BECOMING

CHAPTER 3

Praise wedding.

Deep in the forest, where no soul was allowed to wander, except the souls of the departed. Mary found herself wandering through the narrow path, swinging her hands forward as she touched every leaf she sees on the path that led to nowhere, her face was down, while her hands on the each leaf she finds. .
Deeper and further she walked. The further she walked , the darker it gets. Suddenly, she hits her leg on a little stone that was deep into the ground, as she turns to look at the Stone, she saw a green snake behind her, their eyes met and she was lost, she looked deeply into the eyes of the snake as if to get a message. It was a pretty snake, very long and had blue designs in the face. But Mary was sure not captivated by the beauty of the snake.  She couldn't move, neither did the snake. But their souls met, all of a sudden;she startled, but before she could run, the snake had pierce deeply into her and quickly, it dashed into the bush. She cried out for help rolling on the ground but no one could hear her. She rolled from one end to another but help was no where to be found. She was able to lift herself but she was too weak and fell into a coffin. She wondered why she was in a coffin and not the ground, but before she could even left an arm, the coffin was closed. 
She screamed and woke up. Immediately she jumped from her bed and went on her knees to pray. She was sweating profusely, shaking and afraid. She tried praying but couldn't, she stood up and put on the light switch. She wished it was one of those nights John was around. She needed someone to tell her it was going to be fine. She  lifted up her face to look at the clock that was on the wall, it was 2:30. She stood up and walked around the room with her hands on akimbo.  She paused for a while and tried to think what the nightmare was about. But she couldn't get it. She quietly opened the room door as though she was trying not to wake someone, immediately it dawned on her again that John was not in the room. She sighed and dragged the door forcefully to herself. She opened the lobby door and ran her hands through the wall to find the light switch and put it on. She walked through to the bathroom, put on the sink tap and washed her face. She looked at her self in the mirror in disbelief. She couldn't believe the nightmare.

Mercy tossing from one end of the bed to another, the heat in her room was enough to bake bread.  The fan in her room was bad and she didn't bother disturbing herself to tell Mary about it because she already has a lot in her hands.  She startled and jumped out of the bed when she heard a loud bang at the door. She immediately rushed out, and found Mary still holding the toilet door after banging it and looking like she saw a ghost.
"Don't worry, it's me" said Mary
"Why would you bang the door like that now"?
" sorry, didn't know it was that loud"
Mercy looked at Mary and noticed that she was disturbed
"What is it Mary"?
Mary turned quietly and looked at her sister, she held her hand and walked with her to the living room. Mary left her sister and sat down, her sister still standing and not able to comprehend Mary's mood. She stood beside Mary and folded her hands together looking down at her with a look that described how anxious she was .
" sit down"
Mercy rushed to sit down as if what her sister was about to say would find its way out of the house.
Mary told Mercy about the nightmare she had.
"Jesus!!!"
"Shhh! Don't shout now. No one died"
"Abasi Mmi mbok ooo"
Mary moved over quickly to cover Mercy's mouth with her hands. Mercy in shock lend back to prevent her sister from doing so, but Mary forcefully pulled her head forward and covered her mouth with her hands.
"Stop making noise, I'm still alive , I'm I not?"
"Okay, leave my mouth, I won't shout again. Did you at least  pray?"
" I tried, but I was too scared"
They both looked at each other and rushed their knees to the floor. Mercy led the prayer and it went on for an hour or more.
Finally, they were done, they stood up and Sat back on the couch.
"Are u sure we will still attend this Praise's wedding"? Asked mercy
" it's two weeks from now, we'll go. Nothing will happen. When you close from work today by 4, you'll go and visit Grace in school, I will write a letter to papa and tell him everything, you'd take it to the post office "...
" why exactly I'm I going to visit Grace in school? I hope it's not because of this o. What if she was not in Unical(university of calabar)?"
"Stop this Mercy, I need to be sure everyone is fine. Just do as I say". Looking furiously at Mercy.
Mercy stood up and nodded in disagreement as she was about walking out.
Mary quickly stood up and dragged her back
" what is wrong with you? If I had the chance I would go. But I have a lot to do ,I have to check on the seamstress I gave  our clothes to sew for the wedding to see if she has started something, you know how disappointing this people are"
"Is not like that, you know how Grace disrespects me"
"Mtcheewww!!!!"
Mary eyed her and walked away.  She expected something serious but definitely not what Mercy just said.  As if she forget to tell her something , she moved her body towards the door so she could see Mercy's face.
"Tell her to come back home next week
Thursday so we could leave for Akwa ibom state on Friday".
Mercy turned and looked at her then walked pass her. Mary who expected it already moved in and closed her room door.

Thursday ,7;30, November,1896

" kpam! Kpam!! Kpam!!, this people should be home by now".
"Ah ah!! Mma Grace, welcome o" said Mrs Edet
"Eka bassey, aunty good evening".
" evening Ufan, your sisters came back, I think they went to buy something, they didn't dress serious".
"Okay, aunty, sosongo. I will wait for them".
" okay, eheeh! *looks left, looks right and moved close to Grace*. I've been meaning to ask, where is that your sister's husband? Abi boyfriend? "
*Grace twisted one side of her mouth and looked at her from head to toe*
"Iyammi Grace, why are you looking at me like that ? Sorry o! I was just concerned"
"You should be concerned about what Bassey and Ekpeyong will eat today".
" semi, don't insult me o, I'm not your mate!! Look at this small girl o".
"Oorh! Aunty I'm sorry".
" better"...
Mrs Edet walked to the backyard to remove the clothes she washed earlier from the line.
Grace sat at the cottage and wondered what kind of woman Mrs Edet was, then she gave a mockery giggle. She took out a novel from the side of her bag to read just then her sisters came back.
"Ahah! Ekpre mma!"
As Grace was about to get angry over them leaving her outside knowing fully well that she'd be home. Mary open the things the bought to show her. She was a lover of seafood, and they stepped out to the evening market to buy fresh fish, crab, fresh crayfish, snail,lobster to prepare Okro soup. Grace loved it, she couldn't get angry with them as she jumped in joy.
"Eh! Look at her," said mercy.
They went inside to prepare their dinner.
While in the kitchen, Grace was forced to ask Mary about John
"My dear, since you told me he went to see his parents, that uncle is still not back"
"Abasi Mmi ke enyong, you are sure he's fine"?
" this isn't the first time now, hell come back abeg"

They girls finished up on time , packed their bags and quickly went to bed , so they'd leave early the next day

It was10am the next day, they were already prepared to leave for the wedding in Akwa ibom state. They prayed before leaving the house. Mary was scared to see her friend praise, she knew she'd ask her about John, she didn't know how to tell her everything that's gone wrong between her and John, because she knew her friend would either shrug her shoulders for her or tell her "I told you so".
She already had the perfect answer in case she asked.  Well, the week went well, she was glad her boss was out of town, reason why she could attend her best friend's wedding. While on en route to Akwa ibom state, she thought about so many things. Mercy held her hand, giving her hope.
" don't worry, your turn will come "
She looked at mercy and wondered how she was able to know when she was bothered. She turned and looked at Grace, " chai, this one". She dashed her face outside the bus to free her thoughts.

*****"Abasi Mmi mbok" is Ibibio meaning "my God please" mostly used as an exclamation by The Ibibio and Efik people.
"Akwa ibom" is a state in Nigeria.
"Kpam kpam kpam" is a local way of knocking the door. Mostly used by Nigerians.
"Chai" is an exclamation used for a pity party or to express disappointment
"Abeg" is pidgin for "please" used by Nigerians.
"Abasi Mmi ke enyong" Ibibio for "my God in heaven"
"Ekpre mma" its Efik for "small woman" Efik is spoken by calabar people in Nigeria.
"Ahah" expresses shock or disbelief.
"Iyammi" expresses shock. Mostly used by the ibibios.
"Eheh" used to remember something that you've been willing to talk about with a person.
"Oorh" exclamation that expresses agreement to something said or done.**** 
*Ibibio is spoken by Akwa ibom people*
"Ufan" means friend. "Sosongo" means thank you
"Semi" means look here*

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