Dial - Season 1 - Episode 119

4 years ago

Dial - Season 1 - Episode 119

The stew she had served was green and covered with red oil, with smoked fish and two eggs. Lying in it were slices of papaya. I had no qualms about it, because it smelled good.

My problem was the food itself.
It appeared to be some sort of cocoyam, but it had not been peeled. It had been boiled in its skin, and served like that. I looked at her with agitation all over my face.
“You witch!” I said, shaking my eyes. “I’m not eating that food with the skin! What the heck is that? Is that how you eat here, with all the d--n skin?”

Although she was so sad, she chuckled softly, and without a word she picked up one of the cocoyam and deftly peeled its skin off, and then she put it into the stew in front of me.
“We’re not animals, Yao,” she said as she picked up another. “We cook it in its skin because it is very hard to peel, but easy to peel when cooked. Secondly, cooking it with the skin ensures that the good nutrients are retained inside the food. The skin is medicine, you know.”
I looked at her with a sheepish look on my face, and then I smiled, half-ashamed of myself.

“Ah, well, sorry then,” I said and reached out for the peeled cocoyam.
The witch slapped my hand sharply.
“Oh, shame on you!” she said and pointed at the water. “Over here we wash our hands before eating.”
I chuckled lightly.

“Too known woman,” I said, washed my hand, and turned to the food. She had several cocoyam peeled and lying in front of me.
I was a bit apprehensive. I had never eaten cocoyam before, but when I took a first bite…oh, boy…oh, boy…bliss! It tasted so good that soon I was wolfing it down.

“Take your time, Yao,” she said with a little smile. “The food is not running away!”
“Ah, women!” I said with my cheek filled with cocoyam. “First I should eat fast before I’m arrested, and now I should eat slow because I’m uncouth! Indeed, you’re a witch, woman!”
I had expected her to smile, or even laugh, but she didn’t.

Instead, she sat back slowly and regarded me.
“You’re sad again,” I stated gently. “Are you not eating? Is it about your daughter? Please eat a little.”
She nodded sadly, and again tears formed in her eyes.

“I lost my appetite,” she said slowly. “Abena Adobea, that’s the name of my daughter.”
“And you were Queen Mother then?”
She shook her head.
“Oh, no, my dear husband and I were the traditional healers in the village,” she said, her eyes taking on a faraway look. “He was quite a man, my late husband. He knew a lot of herbs, and he taught me, and we healed all kinds of diseases. I also helped the pregnant women deliver, you know. And people from all around came to see us. After Adobea, we couldn’t get any more children, unfortunately.”
I nodded and shoved another piece of cocoyam into my mouth.
“My husband loved his daughter very much, you know,” she said with a sad reminiscent smile. “Went everywhere with her, and pampered her. Rather spoilt her, I’m afraid. I was always the bad one as I tried to correct her. She had such a domineering attitude, quite feisty, she was, even as a child.”
“I could imagine,” I said as I bit into a juicy bit of fish.

“Anyway, we had a different king then, Nana Kwakupia, quite a man, kind, loving and loved by all his subjects. He always relied on my husband for advice. They were quite close, since they were childhood friends. This of course made the Fetish Priest, Okomfo Basabasa, very angry and jealous of my husband.