THE STORY OF ORO THE BURDEN BEARER. BY @ngozi996

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A very long time ago,there was a kingdom called the Alate kingdom. In this kingdom lived a girl named Oro. Oro was the only child of her father and so naturally every work in the house fell to her table, nothwithstanding Oro rose to the challenge,she would get water from the stream, cook the meals,go to the farm and even go on errands for her father at the Oleatara shrine.

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In this same kingdom was a woman by name Alaya who had been cursed by the gods with the burden of carrying a very heavy rock for the rest of her days, the only way she could be set free was if someone spoke to her or answered her. No one knew what crime she had committed,and as such no one spoke to her or even replied her when she asked questions, and so everyday Alaya who lived along Oleatara ancestral road would go to Oleatara shrine and sit by Iru the chief priestess as people came to see Iru or enquire things of the gods,questioning them in hopes of catching a child,man or woman who she could ensnare and pass her burden onto.

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Everyday Oro came to the shrine Alaya would question her and oro would give no reply.

Then one day, Oro's father sent oro to the shrine with a strict warning not to talk to strangers,but unknown to Oro, Alaya had magically exchanged faces with Iru the priestess and had made Iru dumb,so she couldn't speak. As usual Alaya now using the face of Iru started carrying out the priestess duties with Oro,while Iru the priestess made frenzy hand and head gestures at Oro to be silent,but since Iru bore the face of Alaya, Oro didn't pay her much attention. After a while, Oro asked Alaya, (who was wearing Iru's face what was wrong with Iru (who was wearing Alaya's face). As soon as the question left Oro's mouth, she felt a heavy weight on her back,at the same instant, Alaya and Iru's real faces were revealed.
It was wrong for alaya to have disguised as iru (chief priestess) of Alate, but the deed had already been done. So Oro would walk the earth,seperated from everyone she's known and loved with a burden she didn't own and didn't know how it came about.
The moral of the story then was not to talk to strangers you don't know,but what happens when strangers disguise as people you know??

As the yorubá's say : Nkanbe meaning strange things happen!!

Thanks for reading

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