The Dancing Bride And Her Spirit Warrior - Episode 14

 

Vuyanzi look at me, the s*ductive voice whispered in the wind. Vuyanzi was in the river swimming. She, Caro and several friends always did that every Sunday afternoon after taking lunch and completing their chores. Right now she was alone. She was standing in the middle of the stream in her thin camisole. The weather was cloudy and mist was covering the land . The water was biting cold and Vuyanzi was shivering. All was quiet except for the smooth flow of the river.

Vuyanzi my bride the voice continued to whisper from behind her seemingly close. This time round Vuyanzi turned.

‘’What do you want from me?’’ she shouted back wrapping her arms around her middle trying to wade off the shiver.

I want my rabbits back, the voice of angry Kweyu came through. Then from the river Kweyu emerged and started charging towards Vuyanzi. As he was closing on a roar tore through the air and wind picked up. Kweyu took off swimming away from a figure that Vuyanzi could not see.

Vuyanzi someone was shaking her. She woke up. She was on her bed and her grandmother was standing over her. She had pulled the blanket off Vuyanzi’s body.

‘’Today is the big day young lady, wake up. You have a dance to prepare for.’’ Lishevi was practically shouting.

‘’Umm…what?’’ Vuyanzi asked trying to clear her fuzzy brain

All episodes of this story can be found here >> https://www.ebonystory.com/story/the-dancing-bride-and-her-spirit-warrior

. Just like all her dreams she had lately she could not see, the owner of the voice calling out to her. Kweyu’s ugly mug of a face always appeared destroying everything. Vuyanzi didn’t want to ever see him again.

‘’Caro is on her way here, wake up and prepare. You don’t want to be late,’’ her grandmother left the room. She remembered that she had a dance to prepare. As the soloist and the group leader, it was up to her to help the others prepare.

After a hurried shower and changing of clothes. Vuyanzi tried to comb her wild afro hair. The previous night she had tried to plait it but she was so tired from practice. She had managed to plait only half of it. Now she had to struggle to comb it without breaking the only comb she had remaining. Vuyanzi winced as she pulled and scratched her hair before a mirror.

‘’Vuyanzi where are you?’’ Caro’s voice carried through the house.

‘’In my bedroom,’’ Vuyanzi shouted.

‘’What are you doing, the whole team is waiting for you,’’

‘’I have to tame this forest in my head. I can’t go to the cultural centre like this,’’ Vuyanzi whined looking frustrated on the mirror. Caro took over urging Vuyanzi to hold still before doing her magic. Within no time Vuyanzi’s hair was tied on a high ponytail but Vuyanzi suspected she was going to have a headache with the way her hair was pulled.

Before they left, she looked out to the cluster of trees on the fence. Her heart sank. Ever since that day at the chief’s homestead, Vuyanzi had not felt the presence of the being again. A year had passed. The being completely disappeared. She had a sickening feeling down in her stomach since that day. She was as lonely even with her friends and grandmother. She missed something that she didn’t even know. An emptiness occupied her heart and it could not be filled.

The same day they had visited the chief, they had a midnight visitor. Her grandmother called him Guma. Vuyanzi could not forget how the old man seemed awed at her presence. Her grandmother quickly sent her to bed but Vuyanzi eavesdropped, she heard the old man tell her grandmother that she should stop giving Vuyanzi the bitter potion and there was nothing they could do to keep ‘him’ away. She could not hear more as Lishevi pulled Guma outside the house. Vuyanzi was left with a question. Who were they talking about?

The visit to the doctor had concluded that she had fainted that day in the farm and she was not to worry, it was the heat that had affected her. The same was to be said about the time she fainted when she fainted on Kweyu’s hands, since she had spent a good amount of her day in the forest staking out. The doctor had insisted that her memories would come back in time. Vuyanzi had waited for a long time but her memories never came back. It still remained a mystery how she was able to find herself in places she had not been before.

She had finished her high school and passed her exams with flying colors. Her uncle had been overjoyed, she was offered a scholarship to study in Nyati Technical College in animal husbandry. Vuyanzi could not be more ecstatic. The scholarship had been offered by the new Big Cats group of companies that took charge of Nyati animal reserve, an organization that was going to be launched today.

Big Cat group of companies was also in charge of some few projects in the town. Running water and electricity poles were erected. Vuyanzi could not express her happiness when a tarmacked road passed their way, directly in front of their house. Their old market place had been refurbished and new secure stalls were introduced. The town had a new face. Vuyanzi could not believe her luck.

Kweyu had been confronted by the Chief and he accused Vuyanzi of trespassing. He never admitted to choking and that case had to be thrown down the drain. Kweyu’s father was not amused when he was summoned by the chief, he threatened to lock down Vuyanzi and her family. Her shosho did not go down silently, she fired back by threatening to call the local media house and report on social injustices against widows and orphans by rich powerful families. Vuyanzi wished to rub that day off from her mind from all eternity. Kweyu’s father whisked him out of the town and Vuyanzi breathed a sigh of relief.

 Juma had been dragged to the fight and to her amazement stood by her to say Kweyu was a bully and he tried to defend her. Tabu was so mad, she refused to talk to Vuyanzi for months which suited Vuyanzi fine. Their grandmother had to intervene and forced them to reconcile, they did though reluctantly.

Juma had gone ahead to live the town for the city where a local football club had invited him to play for them. He was ecstatic and Vuyanzi was happy for him, he would also attend a university in the city. She would miss him but she wanted him to have the best too. Tabu managed to convince her father to send her to the same University as Juma (though Uncle Liyai didn’t know that Tabu and Juma were an item).

Vuyanzi had accepted that Juma and Tabu were an item. Tabu made sure she got the picture by literally posting pictures on her social media site about their blossoming relationship.

Vuyanzi was determined to push away the thoughts of Juma today and focus on the dance. She would earn good money from this.

Their town was brimming to the full with visitors, local and foreigners alike. The previous month, Vuyanzi had been called upon with the chief. He wanted her to organize a traditional dance and songs to entertain guests with. Apparently this was a big deal for the society. It was a chance for a business boom in the small community. The chief was not taking chances with entertainment, since Vuyanzi’s team were national winners in traditional music festival two times in a row, the entertainment docket fell on them.

Vuyanzi had to reorganize her team because, some of her team members had already left the town to attend universities and colleges out of town. She had been lucky that most had agreed to come back home when she mentioned the amount of money they would be making during the two day period of festivities.

Everybody in the town was involved. Her grandmother with a group of other elderly women were asked to decorate the mud houses with a special black mud that was found near swamps. They also made clay pots and sisal reed baskets to sell. Wood carvers worked day and night to make miniature wooden creatures like the animals found in the forest. Maasai beads were made into different types of bangles, necklaces and other jewelry. There was even an old professor who decided to teach the elderly how to speak the English language. It was hilarious to hear her grandmother practicing the Queen’s language. It was suffice to say that the best her grandmother could say was yes, no, my name is Lishevi meaning a dancer and the most important word was naming extravagant prices of goods.

They reached the Uhuru Cultural centre named after their chief who had ruled their community before the invasion of the colonialists. His grave was at the centre of the centre and his homestead stood inside the centre other cultural insignia were also showcased in the centre.

Today was the first day of the celebrations and the MC, their Chief was running up and down trying to organize everything. When he saw Vuyanzi with Caro he ran up to them.

‘’Are you guys ready?’’ he asked after greetings. ‘’Mr. Jasiri will becoming today,’’

‘’Mr. Jasiri? Who is he?’’ Vuyanzi asked. She had never heard of him. Was he another dignitary that would be grazing the occasion?

‘’You don’t know who Mr. Jasiri is?’’ Chief looked at Vuyanzi incredulously. Vuyanzi shook her head. Caro shrugged her shoulders.

‘’I suppose he is the new Managing Director of Nyati Animal Reserve. In short he is the big dog today. His secretary called me in the morning confirming that his boss had just landed in Kenya from Botswana yesterday night. He will be here sometime during the day.’’

‘’Is he from Botswana?’’ Caro asked.

‘’No I don’t think so, his name is Koni Jasiri.’’

‘’Jasiri, is he related to the Jasiri International Tours?’’ Vuyanzi asked.

Read " Jabali's Redemption " by the same author ( Razia Iminza )

. The name Jasiri was a famous brand. They dealt with everything concerning flora and fauna in Africa. They organized wildlife safaris. They were known for their fight against poaching, the group had taken down bigwigs in the poaching industry. They organized animal rehabilitation and provided medical services to injured animals. The company several five star hotel on the beaches of Indian Ocean. Vuyanzi knew all about this because of her passion for animals. For a touring company, they did a lot.

‘’Hey, hurry up in the hall. We have an hour before you have to curtain raise with a dance, is your team ready Vuyanzi?’’ Chief asked and Vuyanzi nodded. She hoped they were ready, the magnitude of the day was just dawning to her.

A new chapter my lovlies. Hope you enjoy it.