EPisode 1

Omolade Williams didn’t like the name she was given right from primary school. Afin. That name made her feel worse than the meaning itself and she went through Our Lady of Apostles bearing the nickname just for her to realize that it wasn’t a name that was going to drown out pretty soon.

Before long, Aunt Shade, Sister Bisi and Sister Rolake adapted the name and even Mum didn’t find anything wrong with it.
She never found anything wrong with Aunty Shade as she was the first daughter. Infact, she boasted sometimes she was old enough to give birth to her since she was blessed with two kids and a dashing black and bold husband.
The kind of husband women swooned for.
Uncle Dotun.

He was the only one who called her Molade and She liked him for it although his wife didn’t still see it as a propellant that would make her change her mind.

Afin was Afin.

Afin was a fair girl. Infact, the only fair child in the family and she laughed when her aunt crooned her primary school fairytale. ‘’Mirror Mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all? Molade Omotoke Afin oroyo is the fairest of them all.’’

Ever since she was 10, that was Aunt Shade’s lullaby for her and her teasing song, and soon she got used to it. it made her feel special in some sort of way most especially when boys started glancing her way once she got admission into Our Lady of Apostles Secondary School in Lagos. It was an only girls’ school but that didn’t stop the boys in the neighbourhood from passing her notes and praising her for her beauty.

It was then she realized she wasn’t as ‘Afin’ as she thought. She was very fair no doubt, but had traits of albinism in her which enhanced her beauty. Number of times, she heard girls in school calling her mammy water most especially when they noticed the number of boys that looked her way when she went home with her friends. Her hair was black and curly, she had fair and smooth skin and her eyes exuded a form of glow although it was hard to know if she was looking at you directly sometimes.

So she wasn’t completely albino.’’ She took comfort in that fact and moved on in life into the University of Lagos.
And that was when the scandal happened that led her mother decide she would be staying with her big sister.

Aunt Shade.

After her first semester in the University, it was then a particular lecturer in school decided to lay eyes on her and it was during one of his wooing sessions with her in his office and his wife barged in and almost disgraced her husband and reported Afin to her mother.

Her father was the popular and famous but late though his extended family was not. Infact they still interfered with the affairs of the family and that was how the wife of the promiscuous lecturer knew the girl she was dealing with.
Omolade Williams, Child of Late Chief Williams.

Mrs Adesanmi was a close friend of the family and knew where to go to disgrace Omolade further.
Her mother.

“you better tell that your mammy water daughter to stay off my husband Mrs Williams o!’’ she yelled while Shade, Bisi and Rolake had stayed watching her quietly wondering what Afin had done this time.
“e ma binu ma. Ejo ma’’ Mrs Williams pleaded.

“that girl will disgrace you one day no doubt! I’m sure my husband will not be her first victim that she would claw upon and take it to their kingdom. Ashewo omo! Omo alai nitiju! Oko oloko lo wun abi? Like father like daughter.’’
That was when Shade spoke up. she rarely did but the woman was passing her boundary and she wouldn’t watch her insulting her mother because there was no man to defend her.

Another reason why Chief had married other wives.

“abeg, park well ma! Ke de so ara yin gan!’’ She raised her hand to put the woman off. ‘’you come here making noise about my sister as if she pinned your husband to the Chair to seduce him. that your husband that goes about sleeping with girls before giving marks. You think he’s one saint or because I didn’t tell you he threatened me too when I was in school ba? Please, remove the log from your eyes before removing others you hear!’’

The woman swallowed saliva with difficulty before Bisi, the tomboy out of the girls present took over.

“your time here has expired, please leave.’’
“what? Me?’’ she looked at their mother. ‘’Mrs Williams, you allow your children to talk back at me anyhow’’

But the woman was too tired to talk back. She just watched the drama unfolding before her eyes.
Shade clapped after her. ‘’leave madam!! And go and face your husband.’’

The woman fumed and gave Shade the eye before grabbing her bag from the chair and storming out of the house.
Mrs Williams sighed while Afin closed the door which she had been peeping through and ran to her room pretending to be asleep.

Aunt Shade would come in anytime and that was another session of interrogation.

Aunt Shade would believe her. she always did. She was her best aunt because she was the only one that understood her and knew what she was capable of.
She would never sleep with another man’s wife, but she was capable of being the anonymous caller that called Mrs Adesami so that she could catch the man red-handed.

She chuckled into her pillow. Wait till the others came inside to hear the full gist.

An hour later, it was only Aunt Shade that came inside, but not with the others.

“you’re coming to live with me.’’ she had a straight face

Afin looked up in surprise. Something most definitely had gone wrong.

for continuity,

Comment below