The Dancing Bride And Her Spirit Warrior - Episode 5

 

The next morning Lishevi waited for her granddaughter to leave the house before scrambling out of bed. It was very early in the morning approximately 5.30 am if the radio by her bedside was correct. She quickly took the porridge Vuyanzi had left on the table and hurried out of the house. She had to make sure she reached her destination before daylight set in. Nobody should see her.

She avoided the main road and took footpaths that led far away from the town . She cut through people’s farm and had to cross two rivers to reach her destination. The morning dew clung to her long skirt and soaked her simple rubber shoes.

The morning birds were chirping by the time she had crossed the second river and was deep in the forest. It had been a long time since she had used that path and by then Vuyanzi had been a month year old baby on her back. Her mind travelled back to the last time she had been there.

Vuyanzi had been crying, the baby had been crying for days no matter what her grandmother Lishevi did. She refused to eat and cried herself to sleep. Lishevi did not know what to do, the doctors had ruled out any disease and sent her home with the bawling baby. It did not help that Lishevi was still mourning the death of her second son and his wife. It was too much for her but she had to be strong for Vuyanzi her granddaughter who had been left an orphan.

One of the doctors in the hospital had suggested that Lishevi should try out traditional medicine to help Vuyanzi

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

. Lishevi was first hesitant to try the traditional medicine men because she did not know any of them but then Vuyanzi had not eaten for several day and Lishevi feared that something fatal might happen to the baby so she took the doctor’s advice and pursue out a traditional doctor.

Her search had brought her deep into the animal conservative forest and to the door of Guma, a very controversial medicine man. The first thing Lishevi noticed was that the old man was drank and he claimed to speak to the ancestors. Lishevi was just about to turn back and give up hope with Guma but stopped when she noticed Vuyanzi had stopped crying and was laughing. The first laugh since Lishevi started holding her.

‘’ Can I hold her?’’ Guma the drunk asked stretching his bony hands towards Lishevi and the baby.

‘’No you are drunk,’’ Lishevi opposed avoiding the man’s hands.

‘’How can I help if I don’t see her woman,’’ the old man asked flustered, ‘’you are the one who wants my help,’’

‘’You can help without touching her’’ Lishevi countered, she was not letting her granddaughter anywhere near the drunk old man. It was then that Vuyanzi started crying out again.

‘’It shall be fine, I know you have come a long away. Let me ease you of the baby, I promise everything will be fine,’’ Guma said in a calm voice while easing the baby off Lishevi’s arms.

Guma went ahead and crooned to the baby even singing a strange song. Soon enough Vuyanzi was asleep and Lishevi let out a deep sigh. Guma went ahead to examine the baby’s face and neck. Lishevi noticed that he focused a lot on the neck gently turning it from side to side.

‘’ Her parents died in a road accident and she is the only survivor out of fifty people,’’ suddenly Guma said his voice coming out strong and his eyes glazing over as if he was not talking to Lishevi who was the only one in the room. Lishevi was surprised she didn’t remember telling Guma about the plight of Vuyanzi’s parents.

He kept silent for a few minutes mumbling to himself incoherently. Lishevi tried to hear what he was saying but couldn’t. Abruptly he started breathing heavily and his body started convulsing. Lishevi tried to pluck the sleeping baby out of his arms but was stopped by a loud ‘stop’ from the medicine man. The command had her taking a step back. Guma finally stopped convulsing with Vuyanzi still intact on his arms.

‘’ I didn’t think I will ever see this day, in all my life as a medicine man.’’ Guma started talking.

‘’What are you talking about?’’

‘’This little angel here is special,’’ Guma said in an enthralled voice lightly touching Vuyanzi’s cheek. The baby was blessedly sleeping.

‘’ Special? Is she going to be okay?’’ Lishevi asked. All she had wanted to know was if her Vuyanzi would be well.

‘’ Yes she will be fine, more than fine. She is actually a bride, a dancing bride’’ Guma went on in his enthralled voice.

What? A dancing bride? No it couldn’t be. It was simply not possible..

 ‘’ You are lying. It can’t be true. Dancing brides are myths, they don’t exist,’’ Lishevi shook her head in denial.

‘’ They exist, they have always exist and this little one here is one of them. Look at her neck, she has the markings an invisible mkufu (necklace) that binds her to her spirit warrior.’’ Guma was never so excited. It was all true, all the stories he had heard from his grandfather and father were true. He held a dancing bride in his arms and he was the one to identify her. It was only a matter of time before the spirit warrior came to claim her. Then again the appearance of a dancing bride meant that her life was in danger. She would be targeted from a very young age.

Lishevi looked closely and noticed that her Vuyanzi’s neck had several dark dots surrounding her neck. She was born with them but Lishevi noticed they were not so many like she was seeing. They dotted her neck and went down on her chest stopping between her tiny ribcages.

‘’My granddaughter will not be paired with any mythical beast,’’ at that Lishevi had picked up Vuyanzi from Guma’s arms and walked out. Guma had shout to her that she would come back in time.

Vuyanzi had stopped fussing after that. Lishevi had never told anyone about her small adventure deep in the forest.

Lishevi didn’t know how much that would be true until today when she stopped on a clearing and came face to face with Guma’s house. Her legs were aching and she silently cursed the back roads she took.

The place had completely changed, Guma’s mud and tin house was long gone and replaced by a large brick house. Lishevi had always wondered why the forest reserve people had allowed Guma to stay in the forest while they pushed others out. Many people had lost land when the reserve was curved out, but not Guma. She had learned that Guma and his practice were considered as part of the tourist attraction. Guma was also known to sell his herbs to tourist whenever they visited.

The compound was fenced with thorny fence, a high gate stood in front and Lishevi knocked, the sun was up but it was not hot yet. Lishevi had left her phone home but with checking the position of the sun she could tell it was seven in the morning. She was about to knock on the gate but it opened on its own when she raised her knuckles. She was greeted by a middle aged man decently dressed in a white lab coat with a big smile.

‘’ Jambo mama Lishevi, my father is waiting for you in the back. Please come with me,’’ the man said and started walking away without waiting for Lishevi to answer.

Lishevi quickly followed choosing to ignore asking how Guma knew of her coming.

Behind the brick mansion, they came to a long mud thatched hut that Lishevi remembered very well. The young man ushered Lishevi and left her inside the room. Lishevi looked around and noticed some changes. The walls had shelves on with bottles filled with different colors of liquids. Several baskets lay on the floor with dried leaves. The place was clean with the nice fragrant. On the center of the hut there was a fire burning with a long log the source of the fragrant scent, scented wood. On one wall there was a desk with writing materials. Guma had been busy.

Lishevi curious mind led her to the table.

On one of the papers he had drawn a picture some sort of animal, on a closer look it was a lion judging by the thick mane. It was standing upright and appeared taller than any human Lishevi had ever seen. Its body appeared to be muscular with a long tail protruding from behind its legs. Its claws were drawn and it appeared to be yawning its huge teeth sticking from its mouth.

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

. Lishevi was so engrossed in her observation until she heard a cough behind her. In her haste she to turn she slipped the piece of paper into the small back she had carried before turning back.

Guma stood there smiling, his white teeth flashing. Even from the distance Lishevi could smell the smell of local liquor coming from him. Something’s never changed, Lishevi shook her head.

‘’ Lishevi, I was expecting you yesterday night,’’ Guma said in a strong voice. He was still a bony old man. The years had been kind to him though he didn’t appear to have aged a day. His eyes still shone with hidden intelligence despite his inebriated state.

‘’Guma, I see you are still a drunk,’’ Lishevi countered, Guma chuckled he had missed Lishevi’s sharp tongue.

‘’ With the things I see and hear, I would go insane without taking alcohol,’’ he countered snickering.

‘’I can see you are also a writer, ‘’ Lishevi said pointing at the table behind her.

‘’No none of that is mine, it belongs to my son, the one who invited you in. In fact he is the one who brought all the changes here,’’

Lishevi was surprised that Guma had a son and it must have reflected on her face because Guma said ‘’don’t ask’’. Traditional medicine men didn’t marry and kept away from women to preserve their gift of breaking the barrier between humans and the spirits. Guess she didn’t know much as she thought.

‘’ Has the warrior made his presence known?’’ Guma asked his eyes fixed on her.

‘’You mean the lion which attacked my granddaughter?’’ Lishevi said turning on the business that brought her into Guma’s homestead.

‘’Vuyanzi was attacked?’’ Guma asked suddenly concerned, he had recently sensed that Vuyanzi was undergoing a turmoil but he never thought that she was attacked. ‘’Are you sure?’’

‘’She has choking marks on her neck,’’ Lishevi said.

‘’Tell me everything and don’t leave anything out,’’

And Lishevi did.

Another chapter.

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