Against All Odds

Chapter Sixteen: Achara Tea

Obi didn't know how long she slept but she woke up to voices in their living room. Laughter rang and the sound of feet running around she could also hear.

"Nyem ihe m! Give me my thing! Tobe!" It had been ifenna screaming that Tobe returns whatever he took from her. Obi removed the wrapper from her body and stood up groping and feeling around with her hands because the room had suddenly become dark. She managed to locate the door and continued before she made it to the living room.

She saw her siblings running around in the room and Obiefune was no where to be seen. When they saw her, they ran and threw their hands around her.

"Obiefune said you are sick, ndo o" it was oluebube who spoke first. The other two also said the same thing before Obi sat down.

She peeped outside the window and realized how late it was.

She turned to her siblings and asked them "unu eri ela nri? Have you eaten?"

She had slept longer than she expected and didn't even prepare food her siblings. There had been uha soup in the kitchen all she had to do was make garri for her siblings.

"We've eaten, sister! sister! Chioma brought us food to eat." Tobe answered fishing out books from his School bag

She gave us rice and plantain!! " Oluebube excitedly answered

Obi was relieved to hear that but where had the pair gone to? Maybe they went home after they made sure the children were home and fed.

"Do you know if they have gone home?" Obi asked Tobe just to be sure that her assumptions were right.

" Mba o! They went to give mma achara tea. Mma chukwudi is not back from the market and mma was calling you. They gave her food and now Obiefune is boiling achara tea for her in her hut"

Obi stood up and left the living room in search of the the pair of angels God sent her way. She was careful as not to slip on the muddy soil and when she got to mma's hut, the old woman was drinking the tea that was prepared for her.

Obi saw how attentive the pair was as mma gulped the hot liquid. Chioma stood up as she saw Obi enter. She touched Obi's forehead and her neck to check if she was still running a temperature.

"This is the fourth cup and she keeps insisting that it is not hot enough. Something that burned my tongue, I think all her taste buds are fried" Obiefune whispered to Obi

Obi stifled a laughter and cleared her throat. "She's an old woman, you don't expect everything to be like yours" Obi replied

"I was struggling to hold the pot steady when I was pouring her the tea, it was so hot and I had to use a rag. When she wanted the second pot she used her hand to carry that hot pot. I had to keep the cup in place for her. I thought she would have screamed or gotten blisters,nothing happened. Hmmm I think I understand why some people call old people witches and wizards. Does she hit anybody with her hand? " Obiefune whispered again

Obi chuckled this time unable to hold her laughter in." She doesn't, well not often"

Mma heard obi's voice and called out to her. "Obi ọ giwa? Is that you?"

Obi walked to the old woman's bamboo bed and held her hand. "Mma kedụ?"

"A dim mma, your friends made me tea, but the water was too cold. They don't know how to make it like you do. I heard you were not feeling fine, igbakela? Are you alright now?" she groped Obi's body till she found her face.