Ayebea was woken by the cock’s crow at a very early hour. The sun hadn’t come up yet, but she had a lot of chores to finish up with before it did. She hurriedly adjusted her cloth. This way, it would be difficult for it to come off as she carried her pot of water from the river. She met other women on their way from the river and greeted them humbly.
Ayebea had had some form of education during her girlhood days, not that she was old now but she was “wearing away”, as her mother-in-law often cried about. She was never the prettiest girl on the river path, but she made heads sway as she walked past. She was actually supposed to go to Akrofi School of Secretariat but her father used her tuition to pay for her younger cousin’s bus fare to Nigeria. So she stayed in the village doing nothing. No, she was cooking and washing for the men in her house, chores that everyone thought should make her content. Psst
Ayebea never wanted to marry at an early age, and certainly not Kuuku. Kuuku was a canoe man, somewhat like a modern day trotro driver. When his mother suggested that he marries Ayebea, he was a little hesitant. The girl had the reputation of speaking her mind!
“She’s not my taste”, he told his mother grumpily. He was a man, and he needed a woman he could control, not one who would yap so much sense and make him look like a fool.
“Well, I’ve done my research”, she paused. “I was impressed the most by her. I’ve already met with two of her maternal uncles. They have agreed to our proposal”
Kuuku knew better than to argue with his mother on the issue. In their village it was the duty of every mother to ensure that her son married a proper wife.
The news of her marriage to Kuuku shocked her very much, but there was close to nothing she could do. Her father was impressed with her husband-to-be for the ahenema he bought him and wouldn’t listen to her. Moreover, the man had little to no say in the matter because her maternal uncles were in charge of seeing to it that she married well, not that he was complaining.
Ayebea really tried to be a humble wife and an obedient daughter-in-law to both Kuuku and his parents but things were not going well. After ten months of marriage without any signs of pregnancy, her mother-in-law started showing her true colours. She complained about the food, the way she walked, her speech, composure, she even said she did not know how to sweep, she called her a “dirty woman”. Ayebea kept her cool, not once did she retaliate. Well not until her mother-in-law insulted her dead mother. Well, one wouldn’t call it an insult exactly, but she did say she was an incompetent mother who could not raise a proper wife and daughter-in-law out of her arrogant and disrespectful daughter. That did it for Ayebea. You know when you’ve had it to your last limit and then something bizarre happens and you flare up like an angry bull. Let’s just say that’s exactly how Ayebea reacted. She couldn’t control herself. She retaliated hard. She said everything she had harboured inside of her for the past year. Right from her dumb son to her mother-in-law’s arrogant behaviour of controlling everything in her son and husband’s life, down to her stupid notion that women are lesser humans than men.
“What kind of a mother are you?” ,she shouted back at her.
“What did you just say?”, that was her mother-in-law
Its obvious she did not expect Ayebea to talk back, she did not think she would. Despite her loud and all-knowing self, she didn’t think she really had the guts.
“I said what kind of a mother are you?”, Ayebea repeated, more audibly this time
“Oh you disrespectful foolish girl”, her mother-in-law shouted in anger and stomped away.
Ayebea watched as her mother-in-law’s figure vanished behind the wooden house door. She knew where she was headed to, her son’s spot at the riverbanks where he drank nsaafu with his colleague canoe men. She shook her head. No, she smiled then shook her head. As much as she liked that she was able to say her mind, she was slightly dreading the commotion that would happen in their house that evening. She pictured her husband barging into the hut they shared and asking obsolete questions and asking who her who gave her permission to talk back at his mother. Kwaadonto, she said aloud and went inside their shared hut.
A year ago…
When Ayebea first heard about her marriage to Kuuku she was surprised and shocked. She had no idea she would be marrying so early. Unfortunately, being the only child of her mother, she had no brothers or sisters to defend her. She knew what her father would say even as she knocked on his door. After she called out that it was her and she wanted to have a discussion with her, she brought out a chair for him to sit on as she sat at his feet. She told him her impending marriage and how much she hated the idea of being confined at such an early age.
“You are no longer a child”, he started. “Besides as you know, there’s little I can say or do on this matter. Your maternal uncles have already met your husband-to-be’s family and they seem very convinced that he’s from a good family.”
“But Paapa I’m too young to…”
“No, you’re not!”, he shouted sternly
Ayebea stared at him with pleading eyes crying loudly for help
“This is not something you should worry about. It was bound to happen sooner or later.”
“Yes Paapa. Thank you for your advice.”
After a few seconds of awkward silence, her father got up silently and made it to his door. Turning to look at her he said slowly, “ I wish I could be of some help but tradition is tradition, after all.”
“Yes Paapa, I understand.”
“Smart girl”, he shouted with a broad smile which showed his chipped front tooth. “Go and get supper ready”
Ayebea got up and walked to the kitchen crestfallen.
Now…
“Where’s she?!”
“Where’s that woman?! That wife of mine!”
Ayebea heard the shouts as she was fanning the firewood in the mukyia. She got up and tightened the cloth around her waist. She coughed a little and drank some water to soothe her throat. Finally, she stepped out of the kitchen to see a very drunk Kuuku waving his empty nsaafu calabash at her. It took a lot of strength for her not to roll her eyes and walk back into the kitchen. “Useless man”, she hissed under her breadth.
“There she is”, Kuuku stuttered drunkenly
Ayebea watched in mock interest as her husband sauntered towards her. She lacked the words and expressions to describe her disdain for both her marriage and her husband. They claim that a woman’s worth is measured by her husband and her children. Well, that is clearly flawed because she would rather be a secretary somewhere in Akrofi than be married to this imbecile!
She rolled her eyes as she watched him fall as he dawdled towards her. Serves him right. He’s such a weakling, she thought with a frown. She turned her back to him and entered their shared room, completely neglecting the firewood in the mukyia.
“Ayebea!”
“Ayebea my wife!”
She heard Kuuku call out her name audibly but she ignored him. Ayebea was seriously thinking of her next plan of action. Everything showed that she had to elope to the city. She kept playing her options in her mind as she took a stroll on the river path.
Stay and have another argument with her mother-in-law
Stay and possibly be beaten by Kuuku for being insolent to his mother
Stay and be shunned by his husband and his family
Stay and be sanctioned to the abusuapayin of both her family and husband family
Stay and be sanctioned by the obaahemaa
Stay and be sanctioned by the chief of their village
After thinking a while and walking too far Ayebea realised that there’s no getting back from what she has gotten herself into. If news of this broke out, the entire village will be on her case, especially because she had no child after ten months of marriage.
“I cannot go back”, she said after a pause. “I will be ridiculed and called a witch”
Ayebea put down her pot at the river bank. The sun was setting and most women were preparing the evening meal for their husbands, which left only her at the river bank. She took a few strides away from the pot and another and another.
There’s no one here for me. No one to defend me. This is not a place for a girl like me
She paused and turned to look at the pot one last time as she took off in the opposite direction.
Asiedua Yeboah © 2016
Abusuapayin – Ghanaian native language for head of an extended family
Ahenema – native sandals in Ghana which is usually worn on important occasions such as funerals and durbars
Kwaadonto – Ghanaian native language for a weak man
Mukyia – A local stove made of clay
Nsaafu – Ghanaian native language for palm wine (locally brewed alcohol)
Obaahemaa – Ghanaian native language for the queen mother of a village
Paapa – Ghanaian native language for father
Perfect Blemish 
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