African Magic
He knew he had a problem. Unlike the rest of his age group who were married and had retired from having more children. He felt too that the gods have seconded his motion for the action he was about to take.
He graduated top of this class being the first ever university graduate in the entire Amobia village.
His return from the university was heralded with a very big party that was put together by the entire village. He became an overnight celebrity with the promise of a brighter future and was going to be the first Amobia son to travel to Obodo Oyinbo.
But all that were figment of human imagination which bothered everyone that heard his story. After waiting for weeks on end for his scholarship letter to arrive. Before it arrived, he had told the entire villagers that he was going to be awarded a scholarship and even promised to support the schooling of, if not all, but most of the children in the village.
The letter came and its message was direct and hurtful:
Dear Mr Chuma Ikemefuna we are sorry to inform you that your application for overseas study of the master's programme in chemical engineering have been rejected because there are more qualified candidates in other federal universities whose applications have been considered. We wish you the very best in life...
He did not wait to read the rest of the letter when he flew into acidic rage and decided he was going to talk sense into the head of the department of chemical engineering in the University of Nsukka.
His right leg hung on one side of the hospital bed in the general hospital and his head turbaned with bandages, rested humbly on the pillow. The last thing he remembered was a loud bang followed by shattering glasses before everything went blank.
Their bus had made a collision with an incoming vehicle that had mysterious lost its brake. He was lucky to be alive because no other person survived the accident. It took several weeks before his leg could heal. Even when it did, he had to walk on crutches. The pain had been unbearable for his widowed mother who died few days after his discharge from the hospital.
More painful to him was that his betrothed Ihuoma had been given in marriage to a promising trader in Awka. At his angry request, Ihuoma's father had gone inside his Obi with kegs of palm wine Chuma's family brought for asking for his daughters hand in marriage.
'Make sure you carry everything and don't ever come into my compound again', Kalu, Ihuoma's father had threatened.
To Chuma, this was the last straw that broke his camel's back. He had been reduced to a mere ridicule in the village. How was he to carry the kegs of palm wine even if he wanted to? He eventually left the compound with misty eyes.
It was two weeks later when the stench of his corpse was found hung in his mother's bedroom. He had not left behind any note. But everyone who heard his story knew there was more to it than the eyes could see.
Thank you for reading to the end. kindly share your thoughts in the comment section. than you once again. Until I come your way. I remain sincerely,
Yours Truly,
Julius Topohozin.
