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Bola, THE BEAUTY, was so beautiful that every man wanted her hands in marriage.
Those that were married couldn't keep their eyes off her as many of them were willing to disown their wife to have her heart, while those that couldn't face their wife were willing to sacrifice anything just to befriend her. Even the king behold her beauty.
Her beauty was so uncommon and natural. 'Epitome of beauty', her parent will call her. Her father always says, the heaven was at peace when she was created as there was no blemish at all nor flaws. 'Impeccable', her friends will say.
Her father had seen how endowed his daughter was, had planned to give her hands in marriage only to someone that genuinely love her and not just because of her beauty.
Her mother, on the other hand, was ready to trade her beauty for money. She had promised to marry her off to a well-respected man in their village. She said being an in-law with a king or royal subjects isn't a bad idea, but her father had disagreed by saying he preferred his daughter's happiness in marriage than marring her into a polygamous family that is full of resentment, envy, and jealousy.
Bola's mother was collecting every penny any men bring her to for her daughter, particularly from chief Dayo, who promised to keep giving her gift if she could allow him to make her daughter his second wife.
She would claim, it was the fruit of her labor, her husband would always challenge her to stop collecting rite on their daughter as it could cause a problem tomorrow whenever she decided to get married. Her response was always, I didn't force anybody to bring a gift for me since they decided I should have it then I couldn't refuse it. It is a blessing.
Bola's father, having thought of all the troubles his wife might cause later concerning whom their daughter should marry as there were many suitors for her decision to fake his daughter's sickness and planned with a popular herbalist called the oracle. Everybody in their village and beyond knows him to be a powerful man. He was said to have lifted an elephant with a finger.
Bola's father and the oracle were friends, the former was known for benevolent character and as a powerful hunter. Both had met in the forest while hunting for game.
They had planned that whosoever decided to carry the sacrifice so that Bola could get well, would be giving to marry.
If it were to be just sacrificed, then many of the suitors would have volunteered to carry it, but the safety of the carrier is not guaranteed. For this reason, many of her suitors decided to stop coming and ran away.
It was only a palm wine tappers who had been professing his love for Bola since she became an adult which her mother was against, was the only suitor that agreed to carry the sacrifice. Lo and behold, Bola's father fulfilled his promise. The wedding was planned and the date was chosen.
Unfortunately, Bola was missing a day before her wedding. Her parents were confused as to what could cause her to vanish. Her father had accused her mother of knowing her whereabouts since she wasn't in support of the union right from the onset.
The matter was brought to the King, Oba Asunkungbade. He had ordered his guard to comb every nook and cranny of the village and if possible beyond to fetch Bola and bring the culprit to justice.
The guards did as the King ordered but all their effort to rescue her proved abortive as she was nowhere to be found. Days after days and weeks after weeks, Bola was yet to be sported. Maybe she is alive it death no one could say.
Even though many villagers have lost hope of seeing their beauty, Bola, again her father never lost hope as he believed she would be found no matter how long it takes.
After three full moons of Bola's missing. The palace Guards found her in the forest all alone, inside a hut. She was asked who brought her there she couldn't respond. The guards had to wait patiently in ambush awaiting the perpetrator. Lo and behold, they caught two guys as they were about to enter the hut. They were taken to the palace.
At the palace, the news of beauty being rescued was all over the place. All the villagers had stormed the palace to behold their Beauty and the perpetrator of the evil.
The two guys were asked by the King to confessed who sent them to kidnap. They had said they didn't kidnap but, it was chief Dayo that asked them to look after her.
The King sent for chief Dayo to see if they were lying against him. At first, he denied knowing them, but Beauty herself knew who impregnated her. The chief had said, it was her mother that kept collecting from me, but decided not to give her to me which was why I arranged her to be taken a day before a wedding to take what rightly belonged to me.
The King had ordered that the chief should be stripped of his post to become a villager
However, the shame of being pregnant and the potential humiliation she might have had made BEAUTY kill herself by drinking poison after she was released to her finance.
Who is to be blamed for this tragedy?