Once Upon a Time in the village of II lived the most beautiful Maiden you would ever meet she was so beautiful that the villagers would often sit and make monetary bets on how much the doy would cost to marry the beautiful AMA the Young Mens wanted to be her and the young men were ready to do anything to marry her a the other hand was fully aware of the madness her beauty was curing in the village and she loved every bit of it those were the moments her mother Nea had prepared her for her entire
life my gold her mother would call her when she was younger you will marry a wealthy husband who will bring us all the wealth your late father could not offer us she would tell her as she braided her hair and Jama would take those words into her heart every time she heard them and as time went on she began to believe that was her only purpose in life NECA had three children from her late husband two girls and one boy but AMA was her favorite for obvious reasons ama's siblings chidera and the bar were always
treated like second class citizens in their home the entire life's mission was to make AMA happy when she was sad they had to sing or dance to make her smile whatever they ate at home was dependent on what e was craving they referred to her as Queen instead of her name because their mother insisted it would remind that she belonged to royalty or wealth and worse of all Nea would send chider and a to some villagers to work and their wages was used to take care of e she would encourage them as she took their
money saying do not worry when your sister brings that man that we are all waiting for all our lives would change for the best despite all these treatments chider and E did not hate their little sister even though their mother clearly favored e they stayed close to her because they remembered their happy times together as kids and still saw her as their sister not just the queen their mother wanted her to be the knew AMA was also stuck in their mother's plans so they could not be angry at her their strong bond as siblings helped
them stick together when it was finally time for AMA to be married Nea became even more determined to find the right suitter she was especially harsh when the wrong type of men came to her compound to seek 's hand in marriage are you not the Potter who has a shop close the border NECA asked one Su who came for a the man confidently nodded pleased that NECA recognized him but then she burst into mocking laughter I know you can make clay pots for cooking but I am looking for someone who can continuously afford to buy
food stuff to cook inside the pot leave my compound sir she shouted angrily some others would come and she would angrily pour a huge drum of water over them or Splash paint on their clothes and when she was feeling extremely Wicked she would go ahead to cook a meal for the sutor then she would add a lot of pepper into the meal and when they requested for water she would laugh and ask so after giving you free food you want me to give you free water too the villagers had mixed feelings about neca's actions some
Market sellers would joke severally about the situation I can always count on Nea to buy this paint for E's unfortunate shs even though no one else does and they would all laugh others would say who does she think she is is she the only one with a beautiful daughter in fact we are not interested anymore but despite their words when AMA took her usual evening stroll the young men were captivated by her beauty all over again easily forgiving her mother's Behavior after all who wouldn't AMA was the epitome of Beauty in the village of Uli
her skin shimmered like polished eony smooth and radiant Under the Sun her big bright eyes eyes sparkled like the clearest Stars her high cheekbones and full lips were perfectly sculpted 's long flowing hair was decorated with shiny beads and gold threads that cut the light when she smiled her whole face lit up making everyone who saw her feel happy and Enchanted and she carried herself with a natural Grace that made her stand out wherever she went one day the time finally came for NECA to receive the reward for her long awaited plans there was an
extremely wealthy Merchant called kichi who came into II to do business with the King kichi was the richest man in the entire East and to honor him the king held an exclusive banquet for him and in the evening King anay took him on a walk to see his kingdom and walking behind them were some Warriors and a musician who sang loud praises of the king and kichi as they walked at the same time e and her mother decided to go on an evening stroll together from a distance the Praises from the musician reached neca's ears
and she could not help but wonder how kichi looked everyone from the East knew about him but she had never seen him as he was not from her Village it your ma can you hear what they are saying about that man she asked her daughter in excitement those are the type of suitors I want for you but Mama a man like that will already have so many wives and someone like that is not fit for me she answered her mother NECA smiled at her daughter in confidence my gold she healed her I am happy you
know who you are and I was not insinuating that he is your husband I was only referring to his riches anyways let us hurry so we can catch a glimpse of this great man eventually they got close to the King and his guest so Nea and her daughter greeted politely and just as they were about to continue walking kichi called out to e excuse me young M he said to her kichi and the King exchanged glances to acknowledge her beauty are you looking for a new wife the king asked kilichi but he laughed gently and
said since my wife passed away I have not been interested in any other woman but I believe this beautiful maing will be a wonderful fit for my only child chiky NECA was very excited if anyone had told her that her goal would be chosen by kichi to marry his son she would have never believed all her hard work had finally paid off afterwards kichi informed NECA that he would come back with his son and King's Men to officially make their intention known until so the agreement was made in the presence of the king an news
rapidly spread around the village many of the villagers became friendlier to NECA they wanted to be friends with the in-law of the wealthy kichi NE on the other hand spared no expense she sourced for funds from her other children who were now married and when that was not enough she borrowed from people promising to pay back she knew that once her daughter was married into K's family her financial worries would be over 2 weeks later as promised kichi came with his King's Men but when they all sat down noticed that the men he had come
with were all the same age as kilichi so she asked kichi you said you will be coming with your son but I have not seen him or is he on his way Ki smiled and responded apologies my in-law you know my son chiy is the heir to all my wealth he had to attend to Urgent business matters in a distant Village but he trusts my decision Nea laughed out loud and said of course I understand after all he will be here for the wedding we can do without him today but chid's brother was not satisfied
with the answer but should chiy not see his bride before you pay the doy today he asked and immediately Nea pinched him to shut up my son k she answered nobody will see ama and refuse her as they bright he said and everybody laughed in agreement and immediately the DIY payment commenced soon after that a date was chosen for the wedding and preparations were in full gear NECA put her daughter through several expensive Beauty treatment and she spared no expense in the wedding preparations it's just had to be grand because the beauty from II was
getting married to the great chiy in the midst of all these preparations AMA would quietly wonder about her groom and what he looked like yes she was happy she would be married into riches like her mother desired but secretly she also wanted to love and be loved by her future husband and each passing day leading to the wedding her anticipation grew when the day finally came she got dressed in the most beautiful attire and she was adorned with the most Royal beads several prestigious guests invited by kilichi flocked neca's compound including King anayo the visitors
brought many gifts and the villagers watched in admiration each time someone influential arrived but all that did not concern AMA so much several times she would peek through the window of the room she waited in hoping to see when maik kilichi and his son would arrive after what seemed like eternity to Ida Chik finally arrived with his father and several other Kingsmen the musician sang Praises of him and his father as they walked into the ceremony eama ran to the window to catch a glimpse of him and when she did she was pleasant ly pleased
chick was a goodlooking man well built with a charming smile but despite his looks AMA could not help but wonder why he was so plainly dressed for goodness sakes he was the groom but she overlooked it and said to herself I've always heard that wealthy people do not like to be overdressed the wedding ceremony eventually began and the J was ushered out to meet her husband the drums played beautifully blending with a melodious tune from the African flutes Andy Jama danced elegantly swaying her hips to the tune of the music afterwards she handed the cup
filled with wine to Chi as tradition demanded to signify that it was her husband the whole crowd cheered in excitement but to CH and EA the world was s Ence and it was only them that existed as their eyes met it was clear they were attracted to each other one would believe they had been in love for many years indeed kichi perfectly matched his son to a woman he knew he would like the marriage ceremony was over and chiy and his bride made their way home however AMA rode in a separate Carriage while chii rode
together with k because they had urgent matters to address when they finally arrived at kich home was stunned his home was magnificent nothing like she had seen before Chik went to his bride and said my wife Welcome Home the maid will Usher you to our quarters give me an hour to finish my conversation with my father he will be traveling tomorrow and this is the only chance I have he told her and the J blushed she loved the way her husband spoke as instructed the maid ushered her into her quarters but when a entered she
was alarmed the quarters were very plain are we in the right place she asked the maid yes this is Master Chi's quarters the maid answered aama asked her to leave but she was in shock she stepped outside the quarters to ensure she was still in mich's compound CH quarters and the compound were like two different worlds well I guess this place was lacking a woman's touch now that I am here I will beautify it to my standard she said to herself AMA decided to start opening the gifts she received from her wedding while she waited
for chiy there were a lot of of gifts and she could not wait to see what each contained slowly she unwrapped them revealing pots expensive materials and many more things but she soon got sleepy and in a matter of time she lay beside a huge pile of gifts and slept off wake up ID heard someone say in her sleep she rubbed her eyes and saw chy in front of her she did not real realized she had slept off my husband I was waiting for you so I decided to open our gift while I waited she
said as she yawned but chick was not pleased we should have discussed this before you began do you not know that we can gift these items to others when we are invited for occasions that way we will save money he said alarmed JMA was confused his answer but she decided to not ask any more questions I am sorry I was not aware she answered him Chi felt he might have been too harsh so he apologized then he sat next to her and said you made such a beautiful bride you are a beautiful woman he complimented
and she smiled back at him thank you she responded then she looked at him and said you know if I had met you on the road judging from your attire I wouldn't have known today was your wedding chiy laughed I'm a very simple man why do I have to spend all that money on an occasion when I can simply wear one of my pre-existing clothes he responded you you you mean you did not get new clothes for the wedding e asked in shock and he nodded proudly and said I've had this attire for 3 years
and it has served me well I believe money should be kept for important purposes did you see the amount of food items my father brought to pay your DIY I told him we cannot be wasting money like that and when he insisted I refused to go with him he also offered to get me a new traditional attire for today but I stood my ground as always and put on the attire I have on now I cannot be part of such wasteful lifestyle 's heart began to beat in fear what had she gotten herself into kichi
told her mother that chiy was on a trip which was why he was not present at the DI payment I'm hungry she said finally finding her words can I please get some corn and peer to eat she asked no Pier is almost out of season so anyone you find now will be over prised I will tell the maids to prepare yam for you chi said and immediately he got up and walked away AMA began to panic wondering how she was going to adjust to this place all her life she ate whatever she wanted dressed beautifully
and waited for a wealthy man to marry her but now she did not need a prophet to tell her that although she was surrounded by riches and wealth she did not have access to it because her husband was extremely stingy several days passed and each day revealed new sides of chiy AMA soon discovered that her husband owned only eight pieces of clothing which he wore in a strict rotation their quarters were plain because Chi believed that decorations were a waste of money are the decorations going to talk to me when I am bored he would
say whenever AMA asked him about it sometimes she found his reasoning so ridiculous that she wanted to laugh but then realizing how much it affected her the laughter would turn into tears she had left most of her clothing in oie hoping that her husband would buy her luxurious new outfits chick stingy nature quickly began to place a huge strain on their marriage I do not understand why you need all these things Chi would complain even when she asked for basic necessities we need to save money he would say what are we even saving for chiy
look around you can see we have enough money let's enjoy ourselves a little AMA would argue H speak for yourself I am enjoying my life just fine he would say with a laugh AMA became frustrated and alone her days were filled with constant back and forth between herself and chiy and she had no one to confide in her father-in-law kichi had left on a long trip soon after her wedding as if he had known what was coming and wanted to avoid it desperate for companionship AMA began to seek soless in amaka an older maid who
worked in K's household through her conversations with amaka ID learned more about Chi's past kichi only met his son 2 years ago amaka revealed my master kichi and shik's mother were young lovers when she got pregnant she ran away because ki's parents threatened her she was the daughter of a poor farmer amaka explained that no one knew why chiy was the way he was but kilichi let him be because he was overjoyed to have a child his wife had never born him a child before she passed away so when CH showed up kichi celebrated with
a feast amaka also advised AMA to learn beid making I can take them to the market and sell for you at least you can use the money to buy some things for yourself she suggested to e e took amaka's advice to heart and began learning beid making urgently as she needed to earn some money for herself meanwhile back in II Nea was growing increasingly Restless it had been 3 months since the wedding and she had expected to be swimming in wealth by now the people she had borrowed money from were starting to demand repayment in
desperation she sent a message to her daughter asking why she had been left to suffer NECA was confident that the messenger would return with many bags of cowries so she invited her creditors to gather at her house on the same evening the messenger would return but she was in for a shock instead of bringing back wealth the messenger returned with sad news from e e narrated to him how pitiful her life was as a married woman to make matters worse she even went so far as to ask her mother for a loan if she had
any money to spare NECA nearly fainted when she heard the news in a panic she tried to flee but someone noticed her and alerted the others who quickly chased her down and when they caught up with her she pleaded desperately please have mercy on me I'm an old woman she cried were you young when you borrowed the money from us one of them fired back at her but she continued to beg for more time and eventually they agreed to give her a little longer Ina immediately turned to her other children for help sharing with them
what AMA was going through chidera her eldest son spoke up angrily mama I knew something was wrong but you were only interested in money well we can't keep paying for your mistakes we will give you what we can and then we'll send some money to AMA we have our own families now if we pay off such a huge death our own families will suffer chidera said speak speaking on behalf of his sister a then she added we have sacrificed enough over the years to support your plans and we can't do it anymore realizing she had
no other choice NECA sold her only plot of land to pay off the debt she also knew she had to find a way to support herself so she decided to sell fruits in the market however when she went to sell the villagers began to mock her how can ki's in-law be selling fruits in the market they asked amongst themselves some of the men she had once looked down on would deliberately buy from her only to laugh in her face NECA felt humiliated but she knew this was her fate now moving forward she would live on
the profits from her fruit business and whatever income her children sent to her as time passed AMA mastered the art of bead making and was finally ready to sell her Creations but before doing so she decided to do something unexpected she gifted the first piece to her husband I thought this would look good with that white attire you always wear on Sundays she said CH carefully examined the beads his eyes narrowing as he took them in this is well crafted he said slowly holding the beads up to the lights but why would you spend your
time on something like this bead making won't bring us wealth prepared for his usual frugality replied gently it's not just about wealth my husband I made this for you because I care for you I know you don't like to spend money on things that are not necessary but this is a small gift from me to show my appreciation for you Chik was silent for a moment clearly taken AB back by her sincerity finally he nodded and to you surprise put the beads around his neck thank you he said quietly almost awkwardly as if he was
not used to express gratitude AMA smiled feeling a small victory in her heart she knew this was just a tiny step but it was a step nonetheless days turned into weeks and EJ continued to make and sell beads slowly accumulating enough money to buy small things that brought her Joy like a new piece of cloth and occasionally she would give Chi one item or the other she noticed that he had begun to open up to her gradually for example when he returned from work he would tell her all that happened he would even ask her
to visit him at work so they could spend more time together one day while they sat under the tree eating a meal AMA asked chiy a question at the risk of spoiling his mood chy why are you so focused on saving money it's good to save but yours seems like an obsession Chi seemed uncomfortable he wanted to run away from the conversation but he also felt like she was his safe space he finally sighed his voice low and filled with emotion it's my mother he began his gaze fixed on the ground when I was a
child she always struggled to make end me we Bell had enough to eat and she constantly worried about money it was a hard life and she would often tell me Chi never waste money save every coin you earn because you never know when you might need it and when she was Ill we did not have enough money to treat her she died because the money was not enough to treat her AMA felt pity in her heart and hugged him allowing chiky to lean on her I'm sorry you had to go through that she said I
know it makes you very uncomfortable he confessed but just maybe if I have enough money I can always save the people I love but my dear we are living miserably and what if money can't save your loved one at the end of the day what happens to all the money you saved she responded to him chiy thought deeply he had never imagined a scenario like that and just like a miracle after a long period of Silence he said to her you're right I guess I just felt stuck after I lost my mother I promise you
my love I would do better ID smiled reassuringly we'll take it one step at a time we'll save for the future but we also make sure we enjoy the present life is meant to believed chy not just survived over the next few months AMA and chii worked together to reshape their lives AMA continued to expand her bid making business bringing in a steady income that allowed her to buy small luxuries for their home she was careful to make sure that every purchase was discussed with ch easing him into the idea that it was okay to
spend money on things that brought comfort and joy CH on the other hand losing up as promised after all he was never really stingy he was only scared for the future he began to take better care of himself he bought his wife what she needed and provided for his home in every way a man is required too their love blossomed their relationship deepened and they lived happily ever after the moral lesson of this story is that it is unwise for anyone to build their financial fantasies on someone else's income the Bible says in Proverbs 10:4
that being lazy will make you poor and hard work will make you rich instead of viewing someone as your ticket to a better life focus on working hard and building your own future and with God's grace we can all find success remember there is dignity in hard work thank you for watching today's story if you enjoyed it please like and share with your loved ones and let me know what you learned in the comments I always enjoy hearing from you all until next time bye
