Ek'abo Ebi! (Welcome Family!)
“Ebi! Family! We must be calm!” yelled Ayotunde. The fear and tension coming from the crowd
almost stifled her. She needed to gain
control. “Let us not assume that this
Chief Kukoyi comes with ill intent. I
know that you've never seen or met another outside our tribe, but perhaps the High God
wants us to change that!” As quickly as
she made that remark she threw a hard look at Folami and Temitope. She did not want them to express their disagreement
in front of their people. It would only
make things worse.
“Why is he coming here? How did he even find us?” bellowed a young
man. “We are simple people. We have
nothing to trade! Nothing of real value!” yelled an old woman.
Because Folami was still weak, the gathering occurred outside her
home. From where she sat she could see
the faces of her people. They were full
of fear, concern and even anger. The
three sisters have seen much in the centuries they have lived among
mortals. Mortals are capable of hate,
violence and even death. But they are
also capable of love, compassion and great acts of valor. Folami hoped that they would not have to test
this theory.
Folami felt helpless. Now
when her sisters needed her the most, she was without power. Knowing her well, Modupe took her hand. She looked up at him. Her eyes were full of
sadness. “You should know better than anyone that there are many types of
power.” Modupe said in a gentle voice. “Just
as there is mystical power, there is power in being courageous, power in being
resourceful, power in being loved. Have you given up before anything has
begun?” he questioned.
“We have not heard of this Chief Kukoyi before, but we will be more
than ready to greet him when he arrives.” bellowed Temitope. As the crowd began to settle down, a shadow dissolved
into the woods. As it darted through the
trees, it startled the birds and frightened the deer. The animals of the forest began moving around
restlessly. They sensed danger in the
air but they could not figure from whence it came.
The entity moved from place to place. Jumping from shadow to shadow, it moved in
and out of different dimensions to help it reach its destination. It slithered across the ground and up the side
of a tent just as the sun went down for the night. It materialized behind a man who seemed
unconcerned for his safety.
“Report?” he asked. In a
deep, gravelly voice it responded. “They
know you are coming. Someone or
something got word to them. The people fear the unknown and therefore fear you.
Folami is no longer a threat.”
“Rubbing his hands together, Kukoyi plotted his next move. “I
believe the weakest link will be the key to my entrance into the tribe. Take this with you.” Kukoyi pointed to a black vial on a small
table near him. “Put exactly two drops
into her drink. Folami is already weak, so
no one will question why she has fallen ill again.” The vial disappeared as if
made of mist. He smiled cruelly.
“They will need my help.
They will need me and soon I will walk as freely among them as a dear friend.”
***
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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