Another
book by Chukwuemeka Godswill
Book Title: Five Nights with Omenka
Author: Chukwuemeka GodswillGenre: A Novel (Literature)
Language: English
ISBN:
Publisher:
Place of Publication:
Number of Pages:
EXCERPTS FROM FIVE NIGHTS WITH OMENKA
www.chuxemlink.blogspot.com
...The warriors gave up. 'Even the ants are against us,' they said. 'No one can defeat the dwarf. We have lost the war.' Then Obike asked for the guns. Obike, he spoke when all hopes were lost, when every Idumala warrior had given up. When the best among the warriors could not face the dwarf of Itimbene, he asked for the guns.
'Who are you?' the elders asked him. 'Of what clan are you? Who was your father? Was your father a warrior? How many heads have you taken home from battle?'
'I am Obike; I am the son of my mother, Obidiya Nwachi; I am a man of Ebebe, from the clan of Mbanta. I belong to Agidi age group. I knew not my father and this is my first battle.'
'You wish for Ekweogu's head to be the first you take home, child?' the elders asked.
'Give me the guns to charge. If I fail, my failure will cost you nothing and we shall all go home. But if I succeed, the dwarf shall not live to see tomorrow.'
So they gave him the guns, Obike, that son of Obidiya Nwachi, whose father nobody knew. And he entered the nest of soldier-ants and charged the guns alone, without help. He did it alone - that man of Ebebe, from the clan of Mbanta. One gun he took and shot the anthill kadim! At that moment a scream was heard from the camp of Itimbene warriors, Ekweogu had stopped to move but stood still with his club in his hand. With the second gun Obike rushed to where he stood and shot him down. Itimbene army immediately deserted the dwarf and ran for their lives. Ekweogu, the Itimbene dwarf has been killed! That half man, half spirit, whose name made warriors fear the sound of battle, whose club once crushed the heads of many; he finally died, not by the hands of warriors whose names went beyond seven villages, but by the hand of Obike the son of Obidiya Nwachi, whose father nobody knew, and who has never taken any head home from battle.
'Who are you?' the elders asked him. 'Of what clan are you? Who was your father? Was your father a warrior? How many heads have you taken home from battle?'
'I am Obike; I am the son of my mother, Obidiya Nwachi; I am a man of Ebebe, from the clan of Mbanta. I belong to Agidi age group. I knew not my father and this is my first battle.'
'You wish for Ekweogu's head to be the first you take home, child?' the elders asked.
'Give me the guns to charge. If I fail, my failure will cost you nothing and we shall all go home. But if I succeed, the dwarf shall not live to see tomorrow.'
So they gave him the guns, Obike, that son of Obidiya Nwachi, whose father nobody knew. And he entered the nest of soldier-ants and charged the guns alone, without help. He did it alone - that man of Ebebe, from the clan of Mbanta. One gun he took and shot the anthill kadim! At that moment a scream was heard from the camp of Itimbene warriors, Ekweogu had stopped to move but stood still with his club in his hand. With the second gun Obike rushed to where he stood and shot him down. Itimbene army immediately deserted the dwarf and ran for their lives. Ekweogu, the Itimbene dwarf has been killed! That half man, half spirit, whose name made warriors fear the sound of battle, whose club once crushed the heads of many; he finally died, not by the hands of warriors whose names went beyond seven villages, but by the hand of Obike the son of Obidiya Nwachi, whose father nobody knew, and who has never taken any head home from battle.
The elders came together and conspired among themselves, 'The boy is just a bastard, his father is not known. How could it be said that Idumala gained victory through a bastard. We shall kill him and claim that we all attacked the dwarf and killed him.' And so they called Obike into their midst and together they killed him like an enemy. He pleaded but they would not listen to him, 'I am the only son of my mother,' he pleaded. 'My mother, Obidiya Nwachi, will die of heartache if she hears that I am dead.' But they would not listen to him. They killed and buried his body at the battlefield, so that no one would know their deed....
... At this point, Omenka, took his snuffbox from the floor where he had dropped it, tapped on it three times as was his custom, as if the tobacco in it would reduce its quality if he failed to observe this ritual. He paused for a while to observe the looks on our faces and smiled in his usual way. And then he opened the box and took some tobacco. He looked up once again to look at us with tears in his eyes and then pushed up his cheeks for another smile. We would not remove our gaze from him. We all looked in wonder. While I wondered how he could be crying and smiling at the same time, I thought about the story he had just told us and the characters in it. Omenka read our minds and continued to smile. He knew some of us would dream of the story that night.
“It's time to sleep,” he said. “Come back tomorrow night after your dinner and I shall tell you another story. Wake up your sleeping siblings and go home before your parents come looking for you....”
... At this point, Omenka, took his snuffbox from the floor where he had dropped it, tapped on it three times as was his custom, as if the tobacco in it would reduce its quality if he failed to observe this ritual. He paused for a while to observe the looks on our faces and smiled in his usual way. And then he opened the box and took some tobacco. He looked up once again to look at us with tears in his eyes and then pushed up his cheeks for another smile. We would not remove our gaze from him. We all looked in wonder. While I wondered how he could be crying and smiling at the same time, I thought about the story he had just told us and the characters in it. Omenka read our minds and continued to smile. He knew some of us would dream of the story that night.
“It's time to sleep,” he said. “Come back tomorrow night after your dinner and I shall tell you another story. Wake up your sleeping siblings and go home before your parents come looking for you....”
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