Chapter 1: The Lady, The Myth, The Legend
**Somewhere**
In a very bright room filled with golden glitter in the four corners of the room including the ceiling, a human figure of 6'7ft tall could be seen doing some squatting workouts and counting.
"It's almost time", the figure said.
**
"Where is the money I sent you to withdraw?" Aishat's father asked for the hundredth time while whipping her. "It was stolen from me after I withdrew from the ATM" Aishat replied while in tears and screams. "Liar, liar, liar!! You either spent it or gave it to some boy, to help you keep it. So you could spend it later. No one steals from my family, I don't know about your mother's but I'm very sure no one steals from my family.
"Hey, hey, Mr. Man don't start with my family. We don't have thieves in our family and if she said the money was stolen from her then it was stolen, you know how this community is." Aishat's mother replied in my defense.
"Oh, yeah thank you for remembering how our community is. Of course, there are so many thieves in this community that I even married one and birthed another."
Standing up while wrapping her native wrapper around her waist and pointing fingers. Aishat's mother replied, "Kazeem or whatever your name is, stop calling me and your daughter thieves. You saw me before you married me and you know I don't steal"
"Then who removes money from my wallet each time I go to have my night bath, eh?. Tell me who?"
"I don't know what you are talking about that doesn't mean you should call my family thieves."
The argument kept going for minutes until it worked as a distraction for Aishat to escape.
Trying to catch her breath as she stopped running, she was just a few blocks away from home. "Damn, that old man has some energy in him," Aishat said while looking at the marks her father left in the past on her body and the ones he recently gave her. "Well, that settles it. He beats me, I keep his money to enjoy." Aishat said as she skipped happily to her hideout.
Getting to her hideout, she met her gang of friends from school waiting for her.
"Aishat, your papa flog you well this time" Chinedu commented after seeing the freshly made marks on her dark skin. "Well, no pain no gain. If pesin no feel pain e no fit make am for this life." She replied to him nonchalantly.
"Chi boy, na rock you dey see so. No amount of fain fit break am. She is strong like Olumo rock" Muhammad added with his local Hausa accent. "Aishat be careful, don't let your father kill you one day" Aliyat, her best friend added lastly.
"Okay guys, thank you all for your concern. Let's get to the reason we are here. I got 3k (3,000 naira), so I would take 1k una go share the rest."
"Mama the mama, you no go fall" The gang kept hailing Aishat as she gave and left them the cash to share among themselves.
**Hours later**
8:30 PM
Aishat was lying on her bed streaming some videos online when the wind suddenly got heavy and dust blew into her room through her window.
"Ha shit!! Dust got into my eyes" She said before closing her window. Turning back to walk to her bed, then a bright light... FLASH... as lightning struck her window missing her by a hair's breadth.
AWUSUBILAI!!!, Aishat screamed at the top of her lungs and ran out of her room almost falling. Her Parents hurriedly came out hearing their daughter scream from her bedroom.
"What happened, why did you scream like that?" Aishat's mother asked while touching and checking her daughter's body.
"Lightning struck into my room from my window", Aishat replied amidst tears.
" Ha, that must be Allah's doing for lying and stealing my money." Aishat's father replied nonchalantly.
Haba, Kazeem stop this naw, not this night again. Let this matter rest, Je ko ló(let it go)." Aishat's mother said.
Hmmm, whatever….The chicken will always lay another chicken, good night." He said before taking a look at his daughter and left for his bedroom.
**Next Day**
Triiiing, Triiiing, Triiiing… Aisht's phone alarm rang and vibrated loudly across the long couch she slept on in the parlour.
Yhaaaawn….oh God!, it's Monday again.
Aishat couldn't go back to her room after the lightning incident with her window last night.
**35 Minutes later**
Aishat was ready to go to school when she noticed the whole apartment was silent.
Mom, Aishat called her mother but she got no answer. " Mom, Aishat called again while checking the kitchen and other rooms.
" Can you just stop shouting ", Mr Kazeem said while coming down the stairs. "If you are looking for your mother, she has gone to the market. She has gone to get goods to sell." He added and left the house without taking a look at his daughter.
" Tch, what's wrong with him, is it because I stole just 3k and he is acting like a kid mtcheeew," Aishat said and hissed before walking out of the house and locking it.
**
Aishat met up with her friends so they could all go to school together.
****
Aishat, any update today?, Aliyat asked while they walked. " Hmmm, no update yet o, I'm sure my father would never let me near him or his wallet again."
The update Aliyat asked Aishat means 'is there anything to steal'.
" Make una no worry, I get update, Chinedu said. The gang looked at him with serious faces. " Papa Elvis goes to the market to get foodstuffs to fill his new shop at Aina junction. When he comes back, I and Mohammad will get some boys and break into his shop. Take his goods and resell at a cheaper price on the black market."
"Omo Chi-Sharp, your brain no dey dull at all," Aliyat told him while rubbing his head like a dog that did a perfect trick.
" Hmm, nice plan but we would need to be careful too not to get caught. Aishat said with a warning.
***At School***
...And that would be the end of today's class, see you all in the next class" the teacher said and left.
Immediately the teacher left, the class became a loud market.
**After School**
Aishat and her gang were chatting and laughing on their way home when suddenly the sky turned dark and windy. Heavy winds blew the trees, and the weak trees fell as they were uprooted from their roots.
The gang tried to hold each other as the heavy winds blew but Chinedu got blown by the wind and was thrown into an oncoming truck. He was killed on impact.
Aishat who saw this screamed her lungs out as she heard the sickening sounds of his bones crushing between the metal and the asphalt road. His body was gruesomely torn apart, limb from limb and his blood painted the streets red. She had never seen so much blood. The rest tried to stay together and find shelter before they died in the same way Chinedu died.
In the same manner, the weather changed from being stormy to calm like nothing ever happened.
**Somewhere**
Tch, I missed her again.' A figure said.
Will get her next time for sure. The figure said before vanishing into the air.
**