Chapter Twelve

'Remember to pay me my money!'

'I will. It's enough' 

Luck was on Dele's side. At least, with regards to ayo olopon he was always a champion. He could beat his chest anywhere, proud of his skill and strategies. 

It was late afternoon when Dele and Tunde had played under the tree that grew a few yards away from the house's frontage. Tunde, a sore loser, stumped away. He had done nothing, but incurred debt.

'You won', Tiwa's voice was soft as she walked towards her husband. 

'Yes!' 

It has been two weeks since that fateful day, when Dele arose to his wife on his person. The events could be described with many words. 

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Of course, Dele was distraught. It was not everyday he woke up to find his wife lying on his back.

 He could feel the rise and fall of her chest on his back. She was sound asleep. The problem right now was not her unusual sleeping location, but that he needed to use the outhouse.

His mind strove to conjure a way to leave without waking her up. He hated being woken abruptly, thus he did not want to give her that experience.

When no significantly brilliant solution came to him, he began to taps her softly. Tiwa only released a soft moan and made herself even more comfortable.Before long, he could not take it any more. He had to go to the outhouse!

'Tiwa wake up' 

'Hmm'

He took drastic measures since her response did not make any sense. In rapid movements, Dele was on his feet and out. He made his hurried trip to the outhouse but when he did not know what was waiting for him when he returned.

.................

Tiwa's mind was still fuzzy. She had not yet deciphered anything.

'Why did you wake me up?' Tiwa's voice was soft and fogged with sleep. She sat up on the bed, but her eyes refused to remain open.

'Go back to sleep' 

Saying she was relieved that she had nothing to do would be an understatement. Having no strength to argue Tiwa returned to bed. This time she laid on her side with her back to her husband like she usually did.

Tiwa was already on the path to sleep when she felt an arm drape over her waist.

'Hmm', Tiwa rose her head as much as she could. It was abnormal for her husband to touch her as they slept. They, after all, were not the usual couple.

'Go to sleep'

The voice was baritone and soft. Tiwa had relaxed at the mention of those words. She was not conscious of her surroundings but instinct let her know she was safe.

After adjusting to get more comfortable, Tiwa was off to sleep once again.The fuzziness of her mind not allowing her to differentiate between reality and the imaginary.

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Dele's smile only grew as she walked to him. The had had a cordial relationship for the past two weeks. Some how Dele felt Tiwa had warmed up to him, he was correct.

'You were very confident that you would win?'

'I am always ota. Nobody has ever beat me. Tunde must have known his chances were low, but he wanted to play anyway...' , Dele continued to toot his own horn. He wanted to share his joy with her.

As her husband went on about how he never lost a match and how much Tunde was to pay him, She stood and observed the board.

She did not know how to play. Women did not play the game. Besides, these kind of games were played in the town's square with observers. Too many people.

When Dele realized that she was no longer paying him attention, he called to her. She looked at the board and the seeds.

'Tiwa'

'Hmm', Tiwa jumped very slightly and blinked at the mention of her name.

'Have you never seen the game before?' He questioned laughingly, but she did not reply in the same vain.

'I have, but not this close. Too many people are around when they play', Dele understood exactly what she was saying. Over the past two weeks, He had learnt she hated crowds. She never like walking on busy roads and only went to the market when she believed it was almost empty. She always went extravagantly early.

'Do you know how the game works?'

'No. I only know someone collects all the seeds'

'Let me show you'

Dele began his lesson demonstrating the basic movements of the seeds. He was continuing to teach her when he noticed that Tiwa was still standing.

'Tiwa, Please sit down'

Of course she complied. She was not very good at standing for a long time. Doing so would only cause her leg to ache.

She sat on the bench opposite her spouse, the board was between them. Dele sat astride while Tiwa sat side ways facing the right.

After the lengthy lesson, Tiwa asked if she could play. Of course Dele was shocked. He was a master at the game.

'You want to play against me?' he rested his palm flat on his chest trying to and to the theatrics. Tiwa only replied with a nod.

'It's alright. I will go easy on you'

And so, they began to play.

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After a long while, Dele was flabbergasted! 

Tiwa had captured majority of the seeds. She was overjoyed with her win. Her hands could not hold all the seeds she had captured. She even had to put some on her iro.

'Stop being too happy, I let you win'

Dele has never been Ope, the player with the lower hand. Dele had to do something about his wounded pride he had never lost a game. He took the ogogoro, the gin was meant for both players but Tiwa did not know that.

'I still won'

'That was only one match, an easy match. You don't win until you beat me thrice.' Dele was obviously shoving the rules at her face. He too was a sore loser.

'Let us play again, then'

'I cannot play with you if we don't bet on something'

'I bet on fifty cowries'

That was almost half of her savings but the thought of making that kind of money was very attractive. She consoled herself with the fact that this was her husband, she was entitled to his money. She had never asked him for money, but she knew that time was bound to come.

Every woman asked her husband for money.

'Why would I bet over money with you?'

'What else do we have to bet over?'

It was then that Tiwa tried to be creative.'When I win we would switch roles', She spoke with so much confidence. Her statement was not even conditional.

'What do you mean?', He was not inquisitive. His face was still tight.

'I will become your husband, and you would become my wife', Tiwa had an over-active imagination.

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'I'll do everything you do. You would do everything I do. You'll coo-'

Dele did not even allow her complete her statement before he lashed out. How did she some how come up with something like this?

'What kind of suggestion is that?'

'I was just thinki-'

'When I win what is in it for me?', Again, Dele interrupted his wife.

'I didn't think about that', she was being sincere. The outcome she had thought about was her victory. After a very short moment, she had her answer for him.

'You will prove that you were going easy on me the first time, and I will never play ayo again'

That was not a huge claim, women did not play ayo on a regular basis, but Dele wasnted to heal his bruised pride. He was confident in his abilities anyway, he had nothing to loose! or so he thought.

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'How?'

Tiwa had dropped all her captured seeds, thirty out of the forty-eight, on th board. It was a clear win!

She stood up regally, adjusted her buba, to her husband's disdain. She then began to sing the praises of her father's house.

'Sit down! You have not won yet, I still have a greater chance.' Dele was fuming on the inside. He pride was no longer bruised. It was seriously injured and about to die!

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They played once again. This time Dele won. He had captured twenty-eight seeds of the forty-eight. It was not a far-fetched victory, but it was a triumph any way.

'See, I told you that I was playing easy for you', this previous match was a boost to Dele's pride. He had a chance to win.

So they played again.

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It's for free!!! Voting and commenting is free!!!

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So there was a lot of cultural context in this chapter.

Ayo olopon has many names. It is commonly known as 'AWELE' to the western world, mainly because of a spelling and pronunciation errors.

I think I have an issue with the western world and spelling errors.

The Great Benin Empire was Igodomigodo but that changed because of a series pronunciation errors!

Comment if you see my point.🙄

Click on the external link if you want to learn more about ayo.

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ogogoro- dry gin

iro- wrapper

With respect to Ayo Olopon:  ota- winner      ope- loser

(I chose not to translate every word because the story felt too English with out these words)

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I am dedicating this chapter to @xfamiliarfreedomx for giving a harsh but well needed commentary on my writing.

Thank you for reading. Thank you for helping me develop my writing!

Till next time!❤