Life before Capture
There are so many different ways I could begin this story, but I guess the only way I can start is at the beginning. I was born Ada-afo, a free woman, to Chidike and Chiamaka Equiano of the Igbo people, in what was then known as Issaka/Esseke, Benin. I was the youngest of nine and often felt ignored and misunderstood, my mother having died when I was only six.
I was required to perform many daily tasks: the sweeping of floors, the fetching of firewood, the preparing of food. I would walk what seemed a thousand yards with a pot balanced atop my weary head to collect water from the river. Then I would care for my sickly sister Adannaya.
My 13th birthday came and went with life continuing as normal. It was exactly a month after my birthday that my life changed forever…
It was the Afo day, the third day of our four-day week in the month of Onwa Uzo Alusi, the Gregorian equivalent of that being January to early February. The weather was mild and the men had already set out to hunt for that night’s dinner. It was just Adannaya and I in the house. I was mending clothes in the front room when I heard a scream.
YOU ARE READING
The Diary Of Ada-afo Equiano
Historical Fiction"It was just Adannaya and I in the house. I was mending clothes in the front room when I heard a scream." When Ada-afo and her sister Adannaya are captured by a raiding party, they have no idea what horrors they are going to face. Sold into slavery...
