UNHOLY MATRIMONY
CHAPTER 4
The type of charm that was given to Celine was no ordinary charm. It wasn’t your regular love portion or love spells. This one was quite different. It was very effective and diabolic. This one freezes your life, erases your memory. From the day you are struck with it, you forget everything about your past relationships or marriage, and your life begins anew. It was very dangerous.
Poor me, I didn’t know what was installed for me. I was in my home when Celine called me and told me she would love to see me. Of course, I refused, and I did refuse very rudely. I was in my living room with my wife, Olamma. She was sitting on my laps and then she told me to sing a song for her.
“You know I have a bad voice, baby. Why do you want to embarrass me like this.” I asked, smiling.
“Your voice is angelic to me, so go ahead. Sing me a song.”
“Ok, I will sing to you. I will sing a heart-breaking son.”
“Why a heart-breaking song, Dozié?”
“I don’t know, babe. I just have a strange feeling that something bad is going to happen to me, to us.”
“God forbid. Nothing can happen to my handsome husband and me. We haven’t hurt anybody. Anyway, we will pray about it later. But sing my song first.”
There was a song that my elder sister used to sing while we were much younger. I used to feel heartbroken each time she sang it. I couldn’t remember the lyrics very well, and neither could I remember the musician who sang the song. But I had always been struck by the song. Of all the millions of beautiful songs available, I decided to sing just that one to Olamma. This is the song, or at least what I could remember of it.
The war ship was landed, and I came to shore
The fighting was over to be ever more
I had been wounded
They took me from there
I slept on my pillow and laid on my bed
The enemy saw me, they took me away
They made me a prisoner for what so them say
But God in his mercy was with me one day
The door was left open, and I ran away
I returned to my old house to see my sweet wife
The poor house I had for my darling and for me
The door was left open, and I saw her picture
I saw her picture, for her remembrance
I kissed her picture, I wished her goodbye
My heart was now broken, and tears were flowing
The sight of my darling shall no more be seen
I know she will never, no more return back.
“I know that song, you missed some of the wordings, but it’s alright. The song makes me sad, very sad.” Olamma spoke.
“Yes, babe. It’s a sad song. Now, sing me a song too.”
“What? No way. I am shy.”
“Please, babe. I need to hear you sing. Please sing me a song.”
At that moment, I suddenly experienced a blackout for about ten seconds. I couldn’t see anything. I felt a terrible pain in my head. Olamma, bent over me, trying to find out what was wrong? Asking if she could get glass of water for me, asking me to go have some rest. Instead, I pushed her away from me, violently.
“What are you doing in my house?” I asked her, rudely.
“What kind of a question is that my love?” Olamma asked, perplexed.
“I said what are you doing here? Who are you?”
“Is something wrong with you, Dozié? I am your wife. Your lovely, wedded wife, Olamma. We have been married for months now.”
“I want you out of my house, you liar. When did I get married to you? I am not an adulterer. I am married to another woman already.” I said in anger.
“Sweetheart, what has come over you?” Olamma had started crying.
“Who is your sweetheart? I don’t know you. I have never seen you before. What would I be doing with an ugly woman like you?”
In spite of Olmma’s pleadings, explanations and protestations, I sent her packing from my house after giving her a good beating. That night she spent the night at a neighbour’s house. The following day, all the neighbours assembled and brought her back to my house. As soon as they neared my door, I went back into the house, pulled a matchet and chased everyone away.
For four days, Olamma was taken care of by the neighbours. Every day, she would come to my door to beg me, and I would drive her away. The more I saw her, the more I hated her and wanted to have nothing to do with her. She called her parents in Nigeria and explained the situation to them. Her parents, in anger, went to my mother and reported what their daughter had told them. My mother called me but when I realized that she was being a pest to me, I blocked her line. I also blocked Olamma’s parents and every other person who was trying to get us back together.
What happened was that, Celine had used the charm given to her by the witch doctor. She followed all the instructions to the later and used it perfectly. The bad feeling, I was having when I wanted to sing to Olamma was a warning that someone was after me. If Olamma and I had prayed immediately, we just might have averted it. But we postponed the prayer for later and it was just at that moment when Celine struck.
From what I was later to learn, Celine had called me in front of her magic mirror after applying the substance given to her by the sangoma. If I was a prayerful person, my image wouldn’t have appeared on the mirror. But I wasn’t prayerful. So, as soon as she called me, my spirit appeared on the mirror, and she struck me with the charm. That was how it happened. From that moment onwards, I lost all the feelings I had for my wife and loved only one woman on the face of this earth and that was Celine.
After about a week, with everyone frustrated with me, Olamma’s parents sent her some money and she went back to Nigeria a broken woman. To me, it was good riddance. I was so happy and relieved when I got back from work and I was told that she had left for Nigeria. The very next day, Celine moved in with me. I was very happy that she was around, and I loved her with reckless abandon. She was my world, my joy and my everything.
Soon, it was time for Celine and me to marry officially. I had to take her to Nigeria and introduce her to my mother. However, that was no easy thing to do. My mother rejected her and sent her away. My other family members did the same thing. No one wanted to see her. News got to Olamma’s family that the woman who caused their daughter’s separation was in the country. There was serious quarrel as Olamma had the perfect opportunity to look at the face of Celine. She rained insults and curses on her. But Celine was a hard-core criminal and all what they said had no effect on her.
Celine and I got back to Cameroon and began living as husband and wife. Everyone was against our union. I was expelled from church and given an ultimatum that I would only be readmitted when I bring my wife back. That didn’t bother me one bit. I didn’t care about being excommunicated. I was madly in love with Celine and that was what mattered to me.
You could think that Celine was going to be maltreating me or making life unbearable and miserable for me. She didn’t do anything like that. She was a devoted and loving companion. She gave me whatever I wanted and did all she could to make me comfortable. She was trying to do her possible best that I never have any reason to look at any other woman. One day, she engaged me into a discussion.
“Hi babe.”
“Hi Darling.”
“It’s been over a year now that I moved into your place. Ever since then, we have still been living illegitimately. Don’t you think it is time for us to do something legal?” She asked.
“I understand, my love and I know you are right. But what can we do? My parents have refused to acknowledge you because of that mad woman called Olama. What do we do?”
“Let’s forget about them and get married. We don’t need them. I can get my parents and some of my relations and we can go ahead and do the wedding. We can go to court all by ourselves.” She proposed.
“Alright, but remember I am still legally married to Olamma. Won’t I be committing a crime by getting legally married to you?”
“I got information that Olamma has since remarried.” She lied.
“Really?”
“Yes, babe.”
“Then what’s stopping us?
The very next day, we started making preparations for our wedding and a month later, we were legally wedded in court. Celine and I became spouses. Two months later, she became pregnant for our first child.
TO BE CONTINUED…
