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

when we saw Sola sprawled on a high bed in front of her mother’s
taav
receiving a strong pungent shea and aloe treatment with
bii
, which was a reddish powdered substance obtained from the bark of a tree used as antiseptic and skin balancing in those days.
    Sola was laying face down and her mother was massaging her shin and body while Sola cried painfully.
    “Shut up, stop crying. I have to make you beautiful,” Ya Buri said applying pressure on Sola’s soft back. Her back looked like it would burst if you pinched it.
    “But, Ma, it hurts,” Sola’s overly girly voice complained.
    “Shut up!” Ya Buri’s voice barked.
    Kadoh and I, who were already muffling chuckles, held on to our laughter and ran a little farther away before erupting into loud heaps of laughter.
    “Who is there?” Ya Buri asked angrily.
    We shot a stone at her before running away. She began to chase us, and I quickly climbed a dusty cashew tree that was close by while Kadoh jumped in a hole that we didn’t know was there until we heard Ya Buri’s loud thumping feet.
    “Yefon, I know you are there! If I catch you, I will skin you alive!”
    It was hilarious seeing her wading around, arms raised like a mad woman looking for someone to pour her anger on. It was laughable. Her piercings shone through to my eyes.
    “
Bvey
! You are lucky I didn’t catch you. I would haveskinned you alive. Ugly thing,
Kisham ke kingha!”
    One night, during storytelling, Kadoh told us the story of some children who could turn into termites when they were playing hide and seek. We all fell on our backs laughing.
    After storytelling, our mothers’ would gossip when the children had fallen asleep. I couldn’t sleep when people were gossiping and I knew that Kadoh would be awake too. Among the hot topics was speculation on whether Pa’s handsome brother, Lavran, was ever coming back.
    Lavran was a corruption of the English name Lawrence. My people have a very strong accent and consequently find it very hard to pronounce certain words in English.
    Kpulajey gushed about his handsomeness, and the fact that he wasn’t married. She said it so many times that even I found it odd.
    “But you are married,” Ya Buri reminded Kpulajey scowling. “Let the elders not hear this.”
    Kadoh and I shared a giggle as they argued. I wish I could open my eyes wider and look around, but I would get in trouble, so I could only see Kpulajey’s reaction since she was facing me.
    “Is it a bad thing to try and secure a place for my unmarried sisters?” Kpulajey negotiated, fluttering her eyelashes pretentiously.
    “With your witchcraft?” Ya Buri prompted.
    “What did you say?” The lash fluttering had stopped. This time, her big eyes opened wide.
    “That you are a witch!”
    Kpulajey pounced on her and they began fighting like two mother hens, arms wobbling everywhere. Kpulajey was younger and definitely stronger, and I don’t know whether she used her witchcraft to fight, but I do know she beat Ya Buri up mercilessly, pulling out her piercings and swallowing them loudly as Ya Buri winced in pain. The other wives tried relentlessly to separate them, and as they pulled Kpulajey away, she shouted, exhaling deeply.
    “It is your mother, and your father, and your grandparents who are witches. Idiot!” She snapped before leaving. I couldn’t help but giggle from the floor.
    Unfortunately, Ya Buri heard me, and she stomped towards me to check if I was asleep. I felt a shadow on my face. Squeezing my eyes shut as much as I could, I held my breath asshe hovered over me. My eyelids fluttered repeatedly when she squatted over me, spraying me with a stale, fishy smell from under her old
te’
.
    “This one is not sleeping!” she reported to the others, and Ma sent me to my room to sleep as punishment for eavesdropping on adult conversations. I remember crying so much for I was afraid to sleep alone when everyone else was outside. I was worried that
Juju
would catch me. I had