The Visitor

The Vodoo f3m3 (a shrine) served as a bank for the people of Kpordom3 - a tiny village close to the Ghana-Togo border. The natives of this town were typically merchants. They purchased goods from Togo and resold it in Ghana for profit. These merchants usually consulted the Vodoo f3m3 for financial services. They would visit the shrine, go through a few rituals, and swear oaths of refund after which the requested amount was handed them. One may wonder why these oaths were sworn as no right-thinking merchant would dare refuse to pay back the loan. No one dared to steal from the great Sea god also known as the god of thunder. This god was greatly feared.

A popular merchant commonly known as Efo was a well-known visitor to the Voodoo f3m3. Once again, he paid a visit to the shrine to lend money to finance his merchandise. Although a regular visitor, it was required of Efo to go through the requisite rituals and swearing of oaths before he was lent the amount of money that he needed. It was standard procedure. Thieves hardly robbed a merchant returning from the Voodoo f3m3. It was alleged that a thief who had attempted such was struck instantaneously by thunder.

Efo walked courageously back home. His only task the next day was to summon his agent at the border and make a request for the merchandise which would be delivered to him a day after.

When morning came, Efo took his stack of cash, recited a few words of appreciation to the Sea god and headed for the border to see his agent. The meeting was brief. Efo made his request and was due to return the following morning for his merchandise.

Evening passed and morning came. Efo trekked back to the border to retrieve his merchandise but was told by his agent that it had been seized by the Togolese police on duty at the border. This infuriated Efo. He marched to the border to verify this information. The policemen on duty however denied any such occurrence. Efo, who was well aware of the consequences of stealing from the Sea god pitied the agent for the misfortune that might befall him. “He deserves it!” Efo thought out loud. All attempts to get the agent to concur to the fact that merchandise was in his custody proved futile. Efo allowed the agent 3 days to return the merchandise alleged to be in his custody.

After 3 days, Efo reported the matter to the Voodoo f3m3. The priest in charge of the shrine required of Efo to present his eldest son before the Sea god as a form of collateral. Should Efo be found guilty of outsmarting the Sea god, his son would die by a thunder strike while he would forever be banished from Kpordom3. Efo did as instructed by the priest.  

Meanwhile, across the border in Togo, a man from beyond the seas had paid a visit to a village close to the border. He possessed extraordinary fishing skills and this won him much admiration. He was particularly found in the company of two friends, Forada and Segey. They chatted and dined together often.

Forada and Segey disclosed their profession to the visitor, enlightening him about their cunning ways of unlawfully intercepting merchandises at the border. They recounted a particularly incident of a merchant whose merchandise they had recently confiscated. According to them, the merchant asserted that the so called Sea god would punish them for their actions. Forada and Segey laughed vociferously at the torment the merchant might be going through across the border in Kpordom3. The visitor listened on and requested to take a look at the confiscated merchandise. Forada and Segey honoured his request.  

After a 3-day stay in the village, the visitor made-known his intention to return to the land he had come from. He communicated this intention first to Forada who was taken ill and could not be at work. Despite his illness, Forada insisted on accompanying the visitor to the seashore where the visitor’s boat had been docked. The visitor thanked Forada’s family for their hospitality. They headed for the seashore. Upon arrival at the shore, Forada undressed and followed the visitor into the heart of the sea. Forada could be seen drowning but for a strange reason didn’t seem to fight this peril. He had been hypnotized. The fishermen there present attempted a rescue but the angry waves in the sea discouraged them. They had no other choice than to look on in awe. “Perhaps the visitor had been a messenger from the Sea god.” “Why had he chosen to take the life of Forada?” they contemplated. It was truly a sign from the Sea god. The fishermen hurried back to the town to report this unusual phenomenon to the community.

Segey, who was not privy to Forada’s strange death returned from work to find the visitor seated on a stool awaiting his arrival. Segey discussed with the visitor his intention of paying their sick friend Forada a visit. The visitor however declined, insisting he had to return to his land immediately. The visitor added that the sea was calmest at night and this made navigation and travelling by boat less difficult. “I should be home by sunrise” he reassured a rather concerned Segey. Segey decided then, to pay Forada a visit after accompanying the visitor to the seashore. As usual, the visitor thanked Segey’s family for their reception and they bid him farewell. The visitor and Segey headed for the shore.

On their way to the seashore, they bumped into a group of fishermen who had witnessed the earlier happening at sea. The fishermen couldn’t believe their sight and took to their heels. However, a few curious ones hid behind the trees to witness what might transpire. Their curiosity got satisfied shortly after. At the exact spot where Forada had earlier undressed, Segey did same and followed the visitor right into the heart of the angry sea. Segey, like Forada drowned at will. The sea calmed. Forada and Segey were forever lost in the heart of the deep blue sea.

Back in Ghana, the impatient Efo was summoned by the priest to the Voodoo f3m3. He communicated to Efo that the stolen merchandise had been located and the perpetrators duly punished. Efo’s eldest son was released to him. His loan was also written off as bad debt. After a series of customary rituals, Efo was allowed another loan to finance a new merchandise under the supervision of the same agent.

News broke of Forada and Segey’s undesirable act. Their deaths served as a deterrent against theft and ensured sanity at the border. A poem was composed to mark this strange phenomenon and is recited by the people of Kpordom3 to this day.

When the fears of the day

Translates into nightmares at night

And greed looks for a cunning way

To exhibit all its skill and might

The only reason to stay awake

Is to await a knock at the door

Hard as it may sound but comforting

The door flies open and all courtesies observed

The warmth of the shared night now

Transforms into beams during the day

And the only reason to awake

Is to expect the knock of the visitor on your door

Like a serpent in the Garden of Eden

The visitor creeps in and confessions run out

As though it never really began

The door slams and lights go out

Now the only reason to remain asleep

Is never to awake at the sound of any knock

-          J.Kennedy Dogbey

    Story by:

    Atsu Dogbey

    (Member of TDL)

Mama @ 60

She was a young lady full of life and hope for the future. She embraced life in its essence, accompanying her mother to sell boiled beans with fried plantains to her many customers. Her mother, my grandmother did not joke with her business. She single-handedly forced men as thick and tall as Goliath to pay for what they purchased if they refused – or so she told me. Her daughter was beautiful, serving as the head girl of her school back in the day won her many admirers. Something Daada – as my grandmother is usually called, would not have encouraged but for the compulsory purchase of her boiled beans she demanded of her daughter’s suitors. You had to purchase a bowl of boiled beans as ticket to speak with her daughter. In addition to a few chores and countless words of “don’t dare touch my daughter!” counsel.

Among her many suitors was one of equal social standing. The head boy of a school in a nearby village. He happened to also win the stubborn heart of Daada and was allowed the opportunity to spend time with her daughter although the forced purchases and chores continued unabated. He purchased the meal and carried out the chores nonetheless. Daada was a ruthless business woman. “If Romeo died for love, purchasing a bowl of beans every day for love’s sake would have been Romeo’s dying wish”, he thought. He frequented Daada’s eatery and had become more or less a family friend. He even walked miles to fetch water for Daada who uses her old age as an excuse to send the younger men in the town on errands. But for her daughter, the young men declined.

They had both served their term as heads and left behind a legacy. Koku made a vow to keep her for life. They were what one would term birds of a feather. Daada’s daughter was a pampered child back in the day – although she refutes this claim to this day, Daada always insisted she was. Daada did not allow her to do much. So she had enough time to nurture her relationship with Koku. However life in the village grew tough and Daada, together with her husband, Paapa and family migrated to the city.

Koku was heartbroken. He also lost his father a few months later. Sensing he was on his own and inspired by love, he journeyed to the city to rekindle his love for his sweetheart and to continue his education. He sought the blessings of Daada and Paapa and married their beautiful daughter. Their first beautiful child followed thereafter. His heir followed suit, his favourite and finally his most cherished twins.

Koku had to pursue his dream fervently so he could provide the needed comfort for his sweetheart and family. He was reassigned to his village to work as a teacher - an enviable job then. He chose to embark on this journey alone whereas his sweetheart groomed their children in her very image. He promised her that when his dream was done, he would settle finally with her to reminisce about old times. Koku visited her often as he was her lover and only friend.

Mama as she is affectionately called, lost herself in a bid to enable her children find themselves. She sacrificed all she could to honour the words of her lover. She groomed their children dutifully while she awaited the fulfilment of her lover’s promise. He had promised to settle down finally with her at age 60 so they could catch up on old times in the comfort of their own home. Koku worked harder and stopped at nothing to give his family and sweetheart the best. He had a lot to do before age 60. Nothing sweetened his heart more than a sincere admiration from his lover. Koku fulfilled an aspect of the promise by building her a lovely house. The other aspect was to bid a final goodbye to the working world which he was looking forward to rather reluctantly. Their children had indeed benefited from the nurturing of Mama, Daada and uncles as well as aunties. They were an enviable sight to behold. Everyone praised Mama for a good job done. 

Mama checked her calendar for the umpteenth time and realised it was almost a month after which her lover and friend would wash his hands off work and settle with her forever. They have both fulfilled each other’s promise without blemish. It was their pay age. The age they had spent their lives working towards. Finally they would live the life they had postponed together. They were both eager and expectant. Mama made no friends and her children were her only source of joy in Koku’s absence. If life had to be enjoyed, she did, with her kids, husband and family. She would, on a daily basis spend long hours on the phone talking to her lover and friend. A moment they both cherished. 

Koku called in one morning to complain of an ailment. Mama who could not wait for her lover to return to her in good health, sought immediate medical attention for him. Koku had to spend the much awaited moment with her in peace, definitely not in pieces. He had a month more to turn 60. Koku regained his health but was not discharged based on doctor’s counsel. An ardent teacher, Koku reached out for his pen – something he always carried on him and set out to mark a few examination scripts on the hospital bed. Mama who desperately wanted Koku back home with her prayed fervently to God for the life of her lover and friend. He had missed a lot and she couldn’t wait to tell him everything once they had settled.

Koku finally turned 60 and Mama’s joy was beyond compare. She readjusted her schedules in preparation for her new life with her lifetime sweetheart. Her joy however was short-lived. She was told by the doctor that Koku had embarked on a journey to a faraway land. He had not taken her along for reasons best known to him. Mama could not come to terms with the news and broke into wild tears. Nobody could comfort her. Not even her children who were equally saddened by their father’s unintended travel. Mama’s tears however were not for the journey Koku had embarked on but for the chances of his return - absolutely no chance. Koku, after sacrificing his life for this age, chose to take the first bus out of town. Her lover and friend Koku was lost to her forever.

She had sacrificed her youth for age 60. She had groomed her kids to be independent so she could spend ample time with Koku at age 60. She had marked the dates on all the calendars year after year in preparation for age 60.

She looked at Koku who had now become a handsome face printed on a booklet detailing his life and lamented amidst her tears. “Koku, you have done well for us but we had planned for this age together. We sacrificed our lives for this age. I have no other plans after age 60 so to make up for your absence, I will continually speak to the Almighty God whom I believe is keeping you for me. I know you will hear me whenever I speak to Lord. Fare thee well my Koku.”

Mama was almost 60 at the time. She had transitioned into an unplanned phase of her life. It was too late to set out new plans and she continually spoke to God in prayer hoping Koku would hear her pray. Her children were in their prime searching for love, purpose and a future. Mama spent most of her time beside herself. Under the spell of loneliness the cold lips of life had cast upon her. Staring into the blank, she sometimes converses with one only she could see - perhaps it was her lover and friend Koku, her comforter God or just another imaginary friend. Even Mama herself could hardly figure that out.

She reads her calendar and discovers she would be turning 60 in a few months. “Mama at 60!” she said to herself. Before her 60^th anniversary is Mother’s Day. Mama hoped her children would visit home and gather around her in a bid to honour her for a job well done, as it was a family norm. In the eyes of her children she would see her love Koku once again, only this time in 5 persons – Xornam, Xorsenyo, Xorlasi, Xorlali and Xorla. This reassured her and she believed that Koku in his new and myriad form would continually wipe away her tears and listen to all the stories she has to share. 

Happy Mother’s Day Mama!

Happy Birthday in Advance Mama!

This is the story of my mother. Kindly permit your mother to tell you her story as everyone desires to be listened to. Spend this season solely with mother and if possible forgive her for all her wrongs and praise her for all her rights. Let her know that her pain in raising you is not vain. Be her friend, be tolerant, let her know you love and cherish her. Above all, listen to her and put a smile on Mama’s face this season.

Happy Mother’s Day to all Mothers!

God bless you!

Warmest Regards,

Atsu Dogbey.

(A Member of TDL)

WHY COMPARE ME TO A SUMMER DAY?

Discomfort breeds in a mind of zero compassion

Sadness engulfs the soul uninvited

Hurt has enforced its final decision

Leaving a sobbing heart unattended 

I fight! But the tribulations hit back strong

With my might! I feel I have conquered it all

But tonight! Our last dance takes place down the hall

Left, right, center, a cold hug follows a kiss of betrayal

You mistake our path for that of Santa

Full of gifts no one dares put asunder

In reality though, not in Kung Fu Panda

The strong does not always emerge a winner

So, why compare me to a summer day?

Why subject me to a winter of disdain?

Autumn is a season, ‘I bet you didn’t know that until today’.

I’ll send to you a card of deception in spring someday.

Atsu Dogbey

(A Member of TDL)