She rushed and carried the baby from the tree. The baby felt warm in her arms. But as she turned to ask the old woman what terrible thing would happen if she disobeyed, the old woman vanished.
It was as if no one had come out of the tree at all.
Aduke stood there shocked, but her happiness was greater than her fear.
She finally had a child.
Aduke returned to her village with the baby. She focused on taking care of her child. She never allowed water to touch the baby’s body. Days turned into months, months turned into years.
The baby grew into a young girl, and Aduke named her Abseed.
But deep in Aduke’s heart, the warning of the spirit still echoed:
Fifteen years. Not even once. Or something terrible would happen.
And now, because Abseed had never bathed for years, her body began to smell badly. The smell was strong. Whenever she walked into the village, people would quickly cover their noses. Some would turn their faces away. Some would whisper. Some would laugh openly.
The children her age were the worst.
“Dirty girl,” they would shout. “Why don’t you bathe? You smell like a dead animal.”
They would run away from her, holding their noses and laughing.
Abseed would pretend to be strong, but when she got home, she would break down in tears.
She would cry to Aduke, “Mama, why can’t I bathe like other children? Why am I different?”
Aduke’s heart would tremble, but she would hide her fear.
“You must not mind them,” Aduke would lie and say firmly. “It is a taboo for humans to bathe. If you bathe, you will die very soon, but if you don’t, you will live long.”
Those words planted fear inside Abseed’s heart.
Then Aduke would add, “Have you ever seen me bathe before? Since I was born, I have never bathed.”
Meanwhile, Aduke bathed secretly, but she did not let her child know.
Every day, the shame grew heavier.
As the villagers mocked her more, Abseed tried to endure it, and slowly, a dangerous curiosity began to grow inside her heart.
What would really happen if I bathed?
As Abseed turned 14 years old, a very powerful and mysterious force entered her body. It was not ordinary, and from that day, Abseed could do what no other person in the village could do.
One day, a man in the village became very sick. His body was weak. His family had taken him to different herbalists. They tried many roots and many mixtures, but nothing worked. He was almost dying.
Then the spirit inside Abseed told her to visit the man’s hut.
Some people laughed.
“The smelly girl.”
They all covered their noses.
Abseed simply walked to a small bush around the man’s house and plucked a common leaf, the same leaf the man’s wife used every day to cook soup, a leaf nobody respected.
She squeezed the leaf carefully and pressed the juice into a small rubber container. Then she gave the liquid to the sick man.
Within moments, the man sat up. His strength returned. His breathing became normal.
He was healed instantly.
The villagers were shocked.
How could an ordinary cooking leaf heal a dying man?
From that day, fear and respect began to grow for Abseed.
Another day, a farmer was confused. He stood on his farmland talking to himself.
“Should I plant yam or maize?” he wondered. He did not know which crop would succeed or fail.
Abseed walked past him and heard him speaking.
She picked a leaf. She gently rubbed the leaf across her face. Immediately, her eyes changed. It was as if she could see the future.
She looked at the soil and said calmly, “Plant cassava.”
The man obeyed.
Months passed. After a year, the man became very rich. The cassava business was booming in the market.
People began to talk.
Abseed was not ordinary. She had power.
Now some of the villagers respected her, but some still mocked her. When she walked past, they still covered their noses. They still whispered. They still laughed. They could not sit close to her because of the smell.
Yet whenever they had problems, whenever they were confused, they ran to her.
The same people who mocked her.
The same people who laughed at her.
They needed her power.
And Abseed would sit quietly, listening to them.
But among all the villagers who mocked Abseed, one girl was different.
Her name was Lolad.
She was a little older than Abseed.w
When Lolad’s friends mocked Abseed, Lolad did not mock her. Lolad watched her. She admired her power. She wanted to be like Abseed. She wanted people to talk about her name in the village. She wanted people to respect her, but she did not want the dirty part. She did not want the smell.
So one day, Lolad went to meet her mother, because her mother was a witch. She knew many secrets.
“Mama,” Lolad said, “I want to be like Abseed. I want to do magic. I want people to talk about my power.”
Her mother looked at her seriously.
