Ibeji (IV)
“ Ah! If I forgive him, it will be a greater sin than the one he has committed.”
The compound was quiet. Adelaafin was sitting next to the bamboo cage. Asake’s head was resting on a side of the cage and she was asleep while Abake was staring at Adelaafin, waiting for him to act.
“ It is late. I think they should be at the palace already. It’s getting late and it will be hard for us to find our way in the dark.” Abake remarked.
“ That’s true. I’ll check the entire compound first and then we’ll leave.”
Adelaafin stood up and walked to the other side of the compound.
Abake crawled to where her sister was, shook her shoulder and woke her up. Asake was rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand when Adelaafin got back. He was holding a small gun, a small leather pouch that was slung over his shoulder, and a water gourd.
“ You should drink this so you’ll have strength. It is going to be a long walk.” He stretched the gourd into the cage towards Asake.
He opened the small door of the cage and together they snuck out of the compound.
The villagers had scattered, and most of them had run out of the palace. The man that led the kidnapping of the twins was standing behind Arodan with a small gun in his right hand and a horsewhip in his left, balanced on his shoulder. There were other men behind them, on top of horses, holding hunters’ guns.
The palace guards surrounded the king and led him and the chiefs into a hut in the palace. Five guards were left to stand at the entrance of the hut.
While the other chiefs had gone into hiding, Afobaje was staring at his brother, too stunned to move. With wider shoulders, dishevelled hair, and red eyes, Arodan was different from the last time he had seen him.
They had been at the king’s meeting room. The chiefs were seated on stools arranged on opposite sides of the royal seat. Arodan was kneeling with his hands tied to his back and two palace guards were standing next to him. He had been lying prostrate in front of the king with his wife next to him, kneeling and holding their twin girls as they pleaded with the king.
“ Aremu, there is nothing we can do at this point. Your brother has committed the greatest offence and has to be banished from the land.” Who would have thought that he would kill someone over a piece of land? Don’t you all have more than enough that your father passed over to you? ” The king’s voice was followed by approved hums from the chiefs.
“ Kabiyesi, I know what he has done, but we all know that Arodan has always had a problem with controlling his anger. Please, forgive him one more time.” His voice was breaking because deep down, he knew his brother deserved the punishment he was receiving.
When he had burned down a man’s farm, he was pardoned. The next week, he had been found in the middle of the market square, drunk. The king and the chiefs had pardoned him but even for a chief, murder was unforgivable.
“ Ah! If I forgive him, it will be a greater sin than the one he has committed.” The king motioned to the guards, and they carried Arodan by the shoulders and then began to drag him out of the room.
He stood up, walked to the royal seat and bowed his head at the king’s feet. “ So who will be the Afobaje? If not for anything else, please spare him”
“ Another one will be appointed.” The king was starting to sound irritated. “ Please go home with your family. I don’t see why you’re begging for a murderer.”
Komolafe, whose stool was the closest to the king, walked towards him and placed his hand on his shoulder. “ See, Aremu, your brother has chosen his fate. You should be choosing yours instead of lying here, begging for him. “ We both know that nothing you say will change the king’s mind. Go home.”
When he realised that the king wasn’t ready to change his mind, he ran after the guards and pleaded with them but they didn’t budge. He had returned home that day, dejected and had refused to eat for weeks.
“ Aremu!" His brother’s voice brought him back to the present. “ I hear they now call you Afobaje. How does it feel to betray your brother? ”
“ Betray you? Arodan, I went days without food because you chose to kill a commoner over a land fight. I mourned your banishment even when you rubbed our heritage in the mud. “ Do you know what you represented as Afobaje? You were the kingmaker! Our father must have rolled in his grave when you were banished.”
“ Our father must have tolled in the grave when you decided to become Afobaje while I’m alive. I am back and ready to take back what is rightfully mine.” Arodan walked across the compound and pulled the beads on his brother’s neck till the string holding them together broke.
“ The king and the chiefs would rather die than appoint an outcast as Afobaje.”
Arodan chuckled, looked back at the men he brought along and said, “ It’s not about the king and the chiefs. We both know that as long as you decide to do the handover, they have no say in it.”
“ What makes you think that I would perform a handover?”
“ I know you don’t want Asake and Abake to die before you, do you?”
Afobaje’s eyes widened as he realised that his children had not just wandered off.
Asake picked ran her hands through the grass and plucked a stalk. She played with it and took out the blades one after the other. Adelaafin was beside her and had been quiet the entire time. Her sister was in front of them, walking faster and once in a while, she’d turn back and ask them to catch up with her.
“ How long have you been with Uncle Arodan?” Asake threw away the stalk. She had ripped off all the blades on it.
“ You mean Olori Ebi?” Asake nodded. “ Since I lost my father. It’s been four years now.”
“ Why did you stay that long? You didn’t hesitate when my sister said you could come along. You don’t seem like you like staying with him.”
“ I didn’t have anyone else to go to. I know the man has his bad sides but he gave me everything I needed.”
“ Fair enough.” She turned her attention away from him and shouted so her sister could hear. “ Do you think we’ll be at Ilu Ayo before it’s very dark?”
“ I think we should move faster. Olori Ebi may have disrupted the coronation by now.”
Abake turned back. “ What do you mean by he may have disrupted the coronation,” she questioned.
Adelaafin narrowed his eyes and muttered, “ What else did you think he was going to do at the coronation? ”
Abake ignored the remark. “ Why will he want to disrupt the coronation? ”
“ I really thought you both would have figured it out by now. Olori Ebi wants to be Afobaje. Where have you heard that the older son is alive but the younger one is holding the family title?”
“ He was banished!” Asake remarked.
“ You know what? There’s no time to discuss this. I know where we should go.” Abake held her sister’s hand, glared at Adelaafin and increased her pace.
The house was different from all the houses that Adelaafin had ever seen. A wall made of bamboo was surrounding it and two warriors were guarding the only opening. The huts were close to each other and at least one warrior was outside each one, even the ones that were clearly empty.
The twins were walking side by side and unlike he usually saw them, they were quiet. Asake had a frown on her face and Abake looked as though she was calculating something. They were sitting on stools outside a hut, waiting for someone. The maid that attended to them had said that the person would be out shortly. Adelaafin felt like he had been sitting there for hours.
When the man finally came out, he was far from what Adelaafin had imagined. He was bald and had a scar on his left eye. Strings of beads were arranged on his arms instead of his neck and every time he took a step, his arm muscles seemed bigger. He was frowning but the moment he saw the twins, his expression become softer.
Asake stood up when she saw him coming and ran towards him. To Adelaafin’s surprise, the man opened his arms and embraced her.
“ What are the both of you doing here without your parents?”
Asake buried her head in the man’s chest and cried.
“ Baba Akinwale, our father is in danger and we need to get back to the village as soon as possible.” Abake was fiddling with her fingers but didn’t stand up from the stool.
The man sighed, rose Asake’s face and cleaned the tears from her eyes. He turned to the warrior on his right.
“ Bidemi, bring my guns.” He turned to the one on his left. “ Dabira, coordinate the other warriors and follow me. We are going to Ilu Ayo tonight.”
The coronated king was on the royal seat. The chiefs were standing next to him. The tension in the atmosphere was palpable. While everyone stood, Komolafe was pacing the little space he had between him and the chief standing next to him.
Arodan was kneeling on a mat in front of Afobaje who was holding a plate that had kola nut and a bottle of dry gin.
“ May your tenure be long and full. May your life be longer than the one of those who have gone ahead of you ” Afobaje picked up the kola nut, broke it, ate one half and gave his brother the other half.
“ Amen.” The chiefs echoed in unison. The king huffed.
“May your tenure be pleasing to all around you and if it isn’t, may your death be slow and painful.” Komolafe chuckled. Arodan shot a glare at his brother.
“ Amen.” The chiefs echoed in unison.
There were no villagers in the palace and the guards stood at different corners. Arodan’s men stood at the entrance of the palace with their guns balanced on their shoulders.
A maid walked towards Afobaje with a tray that had strings of beads and a long staff wrapped in aso-oke.
Afobaje picked up the strings of beads and put them above Arodan’s head. “ May God bless every king that rules as a result of your choices. By the grace of God, you will choose wisely and Ilu Ayo will be better because of it. May the role of Afobaje not be tarnished in your rule” He placed the strings of beads on his brother’s neck.
Afobaje picked up the staff and ran his fingers over it. He stretched out the staff with his two hands and said, “ With the blessings of the king and the authority of God, I hand over the staff to you, passed from generations, …”
“ Ah, ahn! Afobaje. Don’t you know that a handover doesn’t happen without a horsetail?” Baba Akinwale’s voice boomed. He was sitting on a horse at the entrance of the palace. Arodan’s men were tied up.
Asake and Abake were on a horse behind him. Asake was in front, moving her hands through the horse’s mane.
Komolafe stopped pacing, rose his two hands up and burst into a dance. Afobaje smiled, winked at Arodan and said, “ I wonder how people keep sneaking up on us in this palace. We may need to do something about that.”
Arodan stood up, snatched the staff from his brother’s hands and ran. Two warriors ran after him and pinned him to the ground.
Afobaje walked towards them, pulled the string of beads off his brother’s neck and placed them on his own and then collected the staff. The warriors carried his brother away while he ran toward the horse that was carrying his daughters. He helped them come down from the horse and pulled them into a hug.
“ Your mother was so worried. I should have listened to her.” Afobaje chuckled.
“ Yes, Baba. You should have. Can we go home now? I’m hungry.”
Glossary
Kabiyesi - The Yoruba word for king.
Olori Ebi - A Yoruba phrase meaning, “ Head of the family.”
Aso- Oke - A hand-woven cloth created by the Yoruba people. It is pronounced ( ah-shaw-okay ). It is used for special occasions because it is expensive and gives a sense of respect and admiration to the person wearing it.
Afobaje - One of the Yoruba words used to address a kingmaker.
Author’s Note
If you’re wondering why this post came this late, accept that ‘good things take time.’ I’m glad that we’re done with this series because it pushed me way beyond my comfort zone.
P.S: Who do you think said the last statement?
To everyone that helped me push past the difficulties I faced while writing this, thank you!
Do you remember what I said in my welcome email - how God is making an extraordinary novelist out of me? If you’ve not seen the growth, go to my first post and read it. I’m happy that you get to be a part of this journey.
Thank you for liking, sharing and commenting. Honestly, I should do a giveaway soon because I really appreciate the rate at which you’re all helping me grow. My birthday is coming, what do you think? Thirty comments on this post before then and I’ll do a giveaway.
Till then, take a glass of cold juice.
Stay happy. I love you!
Thank you for the juice. I need it right now.
The suspense is over.....I really enjoyed this series