NABILA
"What is your soul?" The stranger asked.
My soul? If it's the real me, my deepest secrets, my deepest fear. Then it should be my grandfather, but no, something else has me worried, my markings, my dreams, my grandfather finding out my dreams.
"What is your soul?" The stranger asked again.
The source of my dreams, my real father, my shame.
"My blood," I answered.
....
ANJU
"What is your soul?" The stranger asked.
"My soul?" I asked the stranger.
"Yes, your soul, what resides the most in your soul, what defines you?" The stranger explained further.
What do I have deep down? My biggest secret? My biggest fear.
"What is your soul?" The stranger asked again
"Isn't it obvious?" I smirked at the stranger. "I am a southerner, that's my soul, my southern blood is my soul," I answered.
....
SIJUADE
"What is your soul?" The stranger asked.
I knew the riddle was too easy to be true. I knew it, self-revelation would be the key to opening this door. I must come as my true self.
"What is your soul?" The stranger asked again.
My fear, I'm already a failure to the western clan so that can't be my soul, everyone can see that. My deepest secret is what I fear the most. It's just one thing, the source of my shame.
"What is your soul, Ade?" The stranger asked, calling me that name, making four people that have called me that, Ade, king.
"My family, my bloodline, my blood," I answered.
....
OMASIRI
"What is your soul?" The stranger asked.
"Do you have to ask? When you've already seen it." I asked back.
"Feisty, just like me. What is your soul OMASIRI? Say it with your mouth." The stranger asked again.
My soul, my greatest fear?
"Love, loving someone," I replied to her.
"No OMASIRI, what is your soul?" The stranger asked again.
"What do you want from me?!" I began to blink back my tears.
"Say it, what is your soul?" The stranger asked again.
"I don't know!" I tried to deny it. I fought it, I told it to stay down, to stay locked forever.
"You lie o wise child, you lie in vain. What is your soul? Answer me or die?" The stranger asked with aggression in her voice.
I knew it, I knew I couldn't hide it forever, keep it down forever, but I didn't know it'll be this soon. How long has it been now? I'm still not healed, I still can't forget. She's still in my memory.
"What is your soul child? Say it! you're finally ready."
"KAM-BI-LI," I answered.
"You're welcome, child." She said with a smile that went across the two ends of her face. She had thick red lipstick on and her face was shielded with something, I'd never seen such a beautiful design of a hat in my life. She wore a red dress that stopped just below her knee and on her feet were red heels. I didn't need to ask to know.
I was a fool not to know. I'd read about her. She showed me her.
"Madam Koi koi."
YOU ARE READING
Midnight Shrub
General FictionNijiria- is a land blessed with four powerful tribes- the south, west, east and north, each bearing unique gifts but on a single night, a night known as the blind night, four powerful tribes turned to three, as all members of the southern tribe were...
