“Can I sit with you?” Prince Ikenna asked.
“Yes, my prince,” she replied.
At first, there was silence between them. Then Ikenna looked at Ajimka.
“So where are you from?” he asked.
“From a small town nearby,” she said, mentioning the name of her community.
Ikenna nodded gently.
“And how was life before you came here?” he asked.
Ajimka took a short breath.
“It was quite a struggle,” she said.
Ikenna did not speak right away. He watched her for a moment, then said,
“My father told me the story of how you both met. Why did you help someone you did not even know?”
Ajimka looked at him, a little surprised by the question.
“I just could not ignore him,” she said.
She paused, then added,
“The first day he came to the restaurant where I used to work, he was humiliated by my madam because he begged for food. As someone who lost her parents at an early age, I know what hunger means. I know what it feels like to be hungry without hope. If I were in his place, I would want someone to help me too.”
Ikenna looked at her carefully. Then he nodded.
“I see.”
Slowly, the tension between them began to fade. They started talking more.
At first, it was just small questions and small answers. Then came the smiles. Soft and hesitant at first, but real.
King Ogbon watched them quietly. Sometimes he found himself smiling.
Days passed. Then weeks.
Ikenna and Ajimka grew closer with each passing day. It began with simple greetings.
“Good morning.”
“Good evening.”
Then the conversations became longer. And before long, they found themselves talking for hours, losing track of time.
One evening, Prince Ikenna approached his father. He spoke calmly but with certainty, telling his father that he had grown to admire Ajimka and believed he truly liked her. He said he wanted to speak with her privately and find out how she felt.
If she felt the same way about him, he intended to move forward with marriage arrangements.
King Ogbon listened, and a deep sense of joy filled his heart. He encouraged his son to follow his heart and speak to her.
Not long after, Ikenna approached Ajimka. He shared his thoughts with her honestly. Ajimka listened quietly, then smiled.
