Addo woke up as early as 4. 15 a.m. He could hardly sleep. The lullabies of wailing and sorrow in his father’s compound last night might have sent him to sleep. He rose up and sat down. He was speechless and felt helpless. What crime at all has his father, Torgbor committed against the colonial officials? A day ago, his mother, Edem has explained to him that his father had been arrested for a ridiculous and unthinkable reason. His father would be tried at the Colonial Supreme Court later in the afternoon. He closed his eyes and absorbed the serenity that has engulfed the entire land of Alibab. He was certain that he would be denied that opportunity when dawn breaks, where oppression and tyranny would keep the entire inhabitants of the land company for the fourteen years. He removed the rectangular wood that has barricaded the entrance of his hut, and from a distance, he could see his uncle and other sympathisers who have gathered in their compound. He moved closer to them.
“I said it from the beginning, I said it. That we shouldn’t accommodate these pigs, but how many people listened to me” Addo could now hear their conversation. It was dark and the lantern the conversationists were holding only illuminated their parameters.
“They have bitten more than they can chew. We showed them hospitality and treated them as our own but what did we get in return? Brutality, sheer arrogance and unprovoked rape of our land.”
He left the men and went back to his hut. He is the only son to his parents. His father was a peasant farmer and his mother, a housewife. He used to have wonderful moments with his parents. This arrival of the British truncated his happiness. He lied on his mat and between the sheaves that covered his hut, he could see moon condescending, looking very bright and resplendent.
13.40 GMT -- AT THE COLONIAL SUPREME COURT
The court room was enveloped in hot arguments and cacophony. “We’ve had enough of your stinking imperialism. Get your ducky legs out of our land.” A man among the crowd shouted. The court room came to absolute silence when Torgbor and his counsel appeared. The court is a wooden structure composed mainly of odum with aluminium roofing sheets. The bruises on Torgbor’s countenance signified torture and ill-treatment. The judge to handle the case entered and the noisy atmosphere in the court room subsided. Torgbor’s wife was sobbing uncontrollably whiles Addo stood there, looking directly into his father eyes with trembling. The fate of a husband, father and a village folk is about to be told.
Addo has come to understand that times are against them. After his dad has been unjustifiably convicted of first-degree murder and hanged, with grief transporting his mum to her grave, nothing more can convince him that he and his community are not safe. The irrepressionable memories of fourteen years ago had become part of him. Together with his two friends, Hassan and Frimpong in the woods, they enjoyed the kpalogo dance of the village women. Hassan is a hunter and has been a victim of uncountable break-ups. Frimpong, on the other hand, is much older than the other two and has been both a father and a friend. The three young men have suited each other with a calabash of palm wine. Hassan broke the silence.
“You know, I desperately want to marry Dede. I’m head over heels in the swimming pool of love with her. I understand perfectly that I’m not that handsome and...and.. That’s the more reason why I want to grab her instantly. I can’t stand another man competing with me over her”
Frimpong in a sarcastic tone, bump in.
“What offence at all has the monkey committed to deserve this kind of ordeal?”
“Who are you calling a monkey, what your words, and man?”
“Sorry oo, no offence intended. Go ahead and take her to the altar.”
“Marrying her is the problem. My finances is not that consolidated”
“And do you know what it means? Two things. One, another man can come on the scene. Two, your pants remains padlocked until you satisfy the marriage conditions. I dey feel for monkey ooo.”
Addo who appeared to absent-minded, got into the conversation.
“Hassan, you don’t have to be making unnecessary commotion about this. Listen, if the girl loves you, she would stay with you through thick and thin”.
Hassan whiles pouring for himself another calabash of palm wine from the earthen pot, replied.
“Oh yes Dede loves me. The other time, she fetched water for me and ........”
Frimpong heckled “but she did that after you have sent several tubers of yam to the family. (Chuckled) monkey no fine but I sure sey the girl would love am”. He said this in a tone above the threshold of Hassan. He is really fond of teasing his friend. Sometime ago, he used to say that Hassan had a ‘gbudugban’ (huge bucket) in his stomach which explains why he drinks too much.
“I did that to build rapport with her family”. Hassan defended himself. Addo got up, cleared the debris of cashew nuts on his white calico, and looked around as if being watched by British espionages. He cleared his throat and uttered “Guys, we’ve got to go”.
Hassan, who lives some few kilometres away from Addo’s house, had almost entered his hut when he saw Dede approaching. He saw the sentence “I’m dead” boldly written her face.
“Er, Hassan, what was the meaning of what you did.” Pretending as if he doesn’t know what she’s talking about, Hassan asked “what are you talking about my love?” He moved closer to hug her but she shoved him off.
“Don’t my love me. Bo dietse obuuu ohe ona. Do you think my skin is begging to be caressed by your wretched hands? Why do you have to feign illness and make me, Naa Dede Gengen, fetch water for you?”
“I was just trying to be romantic”
“Tsiakai, well, i’ve come to warn you to stop chasing me around and spreading rumours that I’m your lover. I swear the next time you try this nonsense, you’ll regret it. Hassan, I don’t love you, get that into your head.”
“But what about the foo...foodstuffs I gave to you”. Dede didn’t mind to listen to him. She was already a distance away from him. Hassan stood at the entrance of his hut, not knowing whether to enter or not. In a state of confusion, he yelled.
“You can go away. Are you the only woman in this village? I’m not forcing myself on you, aarhh, not at all. There are more beautiful women past you. Dede, who be you? (Imitating Dede) Hassan, I don’t love you. Stupid. You are very stupid woman.......but whether...you...you like or not, I love you. I love your insults, your harsh treatments, your humiliations and everything about you. (checking himself) but I’m not that bad looking.”
He entered his hut. Within a couple of minutes, he heard several heavy knocks on his wooden door.
“Who’s that?”
“It...It’s Dede. I mean, your love, your sweet heart. Please open the door.”
“Eheh, what’s the problem.”
“Oh Hassan, I’m being chased by a wolf. Please for the sake of our love, open the door. Please, p-l-e-a-s-e.”
“You and who’s love? Sorry, my dear. I’m very sleepy. Come tomorrow so that we talk about it.” Dede broke down into tears. She was fidgeting all over. She continued pleading, “Hassan, please”. The door opened. She ran into Hassan’s arms, placing her head on his chest.
“Did it hurt you, babe?” Hassan inquired, putting his hands around forbidden places under the pretext of trying to identify wounded spots. He told Dede to enter his room whiles he searches for the wolf to kill it... “Aboaa”. He said this after Dede has entered. Only God knows what happened that night.
An important meeting was held in Addo’s compound. Though it was unpremeditated, the gravity of events in the village had necessitated it. A fortnight ago, some people were brutally murdered. The atrocious act was alleged to be effected by British security officers. The meeting between Addo and his aged uncle, Namoale is connected to the unfortunate incident. Addo was preparing to go the farm that very morning when his uncle came in and requested to have a very important discussion with him. Namoale also indicated that he had a confession to make which is related to the trial of Torgbor.
7 hours later
“The weather had been really favourable this season. The gods have been really considerate, considering the incleanable mess created by this obronis”
“sure, you’re right. We’ve also have to give credit to our sacred personages. They’ve tremendously done well to convince the gods to bless us with bumper harvests”. Frimpong paused for a minute, collected small stones from the ground and started throwing them around. He grinned and continued, “The other time I taught your so-called lover a lesson. I never knew she’s that vulnerable.”
Hassan’s countenance became pale, “what did you do to Dede?”
“Make monkey no vex, I didn’t do anything bad. Look, you remember the last time we had palm wine at the woods? Yes, after we’ve dispersed, I detoured through the village market to my house, and then I saw Dede briskly walking past Mami Akua’s shed, so upon seeing her, I decided to give her freestyle for all the humiliations and tough times she’s been giving you. I .....”
“Wait, what do you mean by freestyle?”
“It was just a small freestyle for monkey’s lover, a small animalistic sound. I made the sound of a wolf. That’s all” (laughing) “and come and sees how her drumsticks was ferrying her. (stopped laughing, his face appeared stern) so, what did you do to her when she entered your hut?”
Hassan felt uneasy, he was speechless. Frimpong burst into irrepressible laughter, “Hassan Ogidigidi, Charlie, you force, give me five.”
All of a sudden, the two friends heard footsteps. “Did you hear that?” Hassan asked. “Of course, I heard that, I’m not deaf” Frimpong replied. Then they saw Addo with a furious face together with the village waganga (fetish priest), Namoale, and a couple of other villagers approaching. When they got closer, Addo grinned.
“Guys, i’ve found the man responsible for the death of my father and other villagers”
“That’s good news” Hassan commented.
“Yes, it is. It is very painful and mind-boggling to see a native being instrumental in exterminating his own civilization. Could you believe that my father was set-up? Could you believe that our own, conspired with British officers?” Addo turned to his uncle and told him to continue with the rest of the case. Namoale began to narrate how Torgbor had gone to the farm one day when he the conspirator perspiring profusely, dragging something in a barkcloth, coming to his direction. He continued, “That fateful day, I was also coming from my farm heading home. After exchanging pleasantries with my brother, I enquired what the content in the barkcloth was and he told me it’s possibly foodstuffs belonging to one of our neighbours. I bid him goodbye and left. The next thing I heard was that my brother had been arrested”.
Hassan irately asked, “I feel like killing this person. Who’s that son of a bitch?”
Addo smiled and answered, “The silent one is”. Hassan did not understand, “hey man, I don’t have time for parables. Who’s the cul......” Addo came in before Hassan completed his statement, “yes, I mean, the one closer to you is the son of a bitch!”
In awe and trembling, Hassan turned to the person next to him and incoherently expressed, “Frim....Fr-im—po-ng, you?”
A wrong impression indeed.
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