EJIMA

CHAPTER 38

The sound of the ikoro had woken her. It was rare. That wooden gong was never beaten unless something bad has happened or was about to happen. It was hard to tell which of the two was in play. But one thing was certain. The ikoro was a drum of the spirit. It was never sounded in vain. The last time she had heard its sound was a long time ago. She was probably ten or eleven years old then. The kingdom had lost the greatest diviner, the Dibia of the seventh generation.

Ejima hurried towards the sandy path, making her way to the village square. The day was young, but the fact that she didn’t see anyone on her way to the square, made her wonder if the enemy had wiped out the entire village. For all she could tell, the village could have turned into a ghost town. Not even the noise of a domestic animal could be heard. Silence and emptiness had mended the crips of the birds.

Ejima rested her hands on her sling as she roamed the narrow path. As a novice in the shrine, she was not allowed to wear a sword, but that does not mean she was harmless. She was a sling master and could cause twice the damage as any good sword. War was not something anyone in their right senses would wish for. She has not seen one herself but she’d heard too many scary tales from her husband to desire one. The hunger, the killings, and the tragedy. It was too heavy a mental picture to draw, let alone wishing for one.

The gods forbid we have wars in this harvest period. Ejima prayed as she rounded the narrow path and into the village square.

Murmurs and idle chats whack her as she approaches the crowd. The entire villagers were in the square, old and young, with worries hanging on their expressions. Regardless of the oddity, Ejima was glad to see them. She was delighted that her fears would not manifest. Not any time soon.

She walked towards a palm tree and squatted on the dusty floor. Nobody noticed, and she was glad to have grown so trivial. It gave her the room to observe and listen. It was a gift which she was enjoying. The gift of a silent and quiet life.

“My people”

Heads turned towards the podium and the chatters receded as a man walked up. His dark skin testifies that he must be from Umunta village, but his deep accent was a bit off the hook. He had a gray vest which was covered by the leopard skin hanging on his shoulders, and white elephant tusks on his right hand. There were no swords or daggers. He was not a warrior, just a simple civilian with political sanity.

“I am happy we all responded dutifully to the emergency cry of the village. It shows that we are one people with one spirit. Today we have…"

Ejima closed her eyes and let the voice of the man fade in her ears. It was true that the King’s horn was trying to ease the confusion on the people's faces, but Ejima was already fed up by the pretense and glamor. First, they had disturbed her sleep, and now they were telling her about some united spirit. A spirit of evil and hate. A united spirit that has no regard for human life.

“…we shall live to see our children’s children.” The King’s horn shouted.

“Ise ee (amen)” came the people's chorus.

Something at the back of Ejima's mind told her to return to her hut. A rebellious urge which she wanted to obey until her eyes fell on the people standing at the other end of the village Square, just some strides from her.

It was Uche, her husband, and standing beside him, was also her best friend, Nneamaka. Despite the tension, the couple was all smiles. Nothing seemed to matter to them, and as they wrapped their arms around each other, it was as if they were the only living thing existing in the village square, if not the world.

Ejima looked away as her heart sank into her stomach. It’s been long since she last saw her husband. She couldn’t bring herself to see him. Not after everything that has happened. That was the reason why she had avoided him. She thought she had healed. Time should have mended the broken parts. But she was wrong. Seeing her husband and her best friend, it seemed to rupture that scar, causing it to bleed. The fresh wave of pain that followed, made her head heavy with the weight of the world trying to crush her. She could hardly breathe, her head was already revolving. 

“I hate this life,” she muttered and wiped her eyes, promising never to look in that direction again. This was her curse. She was her own curse.

“The land is in distress.” 

Ejima mopped her eyes again with the back of her hands and returned her attention to the King’s horn. His face was beginning to sweat now, and the crease that had suddenly grown was all the proof Ejima needed. Something bad has happened and the elders of the village are trying to conceal it from the people.

“The great Ijele hunt will begin on the next market day.”

The words were barely out of his mouth before the people started screaming in delight. The Ijele hunt was done every ten years. For those who haven’t seen the hunt, they often take the adventures the way the story told them. Only a few who have been in the hunt and have ventured far into the land of the dead know exactly what the hunt is. It is rare for one to hunt twice. The ijele hunt was a once-in-a-lifetime event.

“But this hunt will be different.” The King’s Horn continued and the people hushed back to silence. “The first hunter to bring back the leaf of life will be crowned the next king of the village.”

The village square erupted with joy as most of the young men and women started pushing their way to the front to get their name enlisted.

Ejima sat up. She knew something bad had happened. It was obvious too. The elders had waited for this day to come. The Ijele hunt was not just an adventure for the brave, it was also a way to replace one dynasty with another. And since the current King has no heir, it made sense why the elders had called for the hunt. It’s either that the current King had died and the elders are trying to swathe it until a new King arises, or that the current King was critically sick without hope of recovery. 

Angry that her sleep had been disturbed, Ejima stood and dusted her cloth. She was about to return to her hut when her eyes went back to the position where her husband and her best friend stood.

Wait, are they going for the hunt?

Ejima frowned when she saw the two, making it to the front. Something snapped within her. This time, it was not the sadness. It was something else that she could hardly express in words. Call it envy or jealousy. She really does not care.

I won’t sit back and watch those two rule over me. 

Ejima muttered as she hurried to the front. Maybe she was being a fool, or maybe this was the only way to retrieve back her former glory.