replied. “This is really you”. They both confirmed.
After she and Amanabiefori had discussed their experiences, Igoni had mixed feelings as she lay down to sleep that night on the king-size bed in the master’s room while focusing on the giant chandeliers that gave the room an aesthetic look of a palace, making the palace at Bonny look like a dump house. She had found him, but how could her plans come to full fruition when her wedding to Townsend was in five days and they would be leaving the plantation to the city after two days after the wedding. “Could I have waited back in Africa until he was able to escape and come back?” She thought as the smell emanating from the burning candles placed at the corner reminded her of her grandmother’s clay pot when burnt. However, she knew from the onset that, Townsend would never let her go, not for any reason. Unknown to Amanabiefori, her plans were just to see his face and know that he was alive, but for her to be with him or be the mother of his children as he hoped, was a fairytale. She had made up her mind on what to do before she slept that night.
“Amana! Amana! Please bring the blinds”. She called. “Who is Amana?” Townsend questioned ‘Oh! He’s the new laundry man I got from the slavecamp’ “I hope he can wash well?” He asked disgustedly. “Trust me on this one, he’s
good”. Amanabiefori came in with the blinds and kept them neatly inside the cupboard. This was the only way Igoni could make sure he was alive and healthy by taking him as a servant in the master’s lodge. Probably when she said she couldn’t live without him before she came to America, maybe living under the same roof was the idea but as husband and wife, she was now certain it couldn’t work out anymore. At least he would follow her to the city, she was a little bit okay with that. “But what about my friends, Should I escape and go back to the slavecamp?” He asked himself. “However, I could die of illness or maybe regret my actions later. I can’t withstand seeing Igoni with another man, but I could loose her forever,” he thought helplessly. This was a painful truth and the cross he had to bear his whole life. “At least I can wake up everyday, see her face and know that Africa leaves with me in America” he concluded his thoughts as he left the room.
Tides of a Black Hope Page 3
