Yefon: The Red Necklace by Sahndra Dufe Read Free Book Online Page A

for the weekend. One of them said he was going to play ball with his brothers and the other said he was going to hunt. My ears shot up like an antelope in the bush when it hears a hunter’s gun. As I watched them, I wished I was like those boys. Going to school and hunting over the weekend. It just sounded more exciting than sitting here with this witch.
    Out of the blue, Ma asked me, “Is it true that you are planning to ask your father to take you to Yola because you hate me?”
    Abai
! My heart began to beat faster. Yes. I do hate you, and yes I do plan on telling Pa, but how did she know? My mind was spinning and I responded quickly, “No.”
    An ugly silence ensued and since I couldn’t see her countenance, I wondered about the expression on her face.
    “Well,” she began when the stillness became unbearable, “If I hear that you said that to your father, you will see what I will do to you.”
    “But Ma I…”
    “I am not speaking to you any longer.”
    My pee break came when Ya Sero and Kadoh came to visit us. Ya Sero was Pa’s second wife, and she and Ma seemed to get along fine. I think the reason they bonded so well was because Ya Sero was from Kom, a neighboring village that had been conquered by Nso in a past raid. Since she was of slave blood, my mother didn’t see her as a threat. Well, that’s s only my theory since I can’t understand how two women sleeping with the same man can be so cordial towards each other.
    Do they look at each other and say, “Oh by the way, treat our husband well while I go to the market.”? I STILL, don’t get it. I never will, but that is not my cross to carry. And as much as I did not agree with this game of polygamous diplomacy and the nutty family that we had, I really loved Pa, and never questioned him.
    A pang of relief swept over me when I realized Ma was going to stop fixing my hair. I took Kadoh’s hand and led her to the corner of the house where we played
eh-eh
, a common game where the players had to guess which hand and leg the other had to show.
    While the mothers talked in the front, Kadoh finished my hair and I realized that I didn’t hate having my hair braided—I hated having my hair braid by Ma. Ever since that day, Kadoh braided my hair and I would help her with her laundry as payback. It was more fun than work as she told me tales of lands far away.
    She was a competent and creative braider. She didn’t only use shiny thread like Ma did. Sometimes she would plait my hair in traditional cornrows with messy strands. I liked that the ends of the hair strands were unbraided and hanging free. It made me feel unique, but it wouldn’t be long before Ma caught me, and forced me in between her legs to finish my hair.
    Once after Kadoh had finished braiding my hair, Ma called me over complaining about my hair.
    “But, Ma, it’s the style.”
    “Which stupid style?
Wanle
, sit down here and let me finish this hair. Cow.” Then, she mimicked, “It’s the style,” ending with a strong sigh to emphasize her disapproval.
    I unbraided the ends again at the farm after I had finished my chores. This was the style that I wanted, and nobody could change it, I told myself.
    “Come here,” Ma beckoned to me when I was tiptoeingback into the compound. My legs were shaking, as I knew the end of this story.
    “What did I tell you about this hair, eh?”
    I stared at her blankly, nervously moving my feet.
    “You cannot talk?” she asked, pulling my ears until my whole body swayed along, and then giving me a hard knock which usually left me limping in pain.
    “Let me see this again and I will show you the lesson of Mr. No Balance.”
    I have never known who or what Mr. No Balance was, but Ma sure used it a lot to mean that she would beat you severely. For whatever reason, I never stopped unbraiding the ends of my hair. I think Ma eventually got tired of beating me up.
    The next day, I was walking past the compound with Kadoh, laughing and telling stories,