MAIDENS

MAIDENS 13

This time, she was the one tailing as Father navigated the road. In all her twenty years in this kingdom, she had gone to different places with her friends and classmates yet this road her father was leading her through was very strange to her. The farther they got to the outskirts of the town, the worse the land got. The crops were drier and had lots of dried patches in between.

According to their history, after the defeat of Olóròógbò, the Prince had given a gift before he went back to the Royal Palace – the Omi Iye. It was an ever-flowing fountain in the Central Kingdom. From their school classrooms, every student could see it clearly and they had all enjoyed it from birth too that she had never considered it to be something much but here, the ones living in the outskirt towns of Aiyélojà had not bothered to link the free water system to their town and even houses. She saw more dead crops and got angry. What kinds of people were this nonchalant at their work that they had not bothered giving their best efforts to their farmlands? And the Great Harvest is almost here. It would be the next festival to take place immediately after the Royal Marriage. What was worse, only those that did well would be admitted into the Marriage Banquet.

You would think they had to do the water routing themselves but from what they learnt in school, it required only a simple process of applying to the Aiyélojà Council to plot a route to the intended route. These things were simple. They might take a few letters of push and reminders but the water system would get done. Wura shook her head at the ignorance. Maybe they knew but did not care about going to apply for one. Or saw it as hard work. She shook her head again.

When her father entered a bend, Wura lost sight of him and had to run to keep up so that she did not get lost in this sad place. Her surprise was refreshed by what she saw. This path had no single healthy grass. None! The trees were dead and decaying. It was not a place anybody would like to go into. They must be close to the dead lands outside the boundary of the kingdom they had read about. Was it not called Onà-ìparun? What was wrong with Adelola? Why had she continued to go this way even after seeing all these? Had she been possessed? She would first beat her over the head when she found her. Be safe, Adelola, please!

Just when Wura was wondering when this hazardous journey would end, she tripped on a dried root and fell. Her breath got knocked out but Father was not taking any kind of pause. He kept moving with such swiftness she was sure the ground could feel it. Father was still doubling ahead and she felt pissed. "Father! Wait!"

Thankfully he heard her and returned. His breathing was faster than usual but asides from that this long distance did not seem to have had any effect on him. He stood staring at her sitting figure before eying the road worriedly.

"Sorry, Wura."

It would be better to speak up now before he took off running again. "Father, please can we not take a rest?"

"NO."

The force of his answer shocked her. She did not think the situation was that serious. She tried again, "I cannot breathe anymore. Can we take a little break just for..."?

Father squatted to face her eye to eye. When he spoke, his voice was heavy. "Wuraola, you do not get it. If Adelola made it this far on this road, the lesser her chances of making it back." Wura's eyes watered at that information and Father quickly added, "I said harder not impossible, Wura. Many have returned with great testimonies but many have also been lost. Every single chance we take to rest means the more she makes it to the edge of this kingdom and we must keep her from crossing over the river of Okan-to-Sonu or she cannot be rescued again. We have little time, Wura to get her while she is still within this kingdom."

That sounded dangerous. Wura straightened then but she had to ask, "Why are you so strong? You do not seem affected by all this and I am younger than you." Father smiled distractedly, "Strength is not measured with age, Wura and I know why you have little of it." Let us get to the end of this and I will explain. Wura took off running before him this time while her father with a more reduced pace encouraged her with whistles and chants. She was smiling until Father picked up the pace and she needed all her focus to continue strongly. When he finally stopped at a place parked with tightly clustered trees, all dead, she could not stop in time so she hit him on his back. He was listening for something so she listened too. Then she heard it.