Mrs Tadale banged the door continuously. "A girl of your age shouldn't be in bed when the sun is so bright like the iraki flowers of the Ukadama spring" she scolded.
Sheshije got out of the bed with a grumpy face.
she had been so disappointed ever since her father had announced to her that she will be getting married to Prince Kodawa, the crown prince of Ukadama kingdom .
She had tried her best to make her father change his decision but he was adamant about it.
Kodawa was one hell of a person, being the only male child the king sired, he believed that he could have whatever he wanted in the universe in a blink of an eye. He also bragged that he was the most handsome and masculine lad across the entire Ukadama lands and that he can have any maiden in the village simply by virtue of being the only heir to the throne.
therefore the news that Sheshije was not willing to be his wife pricked him really hard.
He wanted to approach her and put some sense to her head.
He had sent his guards to monitor her moves and report to him if she was seeing any man in the kingdom.
The guards tried to dig out as much information as they could.
"Your highness the girl does not have a relationship with any lad in this kingdom and also across the entire land of Tubheta. She is friends with Nashangai, the daughter of the man who sings uruasi( traditional taveta songs) on kisiole [circumcision ceremonies]. She always goes to bath and fetch water at the spring when the shadows get long." he smirked on hearing the remarks.
It was a hot afternoon, sheshije and Nashangai were happily chatting under a giant Lukuruki tree while enjoying the sweet fruits. "let me laugh out my heart today because very soon I will be missing these moments..." Nashangai trailed with a funny face looking at her childhood friend whom she considered to be more of a sister than just a friend. When sheshije told Nashangai about her father's plan to marry her off to the prince, her friend had felt sorry for her.
She also disliked the prince , his character and personality were viewed to be so out of the line.
"Don't think about such nonsense.. you know I can never accept to be that devil's wife. Infact am planning to run away from home rather, I would rather die in the ukadama jungle. I cannot sit and see myself turning into a pathetic wife, I will leave this land to never set my feet on it again , it is ten times better to live in the forest like ireghenyi (monkey) rather than getting married to that arrogant creature of a prince!"
she firmly stated
They chatted for a while before they parted ways.
It was still mid day, on reaching home Sheshije gathered her linens and headed to the stream.
She wanted to leave home the following day with her clothes all clean.
Some people who had caught wind of the rumors circulating around about how she was to be the crown prince' wife in the near future, looked at her with pity, they felt sorry for her because everyone knew how uncouth the lad was.
Unknown to her and everyone else at that time, an old woman had been observing and following her around since the time she had left her homeyard.
"Today fate unveils itself unto the two destined souls...one from the mountain side and another one from the plateau side...mmh such a devine scenario." The old woman whispered before disappearing into thin air.
Sheshije picked up some paw paw leaves , crushed them and mixed them in the water which she had fetched with her dissected calabash bowl. She stirred them up and foam began to appear, within some seconds the soap was ready for washing her linen.