Abiku
Abiku is known as the spirit of a child who dies young. Children who grew up in Yoruba land were pampered by their mothers so they would not die young and get taken by the Abiku spirit. But Bimbo was not like them. She didn’t believe in tradition because she had recently lost her husband and the grief was too much for her to bear. This is a story of how Bimbo was punished for her sins and her son was used as the instrument.
Abiku
Bimbo had just given her four years old son, Femi, a goodnight kiss and closed the door softly as she smiled and headed back to her room. Happy that he was finally sleeping. She got to her bedroom and noticed that her husband was already sound asleep. She also placed a kiss on his forehead and prepared for bed as well.
She slept peacefully and woke up with so much joy. Immediately, she moved to check on her son. He was still sleeping soundly, so she headed to the kitchen to prepare food for her husband. After waiting for so long, the young man didn’t come down. She took it upon herself to go wake him up.
“Ifemi!” She screamed as she walked to their bedroom.
“Ifemi,” she said softly when she had reached where he lay. She shook him but he didn’t budge and didn’t wake up. “Ifemi!” She tried severally but he still didn’t wake up. The wails of Bimbo spread through their little village as she fell to the ground. Her neighbours rushed in immediately to help her and when they saw the dead man lying on the bed, they joined her in crying.
Bimbo took out her anger and frustration on her four-year-old son, Femi. She blamed him for the death of her husband and treated him harshly. She never told anyone why she blamed him, but she wanted him gone too. The boy grew up malnourished and always sick. Still, Bimbo paid him no mind.
One day, her friend came to her. Sat her down under a mango tree and said her mind.
“Bimbo, you know that I am your friend. I cannot sit back and watch you ruin your life like this.” Her friend, Ibukun said.
“What are you talking about?” Bimbo sat back up and asked.
“I’m talking about the way you treat your son. Bimbo, it is not right. That boy has not done anything to you.”
Bimbo sighed and threw her face from her friend’s gaze. “Ejor, Ibukun. I thought you were going to say something important. I didn’t know you were going to talk about that murderer.”
“Bimbo, he is your only son. You should treasure him and not treat him like this.”
“I will not waste my time on him. In fact, I want him dead.”
“Ah,” she rushed to close Bimbo’s mouth. “Don’t say a thing like that. Don’t you know that if he dies now, Abiku will take hold of him?”
“I don’t care if Abiku takes him. I just want him out of my life.”
“You should be careful what you wish for. If Abiku takes your son, you will regret it.”
“Mtcheww, please. Let’s talk about something else and leave that wretched soul alone.”
They moved their conversation to Ibukun’s family and soon, night had come. When the day broke, Bimbo woke up and immediately started her daily routine. After noticing that Femi hadn’t come to the kitchen to help her, she screamed his name at the top of her voice.
“Femi!” Still, the little boy didn’t come to her. She finally decided to go and drag him out of his room but upon reaching there, she was met with his corpse. The young boy died of starvation and Bimbo was more than happy.
***
The six-year-old Femi woke up in a strange land filled with trees and nothing more. He looked around, hoping to find anyone who could tell him where he was.
“Mama!” He screamed out as he walked barefoot on the ground. Something about the environment didn’t sit well with him. He heard whispered voices but saw no faces. He walked around slowly, observing where he was; finally, he got to a tree that had a hole carved into it.
He walked into the tree through the hole and saw an old woman sitting by a fireplace.
“Mama?” He called out, hoping that it was his mother. The woman turned around and when she saw Femi, she smiled.
“My son, what are you doing here?” Her voice was hoarse.
“I don’t know how I got here mama. Please, can you take me home? My mother must be worried about me.”
The woman guffawed. “Oh, my dear boy. You are dead and your mother isn’t worried about you. Come and take a look.” The old woman said when she saw the look of disbelief on his face.
Femi walked towards the woman and saw his mother rejoicing through a mirror. Tears fell from his face. He knew his mother didn’t like him but he never believed that she would rejoice at his death.
“It’s okay to cry. Don’t worry, I will take care of you now.” The old woman hugged him as Femi continued to cry.
****
Bimbo couldn’t be happier. Her happiness brought a glow back into her life that attracted lots of suitors and after a while, she settled for one of them. They got married and soon, Bimbo was pregnant again.
She gave birth to a bouncing baby boy. The boy grew up with so much love but every time the boy looked at Bimbo, she couldn’t help but feel like he was Femi. She shook the feeling off her and told herself that Femi could not come back as her new baby boy. She named her new son, Abimbola.
When Abimbola turned five, he died in his sleep. Bimbo could not be consoled. She cried till her eyes were red. Her husband stayed by her side, consoling her. Soon, Bimbo got pregnant again and she gave birth to another boy and named him Bayode. When Bayode turned five, he died.
Bimbo couldn’t help but see the pattern of things, and so she sought help. She went to their chief priest and consulted him hoping to find out the cause of her problem. After a series of incantations, the chief priest got to the root of the problem.
“Madam, our people say that ‘no one builds a house and forgets the roof’. They also say, ‘During sleep, heart memories remain alive’.”
“Wise one, I do not understand.”
“Let me help you then. The child that you killed many years ago is the source of your problem.”
“Wise one, I have never killed a child in my entire life.”
“Woman, do not lie in my shrine. You killed your first son and Abiku took him, so now he has come back to torture you. He is being reborn as your children and he dies every time so that you can feel the pain that he felt.”
“Egbami o! So, wise one, how can I get him to stop disturbing me?” Bimbo just wanted him gone and she didn’t care about the consequences.
“Well, it is said that Abiku, the spirit lives in trees like Iroko. If you can find the one that your son lives in, you can kill him.”
“Wise one, please. How will I find him?”
“Appease the gods and the gods will help you.”
Bimbo took out some money and dropped it on the oracle. The chief priest made incantations and then spoke.
“Take this.” He picked a gourd tied with a red cloth and handed it to Bimbo. “You will go to the forest and when you get there, carry this gourd in the air. It will lead you to the tree your son is staying and then you must cut down that tree and he will die.”
“Thank you wise one.” Bimbo took the gourd and left for the forest immediately. As soon as she reached there, she lifted it and started walking around the forest. The gourd led her to an iroko tree and she picked up the axe she came with and started cutting down the tree.
“Mama!” She heard a voice that startled her and she looked up. Inside the tree, she could see the face of her son, Femi.
“Femi!”
“So you are not satisfied with killing me and handing me over to Abiku, you still came back to destroy me completely?”
“Yes. I will ruin you before you can ruin me.” She raised the axe again to cut the tree, but her hand slipped and the axe fell on her head cracking her skull and leading to her death.
Moral lesson
Be careful what you wish for. Never transfer your aggression to someone who doesn’t deserve it.
Folktales, Fairy tales, and Folklores