The End Of The Next In-Line

“Going by the look of things, you are the next in action.” Edafe, his friend was so optimistic about his beliefs towards the next to die.

“Do you take me for a fool? Do you think I have the guts to believe in those foolish beliefs of the community? To me, I called them superstition, and I don't believe in those useless things that can never happen." Imonita has the mind of not believing as he tagged those beliefs as superstition.

Lakshayy

It all happened when the village was formed; they had laws and reforms that must be adhered to. They had agreed to select chief priests ranging from the second family to the very last family but would only select when the present one died. The king also was chosen from the first family to ascend the throne, and they became the royal family right from the first day in the history of Itako village.

Ten years later, the chief priest of the land died and was transferred to the family of Ogiri. They rejected the offer, and each of the males present in the family began to die one after the other. They were not progressing, and so they must appease the gods of the land before peace can be able to come to them. The oldest son refused to appease the gods, and this kept happening to them. Any woman with pregnancy would pray for a female child because, at the age of ten, the male child would die.

When Imonita got to the age of eight, he woke up one day and told his parents, “I will not die. I'm not going to fall for these beliefs of a thing, nor would I become the chief priest of the land. I believe that some set of people sat down to create these rules. This is why I can boldly call it superstition." Imonita was not shaking while saying those words.

When he said those words, his parents began to weep bitterly, believing that their only son would die in two years.

“I wish what you are saying would be true; it would have been better," his mom poured out her mind with her face heavy with tears.

“My son, I know you are still young, and with these kinds of words coming from your mouth, it shows you are mature even under ten years of age. My elder brother's son died when he was ten years of age. Your sister, who got married to an outcast, had the same experience as her son, who died when he was exactly ten years of age. Monica, your elder sister was sent packing just because of our family lineage and history. My elder brother was the one who was supposed to take up the chief priest position, but he rejected leaving us in this situation we are in right now. So, son, it is certain that you will not escape it," Imonita’s dad said calmly but was bittered deep inside of him.

Imonita went out to play football with his mates, and one of them asked him, “Come to think of it, how old are you?”

“I'm 9 years old," he replied with all boldness.

“Wow! It means you have just this year to play with us because you are going to die next year," one of his mates said.

“Don't worry, I'm not going to get angry with you, as you just said what will never happen," Imonita said as he played the ball to the other boy who was with them.

“I think we will stop playing with you henceforth," the boy said.

Imonita left his friends immediately without feeling sad. “I know those saying rubbish are just words of superstition," he murmured.

On his way home, people started running away from him, and yet he remained steady without responding or even crying. He never felt bittered, instead was just smiling. He managed to see the present chief priest on his way, and the chief priest paused without moving.

“Your death is fast approaching just because of the sins of your family," the chief priest said, holding his staff while at a spot and without moving.

“You are wrong; I will not die, and those that died in my family died normal deaths, but not anything related to what had been pronounced in my family," Imonita said, smiling at the chief priest.

“I don't need to waste time talking to an already calculated death time kid," the chief priest was so sure of his words.

When he got home, his parents sat as if they were mourning someone.

“Mum, Dad, what's the problem, and what had happened that made you two sit that way?” Imonita asked, rest assured that he was the reason for their present look.

“Nothing, son,” his dad replied and began to pretend while forcing some smiles.

“Don't worry, Dad, I will not die. My brothers and cousins that died only died naturally but not from any useless beliefs." Imonita still has the full belief about himself.

The day he was born, and his birthday was just a few hours away. Imonita fell sick and was running temperature. They all noticed, but his parents failed to take him to the hospital just because they knew he was going to die in a few hours from that time.

He left the house center nearby clinic on his own, and he was given some drugs for free as the clinic is a free health centre.

He took the drugs he was given and went home successfully. His parents failed to ask or even give him any medication. It was 2 pm, and he had slept off due to the drug he was given. His mom began to cry bitterly, thinking the worst had happened. The outsiders were just throwing their hands, showing a sign of bad luck to the family.

“Can't you go to your brother and get this curse reversed?” Imonita’s mom asked his dad.

“My brother refused since he was the only one who could do this," Imonita's dad replied.

No one had gone to see Imonita in his room, and they were just waiting for the chief priest to come and carry the dead body to the shrine.

The chief priest came and performed all he needed to perform in the surroundings and was on his way to Imonita's room before he had a head-on collision with Imonita at the doorstep of his room.

“What! Are you still alive?” the chief priest asked, wiping his eyes and opening them so wide just to be sure of what he had seen.

“I told you nothing is going to happen to me. I only had a little fever, and that's all. You have no right to be here," Imonita said.

“My boy is alive. My boy is alive," his mom said as she ran to embrace his son.

“My boy, I apologize for not believing you," his father said as the chief priest left shamefully.

“Mum, my brothers and cousins that died were not taken care of. I went to the clinic to collect drugs that kept me alive,” Imonita said.

“It means we have been letting them die without taking note of their immediate conditions? Henceforth, we must be taking note of this fact," his mom advised.

This was the end of their useless superstition.