CURSED DESIRES 4
When I had asked about Joy’s child, Uche’s parents looked at me quietly. It was definitely my first time speaking. The old man had seized the floor to narrate at length, the cruel demise of Joy’s parents.
He still had a great command with his speech. This was a high class councilor round whom nobles gathered. The old man said he couldn’t have known Joy’s child particularly. He hadn’t been there to know from the many children, the one who was Joy’s. It was then I knew why they’d both glared at me.
However, there was a change of beats. Everything was on foreplay. Uche’s mother looked intently at him. So, it was him after all. He had facelessly denied the pregnancy fifteen years ago! It was then she began to rain blames on Uche. She said if he had told them the truth, he wouldn’t be in the jam he was into. Lizzy his wife was yet to take in after six years of their union.
I shifted uneasily on my seat. These were the same parents who wouldn’t have accepted Joy’s pregnancy even if their son, Uche was responsible. People can be funny! They had all sang from the same song sheet. None of them regarded Joy as human. I felt very bittered. Hot tears formed in my eyes as I remembered how Uche had ill-treated her. This was the girl he had called his milk and honey, his missing rib but when the going got sour, he pushed her away.
I remembered the several occasions when I had to wait up by the pathways, while they necked up in the bushes. This was the same girl Uche couldn’t last a day without seeing. And when she had laid curses on him, he said her words were mere ululations of a drowning person.
It had become a difficult task for everyone. Silence hung over the atmosphere like a daze. It was Uche’s mother who broke the silence. She quickly suggested that we pay a visit to Oketa, the mouth piece of the gods. This Oketa in question was said to be a very powerful witch doctor. Words went round that he had powers that superceded spells and curses alike.
Uche’s mother said meeting Oketa could save us the stress and embarrassment of begging a lowlife for forgiveness. Oketa could break the spell and her son could go ahead making babies with his wife. If only he’d raised the issue on time, his problem could’ve been solved long ago. This didn’t sound cool to me. After all these years, the Okoyes still clung onto their provocative pride.
However, locating Joy was extremely tasking. She was the only child of her late parents. If the said mouth piece of the gods could undo the preposterous bondage, then there wasn’t much to this whole jam.
But Uche’s father wasn’t on the same page as the rest of us. He was of a contradicting opinion. According to him, no chances, powers or force could thwart the firm resolve of a determined soul. He said unless Joy withdrew the curse herself, every other counter measures could only be a waste of time and money. Things could even worsen! This turned me on. Joy’s words were too heavy to be sidelined. I saw a certain sparkle of wrath in her eyes when she had laid those curses on my friend.
However, his mother maintained that Oketa could undo whatever spell or curse that had been placed on her son. After all, it was a passion they’d both undergone. Seeing the challenges of tracing a dumped lady, Uche agreed with his mother. I tried to take sides with his father but was told to lay off…
