A long time ago in the lands of Igbuzo, a man birthed his only daughter before he died in an attack by a neighbouring community. The widowed wife of the man decided to raise her only child – Ejele with all the love in the world. Ejele was never distant from her mother. On the farm, she would rest around the bushes, waiting for her mother to finish up with the day’s work. In the market, she assisted her mother to sell off bountiful harvests to strange faces. Everyone who knew Ejele was aware of the radiant smile on the face of the little girl. She was not only respectful but also cheerful, laughing aloud to even strangers from the shores of Bini. Until one day. The day the gods of Alusi Amali decided to reveal the face of the next priestess to the Isunambaogu.
In the cloud was the face of the little girl, Ejele. The Isunambaogu knew the story of Ejele, and beseeched the gods for seven days to spare Ejele and pick another child of Igbuzo. The prayers of the Isu fell on deaf ears, for the gods changed their minds like the moon turning blue in the sky.
When the Isu approached the mother of Ejele to request for the child for the ritual to begin, Ejele and her mother shed tears to the sky, begging, pleading for the gods to change their minds – the gods of Alusi Amali didn’t flinch. The Isu took the girl to the shrine after three days, in which council representatives tried their best to convince Ejele and her mother that the will of the gods had to be obeyed. When the little girl left her mother, she passed an amulet to her, begging her to wear the amulet at all times on her neck.
Ejele went to live in the forest as the next diviner of Igbuzo. The life of her mother was cut short by the departure of Ejele, while the Isunambaogu tried to console the little girl every time the moon faded into the sky. For she cried, cried, and cried with no control over her tears. Ejele was nostalgic – mother attached to daughter so much she let all her crops die off… so much she wore sack clothes for many days… so much she was never seen in the market again.
On a cold dark night when the Isu had gone deep into sleep, the mother of the child snuck into the Amali forests. Her hands felt the base of the amulet on her chest as she invoked her daughter to wake up.
‘Ejele! Your mother calls to you! Wake up. Wake up, Ejele. Your mother calls to you!’
Ejele heard the voice of her mother in her dream bidding her to come. The amulet was no ordinary one. Her mother had gone to the witches in the coven on the road to Umuodafe when she first dreamed her child would be taken from her. The amulet was a bond between mother and daughter, sealed in their blood. Ejele left the sleeping bull of the Isu and went into the Amali forests to seek out her mother. An abomination of the highest order for the chosen one of the gods to see the face of her mother… to be tied to the spirits of her ancestry. For the Isu is no ordinary person. The Isu is the true child of the gods, and the gods are jealous with their love.
When daughter and mother set their eyes on each other, they locked in a sweet embrace. They were willing to steal the nectar of Alusi Amali! Disobey the gods of the land for their emotions. Selfish humans for whom the gods provided everything and asked for one thing in return.
‘My daughter. Are you well? Are you feeding in this doomed forest?’ her mother interrogated, reeling her hands all over the base of her skin.
‘Mother! I cannot be without you. Every night, I cry out my eyes until blood comes out of it. Every time, I dream of you taking me away from this scorned place. Nne! I cannot live without you. Even the gods cannot give me the comfort you give me. Nnem! I beg of you as my mother. Take me away from here. I do not want to spend a minute longer in the Amali Forest. Let us run away. Flee to another town… another village as far as Bini!’ she gasped, sobbing tears to melt the heart of her mother who had abandoned her in the Amali forests with a stranger breathing down her neck whenever she closed her eyes to the ebriety of sleep.
‘Listen, my daughter. I have just come to see you, not to take you away from Amali. You must understand this. The gods will curse us wherever we go…’
‘Let the curse of the gods be upon us! Let the thunder of Amadioha strike us too…’ she swore, tears spiralling out of her eyes.
‘Shhhh! Don’t bring the curses of the gods upon us. Not in the presence of the Amali. The forest has ears. Negative thoughts must be removed from your mind. I am your mother! I have neither taken food nor gone to the farm since you left. See me! See how sick I have become! I would never leave you in these forests if there was any other route for us,’ she cautioned, her voice rising and growing steep with every word.
‘Then take me away from here! If you love me, mother. Then take me – away – from here,’ Ejele sobbed, her hands tightening the grip on her mother. She could hear the uneasiness in the voice of her mother when she struggled to leave her behind and vanish into the forests. Ejele held on to her with the last ounce of strength inside of her, begging to be taken away from the forests of Amali.
‘Let us go to Omambala. I have a friend who can accommodate us there while we work. He is a friend of your father and asked me to come to him whenever his help is required. I think this is the right time. Omambala will not be easy. You will have to adjust. We will work and till the soil for a day’s wage before we can eat,’ Mother warned, reluctantly accepting defeat. She knew her spirits wanted to take Ejele away from the forests… from the grasp of the gods.
‘I will work, Mother. I will starve if need be. Just take me with you to Omambala. Just take me!’ the young girl reiterated, convinced to leave the Amali. All she wanted was to be close to her mother. All she wanted was to remain tied to her mother. As long as they were together, they would be fine. Mother pulled her daughter, hands enclosed on each other while they lighted the fire of escape, fresh winds of air sipping into their lungs.
Ahead of them in the forest of Amali, a hungry leopard roamed around to find its prey. The leopard, mother, and daughter accosted on their route out of Amali. Most people in Igbuzo believed the anger of the gods shapeshifted into a hungry beast of the night. The beast pounced on them while they cried in pain as the leopard buried its fang on mother and daughter, tearing their skin until blood dried up from their tissues.
In the morning, the villagers congregated at the gory sight of mother and daughter, skin bitten to shreds by a strange leopard vanished into the forest. For in love, there is death. For in death, there is love – the sacrifice of a mother and child became their end.
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Read – The Bandits of Kiirkou – A Short Story by Lino Arop, South Sudan
Gracious Paul Chidiebube Osuagwu is a storyteller, novelist, literacy activist, data analyst, and communication strategist based in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. After graduating from the prestigious Nnamdi Azikiwe University with a first-class BSc degree in Public Administration, he decided to focus on developing a career in writing.
Gracious is also an activist, spearheading literacy programs geared to developing the book culture in Nigeria. Some of his projects include donations of literacy materials to public schools in Nigeria, public speaking, and mentorship.
As a novelist engaged in a 9–5 entrepreneurship engagement, the young writer seeks his place in the world of the arts. At the age of 13, he picked up the pen and started writing stories in notebooks. In 2022, he published a crime fiction novel, Judi Series; The Truth About Tuesday which announced his entrance into the world of arts. In 2023, he published a second book, his first historical fiction, Ekumeku – the Rising Sun.
When Gracious decides to take a break from work, he can be found blogging about creative writing, engaging in public speaking or activism, watching movies or engrossed in football matches. He can be contacted via email – alexanderxxavierthewriter@gmail.com
