The Wind

Chief Isaac

• Short story
• Fiction

								
                    " The Winds"


It was a heavy wind that showed the sign of its staying presence in many ways. It gushed from no known source and was knocking down trees, uprooting zinc, sending brown colored dust flying everywhere and sending clothes spread on the linen flying like kites to the delight of young and scowling of the old that kept shouting to what the whirlwind sent flying as if they had ears. It must have judged their shouting as encouragement for it seems to increase in intensity and remained at that rate for not less than thirty minutes.



Some that follow events or believed they follow events murmuring and sighing as usual: "Chief Issac" to themselves and probably to their spouse and continued with their chores. Issac Okoye, the man the tale spreading revolves around is a fifty-three years old wood cutter. They claimed he had the power to call down anything he wanted at any time and that they obey each time without delay. Rain, wind, sun, mosquitoes, geckos, ants, roaches etc. He has their numbers in his mouth and his incantations never fail.
 


The man recently had been having "importance or relevance" problems with one  Mr Jude Igwe that many have taken the type of unfriendly whirlwind at work in that village as his signature, handiwork, a sign to the people that issues are not in his favor. The idea as people see it is that those  winds were meant to scatter whatever it is not moving his way. Whatever point raised there not in his favor has to go. Every issue that is not to his advantage will fly away from the record and memory of those there and replace it with something in his favor or worse, return issues to ground zero.



Some claimed that calling down rain in the wrong season has serious repercussions on those that have tried it. Infact, the leaders of Umuito community shifted every issue that involved Chief Issac to the dry season for five years now not just to assure justice but to protect their community from the wrath of the gods. And yet, they are not free of his antics. If it's not rain in the rainy and dry season, it's wind and almost tornado-like whirlwind in the dry one or mighty sun that causes many things to melt, humans and animals sweat like never seen before. But nothing so far on chief Issac in terms of negative effects despite rain falling on many occasions in the wrong season. Sand had even rained one certain time he had a case with one lady many swore this time, gods must act. But nothing ever happened.



Some people are so sure that many that have tried the god of rain in dry seasons had not enough time to regret their experiment. Yet, many kept insinuating that whenever the type of wind that was experienced that evening in Umuito occurs, it's not gods at work but Chief Issac. Yet, the man is looking healthy, talking in his usual melodious voice and waving to all and showing his kola nuts tinted teeth. He had been projecting a jolly good fellow image that deceives no one from the community, only visitors.


The issue this time around had been the swinging verdict of the community leaders on the issue of who is who in that interior village he had been having with a man who returned to the village from neighboring country that he claimed rate him and most villagers as inferior citizens and could not understand the noise surrounding the so called chief and his powers.

   "Why do people don't put people in their proper places? Who is this faggot and his maggots of a people many are cowring from?" 

That was the statement that many said is behind what causes this recent settlement of land dispute chief Issac had initiated. Mr Jude had jumped over the community structure on the ground to use force of the law to finish the man. Three weeks ago when chief Issac started laying claim to the land everyone knew belonged to Mr Jude family, he had paid officers to knock out all the teeth in the village chief's mouth, only to find out that other chiefs rated that move as an insult to them. They had asked Mr Jude to withdraw that issue from the police and he had tried to make them see the importance of his move. "It's to stop bullshit once and for all," he told them. But they had unfounded fear of copycats being unleashed afterwards on other chiefs, so he had complied 


Elders had been attending to the issue twice each week for a month and half since then to the annoyance of Mr Jude but chief Isaac seems to be enjoying himself since then. Whenever issues are not working in his favor, it was sending wind that cut through things like knife through butter. It has even become a kind of trademark to him. Whichever time of the day it happens, many voices will be murmuring "Chief Issac" to themselves. He had not been ignorant to their murmuring, only that no one had been bold enough to murmur to his hearing till this guy Jude came back to the village from where he didn't know or care to know trying to change the status quo. 


The issue had been dragging on to the annoyance of Mr Jude. He had not been able to see that it had not been the mad chief whirlwinds scattering issues like many believed. He was nearly starting to believe that the wind tale might have some element of truth in it. He couldn't understand why the elders had found what is straight forward too difficult to settle till one elders he cornered told him that the personal economy of those village leaders were too poor. "They need something to see clearly." He told him.



Their wives received new wrappers from Mr Jude wife, the elders, a bottle of foreign schnapps and the following week, verdict was in favour Mr Jude and expenses and apology letter to come from Chief Issac. All these were from the elders on the day the wind was at its potent best. 


First time in the history of Umuito and Chief Issac, a verdict went against him and his whirlwinds. People got totally confused and many started querying their beliefs.
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