CHAPTER 10

Two weeks had passed, and there was no sign of Ephraim, yet worse had happened. Nwamaka's pregnancy for Ephraim was no longer a secret, but another girl from the neighboring Isielu had appeared, also claiming to be pregnant for him. Umunze was on fire as both the old and young feasted on the story. Ugomma had earlier begged Nwamaka to keep hers a secret, and that she promised to do. She kept to her word and bore the jeers of Umunze alone.

Her home became a strange land as it was engulfed in silence and forlorn faces. Her father had become very withdrawn, and she could see he was rapidly losing weight. Her predicament obviously weighed heavily on him; she, too, was looking emaciated despite the efforts of her mother to keep her well fed. 

"Nwamaka, you must eat," she constantly cajoled. "Remember, it is not only for you now, but you must also help your unborn child develop."

But Nwamaka's appetite had long deserted her. She was sapped of the zeal for life itself. The sight of her dear father pining away was killing her. She could have done something drastic already if not for the love being showered on them both by her mother. The prospect of marrying Ephraim was all but gone now with the entrance of the new girl from Isielu, not forgetting that he was yet to reappear. Her father came back from a meeting with the catechist one other day looking extremely sapped. The catechist himself was not faring any better. Nwamaka heard he was now greeted with continuous chunter every time he mounted the podium to make an announcement. Ugomma, who had now come to terms with her predicament, told her that the news of the other girl from Isielu particularly hit the catechist hard and caused uproar in the church. That justifiably made it more imperative that her own pregnancy remained top secret; she kept pleading with Nwamaka. She must not bring similar calamity on her parent, she swore.

From the far corner of the compound came a loud sigh of resignation from Mazi Egbelu, who was sitting under the shade of one of the mango trees that dotted the compound, a sigh that momentarily interrupted his daughter's racing emotions.  On the same trajectory of soul searching, he had not stopped asking God what his offense was for Him to have allowed such ill fate to befall him. He was particularly emasculated by his apparent inability to help his daughter or alter the situation to, at least, ameliorate her suffering. He had already had several meetings with Mr. Andrew, but even he was as helpless. He was now even very panicky about his son's safety; therefore, marriage was the least of his concerns. Moreover, another girl was in the mix now, even when nobody was yet to ascertain the veracity of their claims from Ephraim himself.

"Am I going to pay their bride price for him in absentia?" he had asked in exasperation. "I think the best option is to wait and pray for his safe return."

Reasonable as that sounded, Mazi Egbelu was expectedly scarred by the possible scenario of his failure to return, or maybe not on time. Would she allow Nwamaka to give birth in his house? Should he marry her off to any suitor that comes, even if they're unsuitable or undesirable? These uncertainties weighed heavily on him and gave him sleepless nights.

Mr. Andrew, on his part, was as troubled. "The hunter has become the hunted," he would say, whenever the situation threatened to suffocate his soul, and as had often become.

"I should have forced him to marry; maybe that would have kept his manhood in one place. Now, I am a laughing stock, the catechist of St. Pius?" he shuddered.

To his relief, Father Jude had shown understanding and was even supportive. The priest saw he needed to. The unfortunate twist had placed severe pressure on the Church. The image of St. Pius Church had taken a huge hit, and the faith of believers was under attack. He was as worried as the catechist and Mazi Egbelu. The disappearance of Ephraim had ensured the problem lingered and the solution not foreseeable. He had already made several efforts towards locating his whereabouts with enquires both far and near through sister parishes. So far, none had yielded a positive result.

Mr. Andrew and his wife were sitting outside their house when a young man walked in. Mr. Andrew recognized him. Uchenna was Ephraim's old-time friend from Nnokwa, with whom he did tailoring apprenticeship together under the same tutor. Mr. Andrew had not seen Uchenna again since the conclusion of their training, and both parted ways to establish their own fashion shops. Mr. Andrew's heart started beating fast with excitement; maybe he had brought news about Ephraim. He was right.

"My son, where is he? How is he? Why did he run away? He should not have, in short, let us go at once. I will go and meet him myself."

The questions were tumbling from the catechist. Unable to mask his emotions, relief swept over him. The wife entered into supplication, muttering "Thank You, God, Thank You, God…." with both hands raised in praise.

"I am sorry, Sir, but he is not with me again," Uchenna explained. "He came to see me at Aba, where I am now based, before leaving."

"Leaving? So, where is he now?" the parents asked in unison, apprehension setting in.

"He left a few days ago. He said he was going to Kano to stay with a friend".

Stifling silence hung in the air as Mr. Andrew and his wife exchanged a worried glance. Uchenna was uneasy and fidgety. He could imagine what they were going through; the despair was boldly written on their faces. He could imagine their pain in the past weeks that Ephraim had disappeared without a word. That was why he summoned the courage to come and at least let them know he was alive. Ephraim had told him he wanted to disappear forever. According to him, he had done the unthinkable and would be a dead man if he remained in Umunze.

"Nna, anarchy has become anarchical," he had declared in his usual comical parlance. "You won't believe three girls are pregnant for me, and all simultaneously. Ephraim, the son of the catechist? Uche, my friend, the story is better told behind me. I cannot face it, biko!"

"Three girls?" Nnedimma could not contain her shock when Uchenna dropped this piece of information. The Catechist starred him in utter disbelief.

"Did he tell you who the three girls are?" he managed to ask.

"He mentioned one Chinyere from Isielu, and then Ugomma, who he said is the daughter of the women's leader in your church, and then the daughter of the secretary of the women, too".

Mr. Andrew nearly fell off his chair. His heart cramped; his throat went dry. His mouth tasted like he was gaggling battery acid; fear engulfed him. He managed to thank Uchenna for the information and implored him to try and see if there was a way they could get his address or contact in Kano. Nnedimma broke into tears as Uchenna left with Mr. Andrew furiously gnashing his teeth as he sat in confused stillness.

"What a cruel twist," he sighed.

This kept getting from bad to worse. How would he afford to face Madam Theresa with this development? That would be impossible!

And come to think of it, does it mean Madam Theresa was unaware yet? He wondered. Was Ugomma still keeping this from her mother? She would have brought down the roof already, he shuddered. It was a pain picturing the scenario. He was well aware she was bitterly disappointed with him that his son scuttled her plan to pin down Madam Eunice where she most wanted. For Mr. Andrew and his son to now turn her into a quarry too would spur her to unleash the deadliest venom he knew she possessed. Hopefully, Ugomma was not pregnant, and Ephraim was mistaken on that one. It was a faint hope, but given what had happened so far, he would not be shocked again if all the girls in Umunze were pregnant for Ephraim. However, he would rather hold on to anything that had the faintest possibility to prevent him from squaring up to Madam Theresa as an adversary

"Ephraim….," he called out. "How did I wrong you as a father?"

He made haste afterward and intimated Mazi Egbelu, Father Jude, and the parents of Chinyere about the new information on the whereabouts of Ephraim. He hoped that would help take them off his back for the time being. If it were believed he was no longer reachable or gone for the foreseeable future, it would simply behoove on all concerned to respond accordingly and look elsewhere for solutions to their predicament. He made no mention of Ugomma and impressed it upon his wife to do the same. Since they had not heard anything from Madam Theresa, it was profitable to assume that particular piece of information was false. In any case, it was not the duty of the quarry to inform the hunter of its presence or hiding place, he concluded.