Her Father's Wife

Chapter 29

Ona made a bamboo ceiling in their house. It had not always been there. She put ceiling in her fathers room and laid a mat on it. This was where she hid her siblings. Nkechi, Njide and Uzoamaka relocated permanently into the ceiling. Ona served them their three meals there. They hardly come out except in the midnight, when they will come down to stretch their legs. A times, Ona will lead them very early in the morning through a bush track to the creeks. There, they will feel more free and they can talk. Ona herself was spared because, she was heavily pregnant by then. She may put to bed anytime from then. Some young women started stuffing  clothes into their stomach, so as to appear pregnant. The soldiers soon discovered this ruse. They started conducting a search on them. They took to carrying new born babies when they go out, pretending to be nursing mothers. When the soldiers kept hearing 'E Jim nwa naka' they took offence. 'Everybody  'e ji nwa n'aka, na e ji nwa n'aka we go chop? meaning every young lady is saying I am a nursing mother, is that what we will eat?
Ona was soon delivered of a bouncing baby boy. The boy was as dark as Nwokeforo was during his time. Delivering the baby was so easy for her that Obidiye was truly convinced that her late husband was watching over them. Ona would have named the baby Nwokeforo after her  beloved father, but Amadi insisted on going to Afa.  Though it was obvious that the baby was Nwokeforo came back to live, yet, he wanted to be doubly sure. So, to Afa he went. They told him that the baby was not Nwokeforo, but Nwokeforos father Osuji. Nwokeforo was not yet ready, so he begged his father Osuji to come and hold brief for him. He said Nwokeforo would soon join them. The child was given the name Nnanna, meaning grand father. The coming of a baby brings joy into the family, but it also brings more responsibility. Ona did not do Omugwo as a result of the condition of her family. Instead, leaving the baby for her mother,  She went more into business. She had by now gone from making moimoi to running a full scale eatery. This made it such that there was always food in the house. But, the added responsibility of taking care of a new born baby soon wore Obidiye out. Especially as she had not nursed a baby for a long time. She started getting irritated over every little thing. Another thing that pained her was that because of Ona's situation, she had been deprived of going for Omugwo. Something ever grand mother looked forward to. It did not take long before her grievance started showing especially in her attitude towards Onaedo. The coming of the little one afforded Ona's siblings the opportunity of coming out of the ceiling. They can also go out one at a time carrying the baby. If any soldier waylays them on the road, of course, 'E Jim nwa n'aka' will be the response. The baby thus grew up knowing Ona and all her siblings as elder sister and Obidiye as 'Nne' . Ona was working very hard. Some of their neighbours took to coming around to help at her eatery. They were not receiving payment for this assistance.  Their pay was their daily meal. Food was very scarce and to eat two meals a day was a luxury. That period, Ona would be considered the richest person in Ngodo. With time, the soldiers were withdrawn from the villages. At last, Ngodo heaved a sight of relief. They can now go back to their farms. Nkechi took her children and went back to her husband. Njide and Uzoamaka came down from the ceiling and started helping in the eatery and around the house. This relieved Obidiye's tension.