Brinda

First Step

"Are you really going to do it?" Suraj asked while King Adigun stormed ahead.

The King huffed and puffed and had his mind working like a train of numbing thoughts had coursed through it. Having experienced such warmth, love and affection from a stranger, he couldn't help but picture how more receptive the entire Kingdom of Brinda could be if they knew the worth of education. Durga had done that to the man and while he approached the throne room, King Adigun stopped.

He cast his gaze down the hallway and towards the private room where his wife ought to be. His heart drew towards her, and his thoughts beckoned on how things would feel much better if she was by his side. It wasn't easy being by himself and having to roam through with no guidance. More so, he had nearly lost his life while he was out with Suraj.

Their journey after they had left Durga' place was even more revealing that the King had margined; the stark contrast in cultures between Nigeria and India was one, while the level of segregation imposed on the female child right there in Brinda was another he had seen. Little girls no yet past the age of being in school studying, were being forced into house chores and ordered away from schools because their parents believed the boys were more deserving of the roles.

"Get me the chiefs of every tribe, and bring me those who truly matter within Brinda!' he commanded Suraj without looking in the direction of his man.

King Adigun could tell his next course of action was bound to be divisive for a place like Brinda. While it wasn't entirely different to or from what was done in Chiroma, it was upped to levels unimaginable in Brinda. The female child was already cast off as mere domestic slave or worker and he had to put an end to it.

To begin with, the need to tackle the pertinent situation arose and his heart slowly drifted away from his worries with the Queen.

"I sent words as you asked, my Lord", Suraj said before walking up to the King and taking a spot to his left.

In silence, King Adigun poured out his thoughts and began to pick them carefully. He was right at the junction his father had always grumbled about; politics and how it had to do with human lies. He had a role to play now and it would either bring him enemies, or it would create a legacy which even the previous King had not managed to erect.

Sighing out loud and between breaths, he looked to his left and asked Suraj, "Do you think they will agree?"

Suraj bit his lower lip, took his time and then spoke, "This is far different from our cultures and I worry you might be seen as an imposer or a dictator".

The words were wise but they also lacked insight. King Adigun had no interest to impose himself or his rules on anyone, talk less of the esteemed subjects of Brinda. However, he wasn't one to back down from a fight and he anticipated one with every fiber of his being.

"A lot has been allowed to go on for far too long", he explained. "Look around you, Suraj. The women here are castigated and treated like they belong to domestic lives and do not matter past sweeping and cleaning and cooking. We both saw talented little girls hiding away to draw while the boys played around and did nothing but become nuisance to the kingdom".

He allowed himself some time to breathe before thinking about some of the harrowing situations again.

"The girl child isn't being thought about nearly as enough as they ought to be, and that bridge used to exist until someone broke it down", the King noted.

He had spotted the large bridge, which had been acclaimed to have broken into pieces by flood and yet all he saw was the work of greedy humans when he inspected it.