Ashiley loved everything about being Nii’s widow except the rites she had to perform. She was already fed up with wearing black clothes from dawn to dusk after a week, and was terrified to know that she had to do so for the next five and a half months. She couldn’t eat supper alone and at her preferred time because Mamle was always there to remind her that it was prohibited to eat alone and after 6pm. Mamle would right after, wash her hand and dip it into the bowl, with her first chunk of food being pieces of meat.
“The last thing you need is a dead man eating with you.”
“Mom, he is dead, and dead people do not eat.”
Mamle often ignored Ashiley and slurped the food, giving Ashiley little opportunity to equally dip her hand into the bowl.

What Ashiley hated most was the fact that she was compelled to bath before 6:00 am and 6:00pm each day. Nii never bathed with her while he was alive, and found it hilarious that he would want to bath with her now that he was dead. Mamle refused to heed to her explanation, and made it her job to remind her of the time to take her bath each day.When the six months for performing all those rites elapsed, Ashiley was relieved, and was happy to be a free woman at last.

However, her happiness was short-lived when Nii’s mother and siblings visited her on a rainy morning. Their visit to her house was always a bad omen and Ashiley knew how much they enjoyed delivering bad news. Ayorkor rejected the water Ashiley offered her and continued tapping her foot gently. Armah examined the living room, reminding Ashiley of the day he visited with two of his uncles, demanding ownership of the house. Had it not been for the threat of putting them all behind bars, Ashiley knew they would have continued showing up each day.
“The rites are over, which means you are a free woman now,” Ayorkor said.
“Yes ma.”
“Do you intend to get married again?”
Though Ashiley found Ayorkor’s question unusual and inappropriate, she responded anyway, “I haven’t thought about that yet.”
“She will. She will certainly marry again,” Mamle interjected. Ayorkor smiled, revealing her brown teeth, and whispered something to Armah whose eyes had been lingering around Ashiley since his arrival.
“We certainly have no problem with you getting married again. Besides, you’re only thirty-two years old. However, remember that before you get married again, you would have to make love to another man, before proceeding to marry whoever you choose,” Ayorkor stated.

Ashiley looked at Mamle to confirm if she was equally shocked by Ayorkor’s revelation. However, Mamle kept nodding in agreement and Ashiley felt betrayed for being kept in the dark about something as important as this. Ayorkor further explained that as a widow it was important to have sex with a man, before getting married to another. This, rite was meant to transfer any form of jealousy or anger Nii’s ghost would feel towards her new husband onto that man, in order to prevent any form of misfortune in her new marriage. This explanation did nothing to quench Ashiley’s bewilderment, and when she asked Ayorkor about the kind of misfortune she was referring to, her response was, “Your new husband could equally die. The wrath of a jealous dead man isn’t something to joke with.” Ashiley spoke no more. Her head began to pound from the numerous questions that ran through her mind; what if she didn’t want to sleep with another man before she got married again? What if whoever she slept with before marrying again, died instead? When the answers to those questions were nowhere to be found, she told everyone she was unwell and slowly walked to her room.

Ashiley wore white for lunch the next day. She noticed Mamle gaping at her, but chose to focus on Shika who was playing with her dolls in the living room. She sat on her favourite chair at the dining table, which stood opposite the one Nii equally loved. She shook off every thought of him and diverted her attention to the bowl of rice and fried plantain before her. Once she started eating, she heard the clink of another cutlery. The cutlery sounded more like an echo than one being used on the table. She raised her head and found Nii equally eating. His long-sleeved white shirt tagged tightly to his broad chest and his large Adam’s apple shook when he swallowed. His red necktie with black stripes which Ashiley despised so much, hung loosely around his collar. It was the same one he almost strangled her with after she mistakenly burned his dinner some months ago. He stopped eating and his hooded eyes settled on her face. He stretched a hand to touch hers but she moved it and hid it between her lap. Nii clenched his jaws and resumed eating. Ashiley’s fear vanished and paved way for a smile. The feeling of rewatching Nii drink the cup of hot chocolate she had mixed with a pesticide, tickled her. She knew Nii would complain of dizziness fifteen minutes later, and as a ‘good’ wife, she would fake concern and ask him to rest a little before leaving for work. A suggestion he wouldn’t take and instead, would shake her hands off him and snatch his car keys from the center table. Ashiley would watch him through the window, as he would aggressively drive out of the house. Feeling fulfilled, she would take a seat in front of the television and keep an eye on her phone, waiting to hear the news of his accident.

Probably, all these wouldn’t have happened if Nii hadn’t stopped her from leaving a hundred times and at all cost. She had finally escaped and vowed never to experience such abuse again. Having her mother and daughter by her side was enough for her and she didn’t care if she ended up in prison for the rest of her life, should the truth be ever revealed.

The End.

©Nasreen Zankawah,2025.