Ride Her Shoes

A girl is innocence playing in the mud, Beauty standing on its head, and motherboard dragging a doll by the foot

~Alan Beck~

Uga, Nigeria. 1993.

The gliding movement of the eke, python snake as it rubbed it's stomach on the ground moving freely as though it owned the area, instigating fear in the hearts of visitors who dared not go close to it while increasing the pride of inhabitants of the area as it moved.

No one dared to kill it for the fear of the elders and the consequences that would follow as it is said to be harmless and had helped them in the past.

One could easily differentiate between a visitor and an indigene by their reaction when they see the snake. As usual the visitor would always run away from it, even children who are of the land would run showing just how little they knew about their town.

It was August in preparation for the New yam festival and masquerades were always coming out to entertain the people and it would continue until the celebration was over.

The laughter of the children dancing to the song of the masquerade while running away from it could be heard from afar.

Although, it is unethical for anyone who hasn't been initiated into the masquerades fraternity —which is only for males— to dance to the masquerades drum, it is sometimes irresistible as it holds beautiful tones and rhythm.

Nmachi could have been one of these children had she not attained maturity rapidly. Her breast occupies the entire space on her chest and her nipples stood firm, peeping through her dress. Her hips were a lot wider, giving her a more defined and curvy feminine body.

At an early age of 7, her mother, Nwabuko had taught her everything there was to know about womanhood and that everything was farming, cooking, marriage and child bearing.

Every young girl knew this as a matter of fact, they looked forward to doing these things and bearing children especially male children as they were the pride of every family and any woman who failed to give birth to a male child stands the chance to share the love of her husband with a second wife because men always want someone to take up their names and inherit their lands and huts.

If any man fails to have a male child and dies, his properties would be taken away from his wife and daughters by his family.

Now 18, Nmachi didn't see things in the same light as her mother and that some times is the cause of their disputes. Her mother wanted her to be a wife and a mother but Nmachi wanted more out of life. She wanted what her mother wanted for her but many more before that and it scared her mother a lot

"Nne," Nmachi called Nwabuko who was plaiting her black afro hair using a black thread which is specifically used for hair making.

"Mmm," her mother hummed while trying to adjust the thread with her lips as she whipped it continuously around the portion of hair she had singled out.

Without thinking of the possible implications of what she was going to say and how best to present it, she said,"Nne, I want to go to the university and become a big woman like Aunty Akudo."

Upon hearing that, her mother gave her a heavy knock on her head

"Eeey, Nne what did i do?" Nmachi asked as she got up immediately from where she was sitting with her two hands rubbing on her head, rubbing the spot on which her mother had hit her.

Nwabuko pointed at the position in front of her where Nnmachi had gotten up from,"Ngwa, sit down." She ordered and Nmachi reluctantly obeyed in fear of another knock.

"You want to bring shame to your father and myself by imitating that girl, Akudo." Her mother said "She's not even married yet so rich. Only an irresponsible woman would reach thirty and still remain single."

Trying to educate her mother, Nmachi replied,"Nne, people have choice o. If Aunty Akudo has refused to get married it's her choice besides Uncle Obum, your brother is almost forty and he is not yet married but nobody is saying anything about it."

Upon hearing this, Nwabuko pulled at Nmachi's ear and whined it, making her scream in pain.

Nwabuko released her ear after she was satisfied with what she had done as Nmachi was on the verge of tears.

"It is as if this school you're going to has started making you feel like we're mates, eh. You forget that I am your mother." Nwabuko said in annoyance at how freely Nmachi had said those words.

"But Nne,".

"Taa, Shut up! I need to talk to your father about this shoulder you've started raising." Nwabuko said and got up from the wooden stool she was seated on, adjusted the wrapper she had tied over her chest and walked away into the house, leaving Nmachi and her half done hair.

"Nne, You have not finished my hair o." Nmachi called after her mother who kept on walking without looking back while her large buttocks bounced up and down in turns and style with every step she took like an old dance step it had mastered.

Sighing in defeat, Nmachi sat down on the floor beside the bed and tried to tie her by herself when a familiar whistling graced her ears, making her smile.

It was Echezona's whistling and she could single it out in the midst of ten whistles. Echezona, a young man of 23 who has the kind of physique that would make most girls turn around. He had a broad chest and abs which developed from all the firewood cutting and palm wine tapping that he engaged in.

Nobody knew about this unique signal Echezona and Nmachi had formulated except Nmachi's dearest friend, Ukokwe who was the only friend Nmachi's parents had accepted because of how well behaved she was.

That was the reason they had given Nmachi but Nmachi knew that they had their eyes on the large plots of lands and yam barns Ukokwe's father had acquired over the years.

Currently at the end of his whistling which was his way of communicating to Nmachi his presence, he was standing at the back of her house near a big old mango tree.

Nmachi, smiling in excitement, peeped into the room Nwabuko had entered and upon noticing that she had her eyes closed, Nmachi ran off on tiptoe out of the hut and turned around to get to the back where Echezona stood.

Upon seeing her, Echezona's face wore a bright smile as he admired her beauty not just that of her face and body, but that of the woman she was growing into.

"Obim," he called her as she got close to him and upon hearing the endearment, Nmachi added a style to her walk, swaying her waist while getting closer to him but she didn't take much time because he pulled her hand and dragged her into the not so thick bush so that passerbys wouldn't notice them and make them the topic of discussion.

"Don't you think we're going too far into the bush. Just tell me what you called me out for, Nne would soon start searching for me." Nmachi informed him yet he didn't stop walking.

"Echezona!" She called him and stopped walking.

Looking around in deep thought, he placed both of his hands on his waist and asked her, "Are you sure we can do it here?"

A very confused Nmachi looked at him with only one question in her head and in her heart, "Do what?" She voiced the question while staring at Echezona awaiting his reply.

Echezona stood still and couldn't say what exactly he wanted to do with her and why it was impossible to do it there.

It was as though the words were so heavy for him to voice out.

"Echezona, gwanum tell me." She said in a soft voice before closing the space between them and Echezona towered over her and he had to bend head to see her as she reached him at his chest.

"Nmachi, my love." He began and she hummed her reply while staring into his eyes "Nma, I would be leaving for the city." He said and Nmachi gasped.

"Why?" She asked him as the sound of her heartbeat became audible in her own ears. She was afraid that he was going to leave her and never come back, she was scared that he was going to break her heart.

"Nma, You know I got admission into the university. I need to go if not my admission would be taken away from me." He explained but Nmachi was almost in tears as she was going to miss him and possibly lose him to the girls in the higher institution.

Nmachi had heard a lot about girls in the university and how they run after guys and feared that they would run after Echezona the same way.

Sniffing in the catarrh that was already flowing out of her nose as a result of the tears before wiping her nose with the back of her hand and rubbing it on the old loose dress which is a hand down from her cousins in the city.

"When will you be leaving?" She whispered and Echezona looked at the sky while rhythmically shaking his head from side to side, thinking of the exact day he was to leave for school.

"Let's say September, next month." He said to her and Nmachi raised both of hands to her head in astonishment while stamping her foot to the floor.

"Ewooo!" She exclaimed before bringing down her hand from her head. "Chai, you didn't even remind me." She said in a soft voice but Echezona pulled her into a tight hug, wrapping his arms around her waist and lifting her to her toes but she didn't mind because this wasn't the first time he had held her in such a manner . Neither was she complaining.

"That's why I'm here," he said, "Nma, I want you to give me something so that I will know that you love me and will not forget me." He said to her before pulling out of the hug.

Scrunching up her face so that her eyebrows met, Nmachi asked,"What is that?" and Echezona breathed a deep sigh.

He remained silent for a while, staring at Nmachi's legs and then he raised his gaze to her face.

"Nma, I want you to give this to me," he said while pointing at her vagina area but Nmachi didn't understand what he meant.

"What?" She asked, throwing both her hands in the air.

Taking two steps closer to her, he rubbed her abdomen through her clothes before taking his hand a little lower to her vagina which made her gasp and in a blink of an eye, she was three steps away from him.

No one has ever touched her there before and she was surprised at how she felt when he touched her.

Nmachi continuously shook her head in refusal. She knew the implications of what was going to happen to her if she loses her virginity. Her mother always reminded her of how women are scorned for losing their virginity outside marriage.

She remembered Ugoma, a young girl her age who was currently pregnant in her father's house and was publicly humiliated by her mother and other women in the village.

There was a slim chance of her getting married and even Iheanacho whom she claimed to be responsible had boldly denied her in front of everyone and is currently living freely and had even been rumoured to be befriending Ugoma's best friend.

"Echezona, I can not o." She told him "Nne will kill me if I think of doing that." She said to him and he sighed.

"Nne will only know when you tell her." He said to her in a calm voice ,"besides, this is the only thing that will make you wait for me." He assured her yet Nmachi shook her head.

"Or don't you love me?" He asked her knowing fully well that was one of her soft spots.

"I love you but-"

"But what? Do you love me or not?" Echezona asked, already becoming angry at her refusal.

"I lov-"

"Nmachi!" She heard Nwabuko shout her name from afar and got gripped with fear

Nmachi had never thanked her chi for her mother's interruption in the past but today, she mentally went on her knees in gratitude for it.

"I need to go and answer Nne." She informed Echezona who nodded in agreement but when she turned around to go, Echezona held her hand and spun her around only to hug her tight in his arms.

"Think about it, inugo? He asked and she gulped before nodding, pulling out of the hug, she ran towards her house, plucking some bitter leaves on the way as an excuse for leaving the house.

Nne — Mother'

Mba —No

Inugo— Have you heard?

Obim— my heart.

Gwanum— tell me