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NEW LIFE - Chapter Seventy-seven
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2024-10-29 19:42:56James Streamer stared at the beautiful landscape, a mile away from him. His wispy blonde hair protruded from his brown trilby and covered some parts of his thick brownish eyes that were stretching to catch a glimpse at the beautiful terrain of Umuise. The year was 1873, more than a decade before the partition of Africa in a Berlin conference between 15 November 1884 – 26 February 1885. The meeting that saw the dark continent shredded into pieces and given to fellow European brothers.
James blew his blonde hair with the air from his lungs, almost in a whistle and it retreated immediately. Holding his luggage firmly with a tight grip, he reassured himself that his journey had finally come to an end.
The wooden luggage he held was a gift his father had given him in England. The luggage had an inscription that was carved with an old rusted nail to form a name written in bold letters: JESUS CHRIST.
The most exasperating conditions James had to endure sinc
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Shading Black NEW LIFE - Chapter Seventy-eight
Osinala had been a damaged man since the death of his grand-daughter. For a year, he ate little, avoided performing his morning duties and secluded himself from the council of elders. He was totally broken.At first, everyone thought he was mourning Adaugo like the rest of his household but when he started acting crazy, scratching his head and pointing towards the sky with his lips pressed, they concluded he was mad or something close to insanity.Taking the advice of a diviner they consulted, the first action his family took was to confine him in a special hut in the village that had only one small window. The diviner told them that the absence of light was the only method he knew for curing people who were suffering the same fate that Osinala suffered.The therapy worked as the diviner had predicted and he was released from the hut. When he returned to his compound, he stopped scratching his head or pointing towards the sky instead he became more reserved. He
Shading Black NEW LIFE - Chapter Seventy-nine
It was a small room, totally bare of any divination materials. The dreary light of the tired sun outside which filtered through the thatched roof, was totally absorbed by the muddy walls. Persistently, the vanguard horde of ants had invaded the small room, packing food in small quantities as they marched in a single file. Strangely, it was not the sound of the insects that bothered him the most but the nature of the silence that had engulfed his life.Quietly, he struck one of the ants but the full force of his palm hit an empty calabash, making him wince and curse under his breath. The ants separated from the column and dashed away, following different directions. He drew his weak body up, resting his back against the wall and stretched out his legs on the cold floor.He was covered with a weather-beaten wrapper and a rumpled shirt he had gotten from a native of Umudike who went to the mission station once in a while for help and supplies. As he stared at the shirt, h
Shading Black NEW LIFE - Chapter Eighty
An unusual silence filled Okoli's compound since the death of his brother, Ezeugo. The goats no longer bleated and the cocks no longer crowed. It was as if all the animals in his compound had adjusted and flowed with the silence."Ifeme!" Okwudili called, moving forward for a hug. He had come with the intention of discussing something important with Okoli."Good afternoon," Ifeme greeted, he pressed his body with Okwudili's own. They hugged. "How are you doing uncle?""I am okay and you?'"I am okay too. You look so old. Have you been losing weight?" Ifeme asked.Okwudili laughed. "No I haven't. Where is your father?""He went to the farm. He is harvesting cassava.""When will he back?""He didn't tell me.""I guess I will have to wait for him to come back from the farm.""Alright! Is there anything you want me to get for you?" Ifeme asked."I will drink water when I see the face of my brother."Okwu
Shading Black NEW LIFE - Chapter Eighty-one
Ibekwe dropped the pot of water in the backyard of Akwaudo's hut. Ifeme was behind him, staring at a roosting chick that had been born some minutes ago. He was pouring the water he had fetched from the stream on a large clay pot when he heard Akwaudo's scream. Mistakenly, he released his hands from the pot and it fell and smashed into pieces as it hit the ground. He entered the hut, passed the room he shared with Ifeme and stopped dead when he reached Akwaudo's room. He saw Okoli sitting on the floor and holding her firmly on her shoulders. There was blood in the floor."Your mother is not well," Okoli said. He bent Akwaudo's wrist for Ibekwe to see. She was helpless and stiff as if she had lost her sense of movements. "Go and get Ifeme quickly and bring a piece of cloth you will use to get rid of the blood on the floor."Ibekwe did not move. He stared at the thick blood that was flowing from Akwaudo's face. Her face was swollen, larger than normal and her eyes were cl
Shading Black NEW LIFE - Chapter Eighty-two
"The Igbo natives acted as I had thought. Opposite to most of the books written about them," James said. He was reading a small book with a pair of spectacle he had brought from England."The people welcomed us with joy," Paul Okeke replied. He lifted a ceramic jar composed of hot tea and sour milk. He poured the liquid in a cup, placed it on a saucer and passed it to James."God bless your soul," James said."God bless yours too," Paul Okeke replied.James laughed. "God bless all of us."Paul Okeke's compound in Afam was made up of one hut like most compounds in Afam but his hut was abnormally large. It was the only hut in Afam that had three rooms inside of it. He kept one room to himself, another to his surviving wife and the last to his children.Fortunately, before James arrival, he had instructed his wife to leave her room and move to the children's room in order to create a special privacy for James. It was his way of making sur
Shading Black NEW LIFE - Chapter Eighty-three
Something was not right and she knew it as she heard her male child cry for the second time in a day. Osisiakalaka had failed her. His concoction didn't work. She tried hard to dissuade herself from believing she had been used and trampled by the great diviner who the people had adorned, worshipped and respected without thinking twice about the consequences of her foolish actions.Chinelo stood outside her hut, seeing her cheerful male child, moving inside her hut, crawling as if he was demanding for the liquid inside her body. Her breast milk. The price she had to pay to get rid of the baby when it was just a life inside her was huge but she paid it because she didn't want the whole village to start raising their heads and gossiping about her. She had heard rumors of how widows were abused when people discovered that they were with child and she didn't want such fate to befall her. To be punished by banishment or by public disgrace before death was not something she wanted i
Shading Black NEW LIFE - Chapter Eighty-four
James Streamer could not explain how Osinala had manage to convince the men and women of Umuise to allow him live in their midst. His mission was clear and Osinala had told them as they waited for his arrival. He came with a foreign god. At first, it sounded funny when Osinala gathered the people of Umuise in the village square in the night and told them that a white man had come to rescue them from the darkness that they dwelt in. A few protests and murmurs was sure to arise and it did but respect for age and consideration of it as a physical representation of wisdom gave Osinala the audience he needed to listen to what he had to say and the next day, they were all standing in the village square to see the white man that turned Osinala's head upside down."Osinala seeks your presence," Paul Okeke said. "He wants you to come and sit next to him.""I will soon be with him."James moved forward, passing the wary eyes of the villagers and he sat down next to Osinal
Shading Black NEW LIFE - Chapter Eighty-five
bekwe was part of the few villagers who had been impacted by James speech in the village square and he felt a keenness to talk to the white man, to know more about the Jesus Christ he adored—the man that Peter Stonefield told him about when he held his hands close to the stream and asked him the meaning of his life. Of course, he had no answer to that. All he knew at that moment was becoming a better person but he failed and he was cast away from his village like the devil and asked never to return back home.Everything was starting to make sense to him as he stirred the soup silently and recalled some of the stories Peter Stonefield had told him about God. Indeed! The supreme being who sat in a heavenly throne did hear his cry and on his merciful watch, he had decided to send another servant to his aid. If God had waited much longer, he would have no choice but to face Okoli and tell him he was an insane man. How can a man derive joy in beating his own wife? How can a
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Shading Black About the Author
Chibuzor Victor Obih was born in the southern part of Nigeria. Delta State to be precise. His writing includes essays, poetry and short stories. He likes to play soccer, read, study and above all, write. He is currently a fourth year student of a renowned public university in Nigeria. The University of Port-Harcourt is where he is pursuing a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering. Shading Black is his first book and his first attempt to explore the beautiful world of a novelist. To stay connected with him and his works, you can follow him on Instagram using the account name: Chibuzor Victor Obih or follow him on Facebook using the account name: Author Chibuzor Victor Obih.
Shading Black Epilogue
The room was silent. The door swung open and James came inside, holding a book. Ibekwe stared at James and sighed. They looked at each other for a while before James sat down."I got some interesting information you might want to hear," James said."Tell me," Ibekwe said. He had been feeling guilty since the death of Ifeme."The same boy who killed Osisiakalaka confessed some of the diviner's sins to me. He gave some fascinating explanations about your history that still baffles me," James said, moving his fingers. "Is the name Isiewu familiar to you?" He asked."Not really. I have only heard my grandfather mention him once and that was when he told me to story of Umuolu's war."James reasoned with compressed lips. "Isiewu played a major role in destroying your family. According to Efulefu, the diviner slept with Agunwa, the daughter of a chief priest named Egwusinala. Does these names sounds familiar to you?""I think it does," Ibekwe said.
Shading Black NEW LIFE - Chapter One hundred and three
When James Streamer and his father arrived at Osisiakalaka's shrine with some of the people of Umuise who had converted to Christianity he was shocked to find a large crowd of men and women sitting tiredly in front of the shrine. He asked a young woman to explain what was going on in the shrine and she obeyed without hesitation."A great man has fallen in Umuise," she said with tears in her eyes."Who is the man that has attracted everyone in this village to Osisiakalaka's shrine?" James asked."The man is not here. He is far away from this village.""What do you mean by that?""His body is lying in the shrine but his spirit has departed," the woman replied slowly."What is the name of the man that has caused so much tears to flow in your eyes?"The young woman turned and pointed at the door of the shrine."Osisiakalaka," she said. "Maybe you will be able to tell us why your god has sent his messenger to kill the greatest
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"What is happening to the family of Okoli? The news of death has become a common thing in Umuise." Chima said as the elders gathered in the village square.There were many men and women sprawled on the ground. None of them brought stools along with them. It was a day of mourning."What will the ancestors of Okoli say when they hear that his family lineage was wiped out within a week?" Chima asked but no one replied.The women sprayed ashes on their heads as if they were mourning the death of a chief priest. The children covered their bodies with sand as they wept and called Ifeme's name.After Chima sat down, the next elder who spoke was Ekwensi. He did not salute the crowd."Great people of Umuise, our gods have been offended. They have been desecrated and now they seek justice for the blood of Okoli. People of Umuise, we have sinned against our gods by sending a man that did not deserve death an
Shading Black NEW LIFE - Chapter One hundred and one
Ibekwe was thinking about Richard Streamer and what James had told him about his father as he approached Okoli's compound. He brushed the thoughts aside as he remembered that him and Ifeme were yet to bury Okoli. Now, that Ezeugo, Okwudili and Okoli were gone, it was the duty for the next of kin to inherit all their properties while ensuring they had normal burials. Ezeugo's body was almost rotten by now in his compound. Okwudili's body was wrapped with cloth and still left unburied. Okoli on the other hand was in the village square with his head uprooted from his neck. He was beheaded after being found guilty by Osisiakalaka.Ibekwe wondered how Ifeme would deal with the whole family situation as he passed a cherry tree. He had already decided to help him in the best way he could and James and his sister had also offered to help him too.He stopped when he reached Okoli's compound and took a deep breath.As he entered Okoli's hut, he looked through the du
Shading Black NEW LIFE - Chapter One hundred
Osisiakalaka came to Umuise as soon as he was able to leave Umudike. By his side were Efulefu and the young lad that was sent to deliver him the message of the elders. As he reached the village square, he drew two straight lines on the ground with a chalk and stepped on it. He gave the chalk to Efulefu who broke it and threw it in the direction of Okoli."May the gods be praised," Osisiakalaka yelled. "Let those who stand with evil fall. Let the men who invite the bringer of evil into their midst perish."As soon as Osisiakalaka was done, Okoli picked the chalk from the ground and started chewing slowly. In Umuise, it was a law for an accused person to chew the white chalk before spitting on the ground. It was a way of acknowledging the presence of the gods.Osisiakalaka ordered Efulefu to bring some sand after Okoli was done with chewing and spitting the white chalk. He took the sand from Efulefu and pou
Shading Black NEW LIFE - Chapter Ninety-nine
When the first palm wine entered Okoli's throat, it dawned on him that his death was near and there was nothing anyone could do about it including himself.Outside the window of his small hut, a full moon had risen, dazzling and vivid, blotting out all other celestial bodies. Okoli gazed at his two sons that he had condemned, lost in his thoughts of all that had happened in the village square.He knew that he didn't deserve the love and comfort that his sons were showing him and he felt bad for not appreciating their efforts even when they tried their best to be the perfect children that a parent could have.As Ibekwe and Ifeme left him for the white man's hut, Okoli thought of what was going to happen to him when Osisiakalaka finally decides his fate. Would he be killed? Would he be thrown into the forest? Would he be banished?Outside the window of his hut, a pair of stars were dancing, lifting their voices and slowly making it to fade away. Some moment
Shading Black NEW LIFE - Chapter Ninety-eight
Okwudili's body was brought to the village square a day after he was murdered in his compound by a masked man. By his side, was the lifeless body of Akwaudo. She was found dead in Okoli's compound the same night that Okwudili's life came to an end.Life means considerably more than just waking up in the morning and going through the motions of living in Umuise and for the first time in nearly a century, two people who were related to each other were brutally assassinated in the same night. A year after the death of a man whose passage into his ancestral abode was yet to be considered fair and devoid from foul play.It did not take up to a week after the shock of the two deaths had been accepted and managed before words started running from one end of the village to another, each bearing a tale with Okoli as the subject. It was difficult for any irrational man in their time to deny his involvements in the death of his wife and brother."Let us reason like one ent
Shading Black NEW LIFE - Chapter Ninety-seven
The sad day was friday for a man who feared he had lost his children even though he hadn't. Rain fell slowly and the town was calm as the water poured over the roofs. It was a lively evening and everywhere was dazzling as fathers who had returned from work came together to celebrate the last day of labour for the week by having special dinners in quality restaurants with their children but that was not the case of the man who had not been able to sleep well since the day he heard his son was gone— taken away from him and sailing without his permission to Africa.Richard Streamer sat at the Billy Landy bar, remembering the night he had told Kathleen he was going to Africa. It was almost two weeks now and he was still in England sharing a bottle of beer with some couple of friends, and each of them bragging about their personal achievements as they ordered more drinks.He took a rumpled letter from his pocket. He had planned to send the letter to his
