Creek Affairs Part 3
Another Chief Priest was called upon and I blacked out. Mother said I supposedly got possessed and spoke with a masculine voice. Mother said I told the Chief Priest “I am Olotu and this is my property. Do you dare challenge?” The Chief Priest could only scamper to safety.
With each passing day, things seemed to be getting worse. Our actions angered Olotu, and we were feeling the brunt of it. Everything was going against us. My sleepless nights grew worse. I was drained psychologically and I felt I was heading towards insanity. Mother’s business started folding under this very short time. I felt sorry for bringing this on Mother. She was getting drained and something needed to be done. For all we knew, we could not go down without a fight.
Mother in her desperation, dragged me to a Celestial Church, just as she was advised by friends. When we got to the Church, the ‘Vision Seer’ ordered that I be bound hand and feet at the centre of the Church. A small group of mean-looking prayer team consisting of about seven persons danced around me. Each of them was armed with a live pigeon and a long water cane.
They danced around me for hours, raining lashes on me, with the aim of ‘pulling The Evil Spirit’ out of me. After they danced for hours, the lashing intensified. All my pleas fell on deaf ears. Mother was too busy praying. Their singing and clapping drowned my cries; I passed out!
I woke up to water filling my nostrils and my lungs screaming for air. I was drowning. The ‘Vision Seer’ of the Celestial Church had supposedly taken my unconscious body to the Riverside and threw me into the River to “break the bond” between my Spirit Husband and I. I thought I was a goner because a big rock was tied to my feet. I saw Olotu. His arms were spread wide and he had a big smile.
Fortunately, I got pulled out before I could lose consciousness. When Olotu saw I was being pulled out of the River, I saw his disbelief. He stretched out his right hand and I could swear I heard him scream “No!!!”
Getting home, Mother kept looking at me strangely. And she kept popping the question of “Have you seen him yet?” The answer would always be “No, Mother. I have not seen him. Yet.”
Days turned to Weeks and Weeks became Months. Truth is, I honestly stopped seeing Olotu. I did not even see my kids. This was like a case of Grooming. He groomed me from a tender age I did not realize how absurd it was that I comfortably had a Spirit Husband.
A year later, Erepamo came asking for my ‘hand in marriage.’ I was excited and just about to accept his proposal when I heard a child crying. Then, two children cried. And more children. I looked around and saw a well-built man with four children — three boys and a girl— walking out of my Father’s compound; I could see only their backs.
Just when I was about asking who they were and whence they came from, the man turned around and gave me a big smile. Olotu! Then, the children burst out laughing and turned around. My Children! “We never left!!!”, they said in unison. I fainted.
When I was conscious, Erepamo said I kept calling “Olotu” in my sleep. He asked me who Olotu was but I could not tell him anything, I could not. Even if I could, he would never understand. I asked after Mother and Erapamo said Mother had gone to the Market. I wanted to be alone, I needed time for myself. I bade Erepamo farewell.
Immediately Erepamo left, Olotu materialized. I cried and begged him to stay away. From the look on his face, I could tell he enjoyed seeing my pain. “Nobody takes my property!!!”, he bellowed. His words were meaner than It ever was. I could see the anger in his eyes.
“Your mother and Erapamo are paying the price for challenging me. I must get my revenge. I have struck your Mother with madness. I have made Erepamo miss his way”, he bragged. I knew he was hellbent on tearing my life apart. Then, he struck me with Paralysis.
True to his word, Mother never came back from the Market. The Market became her home. People who witnessed the moment she was struck with madness said she kept shouting “Olotu, Olotu!”
Erepamo never went back home. He mysteriously disappeared.
Some days later, I was rotting. My skin was decaying while I was still living. The funny thing is that, Olotu kept making love to me even in my pitiable condition. He would materialize and take advantage of me, physically, and still come to me in my dreams.
There was nothing anybody could do for me. I lost hope and I accepted defeat. My family was torn to shreds. I was avoided like a plaque. What was I living for? Life made no sense to me, anymore. I decided to end it by drinking a bottle of Bleach. I smiled through the pain because despite the hurting, I had never felt so much better in a long while. When Olotu materialized, I was already waiting for him with a smirk on my face. Fighting through the pain, I gloated. “I have won!”, I said.
He cackled and said, “You think? Who do you think your soul belongs to? Me, Darling! Your soul belongs to me, Tari! We are tied together for eternity,. Wifey!”
Was I going to continue my creek affairs in the afterlife? With every fiber of my being, I screamed.
#TheEnd.
Written By Bennet Esther Kofi Imbazi
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