The Fire Within

Chapter Eighteen

203 Chapter Eighteen t was past midnight when the convoy rumbled into the Batemba suburbs from the direction of Fosamou—the neighbouring town. In the darkness the late-night town shimmered like a lake of light in the valley-bed down below. The passengers gazed with admiration, some for the first time, from the top of the surrounding hills through which the tarmac meanders before leading down precariously into the valley township. Ndomnjie now led the way guided by Yefon, closely followed by the other vehicles, to Pa Anye’s compound on the outskirts of Batemba towards Bachiri, the neighbouring town from the south. But for a brilliant electric bulb in the courtyard, the compound was otherwise in darkness. Ndomnjie, followed by the other pickup and the twenty-ton truck, wound his way into the courtyard with the corpse while the bus emptied its bowels on the edge. Ndomnjie, having stepped out of his truck, was still taking in the entire compound as his eyes moved from building to building when he heard numerous bolts clicking from the different buildings in the compound. Angwi, the first wife, approached the pickup besides which Ndomnjie was leaning, followed by the second and third wives who both appeared at a loss. But when Pa Anye swung open his doors, Angwi stopped dead in her stride and all eyes turned towards him. With faulting steps, since he was busy taking in the strangers in his compound instead of where he placed his legs, and a drooping mouth betraying his surprise if not confusion, he swept his compound with his eyes, from the left where his wives were, through the middle where the group of men and women were with the convoy, to the right where the bus was parked. Ndomnjie and the president of Nda- got approached Pa Anye who after having slowly descended the steps behind his back door was also walking towards them, his eyes not having touched the ground. “Evening Pa,” greeted the president, “or should I say morning since it is already after midnight.” “E-v-,” started Pa Anye before clearing his throat. “Evening!” he greeted finally. I 204 “I’m the president of Nda- got Nju’nki branch,” said Awasom cutting short Pa Anye whose lips had already parted in a bid to ask them to identify themselves. “We are sorry to enter into your compound unannounced, but it is not at all times that a man can tell how he plans to spend his tomorrow. If we had planned this journey ourselves, we would have told you we were on our way. But instead of a marriage proposal, we have come to you in tears.” “Your daughter, we have brought your daughter back to you.” It was Ndomnjie who spoke. “My daughter?” Pa Anye asked in a suppressed voice and looked all the more perplexed. At a loss as to how they could put the message to Pa Anye, Ndomnjie took Pa Anye by the elbow and led him to the back of the pickup truck where Mungeu’s coffin, on which rested a framed picture of her, was. “Oh my child, my child, my child!” lamented Pa Anye as he collapsed screaming, with his hands sliding down the tailboard, which he had gripped in a bid to take a closer look at the picture. “U-wu-wu-wu-wu-wu-wu-wuy!” Pa Anye screamed as he slapped the ground with his palm. “Wey! Wey! Wey!” he wailed. “What have I done wrong to deserve this?” he cried aloud. The president and Ndomnjie held Pa Anye between them, lifted him off the ground, and led him back into his house as the neighbours started trickling in to find out the cause of all the noise at that hour of the night. The women and the children in the compound who had taken turns in identifying the contents of the van standing in the courtyard were already on the ground, rolling about in tears. After a while, Pa Anye, the president and Ndomnjie emerged from the building looking grim but determined. They dished out instructions to the women and the children of the compound and together they went to work arranging the compound to accommodate the crowd that was already gathering. Chairs of different kinds, many more brought in from the neighbouring compounds, were lined round the courtyard, leaving the centre bare. In Pa Anye’s parlour, two benches were positioned and Mungeu’s coffin removed from the...