From the Philosopher… #___INHUMANE____Episode_17_[©2004] {A Nod is as Good as a Wink to a Blind Horse…And a man of uncontrolled temper would with his fists dug his grave and bury himself therein} Are gory days really over? Ikechukwu recuperated from sick bed and resumed his usual chores. Events of the past weeks had him watching from his sick bed, a lot has happened lately, but his wellbeing mattered most till lately he is free from his fever. Nowadays, he hawks “ice water” [chilled water tied in small transparent nylons] all around the place. Mama Nonso even though she’d diverted her trade from food stuffs merchandizing to hair salon business, still raises income through Ikechukwu with the aid of her small refrigerator. Noticing that Ikechukwu was up from the sick bed, Nonso withdrew helping out in the chores, unmindful whether the boy was health certified enough to go round the tedious domestic tasks. He soon forgot the promise he made on prayers to God, never to be instrumental to afflicting his cousin again— just as they say it, things are easier said than done. ***** ******** ******************* *************** ******** The sun had gradually shrouded its grace behind a conglomerate of thick western clouds, like fallen embers and like one wearied to drowsing. Nonso was with his mother near the cooking stove at the veranda, gossiping about one of his outings to an elaborate occasion. Mama Nonso seemed to be in a hurry in preparing for dinner, for her mind was in returning to her salon; customers are more in the evenings than any time of the day. Nonso volunteered to help out with arranging pumpkin vegetables for his mother to chop; these vegetables were the suitable leaves for the egwusi soup they are preparing. Then, Nonye staggered from their house through the passageway with eyes emancipated from the dreamland, and walked past them without talking to anyone. She has been observing her siesta, and probably on her way to meet her mother at her shop than staying alone at home, since Juliet had gone to her afternoon commercial classes and wouldn’t be home not until 5pm. “This girl don really suffer”- Nonso fixed a stare on her, as her distancing increased. “Ever since her abuse experience, the mother had poisoned her mind to avoid playing and socializing with people. You don’t know who your enemies are. Now, her people are so sensitive towards her.” “But, I don’t know whether na man or pikin do am dat yeye thing”- Nonso perplexed. “She’d failed to say who it did that to her and what exactly was done to her. Also her parents, especially her father don’t want anybody to quiz the poor girl about that again. He said it would be traumatic.” “Poor girl, he might be right shaa. Even ladies are traumatized when raped let alone a baby who is not even upto 5years.” “I pray she surmount this challenge in life. That’s a lesson too…even for Psycholo. I keep warning him that this neighborhood isn’t secure. He wouldn’t listen until perhaps someday they will carry him to his place and perhaps after a ritualist must have cut off his genitals..” “Hahahaha…”- Nonso laughed amplified, “What you said may not be far from the truth.” “Yes na, as we are in October now, this is the bloody ember month ritualists indulge in a lot of fetishism, kidnapping of children, enticing them with sweets and using them for blood money.” “Na true oo…” Nonso paused, almost bored picking the pumpkin leaves for his mother..His laziness is having a toll on him. He only cherished the gist but would have loved it most without having to render any service. “But, where is Psycholo?” Nonso cuts in.—“I don’t fancy him staying out while he is needed to assist you here. He is fond of absconding to God knows where whenever duty calls. I just hope he is not in any way trying to convert us to his maid and manservant?” “Nonso, I have checked him everywhere before lighting the stove and he is nowhere to be found. Who knows whether he is hiding in the bush hehehe? I don’t blame him, he’d recovered from been bedridden—that’s the reason na.” “Is that how you see it? When this food is ready, there he appears. I don’t know what instinct he uses to know when the timing is right.” Nonso rouses his mother, fanning her hot coke temperament with his words. “Psycho makes me mad all the time and God keeps saving him. The last time, I would have dealt with him mercilessly for that stolen N500 naira which up till today he has not confessed nor apologized for stealing from my purse.” “Psycholo, the guy man!” Nonso chuckled as he hailed his cousin for a feat, he hasn’t attained. “You are supporting him, eeh? Both of you don’t know that to make N1 naira is very hard, especially nowadays things are difficult due to bad economy.”- She demonstrated by swaying her hand over her brow—“sweat must gush before one makes ordinary N1 naira nowadays. That lost money really aggrieved me. Since he came to this house, he is yet to realize a N500 naira profit for me, so what propelled him to steal as much as that amount from me? Same amount can provide food on the table for one month for him….maybe he doesn’t know that.” “It was your husband that spared him…hehe.” “Even your dad, there’s a way he does his things that often ruff me out of balance. He was scolding me on my lost money for maltreating his nephew. Is Psycho a human being? But, because of that idiot, your father wanted to find grounds for real problems in this house. Thank God he refunded me that N500 himself, else there wouldn’t have been peace in this house, cos none of you opened that hair business or assists me in what I do. I deserve a lot of respect in this house for my contribution.” “Dad sometimes does like an imbecile. I sometimes still think that the epilepsy he suffered for years past, somehow affected his reasoning ability.” “Nonso,”- she giggled—“I wonder. Just don’t be like him. He allowed himself to be remote-controlled by his sisters. “Mtcheww..” Nonso heaved a sigh. “You don’t even know what happened. He came back the other day and was telling me that he wants us to send Ikechukwu to school soon because his sister wanted the twins to be educated. So he concluded with her first to do so and returned to seek for my patronage to accomplish their conspiracy.” “But you wouldn’t mama, would you?” “For where? How can I bring out my money to train a rogue, so that he goes out there and rubbish my name? He will start from his fellow classmates and extend it to the teachers, the traders in the school premises, the head mistress and I wouldn’t be surprised if I receive report that he stole from the school.” “Hahaha hahahaha hahahaha!” Nonso gaggled in laughter. “I cannot do a mistake like that, even if I don’t know what to invest my sweat money on, definitely not sending Psycho to school. I have cancelled that budget on that day he stole that N500 bar remorse.” “Small boy like him, he won’t help himself. He is lucky to have relatives like us, but misfortune in his father’s house is ready to doom him too.” “Who do you refer as a small boy,…that ‘paa-paa lo lo’? You should stop fooling yourselves thinking him as a small boy, cos he’s no longer a child. One day you might even address him as a baby.” “You really hated him o, mummy.” Nonso grinned the more. “If he actually he is a small boy, then I am enshrouded in fear what he will be in future as he is presently a rogue while a kid. In fact I still ponder what he used that N500 or even more money, to do. That money which can provide at least his school uniforms, but alas he’d taken his own share of the tea, and wouldn’t demand another tea cup.” Nonso finished picking the leaves for his mother to chop; he relieved himself out to relax on a television program, since there was electric power and the ETV—the State owned television station—must have commenced broadcast. “Please, I can’t afford to miss this TV program now whereas there’s light. Catch you later.” He yawned, rising from his seat and walked into the house. **** ****** ****** ******** ****** **** About an hour later, Ikechukwu came home. Certainly, he’d been swimming in Nwangene with his friends. They quite spent a hail of time swimming and finally went to plug some fruits in the bush. While returning from Nwangene, Ikechukwu had stopped over in the house of one of the kids with him and ate there, before retiring home, not knowing the print of calamity awaiting to greet his return in the only place he takes as home. When Mama Nonso saw him, she fumed from within with great displeasure. “Nonso said it right, you have a wicked instinct. Now that I am done with the cooking, look who appears from nowhere, and here he comes to eat what his maid has prepared for him.” She muttered as she took the pot of soup she has finished cooking into the room. She came out again with a bowl of garri, which she wants to make,--because the hot water for the garri had even over-boiled, seriously emitting hot steam from the pot’s lid. “Psycho….where do you say you are coming from?” she pried with a grave frown—“won’t you answer me again, you little beast? I repeat, where were you all the while? She asked the trembling Ikechukwu. “I went to the stream to bathe, since I don’t want to use down the water at home. From there I went to the bush to defecate….” “Is that the reason why you spent the whole hours there in absconding from helping out at home, you liar?” She angrily poured the hot over boiled water on the boy’s body.—“You beast!” She rashly spluttered as she issued her husband’s nephew a chassis visa to hell. Ikechukwu greeted the sudden aggression as one thrown into hell itself. It was never envisaged, a shock that sent him on same journey his parents went through. At once the hurled hot water made contact with his body; he screamed greatly riding on the peak of his voice; a cry which summoned even those fast asleep in their homes. Surely, even in hell, the poor boy’s first scream was heard clearly and sound. Hell to this loathsome inhumane act. When people rushed out for that emergency cry for help from Ikechukwu, they doubted their eyes. Distinct words could hardly come out from their mouths in the face of this barbaric act. No pretext can justify this treachery; Ikechukwu was bleached and deformed by the caustic assault from Mama Nonso. “What?!!! Ikechukwu what happened?” Mama Nonso what’s the meaning of this?” They directed their questions sporadically even to one another, but the ugly deed has been done, and Ikechukwu toed on his near end. Mama Nonso and her son were saucer eyed. Her breathe was stuffy as her throb troubled to sink into her stomach. Her hairs stood erect like agile soldiers honoring the national anthem. It would have been better a trance for her than a reality; she begged it to be the latter rather. Scales that befogged her suddenly disappeared from her eyes as she ran wildly towards Ikechukwu who now unconsciously blunders in macabre. She cried like a mad woman:”Ike-chu—kwu—o! plzzzzzzzzzz no die ooo!” She began beckoning for help from the disgust crowd that gathered:” Plzzzz, help let’s take him to hospital. It was the devil; I didn’t know it would lead to this. Oh Ikechukwu, my God has killed me today—all for an ill temper.” “Jesus Christ!” People shrugged their shoulders in disbelief to what they presently see. They folded their arms over their chest; some hung their hands over their heads while many others covered their eyes with their hands so as not to retch or vomit. The young men that gathered were inflamed to bounce on Mama Nonso and her son beating out those demons that had possessed them all along, almost lynching them to death…..they lay nearly lifeless on the floor. Carrying Ikechukwu to a hospital is a catastrophe seeing that the boil covered his entire body. A spirited neighbor from the next compound offered his taxi to be used to rush him to the hospital, while they waited for Mama Nonso and her son to revive before taking them to the police station. The youths were so enraged that they swiftly vandalized her shop and set it ablaze, throwing out her things away. To be continued:-
Posted on: Wed, 24 Sep 2014 08:25:37 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015