THE FINAL EPISODE OF OLAMMA.
Episode 11
By Amah
As days wore on, Olamma’s parents were unkind to her. They treated her like a slave. She worked so ha-rd during the day and eat like an ant. They did not allow her to t©uçh their food. Amaka was in charge of ma-king food and they instructed her to serve Olamma a little portion of every meal.
But Amaka will always sneak food to Olamma. She kept doing that until Olamma’s mother caught her and started dishing out the food by herself, after which she will lock her kitchen with a padlock.
Olamma was not allowed into the main house.
A small hut was built for her, which has a l!çk!ng roof. Whenever it rains water drops from the roof.
Olamma will shield herself.
All the farm work that they used to pay people to do for them was now on Olamma. They st©p paying and asked Olamma to do it all.
She will till the ground and plant, weed the gras-s and dig the ridges. She was doing everything as she was asked to with the hope that someday her parents will have a change of heart and accept her as their daughter but that was like a difficult dream which was taking forever to come true.
Olamma saw what Adaugo, her sister experienced during her time in the house. The only difference is that Olamma’s own treatment was worst.
She does not have a say, she was like a slave.
Even Amaka was being treated better than her. Amaka was warned not to as-sist Olamma in anything.
Amaka’s only job was to cook and run some personal errand for Olamma’s parents.
Olamma takes the cloth to the stream to wash, she goes to the farm to cultivate and harvest crops, and also to fetch fire wood. She washes the pot and plates after every meal, she sweep the whole compound and cut gras-ses for the goats. She was restricted in tou-ching some things.
The news of her arrival and the disappearance of her beauty and what happened to her was going round the village.
While some took pity on her the others laughed at her.
She made sure she avoid everyone and did not allow their mockery to get to her.
Some parents in the village began to use her story to warn and teach their kids.
Any suitors that comes to marry a maiden in the village will be well investigated. They will s£nd out men to go and know the village the man c@m£ from.
Many maiden bec@m£ humble after seeing and hearing what happened to Olamma. Which sound so unbelievable, some still wonder if the woman that they see every time, either going or coming from the farm or stream was truly Olamma the most beautiful maiden.
They were shock at the transformation and kept their distance from her. Some of the young men that Olamma used to look down and insult in the past will throw their hands in a mockery laughter anytime they sees her.
Oby
was acting nice in the beginning and even asked Olamma what happened to her and she narrated all her story to her but people began to warn Oby to avoid Olamma like a plague before some terrible thing will befall her.
After sometime Oby started avoiding Olamma and even warned her never to mention her name again after Olamma called and greeted her one day at the stream.
Oby was really shock to learn that the prideful and most beautiful Olamma has being reduced to nothing.
But Oby did not join some people in calling her Olanjo (ugly jewel) they changed Olamma (the beautiful Jewel) to Olanjo.
Oby
quic-kly rejected every of her wish to marry an Ozulu man. She began to thank the gods for not ma-king her wish to come true.
She returned back to the suitor she once rejected and he turned her down and said he was no more interested.
Another suitor c@m£, who was from Adaugo’s husband’s village, he was ha-rd working and has many plots of farmland, he c@m£ to ask Oby to marry him and she quic-kly accepted and within a short time she was married.
Different gossip were flying up and down about Olamma.
Some will say she was married to an animal that ate one p@rt of her b©dy and disfigured her face. Others will say she was married to a ghost and they travelled to the spirit world until a great dibia rescued her. While many will conclude that it was the great eze muo (king of the spirit world) that disfigured her face because she was lazy and thought her beauty was everything.
Some people refused to get close to her after hearing different stories about her.
They kept their distance anytime they see her in the stream or the road to the farm.
She was ridiculed and mocked and her parents were not left out in the mockery.
Olamma’s
mother was seen fighting in the market place after some women insulted her for not training her daughter well and turning her into slave because she was no more beautiful.
Olamma’s father almost exchange b!ow with some elders after they also insulted him for his carelessness in raising his daughter and never bother to know where she was married to or even to know the man that married her.
The hunter who c@m£ with his son in the past to seek Olamma’s hand in marriage but was turned down and ridiculed was having a good laugh. His son was alre-ady married to a nice maiden and he was happy that the gods turned the shame that Olamma and her parents gave him to his favour.
He couldn’t hide his laughter and mockery anytime he sees Olamma’s father. Who almost fought with him but the hunter threaten to beat him just the way he beats the animals in the forest to death.
Olamma’s parents c@m£ home every day, insulting Olamma for bringing shame and disgrace to them.
On a good day, Olamma couldn’t take the insult again from her parents, she has had enough of their taunt and decided to talk back at them.
“You care about your pride being soiled, you cared about the insult you receive because of me and the mockery from people but you have never a day care about how you have turned me into a slave in my own father’s house. I am not complaining about the ha-rd sh!por the small food I receive un-der difficult labour. It was all I prayed for while in the animals cave, I plead to the gods to save me that I don’t mind being a slave in my village all that matters is my life to be spared. And when I was rescued and returned home, I thought the great amount of love I received when my beauty was still intact, before I left home…I thought it will all be there. But is unfortunate. Atika was right….you reject me now because the table has turn over. If I was still beautiful and married to a real prince you would have treated me as the most precious and darling daughter. Papa and mama, you both forgot you also had a hand in what happened to me. You encouraged me with my choice and never for once cautions me about the choices I make. You praise me both when I am right or wrong and Adaugo was like the prodigal daughter then. But now she has become your most favorite and I am now an outcast in my father’s house. if not that I don’t have anywhere to run to, I could have leave this house for two of you but just like Atika had said. We must suffer it together. Treat me anyhow you like, I have accepted my fate but none of you will be left out in the ridicule. You will p@rticipate also in my shame. People will never st©p talking and mama, fighting in the market place and disgracing yourself will not save your shame. The same thing with you papa…you will be disgracing yourself even more. Is high time you accept your own fate because the gods are wise and the most important thing is that I am alive and back home. We are all in this together…
Olamma’s father landed on her and started beating her and her mother joined in the beating.
They unleash terror on her as they remembered all the disgrace and shame that they have being getting from villagers ever since Olamma returned.
Olamma was laughing even as they beat her so that her laughter and words will keep hurting them.
Olamma’s father was p@n-ting heavily as he said.
“I will kill you with my ba-re hands. Since the animals spare your life and did not finish you up, I will do justice from where they st©pped. You shouldn’t have come back here. You are a shame and a disgrace to me. You are filled with ill luck. People that pays me great respect before now looks down on me. You are not my daughter. I have only one daughter, Adaugo. Who is ha-rd working, smart and married to a great prince and they are ruling their kingdom. but you are a full disgrace to me and I curse the day you returned here after dining with the spirit and animals. Adaugo is my only beloved daughter. You are dead to me and I will keep treating you the way I like until you run back from where you c@m£ from. St©p calling me papa because I am not your father…
Olamma laughed even more as his father taunting her with his every word. She was pained not just from the beating but from her father and mother’s harsh words. But she refused to show her sadness to them, instead she fired back with her own word.
“Go ahead and kill me papa. What have you being waiting for? I will rather die in the hand of my father than to be food for the beast. i will die here, right in your compound and in my village than anywhere else. But before then we will continue to suffer our shame together. All this beating and many talks does nothing to me. I have accepted my fate to be a servant in my own father’s house but everyone alre-ady knows the truth and they will not leave you or I alone. There is no hiding place for you papa and same with you mama. Hahahahaha. You got fame throu-gh me and supported all my negative choices, you will also get disgraced throu-gh me. You have no choice papa….hahahaha. You just have no choice in all of this. We will all suffer in this village together…
Olamma was not going to let them get to her. Her mouth was her own weapon and she will keep unleashing it on them anytime they decide to beat her up. Her fight was not with the villagers but with her parents who has a hand in every misfortune that befall her.
Olamma cries most night, sometimes she gets nothing to eat. Amaka who used to sneak out food for her has left.
Amaka’s parents c@m£ to take their daughter away after hearing what was going on.
Ever since Amaka left, is being only Olamma and her harsh parents.
There were kind villagers who saw the way Olamma was being treated and brings food for her anytime she was in the farm or her parents were not around.
Nneka who usually visit her mother was one of the people who always come around with something for Olamma.
Olamma asked for her forgiveness and she told her it was all in past.
Nneka and few others were the only kind people who related with Olamma.
One day as Olamma returned from the farm, she saw Adaugo. She was seated and her father and mother were busy talking with her.
Immediately Adaugo saw Olamma, she left her parents and ran upto her.
She threw her arms around her and hvgged her warmly. Tears run down her face when she re-leased Olamma.
“I’m sorry for everything that you pas-sed throu-gh. Your look do not matter to me Mma. All I care about is that my lovely sister is alive. I prayed so much to the gods to keep you safe and not to allow any harm to come to you. Well, even though you were de-eply hurt but I’m glad that you are still alive. It was Oby, your friend that told me. I have being hearing rumours but I wasn’t so sure and I did not want to come back here and listen to papa and mama’s rant. Until Oby, c@m£ to me with the full details and I couldn’t wait another minute without seeing you. May the gods be praise for sparing your life. I also heard the way mama and papa had been treating you. Is really sad that they changed all of a sudden because you are no more the Olamma they used to know who got married to the great prince of Ozulu. I’m taking you away from here. You will come and live and dine with me. I have many rooms in the palace and my husband, who I have alre-ady told about you do not mind. He is indeed a kind and good man. When you come you will meet your nephew and niece. I have a son and a daughter and I have told them so much about you. They are also your children….they will really love you. You have nothing to fear and worry about. I am here for you….always…forever.
Olamma broke down in tears and began to plead to her sister to forgive all the terrible thing she did to her in the past.
Adaugo hvgged her again and asked her not to mention the past. They will have a new beginning together.
Adaugo told her parents she was taking Olamma and the father was not plea-sed with it
“You better don’t take her to your palace my daughter, Adaugo. She will bring you misfortune. She is filled with bad luck. Don’t take her anywhere near your lovely home and kingdom.
Adaugo replied him.
“Is no more your business and you should not worry whatever she brings to me. You both had a hand in her misfortune and now you try to wash your hands off her by turning her into a servant. I am very disappointed and I do not have anything to say to you. I can’t waste my word any longer because it has never been useful. St©p treating me as the good and only daughter. If you reject Olamma you have also rejected me. I used to be the bad one and Olamma the best and now you are acting as if I am your only begotten daughter. Very shameful and I am so ashamed of both of you. As I walk away from this compound you will never see me or Olamma again. Mark my word. You don’t have any child again. I reject you two as my parents because you are the worst parents anyone can have. You don’t have children because this is the last time you will ever see us. But we will come for your burial, to pay our last respect…
Adaugo turned to her sister and said.
“Olamma lets go. Since they reject you as their daughter they have also rejected me too. They are both childless and is very unfortunate because they can’t give birth to another. They deserve each other. the house is big enough for them to merry and be happy because their children are no more.
Olamma’s father and mother began to plead to Adaugo not to say such and not to also let Olamma to make her turn her face on them but it was too late.
Adaugo left the village with Olamma and that was the last her parents saw them.
Olamma live with her sister who treated her with kindness and make sure she lack nothing.
Olamma’s parents journeyed down to the palace to see their children but they were chased out on Adaugo’s instruction and warned never to return again.
Olamma spent the rest of her life living with her sister Adaugo and taking care of the kids.
She was happy and free and felt belong.
She did not get married again. She bec@m£ a folktaler as many children around the village comes to listen to her tales. Which she uses her real life experience as a warning story to all.
She was happy doing what she does and felt free and loved again from the people in Adaugo’s village.
They did not care about her look but saw the lesson behind her scars.
THE END. (plea-se comment)