'KUJUFURA'(2).

"Nabande Osun lamibo".

"The mystery behind the tongue".

PART TWO.

It was puzzling that kuju did nothing with all the money she had stacked up in an old Ghana must go bag. She was still wearing the same clothes, living in an uncompleted building, feeding poorly.

But anyways.

Rumours had it that Mother Abiju's once fully stocked shop had turned to a den of skinny rats and baby cockroaches. Kuju had stopped going to the market ever since she had sucked mother Abiju's store dry. She decided she needed time to lay off and plan her next move and during this period she spent a whole lot of time with Danku from telling of bed time stories, to playing rock, paper, scissors, to the popular game "Our mother likes to wear skirts" to telling him stories of her childhood and Danku didn't fail to tell her his also. His moji was a palm wine tapper and his mau sold palm oil at laban central market, he was the only child but he was surrounded with cousins, uncles and aunts. "Are your parents not worried about your whereabouts?". Kuju asked. "They don't care". Danku said softly."They all don't love me". " Why do you say that? I mean, they are your family". "They think I am a liar when I told them about aunt maria, they beat me and call me a liar". "Why were you crying that day I saw you outside? And why was there blood on your hands and shirt?".

A hot afternoon, little Danku was taking a nap with a deep crease on his forehead . He was angry with life, tired of everything, he was fed up with being called a liar. He hated how much Aunt maria manipulated him with treats. "Danny boy? Danny boy?". Aunt Maria called in a sing song voice moving from room to room in search of him. And Danku on hearing Aunt Maria's voice stood up from the mat on which he lay on the verandah and passed through the back door connecting to the kitchen and grabbed a knife quickly slipping it into the side pocket of his khaki shorts and using his worn out polo to cover it. He sneaked back to the verandah and resumed his position on the mat as Aunt maria continued to call out. "Danny boy? Danny? I got something for you". Aunt maria said as she continued searching for him. "Oh! Here you are". She said as she finally got to the verandah. "Danny? Are you asleep?". She asked tapping and after about 3mins Danku opened his eyes faking a yawn. "Good afternoon aunt". "How are you Danny? Hope you slept well?". She asked and all Danku did was nod his head. "Get up let's go inside, I got something for you". Danku was used to these lines but perhaps it might just end today. He stood up and followed after her to her room. Aunt maria shut the door and ordered him to seat down after which she handed him a big fancy bag. "Its all yours". She said chuckling. Danku's eyes widened in excitement as he looked into the bag. All sorts of nice toys, biscuits and chocolates, clothes. "Its not yours yet, you know". Aunt maria said as Danku started bringing the goodies out. She took the bag from his lap and carefully placed it on the dresser. Danku started breathing heavily as she unbuttoned his shirt, his palms were shaking and he was sweating despite the whirling fan above his head. He didn't know what to do but he knew for sure that he was tired of everything and he had no idea when this was going to stop. "Aunt maria can I get a hug please". Danku said as tears began to roll down his cheeks, she was almost done with the buttons. "Oh yes Danny boy". She said as she flung her arms open to embrace him and that was Danku's time to strike, he quickly but carefully pulled the knife out of his pocket and drove it hard into her ribs. "Ahhhrgh". Aunt Maria screamed as she fell to the floor clutching her ribs, using her legs to kick Danku but all efforts proved futile as her ribs were hurting so bad. "You ungrateful boy, you bastard, all I ever did was for your own good and this is how you pay me back". Aunt maria screamed as tears flowed down her cheeks. She deserved every bit of pain and more. Danku wasn't done with her, he stabbed her the number of times she had drawn those marks on his back till she was soaked in the pool of her own blood just like he had imagined when he watched movies. He dropped the knife on the floor when he was sure she was dead and no longer fighting. And he ran, ran as fast as he could. He didn't know where he was going but he was leaving laban for good. "What??". Kuju gasped. She was too surprised to believe that the little boy she was housing was a murderer, he killed his own aunt. She wondered how his parents must have taken the sight, she wondered if they knew he was the one and they were looking for him. Different thoughts crossed her mind both of judgement and consideration. Kuju stared at Danku and his expression masked fear. Was kuju going to expose him to everyone? Was she going to pursue him? What was she going to do about this? He was a murderer he knew that but he didn't have a choice, he was tired of everything and he had no idea when Aunt Maria was going to quit and he didn't want to die in pain. He could have ran away without having to kill anyone but she needed to be punished. He remembered an occasion when his Uncle, Bariku was telling him a story and at the end he said"The wicked shall never go unpunished". Andrew that was Danku's way of punishing Aunt Maria, karma was proving too slow and he couldn't exercise any more patience. Perhaps he could have poisoned her and watch her die slowly but no never! She had to feel the pain.

"Its okay!". Kuju said calmly nodding her head. "We 've all done something terrible to save ourselves from death, pain and trouble, we are all humans and we have no right to judge or point fingers at our fellow humans and he that is without sin should cast the first stone". Danku was shocked that kuju did nothing and all he could do was wonder! wonder and wonder!.

"Kick the ball! Zafu, Oya pass to me". Kuju watched as Danku and few street children played paper balls. The silence had become deafening and awkward and she had sent him down the road to play and she stood at the corner of a dilapidated shop watching them.

She thought about herself,she had killed someone too. Just few days ago the news had spread like wildfire round Okunri by the famous gossip lakande that mother Abiju had passed away and Kuju knew that it was because mother Abiju couldn't raise enough funds to remove the tumor in her lungs which she had been diagnosed with earlier and the hospital abandoned her refusing to offer any treatment without the complete money.

If she hadn't taken all her money, If she had just let the woman be maybe she would have still been alive. Tears rolled down Kuju's eyes for the first time in forever. She wiped them away almost immediately, crying was a sign of weakness and kuju hated feeling and being weak.

Kuju returned to the uncompleted building and sat on the floor waiting for Danku to return. She glanced round at the place that had become her home; the place that had housed her from the rain, cold and the creepy night creatures. Her mind went back to the day she ran into this building.

At Three-thirty in the afternoon, kuju and her family members sat down in the kuju's family house deliberating on what had wiped all the family members away in the twinkle of an eye and how to go about the funeral while Pa. Chibu cast a disdainful look at kuju.

"This indeed is very painful and strange". Uncle Nofe said as he shook his head. "A whole family wiped out in one day, in one night, under one roof and only one survives?".

"Very sad". Uncle Farina added. "But kuju tell us, do you know what happened? Were you not home?". He asked calmly with a deliberating tone.

Kuju remained calm, her eyes red and puffy from too much crying.

"Speak up witch!". Pa. Chibu spat acidly. They had questioned her thoroughly but kuju wouldn't say anything and soon arguments began to flow in from different sides of the wall on who was and was not a witch, on who was responsible, on why kuju survived.

Maybe being a survivor was a sin she had committed and needs to be punished for.

Pa. Chibu came for kuju, held her by her shirt and forced her to speak up.

"Speak up now you witch, if not I would flog you mercilessly. ". He screamed. "How can you not know what happened?".

"You must have something to say Kuju, even if you were not there, so speak up now". Uncle Farina said but stubborn kuju wouldn't say a word.

"Farina? The trauma of the death of her family is enough to keep her mute". Uncle Nofe said.

"Oh! She has become deaf and dumb that she can't at least say a word.. these people died some days ago and it's that not enough time for one to put herself together?". Pa chibu spoke bitterly. He had never liked kuju from the very day she was born and he had questioned her mother sternly asking if she ever went to Abulu the forbidden river during the time of her pregnancy because kuju looked like a child from the water but that would be a story for another day. And whenever he came visiting he never got her anything, he would always buy assorted sweets and biscuits for Bobo and kirinu but that never bothered Kuju.

The argument finally came to an abrupt end with Uncle Nofe shouting.

"It's okay! It's okay!". Uncle Farina kept shut while pa. Chibu kept on murmuring. Everyone knew he was a difficult man. He had 5 children and his wife sold 'fufu' at Okunri market. Kuju always avoided her whenever she went to the Okunri market because she would always ask too many questions and send her on too many errands. It was rumoured around kuju's neighbourhood then that pa. Chibu's eldest son had been expelled from the secondary school he attended. What an insult to the almighty over righteous pa. Chibu.

"This is not a time for unnecessary arguments, we are here to resolve key issues." Uncle Nofe said. "Now, kuju we would like you to say something, even if you were not present at that particular time, you must be able to say one or two things, your silence is becoming unbearable". He added.

All Uncle Nofe said didn't sink into kuju's ears as she remained silent. They all stared at her lips waiting for words but nothing came out.

The fear was killing her, her heart was thumping, her fingers shaking, her teeth chattering as she suddenly became cold. It had just happened but she didn't know how and she couldn't stand to see this men in front of her asking her questions she didn't have the answers to. She couldn't even speak to them and before you could say Jack Robinson she bolted out of the house running as fast as she could. She could hear pa. chibu's voice behind her.

"Get that girl! Get that witch! She's a murderer! Zafu!". He screamed.

It was so strange and funny at the same time.

Kuju looked back and saw some youths chasing after her and she increased her speed. If they caught her that would be her end and they would burn her alive at the middle of the Okunri market after accusing her of killing her family members and she was so sure that pa. Chibu would buy the fuel , volunteer the tire of his old volvo car and even strike the matches. How much he hated her guts!.

She followed a narrow road that led to Abeku running as fast as she could and eventually stopped at the front of an uncompleted building. Looked left and right and ran inside as she slumped on the ground breathing heavily, infact her breath was the only sound one could hear. Kuju lay with her back on the ground staring at the red roof. Her heart was beating and she was so scared, she prayed silently that those youths didn't trail her. Kuju's eye's fluttered for a while before it finally closed and she went on a journey to the dream world. She had a funny dream where she saw herself flogging pa. Chibu mercilessly and he was begging her for mercy. She woke up laughing so hard and loud that tears began to roll down her cheeks. Kuju hasn't laughed so loud and genuine in a long while.

She wiped her eyes with the back of her palms. It was morning already and her stomach growled in hunger and sadly she had no money on her. She quickly stood up and dashed out of the uncompleted building.

Kuju walked outside and saw a tap installed into a cement wall, turning it on, no water rushed out. She sighed in anger as she begun to walk down to the Okunri market. And just at the front was a tap, the queue wasn't so long and she stood there watching each person fill their gallons and buckets after which she washed her face and mouth and went further into the market. She prayed silently that she wouldn't see pa. Chibu's wife neither would the woman see her.

She walked up to a man who was carrying cartons of indomie, milk and spagetti into the trunk of his car.

"Good morning Bari aye!". She greeted. "Good morning pretty girl, how are you?". He was definitely not from Okunri and if he was, he would be among those few spoilt Okunri children who didn't know how to speak their local dialect. Kuju concluded in her head. " Fine sir!" Kuju smiled "I say make I com help you carry some enter boot".

"Oh! That's so thoughtful of you, thank you". Kuju started carrying the cartons one after the other after which she sighted a brown envelope at the back seat of the car. She saw the man exchanging pleasantries with the shop keepers husband and quickly she looked left and right before opening the car door. Luckily for her, it was a tinted glassed car. She sat inside, grabbed the envelope, opened it and stuffed all she saw into her worn out bra. It wasn't so much but it would be enough to cater for herself for at least one week. She arranged the envelope back just as she saw it, opened the door, chanted "kini kini Usman Usmanka" and continued with the cartons and after some time she walked up to the man.

"Ehen...Bari aye I don go oo". She announced walking off.

"Oh! Thank you so much my dear". He smiled at her retreating figure.

And that was how everything started. The quest to survive at all cost even at the expense of others.

"Aunt kuju! Aunt kuju!". Danku cried as he ran into the uncompleted building.

Kuju quickly stood up and rushed to where Danku was and on getting there she found a little boy pursuing him with a stick.

"What do you want? Eh? why are you pursuing him?". kuju raised her voice at the little boy and this made him to retreat in fear. The boy moved back slowly attempting to run but he needed to do something else, he needed to show that he wasn't so weak.

"Oribukun! Idiot.. don't ever come and play with us again....if we see you, you will regret your life". The little boy said pointing his finger at Danku fiercely.

"Come small boy are you mad? Don't you have respect for your elders? Why are you threatening him? You sure say you well so?". Kuju shouted at the little boy as she came closer and in the twinkle of an eye, the little boy threw the stick he was holding at Danku and ran off. Kuju ran after him but he she couldn't catch up.

"Come here smallie". Kuju said as soon she got back ."Are you a child? Eh? Don't you know you should fight for yourself at all times? Very soon you will become a man, men and weakness are not found in the same sentence inuri?"

Danku nodded his head.

TO BE CONTINUED.....