A Lamp, Too Late.

There was a gargantuan palace built mostly with mud, bamboo, carved logs, and other materials. Although the building was made primarily of mud its facade was made especially smooth.

It had several white horizontal recesses in the form of lines numbering seven made unto the wall surface. Inside a large hall serving as a court in the huge palace, were a group of people singing and dancing excitedly about something.

As they danced and sang happy songs, several people dressed in white gown would occasionally step forward one after the other to pay worship to a being situated at the far end of the long hall. The left and right side of the hall had several short ornamental stools made of bronze and wood arranged side by side into a Congress.

Some people, dressed in white were seated on, or were standing around the stools—they also came off as jubilant, but it was noticeable that some were happier than others.

However, the women and men who were dancing seemed the most excited. They swayed left to right with both their hands suspended at the chest level dancing in a manner which seemed very much like cupping, only that their arms didn't touch and it kept moving up and down rhythmically. They danced with so much passion so that it seemed they had no care in the world.

One woman, in particular, a middle-aged woman dressed in a red elegant and beautifully embroidered wrapper, tied over her body in a way that revealed only her head, shoulders, arms, and feet, was ecstatic.

She beamed with radiant joy, smiling and singing as she swayed left to right; dancing.

Her skin was black all over, impressing her deep brown eyes to appear shaded and blacker than they truly were. However, even at first sight, her beauty was unmistakable. She had been especially blessed with a definite and ambitious figure. Her hips and bosoms were large, round, and curvy like an egele pot.

Although she was holding a baby, she and the people around were in a revelry. The baby she was holding had Its face stoned and expressionless. Ironic as it may sound, the baby was not even crying amidst the loud noise of singing and dancing. Its eyes would change color now and then when he blinked. Sometimes blue, sometimes red other times black.

A while later, the ambitious woman and her group left the palace court and were dancing their way back to her hut when they ran into another group. The group of people was led by a slim beautiful black woman in front.

"Uh! what is going on here? Esagho have you put to bed already, aren't you suppose to be in labor in the next four harvests." The woman, queen Idia, who was in front of her group asked excitedly from shock when she saw the other woman on a red wrapper similar to hers. although she had received news that the first queen was already in labor, Idia believed it was just a rumor since the first queen still had four harvest time–roughly equivalent to two months for her pregnancy to mature.

She was just in a hurry to the palace, in an attempt not to take any chance.

"Yes! Idia, I have finally produced a male child for our husband. The heir to the throne." the ambiguous woman, said condescendingly to the queen Idia.

After she finished speaking, the ambiguous woman noticed the queen Idia was also carrying a baby.

"Oh, I see... the gods have smiled on you too.

good for you, is it a boy?

Humph!

you know what, don't bother. Don't you think it's just a waste of effort to give birth to a male child? Since I've already given birth to and presented the crown prince to the king." with a tone full of sarcasm, queen Esagho, the ambiguous queen in red wrapper said.

"Really!? Is it true that the king has already named your child? Aren't you just on your way to the palace now?" queen Idia said in a low voice, she was disappointed, yet she refused to believe what queen Esagho had said.

"Hehe, no need to ask me so many questions.

you can ask my servants if you have doubts.

You know what? I can see you're still in denial. Anyway, I can tell you the name the king gave to my son if you truly want to know.

Do you want to know?" queen Esagho chuckled as she spoke, she was enjoying thoroughly torturing queen Idia.

Although the queens feigned smiles and courtesy when they met, they were in deep competition with each other and other queens due mostly to the fact that the king didn't have any male child before. So there was an aggressive competition between his four wives to produce the first male child and heir to the throne.

"Humph!

did I tell you I'm interested in knowing your son's name? Well, I have somewhere to be now, goodbye!" Although queen Idia wanted really to be sure if what queen Esagho said was true, she couldn't put up with queen Esagho's arrogance anymore, so she decided to take her to leave immediately.

"Haha

Ok, have a nice day." Esagho mocked, as queen Idia left with her people.

Back at the palace court, a group of people came in. With the sound of a baby's cry resounding as they entered the hall.

"Oh. Is Esagho back again? what does she want this time? do you think she forgot something?"

"Oh wait!

that not Esagho, that's Idiamwen.

yes!.. I remember now. I heard she was pregnant too. Has she given birth already?

do you think it is a male child too?"

"Haha. I doubt. this is queen Idia's first child, it has to be a female. Remember all the other queens had given birth to female before. Even queen Esagho who just produced the heir had given birth to two female children before. Anyways, what a miracle it'll be if it's a male child."

The chiefs and other palace officials discussed among themselves.

just then, a lamp quenched as the fire faded away.