Bride Of The Tree God (I)

Atiti walked quietly in the wee hours of the morning, the cricket kept chirping and twiddling, as her soft palms crushed the leaves that had fallen from the trees to the ground. The ground was wet, it had rained the previous night, her palms felt frozen like she had slept under the cold icy rainwater. She could barely see her hand in front of her, but the chief priest had instructed her not to bring with her a lamp or torchlight to illuminate her way, that Ewara would lead her to its shrine.She tied a white piece of wrapper around her chest, it stretched down to her ankles, and wrapped her head in a white scarf. the path to the shrine was smooth like a shaved scalp of a man, slippery like Ogbonor soup was smeared on the road. Atiti shivered as she made her way towards Okuma stream, where the five hundred years old Iroko tree that housed Ewara was. It got colder as she drew near the Okuma stream, she could hear the bubbling sounds from the water tumbling downstream over the rocks that sat in its way, she shivered in terror as the gentle breeze blew the tree and they danced from side to side like the Ekasa dance troupe, the wind whistled as though it had lips. She stepped into the water it swallowed her up to her waist , before she began to rise from the water at the other bank were the Iroko tree stood , it was different from all the trees even in the dark , it stood over a hundred feet tall , with the terrifying circumference of about twenty feet wide , the roots stretched out of the soul almost ten feet before they buried themselves in the soft black soil .A white wrapper was tied around the tree, Kola nuts and bottles of Dry gin littered the base of the tree. Atiti knelt before the shrine, with her Calabash stretched before her."Ewara! Ewara! Ewara! I'm your child! God of my ancestors! the God who protects Iguoma! the god who gives fertility to the soil! the god who gives children to the barren, I'm your child! For ten good years I've been married to Asoro, my lord I'm a shame to my father's house, my lord I cannot talk amongst my fellow women, they call me unfruitful, a wombless man woman, my co wives mock me, those who came after me now lead my home Ewara ." She paused, with her shoulders she wiped the tears on her face."Ewara I've come here this evening with this sacrifice of Kola Nuts and Schnapp from my hand. Ewara I don't care if she's a woman, or she's a man, just clean my tears, take away the scourge of barrenness from me, make me a mother I beg you, my god." She dropped the Calabash and broke into a deep cry, she sobbed until her ribs began to hurt."Atiti Ewara has answered your prayer." Atiti heard the thick voice of the chief priest , she and her mother had gone to see him in his shrine in the village , he gave her the instruction of how to appease Ewara , she was a bit startled , she knew the stream side shrine was empty when she got there , she immediately remembered the rumour , that the chief priest could teleport anywhere he wanted in the world . " This morning as you go back home, get your husband to make love to you, so he can fertilise the seed he has put in you." He said, Atiti face was still covered in the pile of rotten Kola nuts she was lying on, she couldn't raise her head to see the chief priest."Thank you, my lord, I'll do as you said my lord." Atiti said crying. "Atiti remember your promise to Ewara , it's a debt you must pay. Every first Okuo market day of every year, you must bring a black he goat, twelve pieces of Kola Nuts, a bottle of schnapps to the Iroko tree." the chief priest said in a cracky old masculine voice. "I will my lord I'll will.''Atiti said."And when your first child is born, she must serve Ewara , she must become the priestess of the gods, this is, most important." He said, the wind blew so fast the trees danced from side to side. "I'll Ewara I'll ." Atiti said, the chief priest had disappeared the way he appeared. Atiti raised her head when she heard no sound , she got up excitedly, she ran across the water , loud plopping sound filled the early morning , the sun had begun to rise from the east , she kept running towards the village, she didn't want any of the ladies who were coming to fetch water to see her , where she got to the bush where she had dropped her clothes and shoes , she loosen the wrapper and changed into a gown , a brown flowery gown , she wore her black rubber slippers and began to rush to the village.She was excited like a teenager eager to meet her groom, she wrapped the wrapper into a black nylon bag, and hid it under her bed. She changed into her night gown, and went to Doris's door to knock, she couldn't blame her husband, she had no fruit to show for his over ten years of labour , she had lost all sexual starvation, she didn't bother whenever he didn't come to her room. He had married Atiti a virgin, when she was barely out of her teenage years, month after month they waited for sign of pregnancy, she would conceive, and the yam never grew.The knock was continuous, Doris tried to ignore it, it was around six A.M in the morning, she wondered why Atiti was knocking on her door. Her arms were wrapped around her husband, her palm resting on his Iroko that was pushing to stand at attention. She cursed under her breath as she walked to the door, she opened the locks and stared at Atiti , with an angry frown on her face."Ehn henn ? what do you want here?" She said spitting venoms like a Cobra at Atiti. "Please Doris I want to see our husband." Doris said pleadingly, Doris shook her head in disgust . "So what you want to tell him cannot wait ? this is my turn with our Husband." She said staring down at the almost revealing nightgown Atiti was wearing."Please Doris I don't want trouble this morning, he's our husband, he owes me attention too, you're talking of your turn when last did our Husband enter my room?" Atiti asked Doris, who hissed. "Is that my fault ? am I the one who ate your womb? why would he waste his energy on a wombless woman like you?" She said and tried to close the door, Atiti wrestled the door with her, it made a loud tweaking, Atiti forced her way into the room, Doris grabbed her arms and began to struggle with her.Asoro suddenly woke up, to his ensuing standoff between his wives. "Atiti and Doris what has come over you two? it's not yet seven A.M you have started fighting ?" He said with a quiet low voice . "What is it ?" he said to Atiti."Our Husband you know I don't struggle with my co wives for attention, I was the first wife, my husband when last did you lie down with me on my bed? when last did you touch me like a man touches his woman? My body yearns for you, I want you in me to keep me warm, it's been more than three months you came to my room, I have a burning desire, if you don't lie with me, I will die of starvation." She said with no iota of shame, a woman with a cut on her private part couldn't hide it from her doctor.Asoro chuckled, it infuriated Doris , her nose rose up to the sky , her brows furrowed with anger and hatred . "My husband today is my turn , why didn't she come yesterday when you were with Angela? it cannot be on my turn that she would come and take my morning time ." Doris quarrelled."Doris I've been coming to your room more than the others since you put to bed, I've been coming to your room every day. Don't be angry my junior wife, Atiti also has a right to my body, I've to go and give it to her now." Asoro said, if an angry face could make the sky fall, Doris's angry look would have burnt the sky.Atiti grabbed her husband's arms and led him out of the room, they walked through the well-lit corridor to her room at the far side of the bungalow, she shut the door behind them. Asoro saw the passion in the eyes of his wife, he almost laughed out loud . Atiti had lost all hunger for sex, when her sixth pregnancy refused to stay, he couldn't help it and got married to two young wives that gave him five children already. She shoved him to the bed and began to kiss his lips with passion that he had never seen, he pulled off the nightgown, the soft sound of her moaning made Doris cringed, she stood outside the door listening to Atiti swimming in the sweetness of her husband's touch, she hissed and went out of the house, to start her morning duty. Atiti and Asoro remained in bed till about ten A.M when Angela came in with her husband's breakfast, a tray pans containing cocoa tea and brown bread and fried egg. "My husband your breakfast is ready." She said, he grumpily rose from the bed, the Bedsheet fell from his body, Angella turned her face away and left the room, Atiti remained in bed snoring like a little rabbit, that was stressed out from labouring all night. Asoro took his bath and changed into his pajamas, then returned to Atiti's room, he gently prodded her from sleep with his fingertips. "Atiti wake up come and eat with me ."He said, Atiti rolled in the bed , and mumbled incoherent words before going back to sleep. He ate his gently and left a plate full of food for Atiti before going to the sitting room to watch the morning news on NTA, he sat with a newspaper on his lap, a bottle of gin rested by his side. The kids were not letting him rest, their constant bickering made Asoro yearn for a little peace and quiet, he only had Saturday and Sunday to rest, but it was impossible, the children he had desired for would not let him have a moment of it. Atiti woke up very sick and tired, she was feeling so feverish, Asoro wondered why she had not come out of her room at about three P.M that Saturday, she normally kept to herself since her husband brought in his new wives, but she would come outside to her kitchen. Asoro excused himself from his friends who were arguing politics over the draft game they were playing he walked into Atiti's room.