CHAPTER 2
De Nwachukwu patted the young boy on the head as he dropped the jug of palm wine. "Thank you my son"
"Yes sir, De John would be outside soon"
The young boy hurried inside the house. There was something intimidating about De Nwachukwu. Maybe it was his piercing eyes or the fact that his mouth never turned upwards when he smiled. Especially not this morning when he seemed to be in a bad mood.
De Nwachukwu folded both arms on his cane and tapped his foot impatiently. He was in a state of distress. His village was in a state of distress. Three of their daughters had been abused! Raped mercilessly, beaten and given a dishonourable death. Where the gods asleep? Who could be behind such devlish acts?
De Nwachukwu sighed and shook his head in dismay. Too many questions had been plaguing him this past month but no answer was forthcoming. Now three families had been thrown into grief and the worst thing was he feared for more families, he feared for the young daughters of Amaife. He feared for his two daughters- De john moved the curtain aside and stepped out.
He was a very tall man and he and his friend De Nwachukwu always cut a contrasting picture as one was tall and the other short. De john had his pipe in his mouth. This was his trademark look, he had on a singlet and a wrapper tied round his waist. He sat down on the bench across his friend. He also looked gloomy.
"De, I won't greet you good morning because there's nothing good about this morning"
"I agree" De Nwachukwu nodded, finally picking up the jug of palm wine and pouring the contents into a cup.
"What I'm wondering is where PÃ Kenneth is" De john commented, puffing on his tobacco pipe.
"He told me he had a meeting with Bartholomew"
De John scoffed "the pastor? What is he doing running after churches now?"
De Nwachukwu sipped from his cup "apparently a crusade is coming from another state and the pastor plans to host them"
"Is that what we need right now?" De john asked in disgust
"Well it appears the gods have forgotten us, so maybe that's what we need" De Nwachukwu replied, his voice rising a bit.
"We need to call a meeting. Our women are getting scared"
"I can't argue with that, very soon they would all lock themselves indoors" Dé john agreed helping himself to the jug.
"Maybe that's the best thing" De Nwachukwu said. Frankly, he was getting worried for his daughters
Especially Amarachi, she was widely regarded as the gem of the village and now more than ever her father was worried for her safety. The three girls that had been murdered had things in common: they were beautiful, they were in their early 20s....
"We need a concrete solution my friend" Dé john brought him back to the present
"yes I agree...we need to rally our youths"
The team of youth leaders consisted of 5 people. The head was Osi who was the youth pastor, his right hand man was an extremely thin man known as Gregory, he was the assistant pastor of the youth church and Osi's close friend. Then there was Bukky, she was the official secretary and had the responsibility of editing the monthly editions of the church's "on fire" magazine. The last was Ovie a.k.a Biggie. Ovie was the treasurer in charge of managing and recording the finances and expenses of the youth church. If Gregory was slim, then Ovie was the complete opposite. He was outspoken and lively and Osi personally thought he was fun to be with.
That Sunday, Osi had announced that they had an emergency meeting after the service and so they waited.
"Please I don't have to remind you of the contributions we talked about" Bukky announced settling down into a chair.
She lowered her voice, looking pointedly at Ovie "concerning Osi's birthday"
"I didn't forget" he shrugged
"Lemme sha remind you guys"
"What is this meeting for anyway?" Gregory asked, he was seated on the edge of the desk. There were only three chairs in Osi's office after all and Ovie was tucked comfortably in two while Bukky sat across the table in Osi's chair. Osi himself was nowhere to he found.
"I wouldn't be surprised if somebody didn't call this meeting to remind the rest of us about a certain contribution for a particular birthday present" Ovie jabbed his thumb at Bukky when he said "somebody"
Gregory chuckled and Bukky rolled her eyes. Before she could speak, the door opened and Osi stepped inside
"You're all here.....good"
He entered the office and shut the door gently.
"What's going on?" Ovie asked immediately.
Osi glanced at him. He paced round the small office "we're going to spearhead the uplifting crusade"
"Are you serious?" Gregory asked sitting up
"What do you mean we?" Ovie asked
Osi stopped pacing and looked at his friends "yes Greg...I'm very serious and Ovie I mean we...as in the four of us"
"Just us?" Bukky asked
"Well, the deacon is going too...I've been in a meeting with him and the Reverend all afternoon. We leave for Amaife tomorrow"
"Amaife! I've never heard of it before!" Ovie exclaimed
"Yesterday was my first time too, Ovie I need a statement of our purse contents immediately...there's so much to do"
"But tomorrow....why weren't we told sooner, to have adequate time to prepare?" Bukky asked, getting up to offer the chair to Osi.
He remained standing. Truth be told, his mind was far away. The deacon had thrown some not so subtle shares at him during the meeting and Osi could easily tell that the deacon was rooting for him to mess up and for the crusade to be a failure. For the first time he began feeling the weight of the responsibility. But he was determined to strive under pressure not cave under it. "Don't forget we are not here to serve men...we have a lot to do...Gregory you have calls to make, we need visiting ministers for the duration of one week, Bukky the fliers and tracks and paperwork..its so many...Ovie let's know how much we need!"
They all got to work. They were a team, a unit and division of labour was essential for success.
Okudili was a beast of a man. That is if a beast could be 5 foot 7 inches then Okudili was one. His lack of length was made up for with excess width. He had a barrel of a chest, strong thick arms and his low center of gravity ensured he was one of the most successful wrestlers in Amaife.
He was also well loathed and well respected although the respect was more as a result of fear and not a deep feeling of regard.
Okudili was simply referred to as the "village drunkard" he was known to spend all day chasing skirts from dusk to dawn.
He could always be found in the market square. When asked why he spent all day sitting under the giant oak tree in the market, he had famously replied: "if someone wants good eggs, one has to go to the poultry"
Same thing could be said about the market square. The thing was, in Amaife almost everything sold in the market was farmed and grown, every family had a piece of land where cassava, maize, groundnut, vegetables and even rice was harvested and the daughters sold the processed goods in the market square. The market day was held every four days but Okudili had a permanent spot under a giant tree in the center of the market. He could be found there every minute of the day where he frequently ogled the daughters of Amaife.
"Elizabeth, how are you!"
He shouted at a young girl who carried a tray of vegetables on her head. She ignored him but quickened her steps when she passed the tree.
Okudili drank from his bottle(which contained unspeakable mixtures)
He watched the swaying of the young girls hips and licked his lips "the young has grown...see little Elizabeth o"
He watched her lustfully for some seconds but then he frowned. His eyes had come across Stevenson Gadot.
Okudili hated the man with all his being.
Stevenson was loved by everybody. Every girl and yes every woman in Amaife secretly or openly had a crush on him.
Okudili snickered "All because of his useless white skin"
Stevenson was white. He was an European, some kind of history college professor who had taken a special interest in African culture. He was single and so had quit his job easily and travelled to another continent, in search of adventure and knowledge.
He had landed in Amaife a year ago and had visited all neighbouring villages but had chosen Amaife to settle down and write a book.
Stevenson was from Ukraine, he was 5'11 in his early forties and quite a handsome man.
But he was loved by all the villagers because of his humility, respectful and caring attitude.
As Okudili watched on, Stevenson helped an elderly woman load firewood inside a truck.
"Thank you nna'" the woman said happily
"No problem, you shouldn't be doing any heavy lifting"
"Useless white man" Okudili scoffed from his tree.
"Hey O.k, what are you drinking today? Let's share a drink" Stevenson stopped by the tree as he usually did every time. He always referred to Okudili as O.k, and Okudili didn't appreciate it one bit.
"This drink is for real men! Your type should drink ribena and leave this for men" Okudili replied him rudely. The only thing that had kept him from beating the man to a pulp was because he knew he would be in trouble with the community.
"Ah..I'd bring by a bottle of scotch later, you'd enjoy it" Stevenson said, apparently oblivious to the hatred being spewed his way.
Amarachi and her friend: Oluchi walked round the market. They were browsing through for ingredients to make bitter leaf soup which was Paul's (Oluchi's brother) favourite.
"So he's coming tomorrow not today?" Amarachi asked her friend as they approached a woman selling stockfish.
"Yes, he had something to take care of last minute but he would be here by morning"
"Okay o"
"I know you can't wait to see him. Mama otu tu oma...ego lé"(good morning...how much)
Amarachi just smiled as she watched the exchange between her friend and the woman.
Her friend was bent on playing matchmaker and fixing her up with her brother. Well she loved Amarachi like a sister and even got along with her better than her own sister but she was going to disappoint her on this issue.
She wasn't ready for any relationship.
"Let's go...this her price is too high for me" Oluchi said taking her hand and turning away from the stall.
"The best time to buy things is during the market day, things are much cheaper then" Amara observed
"Oh my God...look at Steven" Oluchi gasped suddenly.
Amarachi turned and saw the European under the tree talking to the village nuisance.
"What could they possibly be talking about?"
"God..he's so fine, I...." Oluchi sighed dreamily.
Amarachi shook her head. "You need to get over this your crush Haba!"
"Its not just a crush..I think...I think I love him"
Amara had no reply to that.
She could see both men were looking their way. Okudili was looking at her the way he always did that made her feel uneasy.
"Amara! I'd like to see your father" Stevenson called out as they got closer "Oluchi how are you today"
Amara could feel the excited vibration emanating from her friend.
"De Nwachukwu is out, he and Dé John left early today" she replied politely.
"No problem, I'd check back later" he waved cheerfully at them before turning.
The two girls continued with their shopping "I don't like how Okudili always looks at me" Amara commented
"Is it today it started?" Oluchi asked her playfully.
She then proceeded to fill her ears with how she and Steven could double date with Amara and Paul and how it would be a match made in heaven.
Amara was silent, she hadn't met anyone who woke any kind of feelings in her but the funny thing was she felt that was about to change.
She made up her mind to be open minded and free when meeting her friend's brother Paul the next day.
Deacon Oforbuike chose the seat next to the driver. He saw himself as the leader of the group and as far as he was concerned he was in charge of the crusade.
Osi didn't mind the deacon sitting in the front one bit, he actually had a lot of things to discuss and go over with his colleagues.
He was dressed casually in a blue jean and a black sweatshirt. Gregory had on a blue striped shirt tucked into black pants and Ovie had on his xxl polo shirt and his elastic brown trouser.
Bukky had worn the magazine's polo shirt.( a cream top with the church name: new life ministry' in the front and the words: "on fire for Christ" customized on the back)
The deacon had dressed formally in a 3 piece suit.
Osi didn't think it was a wise choice especially with the sun already out by 9 am. The bus was cool however with the air condition on full blast.
The bus belonged to the church and the church's official driver was behind the wheel.
"I'm still going to remind you all that we should pray and commit the journey and the crusade into God's hands abi?" The deacon asked from the front.
Osi stopped going through the fliers Bukky had printed "you're right...please lead us in prayer deacon"
The deacon mumbled something that was definitely unflattering under his breath.
"Everybody close your eyes"
"Driver not you o" Ovie spoke up drawing a chuckle from Bukky.
The deacon shook his head. These were the so called leaders of the youth church?
Where was the church heading to for God's sake?
The park was a walkable distance from the house and so Amara and Oluchi set out late in the morning to welcome Paul who was coming from Lagos.
Oluchi had pounded yam while Amara had made the bitter leaf soup. Oluchi's mother had smiled feeling very happy. She already thought of Amara as her daughter in law and she couldn't wait to see her son. She saw him last almost three years ago.
"Are you sure his bus would have arrived?" Amara asked as they approached the park "we can't afford to miss the meeting"
Early that morning the town crier had gone round announcing that there was to be a general meeting at the market square and every family was meant to be represented. Her father had also echoed it when Oluchi arrived and they had prepared to leave.
"Don't forget to be at the market square before 1 o'clock, the meeting is very important"
"Yes papa"
"Yes De"
"And don't forget to move in twos or in a group...never walk alone!"
They arrived at the bus park few minutes before 12. As usual the park was rowdy, a lot of people were arriving at Amaife in preparation for the age grade ceremony which was to hold in a fortnight and so bags and different kinds of loads could be seen in every direction. Some carried by young men in carts as they transferred the bags either to or from buses for a little amount of cash.
"I can't see the bus yet" Amarachi said shielding her eyes from the sun with her hand as she scanned the park.
"This park is too big, lemme try and call him but network is not really strong sef"
Oluchi said checking her phone.
Amara moved in between buses leaving her friend behind to look for network. She couldn't really remember what her friend's brother looked like but she knew she would recognise him if she did spot him.
A luxurious bus caught her attention. The bus was different from the other transport vehicles. It was clean, looked brand new and didn't have any sticker or inscription bearing the name of any transport organization.
She moved towards the bus more out of curiosity and as she got closer, the front door opened. An angry looking man dressed smartly In a suit stepped out and stretched. He wore a big frown and seemed displeased about something.
"He's probably frying inside his coat under this hot sun" Amara thought to herself as she watched the back door open and a lady come out to stretch also.
As she wondered who these strangers were, the tallest man she had ever seen alighted from the bus next. He shook his long legs, kicking the air and was rewarded with a cracking sound.
Amara stared at him, at first marveled at his height but then she looked at his face and something happened. She couldn't look away. She stood transfixed looking at the tall slim handsome stranger.
Osi had suggested they stop at the bus park first before heading to the church to see pastor Batholomew. Bukky was pressed and so was Ovie. His own legs had been killing him after staying in a sitting position for so long and he could tell the deacon needed to stretch too because he offered no resistance when Osi had suggested it.
As he stretched his legs and felt blood begin to circulate, he looked up and saw Amara looking at him.
For a second Osi's heart skipped a beat and his breath seized. The wind was knocked out of him as he looked at Amara. She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen and he just couldn't take his eyes off her.
"Pastor are you okay?" Ovie put a hand on his shoulder when he came out of the bus. The rest had gone to locate the toilet to relieve themselves leaving just Osi, Ovie and the driver with the bus.
Ovie placed emphasis on the 'pastor' dragging Osi's eyes briefly to him. He smiled mischievously.
When Osi looked back, the girl was gone.
Amara found Oluchi talking to Paul excitedly outside a shop were he had gone to buy water.
"There she is!" Oluchi said as she approached them.
"My God, its been so long, you've really grown into a beautiful angel just like I predicted" Paul said with a deep voice.
Amara held out her hand a bit absent minded. Paul took her hand then drew her and enveloped her in a bear hug.
He was dressed in a black leather jacket, blue jeans and brown boots. His hair was cut stylishly and his beard was shaped, running along his jaw. He looked good.
Finally he released her and smiled.
"We have a lot of catching up to do. I know you'll like the gift I got for you"
"Ehen...so you didn't get me anything abi? Its only your wife" Oluchi chipped in
Paul was pleased Amara didn't playfully but firmly object(as she was known to do) when Oluchi called her his wife. God bless his sister.
"Sister you know your big brother now...I got something for everybody.
Amara hardly heard a word that was being said. Her mind kept on drifting to the bus and to the tall man who had gotten down from it.
Strangely she found herself wishing that they (he) were(was) not passing by but had come to stay.
"I've missed you so much dear" Paul was saying as he took her hand.
The devil got ready for the meeting, he stood in front of the mirror for some seconds whistling as he buttoned his shirt. A part of him was thrilled that he was the cause of the emergency meeting but another part was getting frustrated. He was a serial rapist and a serial killer but lately he was getting hungrier for more. Less than 48 hours he had Chisom in his secret location, underneath him as he pounded her roughly and disvirgined her in the process before the sight of blood drove him to an excited frenzy and he lost control and pummeled her to death with blows and a small turning stick. He loved drawing blood. The smell and the sight gave him a lust for violence.
The devil was crazy
The devil was a sociopath
The devil was a crazy sociopath
And he wanted Amara.
He shut his eyes as he pictured her face again, stroking himself to an erection.
Amara... Sweet Amara...
he foundation of life church Amaife had recorded an increase in members over the past few months with a significant increase within the last few weeks. As a matter of fact, plans were being made to move to a bigger location (especially if it was one in the other end of the village and away from the stream)
Pastor Bartholomew had started the church few years ago in a small shop. The pastor who had been relatively young at the time converted his shop and started a six man church service every Sunday. At least six was the maximum amount of people who could sit in the small shop and still breathe easily.
With time, there were more chairs outside the door and window every Sundays. Before long, the wall of the next door shop had come down and the church had been extended. With shrewd planning and careful arrangement the extended church could contain 15 people.
The chairs increased once more, and the third wall came down. The church expanded to a 30 man church.
Before long the church had bought off the remaining shops in the complex, renovations had taken place and the church had grown and was still growing.
When the bus parked in front of the foundation of life ministries, Osi was beginning to feel the first signs of hunger.
He got down chasing thoughts of food and the young lady out of his mind.
Deacon Oforbuike remained in the bus studying the church. He didn't come down when Osi and the rest did.
"So he's going to remain in the bus now" Gregory said under his breath.
Osi ignored him as he observed the church. He was quite impressed but at the moment he was searching for any sign of life. The place looked deserted.
"That might be a good idea, I'd rather go in and check for the pastor alone..you all wait in the bus"
"I prefer the open breeze..inside the bus is too stuffy if you know what I mean" Ovie said slyly.
Osi knew what he meant perfectly, he also knew he had to caution his team.
"Look..during the course of this crusade it is very important we keep our mind and thoughts right..and our attitude too" he looked towards the bus where the deacon sat with arms folded "don't let anybody push you, because when that happens, you could be easily pushed to sin"
With that he strode towards the church.
He hadn't taken more than two steps when the door opened and the deacon got down. He hurried to cover the ground Osi's long legs had eaten.
He followed Osi silently and Osi smiled because the Deacon had such a petty psychology that he needed to be in the front always(as the leader) however his short legs were no match for Osi's and save for breaking out in a run, his fastest walk could only draw him level with the young pastor.
A young man rushed out before they got to the entrance.
"Good afternoon. You must be pastor Osi" he said to the Deacon. He was certainly dressed like one.
"no..I'm the pastor" Osi spoke up when the deacon remained quiet.
"Oh....sorry about that, pastor Bartholomew told me you would be coming in today.
I'm to set you up in his house-"
"Where is he? Is he not around?" The Deacon interrupted.
"Actually....he had to go to the village square for a meeting but he'd be back"
The three wise men as they were called kicked of the meeting at exactly 10 minutes past 1.
Pa Kenneth who was the oldest man in the village invited pastor Bartholomew to start with the opening prayer
After the prayer De Nwachukwu addressed the crowd. "My people, people of Amaife over the past four weeks there have been unrest among us..among our daughters. We all know that three of our families have been thrown into grief concerning the loss of our daughters"
He paused, looking at the crowd. De Nwachukwu was an orator and he knew how to use his words to good effect.
"We are gathered here because we can not afford to lose any more of our daughters"
In the crowd the villagers all listened to their leaders. All was silent and the only voice to be heard was De Nwachukwu's powerful voice.
Okudili sat at the back where he could keep an eye on Amara. He had been on the lookout and had even come to the square early with the hope of seeing them. But they had arrived late, just minutes before the opening prayer. Okudili paid zero attention to tye words coming from De’ Nwachukwu. He was more interested in the daughter. He frowned as he saw the young man in the leather jacket lean in to whisper something in her ear.
De Nwachukwu: I need to appeal to everyone of us, we can not allow one demon to come and ruin our happiness and our peace as a community
This is the time to stand together, be on the lookout, 0ur youths and young men especially, we boast of some of the best wrestlers in the neighbouring billages. We need to task ourselves with protecting our women, we need to fluch out this person and we need to be united to do so, the worst thing is he is one of us, he might even be sitting here listening to me.
He let that hang in the air as he took his seat.
Pa Kenneth who was still agile for a man in his eighties stood up to address the villagers. "As we speak, visitors from another state arrived in our community few hours ago. They would be hosted by our very own Bartholomew and I understand you will come in contact with most of them over the course of the week. I want to implore you to receive them peacefully, people of Amaife have always been known for their hospitality, let us not let that change"
"Our daughters are landing in the mortuary without passing through the hospital and you want us to be hospitable?" Someone shouted from the crowd and immediately there was a chorus as the villagers broke into murmuring and side talks.
Pa Kenneth tried to calm the crowd, My brothers and sisters, we need to play our part, if you can expose this monster through diabolical means please, please and please do that but let us not refuse our brothers who serve pastor Bartholomew God the chance to do so
His attempt at silencing the crowd backfired as their voice increased. The recent killings had gotten under the skin of everyone. They had all looked to their leaders for a solution and had come to this meeting with renewed hope thinking:
"our leaders would tell us what to do". They were not pleased with what they were hearing so far: Unity? to be Watchful? No way! the voices increased as they grew more unsettled.
De john stood up in a desperate attempt to calm the villagers. Raising both hands he called for decorum, but alas the uniform voice of protest grew louder.
A figure emerged from the crowd. He walked briskly to the front and conferred with the leaders. Pa Kenneth nodded and gestured to the crowd with his hand as if to say "they're all yours"
A funny thing happened, The moment the man opened his mouth to speak, the crowd fell quiet. It was Stevenson.
"People of Amaife, you all accepted me in your midst and I'm grateful for that. I've learnt so much from you all, I've been able to get priceless material for my book, but not only that you've taught me values that were alien to me in my country"
He began to pace "It's so unfortunate what has been happening the past couple of weeks, but I assure you all whoever he is, he would be caught, your leaders are doing their possible best and its up to us to do ours, our firls and women please never you walk alone. If you're going to the farm, go with your brother, if you're going to the stream don't go alone, take someone with you. With time whoever is doing all this would slip up out of frustration and we'd catch him" he paused, stopped pacing and looked at the crowd till his eyes met hers "As you people would say, 99 days for the thief, but one day for the owner"
"So we should allow 99% of our daughters to be killed first abi?" the voice from the crowd fired again
"Don't mind the idiot!" Okudili added, his voice dripping with ,much contempt.
The crowd started shouting again.
"Did you see the way Steve looked at me?" Oluchi asked Amara after the meeting as they walked home.
"Yes Oluchi, I saw it" Amara replied. Although for a minute she had thought the European had looked at her.
Paul who had stayed behind to greet and catch up with his old friends caught up with them.
"Amara, I'd like to come over and say hello to your father" he said as he tried to hold her hand.
Amara didn't need a soothsayer to know what Was coming next. She had to talk with Oluchi, she couldn't afford to lose their friendship and at the same time she couldn't be dragged into any relationship. All of a sudden she needed to be alone. She needed to think.
"You know what? I need to check on my sister Joy and need to prepare food for my father. I know he would be very tired"
"That reminds me, I heard about your mother passing away, I'm so sorry†Paul gave himself a mental kick for not remembering earlier.
"Its alright, Oluchi we'll see later"
"You shouln't go alone"
"I'd bbe fine, I'm sure I'd see Joy on the way"
"What's wrong with her?" Paul asked his sister as they watched her walk away.
"She's upset"
"About what?"
Oluchi had no reply to that she just shrugged.
To be continued......
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