50 Osundu

He got to be old enough to perform the ritual and we did it. It was very elaborate; he was made to dance to a piece of frenzied music while a native potburning with medical herbs was balanced on his head. The ritual was successful, he indicated the place where he hid a pebble; his object of the oath. It was excavated, destroyed and our son delivered from the oath.

That day was filled with celebration. Ukamaka was so glad, her face filled with smiles and joy. We had broken the cycle of Ogbanje from our family forever. But it seam death was not yet done with us. That night, my wife out of pity for all our son has been through decided to lay in bed with him, singing him to sleep. I guess she fell asleep beside…" he could not complete the sentence. The old man was holding the tears back. "Oh Uka! Uka mo… Uka…" was what he could say as manly moans followed. Ego with tears in her own eyes completed it "She slept beside him and never woke up".

"Yes… that's what happened" he said wiping some tears that have escaped and was running down his rough cheek. Everyone was surprised with a raised eyebrow as to how Ego knew what happened. The elder beside Mazi Amuneke wasted no time in asking "How did you come to know?"

"My son told me" she replied him. She was surprised to see a man display some much emotion. Igbo men are known for their pride and ego. They believe that crying is for children and women. Men are not supposed to cry, no matter the pain they are experiencing. Seeing him forsake these rules and weep in front of people only shows how much he loved this amazing woman. He was given some time to grief when he got hold of himself once again. He continued "The death of Uka left me devastated and broken. I began living in a fool's paradise. Turned to drinks for consolation, but as you know, hiding from problems doesn't make them go away. It felt good to drink but once I become sober, all the pain, anger and grief comes hitting much harder and intense.

I blamed my son for her death; I thought he exchanged his life for hers. It was saving one to lose another. This made me resent my son. Till his death, nothing he did please me. My family members pleaded with me not to hold that against him; I told them, I had forgiven him. But deep down my heart I never did. Every little offense he committed got me so pissed that I will descend on him without holding back; calling him the Ogbanje that took my wife. I wanted him to pay for what he did to my wife. One day while beating him, I said I wish he would join my wife. He replied me saying that everyone dies and when he does, there is no way he is returning to this forsaken family.

Before he was sixteen, he became wayward, fending for himself and his sister as I was always in the bottle. He became the father of the family, doing all sorts of things for wage and food. One day, he and his gang went to a neighboring village to steal; he was caught while the friends escaped. In thatparticular village, the punishment for theft was being burnt alive. His friends came back to inform me that he was caught, but I didn't care. If I had simply gone to pay for what he stole and offered sacrifices to the gods to appease them, he would still be alive. They waited for three days and burnt him alive.

His death removed the scale of my eyes. The anger, grief, sadness all melted away. I began blaming myself for his death. I knew I should have done something to save his life, but because of the hate, I didn't. I realized I have been foolish and wicked for hating my son, my only son at that time; but it was now too late to apologize or make up for my wrongs".

He paused, turned to Osundu and continued "I have prayed for a day like this; where I will have to apologize for all my wrongdoings. I really failed you as a father in your previous life. I beg for your forgiveness; find a place in your little kind heart and pardon me". The little one was staring at the old man wondering what he was talking about; so he didn't respond. Mazi Amuneke, on the other hand, ignored him and continued "You were reborn to live a new life as a new person. Be the person your past self didn't get to be. Thanks to the gods they have provided you with a mother who is capable and able to help you accomplish all that. So be you, don't look back, be who the gods have destined you to be and set the world on fire. Do make the rest of your life the best of your life" he said. The elder beside him told Ego that since he had apologized to the boy that he would no longer remember anything from his past life again. There was no need to worry about it further.

Osundu spent the rest of the day with Ndidi catching up. She took him to their mother's grave and he was able to locate his own grave. Ego, on the other hand, passed the evening getting to know more about the family. The next morning, she provided the family especially Ndidi with financial help and said goodbye to Nnewi.