CHAPTER 3: CHANGE

CHAPTER 3

As days passed on, it became increasingly obvious around the slave depot that Dios was acting up and showing changes he was not known for. To him, something had hit him really home. The tamed Caucasian skin he had gotten from his Portuguese father and Igbo chocolate skin from his mother started creating some meaning in him as two of Sir Diogo’s children visited their father in Bonny Island from Lisbon with their mother, Aline. It was in October, and Dios had run upstairs to welcome his stepmother, half-brother, Estevo, and little sister, Beatriz. He was beaming with smiles while making attempt to hug them when Sir Diogo cynically and bodily barricaded his way and ordered him to wait for him downstairs. Dios was really hewed down emotionally by that singular act and Mrs Aline was eager to have some words with him. However, Sir Diogo interfered immediately he noticed what his wife wanted to do.

‘‘Don’t worry, I need to have a quiet time with my family now. You can talk with him later. He is still around. He is a son around here. He was born of one slave woman around here. All the merchants around here treat him special. No doubt, he has something to do with Lisbon but he belongs here in Biafra. His late mother died in a plantation farm in Madeira some years ago. I took special care of him and he has been of great help to me, supervising the activities of the slave keepers. They called me his father, and really we are almost close to that”, Sir Diogo said.

“Wow, he is just a very handsome-looking man. Bring him home with you on your retirement. He can manage my father’s slaves very well. He looks strong and well-behaved too’’, Aline pleaded.

Those words impacted the recent life of Dios who heard everything they were saying upstairs about him as he glowered down the staircase with a heavy-laden heart. He went straight inside his room, locked the door, laid down and wobbled on his bed. It was a moment in moments for young Dios. The helpless cries, the midnight gasping of young virgins and thunderous shouts like ‘papa, mama, ụmụnne m, biko, hei!, mere m ebere’ as sighing words of victims of slavery started regaining their true meanings in the head of former commanding Dios. He stood up and sat on the edge of his bed, holding his head as though all the lands of Biafra were laid upon him. Every of his body parts became too heavy for him to shake off. He had become sober and reflective, and also more vulnerable within himself. No doubt, the no-sense of ownership exhibited by Sir Diogo before his Lisbon family towards young Dios had created in him self-ownership. Within him, only he could salvage himself. Yet, the respect he commanded among native slave managers remained intact, and even more, fear of him tripled because nobody understood him anymore and none had direct gut and access to Sir Diogo to the level of painting him black before whom they believed was his father. Ever since that day, Dios started avoiding having direct conversations with Sir Diogo. It lingered because it did not disturb the free flow of slaves down to Bonny Island. “You know what to do. You know the right thing as you should” was the last commanding word he gave the slave managers before he started schooling himself on the best part of history to live by.

Before this time, Dios, the portrayed son of Sir Diogo, was a known name among Biafrans and up to the Bight of Bini. He was exchanging holidays with mullatos fathered by Portuguese in Bini. He was about falling in love with one of them, Miss Agueda, before Aline’s family visitation. Everything about the whites began to irritate and disgust him more like a plague on the day young Miss Agueda cautioned him against his harshness towards the slave managers who Dios once called fools for not allowing nursing Emeabong to breastfeed her crying seven months old son that was kidnapped along with her at Abakk.

“Do you think that taming these slaves is easy? Have you not noticed that they are very stubborn?” Miss Agueda said.

“Even the doves get mad when you separate them from their hatchlings”, Dios replied.

“I know, but there is nothing we can do about it. They are slaves. Such is life”, Miss Agueda said.

These words coming from Miss Agueda met a long humming sound silence in the mood of recently agitated Dios before he managed to say another thing.

“I thought you told me that your mother was an Eboe slave from Onicha before she was beaten to death by Sir Abel, your uncle?” Dios asked.

“Yes, she was Eboe. But my uncle, Abel, was forced by my father to refund him the money he used to purchase her”, Miss Agueda said.

“Hmmmm, shhhhh, terrible, sister. You don’t get it. You may get it later. Until then, we are the new bats of the earth. You may not get it. Has anybody visited your uncle’s house from Lisbon or Madeira since your both parents died?” Dios asked.

“No, but why did you ask?” Miss Agueda inquisitively asked.

“No, I just wanted to know if you have been shown Portuguese love before”, Dios scornfully said.

“I don’t understand. My Uncle rather often travels to Lisbon but my sister, the one my father’s Portuguese woman had for him, had not visited”, Miss Agueda said.

“Why have you not visited Lisbon?” Dios sneeringly asked.

“My uncle said it is a journey of the tough, that when I am toughened enough I shall follow him home”, Miss Agueda said excitedly.

“Alright, yes, Lisbon is very far and tough. But all its toughness is in the heart of the people that kept it far”, Dios said as he stood up to make some walks along the river bank.

“What do you mean, Dios? Are they God that made it so?’’ Miss Agueda asked as she stood up to follow Dios.

“No, just that their God made Lisbon far from us and made Biafra and her neighbours less far for all”, Dios said.

“Dios, honestly, I must say this, I don’t understand you today. Hope you are OK?” Miss Agueda asked.

“She doesn’t get it. She could be more dangerous than far Lisbon”, Dios murmured as Agueda was grandly coming behind him.

“I am really privileged to have an evening conversation with a beautiful white Portuguese lady, Agueda”, Dios said turning suddenly, stretching his hand while shaking hands with Agueda who was caught unaware and looked beautifully bewildered.

It was a handshake of two conflicting minds; one from fear of losing one and the other from fear of working a distance with one who was comfortable with an unbecoming state of affairs.

“Good bye, Agueda”, Dios said.

He then ran into the water and took the available canoe to Bonny Island, while Miss Agueda looked stunned as she managed to look at Dios once again and started shedding tears. At this time, the canoe started paddling home; it did not wait for more passengers. Dios, the son of Sir Diogo, was just about enough to pay for the other spaces as a lone passenger.

Dios only managed to look back one more time towards the river bank that was absorbing Agueda’s tears as they dropped. He nodded his head and told Etim, the paddler, to focus more ahead.

“Your tears make no meaning to me. My own tears had been dried up by buckets of tears I see every day in the eyes of Sir Diogo’s slaves in the Bight of Biafra. Harvest yours, young lady. Harvest yours”, Dios said to the hearing of Etim as the canoe cruised on.

“Sir, what did you say?” Etim asked innocuously.

“I wasn’t talking to you, young man. Though I think you need it more. You people only need to wake up. Just drive me home”, Dios said.

“OK, sir”, Etim said as he paddled down towards Bonny Island.

“After all, if you care about what I was saying, drowning me here should be a sign of relief”, Dios said.

He tried to murmur something out when the word became audibly loud to Etim’s ears.

“You mean I should drown you, sir?” Etim frozenly asked.

“Shut up, young man. I was talking to myself. I was not talking to you. Drown me for what? Take me to Bonny Island fast and now”, Dios said boldly while terrified inside his heart.

It was terrific minutes for Dios whose eyes were almost popping out in fear but was hidden at the back of Etim who suddenly held stronger his paddles. He suddenly remembered his gun and pulled it out from its sheath and made a corking sound with it before sheathing it back.

“There is no problem, sir. We are just only few minutes away from Bonny Island”, Etim said.

"That’s good”, Dios replied fiercely.