‘’Once upon a time’’
‘Time time’
Tales by moonlight (TBM) was something I always looked forward to as a little child. For a lot of us who grew up in the city it was something we loved to hear, I in particular loved to hear stories about the village and interesting tales of Mr. Tortoise. Most times, there came a moral lesson at the end of every story and it was good. As children, we could connect with our roots and at the same time learn valuable lessons. Sadly, the African story-telling culture is dying out because most people are only interested in all things western. It is our prerogative not to let that happen, so I am going to do my own bit by telling my very own episode of TBM. I hope you enjoy it…
There was once a beautiful young lady who was betrothed to the king’s youngest son. She was the envy of all the other young girls in the village and her family could not be happier. The young folks got married and the ceremony was the grandest and the most talked-about in a long time. They were said to be a match made in heaven.” In no time the bride conceived and gave birth to a beautiful girl and named her Ada.
Ada’s parents were taken by her beauty and were totally smitten by her. In their eyes, she could do no wrong or so they thought. Her parents gave her everything she needed and anything she wanted. As she grew, she realised that she had her parents under her thumb and there was absolutely nothing that they could not give her. At this point of realisation, she began to take advantage of that by doing as she liked. She disrespected the private tutor her parents had gotten for her and even told lies on the elderly woman. She and her friends caused trouble around the village; they made fun of the hard working villagers and insulted them to their face. In no time, the villagers despised her and her family. Her parents tried to speak to her but she never listened.
One evening, after a long day of poking fun at the villagers, Ada and her friends went to the river for a swim. As the leader of the pack, she jumped into the water first and as she did, she heard her friends jump in right after her. She was a perfect swimmer because she had been taught to swim by the best swimmer in the village. The water rose just below her chin and her feet were still touching the bottom of the river. She decided to show off a bit by floating on her back because her friends had not learnt that and she always refused to teach them when they asked.
On her back with her eyes closed she began to float. She may have shut her eyes for too long because when she opened it, everywhere was dark. She told herself not to panic and began to call out to her friends but there was no response. In fact, it was as quiet as a grave yard. Ada got very scared because this had never happened to her before. She had been thinking of telling her parents that she needed a bodyguard to follow her about and so she decided that as soon as she got back she would make sure they get her one. She began to swim trying her best to locate the river bank and in no time her hand felt a thick root which she traced to land.
Tired and exhausted from all the swimming and threading, she climbed and sat to rest. Unfortunately she picked the wrong spot to sit and immediately fell into a deep pit. She fell hard, hit her head and went into deep sleep. When she woke up, it took her a couple of minutes to remember what happened. She tried to get out but the walls were very slippery and cold. She screamed for help until her voice and energy were gone. She had never felt so alone and so helpless. She hoped and prayed that they would come looking for her but after three nights had past, she gave up. She knew that she had been mean to everybody. To her parents, her friends and all the villagers; if they had anything to say about her disappearance, it would have been ‘good riddance to bad rubbish. She hated herself. She hated who she had become and was ready to die.
Then she heard her name from a distance. She thought she was dreaming until she heard it again. This time loud and clear but she had no energy to respond in the same manner. All she could manage to muster was ‘I am here’ over and over again. That was the last she remembered.
Ada first felt the warmth and then she opened her eyes to see her mother smiling down at her. Ada was overwhelmed with so much joy at seeing her that she began to cry. Her mother then told her what happened. As soon as her friends could not find her again in the dark, they ran to the village and told her parents. As soon as the whole town found out, everyone dropped all that they were doing and went in search of her. The villagers refused to give up even after three days of searching until they found her.
Ada was deeply touched by this show of kindness in spite of her initial appalling behaviour. As soon as Ada recovered, she called a meeting, apologised to the entire village and thanked them for rescuing her. From that day forward, Ada used her vast resources to help the villagers live a better life.
Oluwaseyi Lawal