Victims – Episode 19

Victims – Episode 19

A Story By Rosemary Okafor

With Ogugua strapped on her back, and Ifeoluwa balancing a torn ‘Ghana must go ’ bag on her head, they made their way towards the Potatoes Market Street. They have walked quite a distance and her legs were getting sore.

She looked at Ifeoluwa who was expressionless, it was difficult to ascertain whether the girl was tired as well, she Knew Ife must be tired and hungry, but nothing on the girl’s face showed what she was feeling at the moment.

Ogugua was already sleeping soundly with a periodic rumbling of his stomach, and little cries which were subdued by the troubled sleep.

“The street is empty” she said to Ifeoluwa

“Hmm…” the girl agreed

It was past six in the evening and the sun was already going home for the day, so were individuals who have been forced to go home with the sun and sleep like roosters by the government;

“There is curfew from six pm, will you people make it pass the major streets before then?” Mariam had asked her

The first time she heard about Curfew was in 1998 When ‘Bakassi boys’ of Aba carried out Jungle Justice on Armed robbers in the state,

Uncle Theo, her father’s younger brother had came back from Aba and was hurrying to go back the next morning before the Curfew would start. The word had sounded like ‘Coffee’ to her, even to her Grandmother;

“Kedu nke bu Coffe? Ana emere unu Coffee na Aba ? (Which one is coffee? Do people share free coffee in Aba?” Nne, as she called her

Grandmother, had asked in confusion, drawing the questions from her own mouth. Thank goodness she wasn’t the one that asked the question, she wouldn’t have fared well with the laughter which Uncle Theo rolled out before explaining; Like the day she was laughed at in secondary school for not knowing what Oral s*x is,

Ogbonne, the wild girl in her class, known for her many tales of sexual escapades with senior boys in school, was talking about Oral s*x to her friends,

“Jiri nwayo Ogbonne, ndi senior ga anu ihe ina ekwu (Bring your voice down Ogbonne, senior students may hear you)” Ola had admonished, getting Ogbonne to roll her eyes like ‘who cares’

“Why will she keep quiet, MouthAction is not a sin, when we talk about sex education as girls, that is Oral s*x” Ukwuoma had said with confidence,

The girls were silence and had looked at her as if she wasn’t from this planet, before they all busted out laughing at her ignorance,

“Pastor daughter, how she go know oral s*x? Na only preaching she dey watch” the big girl ‘ Otusi ’ had said.

That show of shame had earned her the name ‘Oral s*x’ from that day till she graduated from that school. She later learnt what Oral s*x was though, it wasn’t sweet the day Brother Emma from Teenage church took her to the church toilet and pulled her pant down.

They met some military men seated by their hilux truck drinking ‘Burantashi’ and spanking the buttocks of the young girl who was selling the mixture. The Men took little notice of her and Ifeoluwa, they were taking turns in squeezing the rounded buttocks which was hiding inside a long Hijab, while the girl laughed sheepishly.

Darkness has closed up on them by the time she located what used to be her house, she stood by and gazed at it, not knowing if coming back was a good Idea.

A little boy ran towards them, his pant which was big enough for three more children of his size, was held up with a twine, he stopped in front of the strangers, looked hard at them, and widened his eyes before he ran off towards the same way he came screaming;

“Uwa…Uwa…!! Matar Doctor ta dawo! (Mother!, Doctor’s Wife is back!)” the boy screamed and ran

“Waayoo Allah!! ” two women came running towards them,

She hadn’t prepared herself for this, as she set her eyes on ‘Uwa Musa’ Again, tears clouded her eyes and by the time the women held her in an embrace, her guards took flee and she was as vulnerable as the day she left, she stood like a dejected tree, crying freely while Ifeoluwa watched the scene.

She breathed through her mouth, desperate to avoid the dank smell of dust, decay and dry blood, the subtle dead whisper and the hostile air that welcomed her made her shiver as if there where ghouls in the house,

She looked around the sitting room, it looked like there was a feast for beasts where skulls were used as drinking cups. Dry dead maggots with their eggs designed the floor like colored ceramics,

“What happened here…Jesus Christ!” Ifeoluwa exclaimed

She pulled her eyes away from the scene and looked at Ukwuoma, without asking, she knew the story. Uwa Musa took Ukwuoma out of the house into her own house, the boy Ogugua was fed and lay down to sleep while the two women and Ife cleaned the house.

That night, she sat on the well cleaned floor, with the skulls and bones spread before her, she gave them names and ran her fingers on the smooth milk colored exhibits.

She had asked Uwa Musa to leave them for her;

“I want to bury them when I can” she had said

And so they were gathered in a sack and brought to her; like a witch doctor performing incantations, she sat with her legs spread wide, she called them by their names, though she couldn’t tell which one belong to whom, she bathed them with her tears.

Ifeoluwa watched her in silence.

*

“Ina suke ? Where are they, Ina ki kpoye su ? Where are you hiding them?”

Yusuf had chosen that day to carry out the plan, he was going to get the boy and then take him to a secret place where he would train him until the appointed time.

He had a feeling that his uncle had set some persons to monitor him, he has known his uncle to be a very tricky man, and who he was always steps ahead of those he has suspicion of.

Yusuf had left his house in the night, and had looked at his rare mirror to make sure he wasn’t followed.

It was easy for him to enter through the back gate and locating the Woman’s house wasn’t difficult. He didn’t know it would take so long as it was taking him at the moment, still the woman insisted she didn’t know where the boy and his mother were,

“Wallahi ! I swear to Allah, they are gone, they left here today” the woman responded

On her knees and with a dagger pointed at her, Mariam trembled with fear, she held her palms together as if she was praying and was muttering some Islamic prayers.

Yusuf was already running against time, he had to leave the place as soon as possible before anyone noticed his absence. He looked at the woman again;

“I will surely come for you, and that time you must be ready to give me the information I want” with that he hid the dagger and walked out of the house, into the darkness.

*

Issah watched him scrutinize the area before he hurried out of the place and disappeared into the darkness. He had followed the Commander to this place, had parked very far away from Yusuf’s car and watched him slide through the small gate,

Not only because Imam had ordered him to monitor the commander, but he felt the commander would lead him to what he has been looking for.

“Commander Yusuf has been to the Barracks three times this week” Ishmila had said casually as both shared few sticks of cigarette.

“I made it possible for him to enter…he is always monitoring this woman and her sister, and there is a small boy too…” Ishmila had continue

“Why?” Issah had asked

“I don’t know…A waste of time I must say…”

Issah had gave the information to the Imam for two reasons, he wanted to be in the good book of the religious Leader and he had never liked Yusuf, the rich bas***d who always flaunt his privileged self and his relationship with the Imam at them.

Issah pushed the door opened and startled the woman;

“So he kept you Alive eh”

Mariam couldn’t recognize him at first, but when she did, fresh terror enveloped her, the young officer used to be under her husband’s command, he had never liked her husband and even went ahead to threaten the senior officer, though he was punished for it.

“What did he want? Oh don’t bother…I know what he wants, so where are they?”

“I am not a patient Man and you know…I have always loathed you and your husband for how you carry yourselves, and here you are, without him, at my mercy, its Allah not wise?” Issah laughed

By the time he left the house, the dying scream of the woman trailed him, the location of his prey stuck in his brain, and a satisfying smirk on his lips.

To be continued

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