Chaos and the water
When the boys go down to the water to fish, they find elements of chaos at the water. An insane man with ominous portents greets them. Even the act of fishing is mentioned in the prophecy as a sign of chaos. What is chaotic about fishing? It is the water. From the unseen depths of water, fishers draw up fish, and therefore, it is appropriate that fishers are the major threat in Abulu's prophecy against Ikenna. The water workers are the ones who are prophesied to kill him.
Boys without a father
The imagery of the family shows a father out on an extended business trip so that they are free to do what they want. Yes, they love their mother, but they're not going to let her tell them what to do. To them, she doesn't have the authority. The imagery, therefore, is abstract imagery of a family dynamic where this community of four experiences the chaos that comes without authority structures in place. It is no surprise that paranoia about conflict becomes the major source of conflict. All four boys have chaotic potential, and the goal of their community is to keep it balanced.
Undeniable death
Death is the imagery that throws their balance out the window. Because the prophecy is a personal prophecy about Ikenna's death, Ikenna becomes seriously paranoid. He can't shake his fear of death. If the prophecy were about anything else, perhaps he could shake it off, but what can he say to a prophecy about his death? That he'll never die? Of course he will die, so the prophecy serves to bring that sureness into his life as imagery. Instead of being a simple fact, death becomes part of how Ikenna sees the world, and he falls apart under the weight of that.
Religion and prophecy
Ikenna becomes a religious prophet in some ways, because he knows that his brothers have evil inside of them. He is paranoid about them conspiring to kill him, but he doesn't know why they would do that. The paranoia reveals to him a truth about human nature that perplexes him. They could kill him. Humans sometimes do kill each other, and why not kill a brother? If someone can kill a stranger, they can certainly conspire against a brother. Poor Benjamin sees this from the lens of innocence. He is like the Biblical Benjamin whose brother was also the victim of conspiracy. Joseph implicates Benjamin in the sins of his brothers though Benjamin is innocence; likewise, Ikenna implicates Benjamin though he is young and innocent. The religious imagery of the story is of good and evil, life and death, replete with allusions to religious texts.
