chapter 2

A wave is like a trembling man suffering from an unending seizure. A panic attack with a glowing beam. Isiewu came the next day when the moon was taking a long stride and leaping beyond the boundaries of Umuolu to another part of the world. His footsteps sounded loudly and was followed by a rattling sound which was caused by the staff he held in his hand. He struck his staff several times on the ground as he got closer to Echi’s compound. His movements were slow and steady. Precise.

It was often said that when Isiewu walked in a hurry, he was being chased by his personal god for disobeying the task given to him but when he walked slowly especially when he wore his dreaded raffia cloth which was stained with blood in its centre, he was believed to be under the influence of Igweka-ala’s reserved spirit. Beliefs were very essential to the people of Umuolu, they were the foundation of their existence.

“Greetings to the eyes of the gods. You are welcome,” Echi said as Isiewu entered his hut.

Isiewu did not respond, his lips were pressed tightly together as if it were under the control of the gods who were trying to forbid him from saying anything he wanted to say unless it was their instructions. He dropped his staff on the floor, making sure that it was not far away from his reach.

“Echi!” Isiewu called in a hoarse tone. His voice was deeper than normal and reverberated around the room, repeating Echi’s name several times. He stared at Echi and repeated his name again, this time, more louder until Echi nodded his head in affirmation that he was listening.

“Where is Olanna?” Isiewu asked.

“She is sleeping.”

“Where is your wife?” Isiewu asked again.

Isiewu was always fond of addressing people in different ways. If he needs the presence of someone, he would call the person’s name and also state the relationship the person has with the person he is questioning. He did that just to make the gods aware that he was passing the message to the right person.

“She is inside. I will call her for you,” Echi said and left. He came back quickly, breathing mildly.

“Where is Olanna?”

“I am afraid to say this. She is too weak to stand up. It must be the child, the child is too heavy on her right now. I tried to lift her up but each time I try, she always end up falling back on the bed.”

“This is strange. Very strange indeed!” Isiewu said while squeezing his face. “What is wrong with her? Yesterday, she was feeling healthy and strong.” He thought for a while. “Or has the gods chosen to visit her when she is weak?”

“Eye of the gods. The health of a pregnant woman is unpredictable. Only the gods knows when they are strong or weak. If it will please the spirits of the gods, I will advice you come back later in the evening when she might be feeling better.”

“No! Never!” Isiewu sprung up, he grabbed his staff and struck it on the ground. “The message of the gods can never wait. Never in you life should you dictate what the gods should do. The gods have a message for her and it must be given now unless the anger of the gods will be upon you and your wife. Go and call your wife now. Go and call Olanna now.”

Echi walked away, silently, hearing the faint sound of Isiewu feet as he moved violently from one corner to another. He came back later and met Isiewu looking through the window with squinted eyes. A vague feeling appeared in his mind. He stared at Isiewu who was standing not too far away from him. The same man that condemned the words of the gods, the same man that questioned the voice of the gods.

“Where is your wife? Where is Olanna?” Isiewu asked, withdrawing from the window.

“She is coming.”

Olanna came in, supporting herself with the help of the wall. She greeted them in a feeble voice and sat down.

“How are you feeling?” Isiewu asked.

“I am trying my best to feel better.”

The first time Echi heard Olanna speak in such a way that was very feeble with little force attached to her vocal cords was years ago when he rescued her from the snake and brought her to his hut. Those were years when their love had grown large. Days when they did not think about their problems. The deeper they went into life’s journey, the more they realised that there was more to marriage than the eyes could see.

“Hold my hand, it is cold,” Olanna said to Echi.

He held her hands tightly and squeezed it with his. A weak smile appeared on Olanna’s face.

“I am going to be fine,” she said.

“I know you will be fine."

Isiewu was quiet and meditated on something that only ended with the movement of his mouth. He gazed at both of them and waited patiently for them to come out from the little love atmosphere they had created for themselves before passing the message of the gods.

“My wife is here. You can tell us the reason why the gods has sent you to visit us,” Echi said.

Isiewu narrowed his eyes as he looked far away into the world of the spirits. He opened his mouth and shouted. His voice was so loud that even a person passing Echi’s compound could hear it. He held his staff tightly and pressed it with rigidity.

“It is a popular saying among the Igbos that a toad does not come running in the daylight except something is after it or pursuing it.” Isiewu chest heaved silently then he continued. “Echi, I told you to come back later but you disobeyed. I waited for you patiently till the moon sank so deep that I couldn’t see a light.”

“Eye of the gods, I wanted to come today,” Echi lied.

“Save your strength. The ways of the gods are not the ways of man. Reasons are not needed and words are of no value when actions are not performed. If a man says he is going to tame a lion and he decides to take a rest when he has gotten to the dwelling place of the lion, he cannot avoid the trouble that will visit him in the sweetest moments of his dream. You have mistaken our friendship for a child’s play and have greatly disrespected me.”

“I did not disrespect you. My wife’s health was really bad yesterday. I needed to be with her.”

Isiewu shook his head and cowered it backwards. “Why do you bring trouble to yourself? Why have you decided to test the gods evil nature? Lying to the gods is like preparing your own graveyard before you are even dead.”

Echi was silent. He stared at a mango tree outside the security of the window in his hut. He said nothing to defend himself. He had totally forgotten to visit Isiewu because of the fight he had with Okponku which had occupied his head throughout the night and not the sickness of his wife which he had only just discovered a while ago.

“The gods are angry at you. They anger is upon you,” Isiewu said.

“You are right. I am lying to Igweka-ala and also to Chukwu, the high god. Yesterday was just terrible.”

“Did your relatives visit?” Isiewu asked.

“They visited yesterday. I met them in my compound after I returned from your shrine.”

“What was the outcome of the visit?”

Echi was silent again. Isiewu was interrogating him instead of just dropping the message that the gods had given to him. He knew the kind of man Isiewu was from the little time he had spent with him. He also knew that Isiewu liked talking; infact he never said anything without making sure that he had grabbed all the contents surrounding the main story before letting his own opinion out.

“It was terrible,” Olanna declared.

“Was it Abali?”

“It was her brother.”

Echi allowed his hands to clutch together. He would have said what Olanna had just told Isiewu, only if he had the strength to control his tongue to follow his will. All he wanted was for Isiewu to drop his message and just leave his hut.

“It is Opkonku, isn’t it?” Isiewu asked, more like blurting.

Echi lifted his head upwards and dropped it down to affrirm that he was right.

“That man is very stupid. He never goes to a place without causing trouble. I am very sure it was his mouth that brought trouble. I wonder why the high god has still not taken his ability to talk. The gods should have allowed people like Ifediora, people who bear wisdom on their palms to possess the sense of speech."

What Isiewu said about Ifediora was true. He was born dumb. His birth was one of those births that the people of Umuolu saw as a disgrace to mothers. A birth where his mother died during the process of giving birth to him only to give birth to a son who could not talk. His dumbness affected him from achieving a lot of things in his short life. He never got married because none of the women of Umuolu were willing to marry him but he was able to build a hut- a reasonable small hut that was built by his own hands. Even though life was really tough for Ifediora because of his loneliness, he still managed to be kind to everyone around him. During his burial, birds that have never been seen flocked his grave and paid their respect for he was a good man that deserved a better life.

“What did Okponku say?” Isiewu asked.

Olanna tilted her head as if she was waiting for Echi to answer the question that Isiewu had asked but he did not. “He said terrible things to my husband.” Olanna voiced out.

“I understand,” Isiewu said. 

The way Isiewu spoke made Echi to believe that the spirit of Igweka-ala which had guided him to his hut had left him. Gentle rolled up fist hit the door, forming a knock. It was Uchendu. Echi opened the door for Uchendu to come inside. He could see the suprise on Uchendu’s face as he stared at the dreaded raffia cloth that the chief priest wore.

“Uchendu!” Isiewu called out. “Has the goat lost honour in its ugliness and has decided to dine with humans?”

Uchendu grunted like an animal that had been caught sneaking to eat grass. He flitted from one place to another, maintaining a minimum amount of space. He was waiting for the chief priest to order him to leave their midst but Isiewu kept quiet. It was the silent tone of an erratic man.

Uchendu opened the door, he didn’t need to be told to leave. The silence of the chief priest was deriding in nature. Any reasonable man would understand the meaning the silence of the chief priest portrayed and just leave in peace instead of being told.

“Come and sit down,” Isiewu said after a while. His voice was groggy and hesitant in pushing his words. “Your presence among us is greatly important. Take a seat.”

Uchendu was finally compiled. He looked at Echi and then at Olanna.

“I will stay for a while,” Uchendu said. He sat down next to Echi, hands angularly bent, supporting his chin.

Echi watched as Isiewu grabbed his staff which he had dropped a while ago. His staff was quite different from the staves of other men he had seen. It had a white chalk that was drawn spirally from the top to the bottom like a curved snake clinging strongly with restlessness. The movements of Isiewu’s body made Echi to suspect that the spirit of the gods which was with Isiewu when he first entered his hut had returned to fulfill his work through him. He watched as Isiewu danced one of his popular steps, moving his legs backwards and propelling it forward before turning towards Olanna and ordering her to stand up while pointing at her stomach.

“The wind from the spirits of our ancestors will only blow away a roof when its owner has refused to mend it,” Isiewu danced again, thrusting his head as he moved backwards and forward. “Pity shall be given to the one who deserves pity. Mercy shall be given to the weak who is merciful,” he danced more. “The sacred palm-wine shall only be drank by the best tapper who risks his life to bring enjoyment to the one who derives joy in drinking his palm-wine,” he stopped dancing. He gave Uchendu and Echi a sign to stop whispering so he could concentrate on what he was doing and they obeyed.

Isiewu cleared his throat and started a song. They nodded their heads several times as Isiewu stopped a song and began a new one while calling the names of some of Umuolu’s ancestors. As they sang, Echi noticed the intensity and amount of air that Isiewu took in when he started a new song. He wondered what was going through the mind of the chief priest as he sang in a manner that instilled fear before ending with salutations to the gods.

“Husband of Olanna!” Isiewu called out. He was looking fierce. “Your wife will die as the gods had spoken. You have to gather strength and courage unless you will die in a strange battle and end up in a pile of waste. A war is coming between our village and a nearby village. A war that has never been seen nor heard of. Many people will die of starvation and the wrath of the gods will not be quenched by mere sacrifices of animals. The gods anger will be on this community and you shall die if you don’t take courage and act like a man. If you don’t act like a man, your fate will be terrible. You will join Olanna in her eternal rest and dwell in the abode of your ancestors. These are the words of the gods.”

“What will cause the war?” Uchendu asked.

“My son will cause the war,” Isiewu replied with a mocking laughter. “Nweke will cause the war between our people and the people of Umunsogbu. My son will die to bring honour to the gods. He will be kidnapped by the people of Umunsogbu and handed over to their chief priest. My son will be ordered to dance naked in front of everyone by their chief priest. He will be disgraced and insulted in a manner that has never be seen nor heard before. Finally, he will be burnt to death, his body will be cut into pieces. Each piece will be sent to different neighbouring villages until it reaches my bare hands. The people of Umuolu will go to war because I will instruct them to fight for my son. I will instruct them to fight for the name of our gods. They will fight until all the parts of my son’s body is brought to me for an appropriate burial. If Echi goes to war with a weary heart because of the death of Olanna, he will die in the battle. The gods have spoken.”

Echi stared at Uchendu who replied him quickly with a face that told him to calm down. He looked at Olanna, her eyes were away from his. After all, that was what he wanted. He wanted her to die for the sake of children. He turned towards Isiewu, his voice cracking like the croak of a toad. “Why will the people of Umunsogbu kidnap your son?”

“The number of wars we fight and the number of women we take as loots during the wars are the main reasons why they will think their cause is just. They will think taking the son of the chief priest of Umuolu is the right thing for them to do.”

“But what of the people of Umuise, the people of Umuoku and the people of Umuigwe, do they complain for the war we fought against them or the loots we took from them?” Uchendu asked.

“The people you mentioned cannot do anything because the hands of the gods is upon Umuolu. The gods have made me greater than all their chief priests. The people of Umunsogbu are so stubborn. They are like ungrateful goats who feel their pregnancy is matured enough to give then the strength they need to wage war against us because the founders of our village and their village share a common father. Do not fill your heart with worry because the gods have assured me that the people of Umuolu will triumph once again and prove that Igweka-ala is mighty,” Isiewu said.

“Why does the chief priest of Umunsogbu choose to attack the snake with bare hands. Why has he chosen to humiliate himself?” Uchendu asked, not feeling satisfied with the answers Isiewu had given.

“Old men say that no matter how small a seed is, give it some years and you will meet a different thing. I have an old quarrel with Egwusinala, the chief priest of Umunsogbu. The quarrel is a tale for another day.”

“But we have enough time, eye of the gods,” Echi interrupted.

Isiewu ignored Echi.

 “Inspite of my fervent plea, the gods are pleased with destroying my son. I am not against their decision to destroy my son. Nweke was a mistake and he is not following in my footsteps. He is indecisive and too foolish to know the ways of a chief priest. If the gods have chosen to use my son as a sacrifice in order for us to win our proud neighbours, I will gladly praise the gods and offer thanks to them because they are wise. The gods are full of wisdom,” Isiewu laughed.

Isiewu laughter turned into chuckles then little drops of tears burst out from his eyes. He stiffened up and turned to Olanna.

“Olanna, sacrifice of the gods. I came here for you. I have an important message from the gods. A message I have spoken in different forms but never in its true form. If I depart from here without saying the words of the gods, all the words I have spoken here would be used against me by the gods. I will be struck to death for disobeying their orders,” Isiewu paused and danced around, thrusting his head upwards and moving backwards and forward.

“Olanna, daughter of Umuoku. In your womb, you possess three great children, chosen with the special hands of the high god and given to you from the kindness of the gods. The middle child, the second son to burst out from your womb has been chosen by the gods to be his spokesman. If adequate measures are not taken, he would be killed by his brothers,” Isiewu prophesied, still moving forward and backward. “Your first son will be great but he will be driven by jealousy and will plan to kill your second son who has been chosen by the gods to be his spokesman. Your third son, gentle in heart and kind in spirit. He shall give Echi the highest number of grandsons. He will also follow his brother, the first son and plot to kill the second son.”

Isiewu stopped. He shaked his head and lifted his staff above his head.

“Olanna, loot of our conquer and wife of Echi, you will not live to see the prophesies come to pass but you and your husband should not forget the words of the gods. Remember, your generation will not last up to the fourth. Just as the lines that runs through your palm are three, so also will the number of your generations stop at the third. I have spoken the words of the gods,” Isiewu raised his head, “I have acquitted myself from the calamities that may befall me. I pray the gods do as they have spoken. May my son be burnt by Egwusinala so we can win the war against Egwusinala. May the gods guide you and your family. I await the death of Olanna with steady patience. Peace be on this house as I depart in peace.”

Isiewu pushed his staff towards the ground, the staff made a rattling sound which pierced Echi as much as his prophesy stung him. He watched as Isiewu dangled his staff away and left them, pushing the door aside until he stepped in the lower thatch that led to the entrance of his own hut.

Olanna watched as the midwife left the room, gasping for fresh air. Bubbles of sweat flowed down from her thick hair and ran through the wrapper that covered her breast. Her arms were involuntarily twitching and her energy was dying down slowly. Once or twice, the midwife had notice the first child head propping out from Olanna but that was all. She didn’t see any baby come out with a frenzy cry.

Olanna leaned on the bamboo bed with her legs spread wide apart. The bed was covered with dried leaves which helped to relieve her back from the excruciating pain she was feeling. The midwife was talking to Echi outside and she could hear her explaining to Echi about the complications that were occuring. She moaned as the midwife came back inside and adjusted her wrapper.

“You must push harder this time. Let us go again,” The midwife said.

Olanna nodded in agreement as she felt a strange sensation come upon her. She pushed the first child and the midwife jumped into action, enticing her to push harder. Finally, the first child came out and was quickly grasped by the awaiting hands of the midwife who wrapped the child in a wrapper. It was a boy just as Isiewu had prophesied.

Fresh and clean air flowed inside Olanna as she pushed the first child. She struggled for sometime and after two more push, the children came out with shinning umblical cords sticking at their navels.

“I need my husband,” Olanna said weakly.

The midwife wrapped the last child with a neat wrapper and called Echi. He came inside, banging the door that was covered with blood and black charcoal indicating the village delivery home. When he saw the three boys, he did some ceremonious dance in his mind before turning to look at Olanna who had laboured so hard to give him such happiness.

“You did not hold my hands,” Olanna said quietly, almost a whisper.

Echi put his hands in hers and sat down beside her.

“I could not bear to see you in such pain,” Echi replied, stealing a gaze at his three sons.

Olanna stared at him. Her legs were closing slowly. She looked at the midwife who was pushing a pot of hot water close to her children. The midwife unwrapped the first child, raise a knife and slashed the umblical cord that sprouted magnificently from his navel. The child made a loud yell. Echi stood up. He told the midwife to cut it carefully. The midwife frowned and collected a small piece of cloth. She dipped it inside the hot water and squeezed it before using it to soften the navel of the child.

“Where is Isiewu. Has he come?” Olanna asked.

“You know that the chief priest is always busy. He will come in his own free time,” Echi replied, placing his hands on her stomach that had slowly reduced into its original shape. Flat.

Olanna stiffened and stared at the midwife, then at Echi who was still caressing her stomach.

“It will not be long before I will die,” Olanna said. Her voice, sudden and swollen.

“Maybe,” Echi replied. “We shouldn’t talk about this. The gods might change their minds.”

“Don’t lie to me, Echi.”

“I am not lying to you my love.”

Olanna turned her face away.

“I have been intentionally used by the gods against my own wish. Well, why should I bother about living or dying when the most important thing is your happiness,” Olanna said.

“Don’t talk like that. You are important to me.” Echi took a deep breath and looked from one corner to another. It seemed as if all the corners he turned to hide his guilt in, all said the same thing. It was as if they were all forming a strong alliance to tell him he was wicked.

“I am not important to you. I know deep down that I am not. I know that I am going to die and that you will be happy when I die."

“We shouldn’t speak of things that are yet to happen. You are not going to die and I love you with my very existence.”

“But it will happen. You know that it will come to pass.”

“The chief priest can be lying. He might have said all of that just to scare us. It is what some of the diviners and chief priests do. How can he tell me that I will die in a battle when Umuolu is planning to make peace with the neighbouring villages. If you read the lips of that chief priest, you would know that he is not saying the words of the gods.”

The midwife hissed. It was a sign of contempt towards Echi for calling the chief priest of Umuolu a liar.

“Didn’t you believe him?” Olanna asked.

“I did at first.” Echi tapped the side of his arm then lowered his voice. “Akunna is dead. He has paid the price. He has paid our price for us.”

Olanna quietened. Strength was slowly forming within her. It was an unusual strength that a woman who had just given birth should possess.

“Akunna!” Olanna exclaimed.

“Yes! Akunna,” Echi replied.

Olanna reasoned. A precious life had been lost for her sake. It weakened her. It made her look foolish in Echi’s eyes. It was like the feeling of self rejection.

He touched her hand, half stroking at her fingers and half clutching them. He did not want her to feel the resentments that were already forming ambushes inside him.

She threw his hands away from her body.

“Don’t make me look like a fool. The chief priest of Umuolu cannot lie without bearing the consequences,” Olanna said. Her eyes were darting slowly as if she was going to die immediately.

For several seconds, Echi looked at Olanna with round, hopeless black eyes. Eyes had become a precious tool of communication between them. It was something that united them in their silence. He had lied to her and he was aware of it.

“When I die, promise me that you won’t bury me in Umuolu,” Olanna said.

“You will not die.”

“Just promise me that you won’t bury me in Umuolu.”

“Where would I bury you if not in Umuolu?” Echi asked, half ashamed for trying to deceive her at the last moment and half assured that she was willingly volunteering to die for his children, for their children that were not going to live up to the fourth.

“I would like to be wrapped with the wrapper we used on the first day of our wedding. You know how the colour of the wrapper was; red with some yellow dots at the corners.”

Echi placed his hands back in hers. She was talking like a child, feeble and gentle and with the desire to just play in everyday like it was her destiny.

“I want only you to bring my dead body back to Umuoku. When you reach my village, ask of Okezie.” Olanna voice was steadily drowning away. “Okezie is my father and he will be glad to accept my dead body because he has already concluded in his heart that I am dead on the day I was forcefully taken away from him. Promise me that you will not bury me in Umuolu. Echi, promise me.” Olanna was clasping at his hands and shaking it vehemently with a strong desire to change her irreversible fate.

A rat scurried past the bed Olanna was lying on. The midwife hissed and chased after it. Olanna could hear the angry curses the midwife was making at the intruder who was disturbing the quiet peace of mankind.

“I will try,” Echi declared softly. “I will try to meet your father. It will not be easy to tell him how you died. I am sorry but I can’t promise you that Olanna. I will hate myself for the rest of my life if I promised you and failed you. I would kill myself if I hurt you even in death.”

“You must do it. This is the last thing you can do to appease my soul for the evil you have done to me. My spirit will disturb you when I am dead. My spirit will haunt you for driving me to kill myself because of love. I will surely make your life miserable forever until you fulfill it.”

“Then I will die if your spirit chooses to kill me. I have done wrong in persuading you to sacrifice yourself for my pleasure but I am only like all of Umuolu men who will support their wives to do the same thing that I forced you to do. I am guilty but children were my crime. I sacrificed you but you willingly agreed. I did all these so we could find happiness.”

“So you could find happiness,” Olanna interrupted.

“Am I selfish and self centered?”

“Yes you are.” Olanna squeezed Echi’s hands. “You never thought of me when Isiewu brought the suggestion of me dying. All you wanted was to remove shame from your face. All you wanted was to end the constant complains of your mother. You never had me in any part of your mind. I was never there, in your thoughts. I watched you several nights staring at my stomach. Your eyes were always glued, waiting for a very slight affirmation that I was pregnant. Your eyes were not in this very face of your wife. I hate you Echi.”

The words descended on Echi as if a mighty wind had blown over the crown of his head. He stared at the midwife who was done chasing the rat, her face was thrown away. Under the sheen of his mind, Olanna words confronted him silently. He needed to hear the rage from her. He needed to hear all the hidden silence for many months come alive and they did. All that was left in him was his mind and his heart; they were the only two things that reminded him that he was conscious in a physical realm. He looked at Olanna without moving. Her eyes were glued fearfully on his face, waiting. He analysed his mind to ascertain what had happened, to be sure that he was not dreaming. It seemed as if he would fall down and crash, as if he would be lost in a completely different world that he had never seen. He stood up and walked towards the children. The midwife left. She had heard enough for a day. Echi knew that Olanna was questioning his love for her and in her state, it was easy to fathom the idea that she was never loved.

“I did love you. I still love you,” he said.

“No; you never did.”

Echi watched as Olanna turned her face way. Her eyes had turned slowly to a pool of fresh water.

“Why didn’t you sacrifice yourself instead of me?” Olanna asked.

“I would have if I could.” Echi stopped, he was doing her no good by lying to her. “Olanna!”

“Don’t mention my name.”

“I love you.”

“You love yourself.”

Echi turned his face away from her. A lot of things droned in his mind. His eyes were wide and roved through his three sons in a single glance. He could hear the faint sobs of Olanna behind him. Her sobs were low and persistent. It made him feel alone. 

“I couldn’t die,” Echi declared aloud. “Even if the gods insisted on killing me for the sake of our children, I just can’t die.”

The breathing of the children sang in Olanna’s ears as she saw the smile that had unravelled in their faces. They were sleeping. She stared at the yellow wrapper hanging freely around Echi’s laps. It surmounted her fear and brought a sudden light into the little time she had to spend with Echi. She remembered the evening she had walked up to her father’s threshold and told him in his face that all men were selfish. Okezie in his typical self had replied her with a long laughter before telling her that selfishness was the best way a man could possess something without feeling wrong about it.

“I would not support you to take your life even if the gods had insisted on taking your life,” Olanna said 

“I know you will not do what I did. That is why I love you so much.”.

“Come closer to me and hold my hands.”

Echi drew closer to her and sat down.

“I can’t hold your hands,” he said.

“Why can’t you hold my hands?”

“I am not worthy to hold the hands of a good soul.”

Echi turned his face away from her and stood up. He moved towards the door, just watching and waiting for something that was never going to come. He just stood there waiting for a sign that comfort was on its way until he heard the soft groan of Olanna as she tried to stand up from the bed.

“Grant my request,” Olanna begged.

“I just can’t do that.”

“You can do it. I believe you can do it.”

“Olanna, I am sorry. I am sorry that I led you into all these pain that you are passing through. I am sorry that my selfishness got the better of me and I choose your death over children but I can’t bring your corpse to your father. I can’t watch the face of a man whose daughter I killed intentionally. It would be too much guilt for me to bear.”

“You can do it,” Olanna said. Her voice was persistent, willing to battle for a simple favour. “You can do it, Echi. Tell yourself that you can do it for your wife.”

Echi hung his head and kept quiet for a while. One of the children had woken up with a cry that engulfed the intense atmosphere of the village delivery home.

“I love you, Echi.”

“I know you love me.”

“Then grant my request and bury me in father’s place,” Olanna said and stopped. Her mouth was not moving and Echi felt the silence.

Echi ran back to her in quick successive steps. Blood was oozing from her mouth, quickly forming frothing bubbles.

“Echi!” She managed to call, “I....I.... love.... you.”

Echi shook her violently. She was not responding and more blood poured out from her mouth. The last thing he heard when her heart finished the final lap of its race with wide arms were the silent words of a woman who had appreciated death. She called her father twice and held his hands before squeezing it tightly with a warm smile across her face.

When she died, Echi looked at the room as if something great had fallen. He looked like a madman who had returned to sanity in the middle of a busy path. He looked outside and saw the chief priest approaching the village delivery home with his staff by his side. He held Olanna by her hands and kissed her lips gently. It was his last kiss. He dragged her hands closer to his face and felt the warmth of it. The chief priest was getting closer. He dropped her hands and drew it closer to her waist. Her legs were still far apart, unclosed. He went to where her legs were, placed her legs down and united it with a gentle push. His pain gradually increased. He closed her eyes and covered her body with a free wrapper that was lying close to her. She was staring at him with the same warm smile that had ran through her face from the first day her stubbornness was marked a threat. He touched her for the last time. More pain burst out from every part of his body. He was weak not because it was the first death he had seen in his life but because it was the first time and possibly the only time he would see someone sacrifice her life for his own joy. She was a woman who had accepted death nine months ago when he told her with an ebullient voice that a life was forming gradually inside her. She was a woman who had captured his heart and taught him the meaning of love. He wept.