Gold Under My Mother’s Grave / Chapter 3: No More Mumu Mode
Gold Under My Mother’s Grave

Gold Under My Mother’s Grave

Author: Sonya Arnold


Chapter 3: No More Mumu Mode

Dem never finish the lot drawing.

Na Halima turn.

Halima fine, yellow skin, face like egg, slim—na the pretty widow wey all the men for Palm Grove village dey eye.

She stand there, dey look the box, like say she no know which paper to pick.

[See as the supporting babe dey confuse—the paper wey the guy arrange don already enter babe hand.]

[Babe go soon change her destiny. This one go sweet.]

[I just land—so the second round story really change?]

Subtitles still dey float.

People for crowd dey sigh and dey talk.

Last last, Halima pick the best land for the whole village.

As people dey congratulate her, she just dey smile anyhow, dey look Ibrahim to help am.

Ibrahim just frown, glance at her small.

Some of the elders dey click tongue, one old mama talk, "This Halima, ehn, she dey lucky shaa." Another man tap Ibrahim small for back, "Oga, see as your hand dey strong for woman matter."

As I reach house, I carry my calendar come out.

For my last life, na that time Ibrahim take leave from work come back—

for land sharing and our marriage.

For our village, na male person dem dey use share land. Since my parents die some years back, my family no get male again.

Na why Ibrahim come help my family get land slot.

That time, I too happy, love this "Brother Ibrahim" well well.

I dey count days to marry am, dey wait make we finally become husband and wife.

Now, na the day wey he go comot I dey count.

I fold the corner of the calendar.

Twelve days remain.

Before then, I must find way scatter this engagement.

As everything dey replay for my mind, I nearly cry.

This time, I no go let marriage hold me down, I no go waste my life.

I go keep the thing wey my papa and mama leave for me.

I go go city, grab every opportunity.

I go live my own life.

Na so I kneel for ground, talk small prayer, "Mama, Papa, make una guide me. I no go disappoint una again."

After night food, Ibrahim knock my door.

Ibrahim house don empty tey tey. Since small, na our guest room he dey stay.

"About the land wey we pick today, make we swap am with Halima family."

"She be widow with pikin. That land too big for her to handle. The one behind our house small, fit her and her son well."

If no be say I don come back, and I no see all those subtitles wey expose Ibrahim plan,

I for happy, think say na better land he leave for me.

[Chai, this guy get mind o! See as he dey rush go collect the gold wey babe papa and mama hide.]

[No be just collect, na to give am to him real madam. E funny die.]

[Babe, abeg, no let love blind you!]

As I see the subtitles, I just smile small:

"No need. That land na our own since. After all these years, I don dey use am, I no fit leave am."

Ibrahim face change, frown come strong. His jaw muscle dey jump, but he no fit talk as before. The silence for the room heavy, like when rain wan fall. I just turn back, carry cup, sip water slow.

Next day, I begin pack things for house.

I arrange the things wey I no fit carry,

then waka go knock Mama Funke door wey dey next compound.

Mama Funke get one son, Funke Junior, two years younger than me.

Funke Junior enter university that year, but after accident, leg bend, school no work again.

For my last life, since Ibrahim dey travel up and down, na Mama Funke family dey help me, I sef dey help them.

One time, my adopted son get high fever, chemist lock for night, I just dey cry dey hug the boy.

Na Mama Funke console me, and Funke Junior, no talk, just drag him bad leg go buy medicine for night.

He come back for morning, leg full mud and blood.

Mama Funke family treat me well.

Them no get money, Funke Junior leg still dey pain am.

Before I waka, I wan help them as I fit.

I give Mama Funke all the things wey still useful.

Mama Funke eye red:

"Ngozi, you wan follow Ibrahim go after marriage?"

I just tell am:

"Mama, I no go dey stay for here again, but I go still dey come greet una."

Mama Funke reason am, then pull me one side:

"E good to dey close to house."

She point make I look farm for side:

"Ngozi, I no wan talk wetin go pain you, but your Ibrahim na correct guy—try dey watch am well. See, e good say you no go dey village again, if not, he for don turn that widow husband."

Na true she talk.

Ibrahim dey help Halima repair farm tool, Halima dey smile, dey use handkerchief clean him sweat.

I just hiss.

So e don dey obvious since, I just no see am before.

But e no matter again.

Mama Funke press my hand, whisper, "No let man use your head fry akara for morning market. Abeg, open your eye well."

As I dey pack, I arrange all the farm tools,

lean dem for wall for yard.

That night, Ibrahim no come chop for house.

He come back late.

"I help person today, so I chop for their side."

That one mean say na Halima house e chop.

I just quietly arrange the plates for cupboard.

Ibrahim notice say the house don dey empty—some of my clothes and things I don pack.

He look surprised small:

"Ngozi, wetin be all this?"

He think say I wan follow am, so he begin explain:

"Ngozi, I never fit carry family come yet. We don talk this thing before."

I nod:

"I know."

I know say that family slot no be for me.

"So wetin you dey do…"

I just reply am gently:

"I wan start new life. Just dey arrange things."

Ibrahim no talk again.

He scratch head, look ground. As I close cupboard, I feel one kain relief for my chest, like I drop one heavy load.

This chapter is VIP-only. Activate membership to continue.

You may also like

The Spirit Who Chose Her Suffering
The Spirit Who Chose Her Suffering
4.7
Every night, a grieving girl brings food to a grave, begging a spirit she believes is her lost mother. Bound by pain and powerless to help, the spirit watches her struggle—until the girl's desperate plea shatters the boundary between the living and the dead. When the truth of her mother's fate is revealed, a sacrifice is made that will shake the ancestors and rewrite destinies.
Bride Price Blood Money
Bride Price Blood Money
4.9
Trapped by a mother's deadly greed, a young man faces the haunting of his beloved sister, sacrificed for money and status. As family secrets turn into curses, he must survive a night where tradition, betrayal, and the supernatural collide. Will he escape his mother’s sins, or will the ghost bride drag him into the grave?
Her Mama’s Love, My Own Shame
Her Mama’s Love, My Own Shame
4.8
Halima dey boast about her rich life and perfect mama, but her hair rough, uniform dirty, and hunger dey show her real story. When class mocking and one brutal beating expose the truth, her pride still no gree her beg—even as her own mother curse and abandon am. Now she vanish without goodbye, and the only thing left is my regret and the memory of her pain—was her love for her mama her biggest blessing or her deepest curse?
My Daughter Used Me For Ticket Money
My Daughter Used Me For Ticket Money
5.0
After years of sacrificing everything for her entitled daughter’s wild obsession with a pop artist, a single mother gets a rare second chance at life—and this time, she’s done being used. With her heart on the line and her freedom at stake, she decides to let her daughter face the real consequences of her choices, no matter how messy the fallout.
The Forgotten Child Beneath the Palm Tree
The Forgotten Child Beneath the Palm Tree
4.8
After her father's betrayal and her mother's desperate act, nine-year-old Yanyan dies and wanders as a hungry spirit, watching her family move on and erase her memory. Blamed for her own death, denied a proper grave, and powerless to protect her little sister from vengeful spirits, Yanyan clings to fading hope for her mother's love. In a world where even the living's prayers can't reach her, will she ever find peace, or is she doomed to haunt the shadows of their happiness forever?
Bride Price or Blood: My Marriage War
Bride Price or Blood: My Marriage War
4.8
Midnight rain pounds the zinc as my wife guards her bride price like gold, refusing to save her own mother in the hospital. One IOU, one broken phone, and curses fly as family turns enemy, and tradition becomes a weapon. Tonight, I must choose: betray my marriage vows or let blood spill—because in this house, money is thicker than love.
Stepbrother’s Hatred: Banished in My Mother’s House
Stepbrother’s Hatred: Banished in My Mother’s House
4.7
On my mother’s wedding day, I was forced to call a stranger 'Daddy'—and his son nearly drowned me for it. Now, trapped in the Adekunle mansion, I am treated like an outcast, blamed for a death I did not cause, and forced to kneel before a stepbrother who would rather see me gone. I thought I was escaping poverty, but I entered a house where my suffering is the only thing truly mine.
Sold by My Dead Father’s Spirit
Sold by My Dead Father’s Spirit
4.8
After burying my papa, he sits up from the grave, hungry for food and trouble. Instead of peace, his wild spirit drags me from village to town, then sells me to a stranger—just like he sold my sister. Now, I must serve a harsh old teacher, hiding my dream to learn, while the truth about my real papa haunts me like midnight masquerade.
Her Pain, Their Blessing: The Beating Ritual
Her Pain, Their Blessing: The Beating Ritual
4.8
In Chinedu’s family, every blow landed on his mother brings fortune—her suffering is their secret ritual for luck. Betrayed and sold as a bride, Mom’s pain is currency, traded for school admission, money, and even love. But as the beatings grow, a darker truth surfaces: her pain is draining their souls, and the luck they worship may be a deadly curse waiting to consume them all.
Burning Her Youth for One Million Naira
Burning Her Youth for One Million Naira
4.8
Desperate for a better life, I agreed to burn real naira for a mysterious old woman, but each note I sacrificed drained my youth and fed hers. Trapped and betrayed, I realized too late that the ritual was a deadly exchange—my years for her beauty, my soul for her greed. Now, with death at my door and my only hope a childhood sticker, I must outwit a spirit that preys on hunger and dreams.
Buried Daughter, Unfinished Hide-and-Seek
Buried Daughter, Unfinished Hide-and-Seek
4.8
Twenty years ago, Olawale and his wife locked their daughter Keke in an iron wardrobe, leaving her behind for a 'better life.' Now, as their son’s wedding approaches, a dreaded prophecy and Keke’s ghostly voice return to haunt their family. When the past knocks on their door—begging to be let in—no secret can stay buried, and no parent escapes the debt of blood.
Who Send Me Marry This Family
Who Send Me Marry This Family
4.9
After months of planning to fulfill her aging mother’s lifelong dream, a devoted daughter faces shocking betrayal from her own son and daughter-in-law. Family group chats explode, old wounds reopen, and the fight for respect and dignity threatens to tear them all apart. Will she sacrifice her own happiness or finally put herself first, no matter the cost?