6. Beyond the tunnel.
"One path in the middle of it all,
One needle lost in this haystack.
Who visits the wise one without it?
Who? I said who visits the great one without it?
How will one reach Amita the stream goddess without it?
Just one path and it is where all is said." The priest of Agumenu sang, shook his staff and gave the queen a look that pierced through the veil of her soul. Fear gripped her as she shook violently like a freshly hooked fish who is awakened to the reality of life beyond the bait.
"I said it, I said this woman has the eyes of a murderer but no one believed me" Gatsriku murmured to everyone's hearing and they all gave him rather cold looks.
"Why is everyone looking at me like the one who just confessed to killing a king of Adako? Are you too scared to face the real murderer? If talk, they will say it is palm wine that is talking but I don't know when anybody in this kingdom has seen palm wine talking" He prattled. This time however, everyone shouted at him to shut up and some impatient youth charged at him and nearly kicked him. After a while, there was dead silence and Afi continued her story: "My plan worked perfectly and I was going to become the queen of this land, Who could hide her joy in a moment like that? I went to Klogo to advise him to order the execution of the queen but he opted to banish her instead. That was not the only defiant thing he did; with his new found fame as the regent of Adako, he married another woman and was going to make her his queen." She paused for a moment, sobbed for some time without attracting any iota of sympathy from the people
"I left this land heartbroken and travelled to a far away kingdom where I lived for many seasons. At first, I thought the passage of time would heal and make me whole again and even though time did heal my wounds, the invisible scars of betrayal remain intact." She continued.
"One day after many seasons, I returned to this land with my son whom I begot with the man I married there. My mission was one of revenge and there was no room for error." She stated with a stern face
"Tell me you are telling lies grandmother." Fetri Yawa sobbed.
"I wish I could my daughter, I wish I could tell you that I did not recruit Kaleta and Aku Nkegbe to carry out my plans. I wish I could say that Lavu who later begot the name Fiato which also means head elder, was not contacted by me in a bid to avenge myself. But I can not tell you any of that my daughter. Yes! The untimely demise of king Klogo and his queen had nothing to do with nature. They were both poisoned by Aku here who was a palace maid at the time." as she said this, the queen bowed her head in shame.
"With Kaleta as the New King, Aku as the new queen and Lavu as the head of the council of elders, I was in total control until my son died mysteriously before he could take a wife. I became suspicious of the royal house because I believe they knew that I was grooming my son to become the next king of this kingdom. This is why I never told them about my granddaughter until now." She paused and sat on the ground pleading for mercy.
"The Cheetah does not set traps for it's prey" the priest said as he looked at Afi with despise
"You did not end the lineage of the rightful royal house as you think, you preserved the bloodline. The queen was with child when she was banished and she gave birth to a girl as foretold by Hamelo the sage of old. That girl married into this kingdom and gave birth to a son. During his final days as king when Klogo asked for a woodcutter to cut wood for the rebuilding of the entire palace, Lavu was chosen but how?" He continued
Lavu who realized then that his secret was about to be revealed, bowed his head in shame.
"He killed the greatest woodcutter this kingdom has ever known and and his wife. That wife was the princess and their son is Ganyo." Everyone present could not believe their ears. Ganyo who up till this time was not very much interested in the entire drama, raised his head sharply in disbelief. Before he could recover from the shock of the assertion the priest just made and say anything, Atise started: "Which Ganyo are you talking about? Is it the namby-pamby, pauper and dreamer who thinks war should be fought with words? Are the gods playing a trick on us?"
This attack on Ganyo's person felt like a burning coal poured on the skin of the princess. She turned towards everyone present and with an emotional tone, orated: "Men are born, everyone with his gift and so is Ganyo. He may not be great with the bow and arrow, neither does he have a bagful of cowries. He boasts not of a lion skin nor of a single one of the skulls that hang on Adabatram; the war drum but he is a special breed. For if being wise was what made his grandfather the most admired beyond this kingdom, then I tell you that Ganyo is the woodcutter's billionaire son… and he is more of a man than a thousand warriors whose strength lies in the bow and arrow. His strength lies in his heart and mind."
The silence that ensued superseded that of a graveyard. Ganyo who just survived death; death that was orchestrated by the queen, walked to the princess and held her arms, but she drew back and before Ganyo could utter a word, Kaleta spoke for the first time to the gathering: "Greed is a poisonous snake, My greed pushed me to be complacent in this web of evil and I am sorry. To you my daughter, please forgive me. He fell to the ground and his wife rushed to him. The princess turned to Ganyo and said to him: "you will be king now but I will only remind you of my parent's wickedness and the evil perpetrated by them against you. Please promise me that you will be a good and just king."
She walked to her parents and before anybody could realize her intentions, drew a dagger and stabbed first her mother and her father to death. Ganyo rushed to stop her but could not reach her before she stabbed her own self to death.
While Ganyo sobbed silently with the princess in his arms, Ametefe looked his father in the eyes and asked: "Why? Father why?"
"Who will not want the best for their children? Everything I did, I did because I was promised that you will marry the princess and become the next king of this kingdom. Every single life I took, I took in your name" Lavu responded
"You are a murderer and you deserve to die, nothing you did was for me but your own selfish self. I denounce you this day as a father." Ametefe retorted with grief written all over his face.
"One path in the middle of it all,
One needle lost in this haystack.
Who visits the wise one without it?
Who? I said who visits the great one without it?
How will one reach Amita the stream goddess without it?
Just one path and it is where all is said." The priest of Agumenu sang as he danced jerkily forwards and backwards.
The moon drifted across the ace of the sky and hid behind a giant cloud that does not seem to be in a hurry betray the solace seeking moon. The entire gathering in their moment of shock, realized for the first time how old the night had actually grown. The drama was indeed too much for them to handle and no one could utter a word. Will Adako as they knew it ever be the same ever again? What will become of Afi Gbaga, or Lavu and most importantly, what will become of Ametefe the ignorant victim of circumstances? As some of the people weigh these questions in their own minds, others discuss the happenings of the evening among themselves. There will never be enough words to describe the confusion that rocked Adako that evening.
"People of Adako! The gods have saved the lineage of kings and have given to us a new dawn. We have two choices; to remain shackled to an anchor of hate or to shed the skin of backwardness and embrace a new dawn. I entreat you to do what is in the best interest of this kingdom. Long live the future king of this kingdom, long live Adako" the priest continued.
As the entire congregation stood there lost in thoughts and filled with questions to which answers could never be found, Ametefe turned to the gathering and said: "My family does not deserve your pity or love after all the evil my father and his friends perpetrated. I am personally shocked, angry and disappointed just as much as you all rightly are but I will always lay my life down for this kingdom. Evil can never outshine good as long as I have life."
Ametefe's rather short emotional speech moved the entire gathering and everyone pitied him despite his request to not be pitied. He turned slowly towards Ganyo and said to him: "My friend…" then paused briefly to heave a sigh before proceeding: "I am sorry."
Ganyo let go of the princess, stood up and walked towards Lavu. When he got to him, everyone expected Ganyo to hurt the man who killed his parents but instead of being rash, he walked past him and stopped in front of Ametefe. He looked at his friend vividly and with a sad voice, said: "How dare you condemn yourself for the evil of the evil or beat up your own soul when the real perpetrators are the ones that must be remorseful? How dare you ask the people of Adako to show you no pity or sympathy? Are you not but a victim of circumstances? Who amongst these people knows the feebleness of the heart that beats in the chest of the lion of the greatest warrior in this kingdom better than I your friend? Together, we have walked the darkest tunnels and persisted because you always reminded me to be hopeful of the light at the end of each tunnel. You are and will always be my friend and will always have a special place in the history of our people, not only because you are the greatest warrior in Adako and beyond but also because you are the best friend any person could ever ask for." He turned towards the people and continued: "My whole life, I have never expected anything to be given to me because my parents always told me to earn my keep at all times. I never dreamt of a day like this when I will be standing here before all of you, in a situation like this. I have never prayed evil for anyone and my love and dedication to the success of our people is unquestionable. Firstly, I entreat you to find a place in your hearts to forgive everyone implicated in this age old evil. You must also be willing to embrace the wind of change and the new dawn that our kingdom is about be awakened to. For Afi Gbaga and Lavu, I will not judge a man that has already been judged by the gods. Whatever the gods have in store for them, they will get because I have ultimate confidence in the gods o this land. We can not stop being patriotic now because a wise person once told me that my dedication to the success of our people should not lead me to jeopardize the safety of the same people." As He said this, the moon stepped out slowly from behind the giant cloud and shone even brighter on Adako. Ganyo raised his head and murmured "A new dawn at last."
The priest of Agumenu shook his staff and said: "the cheetah indeed does not set traps for it's prey" He danced around, eulogized Agumenu and sang the song:
"One path in the middle of it all,
One needle lost in this haystack.
Who visits the wise one without it?
Who? I said who visits the great one without it?
How will one reach Amita the stream goddess without it?
Just one path and it is where all is said."
Gatsriku who has had enough of everything, responded sharply:
"They say I am the one that disturbs this kingdom from dawn till dusk,
They say I am the one that drinks all the kegs of wine reserved for the warriors even though I do not fight. They say I am useless and treat me as if I am the one that will bring curses upon our land. Well! I drink wine, yes! I drink wine but does that make me evil? Does... erm... does drinking palm wine make me the killer of kings and queens? The answer is 'no'. Why then does everyone glorify the real foxes who go about wearing sheepskin yet wish that Gatsriku whose only crime is drinking palm wine be dead? I am going to the village square to take the wine I left there.
Long live our new king, the woodcutter's billionaire son."
He left the palace, walking from one edge of the path to the other as if he was going to fall off it. A flicker of smile could be seen on Atise's face and the priest of Agumenu resumed singing but faintly:
"One path in the middle of it all,
One needle lost in this haystack.
Who visits the wise one without it?
Who? I said who visits the great one without it?
How will one reach Amita the stream goddess without it?
Just one path and it is where all is said.
One path in the middle of it all,
One needle lost in this haystack.
Who visits the wise one without it?
Who? I said who visits the great one without it?
How will one reach Amita the stream goddess without it?
Just one path and it is where all is said."