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Once upon a time, in the big and prosperous village of Ulodon, there lived a happy family of three: Mr Udo, his wife, Nma, and their son, Edem. Mr Udo was a large-scale trader who travelled all the time to sell cocoa seeds. Aside from being a trader, Mr Udo was also a cocoa farmer. He owned a big cocoa farm in Ulodon village, and he worked very hard to grow his farm.

Because Udo made a lot of money from selling the cocoa he harvested from his farm, he took good care of his wife and son. Since he was doing great financially, Udo did not allow Nma to work or own a shop. He preferred that she remain at home to care for their son, and Nma agreed.

For years, Udo single-handedly took care of his family. He provided their needs on time and showered them with love and attention.

As a result, Edem grew up in a home where love reigned, and everything was provided for him. As a child, Edem never went to bed without food unless he didn’t want to eat. He wore the best clothes among his peers and attended one of the best primary schools in his village.

Apart from taking care of his immediate family, Udo also took good care of his extended family. He cared for his old mother and younger siblings, who would always flock around his house.

Growing up, Edem was used to staying in a full house even when he didn’t have any siblings. His uncles, aunties, cousins, and even distant relatives would come and live in his father’s house because they needed help from him, and Udo did not mind. Since Udo was family-oriented, he was always happy to host his extended family members, who never contributed anything to his house. Things continued like this for many years until one day, when something horrible happened.

That day, Udo travelled to sell his cocoa to the neighbouring villages as usual, but unfortunately, on his way back home, he was involved in a car accident. While trying to board a bus back home, a truck driver lost control of his wheels and knocked down Udo by the roadside, and he died on the spot.

When the news of Udo’s death travelled back to Ulodon village, Nma fainted when she heard of her husband’s demise.

“But this was not what he promised me. He promised to grow old with me,” Nma cried uncontrollably that day.

“Take heart, my dear. The lord understands best,” one of the village women tried to console Nma.

“No, I cannot take heart. Who will raise Edem with me? I cannot raise him alone. His father was supposed to be here until the very end. This was not the plan. How will I live without Udo? Where do I start from?” Nma cried.

“You need to be strong for your son. He is still very young, and he needs you now. If you cry like that, what do you want him to do? He needs to draw strength from you as his mother,” Nma’s sister said, but Nma kept crying.

Since Edem was already a teenager, Nma could not hide his father’s death from him. That day, when Edem returned from school and saw the crowd gathered in his father’s house, he immediately sensed something was wrong. At first, he feared that something terrible had happened to his mother, but when he realized that he would never see his father again, he was very heartbroken and devastated.

Three days after the news of Udo’s death spread in the village, something very unexpected happened.

“Where is that witch? Where is that evil woman? Come out now,” Edem’s uncle, Ekpe, screamed outside Udo’s house.

“Uncle, what is it? Why are you shouting?” Edem asked as he rushed out of the house to meet his uncle.

“Edem, you’re not the one I’m here for. Where is your mother?” Edem’s uncle yelled again.

“My in-law, what is it?” Nma asked as soon as she entered the living room. She was in her room sleeping when she heard her brother-in-law’s voice.

“Will you shut up that your stupid mouth? Who is your in-law? You have succeeded in killing my brother, abi? Or do you think I do not know?” Edem’s uncle yelled.

“Uncle, what are you talking about?” Edem asked in shock.

“Why don’t you ask your mother? She is the one you should be asking, not me,” Edem’s uncle said.

“Ehhhm! Ekpe or whatever they call you, I do not have time for your nonsense. Your brother just died, and this is the rubbish you can come up with?” Nma yelled.

“I’m saying, rubbish ba? There’s no problem. Very soon, we will expose all of your secrets. You must be very clever to think that you can kill my brother and take over his properties. Well, that can never happen when I’m alive. Did you hear me?” Edem’s uncle said, and then he stormed out of the compound.

“Mama, what’s the meaning of what he just said? Why would he accuse you of killing Papa?” Edem asked his mother.

“My son, I don’t know, o. Your father caused this one. If he did not die, would Ekpe have the audacity to come into my compound and yell at me?” Nma said in a teary voice.

“Hmmm! I hope he’s not trying to do what I’m thinking because I will not let it happen,” Edem growled, and then he took his mother back into the house.

The following week, a few days before Udo’s burial, Udo’s brother, Ekpe and some of his family members showed up at Udo’s house unannounced.

“Ah! My in-laws, I didn’t know you were coming today. If you had told me, I would have arranged rooms for you all to stay until after the burial,” Nma said in a concerned tone.

“Nma, don’t we have houses?” One of Edem’s uncles barked.

“No, my brother, I didn’t mean it like that. You know, since most of you are coming from a far distance, it wouldn’t be wise to travel back and return in a few days,” Nma said.

“Listen, Nma, we are not here because of the rubbish you’re saying. We are here to tell you that you have been invited to stand before Eyen shrine to swear that you didn’t kill our brother,” one of Edem’s uncles said.

“What nonsense are you saying? Why would I go to Eyen shrine? I have no business there and will never do,” Nma said.

“You must be joking. Look here, if you do not go before that Shrine and swear that you didn’t kill my brother, then you will suffer the consequences,” Edem’s aunt barked.

“What’s the meaning of all this, na? So, you believe that I am responsible for your brother’s death? I loved Udo more than life; why would I want to hurt him?” Nma said.

“I don’t care if you loved him more than death; what I know is that you must go to that shrine and swear you didn’t kill our brother,” one of Edem’s uncles said.

“I will do no such thing. I am a Christian and I have no business with Eyen Shrine. If you do not believe that I didn’t kill your brother, then that’s your business. As you can see, I am actively planning my late husband’s burial, so if you do not have any other thing to say, please leave,” Nma said.

“How dare you?” Ekpe, Edem’s uncle yelled, “How dare you tell us to leave our brother’s house?” He added.

“This is my house, Ekpe, and I can tell you to leave whenever I want,” Nma yelled.

“Is that so? There’s no problem. Let’s go. Very soon, she will come to us begging on her knees,” Edem’s uncle, Ekpe, said, and then he left Nma’s house.

“Useless people. I should have known I couldn’t rely on you people. Your brother is dead, and you want me to go and swear in a shrine. My God will judge all of you,” Nma soliloquized after they left.

That day, after Udo’s family left, Nma stood her ground and refused to go to the Shrine. Even after Udo’s burial, she still refused to go because it was against her beliefs.

Unknown to Nma, after Ekpe, Udo’s younger brother, left her house, he returned to the native doctor of Eyen Shine and ordered him to do some incantations on Nma.

About a week after the burial, Nma began to see Udo’s ghost in the house. At first, it started with seeing Udo’s ghost in her dreams; then, she started seeing him physically in the house. Whenever Udo’s ghost was in the house, Nma would first perceive a horrendous smell before she sighted him.

The first few days Nma began to see her late husband’s ghost, she thought he had come to visit her, but she was wrong. Udo’s ghost had been summoned from the grave to torment her until she finally agreed to go before the Shrine. It wasn’t until Nma began to experience supernatural things in her house that she knew something was wrong. For example, if Nma cooked a pot of food in the afternoon, it would get rotten by evening. In addition to that, she began to wake up to deep scratches on her neck, arms, legs and other parts of her body.

For almost a month, Nma tried to keep her calm. She didn’t tell anyone what she had been experiencing because she was afraid they would accuse her of killing her husband, but when she couldn’t take it anymore, she was forced to talk to Udo’s family.

“I said it, didn’t I? This woman killed my brother,” Ekpe, Edem’s uncle, yelled.

“I swear to God who made me, I know nothing about Udo’s death. I am innocent. My hands are clean,” Nma cried.

“But we came to you and asked if you knew anything about our brother’s death, and you said no. What do you want us to do for you now?” Edem’s aunt asked.

“Please, do anything. I need help. I can no longer sleep at night because Udo won’t let me. His ghost follows me everywhere, and I’m almost going Crazy,” Nma begged in a teary voice.

“Woman, I’m afraid, but there’s nothing we can do to help you. If you claim that you didn’t kill Udo, then why is he tormenting you? We are not children, and we all know that a ghost only torments its killer,” one of Edem’s uncles said.

“Please help me. I’m going crazy, please,” Nma begged. People are beginning to mistake me for a mad person in this village,” she added.

“Nma, the only thing you can do now is to go before the Eyen shrine and swear that you didn’t kill Udo. But since you said that you cannot do that, there is nothing we can do for you,” one of Edem’s uncles said.

” I will do it. Please, I will do it. I cannot continue like this, please,” Nma begged.

“But I thought you said it was against your belief. Won’t your God be angry?” Ekpe, Edem’s uncle, mocked Nma.

“It’s okay. Since you have agreed to do it, we will go to the Shrine this weekend. I will notify the wise one so he can prepare for us,” one of Edem’s aunts said.

“No, please. I can’t wait until the weekend. I might die. Can’t we go today or tomorrow? Udo might kill me before the weekend,” Nma begged.

“No, it has to be during the weekend so we can all be available. I will not leave my job for you. When we were begging you to do this thing, you refused to, so don’t put us under any pressure,” Ekpe, Edem’s uncle, said.

“Okay, thank you, my in-laws; I will wait until the weekend, then,” Nma said.

Later that weekend, Nma went to the Shrine as they had planned. At that moment, she was very desperate and was ready to do anything.

“Here, hold this horn and repeat after me,” the native doctor said as he handed Nma an animal horn decorated with white cowries.

“Udo, I summon you here today. Please accept my invitation,” the native doctor said, and Nma repeated it after him.

“If I have anything to do with your death, let me fall here and die. But if I do not, let me be set free from all of your torments,” Nma repeated after the native doctor.

Immediately after Nma said that, a strong wind blew into the Shrine, and it circled Nma at a great speed.

When this happened, Udo’s family began to point fingers at Nma because they believed the strong wind would kill her.

“So, it was this witch that killed our brother. She has met her Waterloo today,” Edem’s aunt, who was present at the Shrine said.

But almost immediately, something very shocking happened. The strong wind stopped, and when the dust settled, Nma was still standing on her feet. Seeing Nma on her feet shocked everyone, especially Ekpe.

“But this cannot be right. She killed my brother; why is she still alive?” Ekpe yelled.

“No, she didn’t. If she did, that strong wind would have taken her spirit to the land of death. In other words, she wouldn’t be alive now,” the native doctor said.

“Oh! So you have been bribed. She bribed you, and that’s why you’re defending her. This woman is a murderer, and she cannot go scot-free,” Ekpe barked, ” I will deal with her in this village. It’s like she doesn’t know me,” he added before walking away.

After swearing at the Shrine, Nma stopped seeing Udo’s ghost in the house. In fact, after that day at the Shrine, she stopped feeling his presence and experiencing unusual supernatural things in her house.

About a week after Nma was cleared of Udo’s death, something unexpected happened. One early morning, Ekpe went to his late brother’s house with some rough-looking boys and ordered them to throw Nma and Edem out of Udo’s house.

“Ekpe, what is the meaning of this rubbish? What did I ever do to you to warrant such treatment?” Nma said in a teary voice.

“If you like cry from now until tomorrow, I do not want to see you close to my late brother’s house again. You witch, just because you bypassed the Shrine doesn’t mean you can bypass me,” Ekpe yelled.

“Uncle, me, I am not going anywhere, o. This is my father’s house, and you have no right to throw me out,” Edem confronted his uncle.

“You must be very stupid to talk to me like that. I don’t care what your mother has initiated you into, but I’ll show you that I am bigger than you,” Ekpe said.

As if throwing their clothes and belongings out of the house was not enough, Ekpe also locked the doors with a brand new lock and took the keys away.

“Mama, I have to go to that man’s house and get the keys back. We cannot sleep outside today. I am my father’s son, and I have a right over this house, not my uncle,” Edem said.

“No, my son, I do not want you to go there. It is too dangerous. Let’s leave your uncle to God. He is the only one who can judge him and fight for us,” Nma said.

“Mama, please leave this your God talk. This is not the time to talk about leaving things to God; this is about taking action. We need to reclaim what’s rightfully ours, and I don’t care how we’ll do that,” Edem barked. At this time, Edem was 18 years old, and he had a hoarse voice, developed muscles, and the body of an adult.

“Edem, no matter what happens, he is your uncle, and I will not let you disrespect him,” Nma said.

“Mama, with due respect, are you okay? This man just threw us out of the house, and you’re talking about respect. Did he respect you as his elder brother’s wife or even respect his late elder brother?” Edem yelled.

“My son, please. We cannot fight. You don’t know what your uncle is capable of, and I do not want to lose you,” Nma said in a teary voice.

“Mama, leave all these tears. I don’t know why you’re like this. You have become weak and afraid. You’re not the fierce and fearless woman I used to know,” Edem said.

“You will not understand. I know what I have experienced, and I’d kill myself if anything happened to you. You know what? Let’s travel to the neighbouring village. I have some money to take us there. When we settle, we will figure out things from there,” Nma said.

“No, mama. I am not leaving this house for that useless man, over my dead body. Who does he think he is? This is the same house all of his children lived in. They ate from your pot, papa paid their school fees, clothed and fed them. He has forgotten all of that?” Edem barked.

“Edem, we will come back for the house. But for now, let us pack what we can and go to the neighbouring village. It’s the only place we’ll be safe,” Nma pleaded with her son.

“Mama, the only reason I’m following you is because I do not want you to be alone. If not, I would have taught that man a lesson today,” Edem said.

Since the incident had happened in the morning, by evening, Nma and Edem had arrived at the neighbouring village. Before leaving, Nma had called her friend to notify her that she was coming with her son.

“My friend, what will you do now? After everything you have explained, I think it’s only right that you stay away from Udo’s people for now. If your brother-in-law has kicked you out of the house, then leave the house for him. It’s for you and your son’s safety,” Nma’s friend said.

“That’s what I plan on doing, but my only problem is Edem. He doesn’t understand anything, and he’s very stubborn. He even wanted to confront Ekpe,” Nma said.

“You have to control him. He is your responsibility now. We don’t know if Ekpe was responsible for summoning your late husband’s ghost to torment you. Him kicking you out of the house clearly shows that he had ulterior motives all along,” Nma’s friend said.

“My dear, I didn’t even tell you that Ekpe took over his brother’s cocoa farm, and he buried some charms in it. I couldn’t even tell Edem because I don’t know how he would handle it,” Nma said.

“Don’t tell him yet. Let things cool down first. If he finds out that his uncle has taken over that big farm, things could escalate between them,” Nma’s friend said.

“I won’t o. I thought about it already. My dear, thank you so much for hosting me, my friend. Once I find a place, we will be out of here,” Nma said.

“I am not chasing you. You’re welcome to stay as long as possible. You’re already under a lot of pressure; don’t make it worse,” Nma’s friend said.

The whole time Nma was discussing with her friend outside the house, she had no idea that Edem was eavesdropping on their conversation. Prior to that time, Edem had no idea that his late father’s ghost had been summoned to torment Nma and that his uncle had taken over his father’s cocoa farm. When he found out, he was boiling in anger, but he managed to mask his emotions.

That night, Edem could not sleep. He kept thinking of how to deal with his greedy uncle until he devised a plan.

The following morning, around 5 am, Edem left the house without notifying his mother and travelled back to their village. 

Around 10 am, he arrived at his uncle’s house.

“Ekpe, you greedy man, so you have the mind to take over my father’s farm while I’m still alive?” Edem yelled as soon as he barged into his uncle’s house 

“Edem, have you gone mad or something? What’s the meaning of this rubbish? Is it me you’re calling by my name?” Ekpe yelled.

“Yes, I am calling you by your name, and nothing will happen. Listen to me and listen well. I am giving you three days to unlock my father’s house and undo everything you did on his farm, or else you will not like what will happen,” Edem threatened his uncle.

“Look at this fly. You will not do anything. I will make you disappear, and no one will ask any questions. If you leave my house now, I will forget that you came here today and pretend that this did not happen,” Ekpe said.

“You lie. I am not going anywhere until you tell the entire village why you killed my father. He was good to you and your children, but you killed him so you could take over his farm and house,” Edem yelled.

“Edem, how dare you accuse me of killing my own brother? Your father was my favourite brother, and I would never kill him,” Ekpe said.

“Shut up there. You can fool everyone, but you cannot fool me. I give you three days. If you do not open that house in three days, then all hell will break loose,” Edem warned his uncle, and then he left.

Meanwhile, in the neighbouring village, when Nma woke up and couldn’t find Edem anywhere, she was very worried.

“Do you think he wandered in the village and got lost?” Nma asked her friend.

“I don’t think so. This village is not as big as yours. Besides, he is not a small boy, so he cannot get lost. You know a lot has happened recently, so he must have gone for a walk. He will be back soon,” Nma’s friend said.

“I hope so. But he should have told me if he wanted to go for a walk. I don’t like all these things,” Nma said.

“Don’t worry, he will come back. I know he will. He is a big boy; nothing bad can happen to him,” Nma’s friend said.

Later that evening, a few minutes past 5, Edem returned home. He had walked back to the neighbouring village.

“Edem,” Nma yelled and ran to him as soon as she saw him,” Where have you been?” She added.

“Mama, I was around,” Edem answered coldly.

“What do you mean you were around?” Nma yelled, “Do you know how worried I was? Why would you leave the house without telling me? When did that one start?” Nma yelled.

“Mama, I said I was around. What else do you want me to say?” Edem said.

“No, I cannot accept that rubbish. Do you know how many times I walked around this village looking for you? You disappeared since morning, and you’re casually saying you were around,” Nma said.

“Okay, Mama, since you really want to know the truth, I will tell you where I went to. I went to warn Ekpe to open up our house and undo all the charms he buried in my father’s farm,” Edem said.

“What farm are you talking about?” Nma feigned ignorance.

“Mama, please, stop pretending. I heard everything you said last night. I am my father’s son; why didn’t you tell me Ekpe had done such a horrible thing? If he takes over the farm, how does he want us to survive with no source of income?” Edem yelled.

“Edem, I told you not to confront your uncle. That man is evil, and we do not know what he is capable of doing. You should have left everything to God. You don’t just point fingers when it comes to spiritual things because you have no evidence to prove that he did it. You fight spiritual battles spiritually,” Nma said.

“Mama, I will not fold my hands and watch Ekpe take away everything my father toiled for. No, I cannot do such a thing. I am not a coward. You said God is fighting the battle, ba? Me, I want to support God in case he does not act fast,” Edem said. I have given that fool three days. If he doesn’t do as I have said, then I will decorate the village with his blood,” he added.

“Ah! Edem, don’t say that. You’re too young to say something like that. You have no business spilling blood, not even yours. Please, my son, let’s leave this fight for God. He is the only one who can fight for us,” Nma said in a teary voice.

“Mama, I am not against you and your God. You can wait for him, but I won’t. I cannot watch Ekpe and his children enjoy while we live from hand to mouth. Look at the big comfortable house we left to your friend’s house just because of one man. No, it can never happen,” Edem growled.

“Please, Edem, the last thing you want is to fight your family. We will talk to your father’s people, and they will help us get the house back. As for your father’s farm, I want you to forget about it. There is plenty of land everywhere, and you can buy one and start your farm whenever you want,” Nma begged.

Immediately Nma said that, Edem burst into laughter and walked out of his mother and her friend.

“Please, my friend, help me talk to him. You have seen how he reacts; please help me,” Nma begged her friend.

“Don’t worry, I will talk to him. I pray he listens to me,” Nma’s friend said.

In the days that followed, Edem did not say anything about his father’s house or farm. In fact, he tried to avoid the conversation whenever his mother brought it up. When this happened, Nma believed that Edem had changed his mind about confronting his uncle, but she was wrong.

Three days after confronting his uncle, Edem returned to the village, but this time, he carried a machete in a small sack bag with him. The night before, Edem added sleeping pills to his mother’s food so she would sleep deeply and not hear when he snuck out of the house.

“Ekpe, I am just coming from my father’s house. Why is it still locked? You, this old man, you’re really trying me,” Edem yelled as soon as he entered his uncle’s compound.

When Ekpe heard Edem’s voice, he rushed out of the house to confront him.

“Edem, I warned you, but you refused to listen. Our people say that the fly that hovers around the grave must definitely fall into the grave. I will teach you a lesson you will never forget,” Ekpe yelled at Edem.

“Uncle, I refuse to be one of those people you will make their lives terrible; since you said that it’s good for me to be fatherless, let your children also feel the same thing,” Edem said, then he brought out the already sharpened Machete from the sack bag, and he cut his uncle’s neck.

“Edem, please. Have mercy on me,” Ekpe begged weakly as Edem continued to cut him aggressively.

“No, you didn’t have mercy on me when you killed my father, took over his farm and kicked my mother and me out of our house,” Edem said.

Unfortunately for Edem, the noise from his uncle’s house had drawn the attention of passers-by, but before they could do anything to stop Edem, he had already murdered his uncle.

By the time Edem was done, his entire face and body was covered in his uncle’s blood. Also, he had cut his uncle’s face several times to the extent that he disfigured his uncle’s face.

“Edem, what did you do?” Some of the villagers screamed in shock. They couldn’t even stand the sight.

“I killed Ekpe; now let me see how he will take over my father’s land or house,” Edem said coldly.

“Young man, you’re under arrest for brutally killing your uncle,” two Policemen said in Unison as they handcuffed Edem.

Unknown to Edem, while he was butchering his uncle like a piece of meat, his cousins were inside the house, and they had escaped through the back door to call the Police, hoping that the Police would stop Edem on time.

In the other village, when Nma woke up and realized that Edem was not home, she hurried to their village, hoping to stop Edem from confronting his uncle, but she was too late.

By the time Nma arrived, Edem had already killed Ekpe. In fact, Nma met him after the Police had arrested him, and when she saw that his body was covered in blood and he was handcuffed, she slumped.

Since Edem’s case had many eyewitnesses, Nma could not bail him out of Police custody. For days, She went to the Police station in tears, begging to see her son, but the Policemen refused to let her.

Sadly, about a week after the gruesome incident happened, Edem was charged to court, and he was ultimately sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labour.

“I warned him, but he wouldn’t listen. Now he has ruined my life and ruined his life,” Nma cried bitterly on the day Edem was sentenced to Prison.

“What do I do with my life now? I wasted it for nothing,” Nma cried to her friend.

The most heartbreaking part for her was when her Edem was taken away from court in chains.

From Edem’s facial expression, it was very obvious that he regretted his actions and wished he had listened to his mother, but it was too late. Because of his stubbornness, he destroyed his life with his hands and lost his freedom.

Sadly, some days after Edem was taken to Prison, Nma suffered a partial stroke, which eventually killed her. If only Edem had listened to his mother and not been consumed with anger, maybe he would have led a happy, successful life.

The end

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