EJIMA

CHAPTER 55

“We just want to see the Queen,” Jide said when they came close to the gathering.

“She will be in our midst in no short time. Please follow me,” The bright-eyed man said and ushered them towards the second row. 

There were questions written in Ugomma’s eyes, but she gulped them with the oddity that hovered around the place. At least a hundred people were gathered here, clapping and singing some foreign songs to some strange gods. They looked hungry, but the glee in their faces was like nothing Jide could express in words.

“What is this place?” Ugomma whispered.

“The white queen’s shrine.” 

“Is that what the map says?”

Jide did not answer. They had traveled tooth and nail to get here, and the three days journey was getting into his brain. His tongue was hanging on the roof of his mouth and his stomach was aching. He needed food and rest and if this was not the shrine of the Queen, then he would have no other choice than to turn back. But it has to be. The map said they were in the right place, and the man that had just ushered them has confirmed it. This has to be the home of the queen. 

The singing and clapping lasted for another two or three hours, before a man—Instructor, as he was called—walked up the crate of straws and rested his hands on the lectern made of palm leaves. He was straight, with white shirts tucked under brown short pants. He also had white stockings and a hat that looked like a mini canoe. He was dark-skinned too, but unlike the rest of the village, there was something about the way he spoke the local dialect. It was not refined like the rest. There was a dent in his accent and poise. He was not from around here.

“Ndi nkem. Ekele ooo (greetings my people)” he said and started flipping the pages of the strange object that lay before him.

“Nde woo” The people chorused in unison and sat on the dusty floor. Some people stood, but mostly at the back, where their towering features would not obstruct those sitting.

“Today we are going to begin by…”

“Who is that?” Ugomma said and the man’s voice faded when she leaned sideways.

“Oh, the man?” Jide smirked, “That’s king, ‘why the hell are you asking me?”

“Someone has anger issues. Anyway, are you not supposed to know everything? Didn’t your father leave any instructions on the map?” Ugomma leaned away, disappointment spreading to the side of her face.

“He didn’t princess,” Jide searched his breast pocket and his smile widened when he felt the hard animal skin on which the map was written, “But you can check for yourself. Two heads are better than one” he dropped the parchment on Ugomma’s lap.

She stared at him with disbelief for some time but ease spread across her expression when she started to unroll the object. 

“You are right,” She hissed after several attempts to make meaning from the map, “There is nothing here but directions and empty symbols that make no sense.” She handed the map back to him.

“Told you,” Jide took the map and rolled it back, “We are on the right track. We just have to wait for the queen to show up. Maybe she would be courteous enough to listen to common men like us.”

“Maybe,” Ugomma frowned but her face glittered again at the mention of the queen’s name.

“What? I didn’t say anything that should amuse you, did I? Or should I look for chains?”

“Chains are for madmen and dogs. I am not any of them,” Ugomma laughed, “By the way, what do you think she would be like? The queen?”

“Well,” Jide shrugged, “from what the stories say, I guess she is the greatest creature in the entire kingdom. Her skin must be radiating the light of the sun and her power could make a glooming day bloom.”

“That's hilarious but true. I also have the vision of a woman who—” Ugomma paused when the man on the podium suddenly pointed at her.

“You over there.” 

“Who? Me?” She shared a confused look with Jide.

“Yes, my dear.” The dark man smiled, “Do you mind keeping quiet? You are disrupting my teaching and we don’t…”He paused, “What is that?”

Heads turned towards their direction now, and everyone had their eyes on the parchment that lay on Jide’s lap. He tried to hide it, but it was too late. The man had already seen it.

“It’s a…it’s a…it’s nothing good sire.” Jide cleared his throat.

“It looks familiar.” The man’s smile widened, “Do you mind if I see the content?”

Jide sniffed uncomfortably. Eyes were on him, but he was not afraid of them. Only one person’s opinion mattered and that was Ugomma’s. If she had not nodded in approval, he doubted he would have stood up from the floor.

“What’s your name, daughter?” The man asked.

“Jide…Jidennaya. And I am a boy.”

“Sorry about that, but I think you should learn to keep your hair short, that way your masculine looks would appear.”

It is none of your business. Jide wanted to say but refrained from it. He had passed the parchment to one of the men and they had hurriedly handed them to the man on the podium.

“You must be new here. My name is Godson Chukwu. An instructor of the gospel and ways of the kingdom.” He had opened the parchment now, and the frown on his face made Jide wonder if he was disgusted by the useless symbols or by the smell of dirty parchment.

“There is a message here. Do you consent I read it for you?”

A message? That part stuck Jide like lightning. How on earth can the disarray on the parchment be a message?

“I consent sir.”

The man nodded and returned to the lectern.

“Praise the name of the lord.” 

“Amen!!” the people chorused in unison.

“Today, light has shone in the dark, and the long-awaited day is here.”

More confusion wrapped Jide and Ugomma when the people started to clap their hands and whistle, raining praises on the god whom he didn’t know. What piqued his curiosity was the ease with which they worshiped. There was no fear or hindrance, and everyone had a bond, a connection that held them together. A love that was stronger than wine. But what was this?

“Three years ago,” Godson continued and the people quieted down, “Through a vision, I saw a snake with three distinct colors, and each time the snake moved, one of its members always tried to wage war with the rest of the body. I told Instructor Mary about this vision, and after we had prayed about it, she said we should let God bring the interpretation to us. And today, my brethren, God has brought meaning to that vision.”

“Praise God” The people screamed and this time, with songs that were too glorious to behold.