I Know My Mother👩🏽(IKMM)✅

Danger

Landlady helped Mama Agnes throw away the other bones and the remaining food. "But ma-" Landlady hissed, then she scratched her armpit. Small brown flakes fell out of the loose short sleeves of her filthy brown shirt. Landlady was back in her natural habitat. Landlady went to the back of the house, where she threw away the food. Mama Agnes was behind her. In her heart, she prayed that Landlady would at least From the corner of her eye, Mama Agnes saw a small peak coming out of the bottom of the kitchen window. A large plastic bottle stood at the top, covered by some paper and a pile of brown slop. The flies swarming around the rubbish pile created a small black cloud. When Landlady entered the kitchen, at least fifteen flies followed her in. She coughed three times and slapped her ear, then they all died. Mama Agnes followed her back into the house. She sat down, while Landlady packed stuff into a red Ghana-must-go bag.

Landlady threw in a black calabash, a metal spoon, curry, a slightly rotten chicken, and a few pieces of carved bone. Mama Agnes held a small gold necklace in her hand. "Hold that necklace very well, because your life will depend on it. We are going to visit my late mother." Landlady drew closer to mama Agnes, looking down at her, eye to eye. Her lips were practically on Mama Agnes's nose. She spoke slowly and carefully. "Keep quiet until my mother tells you to talk." Mama Agnes nodded, regretting that she couldn't choke Landlady with the necklace.

The last time the woman brushed her teeth must have been three weeks ago! Landlady walked away, picked up the bag, and waited next to a doorway. She pointed to a small, narrow hallway. Mama Agnes entered the hall, terrified by the thick blackness in the room. She almost forgot what color her hand was. Landlady dragged the bag inside, then she took Mama Agnes's hand. A faint orange glow led them to a doorway obscured by two ragged, red curtains.

Mama Agnes was greeted by an elaborate display of idols, human skulls, and an altar of fire. A fiercely burning orange and green flame crackled on a bronze dish. It stood on a small bronze table. Pieces of hay and dry grass covered the cement floor. A lizard chased by a rat zoomed by their feet, trying to reach a small hole in the wall. Intestines nailed to the bloodstained wall formed a criss-cross pattern. A gentle breeze blew on their feet. Mama Agnes tripped on a human femur and almost fell into a bowl of wood shavings. Landlady pulled her back and forced her to kneel before the flames. Landlady knelt next to Mama Agnes, pulling her crusty, stained panties from between her buttcheeks. A ghastly odor quickly spread around the room. Mama Agnes kept her head down as a charred hand crept out of the flames. A large bust covered in a charred, crusty ankara blouse followed.

The figure loomed over them, crossing its arms while flames rose from its chest. "AGATHA. Wetin you wan do for this late night? What do you want from me?" Landlady's lips quivered as she lifted her head. Most of her mother's face was eaten in by maggots. A red worm crawled into her eye socket and went out through her ear. "Mama, I need your help to find somebody." Landlady's mother turned to Mama Agnes. Landlady's eyes opened wide, and she clutched Mama Agnes's foot. "Stay quiet and stay down!" She hissed at Mama Agnes. A booming, dry voice attacked their ears.

"You are bringing me a new slave?"

Mama Agnes felt her legs stiffen. If not for Landlady's hold, she would have spat back at the spirit. She, Mama Agnes, a slave? Did she look like a slave? She sensed that Landlady was also angry, but she calmed herself down. "Agnes, this is my mother. Her name is Amarachi. She used to deal in private parts, mango leaves, and dried ants. My father killed her, and himself, in the family house. That was after I left the house to pursue my dreams. He was tired of dashing between four houses, between his four wives. The other three women died mysteriously. Since my mother was the only one left, he killed her so no one would remain. Our house exploded, and everything vanished. I am the only surviving child." Amarachi smiled in contempt. She grunted at Landlady. Landlady pulled Mama Agnes to the left side of the room.

"Make sure you do the ritual correctly so I can help you. Don't waste my time, or I will kill you both." Amarachi blew a large lump of dried catarrh into her palm and rubbed it on her hairtie. Mama Agnes shuddered. If not for the juju, she would be a regular customer at the hospital. Landlady opened the red Ghana-must-go bag and emptied it. Mama Agnes helped her arrange the items. As soon as Mama Agnes dropped the calabash, the ritual began.

Landlady ground the rotten chicken in a mortar, while Mama Agnes broke the chains on the necklace. They mixed them in the calabash and poured some pepper inside. Landlady used her metal spoon to scoop some curry into the calabash. She mixed it furiously with the metal spoon, not stopping even when some sparks flew into her face. Mama Agnes threw the rest of the necklace inside. They both ran to a corner of the room, shielding their faces with their hands. The mixture in the calabash glowed orange, emitting heat that made them sweat profusely. Sparks flew into different corners of the room, setting a few pieces of hay on fire.

Amarachi stretched her hands towards them. The sparks flying out of the calabash bounced back into an invisible dome. The remaining sparks collided with the dome. Mama Agnes and Landlady saw the most beautiful show of light they had ever seen in their lives. The sparks flew and collided so fast with each other that they shimmered on the surface of the dome. Flashes of white, yellow, orange, and red reflected on the ceiling and the floor. They moved closer to the calabash, waiting for Amarachi to drop her hands.

"Look into the lights."

Mama Agnes and Landlady peered into the lights. They immediately pulled back, slamming their palms into their eye sockets. Once they were close to the calabash, the light mysteriously brightened. To them, it was like staring into the sun. A faint black cloud wrapped itself around their eyes. It dimmed the light and sharpened the image the sparks created. Amarachi brought her hands down, resting them at the sides of the bronze dish.

Landlady grinned at the picture, cracking her knuckles as sweat poured down her forehead. She glared at Mama Agnes, almost pouncing on her. Mama Agnes made for the door because she saw a glint of metal appear in Landlady's hand. In a flash, Amarachi's hand grabbed Landlady's neck and flung her at the back of the room. "This my dirty daughter that behaves like an animal! The woman doesn't know that her granddaughter is that powerful! You want to kill her? This woman that is here, she's probably the only one that is this loyal to you. now that you are weak, what will you gain from killing her?" Amarachi scolded Landlady with a harsh voice. Landlady was planning to grab Mama Agnes and stab her in the stomach. She thought Mama Agnes hid her granddaughter from her because she was trying to protect her.

Mama Agnes did her best to stay awake. At this point, all her loyalty towards Landlady was gone.

She had to protect Nneka at all costs!