EPISODE 22
Oluchi came to the darkroom immediately after she heard some noise. She was in the sitting room when Ben was threatening me that my end would be terrible.
Ben knew she was coming and he exited the darkroom through the other side of the corridor.
Oluchi's heart was in her mouth when she saw me seated on the stool in the room.
She thought I was dead because of the sniper I gulped down in her presence.
To my greatest surprise, the proud Oluchi knelt beseeching thee to forgive her that she had offended me.
"Find a place in your heart and forgive me" she pleaded.
Initially, I didn't want to forgive her because of the misery she put me into but on second thought, I decided to forgive her because her actions unveiled the skeleton hidden in a cupboard - the secret about my existence.
"Stand up, Aunty you've been forgiven," I said happily. And indeed I was happy as Larry because I thought my stay in the darkroom had ended in a blink of an eye but unfortunately, my thoughts were utterly wrong.
"Richard and I are going to Ben's village to meet the kinsmen," Oluchi said, " I'll meet you once we're back".
"But, Aunty won't you release me from here?" I queried her.
"No, this is your home" she exclaimed, " you shall stay here forever".
She quickly bashed out and locked the door.
I was panic-stricken "Isn't she the one who begged for forgiveness?" I asked myself thoughtlessly.
Then, I heard the sound of the car horn as they started their journey.
A few hours later, Ben entered my room and I begged him to bring food for me because my stomach aches.
He stared at me with contempt and left afterward.
Shortly, he brought Egusi soup and Eba.
The meat was filled up in the soup then, and I started eating.
The soup was so sweet in such a way that I licked my fingers.
On the spur of the moment, Ben entered and burst into laughter.
"The food you're eating was cooked with Oluchi's body" he muttered.
My heart started pounding and I felt like puking out some food contents.
Instantly, Ben's countenance went dim. He promised me that I will die slowly and mysteriously.
That he will choke me to death.
"You'll see your death in your very eyes" he roared "Your grandmother put me in this condition, so the sins of the fathers shall be upon their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren".
My heart sank inside my belly.
"The man who raped your mom has been killed," he said, "I went to his house butchered him while he was asleep, and sold his parts to the abattoir at the junction as meat".
I broke out in cold sweat;
"So we often buy the human body as meat in the market?"
FINAL EPISODE
I was completely tongue-tied when Ben said that the prestigious man who raped my mother had been butchered by him and his family.
He said that he invaded his night while he was asleep and wasted them all.
"I sold their body parts to an abattoir as the Junction as cow meat" he exclaimed with bells on.
Then, I wondered;
"So some meat we do buy in the market are human bodies".
My blood ran cold as I was cogitating about that - I knew fully that these things are happening - human bodies are being sold in the market.
Now, while I was cogitating, Ben entered with a boiler. He plugged it into the switch close to me and turn it on.
"This is the beginning of your end" he blurted with his visage full of wrath.
I shook like a leaf when he started approaching me with the boiler.
Fortunately, he reached me and tried to electrocute me with the device he was holding but I brought out my bracelet hastily and placed it on his hands as instructed by my biological mother when I visited the land of the dead.
Before the ink is dry, Ben started shivering. subsequently, he fell to the earth and was still shaking.
I wreathed in smiles as I saw him trembling.
"I have been waiting in the wings for this day" I verbalized "Now, it's here - go back to where you belong.
"My daughter, I love you at first but the sins of your grandmother made me turn against you," Ben said as though that was his last word "Truly, I love you, Mezuo'.
My heart melted seeing his mouth dithering while he was talking - tears dribbled down my cheeks. I was too emotional - I tried to make my stony but all to no avail.
With my very eyes, I saw Ben, the wraith leaving the body of Richard who had dÃed in a ghastly motor accÃdent.
I left the darkroom immediately leaving Richard's dead body in the darkroom.
Luckily, I eluded the darkroom for the first time since Oluchi and her boys locked me inside it.
I stayed in the room for a year without seeing the brightness of the sky, the glow of the moon and the stars, and the gleaming of the sun.
With tears dropping from my eyes, I knelt thanking God endlessly for rescuing me from the hands of the Grim Reaper though, I spoke against and lost my faith and trust in him but He still made a way for me.
Akpan was flummoxed when I came out. He thought I had gone - he didn't know I was stuck in the darkroom for the past twelve months.
A few minutes later, Ben's friend, Benedict the doctor drifted his car to the house.
He said that he came back from the USA yesterday and that he and Ben had been talking on the phone.
I told him everything, that Ben died many months ago. He couldn't stand the pace as he just folded with his mouth wide open.
A few days later, Benedict brought a lawyer and did as Ben had instructed. He was a good man.
Akpan and I lived happily as siblings and I took UTME and was admitted to one of the best universities in our country.
{THE END}.
Epilogue:
This story consists of many plots and twists. Mezuo was the main character, at first, she suffered at the hands of Ojukwu and his wife who bought her from Madam Iron her grandmother.
When Mezuo was in Ojukwu's house, she was abused repeatedly thinking that Ojukwu and Ego were her biological parents but her thoughts were wrong. Ojukwu wanted to marry her off but she took a bold step and ran away to Onitsha where she saw doom itself.
PS: Some of our parents do insult and rain curses on their wards because of things that are supposed to be overlooked. Although Ojukwu and Ego weren't the biological parents of Mezuo, some parents are truly the cause of their children's problems.
What did you learn from this story?
© Mezuo
