CHAPTER 8: IMIRA
My return from the villages was more than a little weird. Along the journey back, the other men were different around me. I asked Dimka after we were back in the Land Rover.
"You saw the reaction to you back there in the villages. Sure, their leaders may have understood there was an agenda for you being there but even they refused to just yield to Mr. Okafor in this matter. And the people... you saw. They believe. These men," he gestured back to the other vehicle, "seem all Western in their jobs and dress and attitudes but they are still Africans and Africans of this region have heard the stories like peoples everywhere in every culture have stories passed on from generation to generation. They saw as I saw."
"Are you saying, Dimka, that you believe in this?" I asked. I didn't know what to think, anymore. It all seemed too much.
He smiled and stroked my bare thigh. I had elected not to put my shorts and tee-shirt back on. After all the time in the villages, being naked felt too natural. Maybe, as we reached the city, I would have to.
"I believe something happened. I saw it. You are not Osuni, Ann. That person is gone. Do I think you could have the same spirit as Osuni? Do I think you, through your body, can help people who just need a reason to think they can succeed when they could all along and only need something to believe in for strength and purpose? You might be right, Ann. Osuni's power might only have been an uncanny ability to use psychology to give others the strength or courage or determination to do what they needed to do." He patted my thigh and slid his fingers up the inside of my thigh to my pussy. I opened my thighs to give him access and sighed as his fingers tickled my pussy with familiar ease. "But what do I know... I'm just a driver."
* * * *
We had a day to sleep and rest at home and we took advantage of it and rarely left the bed all day. Not all of it was sleeping, though.
The next day I was preparing myself to be taken to Mr. Okafor's office on the top floor of the United Africa corporate office building. I found I touched the collar and medallion frequently and the tattoo just above my clitoral hood. It was strange to think this symbol couldn't be removed without considerable effort and ruining it. And, even if I somehow got out of the collar, the tattoo would always be there.
Once again, I was led through the offices and cubicles of the senior executive level of the corporation by Dimka while wear a light summer dress and high heels. The dress was different than last time but the same style. My long hair covered the collar in the back but the deep, loose plunge of the dress made the presence of the collar and medallion attached to it very evident from the front. I wondered how many of the average people of the region who worked here were even familiar with the legend much less recognize the medallion.
Dimka received a quick reply to his knock on Mr. Okafor's grand office door. And, as I was now used to, I felt Dimka's fingers lifting my hair and untying the halter tie at my neck. Once it was untied, the dress fluttered down my otherwise naked body. Again, Dimka knelt as I lifted one foot, then the other for him to remove it. I stepped up to within a couple of feet of his desk. Upon entering I found Mr. Contee and Mr. Ibori sitting on the couch at the side. Mrs. Okafor stood at his side dressed in an elegant tribal gown much like the robes the Chiefs wore. They were all smiling.
"I have received preliminary reports from the men who accompanied you. I also had representatives waiting for your leaving to talk with the Chiefs and holy men," Mr. Okafor stated matter-of-factly. "I understand people were helped." He fixed his gaze on me, "What do you think happened, my dear?"
"I... I don't..." I stammered.
"Sir," came Dimka's voice from behind me, "I don't think she was in a position to recognize what might have happened." He was challenged. She was there came the retort. "Yes, sir, we both were but she was in the moment, experiencing the men, interacting with the people, listening to their problems, then dealing with them. She was too close, sir. She didn't see the reactions, the looks, the expressions. She didn't hear the comments and murmurs around her and spreading through the villages. She knows she was given the collar and medallion, sir. I don't think she can understand yet."
"What I heard is they found Osuni," came Mr. Olafor's strong voice.
"No, sir," came Dimka's back to him. I think they were all surprised at hearing so much come from Dimka's mouth and with such conviction. I smiled at him. He was my protector. "When the collar and medallion were attached to her and she received her tattoo, it was acknowledged that she could not be Osuni but she was the spirit of her. I think the distinction is important, sir."
Mrs. Okafor left her husband's side and came around his desk to take my hand. She bent to look closely at the tattoo only an inch above my clitoral hood, touched it softly, then did the same to the medallion. She kissed my hand and still holding it turned back to her husband.
"Don't mess this up, husband." There was a hush in the office. First Dimka, now his wife? "Remember your own words, husband. 'Men are the problem'." She turned to me, again. "It is difficult for a white woman from another culture to believe she could be the embodiment of an African legend, isn't it, my dear?"
"Yes, ma'am."
She smiled, "Ma'am?" She shook her head. The men were all wondering what was happening. I was wondering what was happening. "No... dear, I should be on my knees before you but I don't think you could accept that." I shook my head. I definitely couldn't accept that. "Tell us, dear, what do you think about all this and what do you think should happen." She chuckled, "Don't worry about these men. What did I say before? Always remember men are the problem. Now tell me."
I took a deep breath. This wasn't right. All I wanted was to just serve African men and now all this is happening and she wants me to tell them. It's supposed to be the other way around. Then, I felt a soft touch from a strong hand on the small of my back. I looked over my shoulder and Dimka nodded. Dimka has never acted like this with these men despite all he has done for them. Now he was standing up for me and encouraging me. When did this change in him happen? Could I have...?
I took another deep breath and slowly released it. The only one naked in the room and they were all now waiting to hear what I might say. "I... I think..." Mrs. Okafor nodded for me to continue. I felt Dimka's touch, again. "I think something happened in the villages. I can't explain it... I... I don't understand it. Maybe these things aren't supposed to be understood, least of all perhaps by the one who might be causing it, as Dimka said." I turned and smiled at him. "Dimka told me once that some things can only be accepted by belief. Some things can not be proven by the analysis of science or rational logic. Sometimes the only explanation is what you believe in. What I know, though, is that people were helped and that was what others saw. I could rationalize that it's all a psychology trick that the people merely needed to think they were given power or strength or courage to succeed in what they needed to do. For all we know, that might have also been true for Osuni back then. Perhaps she didn't have the power to give but could help people believe they received power from her. I don't know the answer. What I know is I fucked a man who had lost his ability to hunt and fish and told him he was a capable, strong hunter and fisher. A few days later we found him catching more fish than his wife could keep up with cleaning. There was enough for the village. There were other examples like that. Was it luck... or... something more?"
"What do you think should be done?"
