My Life As Crystal of Beauty

8^thEntry: My Life As Crystal of Beauty

                    

My story continues ..

There’s been a death in Umuofia. Ezeudu was dead. He was a great man, so all the clan was at his funeral including my father. During the funeral, my father had accidentally shot Ezeudu’s 16 years old son. This caused us one family to flee to another land for seven years.

During the period, I grew up in my father’s exile and became one of the most beautiful girls in Mbanta, my father’s motherland. People called me Crystal of Beauty, as same as what my mother had been called in her youth. I feel very proud and happy when people says I’m beautiful.Many young men and rich middle-aged men of Mbanta wanted to marry me but my father said he would be happy if I marry in Umuofia when we return home. When my father said like that, I immediately knew that my father wanted me to marry with a man of authority in Umuofia to leverage his sociopolitical power. Since I love my father and I wanted to make him happy, I refused them all.

Besides that, my father ask me to explain to my younger sister, Obiageli. Since I wielded a strong influence towards her, I managed convinced my half-sister not to marry until we return. And so, both of us refused every offer of marriage in Mbanta.

If I Were A Boy

7^thEntry: If I Were A Boy

            I still remembered when I was ten years old my father wished that I were a boy. It was when my father killed Ikemefuna. I did not mind if he thought of me like that because I know he wanted his children to be as same as him. From that moment, I always do man’s chores such as bring my father’s goatskin bag like what both of my brothers would always do.

            After seven years being exiled, there were many changes happened including my own brother, Nwoye. He did not belong to our clan anymore. Nwoye, who was supposed to be a man like our father, has disappointed our father by changing his belief. So, instead of Nwoye, my father put his hope on me to help him to gain back his power in the clan after being exiled.

There were many young men and wealthy middle-aged men of Mbanta came to marry me but my father said to me that he would be happy if I marry in Umuofia when we return home. I knew right away that my father still wished that I were a boy because I could bear no other person but my father. So, I agreed with my father’s decision because I understand his wishes. That is also a way for me to show my love towards my father.

            Since my father knew that I understand him well, he asked me to explain to my half-sister, Obiageli about the marriage. I influence my half-sister about the marriage and she also agreed on it. This was an accomplishment for me and also shows that I obey my father.

My Father And I

6^thEntry: My Father And I

Here I am, again.

            For this entry, I will share about my relationship with my father. I was my father’s favourite daughter. My father was a hot-tempered person. He has no patience and will get mad easily. But I know, deep inside him, he was a loving and caring person.

When I had fever, my father went into the bushes with his machete and collected leaves, grasses and barks for making medicine. He boiled them in a pot, and did not let it boil over. He then forced me to be steamed in the medicine, under a tent formed by a large mat. He held me down when I struggled to escape from the choking and overpowering steam. Even though he forced me, I could sense his love for me because he cares about me and he did not want me to get sick.

On the other hand, there’s a time when my father had been imprisoned and was going to be hanged, I broke my 28 days visit to the family of my future husband and returned home because I really worried about my father. But I was satisfied a bit when I heard that something was being done to help my father. As soon as I heard that my father would be free from the prison, I prepared some food for him because I care about his health. I know that he had no appetite but he still eat to please me. This shows how much he loves me and I should love him in that way too.

"Salt"

5^thEntry: “Salt”

Hello everyone, this entry is about me as Salt.

            It was the last harvest of my father in Mbanta after seven years of the exile. Before we return to Umuofia, he wanted to have a great feast to thank his mother kinsmen for all the help. I guess my father is really kind and generous to the people who treated him nicely.

Ekwefi provided cassava for the feast because she was the only one who still had the cassava from the previous year while my father’s other wives had provided other food. On the following day, Ekwefi, Obiageli and I went to Ekwefi farm to harvest cassava tubers.

            Fortunately, a light rain had fallen during the night time and the soil would not be very hard. Ekwefi said that it would not take us long to harvest because the soil is not very hard. However, I told Ekwefi that the leaves would be wet because of the rain and I really dislike cold water dropping on my back. If I put the wet leaves into my basket that was balanced on my head, I’m sure the water would drop on my back.

            I hope that Ekwefi would listen to me so we would harvest the leaves after the sun rises and dry the leaves. But, she still wanted to harvest. I, who dislike the cold water was then called ‘Salt’ by Obiageli because she thinks that I’m afraid that I would be dissolved if the water drop on my back. I did not mad at her for calling me with such name because she was just trying to show me what things that similar with me. For me, it’s funny because I never expect that Obiageli would call me that.