Eighteen O' Five {ONGOING}🇳🇬

•~~Chapter One~~•

🎃~4 WEEKS EARLIER!~🎃
The drive through the woods was long and never ending. At the start of the trip, I’d stared out the window for a while, hoping to catch sight of something remotely interesting but the view of dense foliage whipping swiftly by as we drove past became dull quickly.

I couldn’t tell just how much time had past but, coincidentally, just as I raised my sleep ridden eyes to the window, they caught sight of a green signboard a few seconds before it whizzed past and out of sight.
'Welcome to Ibudun town!’ it had read.

I squeezed my eyes shut and sighed quietly. I did not want to be there.
Soon and just as I expected, we began to see people more frequently and the trees became scarcer as the sight of small houses buildings became recurrent. Small gatherings of chattering people, pedestrians, hawking women and men pushing wheelbarrows could be seen on both sides of the roughly tarred old road which soon led to a bumpy dust path.
The mouthwatering smell of akara and other local food being sold in small stands by the side of the road filtered in through the open car windows and filled the car. My stomach grumbled noisily but I knew I wouldn’t be getting a taste of one of them.

I sighed again. Local bean cakes, they were my weakness but if there ever was a time I needed to be strong, it was then.

As badly as I wanted a hot akara in my mouth and down my throat, I didn’t say a word, my need to express my displeasure for having to come to this town outweighing my hunger for the goodies it offered.

"Kids, this is Ibudun's central market. See the crowd, it's always like this on Saturdays. A lot of people, even the ones from other towns, come here to trade so you can find almost anything here.” He turned to smile specifically at me, “It’s a beautiful market isn't it?”
I pretended not to have heard his question, my eyes fixed firmly on the people of Ibudun with distaste. I heard my dad chuckle, letting my disrespect slide.

“That reminds me sef,” he suddenly said. “Don't you guys think we should buy a few things here before we go to the house? Maybe some snacks?”
My frown deepened. Had he caught me staring at the food?
My sister turned to me from the passenger seat with a ‘what do you think?’ look. She was hungry but she knew that I was trying to prove a point and her compliance would support it.

However, when my stomach growled, it was all the approval she needed. Dad now knew I was hungry so denying food would just seem petty. Besides, my sister would never let me pass up food when I’m obviously hungry.

She gave me a pointed look confirming my assumptions and I shrugged, unable to care less.
My eyes went back to the market my dad had deemed beautiful and I scowled. It was nothing compared to the market back home in both size and beauty. It’s ground was muddy and dirty, riddled with litter and the air, with smoke.

My annoyance had been growing for two weeks since my dad had first brought the idea of spending Christmas in his hometown.
Like, what the hell? Spend my Christmas here, of all places?
He knew we never wanted to come to his hometown so whenever he tried to convince us, he would tell us about our last visit to the town and how much we’d liked it.

Sadly for him, no magic would have made me remember any of the experiences he talked about as me and Olamipo were just five and too young to remember.

Perhaps, my sister remembered some of it but I never did. It was always the same gist, nothing changed until recently when he started singing to our ears about returning to the town for some traditional reasons.
“As part of the Ibudun tradition, when you turn 18, it's customary to properly learn about the culture of your people and also attend the Onire festival where you'll be celebrated and welcomed fully into adulthood,” he’d tell us.