THE JOURNEY!
Contd....
At dawn, immediately the first cock crowed, Akidi set out to Aro with his son, he dragged two healthy goats along as a sacrifice to the oracle of Aro. They had packed roasted yam in a bag in case they got hungry, the journey was going to last the whole day and as it was quiet a distance from Owa to Aro.
Akidi hoped his chi would be kind enough to show him mercy this once, he believed the journey would change a lot of things, the journey should have been taken a long time before now.
The finally got to the shrine of the oracle of Aro at sunset, the shrine had demarcations, one side was for sick people, suffering from different ailments, another section was people with their different problems that needed solution. The oracle was consulted on a daily by people from far and wide and Akidi was convinced his problem was a small case.
It finally got to their turn, it was almost mid night, Akidi stepped into the inner chambers of the shrine with his son and the goats he had brought to appease the oracle, the priestess after several incantations finally spoke to him...
Some years before he married Nwanyinma, Akidi had been with another woman Nnuka, his parents rejected the romance between this two and sent Nnuka away from the village by cooking up false tales against her which attracted banishment, they didn't know she was pregnant,she was left helpless and while she was dying, she placed a cause on the family "No child shall live above six years and there shall be no descendants from the lineage"
Akidi was shocked at this revelation, he asked the priestess what he could do, She told him it would demand a human sacrifice, which after it, he Akidi would get better, marry another wife and procreate children who would not die at infancy but the human sacrifice had to be someone dear to him.
His son....... Ozoemena!
Ifunanya Ononiwu (c) 2016
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