chapter 9

All five of them didn't know and they all started picking the Okra leaves. They saw a man who was dressed in nice golden siziba, he had on crocodile skin sandles, he had gold  bracelets on too, he looked really rich, but he looked really sad because the girls where picking Okra leaves there. So he told them to leave and go home right away before he started walking back the opposite direction.

Two of the girls listened and left for their homes. The three thought he looked rich and handsome for them to pass up.

They started following him, he looked back at them.

"maidens​, maidens, please go back home, these nice clothes and things you see, I was given when I died, please maidens go back home," he told them.

They heard his words but only one left to go home. He looked back said the same thing and this time too, one heard the words and left for home... Only one remained, when the man looked back again, he saw the girl still following him. He said to her;

"maiden I warned you to go back home, but your greed blinded you. You will never go home and will be my wife here in my house which was basically his little tomb space, his nice clothes disappeared, only his rotten flesh could be seen. The girl pleaded with the man to let her go but he refused.

"you followed me here on your own accord"...

When Kuku finished telling us the folktale, we where all imbued  with fear including Nanny.

"How can you tell such a tale to small kids like these Kuku? Nanny finally asked Kuku. Kuku laughed out loud and instead asked us.

"So what is the moral of the story?"

"It's greed Kuku" Thabo said

We all went  "yes Kuku"

"Wanting something that you don't deserve and haven't worked for" I added.

Kuku told us many happy and funny tales after that. Although I could sense the sadness she had deep within her, I was just a little girl who could not help her. Thabo brought out dried antelope meat, chibwabwa  and impwa for us to eat, we eat in a circle, I was a slow eater and didn't eat much but eating in a group was just something I had never done and found it quite interesting...

Before we left for home Kuku called me inside her room and sat me on the bed.

" How did that boy you got engaged to treat you?"

I didn't know why Kuku asked me that, but it was in her to ask such questions.

"He was ok, but his eyes are scary"

"What do you mean?"she enquired.

"I don't know, they are just scary"

She didn't ask me anymore questions, she stayed quiet and thought for a while. She instead took off her bracelet, with green, red and black beads and tied it on my wrist.She look at me and took my hands in hers. Am sorry that I won't be here to teach you everything, and I always will hope you, like me will never find your antidote. I wouldn't wish that on anyone." she drifted off and was merely body because I was calling her but I got no response from her until she come back to me and looked deeply at me.

" I'll always be here when you need me, you will know how to find me."

She said a lot of things but i didn't understand most of them at the time, she hugged me and spat on my hands, she said some words I didn't understand and hugged me. That will be the last I will see Kuku...

                    ********

I was with Queen Mother at the annual body cleansing festival for women hosted at the Gondwe goddess river. Because I wasn't yet a woman, I was not allowed to go into the water. All the women in their zephyr knelt down at the river banks including Queen Mother and Nanny. The gondwe shrine caretakers, poured water on their heads,  before getting blood of a three days old cow, a branch of musau tree and sprinkled the blood on all the women present. In that case, the kingdom will continue to prosper if women where cleansed of all the impurities using pure blood.

I was watching every thing that was going on, when I went stiff, I couldn't move any part of my body, my eyes​ stared at nothing unblinking and blind to everyone and everything around me, but I could see Kuku lying on her bed lifeless, she looked at peace but then a shroud came down and enveloped her. A voice came from Kuku but it wasn't​ the one sleeping on the bed, this one had wrapped herself in a white wollen garment, her mouth was closed but I heard words directed to me

" You escort me to my ancestors" over and over again.

I  groggily knelt down, pick a handful​ of dry soil, I stood up and threw the soil to the west, east, to the north and south, I waved my empty hands the same way and i danced​ for the deities and the ancestors to receive Kuku with tears running down my face involuntarily. I had now attracted attention from the women still kneeling at the river banks, when mother saw it was me, she ran to stop me but one of the gondwe shrine caretaker stopped her in her tracks when she shouted

" Don't stop or touch her, she is performing the last rights, escorting a soul back to the ancestor, she is literally not herself right now"

I was moving slowly and rhythmically backwards and forwards, side to side to a beat only i could hear, i picked some sand with my feet and let it fall back down slowly, I twisted my arms to a sweeping motion and danced my legs numb...It went on for a while until I couldn't see granny in her bedroom, there was light again, i was back to the gondwe shrine.

I finally came to my senses and fear gripped me before I fell to the ground exusted, seeing everyone watching me, i ran to my mother crying holding her thigh tightly.

She was spooked by everything she saw me do, it wasn't her ten year old daughter who was performing a rite just now.

The caretaker came and knelt besides me and asked

"Whose rite did you just perform princess Zae?"

I looked at her almost choking from my own snot and hide behind my mother.

My mother raised her hand and the caretaker stood and walked a distance away from us. My mother sat on a stool and held my face

Tell me princess Zae, whose rite did you perform?" she asked, with a gut - wrenched face and still trembling with fear from the previous episode. I looked at her and said "It's Kuku" I finally said.