Tales of an Albino [Episode 3]

Your father sat on the porch of his hut. As we walked into the compound, he was chewing Udara stick, the very dry one, and humming absent- mindedly to an unfamiliar tune. He was drinking from his palm wine jar and staring deeply into space when he sighted us.His eyes shot daggers at us, “What do you want? He got up screaming.

“Please, Please my husband, have mercy, we have nowhere to….” I was cut short by the thick brownish spittle that suddenly glued to my face.“Don’t you ever call me your husband or come near here. Don't you understand? I don’t want to have anything to do with you and your demon child, I don’t want. Just go!” his voice was loud.I gently placed you on the floor and rushed down his feet, begging and weeping that he took us in, but he pushed me aside, went straight into his room and rushed back to us with a machete.

I ran off, and turned when I remembered I had left you behind on the floor, I saw him staring down at you with pain and hate. With his machete raised to the heavens I feared he would unleash it on you. My heart beat raced, my legs shook and cold blood rushed through me. “Please” I muttered.

“Take this thing away”, he said as he walked over you, almost stepping on you. And as if you sensed the atmosphere in which you found yourself, you let out a thunderous cry, which increased the bleeding of my heart as my hands reached out for you.We walked all around the village, begging for shelter and food, some villagers with good heart, mostly women without children, hid to feed us with dry roasted corn and pears, but majority rejected us and rather spat on us as they turned us down.

We slept in the market square that night; under Eka Imoh shade. I covered you with my gown and lay half-naked beside you, protecting you in every way that I could. I fed you with breast milk but I knew it wasn’t enough for you as you kept crying.

By 11pm that night, as Ikot Itam night-watch went round the marketplace, their leader spotted us under the shade and called his team hastily. I sighted them rushing towards us and cocking their guns ready to shoot at whatever their leader sighted.

I Jerked as their headlamps brightened our space - you lay sound asleep under a table, “Please, don’t hurt us”, my voice faded and I could feel pains inside my throat.“Wait a minute, it’s you Uduak, but why are you here? Why not go home to your husband, beg him to allow you in, or go throw this child in the river and give yourself peace”.“I can’t, she is human, and deserves to live. She’ didn’t create herself, she’s an innocent child. Please have mercy on us”. He left with a promise to consult the village’s chief on our behalf the next morning, but reminded me that there was no assurance that we would be pardoned and it was very risky where we lay to sleep.After our meeting with the chief the next day, he had mercy on us but warned us never to expect any favour or support from anyone in the village. He said we were outcasts and would be only allowed to work in farms, fetch water from the stream but restricted from buying or selling at the village market, attending meetings or any village festival; and failure to abide by all we were told was death. We were then ordered to return home to your father and live like we never existed.

Read Episode 1 here

Read Episode 2 here

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