Yesterday night,
I was discussing with Ajali,
My half sister,
And she exclaimed, “Love is caring”,
Perhaps,
Because I was in a different frame of mind,
I paused for a while and ruminate over it,
Otherwise,
The phrase is a popular notion in the world of fantasy.
I thought hard about it,
I also thought hard about the two men in my life,
Okwudiri and Echezona.
I knew both love me,
But,
I don’t know whose love surpasses.
Echezona was my favourite person,
My heart yearns more for him,
For reasons I cannot easily explain,
Perhaps,
Because he was always around,
And we enjoyed our company together,
Discussing deeply and laughing boisterously,
Though with caution,
Lest my step mother report me to my father.
Okwudiri seemed distant,
But I noticed,
He cared more for me.
He is always willing to compromise for my sake,
Though,
He had seen us in several occasions,
Playing the lover’s game of hide and seek,
Even across his farm in the far outskirts of Moju Kingdom,
He had seen me dance for Echezona,
Twisting my waist to the dry beating of the Ikolo,
Yet he had waved and passed, smiling.
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Yet,
When I passed out in the dead of the night,
He was the first to come,
And carried me on his shoulder all the way to the herbalist’s hut,
Echezona came in the morning,
I heard he was aware that I had collapsed but was afraid to come,
Okwudiri was always speaking with me even after the widespread rumour that I was a spirit child,
Echezona avoided me for a while,
But when he started seeing us frequently and noticed that nothing happened to Okwudiri just like people envisaged,
He returned, begging.
I knew my heart lies with Echezona, the son of Ubaka,
But Okwudiri has my interest in his heart,
Ajali, my beloved step sister,
Has awakened in me that feeling of consciousness,
And I’m ready to choose wisely,
But,
What if, Okwudiri is just being caring with no emotions attached,
What if, I’m overreacting,
What if, Mbanefo the village drunkard is right,
He is always speaking gibberish, you know…
But,
How did he know that Okwudiri and I are destined to be together,
What does he mean when he said that,
Okwudiri knew about it and that is why he is not making a fuss over my love game with Echezona.
Wait,
What if, I have been dreaming?
What if, I’m slowly running a temperature and I need to visit the health center.
And,
What if, I am truly a spirit child.
Nice one dear