OMÓYE

I’ll write the meaning of the Yoruba words or sentences in brackets, I may also use other parenthesis. Do enjoy omóye, do not forget to like, drop reviews, comment and share when you’re done. Let me give a hint, it’s not about building self-love. And wait to know who Omóye is. Just relax, and find out what it’s truly about.

Omóye (sometimes in the 1880s)
“Olori (queen), do you think I’m a beautiful princess?”Seven-year-old princess Ewaade asked intensely.
“A princess does not ask such questions, my child. Being a princess is enough beauty,” Olori said.
“Some don’t even want to believe you’re my mother. They all claim I look nothing like you. Are you being truthful mother? Or you’re saying this to flatter me? ”Ewaade asked.
“Your name means ‘beauty of crown’ my daughter. You’re undoubtedly a beauty. Look at me, do not ever for once feel less of a princess because of whatever it is that you think you look like,” Olori said, looking straight into Ewaade’s eye.
“But mother, boys don’t like playing with me at the playground. They all want to play with Abefe,” she said, sadness peeking through her voice.
“Do not bother, princess. When the time comes, the right prince will come for you…not some boys from a regular lineage. You’re a royal, and you must marry to a royal,”Olori explained.
“kabiyesi is married to you only because you’re so beautiful Olori. Will the prince not marry another woman if he’s not satisfied with my beauty?”Ewaaade asked.
“There’s a lot you don’t understand omo oba(princess). When you know too much about each other, it’s never easy to include a third party,” Olori said as she immediately stood to take an exit.

---

The white men had recently visited Ilarun village too. Just like in most other villages, they had offered the monarchs gifts in return for properties, such as a land. King Adewale got a lot of gifts from the white men too. He was offered a mirror and some other things for a ‘particular’ piece of land in the village. He innocently signed a deal to be extorted of a land rich of gold. If only he knew the intrinsic value of the land…
When Ewaade initially saw the mirror, she was really frightened. She almost broke it, but with the help of the guards around her, the mirror was saved. True enough she had seen a dull reflection of herself by looking into stilled water, the mirror just made it too lucid. Adesewa looked at herself in the mirror and she was disturbed. She wondered if she was beautiful enough as a princess. To stop beating about the bush, she simply didn’t like what she saw.
She remembered the conversation she had with the queen when she was much younger. All she remembered from it was, “do not ever feel less of a princess because of whatever it is you think you look like.” She never forgot those words, but she never for once believed them. Abefe still got more attention from the lads in the village more than she did. She was the princess, Abefe was just the daughter of a chief. Typically, Ewaade was supposed to attract more attentions, it just never happened.
Abefe was Princess Ewaade’s only friend. Yorubas do say, egbé eye l’eye n woto(birds of a feather flock together). They were both living up to that adage. Ewaade could only be friends with Abefe because she was a royal. At least, the daughter of a chief could be considered a royal. As they were both going to the market to get some new clothes, Abefe got everyone looking at her. The guards that were supposed to be watching over Princess Ewaade were also ogling Abefe. Just like her name, every lad in the village was begging her to be theirs. When Abefe noticed the fling of jealousy in Ewaade’s look, she offered her some agbayun(miracle fruit) to perk her up.
“Have some Agbayun, princess,” Abefe offered.
“Do you want me dead? Have you forgotten it’s a taboo for any princess in this land to take the miracle fruit? Even a common man that has entered the sacred cave must not take it.”Ewaade said with a frown on her face.
“I’m sorry princess. I didn’t know anything of such, ”Abefe remorsefully said.
She was in a pain. She was in agony. She was pale, dirty and unkempt. She was just surviving. She was in a prison. She was calling out for help. She was pregnant.
Ewaade had the usual dream again. The dream was about a woman, who looked like she was a slave. The woman was heavily pregnant, and she was in a prison, she was in agony. Whenever Ewaade had that dream, she would wake up feeling pangs go down her body. It was almost as if she was feeling the pains of the woman in the dream. That was the umpteenth time she would dream of the pregnant slave, it just felt different this time.
Immediately it was dawn, she rushed down to Olori’s room before she would go to the river to have her bath. She was really terrified by the dream, so she needed someone to tell about the dream.
“Olori, what do you think of the dream?” she asked curiously. For some moments, she had felt like Olori was like a saviour who had answers to all her questions, and solutions to all her problems. She was really surprised when Olori was dumbfounded when she told her the dream. She expected Olori to advise her or soothe her, instead she was only concerned about what the woman looked like.
“Was the woman in question dark?” Olori asked.
“Yes, she’s a dark woman. Her dark skin just wasn’t beautiful like Abefe’s.”
“was she beautiful and tall?”
“Olori, she looked like she’s suffering. That makes it difficult to tell if she’s beautiful if she’s beautiful. But she looks like she would be a beautiful person if she was taken care of. About being tall, she is absolutely tall,” she paused, with a bit of surprise in her eyes, “why do you have a perfect description of her Olori? Do you have the same dreams?”
“No, princess. I was just imagining things. It’s nothing princess, do not bother yourself with this. Àlá go (dreams are stupid)” Olori said coherently, almost like it was pre-recorded.
“But I…I feel her p…pains mother,” Ewaade stuttered in between tears.
“It’s nothing princess. You should go take your bath now.” Olori immediately left the scene with her guards. Ewaade wanted to reply, she just didn’t give her a chance to do.
Depression is truly real, even in the 18s. Ewaade fell into a really great depression after going through series of demeaning and condescending looks and words from the villagers. Inferiority complex was choking royalty, a supposed first class citizen. They called her names, they said her look was not princess-worthy. She stopped going out, except when she had to go to the river to bath. He would call on the maid-servants, whenever she needed to get anything. She even forbade Abefe from visiting her. Royalty had low self esteem- ironical.
Ajiun was her favourite maid-servant in the palace. It was so because she grew up knowing Ajiun, Ajiun was even there when she was given birth too. Ajiun raised and watched over her as a child. She was the oldest maid that was in the palace, so she felt like she was talking with her mother whenever she was down. When she was going through her greatest phase of depression, Ajiun was the only person she talked too.
“it’s easy Princess. You can be as beautiful as you want. Just promise me that you’ll take the beauty concoction when I give you to you,” Ajiun beseeched.
“There’s nothing I can’t do to be a beauty Ajiun, just give it to me,” Ewaade answered desperately.
“where are your servants? I hope they’re not close.”
“don’t be worried about those, I already sent them on errands,” she said, smiled.
The concoction had a sour-sweet taste. Ewaade tried to point out the ingredients that were used in making it but she could not. All she wanted was beauty, whatever ingredient was used, it just had to work. She slept on that particular day with the hope that before she woke the following day, she would look just like her name- beauty. What happened wasn’t what she expected at all. She woke up ill. The moment she woke, she went to vomit. Her personal maid went to report to the queen that Ewaade was sick. The queen beckoned on the village doctor to come check the princess.
Ewaade really hoped it wasn’t what she thought. She hoped that the nurse had something else to say. Else, her life was over.
After doing a check up on Ewaade, the doctor concluded that Ewaade was pregnant. Ewaade was already crying, Olori was disappointed. The king was not aware of what happened yet. Olori felt like hitting Ewaade, but pity took the best of her. Ewaade looked too sick to be punished in addition.
“How did it happen?” Olori yelled.
“I don’t know how it happened Olori,” Ewaade said whilst crying.
“are you a child? what have you done? No prince would want to marry you, knowing fully that you are empty and useless.”
“I’m sorry Olori. I didn’t mean for this to happen Olori.”
“who got you pregn…” Olori made a pause when Ajiun enetered Ewaade’s room. She would have stopped talking if it was some other slave, but it was Ajiun. It was Ajiun, they shared a story. “who got you pregnant you worthless whore?”
“I’ve failed you Olori. It…it..was some weeks ago. Ishola, one of the ilaris(king messenger),saw me when I was crying behind the palace. I ordered him to leave, but he said he wanted to know what mad a beauty like me cry. He said some really good words to me, that was how our love affair started,” Ewaade said as she cried, cried and cried.
“You had an affair with a messenger? You are a disappointment to the crown, to royalty, Olori yelled even more. “When you get better, I do not want to see you in the palace any longer.”
“She shouldn’t be blamed my Queen. Blood is thicker than water. It’s in her blood,” Ajiun commented. Ewaade expected Olori to shout at Ajiun but she didn’t. she only gave her a long stare, then walked out.
Weeks passed by, Ewaade was still ill. It turned out even worse. Her skin was peeling off, her stomach was bloating way too fast to be pregnancy. Her ribs were all out, then she hated to see the mirror gift the palace got. The king ordered that she should not leave the palace, unlike the queen. He only said no one apart from Olori, the doctor and Ajiun must know about the pregnant Princess. The other slaves were lied to that Ewaade was just sick. It wasn’t exactly a lie, she was sick. When Ewaade didn’t get better, baba ifa(ifa consultant) was called on.
“ The princess ate the forbidden fruit. Didn’t you?” he asked, facing Ewaade.
“tr….trust…m…me….mother. I…..i….i…did not take the forbidden fruit,” she voiced out with pain.
“hawu, ifa never lies omo oba,” baba ifa said. No one attempted to question Ewaade, they all wanted a way out.
“ i…can..can remember. There was Agbayun peels on the floor when Ajiun gave me the concoction,” Ewaade said.
“what concoction,” Olori questioned. Ewaade knew it was stupid to have believed that a concoction would actually make her beautiful. There was nowhere to hide now, she had to confess.
“she gave it to me so that I may become a beauty.”
“dumb,” the king said. “what’s to be done now baba?”
“Olori would have to carry a sacrifice for her being the biological mother. Has the princess entered the sacred room before?”
“yes, there was a time she got ill. We had to take her in there to be sanctified.”
“your highness I would love to see you. Why not tell me whatever you have to say here?”
“it can not be said here your highness.”
“just say it!!” the king commanded.
“ whoever carries this sacrifice will eventually die.”
“ehn…..i cant carry it, kabiyesi,” Olori exclaimed.
Ewaade was really surprised that her mother was not willing to sacrifice her life for her to survive. she felt a sting of betrayal. If it had been any other person, she would not be surprised. She was her mother.
“I’m not your mother princess Ewaade. It was the pregnant slave in your dream….omoye,” Olori said.
“Omoye? Who is Omoye?”

Some years back, Ilarun village fought with another village and won. They won her land, people and Omoye. Omoye was the prettiest of all the new slaves Oba adeolu got .she was her mother’s only child. her mother was for many years called a barren before she had Omoyeni-everyone deserves a child. she had a perfectly sculptured body, she was a masterpiece. When Ilarun village won, both omoye and her mum were made slaves at the palace.
It happened that Queen adejoke could not conceive. The villagers called her a barren. The chiefs were also planning to get the king a new wife. olori could not take it, she knew her jealousy could lead to blood loss. Therefore, she made a plan with the king. She advised that the king should forcefully have an intercourse with one of the young slaves. She would just act like she was pregnant too when the girl conceives. When the girl gives birth, they would take the child as theirs.
“what if she talks?” the king asked.
“don’t worry about that. We’ll make her take an oath,’ she said and smiled satisfactorily at her brilliant plan. “I would want you to choose Omoye. She should be a virgin, and with a beauty like hers, we’ll have a beautiful princess. Then, we’ll tell the people that she died during child birth. We’ll put her in the extinct prison in the palace. You’ll keep impregnating her then we take the children.”
“But her mother is here, she’ll tell her,” the king said.
“ Are you referring to Ajiun? we can do something about that. She’ll take an oath with us also.” When you know too much about each other, it’s never easy to involve a third party.
It was late in the night, the king told one of the ilari to call on Omoye. She hurriedly rushed to the king, without even looking back at Atanda. She was so eager to hear what the king had to tell her. She yearned for freedom again. In her mind, she thought it was a call to freedom
“sit down by my side, Omoye,” oba Adeolu said.
“let me stand, my king. I’m not worthy to sit beside a royalty like you,” she said with her head bowed.
“No one is here to tell the world. Sit beside me.” She accepted to sit beside him. He told her a lot of things she would love to hear. He promised her freedom, he told her she would become a queen if she conceived. Omoye totally disagreed. She said her mother would not allow her to marry him or even give birth to his children.
“if you’ll not give me what I want willingly, then I’ll get it forcefully.” He forcefully had sex with her, with the expectation that Omoye was a virgin. Sometimes, things do not end up the way I planned.
“How is it that you’re not pure? Who deflowered you?” he asked. He was really sad. he wanted to eat on a clean plate, he got a dirty one.
“My lover. That was why I rejected your offer. Atanda and I have been having an affair since I came here,” she said whilst crying. If she told the other maids that the king forcefully slept with her, they would probably be very happy. She was really sad.
“I want you out of here.” She hurriedly put her clothes on, ran out with tears in her eyes. Weeks passed she had still not gotten over what happened. Just like the queen planned, they made her and her mother take an oath. That really made it worse, she could not open up to anyone about what happened. Isó inú èkú à fi móra ni(such secrets are meant to be kept forever).
As expected, omoye conceived. The queen started acting like she was pregnant too. People thought it was coincidence, only they knew it was made up. Omoye took up the courage to confront the queen and the king one of those days.
“the baby is not for kabiyesi. It’s for atanda. Only a mother can tell the father of the child, that’s what I’m doing now. Atanda is the father of my child,” she said.
“that’s what you both believe. All we know is that, the child in you is ours…”
“you will……” she was about saying another word when her water broke. They beckoned on the midwife. When the child came into the world, the queen immediately took the child away from Omoye. When it was midnight, the queen acted like she ran into labour all by herself, and gave birth without help. There was a lot of hiccups in the story, but people had to believe any way.
They locked omoye in a dark prison in the palace, so they lied to the people that Omoye died during child birth. Atanda confronted the king, he claimed that the child the queen called hers looked like him. When they found out he was becoming a threat, they lied to the people that he planned to rape the queen. Therefore, he was sentenced to death.
Unlike what they imagined, omoye never conceived after that first time. The king used all he could, but nothing happened. When they found out she was no longer useful, they just fed her and left her in the prison. The king could not marry a second wife because he knew the queen had too much of his secrets. They were stuck together. Omoye was locked in the prison, never to see the light of day ever.
“I didn’t know Omoye may die if she carried the sacrifice. I just wanted my daughter back, that was why I gave Ewaade the forbidden fruits. I knew omoye may be needed to help,” Ajiun explained.
“omoye is alive?” baba ifa asked. “and how’s she related to all of this?”
“let us face the necessary now baba. Omoye will carry the sacrifice.”
King Adeolu, Olori and Ajiun rushed down to the prison where Omoye was. they were all so desperate to save Ewaade. On getting there, they were welcomed with a very foul odour. Omoye was lying there on the floor, decayed. She died in a kneeling position. It looked as if she was begging the gods to save her. She died begging.
“when was the last time you fed her Olori?” the king questioned angrily.
“i…i…cant remember,” she sluggishly said.
It was too late. Omóye tí já ojà, aso kò bá omóye mó. Before they got back to the palace, Ewaade was dead too. It was a sad experience. The people wailed, cried. The only princess was dead, the supposed heir. When Ajiun couldn’t take all that happened, she killed herself too. Yes, she died with King Adeolu’s and Queen Ajoke’s Secrets. “May her spirit taunt you in the remaining days of your life,” ajiun said as she breathe her last.
Omoye
Three generations gone
To devil’s arms
This is the story of a lady
Who was born not to be shady,
But was murdered by the shady.
Her blood is on you
I pray she haunts you
I pray she takes your sanity
I hope you’ll feel what she felt
She deserves to serve a child
Not your shady hands
OMÓYE.

She yearned for freedom all her life, you made sure, she spent her life in bondage.
Her beauty was meant to be
Till eternity, never to diminish
But you took it with your shady hands,
Now, her beauty and her perished.
OMÓYE

I hope you like it, comment, like and share with your friends😘😘😘. I’m planning on writing another story with this exact title, “omoye”. Just another storyline. Will you read? Yeah, suggest the setting and the kind of character you would want her to be. Thanks