Chapter 1

Adanma had many suitors who came for her hand in marriage, but she declined all their requests, she told her parents and friends she wasn't interested in giving herself to any man. Her friends assumed she had a strange spirit disturbing her. It was noted in the community when a lady starts rejecting suitors and shows little or no interest in marriage, she had something disturbing her. It continued that way. She would always say that people get so concerned about people's problems, they make much fun of it ,even when it doesn't concern them.

After so many rejections, Adanma decided to settle with Okoro. They say when love is blind, it doesn't see the faults others see, or condemn what people hate, this applied in Adanma's case, many persons still wondered wh y it was Mr. Okoro. There's nothing good about him. She told them it was her marriage, and nobody had the right to interfere between her and her husband.

It's been 12 years of their union, and still, no cry has been heard in their home. So people gossiped and concluded it was the fault of Adanma, she stayed so long, and she rejected many suitors, maybe that's the tragedy she's facing now for rejecting them, her friends said.

Who knows what might be the cause of all this? Adanma sat with her hands on her cheeks, she was deep in thoughts, that she didn't even notice when her husband walked into the room.

Nma, what is it this time again? Have the birds dropped their faeces on you ?. Hmmm, she chuckled and said No, it's just about the child issues, we have tried so many times and used good herbs which should have worked out but to no avail…

What else do you want me to do?, Okoro asked.

Okoro was a religious man who never believed in the existence of God, he argued with his friends a lot about God .He asked them, why their Almighty God will allow them to suffer, he told them he loved his acts and the ways he lived. He wil continue to stay with his father's gods, he won't leave them.

Okoro had laughed at his friends who always took the bible every Sunday morning, every morning he would take his small gong and play a song for the shrine built in front of his house.

Dimgba Onyem ji aga ogu

Bia taa Oji,

He sang in the Igbo dialect and did his early morning worship daily, there was never a day he missed it .

Each morning he saw his friends going to the church , he always told them , they were going to see a God that they're not sure if He sees and hears them.

Okoro had a close friend who was a believer, but had no child , so that increased the level of annoyance, Okoro had over Christians, he asked his friend to give solid proof of what he had believed, you have no proof ,to give to me, that hour God has being better than mine , you're struggling and yet you have no child what's the real proof, that this God is really helping you. Please save every motivation and encouragement for yourself .

It's said that the proof a lion is the king of animals is not seen in words,the sight of a lion terrifies you ,his roaring alone scares animals ,what proves do you have he has being with you all this while.

His friend was mute all day ,he thought of the advice his friend gave to him ,but he decided to let his hands loose on God's word and tighten his heart to Keep following the truth that he had believed for a long time.

It's well, I just have to do what is right, Okoro muttered some words and both departed to different paths.

kenneth, as he was popularly known as Ken by his friends, he got married to a beautiful woman who's name is Uche,they shared the same bond and affection, he rarely hid things from his wife, when he got home, he shared with his wife what had happened between him and Okoro.

Nnem get me a glass of water, my ears have heard awful words today. What happened his wife retorted? Hmmmmm, he sighed, I met Okoro who spoke so ill of our belief , he said I was wasting my time following a God who we don't see , and we can't hear .. Hmmmmmm, surprises will never keep coming daily . So nature alone can't even tell that someone made it. Hmmmm, Ndi mmadu.Can he imagine he used your childless to speak against God.

Hmmmmm, people have no fear at all, how can he do such. Nnam, my good husband, ,his wife, Ken's wife knew , that a woman can certainly win the attention of her husband by indirectly calling him pet names and appeasing him by her actions, she did that and won the attention of her husband and he asked her. Ogini?( What is it? )

Can you remember the words of your mother when we got married newly, can you recall her wordsHmmmm, I can't, you know very well, I am not good at keeping words like that for a long time,he stared at her and shook his hand, I can't remember, his wife chuckled and said truly , its now i know that awoman is so powerful ,her brain can store up a lot of information , for a long time . Nnem , tell me what it is and shorten your sermons , women and their endless conversations.

Well , your mother told us that life is like a book with a front cover and a back cover, most times , people get to judge both covers without reading the contents of the book. Mmmmm, he stared at her and kept quiet. People are so fast judging us by how we look and what we don't have , and having no idea of the contents and good things, God have in mind for us. When we keep waiting on God, he knows what's best for us, he knows our contents more than those who just see our facial expressions or looks .You are right , dear wife, but what if we wait long and God doesn't answer us , what shall we do?. There are no other solutions elsewhere, whatsoever Okoro told is a clear lie.

Their conversation was interrupted by little children who played and ran to Ken's house. His wife immediately stood to view the people shouting and making those sounds , it was the little children , she kept mute and went inside, she told herself I need to let this children go back to wherever they were coming from, but some persons said our house once looked like a graveyard, its just my husband and I. If I allow them, the parents of these children would keep shouting at me for no useful reason. She looked at the children as they were coming close to her , she quickly embraced them and told them to go away soon. She immediately went indoors, to avoid issues with their parents. What took you so long? her husband asked? Hmmmmm nothing sir.

He looked and asked her to get another glass of water for him. ken loved and respected his wife, he always repeated the words of his late mother,, when you love and show honour to your wife , you would see your children grow that way. He showed much honour and love to his wife.His wife walked inside and handed the water to her husband and kept her hand over his shoulders and spoke to him , let us keep waiting , our time would surely come.

That night , the couples usually had a prayer time , they prayed together and always reminded God about their situations. But that night, ken was so weak he couldn't do it as usual, as he slept, he had a dream where he was in a room, though it was a bit dark in the room, it looked like a shrine to him. He turned to see a mirror, he looked into it and it displayed everything they did during the day , he was frightened by the sight of the mirror, it was like a movie being replayed to him, he woke up with much fear. He was scared and he couldn't share what he saw to his wife he kept the dream to himself. He didn't pray much about, he thought and said maybe I imagined what I saw in the mirror .

Back then, in Okoro's house, he bragged off his shoulders, of his fake identity, and the shrine in his house and no one dared to challenge him. He was never interested in helping people , and made life miserable for those who were serving as apprentices in his workshop. Okoro continued his early morning worship which he did in a small hut, he never missed it for once, it was better for him to miss a meal , than a day without going into the hut. Adanma was loved by her husband, but couldn't figure out why he became obsessed with the hut. She decided to ask him. My husband I discovered you have been so attached to the hut, and thats not the way it had been. If there is something going on, I should know.

It is said that when a dog searches for food and finds none , it begins to eat his own faeces. It's high time you know that, things aren't working the way it had been. Alot of sacrifices needs to happen for us to go back to our normal way of living. But my husband is this the best way? Nnem, get dressed tomorrow we shall be going to see anotherer higher priest.

Hmmm mmm, she walked away without saying any word ,she was getting fed up of the endless rituals and sacrifices they did,which nothing came forth. Her husband woke her up that early morning,and they journeyed to see the priest , it took about two days , when they got there , the place looked like a land where wastes are dropped, she felt embarrassed why her husband brought to such a dirty place, not long afterwards a man with a red tie on his head and with staff, walked out from a little muddy house with his back . He picked one kola nut and uttered few words and broke it into four parts,he dropped one close to the feet of Okoro and the other at his wife's feet, he ate the other ones.

He muttered some words again , and he looked up, he told them my people I brought this for you, he asked them to pick up the kola nut, Adanma was afraid of the craved images there , the whole placed looked scary , after much persuasion by her husband,she took the kola and ate .

He brought out a white powder and drew four lines , one pointing to Uche representing the south and the other to Okoro representing the east and the third to him representing the west and the last which should represent the North wasn't there. He shook his head and said abomination, he brought out his cowries and threw them on the floor , one flew to the arrow at the east , the other to the west and him, but the last one remained in its position. He looked at Okoro and Uche, he cleared his throats, he threw the last four beads, and he discovered it was three. Everything there was frightening to Adanma, the priest's face was scary too, she was scared of what the outcome of their journey would be. She thought in her hear that she would not have followed in the first place, more over, things were working better for us, it was my husband who always complaine ,why should I stay here, the priest spent many hours busy with his incantations, she was raged with ange , she whispered in her husband's ear. Nnam, how long are we going to stay here?.

He replied and told her, that when we receive a solution to our situations.