Ibe slowly straightened his aching back as he stared vacantly at the three big cassava mounds that he had just finished heaping up on the narrow strip of land that stretched behind his father’s compound. Although he had been weeding and digging since morning, he was surprised that by noon, he had only made three cassava mounds! As he quietly took stock of his surroundings, he noticed that the hot gaze of the blazing sun, penetrated even the darkest corners of this small bush land. While the earth gave out moistured heat that enveloped everything in its warm thickness, the empty cans of milk reflected dazzling points of light, that sliced the eyes like little led-torchlights -the latest wonder from China, which can only be found in Mazi Obani’s house. Ibe was drenched in sweat as he pondered over his struggle to turn the narrow strip of land into a farm land. The farm, which he hoped would save the life of his family, and especially his own.
Long abandoned by Ibe’s father, this small piece of land, adjoining a major road, had suddenly been turned into the general refuse dump, by travellers, who will dump their empty nylons and cans as they enter or depart from the village. Having been forced to drop out of school as a result of the new government policy on payment of school fees, Ibe has made up his mind to cultivate this piece of land, with the hope that he would be able to make some money from the farm produce. Soon, he bent down with his big hoe and continued digging and scooping large heaps of sands, which he piled on top of one another. The speed of his progress was very slow like that of a confused earthworm. This is because of the numerous pieces of discarded nylon bags. From time to time, he would be forced to drop his hoe, get down on his knees and wrestle out old haggard nylon bags that have been buried in the huge piles of sands. At such moments, he would wonder if this loamy dark soil, that is already so corrupted, would yield anything at all.
The soil reminds him of his life. So promising and yet, he is already exposed to the deadly corrupting blows of life. As he struggled with the end of a small leather, that later emerged from the earth as a huge bag, his mind went back to the recent visit that his former school mates had paid him two days ago.
Ruth, Chukwuka and Sampson were his former school mates. They had made it a duty to always visit him each week, since he stopped coming to school. Their last visit was only about ten in the morning of Monday. They always tried to update him with events at school. Initially, Ibe would listen with rapt attention and interest. But as the days turned into months, and the school year was almost coming to an end, he had started losing hope. When they came on Monday they had talked about how prize giving day of their class at the end of the term was dull without him and how they lost to schools in soccer matches because of his absence. Ibe found out that he was not paying much attention to what they were telling him. In fact he would have told them to stop visiting, but for Ruth. He was always happy that Ruth was there. Ruth, is the light complexioned lanky girl that their class teacher, Mr Amos jokingly calls Ibe’s wife because of the way that both of them struggle for the first position in class. Ibe liked her because she was very intelligent. Later, as he saw them off, she had hugged and cried all over him.
Ibe smiled as he remembered this. He was happy that Ruth showed that much concern about him. Just then, his reverie was interrupted by shouts of curses and screams. His body stiffened as he recognised the voices of his ever inactive father and perpetually angry mother.
“Ha ebido kwa! (They have started again!),” he muttered under his breathe as he quickly raised his hoe and hit the earth, as if with a vengeance. Within seconds, the loud “kpom!” “Kpom!” of his massive hoe as it struck the earth completely enveloped him, as it shut out every sound. Once again, Ibe was happily lost in this world of sweat, sand and and the sound of the hoe. Every other sound came to him as if from a faraway distance. But then suddenly, he heard another sound that made him pause his hoe in mid air. It was the loud pitch of a screaming small voice.
“Is that Mma?” he half-whispered to himself, as he quickly dropped his hoe and raced to the house.
Mazi … is a retired railway … His unhappy marriage to Mama Ibe gave him three children, for which he doen’t know whether to be angry with God or the devil. Although he had always treasured family life, but his unfortunate accident, which led to his untimely discharge as a railway staff, has left him in great poverty.
Ibe is the first son, followed by Paul, while Nwamma, whom Ibe fondly calls “Mma” is the only girl and the last child. Although Ibe loved going to school, but recentl, he had been forced to stop going to school because his parents couldn’t afford to pay the new fees that the new government introduced under its educational re-structing program, which Mr Ofor, the village philosopher has described as the government’s policy of “robbing the poor to pay the rich.”
As he rushed towards the house, he saw Nwamma, sitting on the wooden bench outside, crying.
“Mma, what are you doing here?” Ibe shouted in surprise. “You are supposed to be in school.”
Whimpering, Mma answered: “The headmaster flogged me and sent me out of school for not paying my examination fees.”
“What!?” Ibe shouted even louder. “But Papa went to plead with him the other time.”
“This is third term, brother” Mma explained amidst tears. “Papa went during first term.”
“So, why were you screaming just now?” Ibe asked angrily.
“I…I hit my head on the floor, when…
“What!?”
“ …when Papa pushed Mama,”
Ibe stroked her head. “How?”
“Mama fell on me when Papa pushed her.”
“Kedu kwa nu udi nsogbu bu ihe nkea? What kind of trouble is this?” mumbled Ibe angrily as he rushed towards the open door.
The sight of his mother sitting on the floor in front of the entrance door, stopped him. With misty eyes, legs spread, and hands clasped across chest, Mama Ibe was staring vacantly at nothing.
At the sight of her son, she used the loose tip of her wrapper to wipe her face.
“Mama, what is happening?” Ibe asked with an angry undertone.
“Are you asking me?” She retorted. “What is worse than all the humiliation and insults that I get in this village because of your useless father?”
“What happened? Where is Papa?” perplexed.
Nwamma spoke from where she was. “Papa has gone out.”
Ibe shouting at no one in particular. “One day you people will kill this child.”
Suddenly turning round to face his mother, he asked: “Does that mean that Mma will also start staying at home, just like the rest of us?”
Silence. Only the suppressed cries of Mma could be heard in the background. After some time, Mama Ibe heaved a heavy sigh and continued her aimless gaze. Ibe looked at the scene before him dejectedly. Suddenly, he remembered the village loud-mouth Emeka, who had once regaled him with tales about the quick riches that could be got from the building construction sites. The more he thought about Emeka, the more his sagged shoulders straightened. Suddenly, he is filled with hope.
“Yes!” he whispered to himself as he stormed into the room to collect his shirt. The next second he was flying out of the door, like a leaf being pursued by the harmattan wind.
Ibe was the first to arrive at the building construction site on that quiet Thursday morning. It was a day that he would not forget in a hurry in hs life. As he gingerly walked around his site, he was full of bubbling hope. He quickly approached the stacked rows of cement blocks and attempted lifting one of them with one hand. Just like Emeka bragged that he used to do it. But he soon discovered that this was near impossible. So he tried lifting the block with his two hands. But try as much as he did, the 6-inch block remained as calm as a confessor priest. Ibe was surprised. As he braced himself to push against the block, when suddenly a sharp voice shot out.
“Shaa!!”
Ibe froze. He slowly turned abut and saw an middle-aged man with bushy beards, glaring at him.
“You wan spoil the blocks?!” the man asked angrily, striding towards him, while grabbing a huge plank, which he found on the ground.
“No sir, I was …”
“Oh, I see say you wan steal them.” Next second, the bulky man was almost on top of Ibe. Ibe suddenly bunched his fists, ready to defend himself.
“Abi.”shouted the man as he advanced towards Ibe.
“Mbanu!!” shouted Ibe shouted in anger. Suddenly finding his voice.
“I am a new worker. I just..”
The man suddenly stopped.
“Oho, na you be de one Emeka talk say go come today? Why you no say so since, na.” Suddenly dropping the plank and grabbing Ibe’s hands in a warm handshake. The man continued talking as he tried dragging Ibe away from the blocks.
“Boy oh boy, how now?”
Ibe is relieved. But still a big worried about the sudden swing of mood of Mr Bulky as he secretly called the man.
“Dis, na your first time?”
“Yes,” answered Ibe “I was lifting the blocks and…”
“How?” cut in Mr Bulky, as he dragged Ibe back to the blocks and casually dragged a block towards himself before lifting it. Ibe noticed that as the man dragged the block, the little cement holding it to the block below broke away. So, he followed Mr Bulky’s steps and discovered that he could easily lift the blocks. While he was marvelling at this simple discovery, Emeka and other workers at the site arrived with the sad news.
TO BE CONTINUED
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