The Village Meeting

The town crier took his last tour of the entire village, moving from compound to compound informing the villagers of the meeting at the village square. 'Great people of Abiri kingdom, as our forefathers say a frog does not run in daytime for nothing. I bring you news from our king. There will be a general meeting tomorrow at the village square to discuss an important issue,everyone is expected' He concluded hitting his gong and moving away. No one knew the purpose of the gathering but from the look on the towncrier's face,his proverb and tone of voice showed that something was wrong. The next morning everyone gathered at the village square and after the king's praise singer entertained the crowd the king dressed in a piece of cloth wrapped over his body; beads adorning his hands, neck and legs, and holding the horsetail in his right hand with the royal crown on his head walked in accompanied by the council of elders. 'Kabiyesi Oh, may you live long on the throne' the people greeted. 'Eshe' the king replied waving his horsetail. After sitting he began, 'My people, I will go straight to the point. We are here today to inform you of an impending conflict. The people of Aki have violated our laws by crossing our borders and not just that, Okonkwo the village watchman was ambushed and killed just this night, this is a very disturbing situation. They intend causing havoc to our farmlands simply because their's are not fertile, but we must do something or loose everything. The child that says his mother will not sleep, he too will not sleep. The floor is open for suggestions' . Deliberations began and at the end the king instructed the khaki boys to prepare for battle, advising the men to assist them with the last available foodstuffs in their barns but send their wives and children away for the meantime although this did not go down well with some of them who were sacred of war as was visible from the wailings and sighs especially from the women folk. One of such was Chinwe, a widow with a daughter, Faith who was a teenager but had a child from a runaway teacher. Chinwe made her way home looking gloomy and sad; she was a perfect picture of frustration and anguish. Various questions flooded her mind and all she could ask was Why. It was a double tragedy for her, having lost her husband just few years ago in the same conflict.