The Undisputed Writer

REBIRTH OF AN ÒRÌSÀ 5

"For one who has been born, dēath is certain and for one who has díed, birth is certain"

Five days of travel, five days of labour, five days of feeding on just fruits, and in the end, they finally reached the temple of God. Legend has it that that was where the creation of humanity happened and now, Èlà, the deity of light and manifestation, was going to be reborn in the temple of God.

The building was, still and will always be the tallest and most magnificent on earth because it wasn't built by humans but by the command of Elédùmare to the earth to spring forth a building no human or deity can build.

"This is the house of God." Dúrójayé said as they rushed Labake in to give birth to her child.

The two large doors shut behind them immediately they stepped in and almost immediately, the air around them changed. Labake was placed on the seemingly endless temple floor.

"Arrrrrrrrrrr! ummmmmmm!" She screamed for hours, forcing the baby out of her womb.

"Here, place the crown on her belly." Àgbède handed his crown to Dúrójayé.

The gigantic statues that surrounded them were all statues of different deities except one and that one was me, Àjànòkú, the exiled deity. I had sensed the presence of my ring and Èlà immediately they stepped in but I didn't reveal myself until I saw my ring with my own eyes. My ring was what Àgbède's generation had called crown for sixty centuries, exactly six millennia.

I, Àjànòkú, a fourteen feet tall giant and an exiled deity from heaven for six thousand years, rose to my feet and the earth shook like there was an earthquake. Disguised as a statue in the house of God and rising to my feet for the first time after six millennia, I felt agonizingly refreshed as every bone in my body stretched but my injuries were still there, unable to heal without my ring.

My rise alone sent shivers to all that was present but one, the vessel of Èlà. She valiantly kept trying to push the baby out of her and in that moment, I saw why God chose her to be the mother of the deity of light and manifestation. She was the only woman brave enough to do the will of God, knowing that it'll cost her life. The men in the room were scared but not her. She continued with her purpose.

I took my first step towards them. Àgbède and Dúrójayé pulled their swords, ready to fight me but labake held her husband's feet and spoke to him like a dying woman.

"He's not Èsù, the deity that rules us with tyranny. He's the exiled deity from heaven and his primary duty is to protect my unborn child." Then, she looked at me. "Àjànòkú tí n mi igbó kìjikìji! Àjànòkú tó kojá mo rí nkan fìrí!! (The elephant that shakes the forest in its wake!! The elephant that is more than just something you see briefly)"

She took the crown, which was my ring, and stretched her hand for me to take it.

"Take it. I know it's yours. Help me fulfill my destiny so that I can go meet my maker in peace."

A few more dragging steps and I was within arms reach. I took my ring and put in on my right ring finger and just then, the real Àjànòkú was reborn. I placed my right hand on her belly.

"Take a deep breath, make one last push and you shall hold your child before you move on to your destination."

My voice reverberated. She took a deep breath and with every strength she had left in her, she pushed and Èlà was born. His cries reverberated in and out of the temple. Although, Èlà was a baby, he was a giant born by a human. For nine months, she carried a deity inside her, a deity only she knew his true strength. I lifted and handed him to his mother.

"Feed him. Let him suckle."

We all watched as Èlà sucked not just her breast milk, but also every last bit of energy in her but that didn't deter her from fulfilling her last duty and that's passing the torch of responsibility to us, especially me.

"Kíni ó so nù tí ará ayé n wá? (what got lost that the whole world has been searching for?" She asked, her voice slowly going into the abyss.

"Ìwà!! (Character)" I answered. "Ìwà was the lost daughter of Erinmilókun (The hippopotamus), the deity that led the rebellion against Obàtálá in heaven. He felt Obàtálá wasn't doing anything to find his beloved daughter but he was wrong. She was supposed to find her way back to him in heaven but his impatient led him astrāy, disrupting the divine order. Now, she's been reborn by you as a human and she must find her place in heaven ones again when it's time."

She smiled.

"Àjànòkú, the elephant, it's time for me to go because I've done my part. Now, it's time for you to do your part by protecting him at all costs."

"Yes mother!!" I answered as tenderly as I could.

She reached out to her husband who'd been fighting tears in awe all the while. He moved closer with his daughter, who neither knew nor understand what was going on, beside him and held her hands in tears.

"Oko mi! my husband!" She called faintly, dēath already lurking in her voice. "Don't cry for me. The last thing I want to see on your face is that smile that you always gave me because I want to take it with me as a gift from you. Please, smile heartily for me."

He smiled. He remembered every happy moment they had and he smiled. Even in dēath, she loved and cared for her husband. What a woman she was!! A real and powerful àjé.

"I want you to be a good father to our children and also the mother that I'll never be to them. Be their father and their mother and fight for them valiantly. I've left you with a gift too, the spirit of the first blacksmith, Ògún, now resides in you because I prayed it so and he will never leave you. That's why you can fight skillfully now and I believe that's the answer to all the questions Dúrójayé has been asking himself about you."

She looked at Dúrójayé where he stood, watching the whole mystery unfold, for a moment and smiled. He nodded.

"I'll never leave my friend." He said.

"I know you won't. You have the protection of God himself over you."

She returned her eyes back to her husband. He smiled again, tears raining down from his eyes like a heavy rainfall from a cloudy sky.

"Oko mi! ó di àrìnòkò, ò di ojú àlá. (Goodbye my husband)"

She took her last breath and her eyes were forever shut. Omolabake was the greatest àjé I ever saw and in the brief moment I spent with her before her dēath, I understood why God chose her. That's why I told the two men with me to respect and cherish every woman they come across to respect and cherish every good woman they come across because they're all àjé, every àjé is an abiyamo and they hold the power to make or mar. As a man, ones a woman decides to finish you, then you're done. Make sure you're never on the bad side of an àjé.

The Undisputed Writer