Adebisi Are there usually four of us?

Babatunde Who are we missing?

Yetunde Babatunde. So, you don’t know how to greet?

Babatunde Sorry ma.

Adebisi Hello Auntie.

Yetunde Good to see you Adebisi. I haven’t seen you at one of these before?

Adebisi It’s my first.

Yetunde Ehe! So you’ve finally come to join us at a council.

Adebisi Yes now, by force.

Yetunde You shouldn’t have left it so long. You’ve been dead for a while. The afterlife isn’t just for rest, you know.

Babatunde What do you think we’ve been summoned for?

Yetunde Maybe there’s a newborn to bless. Or some kind of a family feud.

Babatunde Lai lai! I don’t want a feud. They’re too lengthy. Let’s pray it’s a blessing.

Yetunde Feuds don’t take too long.

Babatunde They do! The last summoning I was on, I was here for decades.

Adebisi What?

Yetunde He’s exaggerating.

Adebisi I can’t stay here for a decade! I’m meant to be resting.

Yetunde They never feel that long. Their days are a few minutes to us. It’ll be over before you know it.

Babatunde I just hope it’s not a feud.

Yetunde What’s the rush?

Adebisi He’s probably just tired. Coming here all the time, when he should be resting. We can’t all be veteran council members like you.

Yetunde Well, some ancestors like to help their descendants.

Babatunde And what thanks do we get for it? Do any of our descendants ever thank us? They don’t even summon us anymore!

Yetunde Only in recent times.

Babatunde The gods have to gather us together themselves. Can you imagine?

Yetunde That will change.

Babatunde Hmm! I thought I would have at least been reincarnated by now. I’ve been coming to these councils enough.

Adebisi Is that the only reason you do it? Because . . . I do not want to be reincarnated yet!

Yetunde The afterlife isn’t so bad.

Adebisi Why do you like it so much Yetunde? You haven’t been back to Aiye for centuries.

Yetunde What rubbish! It’s not even been two centuries.

Babatunde That’s a long time now!

Yetunde Baba, weytin you go talk? You self. You were only living one generation after my own.

Babtunde But I’ve tried to be reincarnated.

Adebisi And I only just died!

Yetunde You didn’t just die!

Babatunde I’ve been trying to get back to Aiye for a long time! You! You just sit up in Orun-re-re, resting like there’s no tomorrow.

Adebisi Don’t you want a tomorrow life, Yetunde?

Yetunde Shh! Stop.

Pause.

I thought I heard something. One of our descendants –

Adebisi Are we able to hear them?