Amashumi amathathu nesithupha

The rusty scratches of the mbira vibrated in tandem with the swinging whip of the copper javelin. That music was a gift from the Koda chief for our hospitality. He was a close friend of my father's; showering my brother and me in gifts and favours since we're old enough to smile.

I smiled at him and his daughter, Tiana. She was a short, slender girl. She was a bit of a pain with her constant yapping about things that only ever concerned herself. But she was beautiful, and her mother told me it was wrong to make an innocent girl cry, so I smiled and pretended to listen as she prattled on about the latest Koda fashion trends. Apparently, beads and silicon tattoos are in this season.

I felt someone's eyes on me. I looked past the yappy Koda girl and met blazing hazel eyes of a girl that so familiar it made me uncomfortable. Her gaze was so intense that I felt like she was burning a hole right through me – incinerating me where I stood.

Who was she?