Obiageli - Episode 28

 

Everyone thought Obiageli was going to wake up, she had done it before, why not now...?

Flashback two years prior

At the Forest

"Oby......Obiageli" he called shaking her, he put her to her back and went above her, shaking her with no response "Oby...Obiageli..,no, why god" he cried....sniffing, he tried to raise her up but she was a dead weight, he shook her more "no no no" she couldn't be dead...He finally was able to raise her up and hugged her crying into her bosom which was very cold now, why did she do it?

"Oby you should have let me go instead" he said in tears as he stood up and carried her out of the forest.

When he got to the compound, Oluchi came out of her hut and was shocked at what she saw, she ran towards them and tried to carry Obiageli herself

"What happened?" She asked him

Uche amidst tears narrated what had happened

"Eow"she exclaimed, and between them they carried her into her hut and laid her on the bed while Oluchi examined her and discovered that unlike before Obiageli was as cold as death...She came out of the hut and wailed

" eoow, Obiageli nwam..ewoooo"she began to sing rolling on the floor while he came out and stared at her in tears as family and neighbours ran into the compound to find out what had happened, Okafor walked out slowly with his walking stick while Ezinma, Ikenna, his wife Angelina and her children entered the hut

"What happened?" Ikenna asked coming out

"What happened, I saw her this morning" Angelina said

When Uche told them what had happened they couldn't believe it, how could she have sucked the poison they wondered. Okafor just stared up at the sky wordless

"She can't die, such a young girl" a man said

"Let's try and remove the poison"another suggested, they called in the village chief priest who stood outside for sometime staring at the sky, as the wailing continued in the compound

All episodes of this story can be found here >> https://www.ebonystory.com/story/obiageli

. He put a leaf in his mouth and chewed, watching the sky as he shook his head and walked around the compound dusting the air with his broom before he went to the hut and entered  with his back. He went to her and touched her face...in a caress

" she's gone....she's very far away "he said and walked out.

Everyone began to leave shaking their heads, Okafor and the others left but Ezinma surprisingly remained, Uche stayed outside the hut thinking that that should have been him, it was all his fault, if he had not gone to the forest that day, if he had been more observant, how could he the best hunter in the village not know when a snake was approaching...

" I'm not leaving till she wakes up" Uche told  Ikenna when he told him to go home

" She won't wake up, didn't you hear what the Dibia said"Ikenna said 

Uche just stared, why did she do it, he wanted to follow her to wherever she had gone, he couldn't stay in the world alone.

He finally decided to go in and sit with the women, Ezinma was sitting beside Oluchi comforting her as a co-wife should but when Uche came in Oluchi turned on him

"It is your fault, she is not supposed to be with any man, but you won't let her be, she was supposed to go to college tomorrow oo....eo Obyyyy" Uche just cried more, " Oby please come back.."Oluchi cried, while Ezinma sooted her, she turned on Ezinma "Leave me alone you witch, you all have succeeded in killing her, she was supposed to go to college tomorrow, because she would be the first girl to go in this compound you have decided to kill her"

Uche cleaned his eyes and folded his arms as Ezinma looked shocked

"If I was a witch wouldn't I have killed you since?" She asked as she hissed and went out.

Another hour passed as mother, daughter and lover stayed in the hut, Uche tried to take his mind off Obiageli as he looked at her mother instead, they looked nothing alike, was it really true that she was a spirit, from the river?, had she really gone back there? why would she do this to him, he would have preferred if he was dead than to live life without her

" Uche I know you must think I hate you"Oluchi began calmly, she was no longer crying

Uche adjusted on his stool "yes mama"

"But its nothing like that..you have done me no wrong" she said rocking Obiageli back and forth

"Then why hate me, because I wanted to marry Obiageli" he paused"because I love her"he said

"Yes, I've always been scared of you Uche" Uche looked up"right from when she was a baby"she said

He looked puzzled "Am I scary?".he wondered

She chuckled and looked at Oby's face which was calm like in a sleep" Eighteen years ago while I held her in my arms like this your father said you ll marry her....I thought it was a joke" his eyes remained on her as she continued "years later when I held her like this you came and gave me a coin on her head".

Uche blinked" I ....what?"

Oluchi smiled and looked away "you were  but a lil boy then...I still thought it a joke..a year ago when you came to take her out..I got scared. .fear turned into dislike, dislike into hatred but I couldn't tell her because I feared she ll go away and leave me, she's my only child you see..the only one I ll ever bear." She paused and looked at Oby again "When you finally came with your father to marry her, I realised then that I had lost her....and now I have"she said tearing up again, Uche held her hand

"I'm sorry" he said, not having any other thing to say, he had always felt a strong connection to Obiageli even when they were enemies, now he knew why, he wanted to follow her though, to wherever she had gone, he didn't just know how he was going to live without her.

Another hour passed, and he went out to stretch his legs, when he returned

Oluchi sat staring at her daughter in silence."Why didn't the gods take me instead, to watch my only daughter die" She said calmly, she stood up and quietly covered her.

"Obiageli died and came back o" Uche recalled Kelechi's words, hoping against hope as he stared at the cover cloth that she would return again like she did before....but she didn't.

That night, he couldn't sleep, he kept crying, tossing and turning, he developed a fever and his sister came to clean his body. When he finally slept in the early hours of the morning he dreamt of her

Everything was white and foggy, but he saw her, she was beautiful and happy, she smiled at his frown

"Obiageli, where did you go?" he asked her "why did you leave me?"he asked going towards her

She laughed and went around him before she came close to him

"There"she said

"Where you told me about?"

"Yes"

"But why..why can't you come back for your mother....for me"he asked

She was silent "They are angry Uche, very angry at me, I tried to tell them.to let me go but they wouldn't" she looked down" I have a very jealous man here Uche, he's very bad, he watches me in form of lizards and his servants are snakes....like the one that attacked you"she said "I was bethrothed to him before I came to earth, he's very jealous of you and has  prevented me from coming back"she came closer"but this was the only way...you had to live"

"But why would you do this, I can't live without you"he said in tears" you should have let me die"he said, she reached and cleaned off a tear with her finger

"No my love, i couldn't have let you die, I promise I ll always come to you..I give you my word"she said

"Obiageli I can't stay alone here, how am I supposed to live without you?"he wondered searching her eyes

She paused"My name is Valeria....in here".

"Oh...and what is his name?"he decided to ask

"His name is Napsi"

"And are you going to marry him?" he asked, he discovered he was jealous of a spirit

She laughed and went around him again

"He ascends the throne soon...and needs a wife"

"When?"

"Soon..I ll let you know" she whispered in his ear

"Do you have anyone like you in this village?"because he couldn't believe he was believing in spirits

She paused then said "yes, in the next village, her name is Negi, She's an old woman"

"Why did you come to earth Valeria?" he asked testing the name in his mouth

"I came to play" she said skipping around him, it was becoming distant and he wanted more, he wanted to keep hearing her voice, seeing her, he wanted her back...

"You have to marry Ego" she was saying "you have to live your life, do it for me." She said coming close again "for us" she said, touching his face, he wondered how she was able to do that "Remember i'm always with you...goodbye my love"

When he woke up the next morning, the fever had gone, he decided not to tell anybody about it, not even the mother, lest they thought he was crazy.

She was buried three days later but that did not stop her from haunting his dreams.

*For all those who love Obiageli's character, she's not gone yet

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