EJIMA

CHAPTER 3

It’s been three moons since the episode in the forest, yet Ejima could not shake off those ecstatic faces. Their smiles still glossed her brave heart and mended it with a warmth that had kept her in disarray. Those bright eyes. They had glittered with the sun, chiseling on her soul, and driving her consciousness into that valley of hysteria. Her sleep had been inoculated with lurid sights which at a time made her wonder if she had offended the gods in touching the babies. She had even screamed herself up from sleep one night when she had seen a silhouette of some twin figures chasing her with a horsewhip.

“Are you okay?”

Ejima blinked and shifted her weight, hoping to find comfort on the wooden chair. She was terrible. The hollowness in her soul was anything but fine. This was the first sign she normally gets when she takes in. But her denial was something she was beginning to believe as truth. Yes, she was living a lie.  A lie which she had perfected so well. 

"Don't worry, it will pass,” She said, hoping her friend would stop staring.

“Why the gloomy look then or has someone died?”

Ejima snorted as if she could perceive the stink of death. 

“Just lack of sleep, that’s all,” she said and emptied the fresh Vilari water into a clay cup. The muddy end of the cup was already on her lips when she heard her friend's giggle.

“What’s funny?” Ejima asked before gulping the liquid. She dropped the cup by her side and spat once before letting her coppery eyes return to Nneamaka.

The woman’s hair had been woven and braided to stand on her head like the roots of a buttress tree, matching those angelic eyes of hers. Some red beads also lined the hair, contributing their crimson grace to the beauty of the widow, which got some lustful men talking. 

“Don’t be a fool, I know what’s wrong."

"You do?" Ejima's heart fell. Perhaps the concoctions she took to keep away the physical appearance of her early pregnancy were not effective enough. She would have to increase the dose.

"Enjoy it while it lasts. At least your husband survived the war.”

“You are unbelievable” Ejima shook her head as relief caged her soul. Maybe the drugs were working after all.

“Uche was just lucky." She said, "it’s what one can call, a meagre of wavering luck. Besides, your husband was the better soldier. He risked his life for us. His legacy will remain for all time,”

“Legacy,” Nneamaka said and picked up a cassava tuber with the edge of her knife, “Legacy will not bring him back. His name has already been carved on the sand of time, but that would not bring him back to life.”

"It won't. But come on. You are blessed with six children."

“Those kids are all grown up. Soon I will have suitors coming from all parts of the world. But, ah” Nneamaka shrugged, “I still need the touch of a man. I still need that...”

Ejima laughed. “Look who's talking. Have you forgotten how you complained that your husband was your insomnia?”

“I regret those days. I take back my words” Nneamaka laughed.

“Uwa eju afo (nothing on earth can satisfy)” Ejima added as they returned their attention to the cassava.

She was about to pick the third cassava when she suddenly felt a weight on her head. She tried to lift her hand, to make sure she was not imagining things, but her hands would not obey. They had developed minds of their own, causing Ejima's world to spin. The strength in her body had veered into the strength of water, and every attempt to make sense of the situation threatened to mask her world with darkness.