Ajaiyi and His Inherited Poverty (2 page)

In the morning, Aina and I woke up and we dressed up in the little rags which we got. Then we went near my father who still lay on the mat. But we were very sad when we met him seriously ill. We greeted him with the voice of morning greetings as both of us were greeting him every morning. But my father could hardly reply with very faint sick voice. When both of us saw that he was seriously ill, we helped him to sit up on the mat but he became so feeble suddenly this time that he was unable to sit up without supporting him with hands or other thing. So we leaned him against the wall. As he began to shake from feet to head, we gave him a kind of medicine to take but he could not open his mouth to swallow it. Having failed in all of our efforts to bring him back to normal with the medicine then we began to look at him.

After a while, he spoke to us but with a very faint sick voice. He waved hand to us to kneel down before him to pray for us. So both of us knelt down before him with great respect. But as we knelt down before my father, a kidnapper of children came to the window. He peeped in through the window and he was listening to my father’s prayers but we were not aware that a kidnapper was peeping in through the window.

Then my father prayed for both of us: “As both of you
had helped me to live to this moment, it is so your own sons and daughters will do for you. You will not die in poverty as I am going to die in poverty soon. But
furthermore
, I shall not forget to advise you again that you must not forget ‘Remember The Day After Tomorrow.’ But you must put in your minds always that ‘Remember The Day After Tomorrow’ shall come back to you soon after death. You, my children, you must keep yourselves away from the kidnappers. You must not go too far away from this village after my death so that you may not be
kidnapped
, because you are still too young to defend
yourselves
from the bad people. But I remind you once more that you should remember—‘Remember The Day After Tomorrow’ who will come back to you soon. After my death and when I reach the heaven, your mother and I shall be looking after you from the heaven. Goodbye, my dear son and daughter. Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye to y-o-u.” So after the prayers, my father began to fall down slowly as his sick voice began to fade away as he was waving his right hand to us with sorrow. Then he fell down and stopped breath at the same time.

As soon as my father fell down and died, the kidnapper who peeped in through the window and had heard how my father had warned us that we must remember “Remember The Day After Tomorrow” before he died, talked to himself as he was leaving the window for the place of his abode that: “Yes, I have heard how their father had warned them before he died. He warned them that they should remember ‘Remember The Day After Tomorrow.’ I have a very good chance now to convince Aina and Ajaiyi. I will tell them that I am the very ‘Remember The Day After Tomorrow.’ And I will tell them also that I am
their eldest brother!” It was like that this kidnapper thought within himself to deceive us before he went away.

My father hardly fell down and died when Aina and I became unhappy unexpectedly. We were so perplexed that we did not know when we ran to our nearby
neighbours
. We told them that my father had died a few minutes ago. Without hesitation, our neighbours followed us back to the house and they were equally unhappy when they saw that he had died as we told them. When they were quite sure that my father had died. The first two things that which they first asked from us were the new white cloth and the coffin with which to bury him.

“Have you got ready the new white cloth and the coffin for your father?” all of them shouted together with voice of levity. But as our neighbours asked us these two things, Aina and I were greatly ashamed, because we were so poor that we got no money to buy the white cloth and the coffin which were essential for a dead person. And as it was our custom that every dead person must be buried with white cloth and coffin or if the family of the deceased could not afford or was too poor to buy these two things for their deceased, their neighbours and the other people in the village would be making a mockery of them throughout their lives time and that they would recognise even a goat more than them. So without hesitation, I told our neighbours with tears that the white cloth and the coffin would be ready in a few hours time. Having
promised
them like that they told us that they would return to their houses first but they would return as soon as the white cloth and the coffin were ready. Then they went back to their houses.

As soon as our neighbours went back to their houses,
Aina and I sat down in front of our dead father. We began to think how we could get money to buy the white cloth and the coffin. After a while, it came to my mind that there was a good woodcarver who lived in the next village. This village was at a distance of about four miles from our own village.

Without hesitation, I stood up, I told Aina that I was going to see that woodcarver to beg him to carve a coffin for our dead father. Then without money in hand, I went to the woodcarver. I told him that I wanted him to carve a coffin for me from a very good wood and that the coffin should have attractive ornaments. I explained to him furthermore that I would wait until he would complete it so that I might carry it to my village at the same time.

“If you want a very fine coffin with various kinds of attractive ornaments on it, you will pay two pounds for it!” the woodcarver told me the cost of a fine coffin. When he asked me to pay two pounds for the coffin, I explained to him with tears that I got no even a half-penny in hand or at home. When he heard so from me, he first refused to carve it. But when I begged him for a few minutes and promised with tears that after a few days that my father had been buried, then I would come back to him to do any kind of work which he might give me to do for him to cover the cost of the coffin.

Having explained to this woodcarver like that, he asked me to tell him the name of my father. When I told him his name, he shouted that he knew my father. He said
although
he was poor but he was very kind to almost every person before he died. When he said so, he stood up and as he was taking all his carving instruments, he told me with a cheerful voice that he would carve a nice coffin
for me with free of charge because my father was kind throughout his life time. When he took all his carving instruments, he told me to follow him and I did so. We went to the back of his house where there was a good wood which he had already carved into a fine coffin with various ornaments on it but it remained only the last touches for him to complete it.

Then without hesitation, he started to do the last touches and when he worked hard, he finished the last touches within one hour. Then he and with the help of another man, they put it on my head and then I started to carry this beautiful coffin to my village. But I was not so happy as I was carrying it along the road to my village because I never knew yet where to get money to buy the white cloth although I had got a fine coffin for free of charge for my father in respect of his kindness when he was alive. However, when I trekked as fast as I could, I reached the village at about nine o’clock in the night.

But as I was carrying this coffin along in the village to the house, some of the people of the village who thought that we were so poor that we would not be able to buy a coffin with which to bury my father were ashamed. But it was so many of the people of the village who liked my father, ran to me, they took the coffin from my head with happiness, they put it on their shoulders. Then all of them began to sing the funeral dirge and all of us were dancing along to the house. When we came to the house, they entered with me and they put the coffin down in front of my dead father who was still in the sitting room since when he had died. Having put the coffin down gently, they returned to their houses as they were still singing cheerfully.

But as I struggled very hard before I could get the coffin and brought it to the house. I met another sorrow in the house as well which was darkness. Every part of the house was so dark that one could not even see himself at all. Then at the same time, I shouted: “Aina! Aina! Aina! Where are you?” But there was no answer and there was no trace of her. Within this moment, I could not say, whether Aina had run to hide in another village for shame because she thought we could not get the white cloth and coffin to bury our father. Again, to add more to my
sorrow, the whole people who helped me to carry the coffin to the house had gone back to their houses without staying with me as long as necessary when they saw that there was no light in the house but the darkness. As soon the people had left, I left the sitting room just to go to the front of the house to think how to get money like a half-penny to buy the palm-oil to be used for the lamps. As I left the sitting room to the verandah, just a few steps to get to the outside, I stumbled on one of my father’s old stools and I fell down and my head knocked the floor so heavily that it started to bleed out at the same time.

However, with great pain and the blood which was gushing out to every part of my body, I went to the
outside
. I stood and I began to think three things in mind at a time. Firstly, I was thinking how to get the palm-oil to be used for the lamps, secondly, I was thinking where to get Aina and thirdly, I was thinking how to get the money to buy the white cloth with which to bury my father. But God was so good, as I was still thinking all these three things in mind at a time, an old woman who was a close friend to my father, came this time with the hope to stay with me and sympathize with me for a few minutes. When
she came and met me at the front of the house, she stopped, she greeted me and I answered with a dead voice.

But when she noticed that there was no light in the house, she asked: “Why do you not put light in the house and in the front of the house as well?” I explained to her at the same time that I got no money to buy the palm-oil. To my surprise, I hardly explained to her like that when this old woman went back to her house. A few minutes later, she came back with four native lamps and one pot of palm-oil. Then both of us entered the house, but as she was helping me to light up the lamps in the house, Aina came with the white cloth. Not knowing that she too left for another village to get the cloth immediately I left the village to get the coffin. As soon as she reached that village, she asked for the cloth-seller from a small girl that she first met.

Without hesitation, the girl took her to the house of the only cloth-seller who lived in this village. Because this village was so small that there was only one old woman who was selling clothes there. So when Aina explained to the cloth-seller that her father had just died, but as there was no white cloth with which to bury him, she therefore came to her to buy one piece of the white cloth in credit. Furthermore, Aina explained to her that after the funeral ceremony had been performed, then she would come back to her to do any kind of work that which she might give her to do for her to cover the cost of the cloth.

Having explained to this cloth-seller like, Aina began to weep. Having seen how she was weeping, this old woman who was the cloth-seller, shook her head up and down sadly. Then she explained to Aina that: “Your father was
well known to me and I was well known to him as well as the money is well known to every person! Although he was in great poverty throughout his life time, but he was very kind to every person throughout his life time. Now, for your father’s kindness when he was alive, take this piece of the white cloth for free of charge. But do not come back to me with the hope to do work for the cost of the cloth!” So with gladness Aina knelt down, she took the white cloth from this old woman. Having thanked her greatly, Aina returned to our village. Although as there was darkness on the road it was very difficult for her to trek as quickly as she wanted to, but however, she reached the village at about ten o’clock in the night.

I was extremely happy when Aina brought this white cloth to the house. It was like that we got the white cloth for free of charge as well as the coffin. But as soon as I took it from her it came to my mind this moment that we got no money which was to be paid for the tailor who would sew it. Of course, when I thought over and over where to get the money and I did not know. Aina advised me to take it to one tailor who lived at the extreme end of the village. She said that perhaps he would sew it for us in credit.

When Aina advised me like that, I was ashamed to go to the tailor and tell him to sew the cloth for me in credit. But it came to my mind that we could not wear it for our father without sewing it. Then I sold my shame away and I went to the tailor at the same time. When I gave the cloth to him I told him to sew it for me but in credit. But I would come back to him to do the work which would cover the cost of his workmanship. But it was a great surprise to me that the tailor bursted
into a great laughter instead to tell me how much I would pay for his workmanship.

Having laughed for a few minutes, he said with
smiling
face: “Your father was kind to me and to other people when he was alive. Therefore, I am not going to take anything from you as my workmanship, but I shall sew the cloth for free of charge. Although your father was in poverty throughout his life time but he was kind!” When he said so, he began to sew this cloth. But of course it took him some hours before he finished it because he sew it with hand. So he hardly finished it when I took it from him and I thanked him greatly before I ran with it to the house. But I reached the house at four o’clock in the morning.

Having brought the cloth to the house, the old men who came to sympathize with us all the while, took the cloth from me and they wore it for my father at the same time. Now my father was beautifully laid in the sitting room and the people came to pay him their last visits till four o’clock in the evening. By four o’clock prompt, he was put in the coffin. As soon as the coffin was nailed up the people helped us to carry it. All of us were singing the funeral dirge loudly until they carried him to the outskirt of the town where he was buried. The place where he was buried was about one mile distance from the town. Having buried him there then the whole of us sang back to the village. The people
accompanied
us to the house before they went back to their houses. It was like that my father and mother died in poverty.