Competition started among the women. Larape indicated interest in selling “Adire” local fabric, she travels to Abeokuta to make her purchases and she hawks her wares around the city and she had a shop where she displayed her wares on market days, she also visit other villages on their market days.
Before long Aduke also started the same trade, making Larape to be mad. First it was marring her husband and now she had ventured into her trade. Why not choose another trade Larape had challenged her when she first saw Aduke displaying clothes in a new shop at the market square.
Selfish woman! Selfish woman! Was all Aduke kept shouting.
Larape sold off all her clothes and in two weeks, she stopped selling clothes. She left the business for Aduke.
The both had three sons each and were ready to have more it not for Alabi that stated running from his wives, he had not planned to have six children in such quick succession but for the women in his life that were trying to out wit each other.
Larape started to go round the village collecting money from traders daily for savings and paying them their money upon request or at end of the month after deducting her commission. She uses a bicycle for her trade; she was called ‘Iya alajo’. Mother of thrift.
no sooner had she started the business than her fame went viral throughout the neighbouring villages. she had to extend her coverage area to as far as four communities that share boundaries with us. She employed two other women as her assistants she was also a money lender, like her husband, she was notably very rich as could be seen from the glow of her skin and the expensive ‘Aso oke’ jewelries, shoes and bags that she wears.
Aduke’s clothes business did not thrive. It collapsed after six months as the rate of debtors doubled and she did not have any money to continue the trade.
If was when she eventually ventured into the thrift business that everyone known she was really a trouble brewer.
But Larape was far gone into the business, to feel the impact of Aduke’s entry.
Aduke could only muster a handful of clients and after one year in the thrift business, She began to spread malicious rumour about her mate using diabolic means to support her business.
An old woman once asked Aduke to explain how Larape is being diabolic when she collects your money daily and pays it back when due without failing, she advised Aduke to stay off the scandalous path she was taking and mind her own business.
Things took a drastic turn when robbers stormed the house on the hill on a fateful night, that night Aduke took her children to sleep in her father house, the thieves’ carted away bags of money belonging to Larape and Alabi. Alabi was supposed to travel into the inter-lands to purchase cocoa seeds by the next day, Larape was supposed to start paying off her clients their dues the next day being the last day of the month, a lot of money was in the house, and as if taking all of money was not enough, the thieves stabbed Larape to death and carried her three children out of their beds and dumped them inside the well full of water Alabi was beaten to stupor but his life was spared.
Our people have a saying that “when the witch cried at night and the next day, a baby is dead, every one would know it is the witch that killed the baby” so it was obvious that Aduke had a hand in the tragedy that took place in Alabi’s house.