Her Father's Wife

Chapter 46

Ezinne and Akukalias set out with the antidote. Two  bicycles were  procured for their journey. One for Akukalia, the other for Ezinne. Akukalia had the antidote tucked securely into the pocket of his isiagu, cloth. He cannot trust Ezinne within a mile of it. They had to make a stop at Orlu, then take a lorry, Eziafa to Onitsha. At Orlu, they met with another huddle. Eziafa travelled to Onitsha the day before, he was still not back, probably on account of the bad weather. He doesn't like exposing his lorry to bad weather condition. The travellers got confused at this point. What are they to do? Ezinne started crying again. This was very irritating to Akukalia.  'woman, stop that crocodile tears at once', he barked. Ezinne promptly closed her mouth, but she was still cleaning tears. Many suggestions were brought, trekking to Onitsha was out of the question, since that will take them many days and they don't have any time to spare. Ezinne will have willingly developed wings or even race down there if it were humanly possible.  The most workable idea was to go and beg the Reverend Father of St Theresa's Catholic church for his motorcycle. An Igbo proverb said that from looking for a kitchen knife, you confess the meal that was eaten. Akukalias confided on the  reverend, the reason for their journey. He was full of sympathy for him. He released the cycle for them, since Akukalias cannot operate it, they have to get somebody who could. A young man agreed to carry him there for a fee. This means that Ezinne was left behind to find her way back to Ngodo. Good riddance, Akukalias never wanted him on this journey anyway. She decided to walk back to Ngodo. The truth be told, she wasn't in a hurry to go back to Ngodo to face all the reproach and hatred looking out on her from people's eyes. Nwakaku is not only Enyidiye's  daughter, she belongs to the whole community now. She and her husband Philip are Ngodo's glory. Nwakaku started feeling sick to her stomach barely one hour after consuming the walnut. She was sweaty and felt like throwing up. Is something wrong with the baby? She bit hard on her lower lips as she sought to clear her blurry eyes and at the same time control the car. She couldn't. She was getting weaker too. Something at the back of her mind alerted her that she should resist the urge to vomit. She tried hard. If only she can get to the hospital first. If only she can get somebody that can drive her down. My baby, she thought frantically, what's going to happen to the baby? She felt a phlegm   lodged itself at the back of her throat she brought it out and spat out. To her horror, it was thick blood. Poison!  her brain screamed as she lost control of the car. The car swerved off the road and into a nearby ditch. Some passers by saw her there over thirty minutes later. She was dead. Amidst confusion and much ruining about, the corpse was taken to the hospital. Her car was abandoned their to be towed out later. The papers found inside the car identified her. Her husband was sent for. Many people were of the opinion that the accident was the cost of death. The doctor at the hospital she was taken to tried to save the baby. He carried out surgery at once, but the baby was brought out dead. Probably died of suffocation or may be, it imbibed some of the poison from the mother. Dr. Philip came in much later and was shown the corpse of his wife and that of his baby. He broke down and wept like a baby. Akukalia came in much later bearing the antidote, a nurse from Philip's hospital brought him. He took a survey of what was going on and thought it wise not to mention the antidote. An ambulance later transfered the two corpses to St. John's Hospital where Philip works. Dr. Philip was anxious to find the cause of death. He did not believe like the others that his wife died from the accident, because, the few wounds found on her were all superficial wounds. None was deep enough to be fatal. Though, there may be other variables. However, he deferred to his father in law who persuaded him to go home and take a rest so as not to break down. He should also make arrangement to bury them instead of incurring more cost by looking for cause of death. What has happened has happened.  Akukalia resisted the temptation to tell him what actually happened. It will poison the relationship between the two families forever. He had decided to bury Ezinne's wickedness if possible. This will bring a stigma to his family that cannot be wiped away. Family of poisoners, nobody will ever accept a cup of water from his family again. It is not just Ezinne that will pay for this sin but the whole family and their generation after them. What Dr. Philip failed to ask was why his father in law was there at that particular time. He just took it that fate didn't want him to be alone at that most painful time of his life.