Chapter 7

By daybreak, most of the villagers had gotten wind of the news of Adigun's catch and had immediately flooded his compound to confirm the claims for themselves, and indeed, they realized that not only was the catch bountiful, but the fish was also as big as a man's forearm. When they asked where he had gotten so many big fish, Adigun's wife proudly told them how the river goddess had decided to bestow good fortune on her husband.

Placing two baskets of fish in a cart pulled by a donkey, Adigun rode to the palace. The Kabiyesi (king)who had long heard of his fortune immediately honoured and blessed him, telling him that since he had been so lucky to win the affection of the river goddess, Adigun was welcomed to the palace anytime. 

People from neighbouring villages also heard of what had happened and they began to troop in, in their numbers to buy the fish. Adigun was so thrilled by the instant fame and wealth he had gotten that before noon, he and his wife were done selling the remaining twelve baskets of fish. Fellow fishermen began to query Adigun on how he had won the favour of the goddess. There were questions and statements like:

"What did you sacrifice?"

"What did you do?"

"Did you see her?"

"What part of the river did she direct you to?"

"Did she give you a lucky charm which attracted so much fish? If she did, show it to us."

"Tell us what to do to? You can't keep this secret all to yourself!"

"Let us share in your fortune, be a good man and don't be selfish!"

Among all these men was the Kabiyesi's unruly son, Prince Adewale. Prince Adewale was rather very cruel and was infamous for his vicious and rebellious nature, that the people feared what would become of them if the Kabiyesi was to join his ancestors and the prince was to ascend the throne. In fact, he was despised by all, especially because he was a serial rapist. Most men had to follow their mothers, wives, sisters or daughters to the farms just to protect them from being ravished mercilessly since the prince and his selected guards were known to prowl the farms early in the morning or late in the evenings, seeking their vulnerable preys.

Whenever they found a lone woman going to the stream or working on a farm, his personal guards would instantly attack and force her to the ground, spreading her legs open and pinning her there while the prince would ravish and rape the woman to his satisfaction.

The villagers loathed him greatly, besides his obnoxious mother, the Olori who supported his every deed. Even his father, the king was tired of his waywardness. All his efforts to stop his heir apparent from serially raping woman had fallen through. 

He had even sought the help of the gods through the village Chief priest but nothing had worked. The prince was more like a lost cause