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The village of Atoro was a small and beautiful village, popularly known for its abundance in bountiful farm produce, compared to its neighbouring villages. In Atoro village, there lived a widow named Bola. Unfortunately for Bola, in the tenth year of her marriage, her husband passed away, leaving her alone to care for three children. 

While Bola’s husband, Kola, was still alive, he was a very hardworking farmer who did his best to provide for his family. However, due to his untimely demise, Bola was forced to take over the responsibility of providing for her children and caring for them.

About a month after Bola’s husband died, his greedy family went to her to demand all the farmlands and the house she and her children lived in.

That day, Bola was at the back of her house peeling the Cassava she had harvested from their farm when her husband’s kinsmen came to her.

“Bola, are you busy? We want to discuss something with you,” Kola’s uncle said.

“No, Baba, I’m not busy. Please, let’s go inside,” Bola said as she ushered her husband’s family into the house.

Without even asking if they wanted to drink anything, Bola brought a fresh jug of palm wine and some cups for them.

“Please, this is all we have at home. If I had known you were coming, I would have prepared something for you all,” Bola said.

“That’s fine, Bola. Uhmmm! I wanted to ask you, that cassava you were peeling, is it from my brother’s farm?” Kola’s older brother asked.

“Yes, it is. I harvested them yesterday,” Bola said.

“Which of the farms did you harvest it from, if I may ask,” Kola’s brother asked.

“The farm close to the stream,” Bola answered innocently, and her brother-in-law nodded.

“Uhmmm! Bola, let’s not beat around the bush. The reason we are here is because we have decided that you are in no place to take care of Kola’s farmlands,” Kola’s uncle said. “I know how much my nephew suffered before he could secure those farmlands, and I am not ready to leave them in the hands of a woman,” he added.

“I don’t understand you, Baba. I am Kola’s wife, the mother of his children and I know I should be the one taking care of my late husband’s farmlands. Besides, the harvest from those farms has been feeding me and my children,” Bola said.

“Like I said earlier, we have already discussed this and made our decision. From today, we do not want you to step foot into any of Kola’s farmland, or else you will not like what will happen to you,” Kola’s uncle said.

“No, Baba,I cannot accept this. This is wickedness. When Kola was alive, he was very kind to you and your children. Why would you do this to us? I also suffered before we could buy those farmlands, and you can’t tell me not to plant or harvest from them,” Bola said.

“Look here, woman. The person who married you is no longer alive. You have no business with whatever he owns. In fact, I want you out of this house in one week. I do not care where you and your children will go; I want you out of my brother’s house,” Kola’s brother said.

“Or else what? You will kill me like you killed your brother? I warned your brother that you were a wicked person, but he was blinded by love. Now, he is no more,” Bola yelled.

“You can shout all you want. We have said everything. At least you have harvested enough Cassava to last you and your children for a year. You should even be happy,” Kola’s uncle said before they all exited the house.

Immediately after Kola’s kinsmen left the house, Bola broke into tears.

“I told Kola that the same people he was breaking his back for did not love him, but he wouldn’t listen. They succeeded in killing him, now they want to take away everything he worked hard for,” Bola soliloquized,” In fact, I will not go anywhere, let me see how they will come and remove me and my children from this house,” Bola added.

A few days before the deadline Kola’s Kinsmen had given Bola to leave the house, Bola began to have nightmares. Two days before the deadline, she dreamt that her late husband, Kola, was chasing her with a machete, and in that dream, it was almost like Kola did not recognize her despite how much she begged him to stop.

On the second night, Bola had another nightmare. It was still about her late husband, but he wasn’t trying to attack her like her previous dream; he was trying to hurt their children, and he nearly killed one of them.

The first night Bola had that nightmare, she thought that it was just an ordinary dream and she didn’t think much about it, but when she saw her late husband on the second night, she knew that something was wrong.

However, despite the nightmares she had, Bola still refused to leave the house on the deadline she was given. The truth was that when Bola wanted to marry Kola, her parents and siblings kicked against the idea because they had heard a lot of terrible things about Kola’s family. But Bola refused to listen to her parents and went ahead and married Kola. When this happened, her parents cut off from her and wanted nothing to do with her anymore.

If that had not happened, Bola would have returned to her parent’s house with her children. 

On the night Bola was supposed to leave the house, something unexpected happened. A charm in a small calabash appeared in front of Bola’s house, and when Bola saw it the next morning, she knew she had to leave immediately.

The charm Bola saw was very powerful, and she knew what it was capable of doing. In the past, Bola had seen and heard stories of people who died as a result of the charm appearing in their houses or farmlands.

Luckily for Bola, she had saved some money while her husband was still alive, so she used the money to rent a room in the village and moved in with her children. Knowing that she could no longer access any of her late husband’s farmlands, Bola purchased another farmland and began planting on it.

Then, with the little money left after purchasing the farmland, Bola started a small provision store in front of her house. 

It was the small profits she made from her provision store that she used to feed her children until it was harvest season. As a smart businesswoman, whenever Bola harvested her crops and sold them, instead of squandering the money on unnecessary things, she invested the profit back into her business.

One way Bola invested back into her business was by buying more farmland. Each harvest season, Bola divided her profits into two: one part to buy more seeds and stems, and the other to buy another farmland.

For almost five years, Bola continued like this until she bought 10 large farmlands around the village. In those five years, Bola refused to buy any expensive clothes, bags, or shoes for herself. She lived below her means, and her only priorities were her kids and their education.

Unlike other parents who refused to send their daughters to school, claiming that educating a girl child was a waste of time and resources, Bola single-handedly sent her three daughters to school. She knew the value of education even though she was not educated, and she wanted her kids to be very successful.

There was even one time when one of the villagers laughed at Bola for sending her daughters to school. In Atoro village, only a few parents were smart enough to educate their daughters, and Bola was one of them.

“You are just wasting your time with these girls. When they grow older, men will come and marry them, and all your efforts will be wasted. It is better you use your money and resources to do other things,” the man said to Bola.

“It is not your business what I do with my life and my children. If you and your wife do not want to send your daughters to school, there is no problem. But I will not let you tell me what to do with my own children,” Bola yelled at the man.

The truth is, it wasn’t just the man who tried to discourage Bola from sending her daughters to school; other people tried, too. Whenever they saw Bola working tirelessly on her farm, they would tease her and say she was working like a donkey just to send her daughters to school.

As the years passed, Bola continued to expand her business, and she purchased more farmlands. Less than 10 years after Kola died, Bola became one of the wealthiest women in Atoro village despite being a widow.

One day, Bola was in her provision store, which she had expanded to a very big store when four women came to her shop. The four women wore the same red attire, and they adorned their necks, hands, and ankles with red and black beads.

“Bola, how are you today?” One of the women asked Bola who was attending to a customer.

“Iya Shakirat, I’m fine and you? What do you want to buy?” Bola asked the woman.

“Oh, we do not want to buy anything. We came here because we have an offer for you,” the woman said.

“Really? What could that be?” Bola asked in a confused voice.

“Bola, you are a very wealthy woman, and there’s no one in this village who doesn’t know you or your beautiful daughters. In this village, there are only three rich women: the queen, Chief Balogun’s wife, and you. We belong to a coven—a powerful coven of witches—and we would love you to become one of us,” the woman said.

“I’m not sure I understood what you just said,” Bola said, ” You want me to join your coven? A witchcraft coven?” Bola added.

“Yes, that’s exactly what I said. Now that you are wealthy and popular, it is only befitting for you to join our coven,” the woman said.

“Iya Shakirat, you want me to become a witch like you?” Bola asked again, but in a more offensive tone.

“Don’t say it like that. We are not just any kind of witch. We are the red witches, and we will protect you and your children. Your daughters will become very successful, and you will live for many years. One of our elder witches will be 130 years old this year, and she is still very young and vibrant,” the woman said.

“How many people’s blood did she drink to keep her young? How many children did she exchange souls with to live up to 130 years old?” Bola asked, and Iya Shakirat chuckled.” Please, Iya Shakirat, I do not want any trouble. I am not interested in joining any coven. I am pleased with what I have. Thank you,” Bola added.

“Hmm! Bola, there are many women in this village who would do anything to become one of us, and you’re playing with the opportunity. You have to go home and think about this. As a red witch, you have the power to do whatever you want in this village. You can command the sun to stand still, and it will. That’s how much power you can wield,” the woman said.

Immediately the woman said that, Bola burst into laughter and clapped her hands dramatically. 

“I can command the sun and it will stand still? Why haven’t any of you commanded the sun to stand still?” Bola said, ” Like I said earlier, I am not interested. You all saw how I struggled so much to become wealthy; I do not want anything to ruin that for me, ” Bola said.

” We want to help you, Bola. You cannot…” One of the women said, but Bola interrupted.

“I do not want your help,” Bola yelled, ” Why didn’t you come and help me when I was struggling? Why didn’t you come and help me when my husband died or before he died? Please carry your help and leave my store. I am not interested,” Bola yelled.

From the way Bola was yelling and panting, it was very obvious that she was angry. When the women saw that Bola’s voice was drawing the attention of passers-by to the store, they left immediately in a single line without saying another word to Bola.

“You want me to become a red witch so I can ruin my life and that of my children. It will never work. Agents of destruction. You’re telling me one of your elder witches is 130 years old, but you haven’t mentioned how many people she killed and ate their flesh.. You haven’t mentioned that all of her children are useless and unsuccessful. You people must think that I’m foolish. It will not work,” Bola soliloquized.

“In fact, if I see any of you close to my shop again, you will not like what I will do,” Bola added.

When Bola told the four red witches that she was not interested in their offer, she thought that they would leave her alone. Sadly, she had no idea that her life was about to become a nightmare and the witches were about to ruin everything she had worked hard to achieve in the past years.

Watch out for part two

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