Chapter 1: The Three-Colour Snake

When I was small, my family dey suffer serious poverty.

Those days, e be like say suffering dey tie wrapper for our waist. If breeze blow, our empty pockets go answer am with empty sound—na so hunger dey drum for inside. Sometimes, even the lantern wey dey for parlour go dey faint from lack of kerosene, and we go huddle together for mat, waiting for morning.

To feed my elder brother, my mama once waka enter harmattan cold, dig come find one three-colour snake wey dey hide for bush.

The harmattan breeze fit cut person skin that night, but my mama no send. Her wrapper drag for sand, slippers cut, but she dey determined. The bush dey smell of wet earth and old leaves, frogs dey croak for distance. Bush dey dark like devil's armpit, but she press on, eyes sharp like hunter own. When she see the snake—red, green, and yellow stripes shining for torchlight—she no even fear, just grab am with her bare hand.

She use the snake cook soup until the meat just dey scatter, and my brother chop am so tey oil full him mouth.

Soup wey mama cook that day, aroma reach neighbors dem compound. The pot bubble well, and when my brother chop, e dey lick him lips, oil dripping for chin. E smile for the first time in many moons, eyes bright like person wey win lottery.

Who for fit think say the next day, my brother go craze?

If dem tell us, who go believe? The way e begin behave ehn, even dog for yard run from am.

He begin crawl for ground, dey twist him body like snake.

Nobody fit hold am, as e dey hiss and twist, leg and hand dey move anyhow. Our neighbor, Mama Nkechi, shout, "Wetin be this wahala? Na juju?"

Na our Uncle Auwalu for village—the man wey dey do burial and wedding—calculate taya before e talk say the snake don turn to python, and the python don change to one kind ancestral spirit snake.

Uncle Auwalu na elder for our side. Him white beards long reach chest, eyes sharp, always dey chew bitter kola. That day, he just dey scratch head, mutter, consult all him old books and cowries, before he talk with authority like imam: "This matter pass ordinary. The snake wey una chop na spirit get am."

This three-colour snake don get spiritual power. To calm am, dem say dem must give am virgin girl as wife.

Village elders gather, argue tire. Some dey say make we try prayer, some say make we use salt and holy water, but Uncle Auwalu stand gidigba: "Spirit dey demand wife, if una no gree, trouble go plenty."

And for my family, na only my sister be virgin girl.

Na that night, everywhere just dey silent like graveyard. That night, even the moon hide, as if e dey fear wetin fit happen next.