CHAPTER 2

Nwanyi Sunday hurried along the lonely path, furtively looking over her shoulder and sideways as if in fear that somebody would jump at her from the shadows and truncate her quest. With dusk approaching, all movement led to the homes, but Nwanyi Sunday was hurrying away from hers. The path led to the Ndiokoro clan of Umunze but was merely a scantily used shortcut, not the major road. What led her onto this lonely path at this time of the day must be important.

"Kpam-Kpam-Kpam, ndi bi ebe a, ha no kwa ya eeeh? Madam Theri, are you in?"

She had come to see Madam Theresa, popularly called 'Madam Theri', the leader of St. Pius Catholic Women Organization. Nwanyi Sunday was Madam Theresa's sidekick, informant and hanger-on. She was generally looked down upon by many for her laziness and inability to do anything meaningful to help her family. Nwanyi Sunday was a "parrot" in the village. Her ability to sniff out any piece of news and spread it as gossip remained a marvel to many, and she reveled in her unofficial portfolio of 'Information Minister' albeit with a special bias for the negative news. The leader of the CWO had found a useful tool in her, she herself being one in love with authority and high position. She deemed her position next to that of the parish Priest and desired that everyone accorded her the same respect. Her inability to attract such was a source of great irritation. With every available opportunity, she resorted to showing why she was the best both in personal character and family values. One of her favorite ways of doing this was to dig up dirt about others and publicly showcase it. Here, Nwanyi Sunday came in handy. That was how their friendship was born.

"Nwanyi Sunday, is that you?" Madam Theresa called out. "This one you are coming as the chickens are retiring for the night, I hope there is no problem. Please, come in."

"Madam Theri, please, there is no time to sit. The palm fruit has ripened at the end of the palm frond," Nwanyi Sunday enthused. "Is the principal at home?"

The Principal was Madam Theresa's husband, a well-respected teacher and disciplinarian, who is the head of Christ the King Mission School at Nnokwa. He lived in an accommodation provided on the school premises and only returned to his village and family on weekends.

"You know he is not by this time of the week," Madam Theresa replied, sounding impatient. "What is the matter?"

Cupping a side of her mouth with her palm, Nwanyi Sunday beckoned on Madam to come closer. She then leaned towards her ear to let the cat out of the bag

"Your Secretary's daughter is pregnant."

"Who do you mean?" Madam Theresa was taken aback.

"Eunice, of course. Do you have two secretaries?" It was Nwanyi Sunday's turn to sound impatient.

There was silence; the atmosphere was charged.

"Nwanyi Sunday, are you sure of what you are saying? How did you know? Who told you?"

She had every reason to doubt. Not that any of Nwanyi Sunday's rumors had proven to be false in the past, but she was with Mrs. Eunice in the CWO executive meeting that morning, and she looked very normal. There was no way she would be able to mask such catastrophe. A teenage daughter's pregnancy can devastate the strongest of characters, more so when it is happening for the second time. No one can gloss over it, not when you think of the stigma, the shame and the punishment! She smiled at the thought of that: THE PUNISHMENT!

"Haaah, Madam Theri, have I lied to you before? You know I don't gossip; I only say the truth o! I overhead your secretary myself when she was asking her daughter, Nwamaka, who was responsible for her pregnancy."

Indeed, in her anger and distraught, Mrs. Eunice was shouting at the top of her voice when she was questioning her daughter. Unknown to her, the village parrot was, at that unfortunate hour, just in the bush behind her house gathering firewood. This was how her worst nightmare began.

"Heeeeey!" Madam Theresa shouted, finally.

"I knew it! I know she is full of pretense. A begotten of a snake will never fail to have a long tail, like mother like daughter. The Reverend Father must hear this; the Catechist must hear this, too. In fact, everybody must hear this. She is not fit to be our secretary. A person who cannot guide her children cannot be our secretary. We saw how her first daughter got married; was that one marriage? That was a shame, getting pregnant before marriage. God forbid! I even heard they paid for their own daughter's bride price. Tufiakwa!"

Madam Theresa paused to gauge the effect of her words; Nwanyi Sunday was accordingly nodding in agreement. She continued.

"My only daughter, Ugomma, cannot bring such disgrace to my family, not even my sons. We properly train and instill in them the fear of the Lord; they are God-fearing children just like their parents. This is what happens when unfit parents raise children. The children turn out this useless. They are a source of bad influence in our community; they may corrupt other children. We must make sure our children don't go near that family again."

Nwanyi Sunday kept nodding in pretended affirmation. Within her, she was both bewildered and amused. She knew Madam Theresa very well. Unknown to Madam Theresa, Nwanyi Sunday was aware of her sexual relationship with the Catechist, which was hard to be suspected because of their working relationship as leaders in the church, as well as her husband's frequent absence from the village. She equally knew about the story of her first son, Ikenna, who lived at his maternal home - Madam Theresa's maiden home at Nnokwa - and attended the school where his father was the head teacher. It was rumored that Ikenna and three of his Nnokwa friends, who were all students, gang-raped a girl who later got pregnant. The girl's parents reported the matter to the Igwe - the paramount ruler of Nnokwa – with the accusation of rape. On establishing that the four students committed the act and that it was no rape, the ruler enquired to know where the incident occurred. He was informed that it was in the house of the eldest among them, with an alias: 'Jargon'. The Igwe then ruled that the boy, in whose house such act took place, should go home with the girl and look after her as a husband would till she delivered. In his words, "Since you have a house where a woman can be impregnated, it then means you are also capable of looking after a pregnancy."

That was how Ikenna and the two others escaped from that situation, and Jargon landed a wife and became a husband. And because the incident happened far from home, coupled with his father's strong reputation as the Principal and a mean disciplinarian, the story did not gain tract in Umunze community.

Nwanyi Sunday swallowed hard, together with her urge to object. She dared not rile Madam Theresa. Making an enemy out of the powerful president of the Catholic Women Organization would be foolhardy. Moreover, she needed such an ally in a community that derided her. Madam Theresa was her only card up the social ladder; her dark stories must remain dormant in her.

"Ngwanu, Madam Theresa! It is getting dark; let me start going. Good night."

"True, my sister; good night. Please, greet your family for me".