I BEAR THE PLIGHT OF A WOMAN EPISODE 4

By Bassey Ekpaha Silver

All efforts to restrain the bereaved Nko by the midwives and her children prove abortive. " where are they? It will
never be well with you if you don't come out and see the male child you ridiculed my husband of! Chief Nyong, should I come to your house naked so we can do the kerewawa in the manner I will have more male children? God will punish you for all the agony you brought to my
household! Iquo, I have put to birth a male child, can I be regarded now as a married woman? Chief Itoh, Attah
now has a male child oh! one who will fire the gun when he is dead, but he is already dead and the child can hardly tell where his anus is.

Should I still give him the gun to
fire? God will punish all of you from generations to generations! May your female children die during child birth! May the cry of a male child cease in your houses! Where is the chief priest, Ntia? As the cry of my male child strike him dump?... " Nko continued rendering
abuses amidst tears when Idoreyin who couldn't watching her mother bleeding while spilling out her anger on her enemy walked closer to her "my mother, let's go inside, you just put to birth and you are still bleeding heavily. "

allow me to bleed my daughter, let me bleed to death so that those who called me an incomplete woman just because I gave birth to female children will be praise! Let
me bleed to death! What more do the people of Ekondo want, Isn't it my death? So let me bleed to death so that Ndatiukot will be told that he lost his father on the day of his birth and his mother bled to death on that same day! Oh Attah, wake up and see the male child you wanted! Wake up and carry the male child you were ridiculed of? Someone should help me wake him up! I
BEARS THE PLIGHT OF A WOMAN AND THE SHAME OF A MAN" non of the villagers had the courage to confront Nko knowing they were responsible for her predicaments. It was Ima her second daughter who fired the gun to announce the death of her father, a taboo in the community, yet no one had the nerves to
confront her, knowing with their heavy hearts they could kill anyone who dare remains them the responsibility of a
male child. Attah was buried two days after he died.

His wife place Ndatiukot at the entrance of the house before Attah's corpse, when asked she replied: "let him be there, so that Attah's enemy will finally see he has a male child" to be continued