Chapter 1

Fresh water


A bird tweeted behind him and he turned to look. He watched with a frown as two naked children galloped past him, shouting and laughing playfully. He suddenly felt a deep loneliness. They reminded him of his childhood friends.
For months, Enyinnaya had been searching for the poet. He had left his mother at Alammiri because he felt that only that poet could tell him more about his father. Any clues that could help him to find his father would be like cold water on a sunny day. But he didn't really want this for himself. It was all for Chetachi, his mother.
Enyinnaya recalled how she would always become sad everytime his father's name was mentioned. Odunze's disappearance had hurt her deeply more than she cared to admit. He simply wanted his mother to be happy again so he embarked on the search for his father. He had vowed not to return without him.
This was the third time he would visit Ofonri. Each time he visited, no one seemed to know where Oke and his wife were. The only thing people talked about was that they had a great wedding feast (six years ago) but aside from that no one could fill in the blanks.
Enyinnaya could hear some men chattering just ahead of him. He could tell he was close to Obiano's palm wine joint. Soon he could see the thatched tent that sheltered the men whose cheerful...