Shadow Speaker, page 7
He’d belonged to Ejii’s grandparents, and Ejii’s grandmother had been the first person Onion spoke to. Ejii’s mother had grown up with the camel and she and Onion were inseparable. Ejii was quite prepared for the camel to refuse to go with her. But Onion might also feel better guarding her mother’s only child. It was also possible that Onion would trot past her to the kitchen window and tell her mother everything.
“I will go,” Onion said as he ate. He glanced at Ejii with his light blue eyes and Ejii smiled. She patted Onion’s muzzle and sighed with relief.
It was yet another night where Ejii could not sleep; she was too excited. Her mother would wake up around five a.m., pray, and then leave for a last meeting with Jaa. After her mother left, Ejii would ride Onion to Sammy’s house. Jaa and her husbands would be giving their farewell at six a.m. and her mother would be there, expecting Ejii to come on her own and join the crowd. Afterward, Jaa and her husbands would ride off using the main road and Ejii would meet them at the border of Kwàmfà.
She already felt as if she’d left. She just had to bring her body along. She shivered underneath her covers and not because it was a cool night. She was just starting to settle down when suddenly she felt the shadows press in on her. And then there was a wind in her ear. It focused and she understood. Get ready, they said. Nothing more. She heard footsteps. It was only about two a.m. Strange, she thought. Before she could move, the covers were roughly pulled off her.
“Terrible girl, kwo!” her mother shouted. “The nerve!”
Ejii gasped, realizing what was happening.
Her mother flipped on the lights. “How could you!? Ah ah! My own daughter, so conniving and selfish,” her mother shouted.
“Mama, I didn’t mean . . .”
Her mother held up a finger. Ejii immediately shut her mouth.
“Where is the medicine?” she asked in a low voice.
Ejii was so confused that she didn’t know what her mother was talking about.
“Shut up,” her mother snapped. “You took some of my medicinal herbs. I keep track of what I have, like any good root woman.”
Now Ejii understood how she’d been caught. “I didn’t take much,” she said. “I was trying to think like you. In case I got sick along the way.”
“Where is it?” her mother asked.
Ejii reached under her bed and brought it out. Her mother snatched the bag of herbs and threw it at Ejii. “You took my egg stone, too!”
Ejii felt her stomach flip again. So she had noticed. “I . . . for good luck?”
“Lies,” her mother said, throwing her hands up. “And so secretive. You are not going anywhere! You’re my only child. You’re too young! You have no idea what it’s . . .”
“Just let me go!” Ejii shouted. The combination of being caught so close to the time she was to leave, the lack of sleep, and all that she’d put into her plan made Ejii crazy with desperation. “It . . . it’s the right thing to do. You have to sense it!”
“My eyes are on you, Ejimafor,” her mother said. “They may not be as sharp as yours but they see you. If you leave here, don’t ever return. You will not be welcome. I didn’t save you from your father so you could die in the desert.”
She sucked her teeth in disgust and left. Ejii sat there shaking. She could still hear the shadows whispering, urging her to go. I’m not going anywhere, she thought. She wiped the tears from her face and lay back down. There was the patter of rain outside and then the boom of thunder. Minutes later the rainstorm had passed. Come morning, there would be no sign that a drop of rain had fallen. Ejii turned over and was soon asleep.
The next day, Ejii stood with slumped shoulders in the crowd during Jaa’s speech. In her left hand she clasped the egg stone. Doing so felt oddly comforting. There were several messages from Sammy and Arif on her e-pal. She’d ignored all of them. She wore her light blue dress and yellow burka that covered her dress and the rest of her. Neither Sammy nor Arif would recognize her and that was how she wanted it. Ever since Jaa’s return, she hadn’t had to wear the burka in public, and that was a relief. At first it felt strange, like being naked. But she slowly got used to it. And she actually came to like it.
Still, Ejii was growing, and boys and men were beginning to look at her differently, even despite her being a female shadow speaker. They wouldn’t say anything; there were no lewd comments. But there were eyes. Eyes that her sharper eyes saw and understood. Lately, whenever she went to public events, Ejii preferred to wear her burka. Today, she wore her burka for different reasons. She wanted to be invisible. There were several Muslim women wearing burkas, so Ejii felt invisible on multiple levels.
She’d woken up at five a.m. crying. It was the most bizarre thing. She couldn’t remember what she’d been dreaming about, but she felt distressed. Then she remembered her mother’s words, “If you leave here, don’t you ever return. You will not be welcome.” From outside she could hear the Morning Prayer being broadcast through the streets. After praying, Ejii had left her room and found that her mother had already gone.
Jaa’s soft girly voice carried strong words over the large audience. “Buji, Gambo, and I are leaving you all now. We have reason. It is time that Kwàmfà stood on its own two feet. I have great confidence in you all,” she said. “Kwàmfà will continue to prosper. A repeat of the ‘chief’ will mean a repeat of the ‘chief’s fate.’”
The audience roared with applause. Ejii frowned as she looked around. These people had no understanding of Jaa’s doublespeak. And how many of them had supported her father’s draconian nine years of rule? After Jaa, her husbands spoke and the audience cheered some more. Ejii enjoyed hearing Gambo speak; the energy he projected was so contagious. She’d downloaded several recordings of his speeches from the net to listen to as she walked to school. At the end, the three lifted their swords in the air to salute their town and then rode off into the desert. Many of Kwàmfà’s children ran after the camels shouting goodbye. Ejii just stood there.
She was still standing there, her hand grasping the egg stone, as people left, walking around her. She was standing there long enough for Jaa’s council to walk by, her mother amongst them. They were on their way to the town hall for a long meeting, Ejii knew. Her mother caressed the top of Ejii’s head as she passed. Even through the cloth of her burka, Ejii could feel her mother’s warm hand.
“Go home,” her mother said softly to her. But Ejii refused to look at or speak to her mother. She just stood there as her mother went on her way.
“It’s only a matter of time,” a voice to her left said.
Ejii’s entire body tensed. She could understand how her mother could recognize her with her burka, but Fadio? There he stood with his sister Wata. Both of them dressed immaculately. Fadio flashed a big smile, a smile with no gaps in it. The dentist had done a good job. Ejii put the egg stone in her dress pocket.
“Leave me alone, Fadio,” Ejii said.
He ambled up to Ejii and looked her over. “It’s good to see you dressed more appropriately,” he said. “Wata, you should take example from your half-sister.”
Wata looked scared. She practically worshipped the ground her older brother walked on. “I won’t have to wear that thing, right?” she asked in a small voice.
Fadio only laughed.
Ejii suddenly felt a flash of rage so strong that she knew it was best to leave as soon as possible; otherwise she’d embarrass herself again. She began to walk away.
“Don’t you walk away from me,” Fadio said, following her. He grabbed the hem of her burka and Ejii whirled around.
“Don’t touch me,” she hissed, snatching her burka from his hand.
“Brother, just leave her alone,” Wata whined. “Pleeeease. Oh, this is bad.”
Ejii was shaking with pent-up rage.
“You’re too low to have so much pride,” Fadio growled. “You should . . .”
Ejii threw up her burka with such force that it flew into the air. Then she stared long and hard into Fadio’s eyes. Fadio practically jumped back, his eyes locked on hers.
“Leave me alone,” she said.
Fadio grabbed his little sister’s hand. “Mark my word,” he said over his shoulder. “Things will soon change around here.”
“Let them change, then!” Ejii retorted.
“They will!” Fadio said.
“Let them!”
“They will!”
“Let them!” She watched them walk down the road. About a mile down, she could see her father’s wives gathered. She laughed bitterly to herself.
CHAPTER 8
Keep Your E-Pal Beside You
“Your mother said that?” Arif said, looking shocked. He had to shout above all the noise. “Why were you avoiding us like that? We didn’t know what happened.”
Ejii turned down the volume of her e-pal. In her e-pal’s small screen, she could see that Arif was eating from a plate of rice and stew and Sammy was drinking a cup of palm wine. Behind them, the celebration of Jaa’s departure was just kicking into high gear.
“I didn’t want to talk about it,” she said.
“We thought you’d left,” Sammy said, trying to see into Arif’s e-pal. “Or that you’d been caught.”
“Yet there you are in the middle of the party,” she said.
Sammy smiled. “What’d you expect us to do?”
“You feel okay, though?” Arif asked. “No . . . weird feelings?”
Ejii shook her head. “I feel depressed. Maybe my mother was right.”
“Why don’t you meet us?” Arif asked. “We’re just outside the town hall.” Behind Arif, Sammy was laughing at a street performer doing flips and complex dance moves.
“I don’t feel like celebrating.” She paused. “Would you have still gone after your mother said something like that?”
Arif looked at what Ejii assumed was the street performer Sammy was looking at. Ejii frowned. “You have to think about it?” she asked, leaning back on the couch, holding her e-pal to her face.
Arif turned back to her. “This isn’t some choice you pulled out of your ass,” he said. “You should have gone once your mother left. I . . . I think you should still go.”
“Jaa’s gone,” Ejii said, her throat feeling tight. She’d been thinking the same thing. “It’s almost nighttime.” She saw something sparkly fly past Arif’s head. He yelped, and the picture went funny. He must have dropped his e-pal.
“Keep your e-pal beside you, Ejii. It’s getting crazy around here,” Arif said. She could hear Sammy laughing really hard. Then he was gone.
Ejii stared angrily at her e-pal. She cursed and threw it on the couch. By the time night arrived, Ejii was still lying on the couch in the dark staring off into space and her mother was still not home. There was a knock at the door. She didn’t bother turning on the porch light as she peeked to out the window to see who it was. She went to the front door and opened it. Arif carried a plate of wrapped food from the celebrations.
“I know where Jaa will be for the next day or so,” he said.
“Really?”
“You’re not the only shadow speaker here,” he said.
“The shadows actually told you that? Only Mazi Godwin could have . . .”
He smiled more broadly.
“You went to Mazi Godwin?!”
“Nah, Sammy and I overheard two of the chief’s evil wives talking about it. Jaa’s going to Agadez. It’ll take her about a half day. She’ll be there for two days, maybe less.”
“And you still think I should go?” Ejii said.
“Yep.”
“I couldn’t make it there in time. Alone? You know how it is out there!”
“Ejii, there’s more at stake than your welfare. You said it yourself.”
“The war.”
“Yes. And your self.”
“My mother thinks I’m too young,” she muttered.
“Yet the shadows don’t lie,” Arif said. “If they say there’s going to be war if you don’t go, then there will.” He shivered. “Can’t you just feel it?”
Ejii nodded.
“I heard that not far from here there’s a huge opening that goes somewhere,” he said. “If those Ginen people hate Earth so much . . .”
“Yeah,” Ejii whispered. The thought of anything happening to Kwàmfà, all that she knew and loved, made her want to grab whatever was closest to her and use it as a weapon. She frowned. Then she looked up and said, “I have to go.”
Arif nodded. “I didn’t want you to go. I was so happy when you called and said you were still at home. I wasn’t going to come here tonight.” He sighed. “But when I heard the chief’s wives . . . you should definitely go. Something is going to happen.”
“Are you talking about where Jaa is going or here?” she asked, frantic.
“Both. We’ll keep an eye on your mother. Sammy says leave Fadio to him.”
Ejii frowned. “What of what my mother said? She’ll never . . .”
“Ejii, make your choice. There are consequences in all directions,” he said.
She chewed on her lips and wrung her hands. “Okay,” she said. She nodded.
“Are you sure?” Arif asked. “Your mother won’t be happy about it. The journey might cost you your life.” He hesitated. “I can tell you still aren’t sure that it’s the Drive you feel. You might not make it to Agadez in time. You know how dangerous it is for lone travelers. And you don’t know what will happen here. I know for a fact that your father’s wives have planned something. Fadio, he’ll drag you name in the dirt as much as he can. And Sammy and I will miss you. I’ll miss you.”
A minute ago, you were telling me to leave, she thought.
They held each other’s eyes for a long moment and Ejii felt a flutter in her chest.
“Yes, I’m sure,” she finally said, taking his hand.
• • •
As they walked to Sammy’s house in the night, they passed many happily drunken revelers. The party in the town square was still very alive. They went over things as they walked, Onion slowly plodding along behind them.
“Sun lotion, capture station, vitamins, hyena/monkey spray?” Arif asked.
“All in my camel bag.”
“Did you get whatever box the shadows said you had to get?”
“Yeah,” she said, patting her thigh pocket.
“You packed your copy of My Cyborg Manifesto.”
“Of course,” she said. It was her favorite book, as it was for many thousands of other people. When she was down, all she needed was to read a few pages of it to get back up. Sammy was waiting outside with her supplies for them when they arrived. They quickly packed her things on Onion. Arif handed her three pouches filled with money.
“Don’t argue with me,” he said. “One in your dress pocket, one in your saddlebag, and one in the pocket underneath your saddle.”
“Fine,” Ejii said. She understood why she had to break up the money. The possibility of being robbed along the way was one of her many fears.
“Catch up with them as quickly as you can,” Sammy said, patting Onion’s hide.
“Can you hear anything from the shadows?” Ejii asked.
“Some,” Sammy said. “They tell me things that have more to do with Kwàmfà.”
“Me too,” Arif said.
“Like what?” Ejii asked, frowning.
“That’s not your worry,” Sammy said.
She gave Sammy the friendship handshake and a tight hug. “Hurry. Remember to listen and learn,” he said, giving her a kiss on the cheek.
She turned to Arif, who was frowning deeply. He didn’t hug her, but he gave her a kiss on the lips that made Ejii feel both warm and afraid, afraid for what was to come.
“We’ll tell Mazi Godwin tomorrow,” he said, looking away.
Ejii knelt on the ground, pressed her head to the sand, and said a prayer to all the gods and goddesses she could think of. Then she climbed onto Onion and just sat there.
“Go on,” Sammy said.
Onion started walking without Ejii’s command, and soon he’d worked himself into a trot. She looked back and waved. Arif was looking at his feet and Sammy was waving back. Onion walked a few blocks down the main road and then turned toward the narrow street, the road that would lead her out of Kwàmfà.
They passed Kambili’s house. Darkened by thick brooding shadows, the small adobe house was practically invisible, but Ejii could hear the shadows whisper to her as she passed. Chilling words, and clear as a bell. You will die out there and all that they will find of you are your damned eyes! All that you love will die here and people from Ginen will kill the rest, Ejii! Ejii frowned, wondering why these shadows weren’t glad to see her leaving as they’d wished Kambili would have. Onion must have heard something awful too, because he upped his pace to a gallop.
In Kwàmfà’s town square, the celebrating would go on well into the night. As Ejii rode away from it, the sounds of laughter and music grew more and more distant and she passed fewer and fewer people, all of whom were going to the celebration.
“Don’t look back,” Onion said when they reached the top of the first sand dune.
The words of the angry shadows hovering around Kambili’s house were still with her. She had to take one last look. She could see the top of her home. Her mother usually sat next to the open window to read. But tonight, that bedroom light was off and the curtains were drawn. Ejii looked back until she could no longer see her home.
CHAPTER 9
Cactus Candy
It was deep into the night, hours from daybreak, so it was cold. Ejii was glad for her long blue dress, a black wool coat, and a thick veil that only exposed her face. She touched the silver amulet that hung from her neck on a delicate silver chain. Her mother had given it to her seven months ago for her birthday. It was a Cross of Agadez made of pure Tuareg silver and it was specially engraved with Nsibidi symbols of her mother’s choosing. The symbols told the story of Ejii’s family all the way back to her great-great-great-grandparents.
