BETTER TOMORROWS
BETTER TOMORROWS
Sunny morning in Woye and the people are singing joyfully, children playing and the women weaving their baskets, while the men carry their shotguns on their shoulders and go hunting, this beautiful place has known joy for years , it was as if nothing could go wrong, the village boasts of strong women and brave men, warriors and brilliant children, "take care of the house,I'll be back soon" Adeniyi told Wura as he walked out of the house to go hunting, Wura his wife smiled and watched him walk away, she went in to check up on her son who was fast asleep and she then went to the kitchen to continue her cooking, it was almost nightfall and Adeniyi wasn't back home, she sat in the front of the house beside the food she had made for him with her son on her laps , she wondered what could be taking him so long, not long was it before she saw him approaching and she smiled, she stood up and she hugged him, "I was worried, you are late for supper" she said and Adeniyi smiled, dropped his hunting bag and carried his son, Wura went to get the bag but it was empty, "no catch?" She asked but he pointed to a spot and there was an antelope, laying on the floor lifelessly, Wura was so glad, she dragged the antelope to the back of the house and came back to the front to see her husband eating with their son, "that's a big catch, the gods always favour you,don't they?" She said and sat down looking at her husband "will you still go to see the king tomorrow?" She asked but Adeniyi didn't say a word, he just gave her meat from the soup and she smiled, "you know sometimes I get really jealous that I have to share you with the entire community, I understand it's not easy to be married to the strongest warrior and the greatest hunter in the community, but their demand for you is tiring sometimes " she said and paused for a while "you haven't said anything since you returned, is there a problem?" but all he did was smile and Wura sighed,she noticed her son had dozed off on Adeniyi's arms "such a stress free life he lives" she said as she carried him inside, she came back outside and sat down, her husband was having his bath already so she waited for him and stared at the stars, shortly after Adeniyi came outside and stared at Wura for a while and she smiled "won't my husband chat with me tonight?" She said and Adeniyi walked inside, totally ignoring her statement, she sat for a while puzzled by her husband's action, Adeniyi was a sweet man, he wasn't one who would come back home without giving her full details of how his day went, feeding her with scary tales of all that happened in the wild, but everything seemed different tonight, she concluded she had probably done something wrong or maybe he wasn't just happy, with a puzzled mind she signed and said"better tomorrows " and so she walked inside and closed the door, putting her head to rest.
It was morning and the cock's crow blessed the day , she stood up and her husband was still asleep, she touched his forehead and smiled, getting up from the bed slowly as not to wake Segun her son up, she had almost finished her chores when the young lad woke up and came to meet her in the kitchen "is your father still asleep " she asked and he nodded "strange " she said as she prepared the soup for breakfast, she was startled by a loud cry and disturbing noises coming from the front of her house and she rushed there, standing, looking dumbfounded, her bestfriend was in tears and she came to hold Wura "Yetunde, what's the problem, is the family fine, why is everyone here?" She asked but Yetunde kept crying "Wura, the worst has happened " she yelled, but Wura was still confused, "talk to me, is Deji okay?" She asked and more people started to troop into her compound and finally four able bodied men,dropped what they held in their hands. "Go inside" she said as she tapped Segun and soon tears rolled down her eyes and she hugged Yetunde, "why my house?" She said and Yetunde sighed "I asked the same question" she replied and Wura held her tightly in her arms,"it'll be fine" Wura said, "why are good people, taken so early?, he was a good man" Yetunde wailed and wura held her " i understand how you feel, the condolences would be better in your house, let me take you home "are you okay Wura?, does your head hurt?" Yetunde asked touching her head and she stood puzzled "I am fine" she replied and Yetunde sighed "he was found dead in the forest by a passerby, people say it's a sign of war from King Adunni" Yetunde said holding her and she shook her head "Adeniyi seems to be taking a long nap, let me fetch him" she said "Adeniyi?" Yetunde asked and Wura nodded heading inside but came back outside almost immediately, Yetunde rushed to meet her and everyone stared and murmured "he probably went to your place to see Deji, so sad" Wura said "Deji?, my husband is here too, what do you speak of?" Yetunde said and Wura walked close to the corpse on the floor and then stared at Deji who signalled the boys to open up the body, it was Adeniyi, he was there laying down, dead, Wura rushed back inside without saying a word and came outside, slowly walking towards the dead body of her husband, "where is my husband?" She said and tears rolled down her eyes, she screamed and fainted. Wura was oblivious of the fact that she laid in the same bed with her husband's ghost yesterday and so was everyone, they knew not how strong their love was that Adeniyi thought it wise to come smile at her one last time;was the peace of Woye in jeopardy because of King Adunni's action? Yes, it was a war fought for years, but Wura's battle with loneliness will be one fought for a lifetime.