The Girl with the Louding Voice

Morufu is busy for most of the day so he is absent from the house. When he is home, he interrogates Adunni to find out if she is pregnant. Adunni does not tell him about the medicine Khadija makes for her. One day, Morufu and Labake are both at the monthly market. As Adunni entertains herself by singing and dancing, Khadija interrupts and asks her to go and fetch water. Adunni agrees, even though Morufu does not allow her to go so far away from the house. Khadija tells Adunni to go and play with her friends at the river.

At the river, Adunni finds Enitan among other children playing. As Adunni, Enitan, and their friend Ruka discuss her situation. Adunni realizes that Khadija has become like a second mother to her. Then, Adunni spots Kayus. She runs to her brother and they catch up.

On the way back to Morufu’s house, Labake stops Adunni on the road and accuses her of stealing gas from the stove. As Labake prepares to beat Adunni with a stick, but her daughter Kike interrupts to explain the missing gas. Annoyed, Labake pushes Adunni, who drops Khadija’s water pot, shattering it. After Labake leaves, Adunni thanks Kike for interjects on her behalf. 

A week later, Kike reveals that Morufu arranged a marriage for her. Kike is unenthusiastic about the prospect of marrying Baba Ogun, a widower who sells medicine in the village. She wishes she was a man so she could go to school or work as a dressmaker. When Adunni confesses that she always wanted to be a teacher, Kike encourages her not to give up on the dream. 

Adunni accompanies Khadija on a supposed visit to the midwife. Khadija is eight months pregnant and she is afraid that the baby will be born early. She is desperate to give birth to a healthy baby boy to ensure that Morufu continues to support her family. They tell Morufu that they are going to visit Khadija’s mother, but he is too distracted by Kike’s wedding day to notice. Adunni and Khadija walk two miles to the bus garage and then ride a bus to Kere village. 

The bus ride to Kere passes by farms, people, hills, and houses. As they walk from the bus stop to the midwife’s house, an exhausted Khadija struggles and sweats constantly. Adunni is confused but feels obliged to help her friend. She also worries that if Khadija dies, she will be killed as punishment.

When Adunni knocks on the midwife’s door, he is surprised to discover a man named Bamidele. Adunni watches as Bamidele cares for Khadija, referring to her as “my wife” (53). They talk about a ritual and a curse. Bamidele reveals that he loved Khadija before she married Morufu. They have kept their relationship secret, and the baby inside her is his. However, his family has a curse. They must wash Khadija in the river to make sure the baby survives. The children in Bamidele’s family are almost always male, so Khadija sought him out to impregnate her and to satisfy Morufu’s desire for a son.

Bamidele and Adunni talk to Khadija as they carry her to the river, telling her not to fall asleep. At the river, Bamidele fetches a special soap as a thunderstorm begins. Adunni sings for Khadija whose condition worsens. She asks Adunni to take care of her children. Adunni begs Khadija to stay with her, but Khadija dies. 

Adunni is all alone in a strange village. Khadija is dead and Bamidele has not returned. She is determined that Bamidele will be punished for Khadija’s death, not her. When Adunni returns to Bamidele’s house, a pregnant woman opens the door and denies that Bamidele is even in the village. She threatens Adunni and tells her to leave. Adunni refuses, and the woman begins to shout, attracting other villagers. Fearing for her life, Adunni runs away. 

Adunni runs to the bus garage and begs a motorcycle driver to take her to her father’s house. She cannot return to Morufu because he will ask her about Khadija. For the first time in three months, Adunni enters her family home. She explains everything to her father who insists that they go to the village chief and tell him what happened. He promises Adunni that “nothing bad will happen” (63) to her. In the bedroom she once shared with her brothers, Adunni reflects on her father’s other broken promises. Born-boy returns home. Adunni greets her brother but does not tell him what happened. Instead, she takes the small amount of money she saved and leaves. 

Adunni runs along the path which leads out of the village, soaked by the falling rain. The storm stops as she runs through the market square and out of the village. Just as she is about to leave, a man calls out to her. She turns to see her father’s friend, Mr. Bada. He buys her food from a market stall. Adunni lies, telling Mr. Bada that she is out on an errand for Morufu. Adunni takes the food, says goodbye, and runs to the next village in search of her mother’s friend Iya.