The only child

CHAPTER 1

Early in the morning, the people of Akumi were awoken by the sound of the village bell. The people were so surprised to hear the bell ring so early in the morning. The villagers wondered why the sudden bell rings. The villagers gathered at the village square. The head chief came forward to announce the purpose for the meeting. Immediately, silence settled in.

The chief began: " You all are welcome to this meeting. Please, be notified that there is nothing to be scared of as this meeting is for peace and not for trouble. I hope I have said well".

The people answered,"You have said well".

He continues, " The king has asked me to inform you of the upcoming contest where the winner will become a maid in the palace. We all know what that means. It is a great honor to be a maid in the palace of our great king. The contest will last for seven days. There will be competition between different maidens for each day and by the end of the day, a winner will be selected and at the end of seven days, there will be seven winners already, then there will also be a competition among them and the winner will become a maid in the palace. We all know that this is every maiden's dream in this village. See you all on that day".

After completing his speech, he left the village square. The villagers left for their different places of work. Some are marketers, some are farmers, some are teachers, some are even transporters. The maidens all gather at one spot talking about the upcoming contest.

"I will definitely be the winner," said mumuzi, one of the maidens.

"Who?" replies Bume . She continues," I will be the winner, don't even dream of becoming the winner".

The rest of the girls laughed hysterically. "Anyways, just prepare yourselves. Enough of these brainless arguments," said kuse, the eldest of them all. Kuse is the daughter of chief lomase. Kuse is tall, light in complexion and slender. Kuse is very pompous and arrogant. The maidens all left for their various homes.

Muche, one of the men in the village, sat his daughters down. He had both of them sit beside him. One by his left and one by his right.

He said, " My daughters, we all want a better life. We all know that being a maid In the palace gives one a lot of benefits. You can even become friends with affluent people because our king is very nice. I hope you both heard me. Please, work towards this''.

His first daughter said,"We both will see to it. At least, even if it's just me or my sister, we all have become fortunate. We promise you that we will never let you down".

" Alright, my daughters, I believe you both will never let me down," Muche replied. They all retired to bed.

The next morning, everyone was so excited. They all looked forward to the contest which was held in a few days time. All the maidens were in different small groups which enabled them to practice effectively.

Kune, one of the maidens , was also practicing on her own. Her sick mother stood by the door admiring her.

Her mother, Ukuna, said, "My daughter, I believe that you will emerge the winner of this contest. Keep practicing, but remember to always put God first. Do not be overzealous. I hope you heard me, my daughter?".

" I heard you, ma," replied Kune.

The first day of the contest came. All the selected maidens were present. The music began playing and the maidens all danced so well. After dancing, they were asked to go back to a spot where they were asked to stand. They all went there to stand.

The moderator of the contest whispered in the ears of the judges and he came back. He began,"By the authority bestowed upon me, I hereby declare today's winner, Hanasa". A round of applause followed. Hanasa hugged her mother. They all drank and went to their various homes.

The second day came. The contest was also interesting. The winner was Juye. The third day's winner was Poku. The fourth day's winner was kolsa. The fifth, sixth and seventh day's winners were Koge, Fuji and Kune. The last day of the contest came. Kune, Fuji, Koge Poku, Juye, Kolsa and Hanasa were all invited to dance. The contest was so hot. Everyone wondered who would emerge winners. Mothers were also praying for their daughter's success. Suspense filled the air. The moderator came forward.

He began, " We all have seen how well these ladies showcased their talents. Our wonderful village is well known for having the best dancers. So, without wasting too much time, the winner will be announced. The winner is………". Suspense filled the air. The villagers are hoping that the winner comes from their family.

The moderator begins," Kune". Some person's were happy, some were jealous and angry. One of such persons was Koge. She had thought that she would be a maid in the palace because her friend, Homa works there as a maid. She always told her all the benefits of being a maid in the palace. She became envious of Kune.

The king threw a big feast to welcome the new maid, Kune. Everyone gathered at the palace to celebrate with Kune while mothers also wished for their daughters to be next. Kune was officially inaugurated as a junior maid in the palace.

While everyone was seated, the Master of Ceremony began," You are all welcome to this occasion. We hope that this party will end in joy. Eat , drink and enjoy yourselves". The King sat there on his throne. Some of his chief sat beside him. He noticed that the Queen was not by his side. He immediately sent for the Queen to come out to sit beside him.

Meanwhile, the Queen was busy discussing with her friend, Azoka, one of the chief's wives.

" My friend, you know that lace I showed you the other day, I want it. I will make sure I buy it so that when I come out, people will know that I have arrived.". They both laughed.

Azoka says," It's true, that is why……". She was immediately interrupted by the guard.

"Good day ma, the king sent for you," said the guard.

The queen said, " Please, tell him I am busy and that I cannot come now". The guard, looking confused, said nothing but nodded.

On getting to the king, the guard said," My king, I informed the Queen of your message but she told me to tell you she cannot come now". The king was so embittered but he managed to keep his calm.

A king from the neighboring village also came to witness the ceremony.

" Where is your wife?" asked the king.

The king of Akumi tried to hide his annoyance.

"She is fine. She is trying to put some things in order," replied the king of Akumi. The king went in to meet the queen and asked her, " What is your problem, this woman? Why are you like this? You show no regard for the king of Akumi".

The queen replied," I was discussing with my friend, Azoka. You can't expect me to leave my friend". They had a heated argument. Th

e king angrily left. He felt humiliated.