It was early in the morning when a sixteen-year-old girl was pounding palm kernels near next to an uncompleted building. The sound echoed through the compound accompanied by the cockerel which crowed creating a ripple effect across the village. Tall, bronze-skinned with a wrapper tied across her chest, the girl brought down the pistol with such vigor that some of the kernels flew out of the mortar but she quickly picked it up and put it back.
"Ah ah! Look at you. Working so hard in the morning! Kai! I admire you Amaka."
The girl stopped what she was doing and cast her brown eyes at the tall, lanky, clean-shaven man wearing an army-camouflaged uniform adorned with a cap and black boots and hissed scornfully.
"Ah ah. Amaka my love. Why are you so cold to me eh? What did I ever do to you to receive such cold treatment from you?"
"Mr. Combatant what do you want?" she snapped not looking up from her activity.
He chuckled and put the chewing stick in his mouth. "You know why I am here."
"If you are here to pay my bride price I suggest you should go to another compound. I am not interested in marrying you."
"Haba why now? Don't you want to be an...an...an army general wife?" he asked in glee.
She hissed again. "Army General my foot."
"Haba Amaka." he took out the chewing stick and spat out his spittle. "Forget about the bride price. When I get money to pay I will pay. In fact, when I get the money, I will take you anywhere want!"
"Mmm," she said twisting her mouth.
"London, Paris, Japan, Chinese anywhere! Just say the word and I will take you there! Allah! I swear! I will make you my queen!" he chuckled gleefully to himself. "I will make sure everyone knows that you are mine. In fact, the way I will decorate you with jewels from around the world ba, you will look more beautiful than..."
The abrupt pause made Amaka turn to him and seeing the confused look on his face, she hissed again.
"Like what?"
"Like...like...like em," he snapped his fingers. "What is the name of that Queen? You know that Queen of one place that is full of sand?"
"Full of sand?"
"Yes! One place like this is full of sand like this. That place wey sand covers the whole country and their people worship one god that has a lion's head and a human body..."
"Egypt?"
"Ehe!" he snapped his fingers at her. "That place. I will decorate you to look like the queen of that place. In fact, I will even buy you your own pyramid!"
"Abeg, abeg stop with this useless talk." Amaka snapped looking at him. "You claim to buy me all these things yet ride around the village with a yeye bicycle that can't even carry a child talk less of yourself."
"Haba Amaka! It has come to this?" he said disappointed. "Come do you know the reason why I am riding that bicycle?"
"Because you can't buy a car?"
"Eh no. I can afford a car. In fact, I can afford millions of cars."
"Indeed."
"Amaka! I am serious oh. I just don't want people to know that I am rich."
"Really?"
"Yes now. Do you know that if people hear all that I have been telling you, they will flock around me a...a...asking me for money and me I no get money."
"You no get money?"
"I mean I don't want to give them the money. You know how flies flock around cow dung, they will do the same thing and finish my money and I won't have any to give to you. That is why I am telling you all this. I want you to be the only one to know about this."
"And why is that?"
"Because you are special Amaka." he flashed his crooked yellow teeth at her as his yellow eyes gleamed with desire. "Amaka my love, my one and only. You are special. In fact you are one of a kind."
"Abeg leave me jor," she continued to pound the palm kernel.
"Haba Amaka. I am pouring my heart to you and you reject me like this?"
"If I am special to you, then who is Regina?"
"Ah ah? Regina who?" he asked in shock.
"Regina Sambo. The one who lives next to Mama Ekele's house," she asked.
"Ah ah! Me I no know who that one is oh. I don't know that one."
"You must be a joker!" she stopped pounding and looked at him to take a good look at him. "You are a big joker!"
"Come on! Where is this one coming from now?" he asked his anger flaring up.
"Didn't you get that girl pregnant?"
"Me? A whole Army General? Go and get that village prostitute pregnant?" he circled his hand over his head and snapped it to the sky. "God forbid."
"Ehe! Keep standing there deceiving yourself. Continue." she resumed her activity.
"Amaka! I don't understand oh. What is happening."
"You are still playing the role of a fool ba? Okay." she stopped and stared at him. "Many have seen you going to Mama Obina's kiosk to drink burukoto and eat amala and everyone knows that that girl Regina frequents that place to sleep with men. Young or old she must bed them. In fact, I bet she must have bedded all the men in this village. No be say her mama no born her well ba?"
"But I am different Amaka. I am different." he whined.
"You? Different?"
"Yes! I am a military man! Don't you know that military men are disciplined people? Therefore, I am trained to be a disciplined man! I will never sleep with another girl when I have eyes for only you Amaka."
"Indeed. Go away Mr. Millitary."
Upon hearing that he placed his finger on his tongue and pointed it to the sky. "I swear to the all mighty God that I have never in my whole life slept with that girl! Never!"
"You brought it upon yourself. Besides, I am getting married to someone else."
"What?"
She ignored him and resumed her activity checking once in a while to see if all the palm kernels were crushed before continuing.
"Amaka! Who are you marrying?"
"It is none of your business Mr. Combatant." she snapped.
"Amaka! I am serious oh! Who are you marrying? Who will have the guts to come here and steal my Amaka from me? Who?"
"Make una shut up there! I belong to nobody!" she snapped.
"Mgbam! No! You belong to me!" he beat his chest with his right hand in anger. "Amaka you belong to me! I did not go through all this trouble to have some village rat to come at take you away from me. No! I did not!"
"Didn't you sleep with the village slut yourself?" she asked.
"Will you shut up there? I didn't sleep with her! I am telling you again I did not sleep with her!"
"Keep deceiving yourself. The person I am marrying has already paid my bride price to my family."
"So you have already done the introduction?" he bellowed.
"Yes now! Besides, it's not like you could stand a chance against him. In fact, you can't even hold a kerosine lamp to him because he is using a rechargeable lamp."
"So what? What does he have that I don't have? Me a six-star Army General? A whole me?"
"Keep deceiving yourself." with that, she picked up the mortar and placed it on her head. "Go back and father the child you made with Regina. I am not going to marry you."
"Amaka!" he watched her walk into the house and gritted his teeth in fury. "Amaka I swear to the gods of this land I will marry you oh! Just wait and see! You will be my bride! I swear!"
ns 15.158.61.48da2
