THE MARRIAGE OF ANNIE

The relationship between Okwudili and Annie intensified and flourished. He felt loved once more. This started from the little concern she gave him until it turned out to become a full-blown love. Rumours started flying and in time it became true. Okwudili confided in their pastor about his intention to marry Annie. He encouraged him to pray over it.

            On her own part, Annie was over-joyed to have a man admire her. She was quite beautiful on the contrary: her face pitted with acne and the father was a full fledged albino. Even though she did not inherit the albinism, she was barely better than an albino. Her skin was near-red and he inherited the rickety leg of her mother.

            When virtually every Dick and Hany became aware of their relationship, there was a mounting pressure on Okwudili to bring his kith and kin to commence marriage talk. In Umudeshi, marriage is proceeded by an inquiry which would last weeks and this would be carried out by both the would-be inlaws. In this regards, Okwudili decided to go home to inform his people.

            He packed a few belongings and set out to go home to inform his people that he was alife and in the same vain announce to them that he had found a wife. He left at dawn tracing carefully the way he took while wandering in the evil forest. It took him two market days to find his feet on the soil of Umudeshi. He missed his way a million times but he did not despair. To his chagin, when he came to the point where the gods vented their anger on Umudeshi because of him, it was different. It looked as if a quarry was there. There were out crops melanoeratic igneous rocks. Boulders of the rocks scattered everywhere. He stood on one of the outcrops and took a look around and shook his head in and understanding. After feeding his eyes he continued his journey. A while geologist Baulk had followed the igneous activities in the southern Nigeria, a region they called lower Benue trough.

            The first person that saw Okwudili ran as fast as his legs carried him and reported to the villagers about the apparition he saw. People ran out their houses and took cover. They peeped through their windows to watch if they will see Okwudili’s ghost pass by. Some saw him and goose pimples covered their body. The growing of goose pimples on the bodies of those that saw him was a confirmation that it was his spirit that was wandering. People feared to step out doors. Okudili walked past many houses including their unknowingly. So many things have changed. The whole community looked hollow and empty. The Umudeshi he left was better. The one he met on his return was different. Even though he left no corrugated iron sheet on a roof but the ones he saw were badly done. He walked on hoping to see his hut and then recognized their compound but to no avail.

            Story had reached Maazi Orjinta where he visited a friend and he ran with his last strength to welcome his son, whether it was his spirit wandering or he himself, he was not bothered. Okpantu does not lie. This was a son he had waited two long for his arrival. From a distance, Okwudili saw a man struggling with his flowing wrap running towards him. Instinct told it may be his father and he stood to make sure it was him before he show an outburst of emotion to a wrong person. Behold it was his father, older and skinny as a stick. The father came close and bent, dug his hand in the earth and took a handful of sand and threw it on  him. He did not disappear. He then embraced him and they both cried dearly. It was customary to throw sand on a person believed to be long gone and reappeared suddenly in Umudeshi to be sure. If the person disappears, it will be confirmed he was a spirit.  

        The sudden re-appearance of Okwudili was a joy to some and bad news to many. Onuoha Ochukwu was the first to come to their house the following morning to be sure of what he heard but to his disappointment it was true. He asked him a few familiar questions to be sure it was him but Okwudili was able to satisfy his curiosity. When Onuoha Ochukwu left he spearheaded a meeting of elders who took Okwudili to the shrine of Nkwocha deity to ascertain from the gods whether to send Okwudili to Agueke or leave him alone. The gods favoured him and he was left to live his normal life.

            The news of Okwudili’s return filtered the air and curious villager trooped to their house to see the only man who had lived in the evil forest and came back alife, looking fine and succulent. Maidens are not left out as they scramble to get his attention. After a while, there was a rumour that he was married off to one of the daughters of the evil forests because of his handsomeness and that was why he was taken care of. This scared a few maiden off but the determined ones were ready to engage in a duel with the daughter of whichever spirit to have him so whenever people gather around him to hear the stories of the world beyond the evil forest, some maidens would over-stay and it was persuasions that would make them go.

            One might he confided in his father the reason he came back and the father was afraid that his kinsmen would agree to accompany him to an unknown land in search of a wife. He advised him to find a maiden in their community to marry instead of disturbing the peace of the community again. When the father realized that he had already made up his mind he decided to call the attention of his kinsmen.

            When the kinsmen were told what their son had requested of them as they have gathered, they were amazed. That confirmed what they feared: that he was married to one of the daughters of the evil forest.

            “My son, Maazi Otumbo his uncle said” we have heard you. Let’s sleep on this words. We’ll give you reply”. Okwudili nodded to his words but internally knew that it was how elders avoid dicey issue, which leave them choosing camps.

“But ehh………..our son, tell us more about this place our in-laws come from”. Eliazi, a family young man of about Okwudili’s age asked.  Okwudili took time, for the first time to explain to his kith and kin his travails. This amused some, angered some and yet incite the spirit of adventure in some. Eliazi in particular found it impossibly oxymoronic that there was a world bubbling with life beyond the evil forest. He was prepared to follow Okwudili to wherever and whenever.

            Okwudili’s story had helped some of the elders to make up their mind that they would not go any where some reminded themselves. It was, foolhardy  to embark on a naughty journey with a young man who the gods forced  to sojourn in the spirits land and came back to tell stories of a place he was condemned to live not by his choice. Some even reasoned that may be he entered into a pact with the evil spirit to bring his kith and kin to be free. Many shrugged their shoulders at the thought that they would have to cross the evil forest in search of a woman with no two heads.

            “Tufia!” Otumbo exclained as he was discussing with another elder on their way home.

            “That boy is enigmatic. It wasn’t enough for him that he plunged the whole community into one too many troubles. He has decided to deliver us all to the evil spirits. Our god wouldn’t permit that. Egbe eluigwe gbagbuo ya, let the thunder kill him”. The elder contributed.

            “Even if we chose to risk it, our wine will sour if we travel several days to this unknown land. If we decide to go without palm wine, the marriage will be invalid because no such negotiation is initiated in the absence of palm wine”. Maazi Otumbo explained.

            “Nnanyi Otumbo, who is talking of going ? do you think I was not born well. Once bitten twice shy. We aren’t going. If no maiden in this community does not appeal to him, let him be unmarried. Besides, it isn’t a must he marries. The elder submitted. By now they were at the front of Maazi Otumbo’s compound. They stopped to conclude their discussion before parting of ways.

“Let me go and take care of my children instead of wasting my time discussing irrelevant matter. Tell them that I travelled to a distant land if another meeting is called or that I’m sick. “Maazi Otumbo said. The other elders laughed and shook his head and said

“Let thunder  kill me if I go to such meeting again. The case has been dismissed. The reply has been given. None of us is going to accompany him anywhere but if any person volunteers, I’ll give my blessings to him but first of all he must tell us how he wants his compound to be in case he didn’t return”. Both men laughed and parted ways. Otumbo entered  his compound, his children came and greeted him one after the another, squatting while greeting.

            Two market days had come and past but no words came from Okwudili’s kinsmen. Maazi Orjinta was not surprised at their reaction. He even prayed fervently for such. He was not ready to accompany his son to the unknown land. In Umudeshi, and unreplied talk was worse than faeces and that goes a long way to tell the person expecting reply to count his teeth with his tongue. Okwudili did.

            Among his colleagues, it was Eliazi that volunteered to accompany him. The two prepared to leave as soon as possible. He instructed his father to stay back since other elders were not going so that he would not constitute a clog in the wheel on their way to Delta state.

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Already Annie had started to doubt that. Kristofa was human. She thought that she had fallen a victim like Ugomma in the tale the father told her when she was small. He told her that Ugomma, the beautiful one, rejected all suitors but unfortunately married a spirit. Hers was a bit different because she rejected no suitor because none came. No person including Ejike can definitely point to a direction and say that that was where one can follow and get to Okwudili’s village.

Okwudili came back at the niche of time with cruel looking Eliazi, who dressed different. With Okwudili’s reappearance, the rumour that he was a spirit started to peter away. When he met with his would-be in-laws, they scheduled to travel to their village to be sure he was human before giving their daughter away in marriage. They did. Even though the visitor were well-received by the immediate family, the kinsmen did not hid their ill-feeling towards her father who is an albino. In Umudeshi, albino were regarded as evil and they are not welcomed and therefore, they were killed at birth. Words went round and Onuoha Ochukwu came to see maazi Orjinta.

“Maazi……..” he commenced “I’ll come to tell you something before you say I didn’t tell you. We’ve seen a white man before. We’ve killed some of them mistaking them for albinos. Today, two of them live at Amawbia, our neighbouring community. Though they have white skin and hairs that look like uhie but there are no many black spots on their faces. They speak through their nose and their eyes do not rotate like the moon. The man you call your in-law is an albino. You know our custom. Send them back or you would’ve to travel countless mile to apologise for his death. But before I go, I must tell you to ask yourself why will it always be your son. He finished, greeted Maazi Orjinta and took his leave.

Days later, Okwudili alongside his in-laws and Eliazi went back to Delta State. Weeks later, the marriage was conducted and they lived happily. On the other side, Eliazi was lucky to find a white man he was working in his compound as his steward. He stayed back for good.