The Dancing Bride And Her Spirit Warrior - Episode 27

 

Lishevi practically ran all the way to her home. She had hastily closed down her stall in the market and ran home.

They are here, go home immediately, Guma’s message read. Lishevi had been waiting for that message for some time. Guma too had anticipated it. He was the one who informed Lishevi that, she should prepare to receive guests from far away. Guma didn’t tell him much about the supposed guests, he only said that Vuyanzi was about to meet her family . Lishevi was not amused when Guma suggested that Vuyanzi would be meeting her real family.

‘’I am her family,’’

‘’You are half her family Lishevi, you are her late father’s mother, have you given a thought about her maternal side?’’

That question had left Lishevi with questions. Lishevi hardly knew anything about Vuyanzi’s mother or her background. It was all shrouded in mystery.

Twenty years ago, Vuyanzi’s father Adamu called to tell her that he was coming home with his girlfriend Keza Lishevi was ecstatic. Finally her son had met someone and he was willing to settle down for marriage. Adamu also said that they were bringing home their daughter who was barely a month old. When Lishevi pried for information about the child’s mother, Adamu asked to her be patient, he would explain everything when he got home.

 That didn’t happen, Adamu and Keza perished in a freak accident

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

. Lishevi had never been so devastated in her entire life.

Adamu her second son was always mischievous and a trouble maker but with a kind heart. Lishevi remembered how she attended endless meetings in the school to solve cases just because Adamu had knocked some bully down. Liyai Tabu’s father was always the cool headed one between the two. Adamu had been bright enough to pass his high school enough to get admitted to the university in Nairobi, he was pursuing an education course. He was going to be a teacher once he was done. Lishevi had been so proud of him but it seemed like trouble followed Adamu in the city too. He was hardly done with his third year in the university before he met Keza and they had their Vuyanzi. When Adamu called, he said that they had run into a small problem and he was bringing Keza home for safety. At the time Lishevi didn’t bother to ask what problem, she wanted to see her future daughter in law and her granddaughter.

So that night when Lishevi had gone to the hospital to view the body of her dead son, she remembered him talking about being in trouble. She didn’t know what trouble Adamu was in while in the city but Lishevi swore to protect her granddaughter from whatever his parents was running from.

That rainy night, she changed the name of Sentwali Zuri to Vuyanzi Amani.

After the accident, a road side witness, had picked up Sentwali Zuri from the arms of her dead mother and rushed her to the hospital. She was the only survivor. Amid the chaos, the witness couldn’t tell who the mother of the child was. Lishevi was able to identify Lishevi from the description Adamu had told her. In the chaos, Lishevi was able to sneak Sentwali out of the hospital and taken her home. The next day, Liyai had organized the transport and burial of his brother and her girlfriend. Sentwali Zuri was brought up as Vuyanzi Amani. She had been safe with Lishevi, that child had grown up to be a strong and beautiful girl.

Lishevi rarely said anything about the death of her son. He forbid Liyai to talk about it to Vuyanzi. Vuyanzi only knew that her parents died at an early age and she was brought up by her grandmother. Lishevi had done everything to provide for her granddaughter. Liyai dotted on his niece and added as the father she never had.

Everything was going on well until the spirit warrior appeared. Lishevi hated spirit warriors, they didn’t deserve to exist except as mythical beasts.

With that thought she reached her home, a few nosy neighbors were standing on her gate looking inside her compound.

‘’What are you doing? Don’t you have work to do?’’ with that they scattered in the wind. Lishevi was in no mood to be courteous.

Inside the compound a big car was parked. It glittered in the sun, the windows were shaded. Lishevi wondered who opened the wobbly gate to let the car in. no one was at home as far as she knew. She locked the gate behind her to prevent the nosy neighbors from snooping. With a thudding heart, she approached the house.

The front door was open and Lishevi could tell there was someone inside her house. A fruity scent of perfume hit her, it smelled expensive like a rich lady. There was a small classy looking handbag on top of the table but no one else was present. She didn’t have to see the lady to know where she was, she followed the scent to Vuyanzi’s and Tabu’s bedroom.

‘’…this is her during the launching of the new Nyati Animal Reserve,’’ Tabu’s excited voice explained. Tabu that explained it. She was the one who invited the guest inside the house.

Lishevi took in a deep breath and pushed the door. Tabu and the lady who Vuyanzi could only describe as elegant turned to her.

‘’Shosho, I came to see you and found this lady outside the house, so I….welcomed her in,’’ Tabu tried explaining timidly scratching her neck.

‘’Tabu, go get your father this instance,’’

‘’But shosho…’’

‘’Now Tabu,’’ Lishevi commanded. The lady only regarded Lishevi with trepidation. Tabu murmured something like sorry and scampered out of sight.

‘’Lishevi, am…’’ the lady started in a soft voice but Lishevi cut her off. Lishevi noticed that her accent was foreign, she spoke like those traders in the market who came from Uganda. The woman before her was far away from home. She was dressed in a knee length white dress that fit her willowy body, it had a high neck and sleeveless arms. It revealed a soft cocoa skin that glowered in the afternoon light. She was dressed in high heels that Lishevi wondered how she managed to look in them. The comparison between the lady and Vuyanzi hit Lishevi like a punch in the stomach. What was even more surprising was that the lady standing before her was a carbon copy of Keza, Adamu’s girlfriend and Vuyanzi’s mother.

‘’Who are you and what are you doing in my house?’’ Lishevi ripped the photo of Vuyanzi the lady was holding from her hands was holding and placed it back on the drum table.

The lady opened the mouth to speak but she was cut off again.

‘’Come with me,’’ Lishevi didn’t bother to wait for an answer, she marched back to the sitting room. The lady followed and Lishevi couldn’t help but notice that the lady had an elegant walk too. Her hair was a bushy afro that appeared soft to touch. Just like Vuyanzi’s. Vuyanzi might have inherited her father’s looks but there was so much similarities between her and the lady before her.

‘’Who are you?’’ Lishevi demanded though she already knew the answer to that question. Lishevi motioned for the lady to sit down.

‘’My name is Neza Zuri,’’ the lady said in the soft voice and that unique accent, ‘’I come from Kigali in Rwanda, I am the twin sister of Keza Zuri, Sentwali Zuri’s mother, your granddaughter.’’

‘’My granddaughter name is not Sentwali Zuri…,’’ Lishevi tried to deny the inevitable as much as possible. This was Vuyanzi’s aunt. Her voice came out trembling.

‘’I know, she goes by Vuyanzi Amani,’’ the lady went on softly. Lishevi wondered how she could be so calm when she was a mess. Sweating and heaving.

‘’ I am her aunt Lishevi. You can never guess how long it took us to find her, to find you,’’ Neza’s voice was now trembling too, her emotions in her glassy eyes. She was holding back tears.

‘’Us? Is someone else looking for her? Who? What do they want with her?’’  Lishevi was suddenly apprehensive. The hyena incident was so fresh in her mind.

‘’My family, we have hit dead ends all the time we searched for her. Until the day we saw her on the newspapers, we were still searching, look,’’ Neza tried to calm Lishevi. She produced a neatly folded newspaper in her small handbag and handed it to Lishevi. Lishevi looked at the photo that had caused her so much heart ache the past few days. Vuyanzi was literally wrapped up in Mr. Jasiri’s arms. When she saw that photo for the first time, Lishevi wanted to talk to Vuyanzi and warn her against…against what? Being happy, looking settled.

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

. She remembered Guma had promised that Vuyanzi would be safe with Koni more than with anyone else. Koni was the wall between Vuyanzi and the amanani.

‘’Lishevi, Sentwali…sorry Vuyanzi is my niece…can I…um…see her?’’ Neza pleaded with her eyes. Lishevi opened her mouth to protest

‘’Please Lishevi, it’s been twenty years we’ve been looking for her,’’

‘’I don’t know if I can trust you, Vuyanzi has had a tough life,’’

‘’I would never do anything to harm a hair on her head Lishevi, she is very important to me,’’ Neza pleaded.

‘’I will let you see her if you tell me what was happened to her parents that night of the accident,’’ Lishevi had to make sure that her aunt was not posing any threat to Vuyanzi. Guma had told Lishevi that Adamu and Keza had been running from an amanani. The misfortune had not been an accident entirely.

‘’It was just an accident Lishevi, nothing will harm Vuyanzi again I promise,’’ Neza glossed over it. Throwing her hands flippantly in the air.

‘’We both it was not an accident, if you don’t come clean how can I trust you to see Vuyanzi? You might be lying about being her aunt for all I know,’’ Lishevi was getting tired of beating around the bush.

‘’I…um…,’’ the once composed lady seemed unsure of herself in front of Lishevi’s unyielding gaze.

‘’If you are worried about the spirit warriors, I know all about it already,’’ Lishevi prompted.

Neza’s eyes grew as big as saucers at the mention of spirit warriors. Her small jaws was hanging open. She is so much like Vuyanzi, Lishevi thought. Vuyanzi wore all her expressions on her face. It was easy to read her.

‘’Spirit warriors,’’ Neza whispered

‘’And dancing brides. I know Vuyanzi is a dancing bride so Neza tell me is my granddaughter in danger like her mother? Is she being hunted down?’’ Lishevi asked unequivocally.

Neza could only swallow hard and look at Lishevi then she began to speak.

Secrets are being revealed...is Vuyanzi ready for the changes

Watch out for more ebonites

Much love.