After reassuring his wife, Danddy looked towards NNE and asked, why is Tobe sleeping in your hut? NNE exhale deeply before responding to him, Tobe refused to return to his mother since he set his eyes on your daughter, I tried sending him back but he vehemently refused to go until he fell asleep right there beside the baby. Danddy looked at his nephew and smiled before handing his baby girl to Dabi, and said, I will take him back.
He picked Tobe up and walked out towards his brother's hut ,on getting there, he called out for Olly but received no answer at first, he called again ,he was about calling out for her for the third time before he saw her walking towards him with her hands on her waist.
Danddy smiled, already used to the woman's behavior, I brought Tobe back he said and proceeded to hand him over to her which she took from him without saying a word and turn to leave but was stopped by Danddy. Wait a moment he said, Olly stopped but didn't turnaround or say anything which caused Danddy to exhale deeply and said ,I want to inform you that my wife has just put to bed and we are celebrating tomorrow, Olly's frown deepened causing an ugly line to form beside her lips and forehead, she didn't want Dabi to give birth to a son, she wanted Tobe and Sop to be the only sons in the family, and now Danddy said something about celebration, that can only mean one thing right? Dabi gave birth to a son. She didn't respond to what he said and just continue to walk in with Tobe in her arms .
In Olly's hut, the next morning ,Tobe woke up really early as usual, took the stool by the corner, stood on it and unlocked the door .
Usually Tobe will sit outside and wait for the others to wake up, but when the moon is bright enough he will go around the compound to find something to entertain himself with until his brother or NNE wakes up to accompany him, but today is different, he has a destination in mind, and there he went.
Tope knocked on Danddy's door waking him, Danddy stood up thinking it was daybreak already, perhaps the women I called in assisting with the cooking were here already he thought to himself, so he stood up and opened the door only to feel Tobe squeezing himself in, at first Danddy didn't see anyone, he searched around with his eyes but saw no one that was until he felt someone pushing him by his side ,that was when he looked down and saw that the person that knocked was a little person standing right there but he was busy casting his eyes above his head searching for a bigger person which annoyed Tobe greatly and resulted in him trying to force his way in, since his uncle doesn't want to step aside for him to enter.
Tope walked in leaving the surprised Danddy by the door and went straight to where the baby was lying and lay beside her without speaking any word to anybody.
Since it will be day break in few hours Danddy decided to get busy in arranging and bringing things out for the women that are coming to cook for the celebration.
Two hours later , Danddy heard a Knock again this time ,it was coming from the wooden gate outside, the elderly woman knocked on the door and waited for answer, it didn't take long for Danddy to walk to them from where he was with a smile, he greeted them and welcomed them to his home ,he took them behind the house and showed them the space they will be using and proceeded to bringing out all the food items he had purchased which was a lot..
The women were surprised by the size of the food he brought out and asked," did your wife give birth to twin boys?" Danddy smiled and said to them no she did not, rather she gave me a bouncing baby girl.
There was silent, one could hear a pin dropped, what?!!.... They all asked at the same time …a girl? How come?....so why are you doing the celebration if it is girl ? He smiled again and said to them , because she's my princess and will be celebrated like any other child that comes after her, whether male or female alike. With that been said , he told them to let him know if they needed anything and left them alone.
The women were confused and didn't know how to proceed from there, that was before someone laughed, and laughed so hard that it hurt her belly and jaw before saying.... "finally !!... the lord has sent a father to a little girl in this kingdom" the person that spoke was Ebube, an intelligent young woman who had a very Strong desire to go to school but was never allowed to as a result of her gender.
When she was a little girl, she didn't understand why she had to go to the farm while her brothers go to school or learn skills. She had asked her mother countless times "since her father barely look her way or acknowledge her existence" but received scolding in response, she had cried severally and expressed her desires to go to school or be allowed to learn any skill like her brothers but was beaten with a cane her size. Each time is the same until she stopped asking and accepted her fate.
But right now her joy know no bound , finally one father was ready to spend this much just to celebrate a daughter, not a son? so what can't he do for her? She kept asking and beaming with smiles.
The other women was confused by the statement she made earlier and asked with anger in their voice, what do you mean by that statement Ebube ? Do you want to say that our husbands are not fathers to our daughters? They enquired angrily, she laughed and answered their questions with several of her own, "which of your husbands can do any of these for their daughters? she pointed her hands toward the things that was brought out for them earlier. This caught their attention , which prompted her to continue, which one of our husbands," this time she included hers" has looked twice our way when it was announced that we gave birth to a baby girl ? Which one has even really looked at our daughters as though they are their children and not some maid or laborer to plant and weed there farms while the boys are treated as kings? which of our daughters eat at the same time that the boys eats? How many times do you have to shut them up because they asked why there brothers will have to eat first while they wait on them? Hmm ? Answer me?
One of the women Agatha answered and said, why are you saying all these things like this? These things has been like this before our husbands, so how do you want them to change it? why are you seeing it like they are oppressing us when it is in fact our way of life. The others nodded their head in agreement with Agatha.
Ebube shook her head In disappointment and said , so you liked it when your brothers go to school while you go to farm to do all the work? So you loved it that even though you are tired from the day's work, you have no choice but to help your mother prepare and cook while your brothers play? So it was okay that while you are hungry, you can't eat the food you cooked because your father and brothers have not eaten? And now you are forced to watch your daughters suffer the same fate without knowing what to do about it. At this point everywhere was silent, they have not seen it in this light before, because they have always been taught that the boy are more superior than them so they have not really seen it any other way , Okay then, Ebube continued, if you say it is okay with you ,then that's your business but don't you dare ague with me when I say that God has finally given a father to one fortunate little girl in this Kingdom and not a task master like our fathers and husbands.
With that said ,she left them there and went to start her work.