chapter 55

That evening, as Adzi approached his house, he thought of a possible lie to tell. He was told to come home early so as to pound fufu, but he was too engrossed in his game of football to notice the passing away of time. Now it was almost 6 o’clock and he was sure that his brother and father were back from the farm.

Perhaps I should say that we were punished to weed at school. After all, I have my cutlass with me he thought. But what if she asked me of what I did? Adzi knew that could lead to more trouble for him. Already he hoped that the news of their theft would not have reached his parents..

Then, Adzi thought of lying that the whole class was punished for talking, but what if Ami had already come to sell fish to his parents that evening? His mother knew that he was in the same class with Ami, and she may ask why Ami was not punished as well. Adzi decided to wash his legs at the borehole so that his mother would not suspect him of having played football.

‘Ahaa!  Senyo has asked me to help him uproot weeds on their groundnut farms. That will make a good excuse,’ he finally decided. It was then that Adzi realized that their own garden had been weedy for some time. Adzi was still contemplating on what lie to tell when he reached home.

Their house was located on a big compound. It was fenced with bamboo sticks and hibiscus plants. Nearly half of the compound had been planted with a good number of vegetables such as okro and pepper. This was Adzi’s mother’s garden.

The rest of the compound was occupied by two buildings. The older and larger of the two was built with mud while the newer one was build with bricks. The larger building was the old family house and now served as a bedroom for Adzi and his brother, Gameli. A portion of it had been converted into a barn for storing farm produce, mainly yam and cassava. The outer portion was not plastered, making it a favourite browsing place for goats all over the town. The second building was plastered and it was there that their father, Efo Gati and their mother, Da Enyo slept, along with little Venunye, their last born.

When Adzi entered the house he saw his mother washing in the kitchen. Gameli was lying on a bench in the compound. Adzi guessed that his father was back from the farm.

‘Good Evening,’ he greeted as he placed his books on the bench.

‘They say you now enjoy staying in the school farm more than school itself,’ Gameli teased his brother. Though quiet a young man, Gameli liked to pass sarcastic comments, especially about Adzi. He was the firstborn of their parents. He had to stop school when their father fell seriously ill and there was no one to help with the farm work. Unlike Adzi, Gameli liked school. Even now that he was not attending school one could always see him reading in his spare time.

Adzi ignored his brother’s comment. He realized that the news had already reached home ’Mama where is my food?’ he asked his mother.

‘Which food are you talking about? Did you leaved any food behind to be cooked for you? What did I tell you before you went to school this morning?’ Enyo stood up facing her son.

‘Mom, a friend said he saw some strangers leading goats towards Liate. I had to go and find out whether our goats were among them. I went that far and realize that ours were not part.’ Adzi did not know how that lie came out of his mouth. His mother looked at him hard and long.

‘Look under the basket,’ she finally said. Adzi heaved a sigh of relief. He had outdone his mother this time. He quickly washed his hands. Fufu was his favorite meal, especially when it ws bathed in groundnut soup. He went for the bowl but when he took the lid off, he gasped in disappointment. It was not fufu; it was boiled cassava with soup. Adzi’s mother noticed his shock.

‘You know the rules in this house; if you don’t pound you won’t eat,’ she said and started to clean the kitchen.

‘You can still pound it in your mouth,’ Gameli said. Adzi felt a knot of anger in his stomach but there was nothing he could do. However, he forced himself to eat a few pieces. After all, he was going for an ‘All Night’ that evening.

After a few minutes his father entered the house. Adzi left his food and jumped to his feet. Efo Gati was a slim man who made a name among the children in the town because of a tattered, old batakari which he was very much fond of. The man was a hardworking farmer with great love for education. Whenever he was not on his farm, he could be seen at the palm wine bar, drinking away the sorrows Adzi had been giving him, or lying in his lazy chair, smoking his pipe and listening ro his old radio.

‘I do not have the energy to waste on you today,’ he said pointing his walking stick at Adzi who stood a safe distance away. ‘When the right time comes, we shall “see man to man.” Have you ever heard of a thief in this family?’ he asked raising his voice and pointing his walking stick at Adzi. ‘We’re poor men but we have our dignity to protect, and I will skin you alive before you destroy that dignity. Now my precious goats are roaming about. Go and get them before you eat.’

Adzi left the food he was eating and went to look for the goats. He knew how much his father valued the two nanny and three fat billy goats he had. These were his only possessions, besides their farmlands and house. The he-goats were allowed to roam about town. On countless occasions, Adzi’s father had lashed him out of bed at dawn to go and look for the animals. The man had made it clear to him that he valued the goats more than him, Adzi.

‘If you do not find these goats then you had better not come back into this house.’

His father had shouted after him countless times. It became a daily routine as far back as Adzi could remember. Right after supper every day, he would spend a good part of the evening exercising with the stubborn goats.

Adzi went to seek help from his friend, Senyo. By the time they had caught the second goat, the boys were almost worn out.

‘Why can’t you people keep your goats in a fence?’ Senyo complained as they continued searching for the last of the three animals.

‘Go and ask that man,’ Adzi replied, referring to his father. ‘He claims they will grow strong by running around town and doing acrobatics.’

‘Old men always have old ideas, ’ Senyo remarked. ‘Wait, is that not Last Killer?’ He drew his friend’s attention to a goat standing under a mango tree.

‘I’m sure it is. Let’s approach from behind.’

‘Last Killer’ was the name the boys gave to the most stubborn goat. It was the most aggressive of all the three and so they always preferred to catch it last. Now they saw it lying elow a low, shady mango tree. It was getting to eight in the evening and the full moon gave a lot of light. The two boys moved stealthily from behind the unsuspecting goat.

‘We will count three and dive,’ Adzi said. On the third count, the boys dove at the goat, clutching at its hind legs.

’Meee!’ the animal bleated and struggled, kicking Senyo in the face. The boys lost their hold and the goat escaped.

‘Quick, follow it!’ The boys resumed their chase as the goat dashed towards a small thicket. Then it stopped and turned back. Adzi and Senyo spread out their arms blocking the path of  the animal all round. Suddenly, the goat sped past Senyo, who missed and fell. He made to stand up but tripped over a polythene bag and fell again. Adzi, who was following closely, could not stop in time and he ran full tilt into Senyo who was picking himself from the ground. The two of them fell in heaps. The boys quickly recovered and continued their pursuit. 

Luckily for them, the goat ran into a corner of an old building. The boys rushed at it and pinned it to the ground before it could think of an escape. Adzi dragged the goat along and went home with Senyo. Their dresses were all dirty and smelling.

Reaching home, Adzi tied the animal to a tree. It was almost nine-thirty and his family had gone to sleep. Adzi knew that the rest of the boys will be waiting for them. Quickly, he took the vegetables he had stolen from his mother’s garden. He and Senyo then disappeared into the darkness.

The boys ran along a rocky path towards an isolated house. This was their usual hideout.the village was quiet since most people had already gone to bed.

As they got near the house, Adzi saw the other three boys sitting around a pot which was in fire. Julius’ hand was in the pot and he seemed to be turning something round and round. Senyo and Adzi knew what it was.

‘Were you chasing goats or the goats were chasing you?’ Kakotse asked in jest.

Adzi and Senyo ignored the comments and sat down. Senyo took a good look at the chicken in the pot. He patted Julius on the shoulder.

‘You’re truly the Black Cat; I don’t remember the last time I ate a good-looking bird like this.

‘Adzi, where is the apparatus?’ Adzi handed the ingredients to Martin who started to prepare the soup.

‘Martin hold the leg for me. Kakotse, the knife you say you’ve sharpened cannot even cut shea butter,’ Julius observed with annoyance.

‘All he knows is to talk rubbish,’ Senyo added raising his voice.