The Heinous Driver E-Book

Vivian Anioke

• Herausgeber: BookRix
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2015

Beschreibung

She struggles to survive in a society that neglects the girl-child. She is wrongly accused and banished, in the end; she became a pride and agent of change in her community.

Leseprobe

Vivian Anioke

The Heinous Driver

To God Almighty BookRix GmbH & Co. KG81371 Munich

Author's Note

This is a short story that aims at promoting the girl-child education and value in the society. It employed traditional setting hence; you shall be meeting words like; moonlight play, village square, Igwe (king) and some other native names like, Chioma who happens to be the main character, Nne (Chioma’s mother), Ichie Mba (Her Father), Ichie Okeke (one of the elders) among others. The story is not only entertaining but educating and corrective.

What really is the story all about? Now, let’s scroll down to find out.

Happy Reading!

 

 

CHAPTER ONE

She was taken by surprise when a strange and unfriendly knock repeatedly hit her door.

“Is nobody in this house?” One of the elders asked angrily hitting the door with his walking stick.

“This wicked woman has gone out again, who knows the shrine she went to this time around?” Ikem ruthlessly added peeping through the windows to check if he could see anyone.

Another heavy knock drew Nne’s attention who was far from the door. She hastily put down her basket from her head, adjusted her wrapper and headed quickly to the door.

“Who is at the door? Please I am coming ooooo……” she shouted increasing her footsteps.

She swiftly unlocked and opened the door only to be gripped by surprise.

“H..a..h, my elders, Ikem, Mike, what a surprise visit, I hope there is no problem? Nno! Y..o..u are welcome. Please c-o-m-e in”, she stuttered nervously, giving way for them to pass.

“Woman, where have you been? Will you swear you didn’t hear us knock for over ten minutes?” One of the elders asked.

“To be frank my elders and dear in-laws, I didn’t hear your knocks. Please, I am really sorry. I am just coming back from the market and was about to………”

“It is alright. Where is your husband? He knows about our coming. Go and tell him we are here”, the second elder cut in adjusting his red cap.

“You mean he is aware of your visit? But he didn’t tell me”, Nne confusedly said.

“You weren’t expecting us and what about it? Your plans have failed. In fact, your days are numbered in this house. Where is my brother? You can’t bewitch him anymore” Ikem heartlessly said, pushing her out of the way and headed to the backyard in search of him.

Ichie Mba was at the backward cutting some grasses for his hungry goats which bleated severally. He hummed, chewing simultaneously his chewing stick when Ikem patted him at the back.

“Brother we are here”, he smiled sweetly.

“Oh…ok. I almost forgot. Are the elders here too?”

“Yes”, Ikem replied, gathering some cut grasses on the ground for his elder brother who took them from him and threw them into the goat’s pen.

Ichie Mba happily welcomed the elders instructing his wife to bring some kola for them. After exchanging greetings, breaking of the kola and chatting for a while, one of the elders cleared his throat and went strength to the business of the day.

“As a titled and respected man in this village, you need a son which Nne, your wife has failed to give you.” He said.

“Yes my dear people. I don’t know why the gods decided to punish me. I don’t know what I did to them”. Nne’s husband sadly said, shaking his head in pains.

“Brother that is why we are here. Papa sent us to you. As a matter of fact, we have seen a beautiful, lovely and humble maiden that you will marry. Her name is Agbomma from Dikeze villiage” Ikem gladly announced.

“This is not gods’ issue. If God wanted to punish you, He wouldn’t have given you any child at all. To me, children are children no matter their genders. They are all gifts from God”, Mike said in opposition.

“Shut up your mouth. Where do you stand?” Ikem snapped.

“This is not the issue of shutting up or down. The truth is that, God is the giver of children and nobody should question him. You know me too well, don’t you? You know I can’t support evil no matter who is involved. Nne has been a good wife to our brother and she doesn’t deserve this type of treatment. In fact, I am no longer a party to this discussion, if this is the only reason for coming here. If you don’t mind, please excuse me my elders”. Mike politely left declining many call back attempts by the elders.

The exit of Mike caused silence for a while. Everyone looked at each other in disappointment and guiltiness. One of the elders after a gap of silence cleared his throat and broke forth;

“Hmmmm…..What are we still doing here? I am going oooooo!” He said standing to leave when Ikem and the other elder shamefully followed suit.

“Are you going like that? Just like that? Why……..?” Ichie Mba apprehensively asked walking right behind them.

He stopped at the door and watched them left. After a while, he returned to the sitting room confusedly sitting on one of his old sofas. His deep thought was sharply interrupted by the emergence of his wife who disappointedly walked in from behind the door where she hid; peeped from and listened to the whole conversations. Putting on a sad look, Nne stopped, mutedly glazed at her husband for a while, and then headed to the kitchen which was outside the main building.

Nightfall gradually set in. The moon had fully appeared in the sky happily luring many children to the village square for their moonlight play. Ichie Mba’s children who were warned by their father never to join other children at the village square at night, happily had their own moonlight play at home. They danced and played in their big compound which was not very far away from the village square.Midway into their play, Chioma’s attention was caught by her mother’s sad look who sat on the pavement of their front corridor in a lonely and unhappy mood. So she quickly excused herself to find out what the problem was.

“Mother! Mother! Mother!” She repeatedly called to awaken her consciousness.

“Oh…… C…h...i...o...m...a, how long have you been here?”

“Mummy, are you okay? You don’t look cheerful today. Is everything alright?” Her daughter asked sitting beside Nne who couldn’t hide her tears.

“I am okay my dear. I only had a little misunderstanding with your father”, Nne coldly said, wiping away her tears with her hands.

“Another misunderstanding? Mother what exactly is it this time around?” Chioma curiously asked.

“Your father wants to marry another wife just because he feels I can’t give him a male child”.

“Marry what? This is absolutely absurd. It is impossible. It can’t happen in this house. Who even told him that it is your fault? Are we not human beings too? No wonder I and my sisters meant nothing to him.”

“Shut up your mouth before I shut it for you”, her father angrily snapped from behind.

“You useless child, so you are the one instigating your mother against me. I thought as much. You disgust me so much. How are my even sure I gave birth to you?”

“Father, as long as I am in this house, no other woman will step her filthy feet in this house”. Choma assuredly replied, gently taking her mother inside the house.

“Then get ready to shamefully leave this house”. Ichie Mba furiously replied.

The quarrel attracted the attention of his other children who were still playing. They all converged at the pavement only to be scared away by their father’s fury who angrily left the house to his friend’s place. Nne was surrounded by all her children. They comforted and advised her, slightly lightening her mood.

After a long chat with Ichie Okeke, Ichie Mba stood up to leave when his friend carefully looked round the whole place to ensure that nobody was around. He drew closer to his friend, bent his long neck and said;

“My dear friend, as long as that evil girl of yours remains in your house, she will not only continue to instigate others against you, but she will continue to attract ill-lucks to you”.

“Is as if you read my mind; Yes! I thought as much, but what do I do?”

“Get rid of her if you truly want peace, because; as long as she remains in your house, no other woman will step her feet there ooooo. And you know what that means? Hmmmmm……… I really know what Chioma of your daughter can do oooo.......”

“But how do I do it” Ichie Mba asked, looking interested.Ichie Okeke looked round again, drew closer to him and whispered to his ear;

“Set up strategy nah! I can help you if you want”, he said churning out some evil smiles.

It was a sunny day. Ichie Mba had gone out, same as his wife who went to visit a friend. Chioma and her younger siblings sat on the floor cracking some palm kernels in readiness for the Eke market which was just the following day. They would often pick plenty palm kernels from the communal farm, crack and sell them every Eke market day. From whence they raised little money for their school fees since their father refused to train them in school.

Midway into their shelling work, two hefty palace guards, fully armed with knives arrived Ichie Mba’s compound. They banged the door open and entered straight inside the house. The guards combed the whole rooms in search of the igwe’s missing ofo; as they searched the house, one of the guards lifted up Chioma’s bag and suddenly, he found the missing ofo lying under.

The ofo, which was a sacred property of the king, was not to be touched or held by women. It was a symbol of authority handed over to the king by his late father hence; was valued so much in the land. The king could not eat or sleep when he noticed the ofo was missing. He searched all over the palace but couldn’t find it. It was until then that Ichie Okeke advised him to search Chioma’s house who at that time ran errands for the queen.

“So is you. Thief! Ichie Okeke was right after all”. One of the palace guards shouted on her as they both held and dragged her to the palace.

CHAPTER TWO

She walked trudged in her dirty, old and tattered red cloth with a full tray of kola nut on her head. Shivering and staggering due to weakness, Chioma finally found herself on the other side of the express road where she managed to climb the Charity Bridge for refuge. Meeting others in her shoes, she quietly took a position beside an old woman who lay on the floor with her pink plastic begging plate containing one ten naira and five naira note. Sitting down, Chioma placed her tray on her laps, dully fixing her tired eyes on the roof. No one cared to empathize seeing the painful tears that gradually rode down her cheeks because everybody had their own problems.

“Why must the past keep coming back? Why can’t I forget the past and move on with my life?” She severally thought.

Today marked the tenth year Chioma was ostracized from Ndiezi village for a crime she knew nothing of. She couldn’t just stop remembering the painful past irrespective of all her efforts to forget it.

Oh, on that painful day, like a goat led to the slaughter, the poor girl was taken to the igwe’ palace by two hefty palace guards who held her by the hands. She was arraigned before the king and the elders in council for judgment. Not even an opportunity was given for her to defend herself. Everyone was against her. Not even her own father could defend her except Iche Ike who requested that Chioma should be given the right to defend herself, but no, they refused labeling her an evil child. After some deliberations, the poor girl was taken to the village square by the igwe’s guards where the whole village gathered, eagerly waiting to hear the king’s judgment.

The Igwe in his royal attire majestically walked into the village square in the company of his guards and some elders. His presence stilled the whole place with people adjusting to see and hear him clearly.

“Nobody plans evil against this kingdom and succeeds. And such people who try it will have no option than to contend with my wroth. I don’t know why I am touched to lessen her punishment if not, I would have sentenced her to death by stoning”, he said furiously looking at the crowd who were stilled before his presence.

“Nevertheless I believe her case will be a warning to any person who wants to rebel against this kingdom. On this note, I, Igwe III of Ndiezi hereby declare you Chioma permanently banished from this kingdom”, the Igwe finally said, raising his “ofo” up as he left at once with his guards to the palace.

“Why such a harsh judgment, I believe Chioma is innocent?”

“My sister, wonders shall never end. Who believed this quite girl could do such a thing?”

“No, she didn’t do it; I strongly believe so, just that the igwe and his cabinet didn’t investigate the matter well”, two women argued as they walked home.

The judgment put many words in people’s mouth who argued and argued. While some mothers wept bitterly beckoning on the elders to intervene, others stood aloof by the bush path carefully watching the execution. Chioma’s mother was as good as dead. She couldn’t take the shock so she fainted at the pronouncement.

“We can’t not accept a traitor in this land, moreover, the irrevocable judgment of the igwe has gone out so there is nothing we can do”, Iche Okeke snapped at the women who wept in mass, as he carefully excused himself from the gathering of the elders.

The village youths were mobilized by Iche Okeke and a few other elders to execute the king’s verdict. They chased her away, throwing her belongings away also.

“I didn’t know that the Igwe would deliver such a harsh judgment. I thought he would lock her up in the palace cell for few days. Had I known, I would have supported Iche Ike”, one of the elders sympathetically apologized to Chioma’s father who pretended to be angry.

“Don’t pity me because; Chioma deserves everything that is happening to her. I said it; this girl has always brought nothing but bad luck to this family. Throw her out; kill her if you want, I do not care. I disowned her long time ago even before the verdict came”, Iche Mba leaving the palace in his full titled regalia of red “isi-agu” cloth and a well fitted red cap on his head angrily said.

Ndiezi youths chanting purgation songs pushed, flogged and spat on the unlucky poor girl who cried and staggered left and right with her blue checked old “Ghana-must-go” bag on her head. The intensive pushing by the crowd finally threw her across the village boarder where she was left to disappear into thin air.

“Go away!” they shouted.

“Ndiezi forbids a thief, how much more a woman stealing the Igwe’s ofo. Go away! Our land rejects you. You are cursed and your seeds are cut off from Ndiezi forever”. The youths rained abuses on her before they finally returned to the village square.

In great trauma and pain after being wrongfully accused and scolded, Chioma staggered through the bush path. With tears rolling down her cheeks, she pleaded for God’s help and vengeance. Haven walked aimlessly with her belongings for so long, she tiredly fell to the ground in great tears. The poor girl didn’t know what action to take. Should she go front or back? While she yet thought, some car sounds began to approach. She had unknowingly gotten close to a main road. So she hopefully stood up and continued. After some minutes of few walks, she suddenly came across a packed pick up car loaded with goods. The driver was not on seat so, she carefully opened the nylon covered back, climbed in and covered it back. Some minutes after she entered, the driver who had gone to ease himself, came in and took off for the city where she finally saw herself.

“Wake up! Wake up! The task force is coming!” the old beggar, gathering her belongings, quickly alerted Chioma for she had fallen asleep while ruminating.

“What, Task Force?” She immediately jumped up, carried her tray and quickly mixed up with the running crowd of destitute away from the officers of the State Task Force as nobody wanted to be expelled from the city.

Bad luck again? Chioma kept wondering what to tell her madam who only fed her whenever she made good sales. Approaching the shack where they lived, her heart skipped.

“Take it easy, girl!” a voice inside her said.

“What’s the worst that can happen if not to sleep outside without dinner as usual? It is a common punishment you are used to, so do not panic again”.

“But look at the weather, can you survive this cold weather and sleep on an empty stomach too?” another voice squashed her solace.

While she was still thinking, a noisy argument that emanated from Madam P’s restaurant drew her attention. It was the voice of her mistress arguing with a customer. So she peeped through the backyard of the wooden constructed restaurant to watch the whole drama.

“You did not pay me, you are lying. You ordered for five bottles and you have not given me any money. You must pay me now or I will show you why they call me Madam P”, she furiously shouted on top of her voice gripping her customer’s belt.

“What is happening? Another fight? Oh My God! God please help me; please help me dear Lord. How do I face her? How do I tell Madam P that I did not make even a single sale today? The worst of all is that she is in a bad mood”. Chioma fearfully contemplated.

The anticipated punishment was beyond her imagination. She did not believe her mistress would throw her out irrespective of her exploitative value to her.

“I accepted to help you but you have refused to be useful. You are nothing but a pest, a bad luck and a burden. Go back to where you came from, I do not care if you jump into the canal or live under the bridge that is exactly where you belong. To hell with you, go away, I say go away except you want me to burn you alive and turn myself in to the police”, Madam P threatened, throwing Chioma’s belongings into a pool of muddy water in front of the house.

The clouds were already dark with the sky threatening a downpour. The hungry tired-looking girl, in tears, roamed the streets not knowing where to go. Heavy thunderstorms and lightening graced the air as flashlights by motorcyclists who sped home from the impending downpour illuminated her path as there was total blackout in the area.

Drenched by the rain, she confusedly ran down an unknown road. It was a lonely new road under construction by the government. Sighting an unfinished storey building, she quickly ran in for shelter.

“This is the first time luck shone on me, sleeping all through the night in this open, lonely and dangerous place without a snake bite or molestation of any kind”, she said, smiling and yawning and stretching herself on the old pieces of wood she laid on.

She thanked God, kept her bag at a corner of the room and headed into a nearby bush in search of fruits for breakfast. Sighting some flourishing Mango and Avocado pear trees lured out another smile from her face. They appeared to belong to no one because they were far from human residence.

“I could survive on this. Yes, I have to start selling mango and pear fruits; at least it is better than hawking kola nut”. She happily bent to pick some fruits on the ground.

CHAPTER THREE

Chioma started a new life again but an independent one this time around. Life seemed better than before. She would wake early, pick, pluck and sell many fruits in the market. To get high turnover, she often left very early to the market where she sold cheaper than others. She continued with the business until the fruit season was almost over.

“At least, I have saved some money from the sales. Even if the fruit season ends today, I have made good profits”, she gladly soliloquized on her way back to the uncompleted building after one of her lucrative sales.

“What happened here? Who came here?” Chioma wondered in panic at strange footprints on the floor.

She hurriedly ran upstairs where her belongings were kept only to discover that her bag was missing except her towel and inner wears that were spread outside.

“Who stole from the poor innocent girl? Who wants to kill me the second time? Just show yourself and end my existence at once. What crime did I commit? I have never stolen a penny from anyone so why should you steal from me”, she fell on the floor weeping bitterly.

As if something stung her, Chioma remembered she removed all her money from the missing bag that morning before she left for the market. So she quickly stood up, ran to the backyard and dug open the ground where it was hidden only to observe that her whole savings were intact. Immediately, she took her money, hid it in her bra and ran very far away from the building.