him, so the situation I found myself in had never been known in the village before. Could it be that the law actually existed and I just did not know it? Would it get to the point where I would be forced to marry the Chief in order to keep my son? I shuddered at the prospect. I could not think of myself living in the palace; it was known to be a place of bitter rivalry between the Chief’s wives. It was even believed to be cursed. This last thought caused me to sit up in bed, pulling the blanket tightly around me, my eyes hopelessly searching the darkness, as if for answers.
I had almost forgotten about the curse. All the widows the Chief had married had lost their children within one year of their moving into the palace. The first child who died was falsely accused of stealing a piece of meat and was beaten to death by the Chief’s eldest wives. The others had died in mysterious circumstances, but most believed they were killed by the jealous wives, who feared that their own children would have to compete with the children of strangers for the Chief’s attention. After the Chief’s first few stepchildren had died, the priests were summoned to exorcise the palace of evil spirits, but the deaths only stopped when there were no children left alive to kill. And now I was expected to marry this man, and possibly lose my son regardless. I fell back on the bed in despair. Of what use was it marrying a man I loathed only to lose my beloved son anyway?
Footsteps encroached upon my thoughts in the dark. An intruder was in the house! This knowledge caused me to freeze in fear for a moment. Then I sat up sharply, propelled by the fact that Noah slept alone in the opposite room and could be in danger. A wide corridor separated us. I had to get to his room to protect him. I pushed the blanket away and sprang out of bed. The footsteps kept approaching and they seemed to be searching their way in the dark, cautiously. I thought I should scream for help. No, I must get to Noah first.
My eyes adjusted to the darkness of my bedroom. I inched towards the door, my heart beating violently. And then a small voice called out, ‘Mother, I cannot sleep.’
I froze momentarily at the voice, and then relief washed over me. I wrenched the door open. I could see his small silhouette in the dark corridor. Noah! I pulled him into my arms and carried him gratefully into my bedroom. I realised that the events of the day must have left him distraught. ‘You will be okay here with me!’ I whispered to him. ‘You will be okay.’
As I watched him sleep beside me, I knew that there was no way I could let the Chief take him away from me. And I knew that there was no way I could go to live in the palace either.
THREE
Fortunately, I did not need to buy anything from Main Street in the days that followed, as no one would have sold it to me. I got all that Noah and I needed from our barn and farm, and I couldn’t have cared less that the village’s economy was in deepening recession.
I was consumed by fear. What would happen to my son if the law the Chief made reference to indeed existed? Again, it occurred to me that to keep Noah alive I must not marry the Chief. But that would mean losing him to his uncle Jaja; this I could not bear. I contemplated running away with Noah in the middle of the night, but we had nowhere to go, and I knew that we would not get far before the Chief’s guards caught up with us.
Going to my parents or my in-laws for help was out of the question. The Chief had given them acres of farmland and countless labourers. They would only compound my woes in order to receive more favours from the Chief – more land allocation, more labourers to till their farms. They could even be appointed as lesser chiefs, and that would attract a lot more benefits for them. I thought of turning to Chair-Lady. She had influence, but I wasn’t sure if she would want to help me.
I felt helpless.
All I could do was pray. But to whom? To the gods of my land, who were obviously responsible for my predicament, or to the god who dwelled in heaven, of whom the missionary had preached?
Surely, the gods of my land would not answer my request – they were on the Chief’s side. I had never really believed in the god of whom the missionary spoke. But pathetic as I was, it occurred to me that I was better off turning to him for help. There must be someone up there, I reasoned; after all, it was natural to look heavenward when one was in distress. So I looked up and I prayed. I prayed so hard that afternoon that tears came to my eyes. I prayed that the god in heaven would protect us from the Chief and the laws of our land.
Afterwards, I went to check on Noah in his room. He was fast asleep. He looked so innocent and defenceless. I kissed him gently on the cheek, and vowed to protect him with my life. Carefully, I shifted his head on the pillow, and then I went out to the backyard to do some work.
As I hoed the earth, I kept repeating my prayer subconsciously, until it became a sad song in my mouth. I raised my face to heaven. Surely, someone must be up there, someone more powerful than the gods of my village, who ruled the affairs of the universe. Surely, it cannot be just an empty vastness up there. Surely.
Somehow, I felt better. I went to take a bath after I had finished working. I was in the kitchen getting ready to prepare our evening meal when Noah awoke and joined me. He looked groggy with sleep and greeted me with a yawn.
‘How are you, Mother?’
‘I’m fine. And how are you? Did you sleep well?’
‘Yes, I did. But I had a dream,’ he said, a small frown on his face.
I patted a stool. ‘Come and sit down and tell me your dream.’
He sat next to me. The frown on his face deepened. ‘I cannot remember the dream,’ he said.
‘That means it’s a good dream.’ I smiled at him.
‘You think so?’
‘Good dreams are always difficult to remember, but bad ones are hard to forget,’ I explained to him.
He frowned some more and said, ‘I can remember a bit of the dream now!’
‘What do you remember?’
‘I remember building a house . . .’
‘A house?’
‘Yes. After building the house, I went to look for the orphans I saw on the outskirts of the village.’
I frowned for a moment, then smiled. ‘You see, because it was difficult for you to remember, it means that it is a good dream.’
‘It was a very colourful house,’ he continued.
‘It means that you will build an orphanage one day . . .’
‘I’d love to build an orphanage one day! I’d love to build it for the boys I saw.’ His voice had come alive.
‘It’s a good dream,’ I said quietly, after a few moments.
‘Thank you, Mother. I hope I dream it again.’
We fell into silence as I sat on a low stool and began to blend tomatoes and peppers on the grinding stone.
*
A few days later, while Noah was out playing, I made my way to the palace. The days were ticking by and I felt a desperate need to make my case before the Chief. No one greeted me as I went, and I greeted no one. I thought of passing through Main Street, but I decided against it.
I walked quickly, eager to reach the palace. I prayed that I would find favour before the Chief, but I did not feel hopeful. A number of men returning from the farms avoided me. Some women hissed and clapped their hands in anger. I did not care to look at any of them.
I was met by a single guard when I got to the palace. And I was surprised to see that he carried a sword instead of the usual short stick. I did not bother to greet him. ‘I’m here to see the Chief,’ I said to him.
‘The Chief is not at home,’ he replied, raising his voice and his sword.
Other guards promptly appeared, alerted by the voice of their colleague. They all carried swords. And it occurred to me that the Chief had increased his security because I was now considered