DIAMOND IN THE FOREST (episode 5)

© Amah

Leja walked to where the Prince was and greeted him

“kilo fa ija lan re awo omodo yi… (What caused the fight between the maids?)

Leja was thinking within himself “you caused it all, it was all because of you, among all the royalty in this kingdom you did not see them is my own woman that you decided to pick interest in, and she will fall for you because you are a prince and I’m just a guard, if I know I would have left you in that stream that day to drawn, it could have being better if you are no more than for you to take Remi from me, see his big flat head like the hand fan used in fanning the king, he is not even as handsome as I am or maybe he is but I’m far more stronger than he will ever be, if you have focus on other royal maiden and leave my woman alone there won’t be troub….

“Leja…soro…(Leja speak) you are not saying anything…I asked you a question…what caused the fight between the princess personal maid and the palace maid?

“I mabinu omo oba… (I’m sorry my prince) they had misunderstanding…they are step sisters…

“Being related doesn’t give them the right to argue or fight in the palace you know that already Leja, you were suppose to calm the situation before it escalated, but you were there and the other girl almost died…what if the one that passed out died at that s₱0t….you will be held responsible because you are the chief guard here, you are suppose to station your men at every corner to monitor the environments and to pacify unwarranted situations like that…

Leja bent his head in respect as the prince spoke to him, he kept thinking to himself “why is he even blaming me for the problem he caused, everything is me, anything that goes wrong here is me, nobody else will be blamed, Leja this Leja that every time, now the gods decided to compensate all my effort with a woman like Remi and he wants to collect her from me, I can’t wait to finally leave this palace and start a family of my own…if I know I would have done everything possible to stop Remi from working here…in that way I will get to have her to myself but the kingdom chose her and I don’t have any power of my own to do anything, every power lies in the oba’s shoulder and his selfish son, I wish Remi will not have to come back here again an…..

“Leja, se ofe ti soro mi rara (are you listening to me at all)

“ beeni….imabinu omo oba…(yes, please don’t be angry)it won’t happen again…it was all a mistake which I will make sure it doesn’t repeat here again…

When Leja finally left the Prince presence he make sure he was far from him before realising a very loud hiss for the prince.

Remi knew that her mother will be very angry with her and it was just as she thought

“Don’t you have common sense Remi, you went to the palace to disgrace me, how can you be fighting in the oba’s palace are you an animal, don’t you have sense, even Dami your brother can not be that stupide, I raised you better than that…my mother is alive, well respected and in good health because I did not disgrace her or bring shame to her, I did not kill my mother Remi …so you will not kill me let the gods bear me witness…

“Mami, she was insulting you… saying you are a mother of a witch…different bad names, you know she has being doing this and it has become normal for her, she insults me anywhere and even slap me sometimes before we were called to work in the palace, now being at the palace she started again, there’s a limit every human being can take…she pushed me to the extreme…I couldn’t hold it in any longer Mami, she insulting me was fine but also bring the insult to you is what I coul…

“gbe ne sun….(shut up that your mouth) did I ask you to fight for me…did I send you to go and fight for me, it was me she was insulting why not leave her to be, you know her mother is very troublesome…now she will come with another of her trouble and I have being trying everything possible to avoid them….see I hate trouble and I learn to forgive and overlook things through the help of my mother, your grandma, and the best way to win is by keeping quiet and ignoring them…she slaps you or do anything to you let the gods fight for you Remi…the kingdom did not chose you to go and fight in the palace….don’t be a useless child, she push you don’t push back just walk away…

“aaah Mami I can not do that one o….infact whatever they want from now onward am so ready for them…we have being keeping quiet for too long and instead of them to leave us alone they will keep fighting us…you are not dragging anything again with them, after all Baba (father) is dead so what is iya Nike’s problem, and also Nike, she is among the royal worker just as I am so what exactly is their problem that they want to frustrate us…that nonsense must stop Mami, oto ge (enough is enough) she has to learn ho…

“Iya Remi…iya Remi bo si ta (Remi mother…come outside)

Nike and her mother were outside Remi’s house, banging on there door, iya Remi went outside with Remi, she knows it was full trouble awaiting to happen, she dreaded any trouble with Nike’s mother but Remi has dragged her into it and she has to go and beg them.

“Iya Remi….wo oju Nike ati arare (look at Nike’s face and body) …wo nkan ti aje oloshi omore shi fun omo mi (look at what your useless witch daughter did to my beautiful child)….do you see how you people have started looking for me and my daughter’s trouble…

“e joo…Imabinu iya Nike…mo ba wi ki oto gbemi (please, don’t be angry I was just scolding her before you called me)…pele Nike (sorry Nike)….ma sun owo iwosan (i will pay for her treatment)…Imabinu ejoo…

Mi bi nu oo (I’m not angry) but the gods will deal with you and your daughter…for ganging up against my beautiful daughter….Nike is a good child and was on her own, doing her work as she was sent to do and the Prince and others were already commending her and your wicked daughter got jealous and attacked her…do you see, The gods hope you have seen the injustice done to me and my daughter please fight this battle and deal with the cuprite in your own way because if you fail me… aaah…i will have to deal with them myself…

Remi watch as iya Nike lifted her face and started calling the gods to deal with her, Nike was relaxing on the wall and angrily snapping her finger towards Remi and her mother, Remi mother never stopped pleading to them to let it go, Remi watch In disgust as her mother plead which did not pacify iya Nike or stop her from insulting them, she was getting irritated with the wh0le thing, she wish she can return back all the curse and insult that Iya Nike was
raining on them but her mother will be very angry,

when Iya Nike wanted to go she pushed Remi’s mother carelessly to go and get the money for Nike’s treatment and iya Remi almost fell down but Remi rushed to her side and held her,

Remi tightened her fist and started breathing hærd to subside the rate of anger clouding her chest, she was trying not to get angry because whenever she is angry at someone and react to it is always disastrous, for the sake of her mother and her younger brother who was standing around and watching the wh0le thing, Remi tried to calm herself, she will beat Nike’s mother and Nike, nothing will happen, they won’t do anything but she was wise enough to take her mother in,side, her mother counted some money and came outside to give to Nike’s mother for her Nike’s treatment, Iya Nike roughly dragged the money out of her hand and counted it, as she tried to push iya Remi again Remi came to stand in between her mother, daring Iya Nike to touch her, Nike’s mother looked her over and snap her finger to their faces,

“ ko si wahala (there’s no problem) we shall see” was her last word to them before she took her daughter, NIke in,side

The following day Remi went to stay with her grandmother for the rest of the two days, she told her grandmother everything that happen

“Remilekun…do you know that anger labels you a fool,

“ko ye mi Iya…(I don’t understand grandma) Nike deserve what she got…I don’t feel bad about the wh0le thing rather I feel relived…her mother will be next if she doesn’t stop insulting and pushing my mother…they are just good with trouble but I’m fully ready for them…

Remi kept talking and the grandma was watching her without a word and after she was done, the older woman breathed down deeply and look out straight at nothing in particular, she wore a frown and was deep in thought before she repeated herself again

“Remilekun, do you know anger labels you a fool, you have kept it in check for too long and bottled up so much in,side of you so realising it on Nike must have felt sweet, it must have felt so good to you, but it only makes you a fool, I told you anger is your biggest weakness and you must overcome hate with love, don’t let anyone to run you down because your race with them is totally different, don’t opened up the door way…

“iya, what exactly do you expect me to do…I can’t watch her insulting me and mami and also pushing me around as if I’m a pieces of furniture, am a human being you know that…

“And you are special child, you are not like your mother or Nike, you have the ear of the gods and you must act according and don’t give in to evil emotions, you can be destroyed through that…open your palm…I said open up your palm and show them to me…

Remi quickly obeyed and open her hands to her grandma’s face, the old woman spit into them and asked Remi to rob it together, Remi put up a disgusting face as the grandma asked her to rob the saliva in her hand together, she obeyed after which the woman told her to take the dust from the ground and also rob it together with the saliva, Remi did and the grandma later asked her to go and wash her hand and return and she did exactly as her grandmother instruct

“What does it mean Iya…robbing your saliva and dirt together and washing it off, are you blessing me or what…

“hahahaha…blessing ke…you are already blessed my child, the gods blessed you from the womb, listen, in life people will spit on you and push you around and do all manner of things against you…that is what the saliva and the earth you robbed together stand for but you washed your hands and they are clean again so never allow any human to have glory over you, wash up and keep wining, dust off, smile over it, put it behind you and move just ahead, no one can stop what has being predestined…your anger is deadly and if is not well managed it may destroy you…I’m not saying you should be a fool or quiet like your mother who is always afraid of trouble….we are born into trouble, some trouble comes unplanned for and unexpected, to overcome, you have to endure, be patient and over come all things with love…you still have a long way to go…so listen my child and be wise, I have live a very long life here and I have seen so much evil than you can imagine, but the gods kept me till date because I never allowed evil to overcome me, before your mother was born, I told you it took us time to conceived, people called me names, some will deliberately push me in the market place, they will laugh at me at the stream, calling me a witch that I ate up my children and charmed my husband from getting another woman, a lot of things was said and done but I survived it, i could have gotten into a fight and probably kill somebody in the process, how many of them can I even fight, I could have done something bad to them but I said no, I was not going to let their word or action get to me, I did not allow their spit or the dirt to stain me, I washed up and dust off and I am still here…waiting for the day the gods will say is time for me to k-ss the earth goodbye…anger labels you a fool because you allow people’s word and action to affect you, when you respond to their insults you became a fool but if you ignore you make them look like a fool, they push you to the left and you go left and they push you to the right and you follow… don’t let evil overcome you…don’t let that happen my child…brave up and keep your head above the water…

“am not like you Iya…sometimes I can’t just help it…I become another person entirely when I was beating Nike…but I was enjoying myself, iya…you are stronger than I am…I am not like you…there’s a limit I can take from people…I can not do all this…because I’m far from perfect…I will never be like you although I wish to be but you seem to create a perfect word of your own…

“You are just like me, the only difference is in your mind…overcome hate with love, you are called to serve so serve with all sincerity and love my child… two will want you only one will have you and then disaster will struck…you will be in-between and the gods will take you away…far away with the seed of crown…

“I don’t understand anything, iya, stop speaking in riddles because your word scares me…I know that Leja and maybe the Prince are interested in me but the Prince has not said anything like that, but aside that ko ye mi (i don’t understand)

“You will understand when the time comes”

After three days their punishment was over they returned back to the palace.

To be continued… 

NEXT (episode 6)                                                                                   PREVIOUS (episode 4)