Yemisi looked at Olawale for the fifth time where he was eating dinner and she shook her head repeatedly. Adigun, Olawale's father noticed his wife and felt sad.
"Mama Wale, let me see you inside. Come with a cup of water for me," Adigun said immediately after he stood from the old sofa he sat on.
Yemisi stood from where she sat to get a cup of water and she joined Adigun in the room after.
"This is it," Yemisi said as she stretched to cup of water to Adigun.
"I don't need the water and I called you in because I didn't like the way you are looking at Olawale. He is our only son for crying out loud," Adigun replied.
Yemisi didn't utter a word, she went to the window side and started weeping.
"I didn't call you here to cry. Don't look at Olawale as a worthless child and I believe that he will fulfil his destiny someday," Adigun added.
"Adigun, of all the things in the world please don't mention anything about destiny. I am sick and tired of hearing that," Yemisi snapped back at him.
"What do you mean?" You don't believe that Olawale can become what the god has said about him?" Adigun asked.
"Of all the lies I have chosen to believe, Olawale destiny isn't one of them," She replied.
"Oh! That is it, you don't even have faith in your son. What a mother," Adigun replied angrily and left the room.
Yemisi fell to the ground and wept bitterly as she thought about Olawale right from when she became pregnant.
Yemisi and Adigun are in their late forties and they live in Ayede town. The town used to be a beautiful place in the past but the prosperity deity of Ayede was removed from its position during a war and things haven't been the same for the people of Ayede. The population of the place decreased drastically but some of the indigenes never left the town.
Yemisi and Adigun were part of those who chose to stay. They met when they were teenagers and the plan was to leave Ayede when they got married but Yemisi got pregnant before marriage and immediately she got pregnant, Adigun requested a traditional divination for the unborn child.
The lovers agreed and according to the oracle, the unborn child will restore the good days of Ayede and the oracle gave a strict warning that the baby mustn't live outside Ayede.
When the baby came to the world, he was named Olawale. The family were happy but sadness filled their hearts as Olawale grew to become a cripple.
His legs were completely not functioning and everyone who heard about the prophecy called the god's crazy. Despite Olawale's condition, he was loved by many even though they didn't believe he would fulfil the destiny the oracle mentioned.
Every evening, Olawale had a friend called Ojo who always took him out to have fun. He would put Olawale in a wheelbarrow and take him either to the forest, river or the town square.
"Good evening Mummy ma, please is Olawale at home? We want to go and pick snails since it remained yesterday," Ojo said to Yemisi on a Saturday morning, he came with the wheelbarrow as usual and Efon, his dog accompanied him.
"He is inside but you will have to help him out because his father is not home now," She replied.
Ojo happily entered the house and brought Olawale out. He gently placed him in the wheelbarrow and Efon jumped immediately after he saw Olawale.
"Bye, ma. We will be back soon," Ojo said to Yemisi as he pushed the wheelbarrow in the forest direction.
They had gone deep into the woods when Efon ran off into the bush. Ojo was confused and immediately ran after Efon while screaming the dog's name.
Olawale sat in the wheelbarrow and was clueless, he didn't know what to do because Ojo didn't say a word to him before taking off.
He waited patiently but after some minutes, Ojo or Efon didn't show up. Olawale became worried as the sun began to set and he wondered where they could have gone.
Farmers were returning home and Olawale pleaded that they helped him but they weren't going to Ayede. He waited until darkness completely fell upon the surface of the earth.
Olawale was terrified by the creature's noise in the wood and he eventually found his way out of the wheelbarrow. He crawled away from the middle of the road to the side and hid himself behind a tree.
While sitting, Olawale noticed a shining object beside him and he tried taking it but he couldn't. Olawale started digging with his hands just to see what the whole object was and immediately he was able to pull it out, there was a loud rumble in the cloud.
He felt a strange energy in him and quickly threw the object away. A few minutes later, Olawale felt strong and could feel his legs unlike before.
He tried walking and was able to move his legs. Olawale was happy but still didn't understand what happened. He took the shining object again and kept it.
Olawale was still pondering on what to do when he saw torches from afar, he wondered who they could be and his himself again.
It was long before he started hearing his name being called by lots of people. He recognised his father's voice and stepped out of hiding. Ojo lost his way while running after Efon and it was dark before he found the forest path so instead of looking for Olawale alone, he invited people.
Everyone was surprised to see Olawale standing and when he explained what happened, the elders among the search party said the object was the prosperity deity of Ayede.
The whole town started celebrating when they all returned to Ayede and the deity was restored. Ayede became a prosperous town again and Olawale fulfilled his destiny.
