The Heartless Step-brother

            The Heartless Step-brother

                       (a short story)

                              By

                     Lene Ododomu

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Ifeanyi lost his mother at a very tender age and started living with his father, chief Uduka. His father knows the situation of him that if he leaves him with his step mother, Amara, she will maltreat him because she does not like him.

Ifeanyi is the only surviving child of his late mother, Ugochi. He was like an egg in her palms because she was barring for 12 years in the marriage and that made her husband's people, especially his mother to marry him second wife who gave birth to a son just in two months of marriage. After given birth to her first son, Ebuka, she continues giving more and that made Ugochi to become a cursed single tree that stands alone in the village. But fortunately, she gave birth to Ifeanyi and died four years after his birth.

Chief  Uduka have more interest on Ifeanyi because he is more responsible than all his children. He writes his high school final exams and passed them at once in flying colours but his step brother, Ebuka failed many times before he passed through writing in miracle center.

Amara, while trying to poison Ifeanyi, mistakenly poisoned her daughter's food which took her life. She was the only step sister who was very close and friendly with Ifeanyi. Ifeanyi cried bitterly when the death was announced to him while selling his father's palm wine in their neighbouring village called  Inewi, a part of his village, Oloni in Delta state. He insisted for justice when he returns back from the market. He refused to leave her grave while she was putting to rest and he even jumps inside the grave, wanting him to be buried with her.

After some months ago, he received a letter from a friend in Canada with the heading, "LETTER OF EMPLOYMENT AS  MARKETING MANAGER".

He jumps up shouting,

"Pa pa ooo, pa pa, biko come ooo, our God has done it for us. Please come and see for yourself. Dad, please come ooo" he started rolling on the ground crying and singing.

"What's this tears of joy all about?" asked the father.

"Daddy, I received this letter from my friend, Powei, who is from Arogbo, Ondo state that I helped in all his literature subjects and had a very good result like me. He was my closet friend. His mother is from this village but married to an Ijaw man in Arogbo" replied Ifeanyi.

"Oh, I remembered him now. Is it not Chief  Perena's son?" asked the father.

"Exactly papa, that's him" replied Ifeanyi.

"Oh! This is wonderful! I will call my sister, Beatrice to thank her. I learnt she lives in Abuja, right?" asked the father.

"Yes papa" replied Ifeanyi.

"OK. I will call her" said the father.

Amara became so angry after hearing the good news of Ifeanyi. All she needs is for her children to be better than Ifeanyi. Besides she doesn't want  Ifeanyi to progress in life.   She plans every possible way to terminate the journey of Ifeanyi. So one night she cooks food and invited Ifeanyi to her kitchen and gives the food to him but immediately he steps out with the food, heavy wind came and blow him down on the ground with the food. The step mother came out and started shouting at him that he is wasting their money and must look for a way to pay it back. Luckily for him, the father hide the money and gives to him to settle her.

In the following morning, the step mother could not wake up from her sleep and that was how she died and immediately buried in the evil forest as instructed by the chief priest of the land. All this happened for the good of Ifeanyi to actualize his dream of going to the Canada.

When the day for his trip to Canada came, he was taken to the airport at Benin and his flight took off at night by 9:pm. Meanwhile, Ebuka, his step brother was not happy about the fact that Ifeanyi want to be better than him. He somehow becomes powerless because the mother who reinforces his evil mind is dead, but still have the hope to visit her native doctor at Ikoko forest.

Ifeanyi called home immediately he arrives to Canada. He was taken to his office in the following day by Powei. After spending six and half years, Ifeanyi started sending money to his father to build a new house. He also send all his siblings to the university and send money to Ebuka to start up a business because he refused to go to school. But the wicked Ebuka used the money to visit his late mother's native doctor to destabilize Ifeanyi because he doesn't want him to be better than him. 

Although Powei perceived the evil of Ebuka and warned Ifeanyi not to help him but he refused. Just few time after he had sent him  money to establish a business, he started having an experience of disappointment in the company. First the money meant to import new goods to the company disappeared from the company's account and Ifeanyi is the only one who have access to the account as a marketing manager. He was arrested after some claims were made that he transferred the money to his private account. 

To avoid further damages in the company, he was deported back to Nigeria after being released by Powei. Powei did it so that it will not escalate to  making him spend the rest of his life in jail but he believes that it is not ordinary and he never lost trust in him.

Ebuka became so happy when he saw Ifeanyi in the village and he cries every day and night. But fortunately, Ifeanyi been able to finish the payment of his siblings school fees and they have all graduated from the university. Among the three of them, it was only one who came to acknowledge the help of Ifeanyi while others don't even care.

Ifeanyi, spending his remaining time is like a suicide to him. He also believes that what happened to him is not an ordinary. So he went to the village shrine, naked himself in front of the oracle and lay a curse on who so ever have hands in his problem. He cursed that the oracle will visit the perpetrator and kill him or her in seven days after confessing to the world. Then he returns back home after expressing his anger to the oracle to fight for him.

The oracle appeared to Ebuka in his dream and chase him with cane. He wakes up from sleep shivering like a baby. He could not stay back and wait for a mysterious dead to visit him or knock at his door, so he visits his late mother's native doctor who revealed to him that he has just seven days to live on earth. His step brother has lay a cursed on him and now the oracle of the land is angry for vengeance.

"What is the solution, wise one?" asked Ebuka with shivering voice.

"No solution, my son except you have to confess to your step brother that you are the one responsible for his problem" replied the native doctor who turns back at him immediately he replies him.

"Wise one, please do something. I can't approach him after the evils I have done to him. He will kill me before the seven days. Please help me" said Ebuka.

"I can't put my own life like a bait on the same hook with you for a fish to eat. So do what I said or else you will die. So go ooo" replied the native doctor who disappeared immediately.

Ebuka became more scared because he was hoping that the native doctor who helped him to perpetrate the evil can also help him to fight it as it back fired. He had no option than to run back to the village to save his life.

Ebuka can't approach Ifeanyi in person, so he arranged two elders to accompany him to beg for forgiveness. They came and met the father lying down on a bench crying because of Ifeanyi present condition. But he stops crying when he saw the visitors who insisted that they have a message but want Ifeanyi to welcome the message. He called Ifeanyi who was in his mother's kitchen struggling to boil yam to eat. Immediately he came, Ebuka knee down before him begging him to forgive him that he is the cause of all his problem. At first, Ifeanyi did not understand him until Ebuka confessed to him that he used the money Ifeanyi sent to him for business to do juju and destabilized him because he doesn't want him to be better than him. 

Their father got heart attack and died immediately. Ifeanyi also started crying, 

"But Ebuka why? What have I done to you to deserve this?" asked Ifeanyi  rolling down on the ground crying.

Then he stood up, cleaned his tears with the back of his palm and embrace him.

"I have forgiven you but I don't think papa does. He died because of you and I don't think he will be happy in the spirit world and forgive you. But I have forgiven you" said Ifeanyi.

But immediately Ebuka approaches their father's corpse, a heavy thunder strikes him down and he died immediately.