📝: BEAUTIFUL BETRAYAL
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CHAPTER EIGHT
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The next day, Emeka boarded a bike and drove to Queen’s house. It wasn’t that far from where we lived. Just some miles away. I had hope that was going to turn out well for him but since I wasn’t God I had no other choice then to have hope and believe for the betterment of things.
As of then, my step sister hooked up one of her friends with her mother’s brother. He wasn’t that old but shouldn’t be less than 34 to 36 years of age. So after they had successfully done their extravagant wedding, three months into the wedding, Mary and her husband, Collins began having problems in their wedding. The issue escalated to the point that Mary had to return back home from the city that they had traveled to.
The cause of their problem wasn’t something that could be settled but the both of them were feeling just too pompous and big headed to apologize to another. I tried talking sense into her to go and apologize to her husband even though she was right, if the husband has a good sense of reasoning he would feel guilty and then apologize too.
After agreeing to do what me and her planned, Mercy came back and changed her mind immediately. Mercy told her not to go back because that make her look weak, and then the way my stepsister managed in twisting all the lies into the truth was very shocking because it’s effect was very strong that in the distance of 30 minutes she was able to convince her not to go with Mary giving it a second thought and didn’t even deem it worthy to mine a benefit of doubt.
That was how Mary and her husband, Collins became separated just like her and her husband after she had given birth to two mature boys for him. Maybe that’s why she is such a kind of untold hàtred for men.
Mary was often in our house, so she helped my sister in cooking and most times when she did she would bring some for me to eat. Most times I thought maybe it was Mercy that informed her to be doing such a thing. I was kinda happy that my sister was using this method as a peace offering to get me, it was really really shocking. Unknown to me, Mercy wasn’t aware about it because she was always far away from the kitchen.
The only time one could find her there was when she was supervising the meals they were cooking for festival periods like Christmas, new year and other local celebrations. That was the only time I could remember her bringing food for me was during those times. So the next day I got to realize that it wasn’t my sister that was sending all these while it, she thought I and my sister combined our foods together.
And then I cautioned her to be extra careful while bringing such things to my room. With that being said and done, she left and in the evening I could hear Mercy screaming on top of her voice. Gosh, I wondered why and who must have provoked her to that extent only for her to call my name and blame Mary for giving me her food.
“See this shouldn’t repeat itself again.” she warned, pointing her fingers at her.
I went and as usual it resulted into another batch of tongue and fist parade, and with that our enmity began afresh. With that we stopped giving one another our things and even sharing was probabilted. Honestly my stepsister took it seriously to the point of her warning those three kids living with her not to venture or rather she shouldn’t catch them giving me anything even if it was salt.
She further went ahead to tell them that if she caught any of them who disobeyed her, that she would personally carry the person and return him or her back home and never would that person come back to her house again. Only that threàt alone got them to their bones, because these three children living with her were coming to poor homes and she was the one in charge of their feeding and clothes besides her sons were done with secondary school and had gone to her sister’s house in Abuja for holiday.
So after she had finished implementing the rules for them, I warned my late sister’s son, James, who recently came to live with me after both his parents were involved in a fatàl accident. My siblings agreed to take care of him and then he came to live with had it being it was the time I was living alone, I would have known how I would live with them but they were kids and causing enemity between them wasn’t a kind of thing I would do, so it better they played, talked but don’t share anything together.
Emeka had reached the village 3 days ago and couldn’t do what he came for because his former wife, Queen wasn’t at home. According to her mother, she went to see someone and would be returning the following day which happens to be today. Before she would return, her mother made good use of the time that Emeka was around. She made him farm for her until she succeeded in getting him to farm half of the land in just 3 days.
By the time Queen returned home it was already late in the night, so they couldn’t talk about anything meaningful and then the gifts he got for his daughter with my help were presented to her, she collected it from him without caring to say thank you. For what it’s worth, he was expecting at least a sign of gratitude from her.
Anyways even without being told he knew deep down that he had annoyed her to the highest level when they were still together so now nothing could save him again. So when he was finally given the chance to talk the next day, he told them his intentions in front of Queen’s relatives.
After telling them his intentions, they all refused to allow her to go with him. Rather they said that he should allow his daughter to grow until she attained a certain age before they would allow him to have possession of her but as for then she would be only allowed to come for visiting.
All they continued by giving him a paper that contained a long list of things that he had to bring for them to know that he had paid for their grandchild. And then only opening the list almost gave him a heart attack.
He looked at the list and looked at the writers, how was dumb speechless as he felt his tongue been caught between his teeth. The man was taken aback and then he looked at the list. The efforentry at which they had to even write “ If you can’t find them in the market, you can as well pay in cash”. He took the list, thanked them and headed back home.
He was restless and at the same time, I tried to comfort him but it wasn’t working. I knew he was not too pleased about it but what could I do about it?
One of my step sister, Mercy son– Solomon returned home and as of then the rate of cultism was at its peak. Without even knowing any of us when her son became a full pledged NBM member. Then on this day, while I was in the kitchen with Emeka who has come as usual to have his quiet time with me cooking, Emeka told me that he heard that Solomon was now a cultist but I refused to believe. He kept bringing up the topic but I wasn’t showing much concern because I don’t believe that Solomon, the calm and handsome looking grandchild of ours, would be one.
Solomon’s case was a story for another day, both him and his brother shocked everyone to the bone marrow. No one would ever believe you if you told them. But they could think the brother, Francis, was one. Why? He was very stubborn and always in one mess or the other. With his rounded shape head and small lips, Francis was a certified troublemaker and his mother was at his back to always settle. Be patient, I would make sure you all get the full gist about this two brothers before I end how me and
“Your inability to conceive is not that you’re barren or anything. You are under a cursé by someone you know.” The diviner Emeka took me too revealed.
Emeka and I looked at each in awe and then, still confused, I asked the man to continue with the explanation because I had ransacked my entire brain and thoughts thoroughly. I tried very hard in remembering someone I had once had an issue with. Definitely it couldn’t be my sister, Grace or Queen.
“Amadi, tell us who is this person and what’s his or her reason.” Emeka asked, while looking at me and then I quickly nodded my head in support.
The man nodded his head and stood up from the mat where he sat and began dancing around one cow skull hung in the middle of the shrine. This màn kept humming songs in languages best known to him and after then he began with the incantations. But during this process, we saw him sitting down to do it, and then he kept his head in one place with his hands placed on his ears to hear whatever he was hearing clearly.
And then after the diviner had done that, he faced the mirror that was hànging there and looked at us. He cleared his throat and gave us kola nut before he finally began;
As we just ate the kola nut, I felt something like a scalp coming out of my eyes and then when we looked at the mirror as if a cassette was being inserted, from what we watched it began with when I and Chidi were in a relationship back then in our secondary school.
We started our relationship at an early age until after our graduation when we traveled, but before then I had broken up with him and he just couldn’t stop being obsessed about me even though I had warned him timeless time he wouldn’t stop and still kept coming back and it was during those period I met Emeka in the village and then we began our relationship, he and Emeka had even fought timeless time but thàt didn’t stop it in away.
And while we were still watching, I saw the time I requested money from someone whom I was trying to end things with. Without being told you would know that he wouldn’t in any form refuse. I saw how this young boy suffered as of that time to get the money for me only for me to use the money and get a birthday gift for Emeka. In Fact that alone provoked him and made him depressed and hungry for almost a week.
Chidi couldn’t bear it anymore and went to do what we called “Retaliation”. Chidi went and got a charm from a dibia in the next village and swore on it, and that alone caused sudden barrenness and miscarriages. I was shocked when the incident that had happened in past displayed right before me, something that I had forgotten and took causal as something we women normally did to guys. The normal “Shakara” we did now or was it that I overdid mine.
Emeka bowed his head and then he looked at me and saw me crying, he came close and then drew me into his warm embrace. Immediately, as we made preparations to leave the shrine, Amado called us back with a loud voice as if we stole something from him. I was already tired, and had lost hope in everything. Not until the diviner said …
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TBC
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#kiononiawrites
