THE NIGHT WIFE CHAPTERS 61-70
CHAPTER 68
BY SOLOMON ADINYA
” If your mother doesn’t give us food to eat, we’ll stay for days without food. If she doesn’t pay Ogwuche’s school fees they’ll drive him away. You’ll go and labour in his farm with time you could have spent somewhere else to get morning, at the end of the day that man won’t give you anything.” She said, Ogwuche sat on the mattress.
Igoche and Alice had soaked the bed with urine, the bed clothes had torn into rags, he placed his face on his arms and cried. Igoche and Alice who had been with their aunt Ogbene, ran into the house when they heard their mother’s voice.
“Daddy why are you crying?” Igoche asked his father Ogwuche wiped his face.
“Am not crying am fine Igoche.” He said.
“No daddy you’re crying, mummy why is daddy crying?” Igoche asked his mother.
“Ask him, don’t ask me.” she said before walking out to the kitchen, ignoring all the insults coming out of Ogar’s mouth as his friends begged him to calm down.
Ogwuche lay in bed all night, unable to sleep, he watched how the chest of his wife and children rose and fell in their sleep. He was awake in the morning when the cocks began to crowl.
THE NIGHT WIFE CHAPTERS 61-70
Sleep had vacated his eyes, for over six months he couldn’t really tell why he couldn’t sleep. He would remain in bed till morning, his mother thought it was the reason he was growing lean everyday.
His head was a maze he fought to get out of the maze, but the vines with sharp claws kept dragging him in.
Onyabehi was dressed and ready to follow Ogwuche’s mother to Otukpo market to sell yams. Igoche had joined the other kids to go school.
Ogwuche opened the envelope when Onyabehi stepped out. To his surprise, he counted four hundred thousand naira. “Onyabehi please.” Ogwuche said.
She came in with Alice tied to her back.
“Ogwuche what is it?” she asked. He took off the paper covering the money.
THE NIGHT WIFE CHAPTERS 61-70
“My friend gave me four hundred thousand naira.” Onyabehi couldn’t belive her eyes.
“Jesus Christ who still gives people money in this hard times?” She asked.
“He’s my friend from the university.” Ogwuche said.
“You must have been good to him for him to do this for you.”Onyabehi suggested.
” Yes I used to help him to do his assignments and teach him before exam.”Ogwuche said.
” So what are we going to go with the money? ” she asked.
” Well that’s why I called you, what should we do. What should we do with the money? ” Ogwuche asked her.
” Well we need a new mattress, we need to buy our own gas cooker not all the time we’ll be waiting for your mother. Igoche is owing school fees for two terms let’s go and pay it.
THE NIGHT WIFE CHAPTERS 61-70
Then we buy some clothes for all of us, it’s been so long we bought clothes, you’ll give me fifty thousand naira to start my own yam business. ” ogwuche didn’t argue, he gave her two hundred and fifty thousand naira to do all she had mentioned, he kept one hundred and fifty thousand naira for himself.
That day he he refused to go to farm, when they had all left he went to be market and bought some clothes and shoe for himself and got cock with which he prepared a chicken pepper soup, he shared the soup into three and had the third of it for lunch, he spread a mat under the mango tree and he dozed off.
Ogar drove his galopy truck into compound and parked very close to Ogwuche’s head, he walked out of the vehicle hyperventilating. “Ogwuche! Ogwuche! Get up! What are you doing here sleeping in the afternoon were you not supposed to be at work?” Ogwuche was raving mad at his father.
“What is the meaning of that nonsense question! Am I your farm hand? Where is Ejembi your favourite so?” Ogwuche asked him to his face.
THE NIGHT WIFE CHAPTERS 61-70
“Is that the reason why you tied my star! Brought me from Gboko and tied me here? Am I your slave?”
“Owoicho! Owoicho! Are you now talking back at me?” Ogar asked in shock.
“Yes who are you that I’ll not talk to you? You think I don’t know what you did to me! We went to the prayer house they told me and my mother!” Ogwuche yelled at his father.
“My mate! A boy I was ten times more brilliant than, a boy I help to write his carryovers he’s the one who gifted me four hundred thousand! Papa I don’t know what you did to me, you’ve turned me to a slave!
After more than eight years to get my degree is this the kind of life I should be living? ” Ogwuche yelled at his father, almost pushing his chest, relatives ran out of their houses to stop the quarrel between father and son.
THE NIGHT WIFE CHAPTERS 61-70
” Why did you wake me up! Am I your slave? I work from Monday to Saturday for you, you sell the produce nobody sees one naira!
Where are your sons from all the women you impregnated, go and call them to come and farm for you! Where is Ejembi? He does no work, but comes here you’ll give him money to go and spend on rubbish. What about me working under son and rain what do you give to me! ” Ogwuche yelled.”
Mama is the one taking care of me! God will judge you! ” a relative was begging him to stop talking, you can only push a goat to a far side of a wall, you cannot tell the goat how to react.
” Ochigbo don’t hold him! Let him beat me! The woman I used my Monday to marry for this idiot has turned his head against me!” He said as relatives dragged Ogwuche away.
THE NIGHT WIFE CHAPTERS 61-70
“Leave me! Let me tell this man!” Ogwuche said crying. “You think you’re wise, you’re foolish amongst all of us your children point one person you can call to raise hundred thousand naira! You ruined me! ” Ogwuche cried pointing at his father.
“Papa God will surely judge. The prophetess at Atilo told us. You useless me as you’ve been walking about killing people and taking their lands. God will judge you!” Ogwuche said pointing at his father, his cousin Ochigbo led him away.
“Ogwuche you cannot be making hefty allegations against your own father it’s a taboo.” He ignored the man, he cried so much, until the pain touched his bone.
Ogar stood buried under the tree, he looked at Ogwuche and smiled, he shook his head then walked into the house, leaving outside the relatives that had come to make peace between him and his son.
THE NIGHT WIFE CHAPTERS 61-70
“Ogwuche that’s not the best way to handle this, that kind of allegation can scatter the family.” His cousin said, looking towards the spot where Ogar was standing when he was sure he had gone in, he brought his voice to a whisper.
“Ogwuche that’s not the best way to go about this.” He said looking over his shoulder. “Do you want to die? You know father is a harsh man, you’re putting yourself in front of a moving train, you’ll be crush.” The man said.
“I don’t care! You think this life I am living is a life I ever dreamt of? I would rather he kills me as he has been killing others than ruin me and make me useless.” Ogwuche screamed.
“You have to go and apologise to your father Ogwuche.”Ochigbo said.
” God forbid! I will rather drop dead than tell that beast am sorry. My mates are now earning four hundred thousand naira a month. See where he put me! I’ll die before my corpse would plead with that evil man.”
he said and walked away from the man. He went back to his mat to continue his sleep. He just couldn’t sleep so he decided to fold his mat and go into his room.
To be continued…..
THE NIGHT WIFE CHAPTERS 61-70
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