The elders of the clan had decided that Ikemefuna should be in Okonkwo's care
for a while. But no one thought It would be as long as three years. They seemed to
forget all about him as soon as they had taken the decision.
At first Ikemefuna was very much afraid. Once or twice he tried to run away, but
he did not know where to begin. He thought of his mother and his three-year-old sister
and wept bitterly. Nwoye's mother was very kind to him and treated him as one of her
own children. But all he said was: "When shall I go home?" When Okonkwo heard that
he would not eat any food he came into the hut with a big stick in his hand and stood
over him while he swallowed his yams, trembling. A few moments later he went behind
the hut and began to vomit painfully. Nwoye's mother went to him and placed her hands
on his chest and on his back. He was ill for three market weeks, and when he recovered
he seemed to have overcome his great fear and sadness.
He was by nature a very lively boy and he gradually became popular in
Okonkwo's household, especially with the children. Okonkwo's son, Nwoye, who was
two years younger, became quite inseparable from him because he seemed to know
everything. He could fashion out flutes from bamboo stems and even from the elephant
grass. He knew the names of all the birds and could set clever traps for the little bush
rodents. And he knew which trees made the strongest bows.
Even Okonkwo himself became very fond of the boy - inwardly of course.
Okonkwo never showed any emotion openly, unless it be the emotion of anger. To show
affection was a sign of weakness,-the only thing worth demonstrating was strength. He
therefore treated Ikemefuna as he treated everybody else - with a heavy hand. But there
was no doubt that he liked the boy. Sometimes when he went to big village meetings or
communal ancestral feasts he allowed Ikemefuna to accompany him, like a son,
carrying his stool and his goatskin bag. And, indeed, Ikemefuna called him father.
Ikemefuna came to Umuofia at the end of the carefree season between harvest
and planting. In fact he recovered from his illness only a few days before the Week of
Peace began. And that was also the year Okonkwo broke the peace, and was punished,
as was the custom, by Ezeani, the priest of the earth goddess.