30 Disappointment

Ego was close to her compound when she noticed thick smoke ascending the heavens from it. From the size of the smoke, she could tell that the fire was no small one. The closer she got the more concerned she became as the smoke seem to be coming from her late husband's compound. The joy and smile on her face gradually faded away.

Panicking, she brought down the mortar on her head, tore a strand from a nearby plantain tree to serve as a rope which she used to tie the legs of the mysterious bird. She placed the bird back into the mortar, turned it upside down, trapping the bird beneath it with no means of escape. All these she did behind a gmelina tree that was considered sacred. It is believed to be the oldest tree in the whole of Umudibia; temporarily housing spirits of their ancestors whenever they visit the land of the living. It was more like a hotel they lodge in whenever they are in town. Ego knew the bird would be safe there; no one in his right mind would dare go there to steal. But just to be certain she made sure it was also concealed from passersby.

Having ensured the safety of the bird into the hands of the gods, Ego began racing home giving room to panic and worry, praying and hoping that it wasn't the last property she had in this world that was in flames. When it was vividly clear to her that it was her hut; she began crying, shouting

"Oku oh! Ulom oh! Ulo dim oh! Umudibia! Come and help me oh, my house is on fire!" she kept shouting as she went from house to house urging them to help. In a matter of minutes, young men and women were all rushing to and fro her husband's hut and the stream armed with clay pots and bamboos sticks with which to beat down the fire.

On entering her compound, she saw Nnadozie and some youths already trying to put out the fire. After the last drop of water was poured and the last fire put off, it was discovered that the hut was already in ruins, a shadow of its former self. The roof has caved in, the walls broken and darkened by soot, it was beyond repair. The people were now preventing the fire from extending beyond the garden behind the hut, as this was during the dry season when a fire spreads with the speed of light. She sat down on the cold dry earth and began wailing.

Nnadozie, who had been directing the putting out of the fire saw Ego weeping, he came over to console her, explaining to her that the fire was strange and could not be the handy work of a human, it seems to be something that the gods championed. He also explained that he was the first person at the scene and observed it escalate with high velocity. But that she shouldn't worry, everything happens for a reason. He promised to rebuild the hut and offered her a room at his own compound, for the time being, so he and his family would care for her. He then left to continue supervising the salvaging of the surrounding woods.

No amount of words could stop the anguish in her heart nor could she keep the tears at bay. She was unable to contain her sorrows. She wept uncontrollably, blaming herself for not listening to her intuition. It had been correct all along because it seems the bird was never a force of good but that of destruction. If she had nothing to do with that bird, her house would still be here. Now she is homeless, having no place of her own and totally dependent on her brother-in-law's charity.

She can't even go back to her parents as her beloved mother was no more. She past after a very brief illness and she still blames her father for her death. So she had made up her mind to never visit him again.

Why was she being treated like this by the gods? Even when she thought they were about to bless and uplift her, they did the opposite. She began regretting all the time and energy she has put into acquiring the evil bird. All her dreams and aspirations have been dashed. She only caught the bird and came back to meet her house engulfed in flames. What would then happen if she acts on the instructions that the old lady provided her? Certainly, the bird was a curse from the gods through the old witch.

She isn't bringing that bird anywhere near her home; she will let it die there of starvation. There is no way she is consciously going to bring evil to the new hut that Nnadozie was going to erect for her. She would accept her brother-in-law's offer. He was her only option, she also deserves to be well-fed and taken care of, especially after these few days of hardship and torment from the gods and that witch.