On the night of the same day, the worried looks on the face of Daa Achikwu remained the same. Egemole had returned back from farm with his friend Ajaero and was seated at Obi. Adaure greeted and welcomed them back, and immediately went to the backyard and brought a bowl of water for them to wash their hands before taking their bath.
When Ajaero was done washing, Egemole washed his, cleaned up the hoes and the machetes they returned from the farm with, and went inside to see his mother-in-law and his little girl, Olamma.
He greeted his mother-in-law, who responded happily and welcomed him. He also asked her about her body pains which she told him that she had fully recovered. ''Agbakena m, Ogo m- I have recovered, my in-law'' she responded, cheerfully as she handed the wrapped baby, Olamma, to him to touch.
While he was singing a lullaby for his daughter, his mother-in-law told him to inform his father, Chigbu, that she would like to see everybody after the dinner. ''Please, inform your father that I want to see everybody after our meal tonight. I don't want to forget this'' Daa Achikwu pleaded. ''It's okay, I will inform him'' Egemole replied. ''Good, thank you'' Daa Achikwu said. ''It's okay'' Egemole responded before he handed back her daughter to her, and left.
A few minutes after their dinner, everybody except Egemole's friend, Ajaero, converged in Adaure's hut. ''Please, don't be offended. I have been very restless since I woke up today. Not because of my body pain. In fact, I initially intended to thank you all for how you brought me back to life after the attack. However, the dream I had last night made this moment inevitable. But I would like to thank all of you. Unu bu ihe- you are wonderful, especially Akuigwe, for her early morning hot water for bathing'' Daa Achikwu said, before laughter from everybody interrupted her.
''And fetching water for me, making sure water was not a challenge for me'' she continued. That got everybody emotional. ''Thank you, mama, I thought they said I was not good for anything'' Akuigwe quipped. ''That's a lie, you have been so amazing'' Adaure said, and everybody started laughing out loud. ''Who said you are not good for anything'' Chigbu asked, rhetorically. ''Papa, I mean, everybody, except Daa Achikwu'' Akuigwe said. That got them tickled, and they started a round of laughter.
Everybody thanked Daa Achikwu for her strength and assistance. ''I came to assist my daughter, Adaure, and to help nurse the baby. But the hoodlums chose to create a liability instead for you people by attacking me. But I thank God that your efforts were not wasted. I am back on my feet'' Daa Achikwu said, demonstratively, by hitting the ground with her legs. They all laughed in appreciation of her.
''So, I call to plead with you not to relate this attack the youth of Ndi Ikpa had inflicted on me to anyone from Nkwerre. I can always beg my husband's kinsmen and get their understanding. But please, never by any chance relate this to my kinsmen, the Nkwerre people. I don't want any trouble. I have never had any problem with anybody since I was married to my husband. So, let it not be now that I am close to my ancestors that I will have it. Please, I beg of you. I know Nkwerre people. I don't know where the dream is coming from, but I only hope it ends as an ordinary dream. Please'' Daa Achikwu continued, beseechingly.
After Daa Achikwu made his pleas to the Chigbu's family, there was a vocal silence. It took minutes before any mouth could put anything close to the ears of anybody there. To prove that Daa Achikwu was talking to humans, something had to happen. Chigbu broke the silence as he hissed while sitting down beside Daa Achikwu, who, noticeably, was frightened by the hewing silence that followed her spirited pleas. ''We have heard you Ogo. We will do as you pleaded. After all, you have recovered. Nsogbu adighi- there's no problem'' Chigbu replied, angrily shaking his head both ways. No matter how he felt, his words had done more than enough. It had tamed the aggression in his son, Egemole, who suddenly lowered his head down, and stopped stomping his feet.
''Yes, if you have a chance, on Nkwo market day, Egemole, I would like you to accompany me to Uga, ka m ga juo ese maka ihe ufodu- to go and do divination for some certain things. Ozokwa, agbabeghi aha onye bia uwa a- again, the name of whom had reincarnated in this baby is not known yet. We will use one stone to kill two birds, and this time, possibly more birds'' Chigbu continued, as he turned to his son, Egemole.
''Obu eziokwu, nna anyi- it is true our father'' Egemole replied. ''So, prepare. It is on Nkwo day'' Chigbu said. Anugo m, eme ka anyi jee- I have heard, we will go'' Egemole said, assuredly.
In traditional Igbo villages, whenever a child is born, their parents become debtors to them. Yes, they have the responsibility of raising such a child very well, to be a responsible child. This to show the world that he or she is from responsible parents, from a responsible kindred, from a responsible village, and from a responsible ethnic stock.
But there was more, however. Children were seen as gifts from the Gods, from the land of our ancestors, who had come back to complete a journey or embark on one in their chosen family. It was the duty of the parents to go for an afa- divination in the shrine of dibia afa- a diviner, to find out whom the family had just welcomed in their midst. Some came from among a family's ancestors, relatives, friends, well-wishers, and some came as the gods the community commune with, who had come for good, or for something yet unknown.
Olamma, as a gift, had been given to Egemole and Adaure, his wife, and they owned her a lot. But knowing who had joined them with that beautiful physical body from the land of the Gods of their ancestors has a lot to contribute to how the child should be nurtured and raised, his callings and the ways of answering them. This helps in preparing them mentally to embrace their destiny with a lot of focus, a sense of fulfillment, and happiness.
Already named Olamma- the jewel of beauty, by her grandmother, Daa Achikwu, when she came to babysit her after her birth. Her beauty was so dashing. Instead of seeing a normal newborn baby, she saw a ravishing beauty on the bed, emitting the glory of a wondrous life which must have passed through many rivers that washed off anything that looked dirty or ugly on her.
Her beauty reminded her grandmother of so many beautiful faces among her relatives that had joined their ancestors. She was sparkling with beauty that was irresistible. Her cries looked more like singing. There was no fury in her yearnings. She was at peace with the body of anyone that carried her without crying, or showing signs of anything that looked like stress. When she grabbed the alluring breasts of young Adaure, her mother, with that harmless quietness, everything around smelt of beauty.
Adaure would remit one thing, and that was the beauty of her labor shrunken face. Her breasts would be dangling around like two well-harvested pears dipped in early morning dew waiting for a nice set of teeth to make a mark on them. How gently she grabbed her own, effortlessly, and Daa Achikwu would be amazed and wondering out loud, 'who came in my house this time? Who is in this crystal stone? Adaure, my daughter, who gave you such a beautiful daughter that is recreating you into a smoke of beauty I never knew my daughter was? O' my God, look how beautiful you have become, my daughter, since giving birth. Who are you, my granddaughter? Ebe ka isi- where are you from? Of all the places in the world you chose to come into my house, really? Wish you could talk to me. Nno nwa m- welcome my child'. Those were some of the words Daa Achikwu always threw around whenever her granddaughter lay hold of her mother's breasts, as though she was thoroughly taught how to hold them before she was conceived.
When she went through the memory line of her relatives, she knew, and passed on, all in her head, Daa Achikwu concluded that the only one that came close was her grandmother, also named Olamma. So, she had a conviction that it was her grandmother that had fulfilled her promise of coming back to her before she passed on.
Although her matriarchal ancestry represented unbound earth beauty, especially two, more especially, the darkest of them all, who was her father's mother, was a beauty that caused many wars, before Osigwe won her heart. ''she must be Ola m- my Jewel'' she would always say as though by mere wishing her granddaughter would become the reincarnation of her paternal grandmother, Olamma.
Within a few days, people around the large compound had started calling her granddaughter the name she had chosen. After all, as the name implies, Olamma seemed to be the closest of names that represented her looks. But does assumption always win?
As their culture always demanded divination before one could conclude on the ancestors that came back, there were still cases of wrong divination or wrong answers. And when the divination was interpreted wrongfully, it tells on the little child that was born. She could fall sick often and on, and some, if not sorted out on time, could die of some chronic ailments, especially when people were still ignorantly calling him or her the name of another soul that had not re-incarnated in the child.
However, some children were determined to stay back, to wait till the right soul that re-incarnated in them was discovered and given its rightful recognition, or they systematically, tactfully, consciously or unconsciously gave the name of who they actually were. If any smart elderly person was around when they were making such an announcement, they would raise their voice and call whosoever that was around to break the news.
Most times, one can see those kids a few seconds after being engaged in another world of plays that concern children, as though such words or announcements never came out of their tiny mouths.
If an elderly person was privileged to get such a message from those determined souls that came as children, after making the announcement to their neighbors or family members, or to friends, they would take the child, bath him or her, and give them something to eat. After these seeming rituals, the sickly child would start recovering. Some recover immediately from their ill health after eating the joyfully prepared meal for them.
However, here is a thing: the dream Daa Achikwu had concerning Uzonwanne stream was still influencing what she was thinking. She was worried about seeing something that looked like war or invasion against Ndi Ikpa or Ntu village, her marital village. Yet, that word she heard without seeing the speaker in the stream kept her instinctively concerned. She had been seen by Adaure, her daughter, memorizing 'you have bathed me for eight days now, but you have not seen enough of me.''
Whenever she thought about those words, what came into her mind took two different directions, and even more. Was this baby she had come to babysit a human or another thing? But the love of her grandmother and those suiting words she left embedded in her when she was on her journey of no return, would always draw her to believe that actually someone had fulfilled her promise. This conviction seemed to be stronger whenever she took a look at little Olamma, whose rays of beauty could heal total blindness.
As an elderly woman, nurtured and raised among a deeply cultured generation, thinkers, seers, and spiritual humans, she was equipped with some traits of insight to know certainly so many things more than ordinary eyes could see. Age comes with wisdom for people who choose to be open enough to welcome it. Daa Achikwu no doubt belonged to that very class that submitted themselves totally to the course of its rigorous humblings.
She had made many predictions that came alive and the few ones that did not come through were that close. Nobody put her on trial for these recent concerns, but traits of deep cultural leaning did. Hardly could peace be seen visiting her heart until she got a grip of what hovered around as she saw it. She could not wait to see her in-laws return from Uga. To her, redemption comes with their return.