Chapter Thirty Six
JOURNEY TO HELL 8
"We all know that an elder does not sit at home and watch a pregnant goat deliver in its tether"
"True talk."
They chorused. Not knowing where he was going. From his introduction, one can see that the matter was serious.
Mazi Onubuogu Okonkwo continued.
"Ezenmuo came to my house yesterday and led some complaints about your father and husband."
He paused and looked at Mama to ascertain whether she welcomed such remarks before he declared.
"Whatever that had happened, he is still your husband" (looking at Mama) and your father (looking at Dora).
He continued.
"However, the complaint was not a palatable one, it was something that must be handled with caution otherwise we all will be doomed."
They looked at each other as if to say:
'So he was not aware?'
"Continue Mazi, our ears are at your abode"
Said Ken, who was beginning to be excited with the turnaround of events.
Mazi Onubuogu Okonkwo repeated the story of Ezenmuo's visit.
"I came to inform you that your father had been missing for some days now. I don't know whether his brain had shifted from its original position and had made him believe that he can go to the United States of America with the money Ezenmuo gave to him to administer his charm. I have informed you, he is missing. Do not say I heard and did not inform you."
"Hey! My eyes have seen my ears."
Mama screamed.
"Dora, go and get that bag that he came with at once."
"Who? Who came with a bag?"
Asked Mazi Onubuogu Okonkwo repeatedly. No one gave him any response. It was a case of wait and see things for yourself.
Dora ran to the room and came back immediately with the almost empty bag. There was no difference between the bag and that of Akwara, obu ngwo ngwo. A notorious mad man back in the village when They were kids. He could not do without carrying rubbish around.
Mama narrated to Mazi Onubuogu Okonkwo what happened. They thought she would lie about the hot oil attack, but she owned up to the truth. They knew Mama to be an honest person. I had not seen her telling lies over any issue, no matter how bad it was.
"I was not at peace when I saw him. He did not behave like one who wanted peace. I was thinking that he should be repentant by now. Any man who wants peace and reconciliation with his family would not act the way he did. Mazi, could you believe that he called me a prostitute? He said I was prostituting to train my children?"
Mama's voice was faint as she attempted to repress the cry that was about to come.
"Don't cry, I would appreciate it, if you do not cry again because of my brother. You have cried enough. Whether he called you a prostitute or whatever does not matter. What matters is what I and other family members call you. Agu nwanyi – the woman who has a lion's heart. Cheer up."
Mazi Onubuogu Okonkwo consoled Mama, who put herself together again.
"Do you think this is not where he was coming with the charm?"
Mazi Onubuogu Okonkwo asked no one in particular.
"Let me see the bag."
Mama collected the bag from Dora and emptied the contents on the floor. There were two overused clothes and a perforated singlet. Though its original color was white, but it had turned brown due to dirt. Beneath the clothes was a black bottle that was tied with white and red pieces of clothes at the top. Ken wanted to pick it up but was halted by Mazi.
"Don't touch it, my in-law."
Shouted Mazi Onubuogu Okonkwo.
"Could that be the charm?"
Ken innocently asked.
"No one can tell for now. It's just that one has to be careful. You should not have allowed him into your house. In any case, the deed has been done and there is nothing one can do about it now."
Mazi Onubuogu Okonkwo advised.
"Thank you for coming Mazi, we were planning that Mama would come to the village tomorrow to inform you, but you came in the nick of time. You will find a way of relating the news to my other uncles and aunts, so they won't label Mama a murderer."
Dora pleaded with Mazi.
"No one will label her a murderer. Rather, she would be labeled a hero. When did it become a crime to defend oneself and family? It is true that we were all given birth by the same parents; his character is quite different from that of all of us. He is a replica of the Igbo proverb that says 'one mother delivers, but one god did not create." One will wonder whether we all came from the same womb. Don't bother yourself, my dear. It was not the hot oil that killed him, it was the delay in the application of the charm. From Ezemuo's explanation, the charm should be administered before the Eke market day. That was the reason he died on the Eke market day."
Mazi Onubuogu Okonkwo concluded.
They were all astonished by the revelation of Mazi Onubogu. They had not linked the day of his death to anything. Yes, he came on Monday and died on a Thursday. He got the charm from Ezenmuo on Sunday.
"Where is the corpse now?"
Mazi Onubuogu Okonkwo asked Ken after a few seconds of silence.
"It was deposited in the morgue after he died."
He replied.
"You deposited him in the mortuary?"
He showed surprise and continued.
"Iluno was a very lucky man. I am sure he never expected that at his death any of his children will be around him to close his eyes or to take him to the mortuary. You have done so much for him. You have made us proud. On behalf of the whole community, especially the Okonkwo's family, I say thank you. You are a worthy son-in-law. Drunks and lay about like him, die on the street or inside a gutter."
They smiled but could not laugh as they ought to. Mazi was a very funny person. One cannot be with him and not laugh. They only smiled to show some respects to the dead.
Mazi Onubuogu Okonkwo continued.
"So on the day of his burial, we will say we are expecting his corpse from the mortuary. Even some responsible men never experienced it at death. This is indeed irony of fate. Someone who never lived in the city or owned a hand fan in his lifetime is in the city enjoying air condition now, and in the Federal Capital Territory – Abuja for that matter."
"A serious air condition for that matter."
Mama chipped in.
Dora informed her sisters and their husbands of the latest development. Mama would leave with Mazi Onubogu the next day. Ada's husband insisted that he will meet them up in the village based on the previous plans.