19 I'm all ears

"Please do. Tell me your side of the story; what happened to me?"Ego asked.

"When we finished our discussion you went out to urinate. I waited for a long time for you to return but you didn't. I became worried that something bad might have happened to you. I came out, yelled your name for a while and got no response. So I took a torch and with Ogologo I went to search for you".

"I yelled your name over and over again, looking for any trail that will enable us to locate you but to my greatest surprise no response came and we found no trail. It was like you had disappeared into the thin air. After searching for a long while with no result to show for it; I was exhausted and had to come back to the hut with hopes that you are alright wherever you are. In my hut that night, I was sick worried about you, thinking what might have happened to you; did you go into the forest in search of something then got missing? But what would you be looking for in the forest by that time of the night?

Were you kidnapped by those slave traders roaming the forest as you went out to urinate; or maybe you got tired of my hospitality and decided to run away. I was really confused not knowing what really went down that night. I slept fitfully that night, waking up at intervals to check if you returned, my sweet child", she said, tapping Ego softly on her left palm with her old right shaking palms after she drew closer to her.

I was woken up in the early hours of the next morning by loud barking from Ogologo. She had just returned from her morning rituals. She was barking at me to hurry up and come with her back into the evil forest; so she could show me what she had discovered. I quickly went in to get my cutlass and followed Ogologo into the forest. She kept going deeper into the forest that I began to contemplate whether it was really you or another thing that she found because there is no way you would have wandered that deep into the evil forest alone and especially at that time of the night.

It turned out Ogologo had caught your scent and followed it as she went for her morning hunt. I saw you buried in a shallow grave; your feet covered with a plantain leaf. The grave was body-gripping and you fitted into it perfectly; it was so tight that you would not have been able to move any part of your body. You were shivering furiously in the cold morning yet your body was sweaty when I touched you; you were burning up with a serious fever and you were whispering, probably hallucinating. I immediately knew I had to get you home were my medications were before the situation became life-threatening.

Two things were involved, it is either someone buried you alive and left you for death; which by the way was a very awful job or on the other hand someone was trying to save your life because plantain leaves were used to dress the shallow grave before you were placed inside to prevent the cold earth from coming in contact with your skin thereby keeping you warm. It was also spread over the grave to keep you concealed from the prying eyes of wild animals and beasts alike.

I was racking my brain trying to think up a way to get you home because I couldn't possibly carry you nor could my dog. As people don't usually take a stroll in the evil forest, I knew no one would pass by. I also couldn't treat you there because the environment was too cold and very dangerous as wild beasts or slave traders and even evil spirits could attack at any time. The more time we spent there the more vulnerable we became.

I was still contemplating the matter when Ogologo, with her incessant barking, drew my attention to a bundle of freshly cut bamboos lying behind me it then occurred to me to make a stretcher with bamboos and that was exactly what I did. I slowly pulled you out from the grave and placed you on my newly made stretcher, covered you with one of my wrappers; went to get omu and knotted them to make ropes; I then used it to bind you firmly to the stretcher. Raised the part with your head up and began dragging you home.

After pulling for a while, I got exhausted and you were now murmuring some words while turning pale because of the fever that was now very severe. We had to stop for me to regain my strength and also fetch new herbs that will help reduce the fever. I found some medicinal leaves and force fed you the juice because you would not open them willingly and applied the remaining on your skin to tackle the fever from outside before we continued our journey home.

After a while of the weary task of dragging you; we finally got to the hut. Your fever was now gradually wearing off. It wasn't an easy undertaken getting you to bed but I did it anyway with all the energy I had left. I speedily went to prepare a portion with the herbs that were used to cure fever permanently. I had to force the portion into your mouth because you were still unconscious. I also prepared a mixture of mango, guava and pawpaw leaves by boiling them; that I used in washing your skin.

In the early hours of the next morning; when the sun was already out; after giving you the herbs and washing your skin with the boiled herbs, I went into the forest to gather firewood and more herbs. I told Ogologo to look after you while I left for the evil forest; only to return later that afternoon to discover that you were nowhere to be found. I waited for you to return but you did not show up. So I decided to look for you at your home today" she finished.

Ego was now feeling ashamed of herself for the accusations she had laid on the old lady. Even though she couldn't recall any of the things she said, it sounded convincing to her. So, she quickly went down on her knees in front of the old lady to apologize profusely and thank her for saving her life.

The old lady assured her that it was nothing while asking for her forgiveness for not continuing to search for her that night even though her intuition told her to do so. Ego hugged her, still apologizing. It was cleansing for the two women as they held each other in comfort.

Ego then murmured "Thank you for understanding and for everything". On hearing this, the old lady drew back and said, "There is something very important that I want to tell you". She paused as Ego sat back before taking her hands while they both sat on the bamboo bed facing the crackling fire.

"For all the kindness you showed me since we met in the forest; and for those you have showered on other people you came across, and for obeying the gods, I want to reward you. There are few people like you left in this world and I want to lift you up from this abject poverty and penury; I want the world to hear of you and your kindness and learn from your story. You have been destined for greater things and I intend to help you fulfil your destiny". She then paused and used her right hand to pull her right ear; which is a way of saying listen very carefully.

Ego nodded and rearranged her sitting position so she could be more comfortable. She then urged the woman to continue by saying "Nne, I'm all ears".