Wake Me When I'm Gone by Odafe Atogun

Author:Odafe Atogun [Atogun, Odafe]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Canongate Books
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

TEN

The journey back was quicker. It took me two days. In total, I had been away for ten days. I entered the village as night fell. The noise of people wailing in loud voices came to me, and I wondered why. I was tired and famished, yet I hurried my steps, eager to see my son. The village appeared to be deserted. I took a short cut through Main Street, and as I approached my house, I realised that the entire village had gathered there. The wails became louder when they saw me.

My heart melted inside me. I threw away the jar of water I was carrying, and I ran through the crowd into my house. The living room was packed, but I did not notice anyone. I ran into Noah’s bedroom. He was not there. I checked my bedroom and then the spare bedroom, but could not find him. I went back into the living room.

‘Where is my son?’ I asked no one in particular. I got no response, except that the voices of those crying grew louder.

I looked around. Faces began to register in my mind. I saw Pa Umoh and his wife. I saw Duka, and I saw Chair-Lady, among many others. But I did not see the elderly herbalist who had promised to take care of my son.

‘Where is my son?’ I asked, focusing on Chair-Lady.

To my surprise, she began to cry. I knew then something had gone wrong. I grabbed her hand. ‘Where is my son?’ I asked tearfully, but she would not give me an answer.

‘Let me explain,’ a voice said behind me.

I released Chair-Lady and spun round. To my surprise, I discovered that the Chief had come into the living room, and it was him who had addressed me. ‘Let me explain,’ he repeated.

There was quiet in the room now. Only the sound of my harsh breathing could be heard. ‘Where is my son?’ I addressed the Chief.

‘Let me explain,’ he said again.

‘Explain what?’ I screamed at him.

Everyone began to move away, leaving the Chief and me in the centre of the room. I fixed my eyes upon him, waiting for him to speak. He adjusted the beads around his neck, awkwardly. He used the horsetail he was holding to fan himself a bit. And then he spoke. ‘If only you had arrived an hour earlier you would have seen proof.’

‘Seen what proof? Stop talking to me in riddles and answer my question. Where is my son?’

‘He was buried about an hour ago,’ he said quietly. ‘If you had come a little earlier you would have seen him before we buried him. We didn’t know you would return today. He died this morning. You know it’s our tradition to bury the dead on the same day . . . so I instructed that he should be buried.’

The whole world was spinning wildly around me. All the people in the room began to spin too. I could not hear anything. And soon I could not see anything.

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