11. Olailo and the Mysterious Woman

A long, long time ago, in Kasawa, a town in a faraway land there was a man called Olailo. Olailo was a hoe seller (Ọlọkọ). He traded in hoes (ọkọ) which he made himself to the highest standard, and with the finest materials available. He was known as the seller of the best quality ọkọ and was in great demand. Olailo had a stall at the biggest market in Kasawa, where he took his goods every day. He was hardworking, honest and conscientious, always wanting to please his customers. He was well-liked for his pleasant and charming ways. In fact, he was too charming for his own good…

Olailo who had never been married now lived alone. His mother had just died after bringing up her only child on her own since her husband’s death many years before. Olailo and his mother were very close, and they loved each other dearly. Olailo still missed her terribly.

One early morning, a woman was seen walking down the streets of Kasawa. She was a stranger to the town. Not many people were around, and those who were around were staring at her, wondering who she was, and where she came from, and more importantly, what she was doing in Kasawa. She also caught the attention of passers-by for her looks; she was extraordinarily beautiful and had a mysterious air about her. However, she was not aware of, or chose to ignore the stares, and approached a man standing in front of his house.

“Can you tell me where I can find hoes to buy?” she enquired of the man.

“Huh! Hoes?” the man replied, completely taken aback. It was the last thing he expected her to say.

“Yes, hoes. You know, used for farming…”

“Olailo is your man! He sells the best hoes in town. Go straight on, then turn right at the roundabout…”, he said, gathering his thoughts together, and went on to describe the way to Olailo’s stall at the market.

“If you need any further help to get there, ask anyone else. Everyone knows Olailo!” he added.

The stranger thanked the man, and went her own way, following his directions.

“I wonder what she wants to do with a hoe, and what Olailo will make of her…”, the man chuckled to himself. He knew very well the answer to the latter. Olailo had a weakness for beautiful women – not unlike some of his peers but it had got him into trouble countless of time. There was nothing he would not do for a pretty face. Many beautiful women had been linked with him, and each time he embarked on a new relationship people close to him had been known to make comments like:

“I hope this woman wouldn’t be the end of Olailo!”

The person most concerned about Olailo’s weakness for beautiful women was his mother. She had cautioned Olailo repeatedly about it, and anytime she heard this kind of remark about him, she would say:

“God forbid any woman being the end of my son!”

“I pray to God to give me special powers to rescue him if this were to happen – even when I’m gone” she had been known to add on more than one occasion, out of desperation.

Olailo was just arranging his goods when he looked up and saw the beautiful and mysterious stranger in front of his stall. The stalls next to his were not yet open. There was no one else around. This was not surprising because Olailo was always the first or one of the first sellers to arrive at the market, and the last to leave.

“Good morning. You must be Olailo, the Ọlọkọ”, the woman said eagerly. I’ve been told that you’re my man…”

“Huh! Your man?” Olailo replied, trying to gather his thoughts together – trying not to take the woman’s words literally. It was bad enough that he could not take his eyes off her.

“I’ve been told that you’re the best Ọlọkọ around here, and I need to buy ọkọ of excellent quality.

“What would a beautiful woman like you want to soil her hands for, digging?” he asked, looking at her hands, and then fixing his eyes on her again.

“We need farming tools for the works we want to carry out on the road leading to where I live, and I’m in charge of buying hoes of the best quality.”

“We?” Olailo asked, surprised. “Where do you come from? You’re not from around here, otherwise I’d have noticed you before.

The stranger did not answer. Instead she started inspecting some of the hoes on display in the stall. She picked one up and asked how much it was. Olailo named his price, and the woman, as to be expected, started to bargain with him. Olailo, more interested in her beautiful face than in how much he sold the goods for, did not realize that he had accepted what she was offering for the hoes selected, which was ridiculously low. He was very eager to find out more about the woman before she left his stall.

The woman paid, and was about to leave when Olailo said quickly:

“Just a minute! Is there anything else I can do for you?”

“No, thanks! I’ve got everything we need”.

Olailo, who was smitten by the woman, wanted to prolong the conversation. He did not want her to leave without establishing further contact with her.

“Don’t go yet. Talk to me for a while longer? You’re not in a hurry, are you? Customers haven’t started to arrive yet”.

“I’m sorry, but I have to go. I live very far away”.

“So how do I get to see you again? I’d like to get to know you”.

“It’s impossible…It’s better you don’t see me again”, the woman answered. She seemed horrified by the question.

Olailo was surprised by her answer. He knew instinctively that the woman found him attractive from the way she was looking at him. He was after all very experienced in this area. He was also a very good-looking man.

“Why not?” he asked.

“I’ve told you that I live very far away”.

Olailo was confused as to what to do next. He was so besotted by the woman. He knew that once she left his shop the chances of seeing her again were very slim. He weighed up the matter and decided that the option left was for him to go with her there and then to know where she lived.

“It doesn’t matter if you live far away. I can come with you just to know the place”.

“No human beings can get to where I live. It’s very far. It’s a no-go area.”

“You make it sound as if it’s out of this world.”

“It may very well be! Take my word for it. It’s wrought with problems…difficulties…dangers”.

By now most people would be frightened by what this woman was saying, but not Olailo. He did not flinch for he was convinced that any hardship in the way of achieving his aim of following the woman home could be resolved by fighting, and his skills in that area were unprecedented, just like his skills in hoe making.

“Goodbye then…”, the woman was saying, and Olailo confused did not know what to answer. Before he realized it, he had packed up, locked up his stall, and rushed after the woman. He was so besotted by her and had taken leave of his senses.

The woman said nothing; she did not throw further light on the difficulties, problems or dangers she had referred to, but after they had walked for a short while, she started to sing. In those days it was not uncommon for someone to start singing when they felt strongly about something. Singing conveyed emotions such as love, hate, wish, sorrow, warning, fear, anxiety. She sang as follows:

Ọlọkọ dẹhin o, ye dẹhin, Hoe maker turn back. Please turn back
Dẹhin Ọlọkọ dẹhin. Turn back hoe maker turn back
Ọlọkọ dẹhin o, ye dẹhin,
Dẹhin Ọlọkọ dẹhin.
Boo ba dẹhin wa a d’odo kan aro, If you don’t turn back, you’ll get to Odo Aro
Dẹhin Ọlọkọ dẹhin,
Boo ba dẹhin wa a d’odo kan ẹjẹ, If you don’t turn back, you’ll get to Odo Ẹjẹ
Dẹhin Ọlọkọ dẹhin.
Ọlọkọ dẹhin o, ye dẹhin
Dẹhin Ọlọkọ dẹhin.
Ọlọkọ dẹhin o, ye dẹhin
Dẹhin Ọlọkọ dẹhin.
Ani ko dẹhin o, Ọlọkọ dẹhin
Dẹhin Ọlọkọ dẹhin.
Jọwọ dẹhin Ọlọkọ dẹhin
Dẹhin Ọlọkọ dẹhin.
Jọwọ dẹhin Ọlọkọ dẹhin
Dẹhin Ọlọkọ dẹhin.

Olailo listened to the song. He had not heard of Odo-Aro and Odo-Ẹjẹ before, and even though the names of the two rivers sounded frightening in themselves, he did not turn back. He could not turn back; the woman’s beautiful face dominated his thoughts. He had to follow her to wherever she was going!

Odo-Aro and Odo-Ẹjẹ remained a mystery to the people of Kasawa. Not everyone had heard about them or believed in their existence. There were all kinds of speculations. There was even a song in which the two rivers were mentioned, one version of which was purportedly sung by a hunter, Singbade, to a woman called Amọla, begging her to turn back before they reached Odo-Aro and Odo-Ẹjẹ. Olailo had not heard about the song before either.

Odo-Aro, as the story went, was an unusual river – strange and mysterious, out of this world. As the name implied, the river is the colour of ‘aro’ (indigo blue). But it was not only the river, and everything in it – fishes, etc that was this colour, all the surroundings were dark – colour of aro: the bushes, the trees, the flowers, hills, etc. Without doubt the fishes and other inhabitants of the sea would be the same colour as well. It was abami odo – a strange river.

Everything at Odo-Aro was completely still as if there was no life, yet when you got there a boat would leave the other side to come to you, with no one inside it. As soon as you entered it, it would take you across the river.

Odo-Ẹjẹ, on the other hand was not only strange and mysterious, but deadly. The river and everything in it were red – the colour of blood as the name implies, as well as the whole surroundings. But while Odo-Aro was still – lifeless – Odo-Ẹjẹ was the opposite – full of weird and dangerous activities. To cross the river, one had to walk across a thin metal strip with a pair of Salubata (a type of sandals) specially made for that purpose.

The speculations about Odo-Aro and Odo-Ẹjẹ went further than that – to the existence of spirits who lived at a place just outside Odo-Ẹjẹ called “isalu ọrun”, and their weird and dangerous practices at the river and at “isalu ọrun” itself. “Isalu ọrun’ was perceived as an ‘abule’ (village), but at the same time as a strange ‘abode’ hovering between heaven than earth, even though it could be reached by human beings. There were all kinds of spirits – some with more than one head, some with only one eye, and at the forehead, some with one leg.

“Tell me about Odo-Aro and Odo-Ẹjẹ” Olailo said, trying to engage the mysterious woman in a conversation. The woman did not reply. He asked her a few more questions about herself, her circumstances but she refused to say anything – not even to tell him her name. She did not as much as glance at his direction. Even though Olailo found her behaviour strange he was still struck by her beauty, and the air of mystery surrounding her spurred him on.

They continued to walk towards Odo-Aro. As soon as they got there, a boat left the other side immediately – across from where Olailo and the woman were waiting. There was no one inside it. All around was dark, colour of aro, as had been described.

The mysterious woman got into the boat. Olailo jumped in quickly after her, and the boat took off. It arrived at the other side of the river, and they left Odo-Aro. After walking for a short while, Olailo stumbled on a rock and fell. The woman seemed unaware of this and continued on her way without as much as glancing back. Suddenly there was a gust of wind, and Olailo’s dead mother appeared miraculously before him. Olailo could not believe his eyes.

“Olailo, the lady’s right. You’ve got to go back, Olailo. Go back home!”

“Mother, I can’t help myself. It’s beyond my control…”

“There’s danger ahead. This may well be the death of you”, she pleaded with him.

“I’m ready to face anything for this woman, mother. You know how fiercely I can fight. Am I not supposed to be the best fighter in town?”

“This is different. Just go back home now!”

“I just want to know where she lives, and then I’ll go back home.”

Olailo did not heed his mother’s advice; he stuck to his gun.

That was when the mother produced miraculously a pair of Salubata – the special Salubata used for crossing the metal strip at Odo-Ẹjẹ and gave it to her son. It was as if she knew that no matter what she said Olailo was not going to listen to her.

“Here! Take these Salubata. You need to wear them when you want to cross Odo-Ẹjẹ.” she said and disappeared immediately.

Olailo caught up quickly with the mysterious woman, and they continued to walk towards Odo-Ẹjẹ. As they approached Odo-Ẹjẹ, she started to sing the same song again.

Ọlọkọ dẹhin o, ye dẹhin, Hoe maker turn back. Please turn back
Dẹhin Ọlọkọ dẹhin. Turn back hoe maker turn back
Ọlọkọ dẹhin o, ye dẹhin,
Dẹhin Ọlọkọ dẹhin.
Boo ba dẹhin wa a d’odo kan aro, If you don’t turn back, you’ll get to Odo Aro
Dẹhin Ọlọkọ dẹhin,
Boo ba dẹhin wa a d’odo kan ẹjẹ, If you don’t turn back, you’ll get to Odo Ẹjẹ
Dẹhin Ọlọkọ dẹhin.
Ọlọkọ dẹhin o, ye dẹhin
Dẹhin Ọlọkọ dẹhin.
Ọlọkọ dẹhin o, ye dẹhin
Dẹhin Ọlọkọ dẹhin.
Ani ko dẹhin o, Ọlọkọ dẹhin
Dẹhin Ọlọkọ dẹhin.
Jọwọ dẹhin Ọlọkọ dẹhin
Dẹhin Ọlọkọ dẹhin.
Jọwọ dẹhin Ọlọkọ dẹhin
Dẹhin Ọlọkọ dẹhin.

Olailo still refused to turn back; he continued to go with the woman, who uttered nothing more. They got to Odo-Ẹjẹ which was exactly as had been described. Instead of a boat arriving to meet them like at Odo-Aro, there was a metal strip across the river that they had to walk on. To cross the river the mysterious woman had to wear a pair of the special Salubata made for that purpose, which she promptly brought out. Olailo put on the pair that his mother had given him quickly.

As soon as the woman stepped on the metal strip with her Salubata, Olailo followed suite, and to his surprise he was gliding effortlessly over the strip, and in the twinkle of an eye the two of them had crossed the river. However, Olailo was most unprepared for the weird and dangerous activities at the river and outside the river.

Olailo glanced around at his surroundings – at the heads of people hung on trees which were horrifying. He also saw all kinds of spirits – some with more than one head, some with only one eye, and at the forehead, some with one leg…They looked very scary. However, they just gazed at Olailo and the mysterious woman as they passed by. In no time, the two of them had crossed the river. Olailo was relieved, but his relief was short-lived because just outside the river there were scarier looking spirits, and more heads hung on trees. The mysterious woman seemed unperturbed.

“So, this is why you warned me to turn back! Odo-Aro is bad enough, but Odo-Ẹjẹ is something else!” Olailo exclaimed. The woman said nothing.

“You don’t seem to be alarmed by this whole spectacle! But of course, you must be used to crossing these two rivers since they’re on your way home”, he continued.

The woman still said nothing.

“Are the spirits responsible for the heads that are hung here? Are they going to attack us?” he asked, suddenly feeling uncomfortable by the woman’s silence. He had not known about any of the practices going on around here before but was beginning to work things out. He was a little frightened, but because he was confident about his prowess in fighting, he was convinced that he would overcome whatever difficulties or dangers he had to face by fighting.

The spirits at “isalu ọrun” as the story went, believed that they owned Odo-Ẹjẹ, and that no human beings should cross it. Any human being who tried to do so, did it at their own peril. The spirits lay in-wait for them at Odo-Ẹjẹ and at “isalu ọrun”, and they had to fight for their life. The fighting usually took place at an area of “isalu ọrun” where ten spirits would come out to face the human beings, their leader possessing ten heads. The rest of the spirits had nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two heads, and the last one head.
Any human being who crossed Odo-Ẹjẹ would have to fight these ten spirits one after the other – kill or be killed by them – starting with the one with one head. Those who fell victim to the spirits had their heads cut off and hung on the trees that were on the right and left of the river, and just outside the river at “isalu ọrun”. Those who won were usually left alone if they happened to pass that way again. The spirits would be afraid to attack them, or anyone with them. The only person who was allowed to cross the river without difficulties was an old woman who was considered as the Goddess of the River and the Forest, and who had certain special powers.

The hunter, Singbade, who purportedly warned Amọla to turn back before getting to Odo-Aro and Odo-Ẹjẹ in the song inspired by the two rivers, had had to fight these spirits the first time he crossed Odo-Ẹjẹ, and won. After that they could not touch him, and when he was crossing with Amọla, and they made as if to attack her, he shouted authoritatively:

“She’s with me, so don’t touch her! Otherwise I’ll kill you!”

They had had no doubt that Singbade would do as he threatened, because they knew him; they knew about his skills in this area. So, they had left Amọla alone, and just looked at the two of them as they passed by.

Olailo and the mysterious woman arrived at “isalu ọrun” where there were more human heads hung on trees on the right- and left-hand side. Before Olailo knew what was happening the woman had entered a “room” (agbala) – a wide enclosed area made of mud. Olailo followed her inside, and to his shock and horror saw her changing right under his eyes into a spirit with one head.

“So, you’re one of them! No wonder you were not afraid at Odo-Ẹjẹ! You were among your own kind”, Olailo exclaimed.

“No wonder you warned me about not coming with you to where you live. It’s not only because it is far away, but also because of all the goings-on here!”

The mysterious woman said nothing.

Olailo looked around and saw a lot of spirits going up and down in the agbala. Some of them had eyes at the forehead. Many of them had only one leg, and others had more than one head. Olailo was horrified.

In those days people believed in the existence of other beings – spirits – who were not real human beings. Even though they were not human beings they had special powers to transform into human beings if they needed to buy things from towns and villages where human beings lived, including materials for very important works relating to their villages (abule) such as repairs and construction.

At the time of this story it happened that the spirits at “isalu ọrun” wanted to carry out renovations on some areas in their “village” and chose Kasawa as the town where they would look for the farming tools needed for this work. To this end they delegated the task of buying the hoes and all kinds of other farming tools to be used. One of these spirits who were sent out to buy the tools was the mysterious woman who had arrived at Kasawa and who had been followed by Olailo. She had now changed back to a spirit with one head.

“What have I done?” Olailo asked himself.

He realized finally that he had fallen into a trap set by himself. The folly that he had committed struck him. He started to go over everything that had been happening. There were warning signs, but he did not want to heed them. First of all, the spirit had been very evasive about herself – about where she lived. She did not even want to tell him her name. She had tried to warn him in her own way. She had warned him to turn back in a song, and after that refused to say anything more. She had behaved strangely. She knew that there could be no future for the two of them. Olailo was still convinced that the woman was attracted to him. Olailo was a very handsome and charming man. His mother had tried to warn him as well…

Olailo suddenly remembered the woman’s words, and his own mother’s words, and the part about danger.

“There are difficulties…problems…dangers”, the woman had said.
“There’s danger ahead. This may well be the death of you”, his mother had also said, pleading with him, and he had answered:

“I’m ready to face anything for this woman, mother. You know how fiercely I can fight. Am I not supposed to be the best fighter in town?”

“This is different. Just go back home now!”

Was he in more serious trouble than he knew – more trouble than just falling for a beautiful woman who turned out to be a spirit, and hence unavailable to him? Were these spirits very dangerous? Were they responsible for the atrocities at Odo-Ẹjẹ?

“What have I done?” Olailo asked himself looking at the spirits around him.

“But the spirits look as if they are pleased to see me!”

The spirits were indeed pleased to see Olailo, but he did not know the real reason they were, until one of them spoke and Olailo was rooted to the spot with fear. He did not know that these spirits at “isalu ọrun” hated human beings. They resented the fact that they could never be human beings no matter that they had the special powers to change into them. They could not remain human. In fact, they hated humans since they were not themselves humans. They considered themselves inferior. Therefore, they did all they could to kill human beings when they met them face to face. They attacked and fought them at Odo-Ẹjẹ. They ate the humans they killed, leaving their heads to be hung on the trees at the river. They fought humans to finish – kill or be killed was their slogan.

As soon as the spirits spotted Olailo they were happy because they thought that they would kill him, and feast on him. The leader (Olori) of the spirits – a spirit with ten heads – was the first to speak:
“Human being! There’s no return for anyone who ventures into our territory – into “isalu ọrun”, our “village”. We’re going to kill you, so get ready to die!

Olailo was afraid when he heard this and started to tremble. Reality struck home. He had ignored all the warnings…

“Please let me go! I didn’t know what goes on here. If I’d known I would never have ventured here”, he pleaded.

“What do you mean you didn’t know? Weren’t you warned to turn back?” he answered.

“Sorry, I really didn’t know…I was advised to turn back, it is true, but I thought that it was because of the distance…”.

“Were you not warned about crossing Odo-Aro and Odo-Ẹjẹ – about what happens to any human beings who try to cross it – about “isalu ọrun”?”

“The two rivers were mentioned in a song, but the dangers were not spelt out –certainly not that you spirits are responsible for the weird and dangerous practices at Odo-Ẹjẹ. “Isalu ọrun” was not even mentioned at all!” If I had known everything I know now – how dangerous it really is – I certainly wouldn’t have come”.

“Well, it’s too late now. You’re here now, and there’s no escape! You’ve come face to face with real danger, and you’re going to lose your life”.

“Please believe me! Please let me go! I won’t come here again!”
“No! No! No!” the spirit with ten heads shouted. This is our territory. We may not be human beings like you, but Odo-Aro and Odo-Ẹjẹ belong to us. Couldn’t you tell the difference between them and other rivers? They are no ordinary rivers. No human beings should venture here! The only person we welcome here is the Goddess of the River and the Forest. She alone understands us. She doesn’t look down on us.

“Let me tell you what we do to any human beings who come here”, he continued without listening to anything further from Olailo.

“Any human being who crossed Odo-Ẹjẹ would have to fight us – kill or be killed by us. Those of you who fall victim to us will have their heads cut off and hung on the trees that are on the right and left of the river, and just outside the river at “isalu ọrun”. Those who win are usually left alone if they happen to pass this way again; you’d be left to go in peace, and we wouldn’t trouble you again.”

“But I can’t possibly fight all of you!”

“We know that, and this is why we select ten spirits out of us, including myself for you to fight, and one after the other. The spirits have one to nine heads, and as you can see, I have ten.

“The fighting usually takes place at a secluded area very close by, and the spirits will face you one by one in combat”, he continued.
Olailo knew that he had no choice but to fight the spirits. If he did not fight them, he would die anyway. There was no other way.

“I’ll just have to fight the ten of you one by one”, he said unflinchingly. He had regained his confidence. After all, was he not supposed to be as strong as a bull? Was he not the best fighter in his town?

“Very well! Come with me!” the leader ordered, after selecting nine other spirits among the ones with one to ten heads, who were then taken to the ‘fighting arena”.

When Olailo and the spirits arrived at the place, Olailo was asked to stand on one side, and the nine spirits on another side, and then the fighting began. A spirit with one head came towards Olailo, and Olailo was relieved that it was not the spirit who had changed into a beautiful woman – the mysterious and beautiful stranger, because no matter what he did not wish for her death. In fact, it was a male spirit.

“No matter what, I wouldn’t have liked to kill you!” he muttered to himself.

Olailo started fighting the spirit with one head, and in no time, he had killed him. After this he was faced by the spirits with two, three, and four heads, whom he killed one after the other. The leader and the rest of the spirits were surprised by the turn of events. They were unprepared for Olailo’s strength. It was unusual for them to meet a human being, apart from someone like the hunter, Singbade, with such strength.

“The rest of you had better gear yourselves up!” the leader addressed them, then turning to the spirit with seven heads, who was reputed to be formidable, he added:

“You should have no problem!”

It was the turn of the spirit with five heads, and Olailo used his strength in full force to kill him. The spirit with six heads came next into the fighting ring and proved to be tougher than the others so far, but Olailo was enraged, and went all out for him.

“You think you’re invincible?” Olailo asked, and crushed his bones totally, leaving him dead.

The spirit with seven heads rushed towards Olailo; he looked fierce and threatening.

“You think you can kill me? Come on then!” Olailo beckoned to him.
Olailo aimed for his neck, and crushed the bone with all his might, leaving him dead. This was how Olailo killed all the nine spirits, but by now he was completely spent, breathing hard, grasping for breath. The spirit with ten heads, the leader, sensed this, and chuckled.

“You may have killed the others, but you can’t kill me! Come on then!”

“Can you let me rest for a short while? Surely I’ve done well…!” Olailo ventured, but the spirit with ten heads gave him no chance to finish; he charged into the fighting arena, and grabbed him, and Olailo knew that the game was over; this was beyond his control. He tried to put up a fight, but it was in vain. He had hardly any strength left.

“So, I’ve let a beautiful face be the end of me!” were his dying words.
That was how the spirit with ten heads killed Olailo, and almost immediately.

After this the spirit with ten heads went into the forest near-by and picked a leaf from a tree. This was no ordinary leaf, but only he and other spirits with ten heads knew this. He squeezed the juice of the leaf into the eyes of all the other spirits, and they woke up again.
“I’m happy he didn’t kill me”, the spirit with ten heads said to them. “Go and look for fire wood for cooking this human being!” he ordered the nine spirits he had just revived. You know how it works!”

After they left the spirit with ten heads went to join the rest of the spirits in the wide enclosed area. Some of them patted him at the back. Had he been killed the rest of the spirits would have had to choose another leader among those with ten heads. That was how it worked.

Unknown to all of them Olailo’s mother had become a fly and was perched on a tree near where the plant was picked. As soon as the coast was clear she became herself again, and she picked up the leaf that the spirit with ten heads had thrown onto the ground. As luck would have it there was some juice left inside it, and she squeezed the juice into Olailo’s eyes; Olailo was resurrected.

“Quickly!” she shouted, grabbing her child, and they both ran away immediately. They continued to run until they got to Odo-Ẹjẹ, where Olailo’s mother turned into a big bird, and carried her son across the river. Olailo did not have his Salubata anymore; he had lost them in the fighting arena.

When they got to Odo-Aro the boat came to meet them and took them across. After this Olailo’s mother accompanied her son a while longer.

“Thank you very much, mother”. You can rest assured that I’ve learnt my lesson…”.

As he was talking, he noticed that his mother was fading away gradually and tried to hold on to her.

“Please don’t leave me, mother!” Olailo pleaded.

“Sorry, but I have to my love”.

With tears in his eyes, Olailo continued his journey back home. He realized how much he missed his mother. He wished she were still alive. All thoughts of the beautiful woman/spirit were wiped from his mind. If he had the choice of having his mother back or the beautiful woman (even if she was not a spirit) he would have chosen his mother. No beautiful woman on this earth could make up for the loss of his mother. Beautiful women suddenly meant nothing to him. His mother meant much more.

When Olailo got back to Kasawa, a crowd had gathered at his stall in the market.

“What’s happened to you?”

“We’ve been waiting to buy your lovely ọkọ. You know that your ọkọ are the best!”

“You won’t believe what I’m about to tell you…” “Don’t go anywhere near Odo-Aro and Odo-Ẹjẹ…!”

Olailo then went on to tell them all he had been through, starting from how the beautiful stranger showed up at his stall.

Ever since then whenever any extraordinarily beautiful woman appeared in Kasawa, the men were afraid to approach her in case she was a spirit. She could even be an animal who had turned himself into a human being, as believed by some people in those days.