ESCAPE!

CHAPTER 4

                             

        It took her less time to reach the stream now that she knew her way. She took some water and used it to wash her pot. She then put the pot's mouth against the running stream and filled her pot. She made her way back to the shelter. She poured the water into another container and took a lump of local black soap with her. The black soap was made using roasted plantain, palm fronds and banana leaves, for ash and potash, and coconut oil. She also took along her three priced wrappers which were given to her by appreciative husbands who got them from the port towns. When she got to the stream she removed her wrapper and poured the water on her body from the shoulder down. Until she removed her cornrow she would not pour water on her hair else the hair would start to smell. She rubbed the lump of soap all over her body. Enorhor took special attention to her underarms and inner thighs. She rubbed the foam against her pubic hair and washed away all the dirt-laden foam from her body with copious amount of water from the stream. She washed her face with soap and water and felt clean all over. She waited a while for the water to dry on her body after which she wrapped the new clothe around her bosom. She took the pot and balanced it on her head for the tent-ward journey.

     Enorhor initially thought of leaving the island with her boat but she didn't know which direction to sail towards. Also, she didn't want to sail farther than she was already. Over time she would stand on the earthen mound and gaze towards the ocean, scanning for any sign of canoes or boat. Her eyes sometimes played tricks on her. She could swear she saw a boat once or twice but on a second observation nothing could be seen on the horizon.

     Enorhor gradually adapted to life on the island. Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months. At every new moon, Enorhor made a mark on the nearest tree to the tent. By the time she made the twelfth mark, the twins, Bubuye and Boboye were toddlers learning to walk. All these while Enorhor had not seen any living soul pass by the island not to talk of the island. Her only companion had been the twins who had been her only connection to reality. She would have lost her mind if not for the presence of the twins. She talked to them like adults and this had a positive psychological effect on her. Those conversations lifted her mood whenever she felt down. She lost herself in the reverie of the village. She thought of what the people she knew were doing now. Has Ibigibo given birth? Her name means 'good mother' but she passed through a lot before she got pregnant. Enorhor used to prepare herbs for her until she got pregnant. Enorhor could never forget the joyful look on Ibigibo's face as she told her she had stopped seeing her period. Enorhor was happy for her even as she advised Ibigibo to take things easy and ease off on all strenuous activities. Enorhor continued to monitor Ibigibo's pregnancy. She had been looking forward to Ibigibo's safe delivery of her baby. Unfortunately she was not there when she, hopefully, delivered her baby-when she became mother not in name alone but in reality.

    She was snapped out of her daydream when she saw Bubuye in her peripheral vision. He was becoming adventurous of late. She reminded herself to get some palm leaves to make an enclosure where the twins could play. The sister was still sleeping. Enorhor pulled the child to her side. He was a strong and healthy child. Enorhor had weaned the babies when they were five months old. She had introduced them to mashed fish and banana meals. As time goes she would supplement their diet with coconut oil. The oil and protein from the fish would do for now. The toddlers also took orange fruit juice for their developmental requirements.

     She looked back over the years and how her life had changed. She had been able to adapt to her environment. She had not done badly with what the environment presented her. The island gave her sticks and she sharpened the ends to make fishing spears. She harvested seaweed in the pool when the tide was out. She also trapped varieties of fish in the tidal pool. She was a good swimmer, as was everyone in her village, and she fished for mussels, clams and mollusk, periwinkle apart from fish. Enorhor knew from experience that the clams that were hard to dislodge were the good and wholesome ones. She tried as much as possible to avoid injuries both for her and the toddlers. Even though she had knowledge of herbs, treating herself will take her time and take attention from her toddlers. Her greatest asset on the island, she believed, was her focus, calmness, and ability to think clearly coupled with her positive mental attitude.

      Enorhor marks on the tree was now more than sixty. The twins were now five years old. They were comely and lively kids. They were fluent in the language as Enorhor had been communicating with them since they could comprehend. Enorhor felt fulfilled at how the kids had turned out. She felt her sacrifice in rescuing the twins from a certain death had been rewarded. The days were spent fishing, gathering fruits and, in the evenings, storytelling. Enorhor told folktales which invariably taught morals. The children loved these moments and they participated actively in these story telling sessions. Sitting cross legged in front of Enorhor, the twins were always attentive to Enorhor as she told her stories. Boboye, her eyelids fluttering ever so slightly followed these stories with her mind's eye. Because of the fact that all her world revolved round her two family members she had to employ her mental faculties in order to better grasp the storylines.

     Enorhor had told the twins where to go and where not to go on the island. She could feel the twins becoming more confident on the island as the days went by. They wanted to go further afield. Enorhor however would not allow that. One day, Enorhor woke up from a siesta and felt everywhere silent. She immediately knew that the twins were not around the shelter. She went out of the tent and looked frantically around her, the high earthen hillock providing a vantage point. She couldn't see them. Enorhor broke out in goose bumps. Her stomach churned as she went in search of them. She went towards the streams at a half run. She followed the stream upstream up to the point where it veered into a thicket beyond sight. Enorhor made a mad dash towards the orchard. She slowed down in order to adjust to the dim light. She moved forward cautiously, straining her ears for the minutest of sounds.

      She heard a slight sound and looked towards her right. She saw Boboye standing motionless with Bubuye about five yards away. The way he was standing raised Enorhor's suspicion. She looked around and saw a long snake in the grass. Apparently, the twins came here to pick some fruits not wanting to disturb their mother. Enorhor slowly looked around for a stick knowing any sudden movement could trigger a reaction from the snake. She saw a stick a yard away. She slowly moved towards the stick, bent down ever so slowly and picked it up having never taken her eyes off the snake. She must take aim at the snake in one quick movement else the advantage of surprise would be lost. From her peripheral vision Enorhor could see Boboye to the left and the boy slightly to Enorhor's right. She was right in the middle of two dramas as it were. She had to throw the stick to kill the snake, immobilise it or at least chase it away. She also had to throw the stick and not hit her son. Her main objective is the safety of her son.

      She realized he had wet his cloth in the groin area. She made the piece of clothing by cutting the bark of a specific tree and removing the worthless outer bark from the inner. She stripped it, leaving the inner soft bark in one piece. She then pounded the inner soft bark with a club, thinning out the tough crisscrossing fibres repeatedly till it achieved a very soft and tender texture. Next, she spread it in the sun to toughen the fibre and expel the moisture. She then dyed it using the dried and powdered kula tree wood. Bubuye's upper body was devoid of any clothe. Thanks to a mixture of herbs and some oils she extracted from the neem tree leaves, none of the children suffered any insects' bites. The combination made sure mosquitoes and other insects did not find their bodies attractive.

     Enorhor slowly lifted the stick shoulder high and with one swift movement it was on its way. The stick flew with speed and power towards its quarry. Moments before it hit, the snake moved fast and within a blink of an eye it was no longer there. The stick hit the spot where only a second before it had been. The snake had simply disappeared into the shadows. Enorhor was at Bubuye's side in a blink. She gathered him up and taking Boboye by the wrist, she made for the light and safety. None spoke, safe for the boy whimpering, on the home trip. Enorhor thought of what could have been. She was nevertheless grateful to her ancestors for the safety of her children. She was however sad that they disobeyed her instruction. On getting to their abode, Enorhor sat the twins down opposite her on the palm frond mat she recently wove. It was yet to lose its greenness, though some fronds have started turning brown at the ends. In a few weeks they would all be brown in colour.

     "I am sorry mama," the boy began. Enorhorshushed him. "Do you know you disobeyed me?" she asked them both. "Yes mama,but we were hungry and didn't want to wake you," they both replied. "You shouldhave woken me," Enorhor told them, patting them both on the head. Boboye wasquiet, obviously still numbed by what just transpired at the orchard. Theypromised not to disobey her again. Enorhor pulled them towards her bosom andheld them for a while. When she released them, Boboye's eyes were welled up andshe busted out in tears. Enorhor petted her and reassured her that nothing badwill ever happen to them with her around. After a while the twins' mood weresufficiently uplifted and they went to play by the shore