THE LEGEND OF KIWAKAAZI

The young man was completely in awe. What he saw completely surprised him. It was…, it was a Tinle (princess, queen or empress), or better still a Ruhushi (goddess). Her hair was dark, long and braided beautifully. Her face was as dark as his and yet unlike his, it shone in a way he could not describe. Her eyes were bright with dark pupils. She had the cutest nose and her lips were so beautiful he just wanted to kiss them. She did not smile; on the contrary, he sensed sadness and loneliness. She blinked once and hypnotized him with her beauty.

In a world where everything is in a state of decay, nothing is permanent. Everything is transient and nothing lasts. We are all asleep; dreaming. Some are having nightmares and others are enjoying sweet dreams. But alas, it is all a dream. We must all one day wake up from our dreams and face reality. What this reality is is truly a mystery. The young traveller like everyone woke up from his dream and immediately remembered the events that led him to have what seemed to be the best dream of his life.

It started with him finding himself in the dark forest, Nomposuro. Upon arrival he was pursued by a creature. He did not know how it looked like, how big it was or what powers it possessed? But if its roar was to be taken seriously, then, he would call it a fearsome Zamaya(bringer of death) — one to avoid carefully. So he run away from the mbolu (roar) until some power awakened within and convinced him he was brave enough to fight the source of this terrifying mbolu.

Him…, brave? What was he thinking? Coming to Nomposuro was the only brave thing he had done in his entire life. Come to think of it, he should not have come to Nomposuro in the first place. He should have chosen death. He is now going to die — a gruesome, painful death. There are going to be no witnesses and no one will mourn his death. This was his end.

He ran until he found a circle bordered by six trees. He was sure anything that will attack him can be easily detected and fought off there. Actually, he was hoping nothing would attack at all and whatever he was running away from was just a figment of his own imagination. Yes, this new power within him convinced him that he was brave, but, the coward within him tried to convince him otherwise. If only he had listened to the wise counsel of his cowardly side, he may probably not be on the brink of death.

With his newly found bravery he stood at the center of the circle. The rain continued to fall, but, not with the same intensity as before. He was bare-chested and had a thin body. He only wore a pair of shorts to conceal and protect his manhood.

The wind blowing past the shrubs, grasses and branches made sounds that scared him. Sometimes he will turn abruptly after hearing a sound or feeling movement only to find nothing was there. He continued on this path for what to him was eternity until his mind presented him with imagery he could just not ignore.  By the time he regained control over his mind, something big, strong and furry sent him flying across the circle. He collided with a big tree, fell and lost consciousness. Almost every bone in his body was broken or at least that was how he felt.

When he came through, his vision was blurry and he could not move his body. In a distance, he saw the creatures; two or four of them. He was not really sure. The first thing he saw was two pairs of extra-long canines; long and pointy canines ready to dig deep into his bones, he imagined. Their eyes were blood red. Their bodies were covered with dark fur all over. Their limbs ended in long claws; really sharp claws that can tear everything apart and they were walking slowly on four limbs towards him. His worst nightmare had finally materialized.

He tried to move but his body was too weak to obey. Fear was back and had completely paralyzed him, or, maybe he really got hurt after being smashed and colliding into a big tree. The closer the beast got the fewer numbers of them he saw and the faster his heart raced.

Now, only one beast stood right in front of him. He laid on his stomach with head arched up looking at it squarely in the face with a frightened look. He felt the warm foul breath of the beast upon his face on that cold night and felt its desire to kill him.

 The mean looking beast lifted him up with its right hand and wrapped its left hand around his neck tightly freeing the right arm. As if he had not endured enough pain, the creature pushed him back into the tree while still holding his neck. Pain caused through his body forcing him to groan loudly. His neck was held so tight that he felt his eyes were going to pop out of their sockets. He wanted to, the gods know he wanted to do something, but he was completely drained of energy. Where was that mysterious power that convinced him to stand and fight earlier?

He closed his eyes and in came rushing his one big dream — to travel the world. He always wanted to visit the three great empires. He wanted to learn their culture and make many friends on his way. “Where would he have gone first?” he questioned.

Odopafie (Home of Love or Eastern Empire) would probably have been his first step. He would have loved to experience firsthand love in Tsuiman (City of hearts, capital of Odopafie). He pictured himself sitting quietly in a corner somewhere; his legs crossed; his eyes closed; his mind at peace while he tries to unravel the mysteries of this world. Not that he was big fan of his spiritual side but for sake of knowledge; to prove those who spread falsehood about the existence of a god or gods wrong once and for all. He was sure it would have been fan but everything that has a beginning has an end. And the end only marks a new beginning. His stay in Tsuiman might have come to an end but it will be the start of a journey to the North.

Islamaani (The Peaceful Empire or Northern Empire); he loved the way they dress. He loved the way they wear long sleeve shirts over trousers that hung loosely around their bodies. He loved the turbans they tie around their heads. He will certainly partake of one of their many religious festivals. He would sit around a big table chewing meat with his new northern family. They will laugh; they will sing and they will pray and talk about how good their god is. And when the religious festival is over, he would descend to the south.

Jumapafie (The Lands united through hard work or Southern Empire); was big on culture. They loved their cultural events and celebrated it with food, wine, music and dancing. Child birth, puberty, marriage and death are just a few of the cultural events on the calendar of the southerners. The young traveller pictured himself wearing black and carrying a side of a rectangular coffin. Flowing down his face were a few tears. It was heavier than he expected and the other three people were all like him; lanky and weak but he didn’t mind because someone he knew. Someone he had come to love has passed away and that was his way of helping — carrying his heavy carcass in a coffin.

The end of this sad event will mark the beginning of a happy event — marriage. He probably met someone in the North or East he was super attracted to. This person might have been something special — out of this world special. So special he had to break one of his cardinal rules and get married.

He pictured himself posing in a multicolored long sleeved shirt, a black trouser and black shoes with a gorgeous woman in similar clothing by his side taking pictures. Their marriage will be rocky but they will make it work anyway. They will have a family. They planned on having just three children but his wife had to go and get pregnant again. He was holding his fourth child in his arms. The first three were all boys but the fourth was a girl. She was so pretty, so tinny and had those uniquely beautiful eyes that seem to see through your very soul. He loved her so much he knew instantly she was going to be his favorite. But none of these will come true because he will soon be killed by the Zamaya (bringer of death). 

This is the end of the line for him. While shedding a few tears, he whimpered the words “I’m sorry mother. I am sorry everyone…! I failed you all. I am so sorry.”

He opened his eyes and saw the right hand of the ferocious beast raised and ready to deliver what will be the final blow — the blow of death. He resigned himself to his ill fate. This is how it is going to end. He felt it; his heartbeat slowly returning to normal. With each beat he embraced death. “Come swiftly and painlessly” he prayed. He turned from the arm and looked the beast in the eye. Staring into the eyes of the beast, the most fascinating thing happened.

Instead of a hairy face and hairless nostrils, blood red eyes and really sharp teeth, he saw her, the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. It is no surprise he compared her to a Tinle (princess) or a Ruhushi (goddess). He saw only her face and not the rest of her body. Her beauty was shrouded in sadness and that troubled him. But perhaps what was more troubling were the million questions jumping over his head. “Who is this girl? Why am seeing her in this beast and why do I feel like I know her — like I am connected to her?”

A sense of determination was born and with it the power of fear fled once again like a dog with its tail between its legs. In came rushing the reawakened and rejuvenated power of strength and bravery. No! These were the consequences of another power he could not comprehend at the time. What an amazing feeling it was. He was no longer ready to die. He must survive. He must fight until he understands his relationship to this girl. Until his questions are answered, he must hang on to life.

 He awakened at last and realized something was wrong with his Zamaya (bringer of death). The beast that was moments away from delivering a blow that will send him to Gbeleshie (the Afterlife) stood frozen. Its right arm was still in the air and shaking. There was something off about its eyes. They moved left to right quickly; oscillating like a pendulum.

Oh! The blow was finally delivered; a strong powerful blow that almost cut down the enormous tree his back was pressed against. The beast let go of her prey and like the wind, completely disappeared. The young man lay on the ground still weakened. He tried to lift his left arm but he was too weak. He tried to call her but he had lost his voice. He felt his mind and his body giving up on him. Slowly, he slipped away and lost consciousness again.