At War

Chapter 33

The letter

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Droplets of dew coated the brown anthills scattered across Iheanyi's compound. A profuse earthy smell cut across all the corners , an evidence that water had diffused into the soil.

Long grasses that had become denizens of the abandoned portion of the compound shone brightly, waving their green leaves around in the soft morning breeze.

Ngozi drew in shaky breaths as she approached the door. She had practically hopped through the grasses, to reduce the wetting of her feet.

She stared at the big metal door which harbored enough dust to cause severe catarrh if it was being swept away.

"How long had she been away?"

The plantain trees which were planted adjacent to the house had grown tremendously, their fruits not just mature but ripe. It was really evident that her former home lacked the touch of human beings.

Nnamdi stalked closely behind her, not just for protection but also because he feared that since she was remembering bits of her former life that it wasn't advisable to leave her alone, lest the memories invade her mind at once.

Agatha had spoken to him for long over the phone, her voice joyful as that of a child gifted a parcel considered to be quite valuable. She hadn't sounded like she was forcing herself to converse with him as usual and he couldn't feel the strong strain in communication before.

He had been too skeptical to enquire about his son but summed up enough courage and asked anyways. Agatha's response had not just been intriguing but detailed as if she had actually been caring for the boy. He could remember her promising to do so but he hadn't really expected anything more than talk.

It suddenly crossed his mind that his wife might have been speaking from observing his mom do the actual work but he shoved it aside, letting his thoughts focus on the good things.

Ngozi stared for a long while at the compound which seemed bleak, her mind forming clogs of unclear images as to what her life used to be. She found herself lost in deep thoughts once again, an image of a playful boy stayed behind. He had hopped tirelessly in the compound then finally resolved to packing sand. Her thoughts trailed along the boy's playful act and she found her feet wandering to a spot where the little boy dumped the sand.

She found it to be a little spot which bore stones around it. Stones that appeared to be a beautiful ledge but somehow represented something so sorrowful.

"Mummy!" Another voice called out to her and she saw a replica of herself filling a plate with sand. She chuckled noting how large pieces of sand were scattered on her hair. It would take a while to rid her scalp of the parts of soil. The little girl ran excitedly towards her and she almost felt the child's smile was actually being bestowed on her but was disappointed when she passed through. She could see the excitement on the girl's face as her little feet struggled to stay firm on the ground while she approached someone. She had almost screamed for her to be careful so that she wouldn't fall but it seemed another version of her which wasn't in the picture before had beaten her to it.

She looked weary, her eyes bearing enough sorrow to drown many joyful beings. The image of the woman before her seemed haunting.

This figment of her imagination that seemed real was seated beside the stony ledge, staring with a melancholic expression at the portion of the land.

She saw the little boy beckoning on an unknown person and hollered at him immediately.

"Obinna! Who are you talking to? Come here osiso" The boy smiled sheepishly as if the command did nothing to him but he ran excitedly to where she was kneeling.