Outcast - Episode 15

I entered the kitchen and met Mama, bringing down the pot of food that was on the fire.

"Good evening, Mama", I said.

"Good evening, Obiefuna, you really took long but it's okay", Mama said. Nwakaego interrupted, "he was busy eavesdropping on Mama Nnukwu's conversation", she said.

Mama ignored her and started dishing foods in plates. I looked at Nwakaego and she hissed at me. I laughed. She must have felt bad that Mama ignored her. I made a tongue out for her and she removed her face.

While we were eating, Mama took a deep breath. Nwakaego normally sat on the floor while she ate her food, Mama sits on our tattered sofa, with her food on her laps. While I sit at the opposite one, while my food was placed on the table.

"I know you don't eavesdrop over things that are not relevant, my son", Mama said. I looked at her, and smiled.

"So, tell me what you heard them talking about?", Mama queried. I raised my already bent head and looked at Mama. Some tears dropped from my eyes. I looked at Mama and Nwakaego, they were absentminded from the food they were eating and gazed at me.

"They were saying that you'll be banished and Nwakaego will become the priestess of the river", I said. I saw Nwakaego's eyelid raised

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. I couldn't tell if she was sad or happy. She rather looked inquisitive.

"Banish me?, those women are really getting on my nerves. They just sit down and gossip about my life", Mama said. Mama never talked again till we slept. I shared same room with Nwakaego and the night was hellish as she kept pestering me with questions.

"What's priestess of the river about?", Nwakaego asked.

"The lady who is at the helm of worshipping the goddess. She serves the goddess and she is her sole human messenger", I said. She grinned. I could see her sparkling white tooth, though our room was dark. 

"Why are you laughing?", I asked.

"I like it. I always have a beautiful dream about swimming in the river and a beautiful lady comes to rescue me. She always gives me a gifts", she said with a huge smile. 

"Will you shut up?", I yelled.

"You can't shut me up", Nwakaego marched me up.

"Priestess of the river is a bad thing to worship, and their things aren't worth associating with", I said to her calmly. I could feel she was listening and accepting what I was saying. I was entangled in my own ego because of the much confidence I was speaking with. 

"We are in Christ and you can't be the priestess of the river", I said. She stared at me, and laid on my leg. We talked, until we both dozed off after a while.

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Immediately, I saw myself being dragged to the rivers' path again. It was an invisible hand and I was trying to wade it off from my grip. There was a heavy wind that made so much noise. It blew forward and backward. While we almost got to the river, it couldn't drag me anymore and its hands started fleeing from my grip after I'd struggled so hard.

"Arrrgggghhhhhhhhhh", the voice yelled. 
"You can't go. You are mine. Today is my day", it screamed again with loud cry. It forcefully held me with two hands and I yelled. It yanked me off my two legs, flung me up, and I was about to land into the river, I jumped on bed and woke up with a loud screech. My noise awoken Mama and she shouted from her room, "what?!".

I looked around the bed, I couldn't find Nwakaego. I looked around the room I couldn't see her, and then the wall. I saw a little girl with her eyes shining like a star. She had claws and was ready to devour. Immediately, Mama banged the locked door open, after she had knocked and nobody opened. My persistent cries and begging an unknown creature "please" made her afraid, and sadly the door wasn't locked while we went to sleep; I still wondered who locked it. I didn't know where Mama got so much strength to bang it open. She flashed her torchlight.
Nwakaego was still lying in the bed as I looked at her, shocked.

Read " The Thorny Path " by the same author ( Obinna Tony )

. She wasn't there when I took notice last time. Mama asked if I was okay. I said yes. I told her to take me to her room, she asked me why. I said nothing. She asked what about my sister. I said nothing. I told her not to worry. I took my rosary and started praying till it was morning. I couldn't sleep again.  It was weekend and I slept most of the hours at the verandah, and Mama would stare at me at times and shook her head.