I was alarmed.
“Because it’s a spiritual attack. Mama is okay, medically. That’s according to the test report. He explained.
…. but the problem now is that they said I need to make a deposit of 27 thousand naira before the seer would agree to come. And you know how business is these days. There is no money on me. He dipped a large morsel of starch into the soup, threw it into his mouth and swallowed noisily.
… I need to hustle harder this evening to raise the money”. He continued.
Poor husband!. I muttered under my breath.
I knew I had to do something really fast before things run out of hands.
The decision was hard to make, but I just cannot sit back and watch my lovely husband suffer for something to which I have a solution. So after he was done eating, dressed up and ready to leave, I knelt down before him with tears in my eyes.
“Now what?”.He was confused.
“I have a confession to make”. I began..
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#Story from Joy Ifunanya
