Rejected But Not Disqualified - Episode 5

 

The Bible made us to believe that out of the abundance of the heart does good and bad deed conceive. When Nwude could not bear her mother's sudden solo silence after narrating his deeds, he looked where she was sitting beside him and understood from the looks on her face that she had gone sullen. Ugoye thought of how Ngene got married from the family contribution . His marriage to Uchendu was out of favour initiated by her. It happened that Ngene had exhibited his gift in the treatment of Uchendu's mother ( Udenkwo) in another village of Umuaku. She has been suffering from severe headache for more than a decade.

The husband Afamefuna( the father of uchendu) had heart attack that cost his life because he had exhausted almost all his wealth to get a cure from the mysterious headache that befell his wife to no avail. He sold off some parcel of land to treat her and it did not yield any good result. He has taken her from one native doctor to another in different towns. It was Ugoye who was a friend to Uchendu's elder sister in her occasional visits to her friend observed their predicament. In her confidence suggested that they should try her son's medication to know if they could get headway. But because their father was late, they have run short of money and the siblings were mostly females

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. They had no male offspring then. They bitterly lamented that they could not afford any medication financially be it within the community. Ugoye consoled them and promise to escort, aid and introduce them to his son and will guarantee on their behalf to pay when able since Ngene still a young man was his biological son.

They summoned courage to go with Ugoye to see her son Ngene who was a Native Doctor. When they reached their house, Ngene was with some visitors but on sighting his mother with sober looking young women with their mother, he excused his visitors and out of pity of seeing how their mother looks pale, he rushed out to know what was amiss. He offered them a bench under the tree shade to sit down. Ugoye her mother narrated how she met the situation on her usual visit to her friend, she claimed that she was not put through abinitio their situation because their father was alive and was suppressing shame and worries for them. This is where you know that (men are the eyelid that protects the eye from attacks and harm). Ngene calmly asked them what was the problem and one of young women narrated their ordeal for the past decade but did not shade light on how their father died as a result of the burden. Ngene stood aside for some seconds, then came back thanked and dismissed her mother. Ugoye advised the women before leaving to pray that the gods will have solution to their problem. Ngene went into his hut immediately and brought out leaves of unknown plant, cut them into pieces put them in a small pot with much water added and set it up in an already made fire then added a little oxygen. As a Native doctor, he has the penchant to keep patients happy, so calming tension is as simple as nothing because it's part of the work. After chiding the women, he joined his visitors back.

At about 15 minutes, he came out again by then the pot on fire is already boiling, Ngene beckoned on their sick mother under the shade of a tree, collected a scarf from his house, gave the woman a small kitchen chair and asked her to cover her head with scarf while he opened the hot pot with leaves in front of the chair. He told her to bend her face directly opposite the pot and make sure that the vapour is flowing on her face while she breaths with her mouth. Udenkwo had undergone worst medications, so she wasted no time while her kids starred aloof. In less than 5 minutes, Ngene uncovered her and told her to remove the leaves, take the water to the bathroom and had a birth with the remaining water not minding the quantity. He advised her to make sure it touched all parts of her body. After her bath, Ngene sent them home to come back after four days. The young daughters were surprised and asked if there is no follow up home medication but Ngene smiled and told them that "a palm-wine tapper does not say everything he saw while tapping" That night after meal Udenkwo and her daughters had a good meal and retired to bed. To the daughter's surprise, their mother did not wake up as usual till the following morning. The daughters who have had their body system adapted to keeping late nights woke up early and saw their mother still sleeping and were amazed because it had not happened for decades. The new development repeated itself till the next three days before they went back to Ngene. Ngene was expecting them, so he asked her how she faired and both mother and kids were full of appreciation. He told Udenkwo that she had a call from the gods to serve like him but she refused to heed, so the spirits were disturbing her by causing the mysterious headache. Udenkwo did not understand. Ngene told her that she had driven the spirits away but advised she get herself prepared to perform a ritual that will nip their hold on her. She quizzed while sobbing why she was attached to such call and lament the resources they had wasted all the years. It was dawn on her and she loudly said that "A PROPHET IS NEVER VALUED IN HIS OWN TOWN". Ngene laughed and said that it is not him that runs fast that will win but he whom the gods favored. He used himself as an example and asked her to prepare so that the call can be channeled to some other useful habits and skills.

Ngene wrote down the paraphernalia they will buy for the ritual to be performed in eight market days. Meanwhile, one of the daughters had gone to ugoye's house to narrate the dawn of the new era and Ugoye joyfully joined them to thank Ngene. Ugoye then jokingly asked Ngene to choose among the daughter who will be his wife as value for medication since there is no money. Ngene replied by saying that the gods have its own way of getting paid. Udenkwo did not wish to own any dime to avoid the gods requesting what she could not afford. So had an impromptu family meeting where Uchendu gave conscent to be Ngene's wife.