“Anna and Austin!” Onyi yelled their names in her heart, planning on how to scatter the wedding. But when she remembered how difficult it was for Anna to love a man, she decided to allow her be, for the sake of the love she had for her.
“Anna, you know how much I loved Austin, but you went ahead to snatch him from me. How was your heart this strong to hurt your beloved sister like this?……Now, I will allow this marriage to go on but I curse the sisterhood relationship that exist between us”. Onyi wept bitterly, as tears gushed down her cheeks.
Nobody saw her, because she first peeped from afar to confirm if Austin was actually the one who came to marry her sister.
After the confirmation, she went back and followed the back of the house, entered and locked herself in one of the rooms.
Onyi was the quiet type, she abhored the idea that kept popping up to show herself to Austin, because that will unveiled the kind of woman he wanted to marry.
“I have to keep this to myself. Had it been she told me earlier, maybe I would have confiscated my love for Austin for her sake, since she can’t love any other man except him. Atleast, she would have saved me the tears, pains and the hurt I had to go through for loosing him. She even exposed my secret to him. No wonder Austin suddenly found out I lied to him. But must she go to these length just to snatch him from me? Anna, you went too far” Onyi shuddered, knocking her thumbs.
As she was still in the room crying herself out, her mother was outside searching for her. She asked everybody around, but nobody seemed to have a clue.
“Where could she have gone to? Her sister is being given away in marriage and she is nowhere to be found and soon Ebere will be going to her new home” The mother wondered
“Mummy Ebere, are you looking for Aunty Onyinye?” A young boy of 12 asked.
“Yes, did you see her?” She answered with a question.
“Yes, I saw when she came back and followed this way and entered from the back” the boy answered pointing at the direction he saw Onyi earlier.
“Ah ah! OK let me check” she said and went to the back yard, but didn’t find anybody there, she decided to check the rooms.
“Onyinye!” She called in harsh tone.
“Ma” Onyi answered.
“What are you doing here, lying down?”
“Mummy, I am very sick, it started this afternoon before the in-laws arrived” she lied, hiding the truth from her mother.
“My daughter, and you did not care to inform me.” Mummy asked, going closer to her, feeling her temperature and said:”Look at your face, you have been crying since, which means the sickness is too heavy….. Go and wash your face, we need to take you to a hospital now.” Mummy cared.
“Haa, mummy, hospital in this village?
Noo…, they don’t have qualified doctors here, when we get back to the city tomorrow, then I will visit our family doctor”
“But you are very sick mmh, my daughter. Please tomorrow is too far, those doctors you call fake have been treating people in this village”
“Mummy, stop worrying yourself OK, nothing will happen to your daughter, I have taken paracetamol, it will provide some ease. Now see, I am getting stronger bit by bit” Onyi said, standing up, shaking her body to convince her mother that she was then, feeling OK.
“OK my daughter. Wash your face, and let’s bid your sister farewell, and wish her luck in her new home.” Mummy requested.
“No mummy, No” Onyi snapped.
“Why?” Mummy asked looking confused.
“Erm,…..not that I said no, my face its not bright enough, I don’t want people to see me like this.” Onyi said looking for a way to make her mother to leave without her.
“Onyinyechukwu, go and wash your face now” Mummy ordered, authoritatively.
This time, Onyi was left with no option that to obey what her mum said.
As she was waiting for Onyi, they were already calling the mother of the bride outside.
“Onyinyechukwu be fast.” Mummy ordered waiting for her to finish, because Onyi might decide to stay back if she left without her.
It wasn’t Onyi’s intention to present herself as Anna’s sister at the event, she knew it was what Anna wanted, but since her mother insisted, she had no other option than to obey so that she won’t suspect anything.
Meanwhile, Anna had been informed by the gangs she paid to kidnap Onyi for 7 hours and release her the time the wedding must have been completed. They told her they did not locate the target. She was so angry with them that they failed to complete their own part of the job.
After they informed her, her mind was no longer at peace. She kept praying for Onyi not to return until the wedding was over. Luckily for her, Onyi did exactly what her heart yearned for, but her mother got in the way, and destabilized her plane.
So immediately her mother came out with Onyi, she sighted her eyes and discovered Onyi was already aware but decided to keep cool.
As they were approaching, Austin saw her, wondering what she was doing there. He kept looking at her. But Onyi maintained cool, acting as if nothing happened. When she reached where Anna and Austin were sitting, Austin who couldn’t hold his surprise asked:”Onyinye, you have now become a ghost that follow me about, even at my own wedding?”
But Onyi kept mute, and went straight to where her sister was sitting and wiped off sweats from her face with a white handkerchief.
“Happy married life sis,………….. but you should have told me he was your Cyko”She said in a low tone and left.
As Onyi was leaving, Anna felt drenched immediately, cursing herself on what she did to her sister.
“Ebere, why did you invite her over to the wedding” Austin asked.
As he was asking, Onyi’s Mum overheard him and came forward to answer him.
“You mean Onyinye?” She asked
“Yes, the one leaving now” Austin answered raising his head towards Onyi’s direction.
“She is my second daughter, your wife’s immediate younger sister” Mummy answered.
“What?” Austin blurted.
“Is anything the matter, my Inlaw?”
“Oh no…..no……..” Austin answered smiling, no mama, I remembered something else now.”
“Are you sure all is well?” Mama inquired.
“Yes mama, everything is OK”
Mama said OK and left.
Austin looked at Anna who was facing down but he had no word for her at that moment.
“See how I was busy planning to clear my sister from the way but failed to put this part into consideration. How do I face Austin now?” Anna said in her heart.
After the wedding, Anna left with Austin and her in-laws to her new home.
When they reached, Austin checked the time, it was 6:32pm. He told his mother and his elder brother that he was leaving for the city right away.
When the mother asked him about his new wife, he said:”Mama, I have played my own part by marrying her for you as you requested, she can live with you in the village.” Austin said leaving.
“Mama, I told you not to force him into this marriage, now see the repercussion. Please nobody should call me again concerning this issue, he is old enough to handle his own affairs, he is no longer a kid” Ejike warned and also left that night.
To be continued……
The author of Kukere Sisters is Ngozi Lovelyn O.
Warning: No part of this work should be copied, use, reproduce, redistribute either electronically or manually without prior permission from the author..
Copyright:©2017
xperiawithngozilove@gmail.com
