That is a hard story, @ubani1. The poor man. So much has happened to him. The wife seems to have been faithless throughout the marriage, so it does not seem the narrator caused the problem.
Many issues are raised here that interest a Western reader, who might be unfamiliar with this culture--the issue of a dowry and of unfamiliar religious practices, for example. One wishes that Musa had turned over the note from Zoe earlier.
Thank you for posting this story in the Ink Well community. Thank you for engaging with your fellow authors. We are urging everyone who posts in The Ink Well to take this step, going forward, to ensure our community members are supporting one another. (We also have this in The Ink Well community rules on our home page and in our weekly writing prompts.)
Wow, the wife certainly kept her secret well! Lack of faithfulness ruins so many relationships. Perhaps the main character will come to realize he is better off without Zoe once he is over the trauma.
You tell a story that ends with a touch of irony. The husband, though seemingly wealthy, does not comply with the social contract established in his culture for marriage and keeps his wife's family at a distance. The network of friends and family give him no information, although someone must know something and finally the letter that the doorman took a week to deliver. I am certain that he will restart his life.
I was curious about the intervention of the river mother: is she a seer who transmits the vision of the African Goddess Ochum?
That is a hard story, @ubani1. The poor man. So much has happened to him. The wife seems to have been faithless throughout the marriage, so it does not seem the narrator caused the problem.
Many issues are raised here that interest a Western reader, who might be unfamiliar with this culture--the issue of a dowry and of unfamiliar religious practices, for example. One wishes that Musa had turned over the note from Zoe earlier.
Thank you for posting this story in the Ink Well community. Thank you for engaging with your fellow authors. We are urging everyone who posts in The Ink Well to take this step, going forward, to ensure our community members are supporting one another. (We also have this in The Ink Well community rules on our home page and in our weekly writing prompts.)
Wow, the wife certainly kept her secret well! Lack of faithfulness ruins so many relationships. Perhaps the main character will come to realize he is better off without Zoe once he is over the trauma.
You tell a story that ends with a touch of irony. The husband, though seemingly wealthy, does not comply with the social contract established in his culture for marriage and keeps his wife's family at a distance. The network of friends and family give him no information, although someone must know something and finally the letter that the doorman took a week to deliver. I am certain that he will restart his life.
I was curious about the intervention of the river mother: is she a seer who transmits the vision of the African Goddess Ochum?
This is a tragic story. It is horrible when someone you love betrays you. You wrote a very effective story @ubani1.