I come to you in words, a whisper in the evening when the clouds hover to usher in the dusk.
The sun has not beheld your countenance for two days, and she knows even that is a century…so she shines upon me, summons me out of my hiding to reach out to you.
You once said, “I hate flowers, they’re beautiful one second and dry up the next. If I could find whoever invented vases I would slap some sense into him…they never keep the flowers fresh!”
“How sure are you that it’s a man?” I asked.
“Most of the stupid things we see are invented by men…trust me.”
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So, I pretended to do just that and watched you cloud your pain with anger. Your friends thought you were being a jerk and they called you out on it, until you simply shook your head and said “The old man is dying, prostrate cancer, stage four or something…he wants to see me.”
It was then that they knew.
I am a choice you made Stardust, but the men around you- Mark, Matto, Jim, George and Stano…are your family, the ones who know how much is too much for you, the ones who looked at you and told you to secure the bag when they met me. Yes, I know they pushed you to apologize…Stano can’t keep a secret where chapatis are involved!
It’s been two days Stardust and you are doing what you do best. You are walking into the dark void that’s your pain and no one’s invited, not even me.
There are some trips I can never make for you…and had I something akin to Ariadne’s thread I’d give it to you so you could find your way back to me…and even that would take a while.
You’ve got to want to come back.
You’ve got to want it all…the pain and the pleasure…until then Stardust, I hope my words reach you.
She looked up and saw a man fighting with his spirit to remain upright. In his hand was a small gourd, no doubt whatever was in it was responsible for his swaying and not the wind. She shook her head and smiled.
“Why are you following me?” she asked.
“Me? Follow you? Enhe, stretch out your feet and place them against mine, do they fit? Does it look like I can step where you have stepped with those tiny feet?”
“Well, then, it was nice meeting you, do not follow me if you want to keep your throat!”
“Enhe! Wait…just wait daughter of the most beautiful one, you should not go back right now.”
“I see, so you are following me and where do you think I am going back to?”
“You are as stubborn as the donkeys that we whip! Look, I don’t care what you think of me, but I find it easier to be dismissed by fools not by wise ones. So I will tell you again, you should not go back right now, if you like, you can ask me why.”
“Why?”
“Because it is not yet time and why would you leave the one you love in the hands of the one who wants to sway his heart towards her?”
“That, like the rising and setting of the sun is none of your concern, what worries me is why you hide behind the drink when you do not worship it.”
“Ah, I always knew you were a smart thing, but Enzi is the kingdom of fools and do you know what happens to anyone who thinks otherwise? We bind them, pour ash on them and strike them until they go mad and then we summon the entire kingdom to prove we were right.”
“Shoka, son of Imara…it is a pleasure to finally meet you.”
“Naima, daughter of the most beautiful one, Queen of Enzi, ruler of the four kingdoms, daughter of the sun, friend of the moon and fearer of none…the pleasure is all mine.”
“Just call me Naima and would you keep that gourd away? You are neither a drunk nor a mad man, now tell me why I should not go back to Enzi and do not remind me of the plot between Zuriand the Queen of Yajayo to keep Zola in custody until I return. I know all too well when a girl yearns for a man, or have you forgotten that the wicked witch of Enzi has four daughters?”
“Princess, you sell yourself short…sometimes we have to fight ourselves to get what we deserve.”
“Zola can decide for himself.”
“Have you made yourself an option my Princess?”
“Do I have to?”
“Oh, beautiful one…many men may fall at your feet, but the one you want to look into your eyes should know that you choose to lift them off the ground. The one who so yearns to be with you needs to know that you’ll fight for him just as much as you are fighting for yourself, the memory of your mother and the women of Enzi…didn’t anyone ever teach you that?”
In the kingdom of Kale, long before the gods came to dwell among men, and the waters of the beautiful lake graced every home, there were those who knew what an abomination was. These were the men and women who could look into your eyes and behold the lives of your great grandchildren. No one was allowed to visit these men and women. If your farm was dying and your children wandering even then you could not visit them. They only answered the call of the gods and it is because of one of these gods that I am here today.
Her name, Lando, meaning the fair skinned one. She was the sun and the moon, an ever present beauty at dawn and dusk. Those who beheld her say that she had the eyes that could sink nations, drown fishermen and uproot trees. My people are known to pepper their words. No one has ever held up a picture to my face to prove these things and until then I will agree that she was simply a woman and to any man, a woman is a thing of beauty if he’s not lain beside her.
Lando was the first god to arrive in the kingdom of Kale. It was the season of the full moon where the fishermen prayed to the gods to help them catch some fish, if not a net full at least a handful so they could feed their families. They loved the sun and feared the moon. When the moon was in her full glory, all the fish would never come to the surface and the deeper they went into the lake, the less certain they were of making it back to the shore.
It was in one of such seasons, at the break of dawn when Lando appeared on the shore. The people say that they heard beautiful singing and when their ears led their legs they found themselves before this beauty whose skin glowed like the sun.
When she finished singing her song, she rose and her feet led the way to the King’s home. No one followed her that morning. Later in the evening, the King summoned the people and they feasted on the delicacies prepared by Lando as she sang into the night. For many harvests and seasons, the kingdom of Kale prospered until one evening when the skies could not help but lash out in anger and after the storm, walked in Dichol.
Whereas Lando was sunshine, Dichol was darkness. She was as dark as the night and those who picked a lump of soil from the earth claimed that even that was nothing compared to the god, Dichol. Dichol too upon arrival made her way to the King’s home and she was welcomed by the Queen. It is often said that the Queen had the heart of the Lake, wicked and wild, in everything she did. The people whisper their assumptions because rumor has it that wicked Queen’s spirit still roams the earth ready to strike down anyone who speaks ill of her. Now, they say that she was jealous of the attention the people of Kale were giving Lando and as such, she cried to the lake to send forth Lando’s rival to the land. The Lake being the mother of all souls, mortal and immortal, heard her cries and sent Dichol.
No one has ever described Dichol as they did with Lando and it pains me that they only referred to her as “dark night.”
Daughter of Dichol is a short story I submitted for the Afritondo Short Story Prize. So, since it didn’t make the cut, I thought why not share it here 🙂
We walked for two days along a narrow path, never greeting anyone we met or stopping to rest. Naima believed that the warriors from Enzi would catch up with us if we stopped and I did not believe her until we came to the boundary between Enzi and Yajayo.
There we were stopped in our tracks by a warrior, on him were the marks that showed he belonged to the King’s court of Enzi. I stepped back but Naima walked up to him and bowed. It was a simple gesture but before I could follow her she kicked him off his feet with the next thing being her dagger on his throat.
“State your mission.”
“Mercy…your Majesty. I came to warn you, hear me out.”
“Speak and know that you are in presence of a Chronicler, if you spew lies, I am allowed to shed your blood and send you to your ancestors, however if you speak the truth and do not do us any harm, then this act of bravery will be rewarded. I promise you.”
“Thank you Your Majesty. The King has indeed joined his forefathers. All is not well in the kingdom and your people weep for their leader, however, since there is no Chronicler, the Seer cannot recommend the future leader until he receives word from her. The members of the royal court sent the warriors in search of you. We were directed to one man’s home but there was no sign of your presence there and we tracked you following the scent you left in the wind, asking any trader or traveler we met until we got to the stream, and there I did see you cross and take the turn towards Yajayo. I asked the team of warriors to go ahead and wait for you there, but as I was crossing the stream, something held my feet under-water and I could not move. It pulled me into the raging stream and as I struggled to catch my breath, I heard a single voice telling me to warn you and let you go, for your destiny is tied to what Meichi believes is right. I do not know how long you have but you have to go to the kingdom of Oba, stay there for a few moons and when you can, you may travel back to Yajayo, by then the warriors shall have left and you won’t be in danger. I know a Seer in Oba. Go find him, he will host you until it is safe for you to come to Yajayo.”
“Who are you?”
“Your Majesty, don’t you remember me…let me take off my mask, I promise you I will not harm you.” Naima stepped back, withdrew the dagger from the warrior’s throat and we watched as he slowly took off the mask and lifted his face to look into the eyes of the Princess.
“Zola! You!”
“Yes Your Majesty.”
“Why?”
“I made a promise to the wise Chronicler Zubeda, Zuri’s mother that I would protect and live to serve you, my Princess. I am sorry.”
“What is wrong with all of you thinking that I need protection?”
“Your Majesty…”
“I see specks of gold around your wrist Warrior Zola, you who stands when the world wants you to kneel, you with the heart that yearns for what makes your soul sing will be rewarded and in kindness you shall find love, and in love you shall find truth and in that truth, you too shall have to fight the greatest battle of your life…”
When I opened my eyes, the two were staring at me, “what happened?” I asked
“You don’t know?” asked Naima as she shook her head. “Will you utter nonsense like that every so often when your eyes turn white?”
“Nonsense? What do you mean?”
“I am only joking Chronicler I believe you just narrated a vision to us and it means that Zola here will be well rewarded for his courage today. So, can we go to this Oba kingdom and maybe get some place to lay our heads for the night, and what is the name of this Seer?”
“He is not to be sought by name, but here…wear this necklace around your neck and follow where it leads you.”
“You want me to be led by something around my neck? Never,” said Naima and she turned to take the path leading to Oba, but Zola held her hand.
It’s what my eyes behold when I pull out the phone from my bag. This is the third text you’ve sent me today.
You are like an uncomfortable space I inhabit,
I act like I loathe you yet I yearn to be in your presence.
So we have had our back and forth this year Stardust,
Isn’t t amazing that we are compelled to be sweet by timelines drawn by men?
You laugh at this, that easy laugh, I’m home.
Where are you Stardust?
When will you get here?
I know you are like a raging stream, always in a hurry yet ever changing.
Stardust, I want to be angry at you, angry with you, angered by you…is this normal?
You laugh and say, “Love, the Universe knows how much time each living thing has in the space we inhabit, you know, if your time’s up, it is and nothing not even a life-support machine can keep you up and running. See, men are sick.
We truly are because we thought it would be wise to name, label and restrict what the universe gave us…so we have days, dates, seasons and now everybody here is wishing me a merry christmas- and unlike you, I tell them it is a commercial season to get people to spend what they have without a thought…something that should be done every day!
Love, you always say that the part you love about Christmas is the part where you see everyone…and it sucks because we have eleven months to visit people, we have leave days to make at least two trips or set aside a day for this, but no…we wait till christmas to overfeed and overspend. I am getting ahead of myself, I’m just bummed that I never got to come home, to drive down and see you…
I’m a jerk. What are you doing with me? I guess it…no, it hurts, and more so when I know that it’s no excuse because every year I have 365 days, so if all I ever needed was just one day to be with you, then this one day that’s left is a reminder of all the 364 that I had.”
You wear me down for months only for you to be processed overseas.
I love you like Cocoa,
Deep, dark, bitter and warm…a toast here, broken back there…sweat here, hopes there…everything finds its way to you…to us…
I love you like Cocoa,
You need a sweetener to go down my throat,
So, I’ll mix you with honey,
Stir up some sweet trouble and gulp you…
I love you like Cocoa,
Dark, rich…glowing, the kind that makes the sun shimmer in remembrance of your glory.
I love you like Cocoa,
For whereas others strive to breathe under water, I drown…I let go of every fear, doubt, malice, anguish, anxiety, anger…and my hands break through the strong waves, upright…so you’ll see me and know that I’m here, not by a show of hand…but a show of hands…
I love you like Cocoa…drowning, rich, dark, strong, unforgettable.
I smile at how easy it is for you to liken me to seasons.
You smile, and it’s the best look you’ve had this year.
“Love, you are like Fall, you come once in a year and everyone looks forward to you, to seeing you, to being around you, because you radiate such light and love, I am jealous. How do you give your time to everyone and still have some left for yourself? Sometimes, well…most times, I feel like you slip through my fingers and settle right on my skin so I go everywhere with you…”
“You’re so cheesy…” I say and shrug. You are miles away from me.
Your voice is the home I know and now…now I miss home.
I tell you all about my travel experience and you laugh…you wish you were there to see my face and make fun of me, but you’re not…so we laugh some more.
“Hey, I’m not cheesy, you just make me say things that I never would.”
“I thought about you today Love,” you say…and I sit up on the bed. It is raining outside.
I have no plans of leaving neither this bed nor the house. So I ask, “really? how come?”
You laugh.
It’s always the laugh that gets me Stardust. You clear your throat and I hold onto the phone, pushing it as close to my ear as possible so that your breathing is one with mine.
“I was visiting a flower shop today, working on some financial plans for a client and I stepped into his greenhouse and there were petals on the ground, many colors, different petals I think, red, yellow, pink, some even brown and as I followed him to the back where his office was located all I could think about was you.”
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“You saw petals on the ground in some greenhouse and thought of me?”
“Oh, you are milking this…I miss you.”
“You are deflecting.”
“No, I am measuring my words Love, with you, the less I say the better…why is it that I still say so much while you only ask questions?”
“Do I?”
“See! That’s what I’m talking about…right there, look, I miss you and this climate change drama is not helping, these heavy rains and stuff! Being here reminds me of you Love, guess, you bloom even when it seems like you shouldn’t and you don’t mind shedding a few petals so you can make the ground a beautiful place for those who come your way, heaven knows I’m one lucky pig!”
I smile and I know you do too because you laugh, and there’s a long pause…before you say “take care of yourself Love, I’ve got to get back to work.”
nilichoandika 