THE STUBBORN CHILD AND THE MERMAID

One week later, Akeem told his mother that he wants to go and bath in the stream. That he is tired of bathing at home. That he doesn’t get himself while bathing at home. That he is bathing like a duck fowl.

That he wants to be going to stream to take his bath. That stream is the best place for him to bath, so that he can assist his sisters to fetch at least a pot of water a day instead of consuming the water he has not been fetching. So his mother thought he has changed. She allows him to go.

Akeem went all by himself to the sacred stream without letting anyone to know. Getting to the stream, he ran and jumped into the water forcefully, playing and shouting disturbing the peace of the water.

After constant actions each time he visits the stream. The goddess got angry and visited the chief priest to warn him if not she will take him or inflict him with sickness that has no cure. That she is only merciful because she just saw him for the very first time about two week ago. And that she sensed that he has not known the rules about the stream, which is why she is merciful.

The chief priest answered the goddess that he doesn’t know the boy, Akeem; please who is he? The goddess told him that he is the son of the Akpengsa the businessman. Oooh! Akpengsa is a good man, he said. That he only knows about his father who is an elder, which everyone knows in the village but he doesn’t know that he has such a grown up youth at home.

He asks the goddess how can he get to the boy. The goddess directed the chief priest to wait for him under the Melina tree of Umudike’s forest the following morning by 10:30am that he will be coming with his friend to visit the stream.

Exactly the time, the chief priest went and waited for them. While Akeem and Joseph were coming, getting closer to the tree, the chief priest shakes his staff. Akeem and Joseph were frightened because they did not expect to see anyone.

So Joseph said to the chief priest, look old man, I don’t like it oooh. Why would you make us scared like that? See I don’t like oooh.

The chief priest shouted! Look I come because the goddess asked me to warn you two never to disturb the peace of the sacred stream if not she will take both of you or inflict you with sickness that has no cure.

Joseph and Akeem laughed out loud at the chief priest. Joseph asked him, who did you said that sent you? The chief priest answered the goddess of this land. Joseph laughed and he asked again if the goddess knows that we are going to pass here, did she know what kind of clothes we’ll be wearing? Did she tell you?

The chief priest was silent. Soon afterwards, the chief priest yelled at them saying: young boys: pay attention and listen carefully “a stubborn fly that does not listens to instructions, will surely followed the corpse to the grave” he told them if they know what’s good for them they should obey simple instruction or stop visiting the stream, that they shouldn’t say he didn’t warned them.

Joseph yelled back at the chief priest eeeh eeeh! Is that a threat? He asked. Stop right there who do you think you are? Before he could finish the question, the chief priest disappeared. Akeem was scared but Joseph was not.

After the chief priest disappeared, Akeem told Joseph that he’s not going with him again. Joseph said to him: come on Akeem, I know you need explanations, come I will explain to you. Akeem stupidly followed him to the sacred stream.

Joseph said to Akeem, don’t mind that stupid fool, there is nothing like goddess in this village. That he went to the stream even on the days they said is sacred. That it remains him to eat the food and go with item they offered to what they so called goddess. That he has never one day seen what they called goddess. Getting to the stream, they didn’t obey what the chief priest told them. They did as usual and left nothing happened.

On their way coming back, Joseph said to Akeem, “you see what I told you, they are fools”. They don’t know anything. They are believing nonsense. The chief priest thought he can make us to be afraid because he disappeared. They both laughed.