The Earth's Story Retold

Prologue

She swept into the room like the earth force that she was, fixing her eyes on the tiny beings who were the souls of the earth, and who did great things to keep earth going.

There were so many of them, all so very tiny, that it was easy to squash them. But without them, this world would be entirely different. However, she had a new task for them.

Looking around the large, green room, with vines hanging from every corner, she nodded with satisfaction. It was the room she used when addressing all the creatures.

The woman was not at all human. She had a pointy nose that looked like the cutting edge of a proper compass. Her eyes were pure emerald with an ethereal sparkle. Her face was green, smooth and beautiful. Her ears were spiked like a goblin’s. Her hair was flowing vine, like the cloth she wore.

She did not have to worry about tripping over the vine because she did not walk. The force of the earth flowing inside her body elevated her off the ground, so she floated, her cloth gliding over the ground, making everything on it alive in its wake.

Sometimes, she wished she could walk. It would be incredible knowing what it was like to walk on the vines scattered all over the ground. Most of the creatures did not walk. They flew or floated.

Yes, she was Vera, Mother Nature. Right now, she was furious. Her eyes gleamed in a sickly green face.

Mother Nature turned to a tiny creature in front of her, whose face was indistinct in the dimmed emerald light of the green room. ‘I want you to go into the world and find out why I am weak amid these humans. They should be blessed that I make my home in their country. My father will be upset at what I am about to do but I cannot keep quiet any longer, not if I wish to live.’

The creature nodded solemnly. ‘I shall do as you wish, Mother, but I want to know what I am going to be looking out for when I go into the human world.’

Her name was Gea. She was not looking forward to this adventure, having heard from other creatures that had been on earth surface that it was very harsh for gentle and weak creatures like her. However, she could not refuse Mother Nature anything. Indeed, she loved to please her, and that was why she was agreeing to her command. She understood that Vera might not even be aware that the venture was very dangerous. Gea hoped she would stay alive long enough to get the message across to her.

Vera looked wildly around her. ‘I want you to go in there and find out what is causing my children to die. There are too much evil on the earth surface. I can feel it. I want you to find it for me. Sniff it out, my little angel.’ Her eyes softened as they focused on Gea. ‘While you are looking for it, I do not want you to give up your life in the process. They are not worth it. You may leave.’

Gea realized Mother Nature had just given her the chance to back out. That was why they called her the fair mother. But she knew she wouldn’t say no to Vera, because she wanted to do it for her. ‘I will do as you say, Mother.’

Gea was a fairy messenger. She was so tiny she was almost invisible. She had a pointy mouth like a beak. Some called her a bird, but birds didn’t talk like Gea. She had wings like birds, and also had a leg. She had the same kind of ears and eyes as Vera but in a much smaller size.

She flapped her tiny wing, leaving Mother Nature’s presence through the tiny hole that led her to the earth surface. Gea did not know from where to start, but she did not have to search long; the evil drew her.

She recoiled from it when she felt it oozing from the earth surface. It was suffocating. Moving out of the ground, she flew to the air above, where the evil was present but to a lesser degree.

Unknown to Gea, she had descended on the earth surface at dawn. She was too weak a creature to stand the heat of the sun, which was yet to come out, so she built up enough energy to fly from one corner of the earth to the other, trying to find out what made it so evil. She could now ascertain that the evil was in connection to the earth, and kinds of Gea could not survive it.

She flew to the side that had the most repugnant odour. She was afraid to go closer for fear that the evil would suffocate her, but she had no choice but to do so. That was the only way to pinpoint from where the evil was exactly coming. She noticed that the soil here was darker and that there was no vegetation. She went closer, and then stopped suddenly when the smell hit her in the face.

Blood!

The realization shook her very being. She knew what blood could do to living vegetation. It killed it outright. It was also the fastest way to kill her kind. If it was the source of evil, then it was very dangerous for her. It was not just any blood that could kill her kind. It was only human blood. They still could not understand why. That was the reason they fled their former abode – a place underneath the earth surface, where the land was so full of rich earth that they did not pay attention to the earth surface. By the time they realised what was happening, it was too late to fight it. The humans living above were having the biggest bloodbath in human history. They were at war. The bloodshed was so much upon the earth that the whole vegetation was almost gone. Mother Nature was unable to do anything because she had agreed to obey her father, which meant that she was not to show herself to the humans.

They had to leave the place. They came to a land that was peaceful and had been staying there until another evil of the old kind came upon them again. It seemed Mother was not going to stay quiet about this one. Gea hoped that her father would not be very angry with her.

She flew forward to know if she could find more. That was when the sun came out and did so with vengeance. Gea felt weak and tired. She looked up and felt the heat of the sun scorch her. She tried to find a place to hide, but could not. Though they needed sun, too much of it killed her kind instantly. She felt her life force leaving her. At the sight of a big plant, she flew towards it as though it was home. She knew that if she made it on time before she died, she would live. She tried to fly harder but her wings had a mind of their own. She started falling. She was unconscious before she touched the big leaf for which she was heading. She blended in with the plant as if she was part of it.

She was part of it.

Chapter One

‘I am going to get the cabbage we will sell today,’ Munachi told Kosi her sixteen-year-old daughter. ‘I did not want to cut them yesterday because I wanted them to be as fresh as possible. Bring the basket and come and help me.’

‘Okay, ma. Let me get my slippers. I don’t want ringworm to enter my leg,’ Kosi replied.

She laughed and watched her daughter disappear into the house. Kosi was her pride and her joy.

Munachi was a widow and a trader. She lived with her child beside Mark street in Onitsha. She did not have a lot so she tried to make the one she had, look as good as possible. She was content with that and refused to accept anything from her husband’s malicious people, who took away all she had when her husband died. It was tough living in a harsh world, where she had to fight to make ends meet, but Munachi survived.

Her cabbage was the best in the whole of Onitsha market and she wanted to keep it that way.

Together, mother and daughter went to the garden to gather the mature cabbage for the market.

Munachi at forty was petite for such a hard-working woman. Her skin which had taken the brunt of the sun was wrinkled now, but one could see by looking at her that she was once a beauty. Her eyes neither large nor small were brown. It changed with her emotions. When she was angry, her eyes narrowed, and when happy, they were full of laughter. It was a mesmerizing change.

Her daughter looked just like she did when she was still the village belle, but she was taller – a trait she got from her father – and her uniquely red lips was an added attraction.

While harvesting, Kosi’s eye caught a particular cabbage. It was large and enticingly fresh. Not for her to eat; she would never eat another cabbage if her life depended on it. She had been eating it all her life. She knew, however, that she could sell it at a very high price.

She packed the cabbage in a barrow and went for the market. Once there, she set that one aside and pegged it at six hundred naira, hoping to increase the price if the customer was well-dressed.

It did not take long before someone approached and selected the big cabbage, but declined to pay the huge sum.

Kosi, agreeing to the four hundred naira the customer bargained, chose a smaller cabbage and handed it over.

‘I want that one. It is so nice and yummy,’ the woman said regretfully, eyeing the big cabbage.

‘I know,’ Kosi replied. ‘I too want you to buy it but I won’t accept your price. You will agree with me that it is too big for four hundred naira. Thank you for buying from me.’

The woman left. A few steps away, she turned to give the cabbage another look.

Kosi felt sorry for her. By the way, the woman was looking at the cabbage, it was obvious that she wanted it. Kosi shrugged and looked away. There was nothing she could do.

‘Are you the one selling this?’ a woman in a beautiful red dress asked.

Kosi wanted to answer, No, it is my ghost and it went to eat but decided not to be sarcastic. The woman might be the one to buy her priceless cabbage. She could see by the way she was staring at it that it was the one she wanted. She knew this kind of fancy people. They got what they wanted no matter the price. Kosi decided to see how high she was willing to go.

‘Yes. I am the one selling it. Who else? Or do you think I like standing here all day?’

The woman ignored the way the younger girl talked to her. Giving her a once-over and seeing that her old dress must have been handed down to her by her mother or grandmother, she merely continued, ‘I want that big fleshy one over there. How much it is?’

Kosi did not like rich people simply because she was poor. ‘The last price is one thousand naira.’

‘That’s very costly,’ the woman exclaimed. ‘It’s just cabbage. Will you sell it for six hundred? That is what I am willing to pay.’ She picked the cabbage and looked at it, then pouted her red-painted mouth and waited for the seller’s answer.

Kosi shook her head. She was not about to sell it for her at that price. ‘I will give you eight hundred because I like your dress, but that is the last.’ Deciding to encourage her, she teased, ‘Why are you doing like Jesus Christ is not God. They are all the same, aunty. Buy this thing from me. I know you are more than that!’

The woman looked at her and smiled, thinking the young girl was beautiful and sassy in a charming way. She was aware the girl knew that she wanted that cabbage and would pay anything for it, but she wanted to know how low she could go. ‘Is that the last price? I really want this. Let me give you seven hundred. I have tried. I know that the cabbage is very good but it is not that good. I might be rich but I don’t spend that way.’

‘No, aunty. That is the last price. I can’t reduce it more.’

Tired of bartering, the woman gave in. She wanted to be done and head for Abuja. She did not have all day like this girl. ‘Bag it for me, then. I just want one. I am not a goat that eats grasses a lot. One will be more than enough.’

Opening her purse, she brought out three thousand naira notes and handed the girl. ‘Use the rest for the completion of your school fees. I just wanted to know how good you are at bargaining.’

Kosi jumped with joy and thanked her profusely. ‘Aunty, thank you so much. May God reward you! Please, may I know your name?’

‘Ozioma.’ She wanted to point out to the girl that she was not her aunty but decided against it. That would only hurt her feelings. She wrapped the cabbage well and put it inside the bacco bag she was carrying.

She was getting the cabbage for Emeka her husband. She liked salad but Emeka loved it.

‘Bye, ma. God bless you,’ Kosi chanted after her.

‘And you, too,’ Ozioma replied over her shoulder.

**************************

Ozioma Ani set the dish of fried rice she just finished cooking onto the dining table. Emeka was still upstairs in his room. The thought of going up to find out what he was doing wearied her. He was probably watching football. They lived in a decent three-bedroom flat in Abuja. She decorated the flat herself, removing all traces of bachelorhood Emeka left here and there, and she rather liked her handiwork. The kitchen was where she overdid herself. She bought everything she wanted, and in her preferred make. The dining room was also very nice, but then, according to her, the pride of a woman was in her kitchen. That didn’t mean she did not pay attention to the other parts of the apartment. She decorated them to the best of her creativity.

‘Emeka, please come down now and eat your food. Don’t make me come up there,’ she shouted, knowing he was waiting for her to announce dinner.

‘Yes, mummy,’ a coarse voice said from the landing.

‘Now it’s too late.’ She sounded like a mother. It wasn’t surprising; she felt like a mother to her husband. She loved him but he could be boyish sometimes. They had been married for about a year. They met at a pool party. Emeka was the tallest at the pool that day, and, with his perfect abs, there was no way Ozioma couldn’t have fallen for him. They dated for six months before getting married.

Now, a year later, she was still in love with him, but Emeka could be very trying. He lived such a carefree life that she was always picking up after him. It wasn’t surprising that she started feeling more like a mother than a wife.

Emeka ought to help out in the house by setting the table, but he preferred to watch football or play games.

Ozioma sighed. All the same, she loved him. She heard him come down, making noise on the stairs as usual.

‘What are we eating? I am so hungry I can eat you and still be hungry.’ He gave her a wolfish smile and sat down at the dining table, rubbing his hands together in glee.

He was dressed in knickers with no top. She enjoyed looking at his chest. When she told him that, he started going shirtless in the house, to her great delight.

‘I made your favourite – salad, fried beans and rice. I also made plantain.’ As she mentioned the food, she lifted the lid of each dish.

Emeka clapped his hands. ‘Now I know why I love you. You know my heart and my stomach.’

‘I saw this fresh cabbage and I knew I had to get it for you. I know how much you love goat food. I used it to make the salad for you.’

‘It’s not goat food and it is good for your health.’

‘I eat it all right but not the way you do.’

She sat down beside him to eat. Emeka did not talk until he had demolished more than half of the salad. He fed her from time to time but gave himself more than he did her. Ozioma did not mind. She just wanted to eat her share of the food before he finished it for her.

When he was done with the salad, with very little remaining, he told her to eat the rest, patting his stomach to indicate he couldn’t find space for more. Ozioma finished the rest of the salad and took a little rice and beans.

‘I am full to the point of overflowing,’ he groaned, going over to where she was sitting. ‘I am now in the mood for other fun things.’ He looked at her like she was another salad.

She flushed.

‘Are you blushing? I will be damned. So what do you say? Should we go up?’

‘Let me finish the food. I’m still eating, Emeka, in case you haven’t noticed.’

‘Why don’t you leave the food? I will feed you with another type of food.’

After a little hesitation, Ozioma said, ‘Okay, let’s go up.’

She stood up, and he kissed her passionately. The next thing she knew was that she was up in the air, and into his arms, and then he was climbing the stairs. She laughed. Emeka was very mischievous. And she loved him for that.

In his room, he quickly undressed her and made love to her, his body throbbing with unusual excitement. She went along with him, glorying in his passion.

They were unaware of the actual content of the cabbage. It was the leaf that Gea landed on as she expired. After the couple had eaten the cabbage and made love, the spirit of Gea found its home in the earth intercessor, the child who would speak for the vegetation and for the human, as she was conceived that day.

**************************

Nine months later, Ozioma gave birth to a bouncing baby girl. It was hard labour, but she made it. Emeka was so happy. She had earlier wanted to name the baby Madea. It was a name she had cherished from childhood. But she changed her mind later and left it to Emeka, who said that they would name her in honour of his late mother. They named her Ola Nancy Ani Jr.

‘Ozioma, she is perfection in a human form,’ Emeka, while peering at the baby in the cot, told his wife, with pride vibrating in his voice. ‘You have made me the happiest man ever. She looks like me.’

Ozioma was exhausted as she should be after giving birth to that very perfect baby. Her hair was dishevelled and she had no makeup on. Not that they were required for her to have a safe delivery. She was in one of the best hospital beds and she was very comfortable.

The room was filled with flowers from well-wishers, which came in while she was unconscious. Emeka even brought balloons to lift her spirit, not that it needed lifting.

Ozioma smiled weakly at her husband from her hospital bed. Trust him to start claiming his right as a daddy even before she was out of the bed. She looked at him and her new daughter and thought that she had never felt happier. She doubted if she would ever feel this happy again.

‘You are right,’ she agreed, ‘she is perfect and she is the most beautiful baby I have ever seen. But she does not look like you, Emeka. You are ugly. She looks like me.’

Emeka looked haggard. His beard was overgrown and he had circled his now happy eyes. His mouth was weak from smiling. He had been there all through the process of their daughter’s delivery. Indeed, Ozioma did not let him go.

‘If you say so, but I think she looks like me when I was a child.’ Emeka peered closer at his daughter. ‘Don’t you think she is a little green? She looks very small and shiny.’

The baby was not green but she looked like she had a green hue all around her, as though she was sick. A lot like the sick emoticons found in electronics these days. He did not like it but he did not want to think much about it.

The nurse, with the name tag Mary, turned and looked at them when he said that. Everybody in the hospital also thought the baby was very beautiful but looked sickly, and her colour was a little off. The doctor had checked her to see if anything was wrong, and found that she was as healthy as a horse. They did not know why she had a green colour. They hoped it was not an introduction to something bigger.

‘Your baby is all right,’ Nurse Mary proclaimed. ‘She has been checked and confirmed healthy. There is nothing wrong with her.’ She smiled encouragingly at the couple, not wanting them to be worried about this beautiful day their first child was born.

Emeka heaved a sigh of relief.

‘I think she is that way because she is very special and she is meant for great things,’ Ozioma foretold. ‘And because you eat a lot of vegetables,’ she added jokingly. She lifted her arms. ‘I want to hold her.’

‘Darling,’ Emeka said softly, ‘I don’t think that is a good idea. Did the doctor say that you can hold her? I don’t want to risk anything.’

‘It is alright, Mr. Ani,’ Mary put in. ‘She can hold the baby as long she does not try to carry her and walk.’

Emeka reluctantly handed the baby to his wife. He did not want her to stress herself, but Ozioma was a very hard person to argue with. If she wanted to hold the child, wild horses would not stop her. It was better to give in to her gently.

Chapter Two

Sixteen years later

Emeka and Ozioma were in the room of their new house getting ready for a wedding. It was a very large house. Their bedroom painted blue – Ozioma’s best colour, with soft plush rug, was especially big, with an intimidating king-size bed at the centre. Hanging on the wall opposite the bed was a romantic picture of Ozioma sitting on Emeka’s lap, with him feeding her an apple. It was taken during their picnic at Calabar.

Sitting in front of the dressing mirror, Ozioma looked at herself. A perfectly made-up face gazed back at her. She had the latest Brazilian hair, which cascaded down her back. Despite gaining a little weight over the year, she knew she looked good for a mother of two, and she was determined to look her best for the first official function she was attending from her new home.

A reflection of her husband caught her eye and she put down the mascara tube she was holding and gazed at him. He was sweating a little despite the air-conditioner, but that wasn’t what interested Ozioma. It was his clothes. His traditional attire.

She planned to wear her new red gown to the wedding, knowing it would fit her perfectly, but that might as well be a dream, going by her husband’s clothes.

‘I don’t know why you insist on wearing these clothes,’ she wailed. ‘I told you that they make your big tummy more pronounced. Why don’t you wear your suit since I will be wearing my red gown?’

Ozioma wanted him to look the part of a sophisticated man. She still loved her husband despite his annoying habits. During those trying moments, she often wished she was not married to him. But when she remembered how very sweet and charming he could be, she was always glad she was married to him. They had been married for seventeen years now.

She was very uncomfortable with his weight gain. His belly was now bigger and his face was sagging. Seeing his thick waist made her sad. She had tried to tell him to control his weight, but he had refused. Not that he refused, it was just that he did not have time. He was working harder than usual, and she knew why. He was trying to pay up the loan he took for buying their house. Ozioma felt guilty for making him buy this house, but she could not bring herself to suggest they leave it for a smaller one.

Her daughter Nancy would be thrilled if they were to move. She did not want to live here, but Ozioma did not care. She did care but she could not help it. She just wanted this for herself, and since Emeka was able to do it for her, she went for it. It could be said that she was selfish in this case.

Their new home was located at GRA, where the affluent lived in Abuja, unlike their old home in Han’s Avenue which was more for the middle class. This time, Ozioma invited professionals to decorate the house, and they did a fabulous job.

The truth was that this was her dream house, and she was not about to leave it at all. They had just moved into the upper side of the state and she loved every minute of it. They were invited to the wedding of a couple they did not even know.

Emeka did not want to go but she wanted to be there and she was not going without him.

While waiting for her husband to reply to her, the door burst open and Nancy flew in.

‘Mum, do you think this thing will be good for that birthday thing that we are going to?’ The young girl held a long black gown to her body for her mother’s inspection.

Ozioma suppressed the urge to tell her daughter she didn’t have to speak in such a high-handed manner. She was proud of her daughter’s figure. Nancy had grown up to be tall and slender with a long neck. When she was ten, Ozioma thought that she would be gawky, but she grew up to fill in the right places. With her pointed nose which was elegant as a black aristocrat, Nancy was an epitome of African beauty. Her mouth was a tad small. She had big black inquisitive eyes. Her hair was the best thing about her. It was thick and long. It mocked hair extensions; she did not need them.

If she put her mind to it, Ozioma thought her daughter could become a famous model. She had the figure for it, but she knew Nancy would want nothing of the like. She was too serious for a girl of sixteen. She acted like she was thirty and that people around her did not know what the world was about. She had long found out that Nancy loved to be left alone, but then, it was hard to be alone in a world filled with people, especially if you had a little brother who adored you and thought you were cool.

‘That dress is lovely, sweetie, but don’t you think that the red one I bought for you last week will be better? You look rather ravishing in that one. I think you should wear it.’

‘I don’t like it and I won’t wear it. You just want me to wear it so I will look attractive to those stupid boys so that you will find more reason for us to stay in this ridiculous place. I won’t give you more reasons. I don’t like this place and I am going to wear this horrible dress to mourn my old house.’ As swiftly as she came, she swung away and left.

Ozioma felt guilty for uprooting her daughter and dumping her in an alien home, but that didn’t give Nancy the right to speak to her like that.

‘Don’t you think that Nancy is becoming a little too rude to me?’ she asked her husband who was standing in front of the mirror the whole time that Nancy was ranting, in the pretence of arranging his clothes.

‘Don’t you think I slimmed down just the tiniest bit this week?’ Emeka said, not answering her question.

Ozioma knew that her husband had nothing to say in defence. Neither did she, but she wanted this place.

‘Answer what I am asking you, Emeka. What do you think?’

‘I think you worry your pretty head too much. She will get used to this place and she will stop being grumpy. You wanted this and you know I will give you anything that is within my power, even some things that are not within my power. If she has a problem, let her hurry and get married so that her husband can hearken to her requests. And she can also build a bridge and get over it. Now do you think that my stomach will get flat again if I stop eating fufu at night?’ he asked, smiling at his wife and thinking how much he loved her. That was why he did all kinds of things to please her, even though Nancy was one hell of a woman that was hard to please.

‘Your stomach is fine,’ Ozioma said, not wanting to hurt him. She stood up and hugged her husband from behind. ‘I love you,’ she whispered.

Emeka smiled and turned around to kiss her. ‘And I will do anything for you. Anything, my love.’ Indeed, he had done some unspeakable things in the name of making her happy. He hoped she would never get to know those things.

‘Anything?’

‘Yes, anything besides stopping eating fufu in the night,’ he said with a wicked grin.

‘Do you think you can finish in the next five minutes so we can start going? Can you do that for me?’

He nodded. It was actually funny that after seventeen years, Ozioma still got ready for events before him and she managed to do everything that a lady was required to do and still had time to wait for him to get ready.

‘Right away. I am ready. I will even wear the suit if that will make you smile.’

‘You can wear anything. I will still smile.

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From the gate, Nancy watched in horror as the house that harboured her parents collapsed before her very eyes. She could not do anything but stand transfixed as the house they had lived in for the past three months was reduced to nothing. It was not bombed down. She knew that. She had felt something when they came to live in that house. The earth beneath her had not felt normal. For one, it was too soft to be strong. She had told her father this, but he just told her to calm down. she had.

But she was not calm now. She was very much paralyzed with fear. She knew that her parents were inside there. She could not explain how she knew but she knew, just like she knew that the house was about to collapse.

Going close to the house was suicidal, yet she was tempted to do so.

‘Mum,’ Ivan shouted from behind her. He made to run to the house, but Nancy, gathering her thoughts, shot out her hand in time to draw him back.

Ivan was just fourteen years old. She wondered how he would handle the death of their parents. He was very easy to please and equally easy to hurt. He was that gentle. She hoped that the death – or better, the disappearance – of their parents would not break his gentle soul.

‘They are gone, Ivan. They are gone, with the house,’ Nancy said dully. She did not even know that her face was wet until she tasted the saltiness of her tears.

To be continued. the next oart of the story will be posted soon. hope you come back to find out where the house and coupled went after they got pulled into the ground.