Episode 5
NAOMI
When the woman introduced herself and her son as spirits, I felt cold shivers all over my body. I made an attempt to stand, and run, but as usual, my arms and legs seemed glued to the spot I was sitting.
“You’re evil spirits?”.. The word came out as a whisper.
“Listen to me. You have powers. You can change whatever you don’t like, you have powers to fight your tormentors. You can do whatever you like with your powers, Naomi.. You can command things to be and it would stand or you can just make a wish, and it shall be granted unto you” The little boy said.
Now I knew why my stepmom cut her finger the other day.
“Please, let me go, you’re ev!l”. I whispered again.
“Naomi, you don’t have to be scared. You’re almost like us”. The woman said to me. And with that, they were gone. Same was the banana on my dress.
In a flash, the event wiped off from my memory. I stood up, crossed the gutter and fought my way into a bus with the rest of the passengers.
When I returned from school later that afternoon, aunt Tracy was sitting in the verandah, laughing out loud from something she was watching on her phone. On the table before her, was a plate of chin chin.
“Good afternoon, aunty”. I greeted.
For a response, she looked up from her phone and hissed.
“Drop that your bag over there, take this money and go buy me a bottle of yoghurt”. She said, pointing at a 5h note under the plate on the table.
I frowned.
“Aunty, I am tired. You know I didn’t eat in the morning and….” .
Before I could complete the sentence, she rose to her feet and gave me a brain-resetting slap.
“Are you mad?. Do I look like your mate you can talk to anyhow?. You didn’t eat in the morning, were you not the person that covered that big eba in the kitchen?. Why did you not eat it?”. She asked.
“I was running late”. I cried.
“You left the food you’re supposed to eat, how is it my fault you didn’t eat?. That is how you would go around telling the neighbors that I don’t give you food. I don’t know what kind of child you are, you don’t have a single respect. She sighed, sitting back.
….Anyways, I don’t blame you, it’s not your fault. I blame your stupid mother who failed to give you proper home training. She
Though the slap was painful, but more painful was she calling my mom ‘stupid’ before me. But what can I do?. I was only a child.
She pulled the money out from under the plate and threw it at my face.
.. Come on, take this money, and go buy what I asked you to buy. Idiot!”. She yelled.
With one hand on my chin, I picked the money with the other and started walking away from her.
…if you like go and sleep there or you buy soda instead of yoghurt. I will be here waiting for you”. She was saying.
Just then, I felt something strong, like a heavy force overpowered me. I turned around to face her again.
“Aunt Tracy, you’re the stupid one here, not my mom”. That was my voice.
She was as surprised as I was at my outburst.
“What did you just say to me?”. She asked.
I was going to apologize, but then the words coming out from my mouth were different from what was on my mind.
“Aunt Tracy or whatever you call yourself, let this be the last time you would ever open your mouth to say anything against my mom”. The voice was saying.
“Naomi, is it me you’re talking to?”. She asked.
By now, the force or whatever, has left me standing helplessly before her.
“Aunty, I am sorry, I wasn’t going to say those things to you”. I begged her.
She held me on the ear with one hand and with the other, she bent over, picked one leg of her slippers and started beating me with it.
She gave me at least six strokes of the slippers before I finally broke free from her and ran away, shouting on top my voice.
“Stup!d girl!. I don’t have your time now. Let your father come back first”. She sat down.
When daddy came back much later in the evening, she told him everything that happened even spiced it up.
“So Naomi, you have started talking back at your stepmom?”. He asked.
“No daddy, it wasn’t me. I didn’t say..”. I was going to explain, but was interrupted by aunt Tracy.
“Are you now calling me a liar?”. She asked.
“No, that is not…”. I continued to explain.
“You’re now calling your stepmom a liar?”
Daddy asked angrily.
Before I could give any further explanation, he stood up, held my ear and started dragging me into the room..
With the door, locked behind us, he flogged me mercilessly with a cord.
Much later at night while I was alone in the room, crying with a portrait of myself, my sister and my mom, I heard that voice calling me from outside.
“Naomi, come over here and eat with us”.
Without hesitation, I put the portrait aside, got down from the bed, wear my slippers and started walking out of the room. I passed through the living room where my dad and his wife were seated with their eyes glued to the television. Surprisingly, I opened the door, and went out without them noticing.
Once outside, I joined the woman and her son in the verandah. And we got to business…eating those gummy bananas, groundnut and water.
“Why do you still allow this woman to torment your life?. Don’t you want to wish anything?”. She asked while I eat.
“The only thing I ever wished for was to see my family together again. I want my mummy and baby Joshua and Didi. I want them back so we can continue living like we used to”. I said.
“Naomi, this can never be granted you”. She said.
“Why?. Did you not say I can wish for anything?”. I asked.
“Naomi, you only use the powers on your tormentors”. She said.
In order words, I only had to do evil with the powers.
The spirit continued possessing me and using me to do things that would at the end earn me beatings from either of my parents.
One night, I was helping my stepmom in the kitchen when the force overpowered me again. I found myself walking out of the kitchen without her noticing.
I walked into the living room. Daddy was watching listening to the news @7. I stood behind him.
“Daddy”. I heard myself say.
He turned to look at me.
“Naomi, what is it? are you guys done cooking?”. He asked.
I ignored his questions, and continued.
“Daddy, why have you not been beating your new wife?”. I asked.
He turned to look at me properly.
“What n0nsense are you saying?. Why would I beat my wife”. He was really angry.
“You’re being partial. And it’s not like it’s a new thing to you, mummy was your punching bag while she was here with us .You should give this one her share. She is too wicked for my liking”. I was saying
“Naomi, are you mad?”. He asked.
“Daddy, you have to beat her and you must do it tonight”. I said.
Just like magic, he stood up and like one being controlled by a remote, he started walking into the room. He was back few minutes later with his belt in his hand. Again he started walking quietly into the kitchen, the hand that held the belt, hiding behind him. I followed silently behind him, but had to stop at the door.
Aunt Tracy was dancing and singing on top her voice as she stirs the pot of boiling soup. When she saw him approaching her, she started blushing sheepishly, I guess she was thinking he had come to compliment her cooking as the aroma filled the whole house.
“Hmm, somebody can no longer wait..”. She teased.
Without talking, he got closer to her, pulled her her out from the gas cooker and let her fall on top the bag of rice.
She opened her mouth in shock.
“Honey, what is it?. Are you okay?. She asked as she struggled to stand.
He brought out the second hand. That was when she saw the belt in his hand.
…Holy Mary!. Dennis are you drun?”. she didn’t complete the word. She started crying out loud for help as he whip her mercilessly with the head of the belt, her voice echoing all over the house.
…He wants to k!ll me oo!”. She would scream as each stroke lands on her robust skin.
Typing 6….
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#Story from Joy Ifunanya
