No, they can't take her away" I released myself from his grip as I went towards the chief guard. " She is my sister, my property, I decide what I do with her" I stood face to face with him. " It's a law that anyone killed by the gods should be thrown into the evil forest of Ani" He countered, " Let the wrath of Ani, be upon me and my family" I shouted as I carried my sister's body away from them, " Abomination!! Aru!! All this city boys dont know what they bring upon themselves" An elderly man exclaimed as he stood up to go " I won't be a part of this Abominable act" he added, I wasn't shaken by their words, I carried her body to a corner of the compound where I plan burying her. " Oyinbo, what are you doing?" My dad was behind me, he had been following me all along. " Dad, they can't take her away" I countered as I watched the guards leave the compound angrily. " Oyinbo, she is now a property of Ani" My dad continued, " Let Ani come and take her itself" I walked away. The only elder remaining was Adanna's father, iche mologwu. Its surprising why he hasn't gone with the fellow elders. I walked over to where Adanna was with my siblings, " Am proud of you" She told me as I sent John and charity inside. " Why is your dad still here, I thought he was a good custodian of the laws of the land?" I asked her, " He knows it isn't the gods killing the people, I told him about my experience at the stream that night" she answered trying to force out a smile to cover the tears that was already forming in her eyes. " You know Gabriel, you shouldn't be challenging the gods" I heard Alvana's voice from behind, " I won't let them take my sister" I stood up to face him. " okay , I will be going now, I need to get to the farm " He said while I nodded and shook his hands. " Thanks for coming" I told" him as I escorted him to the entrance of my compound. " Adanna, don't you think you should start going home?" I asked as I returned to her, " That's my house over there, I can't stay till when I like and are you in any way trying to chase me away?" She tried smiling, " No, I just thought you should go fetch water and help your mom with the house chores" I suggested, " But my mom is still here, dont worry we aren't in a haste" She countered and walked towards Charity who was sitting in front of my parents hut, her hands were placed on her cheek, she was about to cry again. I saw Adanna carry her up and placed her on her laps, she started petting her.
" Hello" I said as i picked up my phone , it was israel on the line. " Hey Gabi, can you believe this is the 6th time the slow and steady bus is stopping to drink water today?" Came his angry voice, " I can't believe it " I simply replied. " Hey, why the moody voice?" He asked, " I lost my sister" I answered, " My God, Faith, Linda or Charity?please tell me you are just pranking me" His voice was now also moody. " Linda, the fighter" I replied him as I forced tears from dropping from my eyes, " Gabi, am sorry about that, how did she die?" He asked, " The Serial killer" the tears finally dropped. " Then he should also be ready to pay with his life" Israel's Voice echoed, it wasn't his normal voice, that was how he do talk whenever he gets angry. " He will surely pay, he will" I supported and ended the call. Not less than five minutes, Morgana call came in " I heard the news bro, am sorry, take hearth you are a man" She started without even greetings, Israel might have called her to tell her. " Thanks Morgana, I should be expecting you tomorrow " I told her, " No, am coming today, am in the same bus as israel" She explained while I smiled, " Okay then, will pick you at the park" I told her. " Dont worry, the killer will pay" She assured before putting an end to the call. I kept the phone In my pocket and went to get a shovel, a shovel to dig Linda's grave. I started the digging alone, my father and Adanna's were in a corner of the house discussing and some women were with my mom consoling her. " How should I help?" I heard Adanna from behind, "You have helped me enough, just go and rest" I replied. " No, I have….." The beating of the town criers gong interrupted her. " People of Atata I greet you o, the chief priest, Eze Ani, the priest of Ani has been found murdered in is shrine, the king has ordered all individuals, old and young, to be gathered in the village square tomorrow morning!!! The king has sent me so I have delivered" He beat the gong again. It wasn't a news anymore to those of my household, it was only a news to those who were hearing it for the first time. "The chief priest died mysteriously" Adanna shook her head while i continued with the digging. " Maybe his evil deeds caught him" I continued digging, " But who murdered him?" She asked but got no reply. I continued with the digging and soon some village boys came to join me. My mom prepared food so that they would eat when they were done, my dad brought out the palm wine he had tapped the day before.
• it was in the evening around 5pm that we finished the digging, Adanna was still in my compound but her dad had gone. " Thank you very much I really appreciate " I turned to the village guys who were mulching their rice like hungry wolves, They only nodded in response. My dad was sitting in a corner looking at me, I turned to him and he gestured to me to come. " Yes papa" I answered as I got close to him, " Oyinbo, I am proud of you but in Atata, you shouldn't try get in the way of the gods"he hit his walking stick on the ground. " Papa, I am not scared of any traditional, they can't take my sister to that forest, they can't" I told him. " Hmm, Oyinbo, I hope you dont bring a curse upon my family?" He stood up. " Then let the curse be on me" I walked away while he stared at me " I think the city has gotten into your head" I heard his words followed me.
" Come and eat now, you have worked too much for a day" my mom said as I walked to the kirchen, she was with Adanna, Adanna's mom and Christy. " Mama, am n…." Adanna interrupted, " Ogbakpo, you must eat" She said while the women bursted into laughter, " Your wife have said you should eat, come and eat" Adanna's mom pleaded. " Mama stop calling me his wife" Adanna shouted. " Ada, I will tell him o" Her mom threatened while my eyes moved from her to her mom. " Mama, please dont say anything" Adanna pleaded twisting her mouth, " Mama tell me" I also pleaded. " Okay, Oyinbo when you…" Adanna interrupted her by rushing to cover her mom's mouth while my mom laughed. " Okay let me eat now, am only eating because my wife asked me to" I smiled while Adanna eyed me. My mom gave me a plateful of rice with two big meats, I carried Charity and went out. " Charity, have told you that big girls don't cry" I patted her back. " Brother, Sister will not come and fight my school boys when they beat me again" she bursted into tears while I smiled, " Dont worry, am here to fight for you" I consoled while she stared at me, " Will I see her again?" She asked, " Yes now, we shall all go to meet her one day" I told her. " when? " she asked, " There is no date for that, take" I handed a large piece of my meat to her but she shook her head to signify that she doesn't want. The charity I know doesn't refuse meat but the atmosphere and problems on ground made her refuse. " Charity, take it so that I will take you to the city" I pleaded and she took it willingly, she had always wanted to go to the city with me. " Brother, is aunty Adanna your wife?" She asked again while I bursted into laughter, " No, she isn't my wife" I replied. " Will you marry her?" Came another question, " Yes, I will marry her one day" I answered with a smile while she also smiled. " Marry who?" I heard Adanna's voice from behind, I turned sharply to her. " Marry who?" I asked back, " You just said you will marry me one day" she stood arm akimbo. " Aunty Ada, you also told me you like my brother" Charity continued while I bursted into laughter, Adanna's hand fell and she twisted her mouth. " See who is pretending o " I clapped my hand like those village gossipers. " Charity, go inside" I told Charity who ran away with the piece of meat. " Hey, I only said those to make her happy" Adanna sat down, " I wonder when you will stop those pretence of yours. My friends from the city will be coming here today" I told her, " That's good, I will like to even know them. " She smiled. " Yeah, they will also like to meet you, I have told them a lot about you" I told her, " Tell them about me? Why? As what?" She asked while I got up, " It will do you a lot of good if you stop this pretending stuff, it will help only you" I smiled and walked away, she also stood up and went to the kitchen. I walked to my father who was still sitting on the bench alone, " Papa, I am about to bury her" I told him, he looked up at me and shook his head, " Go ahead, but am not a part of this abomination" he hit his stick on the ground. " But papa, you have to throw the first sand on her body" I told him and he got up " Thank you papa" I said and walked to the kitchen to call the rest. We all went to the grave, it was just I, Adanna, her mom, my dad, my mom, Charity , john and some village boys who stayed behind. With the help of some boys, the body was lowered to the floor. My dad fetched a handful of sand, said some inaudible prayers and threw them at the body, so also mom and the rest of us. With the help of the boys again, we covered the body with sand, mom started a new chapter of crying so also did the rest except I , dad and some of the village boys. We stood for some minutes staring at the grave and mom suddenly bursted into a local sorrowful song, the rest sang with her, even Adanna joined in the singing.
• " Hello, Gabriel we have gotten to the park " israel voiced echoed over the phone, the time was 10:19pm, Everyone had gone to their various habitats. I wore a jean trouser and a blue shirt, I then went out to meet my dad and mom who were staring at the skies sorrowfully. " Papa, I am going to pick those my friends from the park, they have arrived" I told him. " You mean those ones from the city? " he asked while I nodded. " Oh, that's is nice, go and pick them " He said, " Oyinbo" my mom called back, " Be careful of the night" She said, I nodded and went out into the dark. It took about 20 minutes for me to get to the park, I had actually ran all the way. I met Morgana and Israel sitting on a bench while the driver to the slow and steady bus was cleaning it for the next day journey. " I will never come to Atata again" Morgana hugged me, " The only good thing here is the fresh air" Israel said as I led the way to my house. " So you mean, there are no cars here?" Morgana asked," Of course there are vans but they can't pass through this bush path" I answered. " Am sorry about your loss bro" Israel consoled. " Thanks" I said and we continue the walk until we got home. Mama and papa had gone inside to sleep, so I led them to my small room. " You know I will sleep on the bed" Morgana said as she jumped on the bed, " Yeah, but tomorrow you will start sharing bed with Charity as she now sleeps alone" I told her as I and Israel made to sleep on the floor, Morgana love sleeping alone. " That shouldn't be a problem" she yawned and every where was quiet, Israel could now be seen snoring loudly.
• The morning was cold, the breeze of the morning was also fresh and chilling. I opened my right eye and took a glance at the clock, it was 7:15am . I could still here somebody snoring beside me, I opened my eyes fully and stood up, " Wake up!!" I slapped israel who sprang up immediately. " You must behave like you are in Newriton, dont over sleep" I told him tying a wrapper across my chest. Morgana wasn't on the bed, she must have gone outside. Isreal wore a T-shirt on his boxers and also went out with me. We met Morgana sitting on a bench, she was putting on a trouser and a singlet. " You guys can snore like, your snores woke me up" she lamented while I smiled. Israel looked around the compound, "Gabriel" he called out while I turned to him, " You guys haven't buried her?" He asked pointing to the grave, the sand has been dug out from the grave, like a flash of light, I walked towards the grave and looked into it, the body was gone, Linda's body had been dug out.