It all happened two days before we planned to leave the village. Nobody saw it coming; I for one didn't. I was so young, my brother even younger and as terrified as any 13-yearold could be. Our village is known to be peaceful and full of Godly people. Towards the end of the year, there would be returnees from foreign countries visiting family, or visiting families of friends. It was usually like a big reunion as everyone seemed to know everyone. This was the narrative in the year 2009. The same year I had gotten a full scholarship to study Medicine in Germany. My parents were so proud of me and would brag every chance they got.
"My second daughter will soon be the only female doctor in Idumota, and we're not even paying a dime. She'll be going to Berlin to study. Do you know where Berlin is? It's in Germany," mom would say before the other party to the conversation could even answer.
I always smiled slightly and pretended to be looking somewherelse whenever she would brag in my presence. I was only 16, naive and according to popular opinion, humble. My older sister (Kamsi) resented me for my educational prowess though. I could never understand why but I could tell because she always shut me up each time I brought up anything remotely related to school or learning. Now, I understand that mom made her seem so insignificant and doomed in light of my achievements, constantly comparing us both. Imagine what it's like being compared to your younger sister.
That day, the two-days-before-we-were-meant-to-leave-for-home day, mom had a work emergency and so left earlier with Kamsi. I'm sure she didn't take me along because she wanted to give dad more time to show me off. My brother (Chuka) chose not to join her, he preferred spending time with dad. For Kamsi, it was not a choice.
To this day, I still wonder if it was the events of that day that made dad more distant from us than he already was.
We were on our way home later in the evening, from visiting close relatives and saying our goodbyes, when dad decided to make a quick stop to buy ụkwa and some fruits at the village square. We waited in the car. Almost immediately after dad alighted, there was an eruption of screams from a distance. It was coming from the villagers running helter-skelter, and just then, we saw it.
The earth was moving. With it tombstones - dirty, unweeded and cracked - also moved, very slowly and intentionally. It felt like a halloween movie. The movements seemed rehearsed, with each only a few seconds after the other, unless they were in the same line. I thought myself weird for being more confused and inquisitive than afraid and had to quickly snap out of it. Chuka was frantic, screaming for my dad, and the people in the stalls near where we stopped were methodically packing their goods. It felt like it had happened before. My dad was in no hurry to leave but to soothe my brother, he came into the car and started to leave, but some creature, appearing from nowhere stood in front of our car.
That's when I got scared. I was worried, perplexed, and at the same time consumed with fear. All I wanted to do was bury my face in my dad's chest but Chuka and I were at the back seat and almost like clockwork, we hugged eachother tightly and hid our faces. I heard my dad make some incantations that I'd never heard before. He tried his best to be brave but I could hear the fear in his voice. I raised my head when I heard a whooshing sound like breeze blowing aggressively. The creature that stopped in front of us had held dad by the neck and five of the tombstones circled them, turning at full speed. That's where the whooshing sound was from. I wanted to step out the car and angrily scream for the thing to leave my dad alone but I was numb with fear, I couldn't move, my hands were shaking, Chuka was crying uncontrollably and just like that he grabbed the Bible in the seatback pocket, opened the door before I could stop him, barely escaping my grip, got down and began to point it in the duo's direction.
Between sobs, he screamed, I cast and bind you in the name of The Lord! I rebuke you in the name of the Lord! By the power of the Holy Spirit, I send you back to wherever you came from in the name of the Lord!"
I watched from the car in bewilderment, half wondering about Chuka's actions because the stones stopped turning, followed by a sudden disappearance of chaos and anything abnormal. I was shocked by Chuka's bravery and almost disappointed in myself for not mustering up such courage. But, I knew that even if I had, I wouldn't have fought in the name of the Lord. I only believed in what I could explain through science. This though, defied everything I thought I knew and changed my perspective for a while. I was angry that I didn't understand what had happened or why.
Dad was on the ground, rubbing his neck and holding back tears. He got up after a while, took Chuka's hand and led him to the back of the car, kissed us both, got in and drove off at high speed. When we got home, he packed all of our things hastily but neatly and made us sleep in his room. We prayed until we slept.
The next morning, before the sun came up, we were many miles away from the village. We drove in silence. My only thoughts were of the nightmare I had the previous night about all the halloween stories my uncles living abroad had told me muddled into one dream. I never believed them and I always laughed through the stories but my other siblings got genuinely scared. I always believed halloween was a foreign thing. When we got home, my mom was at the door and I realised my dad had spoken to her that morning before he woke us. She reached for my brother, hugged him tight then hugged her husband, while asking me, "nnem, kedụ?"
I had so many questions, but as we sat in the sitting room, my mom asking him as many as she could muster, the only question I asked was,
"Dad, why didn't you run?"
He gave me a confused look and said, "you can't run from spirits."
Nnem, kedụ? is Igbo, a Nigerian language, which translates to "how're you my girl?"
Always grateful for your time.
Until next time, xoxo.
