Her Father's Wife

Chapter 19

Uzoka who acted as secretary to the elders during their meeting was a trader. He sells jewelries. He goes to Ochanja, a big market, two days walking  distance away  from Ngodo to buy his goods. He goes there once every two weeks. That evening, Onaedo went to see him. He was surprised to see Ona, but he treated her kindly, he asked after her mother and her siblings. After the greeting, he waited for Ona to say why he came to see him. Without wasting time, Ona told him that she wants to follow him to the market the next day. Uzoka could not believe his ears. He tried to reason with her, he told her to just tell him the things she wants to buy and he will help her buy them. Ona refused. She insisted on going with him. Did your mother know? He asked. Ona said yes. Obidiya knew nothing about it, but how will Uzoka know. He certainly will not leave his wares he was arranging to go and find out.  Alright,  Uzoka agreed reluctantly, God forbid that he will be the person to deny a widow assistance.  'Meet me in my house as soon as the first cock crows'. May be after Ona have sampled the hard trekking, she will change her mind about the market. Anyhow he looked at it, the journey was too far for a woman let alone a child. Ona hurried out after mumbling good night. She didn't want to give Uzoka time to change his mind. On getting home, she confided on Nkechi, her immediate younger sister. She also sorted for and got Nkechi's promise not to tell their mother until she had gone. That night, Ona hardly slept a wink. She brought out the money string and tied it round her waist. Then, she wore a nicker on top of it. On top of the nicker, she wore the mourning gown. The gown was a plain black cloth they made for all Nwokeforo's children. Her mother wore her own as wrapper and blouse. The girls wore theirs as gowns. They were to wear that plain black cloth for one year. If it gets dirty, well, you just wash it and wear it back. As soon as she heard the first cock crow, she set out for Uzoka's house at the other end of the village. She had no fear at all. She believed that her father's spirit was with her and as such, nothing will harm her. Uzoka was already waiting for her, they set out immediately. At first Uzoka was dragging his feet because of Ona, but when he found out how determined she was, he increased his pace. Ona matched it without complaining. When they got to Ihiala, Uzoka wanted them to take a break but Ona refused. Uzoka told her that he was tired, moreover,  they had to eat. They took shelter under a tree by the road side.  He bought okpa, for two of them. Okpa is a delicacy made of a special kind of beans. They ate it and drank water. After resting for a while, they set off again. It was night when they got to Okpoko. Uzoka told Ona that there is a kinsman of theirs who resides there. They will spend the night at his house and continue the next day. Ofor their kinsman welcomed them with open arm. He was sad when he heard that Ona was Nwokeforo's daughter. He asked her about her mother and her sisters. Ona said they were fine. His wife fed them with rice and stew. Ona had only eaten that meal once in her life. She made a mental note to include it in the things she will buy from the market. Uzoka slept in the sitting room with their host. Ona was to sleep in the room with Ofor's wife and his children. Since she refused to either undress or bath, they gave her a mat which  she spread at a corner of the room. She slept off immediately she lay down. They ate break fast with the Ofors before setting out on the last part of their journey.  It was midday when they got to the market. The market was in full gear when they got there. Ona was surprised at the number of people moving here and there.  She had never seen that much crowd in her life. There was so much to see. Uzoka warned her not to lose sight of him as she can get lost. Ona followed him to where he buys his jewelries. Then she asked to be directed to where she could buy beans and fish. She was surprise at how cheap things were in that market. Her money could have bought her half bag of beans but how to carry it will pose a problem. She bought a quarter bag of beans. She bought Bonga fish, a specie of dry fish that was popular in the village because of it's nice taste. She also bought crayfish and onions in large quantity. When she found out  that, she still had money left, she bought rice. She will use it to appease her mother when they get back to the village.  She would have bought meat, but it will spoil before they will get home. Soon, it was time to set out on the long journey back home.