: (Episode 1)
Two Hearts with Twisted Destinies.
It was dusk in old Essien town, people were returning home from either the market or their farmlands, where they had toiled for the day. It was a normal evening for the villagers, but in the palace of the Obong Kparawa, it was a gloomy one. The queen, Abasiama had refused to see anyone, she had locked herself up in her room, not answering anybody’s call, and not eating any food. The day had begun with Abasiama waking up with an idea of how she would give her husband of many years, a child and a heir to his throne. She had resigned to her fate of barrenness; she was not oblivious of the names the villagers called her as she walked past them. They called her the “Barren Queen”. They clamored for a heir to the throne, but the goddess had not deemed her worthy to bear a child.. So she found a beautiful girl in the village, from a family with pedigree, to bear a son for the Obong. She would take the child as her own and reward the girl bountifully.
But the Obong refused to even consider the idea.
Obong: “It is repulsive. You are my wife, and if you cannot give me a child from your bowels, then I rather remain childless” he said vehemently, with finality in his tone.
Abasiama: “You find it repulsive because, it is not you who is mocked every day. Oh the scourge of a woman; no one cares to know if the fault is from the man, I am called barren because a baby’s cry has not been heard from this house.” She replied in a broken voice, anger and frustration evident on her face.
Obong: “Uyai, how can you say such, is it not the place of a woman to cover her husband’s shame? Would you rather, they called me infertile?”
Abasiama: “No my husband, but I desperately want to give you a child, whether through my bowels or another’s”
Obong: “I said no and that is final!” he thundered and left his wife. She ran into her room and locked herself up, her heavy sobs could be heard outside her door, as people banged on the door and begged her to come out.
On the third day of her self induced fast, with exhaustion she opened the windows of her room, as the bell in the only church in Essien town began to clang. She paced around her room, the wheels of her mind whirring, as the church bell continued its loud clangs, calling her faithful.
Abasiama: “If nnem mmong will not give me children, then I shall seek the Whiteman’s god” she thought within her and tingled with the birth of a new idea. For the first time in three days, she opened the doors of her room.
Abasiama began to attend church services, despite warnings from her husband.
Abasiama: “Give me a child or allow me seek one wherever I can find one”
Obong: “Abasiama, if you don’t have shame, I do. What would the people say, you who is the mother of the clan, and meant to uphold our beliefs is seen patrolling the Whiteman’s church” the Obong would say, pleading with her to stop the disgrace.
Abasiama: “The people can say what suits them, they have called me the barren queen, so the onus is on me to bear a child and a heir to you, my dear husband” she would reply, her determination was fierce.
One night, after eating ekpang nkwukwo the palace maids had served them, in a tensed silence, they got into a heated argument, still on the issue of childbearing. They shouted on top of their voices, it was the first time they were having such quarrel since their marriage. The palace hands were discomfited; they did not know what to do, even as they heard their queen crying so brokenly.
Abasiama: “I just want to give you a child, even one” she said, her shoulders shuddering with the force of her sobs. The Obong was moved with compassion, he loved his wife so much, it was the reason he did not heed the call of his council, to marry another wife. He hated causing her pain, and seeing her so broken, he was ready to do her bidding.
Obong: “Ima mi, child will come at the right time, do not worry” he kissed his wife passionately, and soon they were rolling in the sheets. He told himself that, he could be infertile, but one thing he was good at, as an Efik man, was giving his wife, a good time in bed.
Abasiama: “It has been a long time you dealt with me like this, my Lion” his wife cooed as they took a rest, spent and satisfied.
Obong: “It is because; you have been too fixated on giving children, rather than enjoying the gift of our love”
Abasiama: “Give me some more, my husband” she giggled as he tickled her, and so they began another dance of lovers.
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The Obong kparawa was sitting in council with his chiefs, when a palace maid rushed in, genuflecting nervously.
Obong: “Speak woman” he thundered in his authoritative voice, he hated being interrupted when he was in council with his chiefs.
Maid: “The queen, the queen, she is terribly sick” she stuttered. The Obong stood up abruptly and rushed out, to his wife’s hut. There, he saw her lying on the bamboo bed, perspiring and writhing in pain.
Obong: “Call the palace physician immediately” he yelled. When it came to his wife’s wellbeing, he threw civility to the wind. Doctor Abbott, the European doctor had been given to the palace as a token of appreciation, from the resident Europeans to the Obong, for his hospitality and good will. The doctor came, and after a series of poking and prodding, he turned to the Obong, with a wide grin on his face.
Doctor: “She is not sick, she is pregnant” he announced. The whole hut became quiet, if a pin dropped at this time, the sound would be heard distinctly. Then one of the women in the hut broke out in an Efik song. There was jubilation, the queen was finally pregnant, it was a sign of good things to come, or was it?
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Abasiama walked the length and breadth of the village, showcasing her protruded belly. She was glad that finally, the shame had been wiped off her face. She was now, worthy to be called a queen. The womenfolk brought her gifts, especially fruits and caskets of olive oil. They wanted the heir to be healthy, and they also wanted their queen to remain beautiful in spite of the throes of pregnancy. The Obong pampered his wife, he had lost hope of having children, but the goddess had smiled on them, so he thought. He refused her doing anything, except eat, and stroll. He also made sure guards followed her everywhere she went, for he knew there were those eyeing the throne, and who were not happy that his wife was pregnant.
One fateful morning, just as the cock gave its first crow, a shrill cry was heard from the palace, it was coming from the queen’s hut. People ran helter shelter, in a state of confusion. This pregnancy was a prized one, and any form of danger to the queen was a danger to all. The Obong rushed out of his hut in his loincloth, which he slept in.
Obong: “What is happening to the queen” he asked nervously, as he ran towards her hut. An elderly woman held him back.
Woman: “Your queen is in labor, nothing to do now but pray to Awasi. The midwife has already been called”
Obong:”Sound the alarm, the queen is in labor, an heir is about to be born” he shouted on top his voice. The town crier beat the talking drum through the village. Gom gom gom, the drum spoke.
Towncrier: “The queen is in labor, an heir is about to be born. All those who are not down with sickness or age should report at the palace to herald the new heir” he said as he beat the drum, gom gom gom. The villagers thronged to the palace bearing gourds of palm wine, tubers of yam and bush meat for the new mother. For the first time in years, a baby’s cry was about to be heard in the palace.
At the palace, Abasiama groaned in pain, sometimes, she would faint, and the midwives would pour water on her.
Midwife: “You have waited so long to have a child; do you want to kill the child before it sees the world? Push your baby out now” she said in a stern voice. The expectant mother groaned and cried as the contractions tore through her.
Midwife: “Push now” she smacked her on the thigh. Abasiama gathered every ounce of energy in her and pushed, the child tore through her, she wanted to give up in pain, but she continued pushing, till the tiny baby slipped out of her. The air rented with the piercing cry of the newborn. The midwife picked it up and began to clean the goo from its body. When his sex organ was revealed, the midwives shouted in excitement. One ran out to where the Obong was sitting with the villagers who had come to herald the new heir.
Midwife: “It is a boy!” she shouted and the whole people burst into singing. The Obong was overjoyed, Awasi had smiled on him, and He had made everything good in his own time.
Obong: “Rejoice with me, I am the proud father of a son” he exclaimed. His chiefs paid obeisance to him, now he was really their king. They were still rejoicing, when they heard another labor cry.
The midwives were cleaning the mother up, the boy child was wrapped in a swaddling cloth, and sleeping soundly, when another contraction ripped through the queen, they dumped their washcloths in shock, as the queen let out a loud scream; another child tore through her and slipped on the bed. They rushed out of the hut; fear gripped them as they stumbled over themselves.
Midwife: “Abomination! Abomination!” she shouted. The Obong rushed into the hut, and saw his wife laying helplessly, a child still covered in goo was at her feet, while another slept by the side.
Obong: “Twins! Awasi, why have you done this to me” he cried. Abasiama looked on sadly; her dreams of being a mother had just come crashing at her feet. She looked at the children and her heart broke even more.
Question: What would be the fate of the twins? Is this a blessing, or a curse?
Lets Start with a very good number of comments.
TBC.
[7/20, 1:03 PM] +233 24 631 6887: (Episode 2)
Two Hearts with Twisted Destinies.
The people outside, who had come hoping for a celebration, looked on in despair. Twins were an abomination in Efik land, they would be cast into the sea and the land cleansed of the ill luck they bring. The midwives had dusted their slippers and left the palace in a hurry, no one would call them for midwifery services, and they would live forever with the stigma of delivering twins.
The Obong lay on the floor of the hut and cried, life had dealt him unfairly, the thing that had come from his loins, was an abomination.
Abasiama: “I am sorry, please forgive me” she cried, because in this patriarchal society, the woman would be blamed for bringing an abomination to the land. The Obong left the hut and went to his throne room; he slumped on the throne, like a drunk. Truly he was drunk in pain.
Seven days after the childbirth, as the culture demanded, Abasiama walked naked round the village, carrying two big baskets on her head. She was to go round the village seven times; her naked body was covered in cam wood oil, her hair was in big braids. She had given birth to a boy and a girl, this would have been a blessing to her, because the goddess had blessed her with two children, but in this land, it was a curse, and such children were not allowed to live. The villagers danced behind her, as she walked in front of them, with the weight of the burden on her head. They followed her, all the way to the Kwa river, as she walked in, slowly to where the water was deep and dumped the baskets which were tied together, on the river. She watched as the baskets flowed down the river, and the babies cried out in loud screams. The queen made to go after the baskets, but men jumped into the water and held her. They pulled her out of the water, to the land, where the Obong covered her with a white loin cloth.
Obong: “Sorry my wife, it is going to be alright. Awasi will give us another child” he said and held her to his chest. The villagers escorted them back to the palace, where the priest was waiting. Abasiama was taken into a room where no man was allowed to enter. There, women washed her body with water from the Kwa river, and smeared the burnt herbs the priest had given to them, on her body. While doing this, they chanted an Efik song, begging Awasi to have mercy on Abasiama and give her a good child.
The baskets in which the babies lay were tied together with a rope so that the same fate would befall them. It was expected that the fishes of the sea, which they believed would be messengers from Awasi Isong, the god of the earth and the waters, would devour the babies. But the babies sailed in the baskets for days without getting devoured, they wailed for their mother, as the cold bit into their tiny bodies. On the third day they had sailed into the Calabar River, where they met a great storm that ripped the rope tying the baskets together. Each basket sailed to a different direction.
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Twenty years later
Kaylah woke up to the sunlight streaming in through the curtains; she had been having a sweet dream. In her dream, she wore the crown for the most beautiful girl in Nigeria. She smiled as she remembered how she had felt when the crown was placed on her head, in her dreams.
Kaylah: “You will get there Kaylah, just a little more effort” she said to herself, and turned to see another girl lying on a separate bed in the room. She was not at home; she was at the camp for the most beautiful girl in Lagos beauty pageant. Her roommate, Nadia, was one of the strongest contenders, she worried. She really needed to win, it would bring her closer to her dreams, and it would give her a platform to reach out to children in foster homes. She had nursed this desire since she was five and had visited an orphanage with her parents, in her hometown of Akwa Ibom. There she had met a small boy who was same age with her. He was named Ifiok, and was wise beyond his years. In his little voice he had told her how he wanted to change the world, and remove sadness and pain from the world. He told Kaylah that he cried every night to sleep because he was not lucky like Kaylah and had no parents.
Kaylah’s little heart broke, and every month after that visit, she cried for her parents to take her to the orphanage. So it became a ritual that, every month’s end, Mr. and Mrs. Assanga would take their Kaylah to Akwa Ibom, so she could visit the orphanage. The friendship between these youngsters grew into a bond. But one month, a year later after they met, Kaylah visited with her parents, but was told that Ifiok had been taken to another foster home, and the details could not be revealed to them. Kaylah begged her parents to adopt Ifiok, as that was the only way the details of his new home could be revealed. When they got to the new home, however, it was found that Ifiok had run away. Kaylah cried and refused eating for days, it was only through the help of a therapist she could start being normal again. But she carried the desire to make the world a better place and saving the children in Orphanages, her life’s mission.
Nadia; “Earth to Kaylah” she said as she tumbled out of bed. Kaylah came out of her reverie, and realized her roommate was awake already, while she was lost in the past.
Kaylah: “Don’t mind me jare”
Nadia: “Today is the grand finale, may the best girl win” she said and winked at Kaylah.
Kaylah: “May I win” she said within herself.
It was in the evening, the event center of the prestigious Eko hotel and suites, was filled to capacity, people had come to watch the girl that would be crowned the most beautiful girl in Lagos, she would go ahead to represent Lagos at the most beautiful girl in Nigeria. Mr. and Mrs. Assanga watched as their daughter strutted on the stage, in different attires. They were both academicians , but this was the path their daughter had chosen, and they were going to support her, most especially because, they knew the motivation behind it.
After an evening of fun and laughter, which featured jokes from comedians like Basket Mouth and Teju Babyface, it was time to announce the winner and the runners up. The girls were all pensive as they posed side by side on the stage. Fifty girls vying to be queen.
Host: “First and foremost, before we call the winners. We have a NGO in our midst, they are one of our sponsors and they were impressed with one of our girls. I call on Mrs. Anyaegbusi to come up to the stage” the female host said and a heavily built woman rose from the VIP table and walked to the stage amidst cheers from the spectators.
Mrs. Anyaegbusi : “I am the founder of SAVING GIRLS INITIATIVE, and we look out for girls who would do exploits and be an encouragement to other girls. We listened to Miss. Assanga’s speech, where she talked about her passion for the orphanages and people who had no one in the world to speak for them, and we knew she was going to be our voice. We make Kaylah Assanga the face of our NGO. We will give her the platform to realize her goals. Of course this comes with a remuneration package, and she would travel the world to meet girls of like minds. Thank you” The hall burst into cheers, as Kaylah was ushered to take pictures with Mrs Anyaegbusi and other board members of the NGO. She was all smiles and blushes as cameras flashed, every reporter wanted a piece of her. She told herself that even if she did not become a beauty queen, she already had the platform to share her ideas with the world.
Host: “Now, we call on Mr. Ben Murray Bruce and Governor Ambode, to call the winner” she said as the two dignitaries walked up to the stage. At this point, Nadia was feeling jittery, seeing Kaylah become the face of a notable NGO, she was wondering when the beauty pageant became more intense, when did they start caring about soul talks and saving the world, weren’t they all about beauty? She asked herself. She told herself that if she won this, she would smile into their faces and kiss any orphan they wanted her to kiss, she would pretend to care about these things, even if she did. The dignitaries announced Kaylah as the most beautiful girl in Lagos, and Nadia as the first runner up. The ex queen came up to transfer the crown to Kaylah’s head. Her mother, Benita Assanga rushed up to the stage and embraced her daughter.
Benita: “My pride and joy, the day you came into my life was the most beautiful day” she showered her daughter with kisses, as tears rolled down her cheeks. Behind her, the banner for first runner up was placed on Nadia, she eyed Kaylah and wished something bad would befall her right now, so she could be made the queen.
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Somewhere in Eket, particularly in Ibeno, a group of militants sat together, smoking Marijuana. They had heavy machine guns lying beside each of them, their leader, popularly known as Stinger had girls sitting on his thighs.
Stinger: “We have to kidnap one of these big shoes. We need money to fund our next campaign against Exxon Mobil” They agreed that, since it was festive season, they would wait for the rich sons and daughters of Akawa Ibom to return home for the festivities. Then they would kidnap someone with clout who would fetch those millions, which they needed.
After they had concluded their plans, Stinger separated himself from the others; he walked a few miles to the beach, and sat by a coconut tree. He thought of his life, militancy was his way of shielding the pain he had carried from his childhood. No one cared about him, even his parents had not cared for him. He remembered that fateful day, when one of the administrators in the new foster home he had been taken to, had told him how he came to be in the foster home. After being removed from the old foster home, where he had formed a friendship with a little girl, whose name he could not remember, he had no one else to cheer him up and make life colorful. So he became unruly, and the administrators were not ready to tolerate his unruliness. Sometimes they would punish him by withholding food from him, sometimes they flogged him mercilessly. So he ran away.
From the age of six, he lived on the streets of Uyo. No one knew his real name because, from the age of ten he got the name “Stinger”. He had been bullied by bigger boys, because he had a small stature, but one day he sprang on his oppressor, and pummeled him to a bloody mess. People began to defer to him, and gave him the nickname. Till he grew, he had borne the name. Sometimes, in his quiet moments, he wondered what turn, his life would have taken, if he had parents who had not thrown him into the river. Yes, his administrator at the last foster home he was in, had cruelly told the six year old, that he was found at the river bank, he had been thrown to the river, and he was hospitalized for months before he bounced back to health. So, he should stop acting like a prince, because he was just a reject. So Stinger had poured his annoyance on the whole world, his life was forfeit, but he would unleash terror on the world.
Question: Is Kaylah, the girl Stinger had met when he was little. Would Kaylah meet Ifiok, the boy she had met when she was little, in the future?
SIR AMBITIOUS.
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