Chapter 6: Chapter 6
CHAPTER FIVE
Cynthia decided she had enough of men; she so much delighted in her son Abeonego who was a very industrious son. Also, coupled with the experience she had with her parents when she was growing up, she decided it was better to be alone than be in an evil company. After the demised of grandma, they continued living in the house while Cynthia took over grandma’s farmland and was supported by Abeonego. As he grew older, she sent him to the only community school and after classes, he engaged in hunting, fishing, and farming and he was prosperous to the delight of his mother. Whenever he carried his goods to the big market, he does not spend much time before everything would be sold off with huge profits. He was highly sought after by many buyers.
Abeonego also brought honour to his mother at school and in the community especially in wrestling which was a major game. He was a skilful wrestler who had never been defeated at any contest. The community engaged in wrestling competition among the age groups after the harvest and it was always a memorable occasion as there were lots of food and gifts for the winners and losers. This also brought people together at the big open field close to the palace.
Whenever he asked his mother about his father, she would become moody and replied that he was dead, so in order not to make her sad he stopped asking. Abeonego never heard the circumstance surrounding his birth from anywhere which was unusual because elders would always gossip but unlike his case everybody just kept mute; the reason was not far-fetched; he had a lovely personality so nobody wanted to make him unhappy.
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One evening, after their dinner, Abeonego and his mother were relaxing in front of their house. Abeonego was listening to his mother while she told him what she encountered at the market where she went to sell her farm produce when the sound of two tricycles driving into their compound attracted their attention, about four men came down from the tricycles and walked towards them. The dog which hitherto lay curled by Abeonego had jumped up, wagged its tail, and began to bark furiously. Three of the men were elders while one of them was a royal guard.
“We come in peace, Cynthia...” One of the men announced as they stopped on their tracks expecting the dog to be called to order.
“Papa?” Cynthia called nervously as she recognized her father among the men. She called the dog to order and offered a seat to the visitors. The men discussed in hushed tones as they glanced suspiciously at Abeonego who greeted them with courtesy. The dog walked away towards a heap of garbage beside the house and began to scout for food while Cynthia went to bring water for the visitors in a big cup. They drank one after the other and thanked her profusely.
“You are welcome,” Cynthia hailed as she sat down expectantly,
“Thank you, my daughter,” The leader of the delegation and secretary to the royal council known as Elder Obsem said and coughed uncomfortably as he rubbed his palms together.
“I hope there is no problem. How is my mother?” Cynthia asked worriedly as she stares from one to another with anxiety.
“There is no problem; your mother is fine...” Azar answered, “I know I owe you a lot of apologies but let us get down to the purpose of our visit first.”
“My daughter, we have all offended you, please forgive us.” Elder Obsem apologized profusely still rubbing his palms together,
“Papa, I don’t understand how you offended me; I’m happy where I am...” she said flatly though trembling with tears spilling from her eyes.
“We abandoned you when you needed us the most, please, Cynthia, forgives us; we have realized our mistakes.” The four men began to apologize profusely,
“Mama, what is happening?” Abeonego asked worriedly, “Who are these people?”
“Is this your son?” Elder Obsem asked, staring at Abeonego without betraying any emotion.
“Yes, his name is Abeonego...” Cynthia replied,
“We heard about his exploits; we are proud of you.” Elder Obsem said, “May the gods of our land bless you richly.”
“Thank you, Papa,” Abeonego answered still confused about what was happening.
“Cynthia, the king sent us to you; he sent his sincere apologies,” Elder Obsem began, “He would have come here but he is slightly indisposed.”
“I have no problem with the king, I am not a royalty and so nothing concerns me with the king…” she retorted,
“My daughter, do not talk like that, I know you are bittered, please find it in your heart to let bygone be bygones,” Elder Obsem intoned,
She did not say anything as she waited for them to say what they have in their minds. Elder Obsem turned to Azar to continued, “Cynthia, my beloved daughter, the people of Kuburin needs your help at this juncture,”
“How did they need my help, Papa?” she asked lamely, “I’m not a warrior neither am I a diviner.”
“We know you are not a warrior, but you don’t have to be a warrior before you can be of assistance, everybody has a role to play no matter how little,” Azar explained,
“The kingdom is under siege; our people are being kidnapped, maimed, and killed by our enemies. We have suffered a lot of defeats on the battlefield which does not use to happen before. We consulted the oracle, and we were made to understand that it is only the King’s first son who can lead us to a victorious battle. We thought it was Prince Amadeus, but we were wrong because Prince Amadeus led our men to battle but suffered a serious defeat. As we are speaking, Prince Amadeus and his men have been captured and are being tortured every day. Our farmers cannot go to farm again and our hunters cannot hunt because of the fear of our enemies who have sworn to invade our land and take over the throne.”
“Papa, I still don’t see how it concerns me, I’m not a warrior and I have no relationship with the king...” Cynthia protested tearfully,
“Oh, yes, you do have a relationship with the king,” Elder Obsem interjected, “The King is the same Liam who denied your pregnancy many years ago. Why Prince Amadeus suffered defeat on the battleground was because he is not the king’s first son but the son you bore for him.”
“No! No!! I have no son for him!!!” Cynthia protested vehemently; her nostril flared in a signal of suppressed anger.
“Mama, which son are they referring to?” Abeonego asked, surprisingly, he was jolted by the revelation.
“Cynthia, please, hear us out; King Liam has confessed that he truly was responsible for your pregnancy but the fear of losing his inheritance made him denied. He didn’t know you gave birth to a male child, if not, he would have come before now...” Elder Obsem explained nervously,
“Papa, I’m no longer interested in this discussion; Liam destroyed my life, he made me suffered untold humiliation after taking undue advantage of my naivety, now, he wants to come and take from me that which gives me joy. I will not allow it.” She said stubbornly as her eyes hardened and shimmered with tears. “I remembered what his father said to me that I wanted to reap where I did not sow, Liam did not sow anything with me so he can not come and reap now. The king further said to me that Liam cannot be the one who got me pregnant that I only allowed myself to be fooled. As the saying goes, once beaten, twice shy. He has fooled me once and I cannot be fooled again. Liam does not have a child with me…” she said menacingly,
Her father wanted to say something, but she stood up and faced them, “I was rejected and abandoned by the people I loved most in this world who happens to be my parents, the very day my father discovered I was pregnant, he sent me out of his house, and he has never visited me not even for one day. When my grandma whom I stayed with died, he did not come for the burial only my mother did, and you expect me to just accept whatever you have to say and follow you back to Kuburin. Kurinma is my home; I do not have any other home. I will stay here and cherish the memories of the great elderly woman who accepted me when the world rejected me.” She said with a note of finality and began to walk into her house, “Please extend my greetings to my mother when you get home.”
Abeonego looked on with his mouth agape as his mother walked into the house while the elders discussed in hushed tones. Unsure of what to do, he appealed to the elders to understand with his mother and leave. “My mother has gone through a lot of emotional traumas for so many years, I will talk to her.”
“My son, thank you so much, please let her understand that lives are at stake here including our territorial sovereignty.” Elder Obsem appealed as they took their leave.
That night, Abeonego went into his mother’s room where she sat fuming. “Mama, you told me my father was dead?” he began sadly, “Don’t you think I deserve to know the truth no matter how bitter it sounds?”
She invited him to sit beside her, “I am sorry, Abeonego, I wanted to forget everything about my past in Kuburin including how you were conceived...”
“But you know that is not possible, as long as I’m alive, you will always remember and as long as your parents are alive also, this is not something you can wish away.”
She hesitated a little before finally looking up at him and began to tell him the circumstances surrounding his birth. After she had finished, both were silent as they pondered meditatively on the revelations.
“What the prince did was bad but at the same time, he was young too and scared, another angle to look at it is destiny. You were destined for greatness, but you have to pass through this challenging path to arrive there.” Abeonego went to comfort his mother as he heard sniffling and muted sobs. “Mama, I want to assure you that everything will be alright.”
“I don’t want to lose you...” she whispered tearfully as she stared at him.
“You won’t lose me, Mama,” he assured with a smile, and he wiped her tears with his palm. “Now, I want you to smile...”
She stared at him with eyes beclouded with tears, “I think I know what can bring sunshine to your face again.” He excused himself and went to one of the cabinets in the kitchen; he returned almost immediately with roasted deer meat. When she perceived the well garnished roasted meat, she could not help smiling.
“Yes, that is more like it...” he intoned as he set the roasted meat before her. “I wanted to use it as a surprise, but I think this occasion demands it.”
“Thank you very much, my dear son.” She said as she began to devour the meat. After eating to her satisfaction, she called her son and ask him to knee before her while she prayed for him.