ÀWÈLÉ: Hell Hath No Fury ☑️

•Chapter Twenty seven•

Oyogun

The village was silent and subdued. The king had committed a shameful act, by killing himself and taking the coward's way out. The royal families were at war, exhuming stories and ancient history to prove that they were the next family to ascend the throne.
Àwèlé had decided to stay in Oyogun, even though keeping up her disguise for long periods of time was physically and emotionally draining. But she missed her family far too much to go back to ìlúogbón. Plus, she did not want to see the look on Òsunyémisí's face when she returned. For days she sat underneath a tree, trying to summon her old spirit friend, Oníbodè, but he refused to show up. She wanted, no needed, him to soothe her worries. To tell her that the gods were not angry at her, to promise her that they understood why she needed to do what she did. And it didn't help that everyone was walking on eggshells around her. Fìwàshadé had even gone on to tell her that she hadn't thought she was up to it. And the little Àdìo knew not to anger his mother. Days passed and Oníbodè refused to come,Àwèlé's remorse gave way to anger.

"Fine!" She exclaimed one day, then she decided to reveal herself to her parents to keep her from going insane. Grasping Àdìo's hand, she set off for her parent's house.
On getting there, she met four young boys from ages three to seven, they were wrestling and playing in the way boys their age did. Àwèlé had to clear her throat several times to get their attention. The oldest replied Àwèlé, seeming to have been bestowed the responsibility of talking to visitors because of his age. " Who are you?"
Àwèlé told him that she wanted to see an adult. He puffed up his chest, " I am an adult. maami says so" The other boys nodded solemnly, maami was never wrong.

"I want to see Solá , tell him it is very important"

The boy turned and ran into the house. Soon, a man with broad shoulders and a jovial face emerged from the house. Àwèlé recognized her brother immediately, he was always so cheerful and ready this smile. The man smiled as if he read her thoughts.
"I am Solá, may I ask who you are?"
Àwèlé told him that it was a private matter and was able to persuade him to go in. So she left Àdìo outside to play with the other boys . When they'd settled down. She told him
"I am Àwèlé, your sister"
Solá had been drinking some water his wife had brought him, but her words caused him to release it in a spew. After he stopped choking, he asked
"Are you insane?"
Àwèlé just smiled . " I know you do not believe me, so I will show you." She stood up and let her disguise melt away. Even though it had been a number of years, she knew her family would still recognize her. When she opened her eyes, Solá was staring at her with his mouth open. He shuffled away from her untill his back hit the wall.
" How?... what?....h-how did you do that? Are you really Àwèlé?"
" The gods gave me this gift, and yes, I am Àwèlé."
She asked him, "where is everyone? I want to tell you all what happened."
"Your brothers are married and have moved to other villages with their wives and children. " Solá sighed " maami and baami are d...no more"
Àwèlé gave a shuddering sigh. She'd figured that out. Her mother would have been singing and cooking dinner if she were alive. She believed in cooking dinner early, so that everyone could relax and have time to talk about their day before dinner. She began to tell Solá about what had happened to her in the past seven years without leaving anything out. Not even how Adéoba died. When she was done, Àwèlé changed back into "Àbèbí", her disguise. They sat in silence for a while before Àwèlé spoke.
"I want to see where they are buried " she told her brother . He agreed and turned to yell out his wife's name. " 'Nike! 'Nike!"
A petite woman emerged from the inner room with a baby on her hips. Even though it hadn't been that long that she'd given birth, as shown by the baby's age, she was slim and looked like an unmarried girl. She tilted her head and answered her husband
"O , oko mi" yes, my husband.
Solá beamed at her and took the baby from her. " This is my wife 'nike, and this is my daughter and youngest child, Ewà "
"She is beautiful, just like her name says, in fact, both of them are beautiful" Àwèlé said, referring to his wife and the babbling child on his lap.
"Well", she said as she stood up. "I must get going now , but I also want you to meet someone"
When they got outside, the boys trooped over to them and Àwèlé drew Àdìo to her. " This is Àdìo, my son"
Solá bent at the waist and smiled at Àdìo " my name is Solá, I am your sister's brother. " Àdìo smiled back, giggling. He prostrated and greeted the man " E kaasan" good afternoon sir.
Solá pointed to four boys " those are my sons. Wálé, Dejì ,Àjàdí, and Àlàó." Dejì and Wálé were twins who looked eerily similar. With mischievous smiles on their faces like their father, Àwèlé knew without a doubt that they would be a handful.
"The gods are with your wife, she looks so young even after birthing five children, four of them sons!"
Solá preened, " she is, isn't she? But don't let her gentle nature fool you. She can be very fierce when the need arises. "
Soon after, they bid each other goodbye, with Àwèlé giving the boys some money and promising to bring back their new friend, Àdìo .
When they got home, Aríyíké asked, " how was it?"
Àwèlé replied with a smile on her face. " It was perfect. Just perfect"

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In the dead of night, 'Nike crept out of her house and walked into the street, she was holding a lamp and she had her hand curled around the flame slightly, in order to reduce it's brightness. She walked for sometime until she came upon a dilapidated hut. To an outsider, it looked inhabitable, but the inside was perfectly fine and furnished. She knocked three times, then waited a beat before knocking two more times. The door was opened and a woman nodded at her. The lamp was extinguished and 'Nike stepped into the house. The unknown woman nodded at her and she began to talk. She recanted all she had heard Àwèlé telling her husband while she was eavesdropping, from the identity of Àdìo, to how Adéoba died. When she was done, the woman turned to 'Nike, causing her face to be highlighted by the rays of the moon sneaking in through the window.
" You have done well 'nike" Omololá said.

Gen gen *super story suspense music plays in the background*
Omololá knows everything now😱. What do you think she will do with this information?
Who else likes Solá? Cos I do..
Prostrating is a way of greetings elders respectfully in yoruba land, but it has been modified into tilting of the head due to civilization. 😂
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-kingh👑💋