Her
The Call
She tried for the third time to appease the bulls, but they feigned arrogant. They had been like that for a week, but she couldn’t blame the poor things; they had gone for days with minimal fluid, and yet are expected to do more than required. Amina took a look at what was left of the cornfield, and she nearly wept. They had to complete ploughing and then place their fate on whenever rain would come, again. In her heart, she prayed that the scorching sun won’t burn up the seeds before it rained.
The young bulls were presents from one of her father’s most faithful friends. She was told that the bulls arrived at their doorstep right after her naming ceremony. When she was old enough to visit the cornfields, her father handed over the tending of the bulls to her. Although she was quite aware of the visitor they received every night; he usually came clothed by the nights.
Her father would call her to bring water for them, and she obediently did to the disgust of other wives and her half siblings. She never knew why they despised her so much. The two bulls were so used to her that they obeyed at the very wink of her eyes at them. But that day was different, they decided to be lazy.
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Amina picked up a long stick which lay idle beside her naked feet, it pained her to do what she was about to do, but the silly bulls left her with no choice. When she was about descending, a loud voice caught the whip half way, and saved the bulls from painful bodily damage.
“Amina! Amina!”
It was the voice of her youngest sister, Mariam. Amina was surprised because it was too obvious that her sister ran all the way from home. At the minute her sister ran up to her, she rested her two arms on her knees, and bent over in an effort to take in as much air as spent.
Amina looked at the crooked looking stick in her right arm; it reminded her of how the teachers flogged in boarding school, until the clouds shut the rains up; her father came and took her home, because there was not enough to feed on, much more, have her in school. She knew the teachers and principal would help if they could, but they hadn’t been paid for years; they had to let the best head leave among them.
The day her father brought her back from school, it was a moment of jubilation among her step-mothers and their children. She didn’t waste a moment at home, the following day, she took the bulls to the cornfields. One of the reasons her father loved her so dearly was her love for hard work; that was why she was the only girl he chose to send to school, out of the many he had. One night, she overhead her parents in a discussion. Her father busily told her mother that:
“Your daughter have chosen the cornfields over herself.”
Her mother slightly bent her head, she knew the daughter she had was as hardworking as an ass, but as stubborn as a bull.
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She had given Mariam enough time to catch her breath. She looked at her sister expectantly in her dirty farm gown.
“Papa wants you home right away.”
“Why?”
Her sister smiled foolishly, but didn’t say nothing. She knew that she knew, but she didn’t want to tell. She looked at the bulls and at the remaining fallow piece to thill.
“What do I do with you?”
Her eyes fell on the two lousy bulls on their flat bellies. But it was as though they heard her, one gradually staggered up, and the other followed. Amina could not help but laugh as they mounted their rides back home.
The Unexpected Ceremony
Amina saw some people leave their compound, although they rode home from afar. She took a good look at her sister to know if she could read her mind, but the girl was a slimy one.
They dismounted from right in front of their compound. Amina left the bulls in her sister’s care to get cleaned up. Before she left for boarding school at twelve, she made sure to put Mariam through on how to take care of the bulls. And when she came home, she met them happy.
The first person she met was her father’s third wife. Amina greeted, but her step-mother’s sneer was like that of a cobra. She ignored her and threw water all over as much as possible, ran out and headed to her father’s chamber. Uncle Sali was with her father; it surprised her a great deal, because he only came around during merriments. Amina came forward and prostrated before her elders:
“Baba. Uncle.”
Her father smiled widely, he turned to the left, brought out something, and handed it over to her. Her uncle’s eyes followed her father’s every move, and it disgusted Amina. Her father simply said:
“A gift for your fifteenth birthday. The ceremony comes up in two weeks time.”
Amina smiled back at her father, but even as she left, she was in doubt, because she knew that they had grown too poor to afford a party. The rains no longer came, they fed on the little they had, and her father had nothing to sell.
Journey
The mirror told no lies: Amina was a rare vase. She too was surprised to see her image: for days, she was being prepared and pampered for those that would come for her. She quietly stared into the mirror as her mother took her time to comb her long hair indulgently. At a point, Amina felt trickles on her head, and when she turned, her mother was in muffled tears.
The night was too cold, but they travelled through it. She was led to her room and she didn’t think twice before she slept off. While deep asleep, Amina felt something that crept on her bare legs, and she turned to meet her father’s faithful friend . He didn’t care that she was in shock but drew closer. She threw her legs to the floor, but he jumped and caged her in-between his chest. Amina wriggled out of his grip, jumped to the pillow and withdrew her field knife. He didn’t see it coming, but as he jumped on her, the stale stench of death caught him unaware.
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In the early hours of the morning, everyone was awakened by a call from Mariam:
“The Bulls are back!”
Everyone ran out to see for themselves, and to their surprise, Amina, dismounted from the bull, and ran to her father. But as he lifted up his weak child, a bloodied knife fell from her hand. Her father knew that the cornfield waited.
Written by Oluoma Udemezue.