Beneath the Baobab Tree

pte

had always bee

ches reaching outward like arms offering shade, secrets, and silence. Some said it was as old as the gods. Others w

ieve. She only knew that the

e her. The hem of her green school uniform brushed against the dirt, and in her lap

omeone pounded yam with practiced force, the wooden mortar echoing like a heartbeat. And somewhere near the s

ee, the wind that carried stories, the word

tance. "Your mother said to bring

ce in the book with a sliv

bab wou

lway

d blue walls. Smoke curled from a corner where her grandmother, Iya Ronke, stir

Kemi greet

p. Her tone was soft but worn, like a piece of cloth that ha

s,

ree," Iya Ronke muttered, glancing ov

o the kitchen area. The women in her family didn't dislike bo

-

dip and the sky shifted to copper,

dusty road, kicking up a whirlwind of ochre dust. Children screamed with excitement and chased aft

e okada, a tall you

le boots were still too clean. A pair of glasses clung to h

come o!" som

e, raising one hand in gr

ster - not because of the man, but because of the way the air had changed. The village was never

et, but her life was

ked window. She could still hear the voices outside - neighbors talking about the new corpe

Iya Ronke muttered, "Let's hope he wo

er spoken to a man that wasn't family. Never imagined falling in love. But something about that stran

osed h

heard the wind whisper

n war

n wel