<<<<Chapter six>>>>

"Do you really know her?"

"Yes Mama." He replied and went further to remind her of one of his female close friend whom traveled to the city after she got admission to study theatre art in Niger Delta University, Bayelsa state.

"Is it Shona?" Mama asked.

"Yes. I think the Sonia you're talking about is her cousin."

"Oh..." Mama thought for awhile before she said, "well that's good. Do we have groundnut in this house? I want to drink garri."

"I think we do." Damien stood up and went inside the house to check the kitchen cupboards. He later came back outside with the bottle of groundnut in one hand and a small plate of garri on the other hand.

He offered mama and she uttered a 'thank you' before he went back inside the kitchen to fetch a cup of water for her.

"Are you not going to eat?" She asked him whilst studying him.

He shrugged. "Yes. The food won't be enough—" he was saying but she cut him off.

"I'm not complaining."

He knew she was worried and she was thinking his refusal to eat had something to do with his madness at nights, but it wasn't really that. He just wanted her to eat to her fill since the garri was small and it was the last one they had at home.

He went inside his room to rest and when he came out, he found Mama resting in the living room couch.

"Mama I'm going to Aunty Ennio's. She sent for me." he announced and off he went.

He helped Aunty Ennio to do her house chores since Raul was too much of a pain in the ass to do anything. All he does is drink, smoke, party and play PlayStation games.

Mama was sleeping peacefully in her room when she heard that familiar scream again that made her to jerk up from her bed. She checked her wrist watch to see it was exactly '12:00' o'clock.

Mama closed her eyes and shook her head bitterly, "Not again." She whispered and rushed to his room.

For every month that passed, it seems like his midnight madness only grew worse.

Damien was greatly anguished with every passing day. He would think and cry in his bedroom.

It got to a time that he couldn't take it no more and he tried to commit suicide. if it wasn't that mama saw him on time, he would have been a dead meat.

"Why me?" He would ask himself but there was no answer to his question.

"Why did God create me if he only wanted me to suffer this much?" He would lament and cuss himself. The pain he was feeling was something he couldn't explain.

It was like a knife was constantly stabbing his heart. All he wanted to do was to die.

People were scared of him. No one was willing to give him a job. People ran away from him whenever he walks past. People no longer interacted with him no more and even if they wanted to, they'd make mockery and jest of him.

He was no longer the 'village good boy' but now the 'mad village boy'.

It felt so painful as Dami couldn't figure out what was really wrong with him. Mama took him to the hospital and the doctors said he was perfectly fine. This worried Mama.

They tried all they could do to help Dami but it didn't work so they had to get used to his every night Madness.

It was a Saturday afternoon, Mama and Aunty Ennio was washing their clothes outside whilst they were discussing about Mama misfortunes for the past few years.

"My husband died and now my son is a night mad boy." Mama shook her head in pity.

Aunty Ennio's lip twitched "My wife, it is well... All these problems would pass one day." she said, taking one of her dirty cloth from the floor to put it inside the bucket she was using to wash with. "I pray my brother rest in peace on his grave."

Mama already had tears in her eyes with the mention of her late husband. How he died was still like a dream to her.

She remembered how he had gone for the war and she had warned him not to because she had a bad dream about him but he refused. She also told his sister to talk to him few days before the war started.

Aunty Ennio had visited. She tried to talk sense into her brother but he fell deaf ears to it.

"Every abled men in this village will go and represent their village in the war." he told her bluntly "so you don't expect me to stay behind, do you?"

"But bros, your wife is having a bad feeling about this you have to listen to her." Aunty Ennio tried to convince him.

"Leave her. Its because she's a woman and she's going to miss me that's why." he smiled. "I'm going to miss her too but I've got no choice. It is the king's order. I must follow."

Aunty Ennio only shook her head in disappointment. She knew her brother wouldn't oblige no matter how hard she tried to convince him.

If he was keen on doing something, it would be so hard to talk him against doing it so. Aunty Ennio had to let him be cause she knew her brother was stubborn as hell.

When the day came, he carried his machete. He never forgets his slingshot and his hunter gun was hung on his shoulder. He took along some food and two bottle of water wrapted in an animal skin bag and as he left, little Damien and Mama stood by the door corrider, crying their eyes out like he was already dead.

Little did they actually know, that he was so close to dieing.

When he was out of sight, Mama rushed into her room. She took her Bible and started praying for her husband to come home safe and secured. She prayed that all the men that went for the war should come back safe after defeating their enemies.

Mama fasted and prayed for the three days her husband spent in the war. One day while she was preparing Dami for school, a group of Boys was carrying a mat with a body on top of it into her compound. She needed no body to inform her it was her husband so she ran to them at first thinking her husband was dead.

She started crying and wailing but when she got closer and they dropped him on the floor, she found out he was only badly injured around his thigh area and close to his shoulder. He was breathing and talking, so there was hope.

She told the boys to take him to the hospital, since he was losing a lot of blood.

"Wait—" her husband had said when the Boys were about to obey his wife's instruction. She also had to stop in her track cause she was about running into the house to get some money for his treatment when she heard his voice and turned back.

"Ezei (My husband)" She began with worried eyes. "What is it?"

"Before they take me to the hospital, I just want to have a word with you." He coughed.

"Why can't you wait until you are treated and better?" She inquired.

He coughed again and groaned. The pain coming from his leg and arm was very painful.

"No. I'll talk now."

'He is so stubborn'- she had thought.

"Yesss..? What is it?" She was impatient with him. She really wanted him to get some treatment in the hospital and here he was with all this drama.

He didn't answer her immediately, as he gestured for her to lean closer, she did and he kissed her forehead. "I'm sorry for not listening to you." he had tears flowing down from his eyes as he spoke. "I want you to take care of your self and my boy."

Mama didn't know that she was crying too until she tasted her tears which had rolled down to her lip. "Why are you talking like this?" She asked, allowing more tears to fall.

He didn't answer her question "Where is my boy?" he asked instead.

"Papa, I'm here." Dami said. He was also there listening and watching everything.

"Come here." his father ordered.

Dami walked closer. Papa managed to bring out his necklace from his hunter bag and gave it to Dami.

"Be a good and strong boy for me." he told Dami before the boys took him away.

Dami looked up to his mother. "Mama, is papa going to die?"

She had the feeling already so she didn't bother to give Dami his answer. She only wrapted her hands around his shoulder and pulled him closer to her as she continued to cry.

The news came that papa had died on his way to the hospital.
Many people were shocked and couldn't believe it.

"The wound couldn't have killed him." some people said.

"it is unbelievable that a curable thing could kill a man." others said.

Whilst mama stayed in doors all day, crying and chastising herself for allowing him to stubbornly go for the war in the first place but above all, she was greatly in grieve that God hadn't answered her prayer.

********

Here goes a long chapter. I'm sorry that you had to wait for it.

Thanks a bunch for taking your precious time to read my boring book. ❤❤

Support me by clicking that star 🌟 button.