Michelle B. Valdez
Scene Addition

"The Wait"

Okonkwo sat in the darkness and took his snuff bottle and began to smoke while he waited. He knew he should have stopped Ekwefi from following the priestess, but for some odd reason he had chosen not to stop her. Had he become a womanly man like those he disgusted? No, he knew that was not it, he knew he still stood his ground in his obi. As he waited, he began to wonder why Ekwefi was taking so long and he began to worry about whether or not she interfered with the priestess. "I should not have let her go, what was I thinking?", he thought to himself.
He waited a while longer, for he could not get up and walk out too soon, that would make him a weak man and that certainly is not what he was. He drank a horn of palm oil wine and used his snuff bottle a little more, and waited impatiently. After long enough, he got up, picked up his machete and walked out of his obi into the darkness and walked towards the shrine.
When he got there he was surprised to find that there was no one there. He sat and pondered for a while and came to the conclusion that the priestess may have gone around the villages first. He was more concerned because this had to do with Ezinma, and he admired her the most. He waited a while longer, and then headed back to the village.
In his obi he tried to sleep but it was no use. All he could think of was where they might be or what they might be doing. A million thoughts raced through his head all at once, and he could not control them. He became frustrated with himself and sat up. He beat on his head a bit and took out his snuff bottle once again. After waiting a reasonable time, yet again, he set on his journey a second time, only to be disappointed again and find that they were not there, still. "Where could that woman be taking them?", he muttered to himself, "I know it does not take that much time to circle the villages". Again, he set back for his obi and felt less of a man than the first.
This happened once more and he became frustrated with himself and more and more worried, each time. One thing he knew for sure was that no one would know about this, not even Ezinma herself. Not until his fourth try did he find Ekwefi sitting by the cave, where he was alleviated, but still affected by the worry that had overcome him during the night. He walked up the path way and changed his face so that she would not assume that he cared about the situation. When she sprung around he could say nothing more than sarcasm. He told her to go home, but she refused. It was then that he realized that that was where Ezinma had gotten her strong spirit from.
As they sat and waited by the cave opening, he remembered the early years, when he was but a boy, and when Ekwefi had left her husband to come back to him. He remembered how happy he was then, but even then with no money or honor, he still did not display his emotions for he thought of it as being vulnerable. He had forgotten how he was that long time ago, but he didn't need that anymore. Now, he was a great war hero, who for some reason could still be turned to dirt once the right buttons were pushed. But no one would ever know.