Outcast - Episode 19

 

It was an easy ride to Awka and we got to his house earlier, and safely. His gateman, a man that spoke in a weird accent opened the gate for us. He kept asking me questions on what he would assist me to carry into the house. I heard Chief Igbokwe called him Adamu and he answered. He stared in a creepy way.

Adamu assisted me with my bags, as we took everything into the house. Two girls came out of the room shouting, "daddy! daddy!! daddy!!!" . They were both slightly same height, but didn't look like twin. I knew one was older. Adamu helped me to adjust my bags at the wall and left the sitting room.

"Who is he?", the shorter one said to her daddy pointing at me.

"Oh, your new friend", he replied. The taller one came close to me and stared into my eyes, "what's your name?", she asked.

"Obiefuna", I replied.

"I'm Amaka, my sister is Amara. I'm older than her", she said with so much boldness. I saw Amara as she kept looking at me.

Immediately, a young woman entered. Both children ran to hug her. She handed the bag to Amaka and carried Amara who was the same height as Nwakaego.

"Welcome, sweetheart", she said to her husband. They greeted each other.

"Hey, how are you?", she pointed at me

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. "Is he the one", she asked her husband.

"Yes", he replied.

"What's your name?" she asked facing me.

"He said his name is Obiefuna", Amaka said immediately. "I'm Obiefuna", I replied equally.

"Oh. Nice name", she said. She told me to follow her, so she would show me my room. She took me to a room. It had a big and more beautiful bed compared to the one I slept on, with Nwakaego. Ours was big but not beautiful. It had been long we bought it, and the bed already has holes in it. Urine lines and marks can be seen all over the bed. Mrs Igbokwe pointed at the room for me and said I should be addressing her as mummy because I was repeatedly saying Madam. I replied, "okay", and she left the room. I sat on the bed admiring the room. Last time I saw something like that, was in Ifenyinwa's house. I stared at the chandelier, the beautiful curtain, the new desks and everything. Not so long, there was a knock on the door, it was Amara.

"Hello", I said.

"Hi, mum said the food is ready", she said, turned back and left. I followed her to the dining room. The dining was so beautiful. Like those I see in Nollywood movies.

"Just say what you want", mummy said to me. I said them, and watched her as she put rice and chicken on my plates for me and I ate to my satisfaction.

That night, I slept too comfortably. There was fan, and no singing from the mosquitoes. I dreamt about where I started schooling, and Ifenyinwa was my classmate. We were only the one in our class. She wore a neat school uniform, with a knotted tie and I wore the same with my knotted tie. We had white long socks and black shoes. We looked beautiful, as we sat on adjacent chairs, with its lockers and talked to each other. There was no teacher in the class. In the middle of our chit-chats, the lockers vanished with chairs, as we threw off on the floor.

Read " The Missionary's Journey " by the same author ( Obinna Tony )

. The demarcation that divided different classes, broke open and a scary creature with wings, shattered the wall with its fist, and we screeched; it was black and looked like a bat but times hundred its size. I dragged Ifenyinwa by her hands, and as I wanted to run, I fell on the floor, screamed and woke up in bed, panting. My room light came on. I cleaned up my eyes with my hand and it was Chief Igbokwe and Mummy.

"I hope you are alright?", she asked.

"Yes, I am. I had a nightmare", I said. Chief Igbokwe hissed and left the room.

"It's normal", mummy said and came to my bed, sat down, and patted my back. I wished she would know that mine wasn't normal, I shook my head.

She left, but I couldn't sleep any longer. I opened my eyes throughout, but I didn't know when I finally slept off.

It was dawn, I woke up, greeted everybody and picked up the broom to sweep the parlour. While I was almost done, mummy came out and hailed me on how I tried. She told me that school would start next week, but she will take me to the school I would be resuming in, the next day for registrations. Amaka and Amara, were five and six years respectively, so they were still in primary school.