The anticipated day had come, the day all maidens in Aniocha have been waiting for. It is finally time for prince Ebuka of Aniocha to choose a wife after the unfortunate death of the king (his father). This is required in order for the prince to be crowned a king.
On this special day, the tradition requires all the maidens to be dressed in their best traditional attires with art designs on their faces while coming to the market square. There will be a beauty contest between the maidens, of which the prince will choose the winner as his betrothed.
Aside from the main event of the day (beauty contest), this day is also a day that many maidens have been saving for, to showcase some of the expensive dresses they have bought. However, it is a different thing for Akwaugo as she had made no attempt of getting any attire due to the financial status of her family. She made up her mind that she won't be participating in the contest but since the tradition requires all maidens to be present, she will only be going there to watch others.
It was 4:00 pm and all the villagers; both the young and old; the male and females; have converged in the market square. It was time for the commencement of the contest, the chief priest greeted the prince, the elders, and the people, and announced the commencement of the contest.
At the commencement of the contest, Akwaugo had arrived on her regular cloth with a little art design on her face and sat at a distance where she can clearly see everything happening in the market square. Seeing other maidens and most of her friends participating, she was saddened and was lost in her thoughts as she questioned the gods why there wasn't any form of miracle that would have led to her participating. With her bleak face, she sighed and vowed to do her best in making sure her children get equal opportunities as other kids.