Chapter 31

The next morning, Ogadi woke up extra early to prepare breakfast for their guests. After the shrine fiasco, the women had decided to get some much-needed sleep and Ezinne had set them up in the guestroom.

No one had talked about it, but Ogadi highly doubted the ritual had been successful.

As she boiled some eggs, she noticed she hadn't seen Nwata since the day before.

She left the kitchen and went to her bedroom to check for the little demon.

“Nwata! Nwata!” She called out. She opened her closet but the demon was nowhere to be found.

Her heart pounding, she searched the storeroom, the restrooms and even outside the house but she didn't find it.

Dejectedly, she wandered back into the kitchen, wondering what had become of Nwata.

In there, she found Ezinne next to the cooker. She had a disapproving look on her face.

“Ogadi, what did I tell you about leaving the kitchen when there's food on the fire?”

“Good morning, Grandmother. I'm so sorry. I was looking for Nwata. I can't seem to find him anywhere.” Ogadi said, her voice thick with tears.

Ezinne sighed and her expression changed to pity. Pulling Ogadi into her embrace, she gently patted her back as she said, “I'm sorry. He's probably gone back to the underworld.”

Ogadi blinked back her tears, “But he hates that place.”

“It's probably for the best.” Ezinne whispered soothingly to Ogadi.

Ogadi scoffed, “Yes. While he was here, I neglected him. I told him to watch our shrine and he did that devotedly, not knowing it was just a ruse so I wouldn't hang out with him.”

Ezinne hugged Ogadi a little tighter, as if she wanted to take away some of her grief and guilt, “You couldn't hang out with him because you had more important things to do. Don't beat yourself up.”

They both stood in each other's embrace and looked out of the window at the destroyed building they'd once called a shrine.

Some minutes later, they were interrupted by a cough.

They turned to see a bleary-eyed Udodi making her way to the kitchen table.

“Good morning,” She greeted as she sat down.

“Good morning,” Ezinne and Ogadi replied simultaneously.

Ogadi extricated herself from her grandmother's embrace and asked Udodi, “There are boiled eggs here. What would you like for breakfast? Custard, tea, cocoa or oat meal?”

Udodi looked undecided for a second before she replied, “Cocoa please. Milo, if you have it.”

“Hot?” Ogadi asked as she opened one of the kitchen cabinets and brought out a tin of Milo.

“Sure.” Udodi replied cheerlessly, rubbing her sleep-deprived eyes.

Ogadi quickly made a cup of hot cocoa and brought it to Udodi. Next, she got a loaf of sliced bread, margarine, and a boiled egg.

“Thank you.” Udodi said politely and Ogadi nodded, wondering where the haughty and self-assured woman of yesterday had gone.

The kitchen became silent except for the sound of Udodi listlessly eating her food.

“What of Ihunanya and Akunna?” Ezinne asked, breaking the silence.

“They're still sleeping. I don't know anyone who snores as loudly as those two. They kept me awake all night.” Udodi replied.

Ezinne nodded and the uncomfortable silence resumed.

Ogadi decided to break it once more by talking about the elephant in the room.

“Last night, did the ritual work?”

Ezinne shot her an alarmed look but said nothing. Udodi finished eating a slice of bread before she answered, “I highly doubt it. We were interrupted before the amulet could fully carry our wish out.”

Ogadi sighed. It was as she had feared.

“What do we do now?”

Udodi cleaned some breadcrumbs from her mouth, “I honestly have no idea. The amulet was destroyed. I guess the only thing we can do is ready ourselves for Dike Aru's coming. We'll try our best to fight him.”

Ogadi shook her head hopelessly, “That's impossible. He's a god and we're just Gate Keepers. He's going to kill us.”

“Shush!” Udodi admonished Ogadi gently, “Don't be so fatalistic. Look at what happened at the shrine. When we least expected it, Ala sent us a helper. Don't worry, it will surely happen.”

Ezinne murmured her support, but Ogadi could see that neither woman actually believed what they'd said.

* * *

That afternoon, after Udodi and the other women left, Ogadi was in her room preparing an outfit for the concert that was going to hold that night.

As she sought for the perfect blouse to match her jean trousers, she admitted to herself that she wasn't even excited for the concert.

First of all, only upcoming and virtually unknown artistes were going to perform and secondly, it was hard to get excited for a concert when the world was about to fall into the hands of a vengeful fallen god.

Ogadi ran her fingers through her hair as she gave up on searching for the blouse. She knew she was going to that concert, if only to see people laugh and have fun for the last time but she didn't want to go alone anymore. She needed someone to share the precious moment.

Before she could complete the thought, Phillip popped into her head with his boyish smile.

“Uh, no way.” She said to herself.

But you know you're attracted to him, who better to spend time with? An annoying little voice within her persisted.

The voice was annoying because it was right.

What if he has other plans? She asked the voice.

You won't know until you call him and ask him, the voice replied serenely.

Wait! Hold up! You want me to make the first move? She asked, astonished. Ogadi had never made the first move when it came to going out. The men were usually the ones who asked her out. They were also the ones who ran as fast as they could when they learned of her religion.

Yes, you have to. Dike Aru could come at any time. Do you want to miss the opportunity to hang out with Phillip because you're shy?

The voice pressed on relentlessly.

What? I'm not shy, Ogadi replied indignantly.

Then prove it! Pick up your phone and call him. The voice taunted.

Fine, Ogadi replied as she picked up her phone from her dressing table. Now leave me alone.

Before she could chicken out, she dialed Phillip's number and waited for him to answer, which he did after the first ring.

“Hello, what do you need?” was what Phillip greeted her with.

“What do you mean by that?” Ogadi asked defensively.

“You only call me when you want something,” Phillip accused and before Ogadi could reply, he added, “Not that I mind. I wouldn't even mind if you called me to hurl insults at me.”

Ogadi gave a long-suffering sigh and asked herself why she'd even bothered to call.

“So why did you call?” Phillip asked conversationally.

“Um, so you know there's a concert coming up tomorrow.” Ogadi began.

“The one that's taking place at Democracy stadium?” Phillip asked.

“The one and the same. Would you like to attend?” Ogadi asked shyly.

“No. Only upcoming artistes are going to perform. I have no wish to get my eardrums destroyed by tone-deaf wannabes.” Phillip asserted.

The disappointment Ogadi felt at his words was heartbreaking.

“Wait, wait!” Phillip shouted as if he had just received an epiphany, “Do you want me to go with you, like on a date?”

“No.” Ogadi rushed to reply. “You know what? Forget I asked.”

“No, no, no. I've changed my mind. I want to attend the concert.” Phillip said firmly.

“But you just said you didn't want to go.” Ogadi pointed out.

“Yeah, but you're going, so it would be worth me getting my eardrums destroyed.” Phillip said.

“You sure?” Ogadi asked, buoyed with hope at Phillip's change of mind.

“Yes. When is the concert starting?”

“Nine o'clock.”

“I'll be at your house by eight thirty tonight.” Phillip said.

“No, you don't have t—” Ogadi's protests were cut short because Phillip had hung up on her.

Ogadi threw her phone on the bed in frustration. She didn't know why she was so embarrassed, Phillip had agreed to go to the concert to her.

She hoped they'd be able to enjoy the concert without Dike Aru making an appearance.

* * *

That night, at precisely eight thirty, Phillip appeared at Ogadi's doorstep with a huge smile on his face as he could barely contain his happiness. Ogadi wanted to go out. With him. On a date.

While she swore up and down that they weren't dating, Phillip's brain was telling him otherwise. Not that Ogadi wasn't attracted to him because she was. He wasn't being proud or arrogant but he knew most people found him attractive, Ogadi included.

Which was all well and good because the attraction was mutual. He wanted to be with Ogadi. His mother would be so disappointed that he'd formed an attachment with a mission, but he was a grown man and no longer had to answer to his mother.

When the door opened, a bewildered Ezinne stared at him.

“Phillip!” She said with a tight smile that didn't reach her eyes.

Phillip noted that Ezinne had aged considerably since the last time he saw her, which was less than three days ago. The lines around her eyes and mouth were so pronounced and she had huge bags under her eyes.

“Good evening, Madam. I'm here for Ogadi.” Phillip announced.

Ezinne fixed a penetrating gaze on him, “You're going to the concert with her?”

Phillip wondered if she'd disapprove of his answer even as he replied, “Yes.”

Ezinne's smile got wider as she nodded approvingly, “Good. Good. She'll be safe with you. I think she'll appear at any moment from now.”

After Ezinne spoke, the room descended into a silence that had a desolate quality to it.

Phillip was looking for how to restart conversation and end the haunting silence when it occurred to him that he didn't know if any progress had been made in stopping Dike Aru.

“So, any luck with the amulet?” Phillip asked.

Ezinne sighed, “No. The amulet got destroyed.”

Ezinne's words set off alarm bells in Phillip's brain.

“What do you mean it was destroyed?” He asked hysterically.

Ezinne gently told him everything that happened at the shrine the night before. When she was done, Phillip's jaw hung open.

“What do we do now?” He asked, drawing at his curly hair.

“We go back to the drawing board and come up with another idea. One way or another, we're going to try our best to defeat Dike Aru.”

Ezinne replied with enthusiasm she didn't feel.

Phillip knew they were out of ideas but he didn't voice out his thoughts. Instead, he nodded like he believed her and once again, the room became silent.

After a while, Phillip looked Ezinne in the eye and said, “If you'd rather we don't go for the concert, all you have to do is say the word.”

Ezinne shook her head, “No. No. No,” She asserted fiercely, “Please go. You only live once. Savor the moment and all that.”

Phillip nodded, taking her words to heart. He'd try to enjoy the time he had with Ogadi before Dike Aru decided to wreak havoc upon them all.

“Thank you for your approval.” Phillip found himself saying.

The next moment, Ogadi walked into the sitting room, wearing a tank top and a pair of jeans. Upon seeing, Phillip discussing with Ezinne, she smiled.

“You look beautiful.” Phillip told Ogadi dutifully, noting how her eyes lit up at the compliment and how she tried to feign indifference when she shrugged and replied, “Thanks. You don't look bad yourself.”

Although it was standard procedure to tell a woman she was beautiful if one was going out with her, Ogadi really looked beautiful, Phillip thought as he held out his hand and asked, “Shall we?”

Ogadi slipped her fingers through his and the feeling of contentment resurfaced once again.