My curse

The head came out and thunder struck! It brought back the daylight in a second and took it back...The lanterns flickered. "E fi ara bo ina yi (Use your bodies to shield the light)" Mama Abeke said. Another deafening thunder erupted again which turned off all the lights. The wind began to blow more furiously. At the King's Palace. The Sacred Candles flickered which brought the attention of the King to them. "Am I seeing this well?" He asked himself. "Sacred Candles flickering? it cannot be" As if in response to his Question, the candles turned off. " Eeeeh! Eewo! (Abomination)" The Sacred Candles were the sign of Peace in the Kingdom, they were kept around the King's throne and nothing could make them flicker or go off, the only thing that could make them flicker was the arrival of trouble but the Candles going off? That meant more trouble than they could take. The King could not understand... The normal candles didn't flicker or go off, so why the Sacred Candles? "Gbenga! Gbenga!!" "Kabiyesi!" Gbenga answered running to the King and bowing down. The King waved his Irukere (Horse tail) swiftly and dismissively. "Gather the guards.. you all are to summon the chiefs right now! And the villagers shouldn't hear of this!" "Yes your highness!" "This is Aogbekun! Nothing can threaten Aogbekun as long as I'm King! Nothing! Not even the crown itself!!" He stood and arranged his agbada and went into his rooms. Shortly after, the guards all arrived with the chiefs who all looked like they had dressed on the way. " Kaaabiyesi ooo" they all greeted. He waved his Irukere at them swiftly the same way he had at the guard. "Kabiyesi, Permit me to ask why we have all been summoned at this unholy time of night" "Kabiyesi! The Sacred Candles!" Another Chief who was obviously paying more attention exclaimed and all the faces of the chiefs and guards grew into one of shock. "This is what I called you for...There is trouble Wahala ti de! (Trouble has come!)" The Chiefs started to murmur. "Kabiyesi..we need to go to Lafenwa, he will know about this by now" "You have spoken well...Let's go! Bring the royal guards..let them number 100, we are going to see Lafenwa!" The King declared. Lafenwa was the Priest...he was the one who helped to select Kings and tell them what to do to maintain their Power..there was nothing that happened in Aogbekun that he didn't hear about. "Ibeji! (Twins)" The Fowotomi family exclaimed as Ayinke began a fresh struggle after the first child had been removed. "Take it easy! You will be over this very soon..oya...Di aso yen mu (Hold that cloth)" Mama Asake ordered. Ayinke was already soaked from head to toe, she was shaking, she was cold and all her body ached in pain, she told herself she would never experience childbirth again..the pain was too much..she wanted to cry but tears did nothing, she wanted to just run off and at some point she had thoughts of giving up, she wanted to fall back on the mat and not mind Mama Asake's shouting, she didn't want to care again..She knew her Private Part had been ripped apart from the pain she felt and the child's bobbing head did nothing to help it. It aggravated the pain the more she pushed and when she did nothing, the pain was more and unbearable. Pushing itself was agony, she was stuck in that pain.. she felt something clench in her chest each time she struggled to push so instead she screamed..she screamed till her throat felt raw. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!" She felt a little relief as the baby was pulled out gently. "It's another girl" Morenike, her sister said. "You don't have shame Alabi, you have brought nothing but girls to this family!" Baba Adio shouted at Alabi who was Ayinke's husband. Ayinke wanted to tell him to shut up, that every child was a blessing, imagine him being disappointed at the baby's gender when it had taken her so much pain just to give birth to one, she gave him two yet he still complained, she wished men could try giving birth, if they experienced the pain of childbirth, even if their wife gave birth to a goat, they would accept it because they would know that it wasn't easy...it was like a passage between life and death but then Ayinke began to cry, she began to sob out loud..they all wondered why, She was to be happy she was done so why was she crying. She didn't even need to look at her over portruding stomach, without raising her head, she could see it. Her stomach had been bigger than usual, everyone had told her it was probably two boys, all her clothes had been remade. "Why are you sobbing like a baby? Why?" Ayinke wanted to die, she wanted to leave everything because...she was feeling a tug in her tummy, she was not done delivering. "AaaaaaaaAh!" This one was painful than the others. "There is one left..one left! .. triplets! " One of the women said and Ayinke continued her pain. Thunder struck and Alabi began to feel restless...when was Ayinke going to be done...if the third was a girl too...then he'd be really restless. Lafenwa stood looking at the piece that had fallen... Thunder struck and lightning flashed and the wind threatened to blow his shrine apart. It was a bad omen for one of the pieces to fall off and shatter... The piece that fell off had being the Piece of Childbirth and that could only mean one thing.. Lafenwa did not want to admit it but it was true. "Lafenwa!" The King shouted as he drew nearer. Lafenwa turned, he himself was starting to feel fear. "Kabiyesi" The King and his chiefs and his numerous guards all entered the shrine, all of them squeezing in. "Lafenwa... Tell me what you know.. there is trouble isn't there? I'm so sorry for coming at this unholy hour but something terrible happened.." The Kabiyesi said. "Lafenwa, the Sacred Candles went out" he said finally. Lafenwa was not surprised... If his Piece of Childbirth had fallen and shattered and the King was running, it only made sense that the Sacred Candles had gone out and what it meant was already obvious. Adelaja, the King was already scared and impatient with the old man's refusal to talk, he wished he could pick the thoughts directly from his head and know how much trouble he was in... He didn't want anything to threaten his throne.. the person or people who were causing this had to be killed. " Lafenwa.. you don't look surprised." He said with fear as he hit the palm of his left hand with the back of his right hand impatiently. "I cannot be surprised... My King... Let me tell you.. there is trouble.. trouble ooo Big trouble! You will send all your guards..If possible your chiefs..you will send them to check house after house. Before night is over, before dawn starts knocking..you must find a pregnant woman" " Ah Lafenwa...where do I want to find a pregnant woman.." " You are mistaking the gravity of this matter..not just any pregnant woman oo.. there is a certain Pregnant woman you must find..she is the cause of this...Right now as we speak..with each Thunder, is a child....." A loud thunder struck and interrupted Lafenwa and the King trembled. The air broke with the cry of another baby. The wind had picked up and was taking things apart..outside they could hear as things were taken apart and thrown across everywhere. "Another girl! " Baba Adio shouted. "Is childbirth that easy? Why don't you find something else to do! have you no pity for Ayinke...a fully grown woman for that matter crying and bleeding! And all you can say is girls? Without women would you have this large family? Who would cook your meals? Who would do the washing? Don't we have enough men in this house? Are there not other women that are yet to give birth in this house? Is there a King here that needs a boy to succeed? Adio! Be careful with the way you do things..do not get me angry with you this night!" "Are you talking to me like that Asake..what have I done to deserve all this rubbish!? Is it a crime to want a boy?..." " Then try giving birth yourself..if what I'm suspecting is true..this matter would go beyond girls...can't you just behave like a man for once..?" " Asake!" Baba Adio called and other men and women stepped up to calm the two down..everyone was tensed. Alabi looked at his wife and felt like crying but he could not cry, a man was not to be seen in tears..he looked at her, so pitiful, had he known, he would have lied that she was barren and stop her from having children who would bring this much pain to her. The air was filled with so much noise..elders shouting, trying to interfere and the wind doing it's parade outside and babies crying..it was three babies already...Alabi was scared...He was scared of what would happen if those babies were more than the usual amount. " Aah! Aah! Mama! There's more! Aaaaaah! Aaaah!" Ayinke screamed with more tears. At that moment, she hated everybody, she wished she could rip somebody's hair apart and demand an explanation why her first childbirth was this hard.. why Quadruplets? What offence had she committed. Everyone stopped and concentrated on Ayinke. "Ki no mo se ooo (What did I do wrong?)" Ayinke sobbed. " But her stomach didn't show any signs of four babies did it?" Morenike asked Sua... " No it didn't, it's too big, but can four really fit in in this same stomach of hers? It's not big enough for four oo" The King sent out the guards and even the Chiefs volunteered to go. After waiting a while... The King and Lafenwa decided to go out themselves out of impatience. They stormed into houses..checked for the women in childbirth and their anger and fear grew with each house they stormed into but couldn't find a crying baby, not to talk of a woman in childbirth. "Do you know of any Pregnant woman?" The head guard asked roughly. "Em..em...I..I know of many ..they are plenty...Omowunmi is pregnant..she and.." Labake said in fear. The Head guard was a fearful person.. you do not cross him, speaking to him personally meant you were in trouble. "Which of them is almost due?" " Em..em...Abosede, Omope and ..and..and...Ayinke and Morope...and Titi.." " Where do they live?" " Along the road...near the bush...that's where they live...but only Ayinke lives there...Titi lives at a house before..before the market square and..and..and ..while Morope is after the market...You have passed Abosede's house...Omope's house isn't far from here..it isn't far..." The guards left. " Eh! They are in trouble oo..why are they looking for Pregnant women with such madness" " Calm down..calm down...Amope, we are safe..that's all that matters and they would be safe too" " I pray so oo" They didn't know what was happening... Ayinke's screams were becoming more unbearable and the place where her babies were coming from was expanding beyond control...it wasn't a normal thing that happened. Despite the cold and the wind blowing at the windows.... Ayinke was bathed in sweat. Her hair stuck plastered to her head and she thought. *Oluwa oo, just let me die* " No one must hear of this" Mama Asake said. She also was sweating and she was stained with blood all over. " Aaaaaaaaah! Iku pa mi oo (death has killed me) eeeh! Mama! Save me from this!" There was another sudden and unbearable pain. Ayinke couldnt help but cry.. " Aaaaaah! Aaaaaah!" She writhed and screamed in pain..every touch was burning her. She couldn't help but scream....like as though oil or shea butter was applied to the babies..they were sliding out slowly and painfully as Ayinke shook uncontrollably..she wanted to stand and run if not for the ladies holding her down ..they were crying too. Alabi could see his worst fears being confirmed and it seemed that Mama Asake understood it too...they shared a dangerous and fear filled look as the fourth girl came out, followed by another... Thunder was sparking and lightning was turning the night into day. The Fifth came out and it's hand was attached to the next baby's hand. Six babies? Alabi was sweating from fear. "I have never seen this in all my life" Sua said. "God, don't let my own be like this oo" Morenike prayed. "Eh... Eh.. please.. kini mo se ooo? (What did I do wrong?" Ayinke sobbed. After the fifth and sixth came out, the uncontrollably sound of babies almost deafened everyone... The thunder boomed again and they heard something like the roof of a house threatening to blow away. More babies came out. "Please..please count them...please...don't tell me they are nine...no" Alabi said in terrible fear. "Alabi...you have nine girls..kilode?no boy...all of them nine? How did you do it? Who knows ? More might be on their way" Shikemi said. " No more baby is coming" Mama Asake said gravely and as the nine babies began to cry, thunder struck with such intensity that they all looked to the door and rain came crashing down heavily. Mama Asake sighed. " Why? What is this?" Baba Adio asked with ignorance. It pained him. Nine babies, Nine good babies! With no single boy! Ah too bad. " Papa...my girls... My girls... Eh! Egbami! (Help me!) They are an Abomination of the nine!" Alabi said with tears. " Find them! The rain must not stop us! Abomination of the nine? In my Kingdom, my reign, it is not possible...kill every single one of them once you find them!" Adelaja shouted in mixed rage and fear! He pulled off his agbada over his head and slung it on his shoulder. They burst more ferociously into each house now...since the rain had started. All the elders in the Fowotomi house grew silent... They had all lived long enough to know what an Abomination of the nine meant. " Alabi..tell us!" Morenike shouted. She was one of the younger wives who hadn't experienced an encounter with the Abomination of the nine. " The Abomination is the birth of nine evil babies, they are always girls and they will cause the death of people wherever they go...they are born with evil powers from the devil and derive joy from exercising those powers...nothing can be done about them..they can't learn to be good..they can't throw their powers aside and they don't know good from evil and they are an Abomination!" Alabi said in the midst of tears. " Eh! We are doomed! Alabi! You brought girls! Not just normal girls! You brought wahala! " Baba Adio shouted. " They threaten the ultimate peace wherever they are...and by now...Lafenwa surely knows about this...that man knows everything and he would have alerted the King...they would kill everyone so now right now..pack food and clothes and money, we have to leave!" Mama Asake shouted as she sprang to her feet. " Mama Asake! Why can't they just kill the babies! They can kill them! And leave us alone!" Sua shouted with tears already in her eyes. " Because it's only one generation that carries The Abomination of the nine! They will want to wipe us out of existence so that we will not give birth to children that will later give birth to the Abomination of the nine so we should all pack up now!" The whole family scattered as they went to pack things... Alabi rushed to Ayinke. " Ayinke..Ayinke..are you okay?" " I'm...I'm fine...I think...I think I'm going to die" she said breathing heavily. " You'll not! I'm taking you with me!" The family members came out already. " I'm with Ayinke's things!" " I'll take her on my back!" Afolabi a huge man in the family suggested and he moved to put Ayinke on his back and they put a strong fabric over her head so the rain would not finish the job that childbirth couldn't finish. "Eh!" Ayinke screamed in more pain with each movement. She was so weak, she couldn't even hold on. " I'll carry a baby" "I'll carry the second!" Just like that, in harmony..the family decided how the load would be carried and they all moved out.. in the distance..they could see the guards breaking and entering. "They're here for us! Run!" Baba Adio said and every member sprang to their feet..some stepping back to help the old ones and put them on their backs. They all ran for their lives, their family lives and their family name. Because the name of a family is an honor that mustn't die. The guards looked frantically. "I'm not due! I'm not due!! But loud screams were heard from the Fowotomi house! It's Ayinke!! She's giving birth, see, my water hasn't burst yet!! I'm still fine..Ayinke has been screaming for some time now and each time thunder would strike..believe me!" Omope shouted. "My daughter..." " Five of you, run straight to the Fowotomi house now and see if any woman is giving birth there!" "Ah! Ah ah!" Omope screamed. As water exploded down her leg, she looked at the officers and took steps back. "I'm not the one..how..how could I give birth to an Abomination of the nine? It's never been heard of, see my stomach, can it take more than a baby?" "She's not the one please I beg you" Her husband begged. " My daughter cannot give birth to such evil... see her tummy..it's not even huge enough to contain two, how much more nine?" " Ple..ease! Ah! Ah!..." " Put her down! Put her down!it's time!" "We will not wait for the babies to number five...we will kill you all once we see four" " Ah, ah.. it's possible to have quadruplets " Another lady in the family lamented. "Gbenga! They have left, there's no one in the Fowotomi house, there is a huge amount of blood on the floor on a mattress and the whole place smells foul like the smell that comes with giving birth and there are signs of struggle on the mattress! They have fled!" "Hurry up! Chase them! 10 of you run to Kabiyesi and Lafenwa, tell them we have located them..the rest of us, we catch them, now!" The guards all poured outside straight and ran as fast as they could. They could not see..the rain was too heavy and the children were crying...they were burdened with clothes, food and babies and oldies. However they didn't stop..they ran as fast as they could. Once, Morenike tripped and fell and two other members had to help her up and run with her.. The bush was in sight..they could escape and they would never find them! They could enter the next village and journey far from Aogbekun. Ayinke was covered with a thick fabric yet the rain still got to her, she was weak and cold and was still bleeding and as Adisa, the biggest man in their family ran, it caused her more pain..she felt faint and wanted to close her eyes, she wanted to give in, but her babies..the sound of them kept her alive...she listened to the sound of them alive and wished she was able to hold them close to her and tell them not to worry..she wished she was in a warm and dry place with her babies, having her favorite dish of Amala, Gbegiri and Ewedu soup with bush meat and ponmo..she wished for so many things..the rain was beating the babies..She wanted none of them to die...After all the pain, she would kill herself if anything happened to those children. "Stop! Stop there in the name of the King!" The guards had seen them, they all pressed on faster..with tears and their hearts pounding. They got into the bush which was full of tall trees swaying from side to side.. The rain made it harder! The women were scared..they hadn't been in the bush at such a time and they had all heard stories of evil spirits in the bushes..They ran for their lives. They helped each other. The guards shot their guns randomly since they couldn't see...all sight had been blocked by the rain...the only thing they could see were figures..they were wet to the core and some of them wished to be back at their homes with Eba and hot stew, listening to the singing melodies of their wives and the sound of their children playing but they also knew what happened when children who formed an Abomination of the nine were kept,they wreaked havoc.. Nobody would survive. The last set that had lived simply because they immigrated into the village after years of being born had killed the Kabiyesi's family and burned his palace on him except he lived to see the village in pieces...they laughed as they all tested what they could do and competed for who was better... horrible ways of dying were introduced. They fried a man...one was struck by lightning...they naked a woman and forced her to climb a tree and then one of them summoned a snake and on the land, the King of the Forest was summoned, a lion and like as though it were a game, they asked her to make a choice, squeezed and swallowed by the snake or torn apart by the lion, the woman jumped so she could run but she broke her leg and they watched as the lion tore her apart ignoring her screams and after..the lion came for everyone else but they didn't hurt their family, they lived by the phrase. *Blood is thicker than water* Even so...family could not control them. They could not watch it happen In their lifetime has it had in their fore fathers time..they chased with all their might. They got into the forest which was harder than on the streets. For the Fowotomi family, things got harder as branches tore at their hair and clothes..as the rain thundered upon them, as lightning struck to the ground close to them, as they couldn't see due to the dark and to the rain..and the guards shooting and following them did nothing to help. All Ayinke wanted was a day with her babies, to see them laugh and smile like she had watched other women's babies do...she wanted her own and she finally had her babies. She wanted to give them dimples on their cheeks and pierce their earlobes and give them dimples on their butts and give them names and hear them call her mama, that was all she wanted...even as the hot tears fell...biting into her hand was all she could do not to give up hope and life and deliberately fall from Adisa's back. Then they reached the stream and it was already widened by the rain...crossing over would mean being washed away. Did they deserve cruel deaths for giving birth to evil children...did Any of them want that? Did the children even know how they were born? Did they have a choice? Did Ayinke herself pray for that? Just as the guards were in plain sight... They aimed their guns at them and the drenched Kabiyesi and Chiefs and Lafenwa came in sight too. "So it's you...you people that want to disgrace this town and put us into misery? It's you? Despite all the wealth and Power you have Remilekun? Tell me what you gained?" " I will stand with my family to the end...if these babies are the cause of my death then so be it" Remilekun spoke boldly..he had being the one that had given power to their family..the one who had brought all the money, respect and status in. " You always talk that way..Now on your knees..you will go back to the market square where you will be tied up and then the next morning, if any of you make it alive? Judgement...don't worry.. since you are a respected man...you get to choose your death" The Kabiyesi said angrily and finally he felt relieved, he was safe.. They had apprehended them and he began to laugh for victory and the rest joined in laughing with them. They were all relieved, they were able to stop miserable deaths for everyone. "Aanu mi se yin (I pity you) look at the nine vipers! Come on get on your knees!" " We will not!" Remilekun said. Ayinke dropped from Adisa's back and touched Remilekun lightly. " It's okay" She almost went down to the floor but she had always been a strong woman from the onset. Her will kept her standing. She went to one of her babies and took it in her hands and it touched her face and smiled with it's gums... She burst into tears... This poor helpless thing was going to die for a reason it didn't know. She gasped as it grasped her index finger in a strong hold. Nine more... Nine of the adorable cuteness and innocence, even as the rain fell around, the little thing was still cheerful and it had been born minutes ago, so it wouldn't live? It wouldn't know the beauty of the world? After all the pain and struggle, was it all going to be in vain? "Grab them! E mu won! (Take them)" It happened all of a sudden. The wind intensified and picked up Ayinke, she was baffled... It picked the family members one after the other. The King, Lafenwa, Chiefs and Guards all took involuntary steps back. The wind took them high up in the air and they screamed for help. Little did they know, that the wind wasn't against them, it was for them. They looked at their enemies...they couldn't believe their eyes..some had fear..some had shock..some were still rubbing their eyes thinking it was an impact of too much rain. The wind blew and blew them across. "Are you mad! Fire!!" Adelaja shouted. They shot several shots but the wind took them high and even higher. Everyone wondered what happened and then the babies sat up straight and balanced on the air as though it were a mattress or a stool and then they began to laugh, the lightning shedding light on their soft faces and toothless gums...their giggles unbelievably loud and sounding too wicked. They looked at themselves and touched each other excitedly and laughed again then they all turned their gaze on Ayinke. Will solutions be found? Can the babies be kept? Was it a mistake? Will they be different or the same? ABOMINATION OF THE NINE ? . . . Episode 2 loading.