THE CITY BOY

CITY BOY Episode 1 🍿 *🛖 OLOYE ABIOLA'S COMPOUND 🛖* "Catch that boy!" "Don't let him escape!" "I'll teach him a lesson today!" Oloye Abiola roared at the top of his voice, brandishing a cutlass as he charged out of his hut. His massive potbelly bounced with every step as he ordered his two guards to pursue the young man sprinting for his life. Oloye Abiola was one of the most respected chiefs in the entire Orile Clan. His name was known across all fifteen villages. He was a wealthy farmer who owned three vast expanses of fertile land. Hundreds of villagers worked under him and depended on him for their livelihood. He was a big man in every sense of the word, big in stature and even bigger in influence. His compound was made up of five large huts with roofs thatched with palm fronds. At the centre stood the largest hut, his personal residence. To the north was the hut of his first wife, while the southern hut belonged to his youngest wife, Amope. Amope was a strikingly beautiful young woman gifted to him by a chief from a neighbouring village as part of a trade alliance. She had no say in the marriage. She was simply told that marrying a man old enough to be her father would strengthen the bond between the two families. The fourth hut housed Oloye Abiola's two daughters, while the smallest hut belonged to his guards. For years, Oloye Abiola had nursed one burning ambition - to acquire another chieftaincy title and, somehow, see one of his descendants rule the great Orile Clan. Unfortunately, there was one obstacle to this beauty dream. He was not from the royal bloodline. There was only one way to make his dream come true. If one of his daughters married Prince Abisoye, the first son of the king and heir to the throne, and they had a son together, that child would belong to the royal lineage and one day become king. His first daughter, Awero, was the obvious choice. At nineteen years old, she was considered ripe for marriage according to their customs. Coincidentally, that was the exact age her mother had been when he married her in a grand ceremony attended by nearly half the people of Orile. Now, he longed to witness an even grander wedding - his daughter becoming the wife of Prince Abisoye. From that day onward, Oloye Abiola became an overly protective father. He gave strict orders to his guards to deal mercilessly with any young man who so much as looked at Awero twice. Awero was blossoming into a breathtaking young woman. Her dark radiant skin glowed beneath the sun. Her captivating eyes drew attention wherever she went. Royal beads adorned her neck, wrists, and ankles. Whenever she walked past, her tiny waist swaying gently beneath her wrapper... And men forgot whatever they had been doing. On one unforgettable occasion... A palm wine tapper became so distracted by her beauty that he lost his balance and fell from the top of a palm tree. He was carried home half-conscious. When his wife discovered the real reason for the accident, jealousy took over. She refused to serve him food for three days and three nights as punishment. The poor man survived almost entirely on palm wine until his stomach looked ready to burst. As Awero's beauty blossomed, so did Oloye Abiola's dreams. One unusually hot afternoon, the chief lay asleep on his bamboo bed, covered with layers of woven mats. Whenever he turned from one side to the other, the old bed let out a loud creak, a sound he had long grown accustomed to. Snoring like a faulty generator, he dreamed happily of the day Awero would marry Prince Abisoye. In the dream, he wore an enormous agbada, while heavy royal beads hung proudly down to his stomach. Then... soft giggles floated through his window and interrupted his dream. His smile faded. A masculine voice whispered. "Will I see you tonight, Awero?" "Hmmm... I don't know." "Come on. I'll be waiting behind the Iroko tree at the village square. Will you come?" "You know I want to... but my father is the problem. I don't even know how I'll get past the guards. They're always awake at night." "Your old man worries too much. Does he want to marry you himself?" The young man chuckled before lowering his voice. "I'll take care of you in ways your father can never imagine. What can an old man who's already preparing for the grave possibly offer you? Let me show you how a beautiful woman like you deserves to be loved." At first, Oloye Abiola thought he was still dreaming. But he wasn't. His eyes flew open. He quietly peeped through the window. There they were. A young man stood outside, holding Awero's hands while she blushed shyly. Oloye Abiola sprang up in fury. In his haste, he almost tripped while struggling into his trousers. Unfortunately... The young man had already spotted him. Without wasting another second, he took off. "Catch that boy!" "Don't let him escape!" "I'll teach him a lesson today!" Oloye Abiola thundered, storming out with his cutlass raised. The two guards immediately gave chase. The young man knew capture wasn't an option. He ran as though his life depended on it. In one swift movement, he scaled the fence and landed safely inside the nearby bush. Oloye Abiola was far too old, and far too heavy to follow. Standing by the fence, he rained curses upon the fleeing stranger and called on the gods of the land to punish him. From a safe distance, the young man stopped. A mischievous smile spread across his face. He had escaped. He...was the City Boy. *🌳👥 ORILE CLAN 🌳👥* The news of how the mysterious City Boy had narrowly escaped from Oloye Abiola's compound spread across the fifteen villages of Orile Clan like wildfire during the harmattan. It became the hottest topic in the entire clan. Everywhere people gathered, they talked about it as though they had witnessed everything with their own eyes. At the village market, traders abandoned discussions about prices and customers. Instead, they argued passionately about the incident. One trader narrated the story one way. Another interrupted him. "No! That's not what happened." A third insisted both of them were wrong. Before sunset, there were already five different versions of the same story. According to one version, the City Boy fought the guards before escaping. Another claimed he disappeared into thin air like a spirit. Someone else even swore the gods themselves helped him scale the fence. Rumours had already begun to outgrow the truth. The women were not left out either. As usual, they gathered at the village stream with clay pots balanced on their heads. The stream was far more than a source of water. It was the village's social headquarters. A place where secrets were exchanged, rumours were born, friendships blossomed, and love stories were analysed. Long before anyone remembered to fetch water, the women had already spent hours laughing, gossiping, bathing, and discussing men. Some talked about the handsome young men who greeted them the previous day. Others argued over who would make the best husband. On this particular day, however, there was only one topic. Awero and the mysterious City Boy. "Awero is such a beautiful girl," Ife sighed. "Who wouldn't fall in love with someone like her? Sometimes I envy her." Sewa shook her head. "Forget Awero. The City Boy is every girl's dream." She smiled dreamily. "Have you seen the way he dresses? Like a real *Alákọ̀wé*. In this entire clan, he's the only young man who speaks English fluently." Ife laughed. "If he were my man, I'd cook every delicacy he asked for." She lowered her voice mischievously. "I might even prepare a love potion so he would never look at another woman." Sewa scoffed proudly. "Say whatever you like. I'm the only girl he has ever spoken to." Ife burst into laughter. "Spoken to you?" She rolled her eyes. "Stop deceiving yourself. He only replied your greeting once." "You are only jealous." Sewa adjusted her wrapper deliberately, revealing more of her curves and figure before smiling proudly. "Which man wouldn't want a woman like me?" Realising she couldn't compete with Sewa's endowment, Ife cleverly changed the topic. "Have you heard the story of Ajala the hunter and our City Boy?" Sewa's eyes widened immediately. "What story?" She quickly placed her clay pot on the ground, adjusted her wrapper properly and sat cross-legged like a child eager to hear moonlight tales. Ife smiled. "You've never heard it?" "No." "Then listen carefully." She lowered her voice. *PART 2 🍿* *🌳🐆 THE STORY OF AJALA THE HUNTER 🌳🐆* Ajala was a fearless hunter in his early thirties. His strength was admired throughout Orile Clan. His hunting skills had earned him a reputation few men could rival. But the story that made him a legend happened when he was only twenty years old. That day, he ventured deep into the forest in search of an antelope or a deer. Hours passed without success. Then, He noticed fresh animal tracks. At first glance, he assumed they belonged to a wild cat. Patiently, he began following them. The deeper he went into the forest, the thicker the bushes became. The muddy paths clung stubbornly to his feet. Any ordinary hunter would have turned back. Ajala didn't. He was determined to return with a beast worthy of songs. Soon, darkness began to fall. The moon became his only source of light. Then... The tracks suddenly disappeared. He decided to spend the night beneath a nearby tree before continuing his hunt at dawn. Just as he took a step... Something moved behind him. He froze. Slowly, he turned around. Two glowing eyes stared back at him from behind the leaves. It was a leopard. Before Ajala could react, the beast launched itself towards him. Instinct took over and he dropped to the ground just in time. The leopard flew over him, missing him by mere inches before landing behind him. It turned immediately. TO BE CONTINUED... 😊