Ek'abo Ebi! (Welcome Family!)
The sun was rising. Folami could
feel its warmth upon her face. Taking a
deep breath, she slowly opened her eyes.
Folami was thankful that the High God had blessed her with the gift of
life once more. The past few days were
unsure and Folami feared that each day would be her last. But it seems that the High God had more in
store for her. “Perhaps he will use me
as his vessel once again.” Folami thought to herself.
Turning her head to the left, Folami looked down and saw Modupe
stretched out on a pallet beside her. He
was sound asleep. She stretched out her
arm and lightly brushed the curly, dark hairs upon his skin. She could feel his warmth as it rose up from
his body. Folami felt a combination of pleasure and exasperation as she looked
upon his handsome face. Her heart leaped
as she thought of the love they shared.
But she was frustrated because she desperately wanted a moment
alone.
Day after day, she was visited by well-meaning members of her
tribe. If they were not there, then her
sisters would materialize as if summoned.
Modupe refused to leave. “He acts
as if my sickness was his doing.” She mumbled to herself. Folami wanted a quiet moment to think about
her future. Now that the haze of new
love had been lifted, Folami wondered: “How will I survive without my
immortality?”
As Folami’s thoughts travelled to the future, she was startled by the
frantic sounds of two birds chirping from her window. She recognized the birds as they were her
constant companions for as long as she could remember. It gave her great joy when she realized that
she could still understand them. “Not
all of my abilities have been stripped from me.” She whispered to herself. “What’s wrong little ones?” Folami asked.
The older of the two, a brown eyed sparrow named Kekere Kan peeped
out, “Sister, sister there are a group of men approaching the village! We have never seen them before!” The younger one, a little quail named Aparo, was
impatient to say his piece and darted back and forth on the window’s ledge. Before Kekere Kan could finish, Aparo cheeped
out in a staccato-like
fashion, “I
overheard their leader talking. He calls
himself Kukoyi!” Kekere Kan gave Aparo a hard look; silencing him with one hard “TWEET!”
“How far away are they?”
Folami asked Kekere Kan. “About a full day’s journey, sister.” “Thank you so
much for the warning. Quickly, as fast
as your wings can carry you, go to my sisters and tell them what you told
me. Tell them we must call a
gathering!”
As Folami looked down
once again her eyes connecting with Modupe’s.
With lithe movements he rolled over and sat up on the pallet. Stretching out the kinks in his neck, he
questioned Folami. “Who do you think
these people are?” “I know not.” she responded.
“In my 100 years here, we have never received a visitor from the
outside world. We have lived in a cocoon of solitude never needing exposure to
others. Now these people approach and I
fear what albatross or danger they may be bringing with them.”
As the Ina and awọn dudu
stirred from their slumber, awakening to fear and a possible threat, Chief
Kukoyi stood inside a majestic yellow tent. He stretched his arms out as his
servants dressed him for a new day. Wrapped
in a beige colored robe, he was then draped in a brown cloth etched with
designs that represented his tribe and rank. A little boy quickly tied a matching
sash around his waist to finish the effect.
He never once looked at the chief’s face. Flashing a trusting smile at his advisors, he
asked them, “If I presented myself to you for the first time, would you trust
me?”
“Oh yes!” said one of his advisors in a nervous tone. “Most
definitely!” said another as he smooth away a crease on Kukoyi's sleeve. Kukoyi called out to one of his
generals. “Akinbode! Ready the horses! Let us finish this
journey. I am more than ready to meet
our new neighbors. Kukoyi’s advisors
shivered. The tone of his voice dripped
with dark intent.
***
For all
of you who have been visiting my blog each week, I greatly appreciate it. I hope that you’ll continue to do so. But I would really love to see more of your
comments. Whether it is today’s post or entries in the past. Tell me what you think of the direction I’ve
taken so far or any thoughts or suggestions you may have J
It has
come to my attention that some of my readers have been unable to comment as
they do not have google accounts. If you
would like to comment, I welcome you to e-mail me directly at amachi.is.hope@gmail.com.
Mari e
laipe!
See you
soon!
S-
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