Description
It is not unheard of to make pledges to the Iroko Tree at the town of Abele, but one woman’s unprecedented pledge causes an uproar in the town.
Olurombi is a cloth seller in Abele, a town where the people, believing in the special powers of Iroko Tree, especially traders like Olurombi, consult the tree for help for high sales, pledging something to it to make their wishes come true. However, Olurombi’s overwhelming desire to have a son pushes her to ask the tree for help over this one day, and in wondering what she can possibly pledge for such an unusual request, she may have inadvertently pledge her daughter, Oluronke, to Iroko Tree. Not fulfilling a pledge is unthinkable and unheard of because people are afraid of what the consequences may be.
Now the people of Abele are putting pressure on Olurombi to fulfil her pledge to the Iroko Tree, with her son inexplicably ill, but how can anyone possibly fulfil such a pledge? What options are there for Olurombi, especially when she herself is deeply troubled, unhappy and confused about the whole thing. Surely no one would expect her to give up a child to save another child?
