Luckily for me, I was thrown out of the house with my purse in my hands. My daily savings which was in the purse helped me a great deal as it provided me with a transport fare to a faraway land.

After paying a transport fare to the northern part of Nigeria, I cast a glance at my village once again. It's a place which holds a lot of memory. I have always dreamed of leaving my village someday but I never knew it would be in this circumstance. I muttered a prayer of forgiveness to my late father.

Our bus left the park around 9pm and began the journey to the northern part of Nigeria. Getting to the park earlier that day, I saw bus conductors cajoling people to enter buses going to different destination. After much deliberation, I decided to board a bus to Kano state. I just wanted to be faraway from everyone and everything.

After about 12 hours of driving, our bus finally arrived at the bubbling city of Kano state. Everyone got down from the bus and went in different direction while I stood at the park wondering which direction I should go. Tired of standing, I clutched my purse tightly to myself and went in a particular direction which led to a local restaurant.

The aroma of the food that was being cooked reminded me that I hadn't eaten anything. I went into the restaurant and bought food, after eating, I made to leave but I stopped when I heard the owner of the restaurant speaking my dialect. I went back to her and spoke to her in my dialect, an act that surprised her because most people in the state spoke Hausa language.

I offered to help her wash the dishes as it looks like she was short of staffs. She told me that two of her staffs went to write an external examination. After the day's work, I narrated my ordeal to her. At first, she scolded me but later spoke soft words to me and accepted to accommodate me.

I started living with Mama J as she was popularly called. I had little to do as her staffs resumed duty. She spoke to her elder brother that I needed a job and he helped me got a cleaning job at the hospital where he work.

At first, the cleaning job was very tedious but I had no choice but I had to do it because I needed to provide and care for my unborn child. As days roll into weeks and weeks into months, my pregnancy became very visible for everyone to see.

With the influence of Mama J's elder brother, I got free check up from the hospital. Every day, I always send a curse to Corper Sesan where he is and I always pray to God to give me a male child.

I wanted to teach him the danger of taking advantage of a girl, I had it in mind to make him realise that he must not use a girl as an object of sexual pleasure but when the result of the scan came out, it shows that my baby is a girl. 

That day, I was heartbroken because I don't want to bring a girl to the world to suffer. Mama J encouraged me to accept the gender of child with the claim that there is a reason why I am carrying a girl.

Mama J's encouragement uplifted me and I started loving my unborn daughter. My nine months got completed and I went into labor immediately. It wasn't a funny experience as I felt like I was walking through the valley of death. Right there, I remembered my mom, I wondered if this was the pain she went through just to bring my brothers and I to the world.

While in the labor room, I kept pushing and pushing but it seems like the baby wouldn't come out. I was becoming exhausted yet my baby wasn't coming out. The image of the day Corper Sesan knelt before me pleading for a chance flashed to me and as I pushed that moment, my baby came out.

My little angel was cleaned up and laid on my chest, I fell in love with her the moment I set my eyes on her. She was just too adorable. For a moment, I forgot the pain of betrayal meted on me by Corper Sesan. Right on the hospital bed, I decided to live for my daughter, I decided to do everything possible to attain the height which I couldn't.

Episode 2

"Travel home to your father this minute. When you get home, ask him about your calabash".

Chukwudi got to his village that night.

Everyone ( especially his father) was very surprised to see him. 

They'd spoken earlier that day and nothing about his coming home had been mentioned. 

This was the first time in ten years Chukwudi is visiting home. 

The next morning, Chukwudi gave his father the question the "Man of God" had sent him with. 

His father's reaction to his question sent shivers down Chukwudi's spine. 

The old man smiled, unend.

"Chukwudi my son, have I ever called you all these years while you were in the city, to ask you for money?"

"No papa". 

"This is because I know you don't have. I know you can't have. There is no way you can have my son, there is absolutely no way, so I don't bother to ask".

Chukwudi was shocked to his bones, on hearing this. 

His father beckoned on him, as he led the way into the back of their thatched hut. 

At the back of the hut, Chukwudi was pointed towards lined up calabashes.

"What are these papa?" Chukwudi asked.

"Every calabash here represents each of my children".

Huh?

"What is it meant for papa?" Chukwudi asked again, confused. 

"Its a covenant our ancestor have had with their oracle, Chukwudi. A ritual my grand father inherited from his father. One that has been passed down to me. A ritual we perform till date". 

The old man walked towards the calabashes and picked one up.

"This particular one belongs to you, it is your calabash, Chukwudi. The other ones belong Okechukwu, Chidinma and the rest of your siblings. The instruction is that, on no condition must it be left dry of palm oil, else, your lives will remain as dry. No one is allowed to buy this palm oil with their own money to do this ritual on whoever's behalf and since you and your siblings have refused to come back home all these years, I knew hardship for all of you, was inevitable". 

Chukwudi stood there with his mouth agape. 

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. 

The couldn't believe the nonsense of it.

He couldn't believe all the hardship he'd undergone the last ten years had been as a result of a hundred naira palm oil ritual he'd had no idea of its significance in his life.

He made sure he took note of the calabash his father had pointed him to, for later. 

.

He came right back after his father had retired for the night, took the calabash that'd been pointed as his, and fled the village that night. 

His intent, to run with it to that "Man of God" for help.

To be continued...