Sunday, November 20, 2011

Albino Character: You Still Defend The Man

...Omonoba...
Our people say:
The lazy person replies, 'yes', to all propositions - Yoruba proverb.
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I will not attend the funeral of a savage.
Do not speak of him as such.
The dead man?
Do not speak of my dead husband as such.
You still defend the man. The depth of 'Seyi's wisdom was as oil used to fry dodo. 
Call your father Papa not 'Seyi. 
While 'Seyi was sick, I heard his heart, blurry but distinct enough, asking for one more day to pour blessings on the sheep in his pasture. This Sunday, the pews will be filled with thirsty deer, panting for water. Their well has run dry and the digger taught no one else how to feed sheep. Sheep - waiting for the stick to point North. Then, going North. Sheep - waiting for the road to lead to water. Then, realizing thirst. Sheep wander away when the shepherd is lost in sight. I hope these ones spread away like birds in the winter. His death was no punishment - relief for his bitter heart - but he fought the fate that came to pluck him out of his sickly misery. For once, this man lost a fight but he carried pride with him until death. His eyes were open enough to see me but blind enough not to know who I was. He thought I was you. He spoke with strength unusual for a dying man. Why do you forgive this man? Or, do you tell me less than there is to know? Until his final breath, he cursed you and...
My husband will never curse me.
...and your 'bastard' daughter, me.
My husband will never curse you.
The congregation will not believe my tale, would they? They believe almighty 'Seyi always blessed and never cursed. Imagine the gasp, the horror, when I tell them that he asked you to kill your baby. He asked you to dissolve me all because my skin is pale like taffeta and my nose is red. He never acknowledged that I was his child.
You are my child, Motun. You are our child.
Yes I know. I have the gait of a limping chicken, just like him. My smile mirrors yours. I know I am your child. What I don't know is why he never looked me in the eyes and why he called me 'the fair share of curse every sinner deserved'.
Who told you these things, Motun?
Ma, the wall between my room and yours is thin.
He didn't mean to say them. He never understood why you were lighter than the rest of us.
Albinism is not curse, ma. It is what it is.
I know.
Do you really? I never heard you say so. He thought he was talking to you on his dying bed when he said that you were stubborn to not confess your affair with a strange man. He was so sure, ma, he called upon God and said that I was a mockery of your secrecy. So the world could share your shame.  I'll tell them all one day that their shepherd was a killer of sheep.
They won't believe you, there's no need for that. He led a whole congregation, allow his memory be of peace.
Do you curse me too, silently? 
I will never curse you.
Perhaps in a language I do not understand like the tongues they speak in the congregation?
I will never curse you.
But am I a bastard?
No, Papa is your father. He was a father to you and the entire congregation.
His final words were simple but I do not know what they mean?
I'm sure he loved us. He just did not understand.
For someone who led a whole flock, he knew very little. He spoke of three others. He said that he would pray for you when he reached Home. I was surprised that he would even care to pray - the man suffered, ma. He did painfully. He said that if I had been 'quenched', it would have fulfilled the last piece of sacrifice. I do not know what sacrifice he spoke of. He said I was tough unlike the others and refusing to remove me was unreasonable because the stubbornness came the fourth time around. He said that he would pray that the souls of the other three children rested with him. 
He was dying. It is normal for his words to be meaningless. 
There were three others before me?
*Silence*
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NakedOne!

12 comments:

  1. Loved everything about the way this was written

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  2. Intriguing snippet.

    How you dey, dear?

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  3. Funmi, I need this continued. I'm serious, Do not hang it over like you have done w numerous posts! Loved it. LOVED!

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  4. Wow. I think this piece is my favorite piece I've read on your blog. Excellent!

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  5. Wow. Love the way you captured it. It was getting worse and worse sef lol

    Adiya
    Muse Origins FB

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  6. Wow! My emotions run riot as I read this. I'll just keep quiet for now.

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  7. oh wow, this was very good. So much tension and expectations...

    I liked it =)

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  8. Thought provoking!
    And its a startling reality!

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  9. Thank you, thank you very much.

    @Myne, I am doing very well, thank you.

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  10. excellent...RubayoIbinkins...excellent.this article:i love. seriously, i love the concept and the style. its a great piece,one of your best yet. well done darling!!! p.s:(i hope my maggi wasnt too much...loooool :D)

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Your comments are my maggi!