bury my father the way I want.”
“Ovie, you talk like an insane man,” she thundered.
“Oh, just shut up, mother.”
“Ovie, watch your utterances.” His uncle gave him a slap, “she is my sister, your mother and your father’s widow.”
The force of the slap moved Ovie’s face sideway. It took a while before Ovie turned his neck and faced his uncle. He flexed his shoulder. “Uncle, you slapped me?” he asked unbelievably.
“Yes, and believe me, I will slap you countless times if you say another disrespectful word to your mother. I have endured your nonsense for this long because you are my nephew, but no more. I thought your behaviour was born out of the frustration of losing your father. I looked upon you as a child with some tantrums, oh, Ovie; I forgot you are no more a child. I must look like a fool for supporting you all these while. I tried to convince you it is the way of your father’s people to bury him according to custom.” Ovie shook his head. He bowed to his mother and left the house.
Dave could not look at Ovie’s mother. He went into the room and returned with his bag, “I am sorry, please forgive me ma. I will leave for the city at once.” He left the house to take a commercial bus.
In the midnight, Ovie took some men to evacuate his father’s coffin and buried it in Apele. Day and night, there was sorrowful cry of an adult man. This made the neighbours lost sleep. They requested Ovie and his family to come to their house and find out the mystery.
“I have played the oracle; it says your father’s spirit is restless at where he was buried,” said Mamus.
“I said it. I said my father should not be buried in the village.” Ovie fervently said.
“Shut up. Your father’s spirit is not restless in Godere. Someone removed his body from his grave. Ovie, your father’s spirit desire to be back in his root, someone removed your father’s body and put that of a dead stranger. His soul cries in Godere. He said whoever exhumed his body should bring it back to its rightful place.”
Ovie‘s mother turned on him with suspicion, “Ovie, where have you kept his body?”
“I do not know, you should ask his relatives. Ask them if they took the body from the morgue and buried it in Godere or if they did something else with your husband’s body.”
His mother slapped him. “Ovie, tell us what you have done with your father’s body?”
“I said I do not know. Do you people want to force a lie out of my mouth?” Ovie shouted.
A thunderous slap landed on Ovie’s cheek. It was his mother that slapped him, “Tell me where my husband is you foolish child! If you don’t tell me in a second, I will get naked and curse you here and now!”
Ovie quickly ran towards the hallway. His family followed him. Ovie had buried his father in one of the guest bedrooms.
“This is an abomination. Ovie, what have you done to your father?” Mamus calmly asked.
His mother covered her mouth in shock, “I was right. You are mad,” she said.
“I just wanted to bury my father the way I want. This is his house, is it not? It is a tradition to also bury people in their houses?” Ovie slid to the floor and cried, “I have a right to bury my father the way I want.”
Ovie’s mother invited some youths to take the corpse back to Godere. Ovie paid some money as a levy for his act. The villagers pardoned Ovie and allowed him perform the final rites of the burial.
Four
Iya tried to feed her son some herbal mixture. The child’s flaying legs toppled the cup and the brown liquid content spilled on some coloured panties stacked on a low bench. Iya hissed at the mess. She imprisoned his tiny legs with her arm, and used the other to pin down his hands. She smiled at the workable tactics.
She poured another warm brew from the flask into the cup. Iya held her son’s nose. Due to blockade of his nose, the baby breathed through his mouth. She poured the herbal brew into his tiny mouth and the medicine gurgle down his throat. His mother let go of him. He let out a cry and began kicking his leg in protest of the bitter taste.
Sissy came by the store, “it is wrong to give such a little baby agbo-herbal mixture to drink,” she took the baby from his mother. She gently rubbed his back and fanned his face with her mouth. The baby stopped crying and hiccupped.
“It works well for sugar belly,” Iya said. She stood up and separated the good pants from the stained pants, “how will I recover this loss?” She looked worn-out.
“That is your business, Iya, so figure a way out. I am angry with you. I just went to the slaughterhouse to get meat and you fed him agbo.”
“I only wanted to cure his belly off sugar.”
“Iya, you only gave him a wrap of chocolate to eat. Children actually need sugar for growth, it helps them become bright.”
“That chocolate was too sweet. All the worms in his tummy will be dancing by now.”
“That is why you should deworm your child in every three months,” Sissy raised three fingers to Iya’s face.
“Sissy, three months is too far. The agbo that I have given him will make my husband and I sleep well at night.”
“Iya, this mixture is dangerous. The pharmaceuticals are not fools for making drugs that weaken and eliminate worms. Unknowing, you might be feeding him poison.”
“Agbo worked for me, it will work for my child.”
“It did work for you, yes. How well does it work for you? When last did you go to the hospital for check-up? Perhaps, in our days, the natural foods we fed on revitalized these strong herbs. You attended antenatal at the hospital, do not desist from their medical prescriptions for your baby. Agbo is not an approved medicine by NAFDAC or WHO. Most of these herbalists just brew all sorts of leaves and tree stems without accurate measurement and sell to people.”
“My sister, agbo works at any time and on anybody. The midwives sanction agbo for ila-measles treatment. You know, and I know that it works well. Agbo is a component of powerful herbs.”
“Yes, I know, but the substance you constantly give to your child, I have my doubts. Please stop giving my fine baby this stuff to drink. His system may not agree with it.”
“But his system agrees with eating sweets? Hmmm, he will drink agbo to wash out the sweetness.” The baby urinated on Sissy. “Oh, dear, I am sorry; he has ruined your dress.”
“It is okay. Why did you not wear him diapers? Would you prefer to tie leaves around his waist?” Sissy rocked the baby and pecked his cheeks.
Iya laughed, “I will wear him pampers. If he eats another sweet, I will give him agbo to drink. A person that does not like bitter leaf should not be fond of eating sweets.”
“Iya, I have warned you.” Sissy sighed and handed the baby to his mother.
“So Sissy baby, which of the pants will you buy?” Iya spread many pants on the table, “your man will love this red colour very well. It matches your nail polish.”
