I walk in to Mom sitting on my bed. As she sees me, she smiles. Mom occasionally comes to sleep on my bed with me, it is basically OUR room at this point. Like... Well, it's her house sooo... It was an invasion of my privacy, yes but by now I was so used to it I sometimes worried what happened to her anytime she wouldn't come over.
"Why was he calling you?"
"Girl, he was being all emotional and sentimental about me going on Tuesday next week, I was like old Man, chill out."
Mom smirked and looked up at me, I sat on my sofa just adjacent her. She tries to smile heartily but I could tell she was forcing it.
"Mom, what's wrong? Are you also sentimental about me going? If you are, I can simply just sneak out before Tuesday and surprise y'all," I laugh heartily at my own joke as I always do but Mom isn't finding it funny. She tries to smile but nah, that's some fake ass shii, "Mom, what's going on?" I say coming closer to join her on the bed. I wrap my arms round her shoulder and neck, "Why are you being so... vibeless?"
"Ngozi is coming around..."
"Ngwa nuuuuu! Ngozi Daada na abịa, Ngozi Daada na abịa..." I exclaim excitedly as I run up and down the room eventually running towards Mom to hug her.
"Nwa a, jịlị nwayoo biko! Nekwọ anya m oooooo!" She cautions me about her eyes but I don't give a hoot. I jump on her with my legs and arms wrapped around her and repeatedly kiss both her cheeks, she soon pushes me off.
It was always a thing of joy when Ngozi Daada, Aunty Ngozi came around, ọ nnukwu ihe ebube, a glorious thing, ihe ebube mọ Owanbe if it's ndị Oduduwa.
Aunty Ngozi had this Girl she always brought along, I learnt she was adopted or some shii, I wasn't necessarily clear about the whole situation, I don't think I care enough to ask though. The Girl, Ifunanya always goes everywhere with Aunt Ngozi, it was crazy, she is twenty-five or there about but with no future ambition or any shii. She always avoided me like the plague whenever she came around and only ever did what Aunty Ngozi or Mom asked of her. I soon realized not even Dad could send her on errands for some reason or the other.
This time around though, I was determined to get a reply outta her, a friendship or something even better, she may enjoy snubbing me but she must talk to me by fire by force today if she's coming. Nothing, I wasn't mean or anything but what do you mean that since my age nineteen or twenty that I had first met her when she was about sixteen or seventeen we haven't said anything more to each other rather than that whot card game we were playing where it seemed she was struggling to talk kó she was hiding one thing or the other. Weird Girl, very weird nonsense, behaving like a dumb fool. I hiss.
"Mom, when are they coming?"
"Today. Go and make sure that everything is ready, hope I am clear?"
"Mummy na? Are you not going to help me?" She looks at me sternly. I pick up myself from the ground which she had pushed me to and begin dusting myself up murmuring a thing or two to her.
"Lemme hear your voice again then I'll see if I... It's like me and you have become mates na? Ọdịzị ka mmụ na gị amabago aka? Ịgava agwa m mọ ihe ịbịaru ime nụ? C'mon go and get something done joor bịkọ!" She hisses and I walk out on her banging the door shut behind me. She screams an abuse at me, I don't mind, African Mothers, so... I shivel my body in disgust. I was not going to do this rubbish alone sha.
I walk up to the door of his noisy room. From meters away in my room I could hear the loud music blasting from his mini home theater aka mp3 player. I bang on the door aggressively, no answer. I do the same thing again, no answer. I hit it nonchalantly again and this time he opens up, blood boiling, fists clenched.
"What do you want?" He queries, eyes blood shot red.
I laugh hysterically. See this nwátákịrị ọ, the boy chó ịbụ superstar. I laugh again, This boy wan beat me kọ gịnị? "Bịa way, Aunty Ngozi is coming o."
"And so? Who's that one?" He makes to go back to his bed leaving the door open for me. He doesn't seem to care about what I was saying.
"Ibekachi."
"Ọgini?" He turns back to me, he throws his phone on his bed and comes towards me.
He's always confrontational but las las I always end up beating him up. The Boy bụ nọ ewu.
I stare at him a while, eyeball to eyeball. This Guy smokes, I couldn't prove it and the parents weren't noticing. Myself, I wasn't in the mood to put out time to try and catch him in the act, his destiny is in his hands biko, akalaka nya dị na aka nya nụ. I'll sha always continue to play my part and leave the rest for him and his Chị.
"Ibekachi, come let's go and clean up the house we have serious visitors that are coming," He stares at me a while too but his is with such disgust and irritation. He shuts the door on my face with a loud thud. This was the second time this month he was doing this to me and I had had enough! He makes to click the door shut but I force it open and give him a dirty slap. I push him to the ground and begin to repeatedly punch him, he retaliates of course but I wasn't going to let my guard down. I slap him and he pushes me away from him, I almost hit my head on the sharp corners of the wooden table under his plasma television hanging on the wall. The table held the decoder, home theater and other television shii. As my body hit the table, it shook the entire structure. Some books in the lower shelf of the table fell off place. My gee has books, books he won't read, dundee! Nnukwute dundee.
He rushes at me and grabbing me, he pins me by the neck to the ground right above him.
I begin to choke almost gasping for air and I realize my last line of release was to elbow him which I do. I elbow his rib cage with all my strength and he gags, as soon as he lets loose I grab the plastic electric kettle on the table and destroys it on his head as hard as I can, I make a run for it as soon as he lets out an excruciating yelp. As I run out of the room trying to catch my breath and steady myself I run into Dad coming upstairs, Mom is soon running after him.
"Dumebi what happened?" He asks.
"Ngozi I'll call you back," Mom says over the phone, "Adaora, what happened? What's that noise that was coming out from on here?"
"Mom, she wants to kill me," Nwaobi says staggering out of the room with a bloody fore head, the injure by the left side of the forehead above the left eye. He purposely doesn't stop the flowing blood.
"Mom, it's a lie, I told him to come and join me in cleaning the house and he snubbed me for the second time this week... Is he mad? Are we mates sef? See this little thing I carried in my hands and changed his diapers o..." Mom charges towards me but she is blocked by Dad.
"Ebuka look at this thing o, Adaora are you mad? Is that why you tried to kill him? Ebuka look at this thing? Can you imagine Nná ányị? Kedụ ụdịrị ihe nha akpọ nkea? Dude, say something na, why are you blocking me?"
"Mommy, you're supporting Nwaobi...?"
"See try comot my name for your bastard mouth o!" He agitates.
"Ibekachi," Dad calls out, still trying his best to demarcate Mom and I, Mom is stomping her foot aggressively on the ground, arms akimbo, "What happened?"
"Dad, this Girl, this witch broke the electric kettle on my head..." Mom exclaims and almost pushes Dad down just trying to get to me, I make a run for it but her slippers follows me narrowly missing by an inch.
As I turn to look Dad gives him a deafening slap and kicks him off the ground, his skull narrowly missing the edge of the tiles on wall by the edges of the door, "You must be stupid to assume that you can do whatever you want to do to her simply because you've been deceived that you're a Man. Now a Man's job is to protect Women, all minus none, to support them and to show them utmost respect because they are the conceivers of Life. Love is the bare minimum, admiration, respect and adoration is the in thing, the real thing, all that matters, emphasis on "Admiration" Ibekachi! Love is nothing, respect, admiration and adoration this young Man, for all Women irregardless you fool. They deserve nothing less, otondo! Okpo! We didn't evolve the most strength so that we can hit them or make them submit or any of those barbaric stupidities we hear and learn about in the religious houses, on social media, on television or in the books, especially the religious books, we didn't! Women, Ladies, the Female gender, Ụmụ Nwaanyị, Awon Obinrin, Mata, Niswa, ndị Nwaaaanyị! They are the givers of Life and the preservers of it and sustainers of it, they're the future, they're the now, they're the past, they're the present! And for that fact alone that they are the givers of Life, mákáchị, they deserve all the single nuggets of respect, love, attention and support that we can give and find. Ibekachi Nwaobi Chisom, you're my Son and no Son of mine is going to be mistakenly or accidentally known as a Woman beater, a diddler or what not..." He kicks him again, Mom is awe struck at his thunderous voice and the manner with which he beat his own flesh and blood, his Son, his piece of sperm, "C'mon!" He screams, "She is bigger than you, better than you, higher than you, came before you... And! She's a Woman, so for that reason alone, whatever she tells you to do my nigga, you must do! C'mon, you're in Ogbuefi Nnenyelụgo Chimebuka Chisom's house and in this mansion, in this vicinity, Women come before Men, always have, always will, and Men, a real Man and a true Man uses their strength to protect the right of Women to come before Men and if I ever, by mistake Ibekachi hear that you touched Dumebi again by mistake, oh my loving Chị, Ibekachi, Nwá m Nwọke, chai, hewwu! Makachị, bro, you're gonna die and it will be by my hands! Ingrate! May my Chị, the Gods of my Ancestors and the Ancestors themselves be my witness as I swear this, idiot!" He makes to walk away. Mom suddenly rushes to Nwaobi to comfort him and stuff, she's trembling, she's shaken, the boy is fidgeting, perplexed beyond explanation and I'm there by the other stairway, fixed to the spot, wondering what the fuck just happened...
"And Chinazaekpelem," he calls out, turning back to face the kneeling sobbing Woman with her Son's head on her laps, he continues, "Maka Chị m, if by mistake you touch that Girl called Dumebi because of this ọgbanje Son of yours, Nne, maka chị, you'll regret the day you married me, because this nonsense needs to stop! We must stop raising nonsensical and entitled brats in the name of Sons, that nonsense called male privilege must stop and yes, I have male privilege, always had and as always, I will continue to use it to protect the Women next to me and all around me because that's what a real Man with a penis does, not those nonsense y'all are ranting on social media, truth socials and in the religious books, ịsị m nọ alpha male, ara ana apụ nọ alpha male? Shey alpha male dey mad ni? Nonsense!" He hisses and heads down the stairs as Mom weeps while the Boy groans.
He comes up again and begins, "Dumebi," my heart flies as he calls me. I jump to my knees and respond fearfully.
"Ee! Yes! Nna m!" He looks at me with such disgust.
"C'mon, will you get up from there? Are all of you even serious in this ezinauno (family)? Kneeling for a Man, Look, this Girl, Adaora, Dumebi or whatever you call yourself, go to your room and stay there joor, don't come out until you're told to..."
"Yes Sir," I make a run for it.
"You sef can be silly at times, at your big age you don't have sense, all of you are mad in this industry, very stupid people. Better go and respect your big age... Nonsense..." The last I hear him say before I reach the door step of my room, I raise my hands to my Ancestors as I open the door, I immediately enter the shower make I calm my brain may everything sef enter.