Nwabiala was momentarily shocked by such question. She didn't know whether to take it as a question to answer or a rhetorical one.

"What is this you are saying?"

"Exactly my words."

"And why did you ask such a ridiculous question?"

"Like I told you, we went for solution somewhere for Mgborie's illness, and after losing her. I had some sort of trance of a woman claiming to be my mother, and it didn't get any funnier when I saw myself in her. I can't just explain further." she said with face downcasted.

"No my daughter, Its not true! She is one of those familiar spirits who wanted to take advantage of you in that land, by impersonating me and giving you food which you know its forbidden to eat in the land of spirits." Akwanwa eyes were wide open as she could see sense in what she said, but she couldn't completely erase the feeling of suspicion on the woman, as a statement of exoneration.
Akwanwa nevertheless, nod in acquiescence,

"Something like that came to my mind, and I told the spirit to leave me alone."

"That was so thoughtful of you, my daughter. Stay here, relax and be comfortable while I make a welcome meal special for you." she said cuddling her gently.

"Ihei, nne, you're treating me like you just found a child lost for years." she said giggling.

"My daughter, you're no different from such person," she went away leaving Akwanwa to her thoughts.
Akwanwa was left thinking of Ifenna and his lost kingdom. She really felt pity for him. He was a king seeking refuge in his kingdom, he has been intimidated to leave his father's throne by the traitor. But now he is dead, she expected him to stand up and reclaim what is his.
Where she'd went to, she had received some extraordinary powers just as she'd been made to believed by a strange woman she'd met there. She hadn't made use of it because she felt guilt in her. It would sound like she gave her sister's life in exchange for powers, instead she chose to be discreet with it. Maybe she could help Ifenna to recover what is his, only if what she was made to believe was the truth.
While she subconscious with her thought, an undulating wave of breeze blew past her, to the opposite direction where she was. The sight of it appalled her, as she could not see any opening from where such air emerged from. It must be something diabolical.

"If you've come to harm me, I want you to know you're embarking on a futile mission," Akwanwa challenged panting heavily. The strange wave soon appeared to be a woman, that same woman she met somewhere.

"Hahaha, noone is here to hurt you, my daughter. I've come to tell you what you should use your powers for." Akwanwa paid attention, so she could catch every single word, "I am Nee Ajuka, whom you met at Ogbalanto river, and also your mother." this was were Akwanwa cut her short by waving her hands at her.

"If you want me to listen to you, you'll have to stop such impersonation, do you get it?" she retorted.

There was a moment of silence before Nee Ajuka retorted back,

"Don't take me for a liar, you're breaking my heart more. If I weren't my spiritual daughter, I would have taught you a lesson for despising me," her voice sounded angered. Akwanwa had to be passive here, so her rage could be petrified. But what she couldn't decipher was how she got herself into all these, warranting the strange being to refer to her as her "spiritual daughter", that was preposterous.

"Spiritual daughter?" she asked confusingly.

"Akwanwa, who are you talking with?" Nwabiala said with utmost perplexity as she came out from the kitchen into the sitting room with two calabash full of pounded yam and antelope sauce.
Akwanwa was startled beyond words, her lips trembled and heat was all over her body. She expected the stranger to vanish into the thin air on the arrival of her mother, or could a spirit be also taken unawares?

"Don't shake like a pneumoniac child, she can neither see nor hear me," Nee Ajuka reassured.

"Emmm, I was thinking aloud about what that strange woman told me where I went to," she legerdemainously dispatched a lie.

"You already told her! That's a good start!" the invisible exclaimed with excitement.

"Oh keep quiet!"

"Akwanwa! Who are you talking to?"

"Myself!" she said almost screaming.

"Are you sure you are not having fever? This your hallucination is turning to something else."

"Nne, I'm alright." she was getting angry, "I thought you brought food for me, why do you want to kill my appetite now?"
The tone which Akwanwa used made Nwabiala fear for what may have happened to her. Akwanwa had never used that tone for her, even if she was angry. Something must definitely be wrong.
She however, served her the food and made her way for the door.

"That was a good act, my daughter!" the invisible said again in excitement.

"I forbid you from calling me that!" she retorted.

"Akwanwa!"
Oh! Nwabiala hadn't left the door yet, she thought she'd left. Now she'd given her mother the real impression that she was not saying all that to herself.
She bowed her head shamefully to force her appetite on her meal.

[size=14pt]19[/size]

Several weeks had gone, and Konaso had already been buried. Mourning was still the mood in Ozalla as many couldn't let go the painful thought of the king's sudden death. Many have sworn to get to the root of the issue, no matter what it takes.
They'd gone to several spiritualist, and they were getting different results. Aneke being weary of the incoherence of the spiritualists, decided to wave aside every further investigation.
For Uju, she was no longer bothered about where she was, she received the best of treatment, like a queen. She was addressed to as "the queen" by the palace guards, following Aneke's command.
Olieze, Aneke's sister, felt however marginalized by this new trend. She was treated as though less important compared to Uju. She would give an order to a maid to do a minor chore, but they would despise it when a higher order from Uju comes. Whenever she forwarded her complaints to her brother, he would always give silly excuses, telling her to understand.
Understand what?
She was very disappointed in him, and one day, threatened to leave the palace and go to where noone would find her. Her mind was to go to her maternal home at Aro and stay, no matter what implication. It is better to be slave away from home, than being a slave in one's father's house. But she wasn't one though, only that she couldn't accomodate this new trend of Uju been treated like a queen.
Aneke was soon present besides her, watching her for some time, but she didn't notice because of her deep thoughts.
When she wanted to stretch her arms and feet which was going numb after several minutes of sitting in one position. She was slightly startled by Aneke's presence besides her which she didn't expect.

"What are you thinking?" he asked teasingly, but the young lady was too moody to even give a faint smile.
"I'm I talking to stone?"

"Oh, Aneke leave me alone and go and face your queen. Of what value am I to you?"

"Stop saying that as if I treat you as a slave. I've always pleaded with you to see reasons why you should accept Uju as your ọgọ , but you still have this bitter hatred for her."

"What type of hatred does the killer of my brother don't deserve?" she rose up in anger and came in eye contact with Uju who probably may have came out from Aneke's room. She hissed and rolled her eyes in despise, moved away, hitting her out of the way with her shoulder.
Aneke's eyes were directed to Uju's body, the part of her uncovered back, and fair legs.
He walked up to cuddle her, to make her feel at home, Uju halted his advances with her palms pointed up in the air to stop him from moving further.

"Uju, what is it?" he asked gently and keenly.

"Your sister. She keeps calling me a murderer, and that I can't take. Allow me go back to my people, you've kept me for so long." she moved away from his side with hands akimbo, with mean frown all over her face.

"I'll let you go, only if you agree to be my wife." he said smiling.

"Is that a blackmail?"

"No, it's a vow. Just marry me and I'll visit your family in a grand way."

"And where is it done like that? In which part of this world do men marry their wife before visiting her family?"

"The truth is that," he found himself lost in his words, he was rubbing his forehead before he could say more words, "I don't want you to go back to him, Ifenna. I'm so fond of you that I can't let you go for even a moment." he said solemnly.
Uju chuckled wildly and sardonically, not like there was anything new to what she was already aware of.

"And the best thing for you to do is to keep her away and lock her as your prisoner. Well, your father, before he died, would have executed me, so it will look more fulfilled if you complete your father's agenda, instead of forcing me into a failed-on-arrival marriage."
Aneke was heart-broken and helpless, and to Uju's lifetime greatest surprise, she saw the new king kneel before her. She was so shocked and tried hard to stop him, but his knees were already on the ground.

"Aneke, please I beg in the name of the gods, don't do this," he was still adamant and would want to even prostrate.
What madness! She was now sweating profusely even in the cool ambience of the palace.

"Please, Uju, please agree to my offer, I can do worse than this only to win your love," he went further to bow his head to the dust. Uju could not stand this any longer, watching a king prostrate before her, like she is what? A goddess?

"See I'm leaving, I can't stand this anymore. You think you're doing me any good? No. You're embarrassing me and yourself. Imagine what your guards will say and the gossips that will spread round the neighbourhood." she left immediately to the room that she'd been accommodated in.
Aneke stood up from the ground shameful of what he'd done. He turned about to make his way straight to the palace, and shock took the better part of him when he saw his sister, Olieze and her personal maid standing in total disbelief.
Aneke couldn't look at them to the face even when talking to them, his robe was stocked in dust.
What could be going on in Olieze's mind now, that was the question he was asking himself, only if he could get answers.

"Aneke, I'm sick and tired of your new mental sickness, its too much." that's all Olieze could say. It looks like she was dumbfounded and had also lost her words to shock, and she could only retort that word, even if it was less than what she had in mind.
She turned around and left him in his shame.

Welcome o. Good one, Eze. Especially after a long break. There are few typos anyway.

Good one. Oya come and take e-hugs.

Teespice: Good one. Oya come and take e-hugs.

Soothing.
The scent of your perfume is a fantasy heaven.
I'm lost.
Please hug me more seven times

Ehen! Dat was a very lng update

when shld we b xpecting ya nxt update?

Eze Promoe:
Soothing.
The scent of your perfume is a fantasy heaven.
I'm lost.
Please hug me more seven times

Seven times is too small. How about seventy more?

Teespice:

Seven times is too small. How about seventy more?

Welcome promoe! * hey madam come and serve him*turns to eze, emm what beer do you want??*

i cant even remember w@the story is about anymore... every thing sounds strange to me... you stayed away too long...

*****
It was a stormy night in Umudioga, and everyone had been indoor since the evening because of the cold.
Uju had been insomniac almost all through the night, and was sensitive to hear whenever footsteps or other random noises were made. Her head was filled with the thought of Ifenna and Aneke. She'd not been opportuned to see Ifenna for a while, no thanks to Aneke's lust for her.
No matter what, could it be that bad? The pressure on her was very much and she could compromise if care was not taken.
Talking about compromising, it was really absurd to her, turning to marry someone whose father killed her sister. She wondered what could have made her think about that "devil on the rise" called Aneke.
Suddenly, she saw from nowhere something or maybe somebody, because the object was making some body movement. The wind grew fiercer as the night grew deeper. Uju was cold in feet and numbness almost struck her nerves.
She thought it was one of the horror scenes where spirits came to put terror on the mind of people. Or maybe there was an atrocity in the land, and the gods were out to avenge.
Now she couldn't understand what was really happening, and why smoke kept oozing out from all the door entrances like there was inferno that engulfed the building, looking for a way to break in.

"UJU!" a voice sounded and she saw besides her a woman, supposedly an octogenarian. And then she transformed to a pretty pentogenarian, visible in a way that was decipherable to Uju.

"Must you come in such fearful manner, before you could speak to someone?" Uju said angrily, she seemed to be familiar to her. This was the same woman that had been ubiquitous in her dream world.

"How do you expect a mother to feel when her child from her womb can't recognize her?"

"If that's a question I must answer, then I will say it is not possible for a child who fed from its mother's brëasts to not recognize her, unless the baby is pretending."

"Very wise answer." the woman praised.

"But the heart of the mother should also be probed, babies are not fools." Uju snapped, she saw a look of amazement on the face of the woman, she didn't know why she'd been mute. She had to initiate a conversation by asking a question.
"Nee Ajuka, you didn't come here void of message, did you?"

"I've never seen any mortal that stun immortals by their ineffable wisdom." Uju smiled sheepishly while she continued,
"I've come to tell you to listen to your suitor's voice."

"I don't understand you," she said perplexed.

"Marry Aneke!"
Uju's eyes was wild open in surprise and fury. On a normal stance, she would have feign ignorant of her statement. But this statement was too deep to neglect, so she asked with shaky lips.

"Then what about Ifenna?"

"Ifenna's heart belongs to someone else, you have a king prostrating before you to accept him. Marry him. He's the right person for you and noone else."

"You lie!" Uju retorted, hitting her fists against her bed, "that won't happen."

"Don't be a stubborn goat, Ifenna is Akwanwa's destiny and are made for each other." as if each word she mentioned was a piercing spear, Uju was sobbing profusely, her tears wasn't hidden.

"I'll never listen to you again, you can kill me if you want."

"I won't kill you because your death will be of no benefit to me," she didn't finish speaking before Uju cut in,

"Then go and look for someone else to deceive because your attempt to deceive me is dead on arrival." Uju made for the door and was about to close behind her.

"I can make you repulsive to him!" she said sternly.
Uju was still adamant but instead banged the door harder and went past the immortal.
While Uju came out, Olieze was the first person Uju ran into, and running into her, she was been looked down on with strong disdain. Olieze rolled her eyes past her like she was a pig carcass.

"Please, Olieze stop frowning at me, we can talk this out." Uju pleaded.

"Talk what? What do you want us to talk? Eh? Your marriage arrangement with my brother?"

"NO! Very far from that. I never loved your brother and never wanted to marry him. He has been been pressurizing me to do so, but I rejected every offer of his. I've been looking for way to go back to my people but to no avail."

"And how does your whole tales concern me," she retorted.

"I just need your help to get out of this palace and be free from your brother's approach, thats all."

"That I should help you? Why should I?"

"Don't you want me to go out of this palace again?"

"And you want to do it by using me as a working tool to achieve your evil aim?" Uju blew red hot in fury, but she tried hard to curb it and be calm, while she continued talking,
"Count me out of this, you hear me?"
"Olieze, I don't understand you at all. You don't want me in here, and you don't want me out either. Is there anything I did to you to deserve such hatred?"
Olieze was silent for a moment, maybe she was coming to realise what she'd done was mean. She called Uju back who was trying to leave.

"Uju!"
She turned gracefully in response to her name anticipating what would be her next word.
"I'm sorry for my mean approach towards you." Uju was surprised that the misanthrope could apologise, she didn't see things coming that way.

"There's no problem." Uju replied.

"If you have the right intention to actually leave as you have promised and not come back to torment my brother, I'll be glad to help you."
This girl could be disrespectful sometimes in her approach, Uju thought. She must be a spoilt child from birth, but Uju had to play along like something like that never happened.

"Thank you. So how are we going to do that?"

"That's not a issue to sleep over on, the guards as well are at my disposal as well as under my brother, the king."

"Thank you very much." Uju spread her arms calling for her embrace. And for the first time since they met, they embraced themselves jovially.

Eze Promoe:
Emmm, ma'am thanks but I don't take alcohol.

okay na madan bring malt or coke cos i really nid to thank him.

Tonia500: okay na madan bring malt or coke cos i really nid to thank him.

You can thank me though without drinks

Wow.....our own Eze promoe is back(nwanne ndewo)....Nice one

That immortal dey save her real daughter "AKanwa" abi na wetin be ha name.

Congratulations Plomoe. Maybe i should give you an atom of trust.


Double post by you . . .there

[size=14pt]20[/size]

The sun had gone down, and night was fast approaching. Sounds of revelry buzzed the ambience of surrounding villages, of which emanated from Umudioga. It was indeed a day of mirth and ecstasy, of which its memories wouldn't be forgotten in a jiffy.
What they celebrated, was unknown to the neighbouring villages, except for Ozalla people who bore the misconception that it was a celebration of the king's death. They might be partially right, because in the festival, which was held at the village playground, Ifenna was however the protagonist and host of the event. He addressed the people as their ruler, of which he delivered his speech aplomb.

"I want to thank all of you today for gathering at this arena to witness this great feast. The gods had a reason for keeping us alive to witness the day despite the war that ravaged our land in time past, which swallowed many of our loved ones, including my father and mother, the king and queen respectively. But let us not add sorrowful memories to our joyous celebration. There are a lot to eat and drink, suit yourselves."
There was cheering from all corners, meanwhile some people were jostling for palm wine and pepper soup. Many people though, still didn't know what was the main aim of the party, hence there was high expectations.
Ibe, Ifenna's friend, was almost unconscious with palmwine, as he kept on emptying jars upon jars of palmwine into his belly. He was really addicted to drinking palmwine. His fondness for the drink emanated from his childhood days. Following the footsteps of his father, who was also a palmwine tapper and also a drunkard, he had love for palmwine but he was more responsible than his father.
The revelry was still on and the suspense was still on, noone knew what would happen next.
Soon Ifenna stood up to call on the onowu 's attention, he was becoming impatient over his delay. People where feeling tired and sleepy and still the reason for the festival haven't yet been accomplished.
Liveliness was soon restored as Ochendo, the mouthpiece of the gods, popularly known as onowu , arrived.
His face looked like that of someone carrying a bad news.

"Say something onowu , our ears are itching," Ifenna voiced out impatiently. Ochendo looked depressed and only a sensitive person could read that expression on his face.
There was grave silence that overtook the ambience for a moment, before Ochendo finally broke the silence.

"Unfortunately, there will be no coronation today," there was murmuring from all angles, following the disappointment. The day had already been designated as the coronation day, after being without a king for several days.
There were too many voices speaking that no single voice could be heard. Ifenna, however, beckoned on the onowu to go with him to an isolated place. He didn't know how or where to start talking to him, his mouth couldn't avoid stammering either.

It was one of his usual way of behaviour whenever he comes across men of age, and one which had the status of onowu for that matter.
The old man could notice some diffident slur he made, and it made him angry that he lost his patience on him. He then scolded even if he was soon going to be king.

"Say something, and stop shaking like a little child that have seen a beast," he scolded, "are you going to behave like this when you ascend the throne?"
Ifenna wanted to play the brave man after been scolded. He mustered stale courage to speak to the old man, he hated it when he was likened to a woman or child, it gave the impression that he was incapable of ruling a kingdom.

"What are you talking about?" he charged, "you mean I, the son of the great Kalu, the ever living tree of the Ezumezu forest."
The old man weighed him with his eyes, and gave him a sardonic smile. Ifenna tried as much as he can to conceal his face which was winced in embarrassment. What was actually the problem with this man, he thought. Could he be antagonizing his kingship even before ascension?
He found his voice in the midst of the silence,

"Why did you cancel the coronation that was scheduled for today, as against the original plan?"

"Umudioga is not ready for this." he said as he shook his head.

"Did you mean to say that I'm not capable to rule this kingdom?" Ifenna said furiously, "when Aneke and his cohorts are dividing the plunder of my father's palace, or you think I'm not capable of reclaiming what is ours?"

"The gods of our land are of one voice, that we're inch away from our doom as a kingdom going by your choice of who you are presenting to us as a wife." he said precisely.
Ifenna dilated his eyes in shock. So it had been all about his wife he wants to marry. Now his guess was correct.
He had sensed antagonization right from the begining of their conversation. But he still kept wondering who else he had in mind to install as the new king, since he has been acting this cold. Definitely, he won't take this at all, he would quickly go back to where the party was going on and handle matters in his own way.
To him, Onowu Ochendo wished he was dead, so that he would install himself as the king. If his father had died and, the gods forbid, he himself, follows suit, seeing that there was noone left of their lineage, the sceptre would go to Ichie Ararume who was the second-in-command to the king. But unfortunately, the Ichie was no longer alive, and his son too. Which means the antagonist would bring false message and term it 'a message from the gods', and he would crown himself. Thanks to the gods, he was still alive, and he would be careful not to tread in the path of the monster.
He bit his lips in fury, and made a chest beating not to concede the throne to the old 'monster'.
He turned his back and went back to the place where the celebration was holding. But more surprises awaited him.

Why you dey post two times naa?

Eze, i notice say you dey snub one girl. . . .bad pikin

Eze Promoe:
ME? Snub a lady? I dey mad? Please wherever she is, please tell me let me go and apologise asap with my belly on the floor.

Seun Plus It's unfair ooh

E<R>F:


Seun Plus It's unfair ooh

I've never snub her. Did she tell you that?

Eze Promoe:
I've never snub her. Did she tell you that?

Sharap bobo. Go to all her recent posts and reply all her comments to you...

Tell me ke?? No be una two start this story be4?