Kadian

The Great Gathering

It was under the command of Chief Mohoso in which the villagers found themselves huddled together at The Log (a large circle of dead tree trunks on which the villagers sat) on a particularly dark, cool night. The elderly and young alike sat patiently, chattering amongst themselves while sending the occasional glance to Kadian, who sat in silence. Although no one had said so to her, she was quite certain that the meeting would revolve around her, and her unusual circumstances.

Over the last few days, Kadian had tried to contact her parents from many different phones, and was met only with strange clicks and dial tones. When the villagers tried to reach her parents themselves- successfully-and mentioned Kadian, her mother said "Kadie-who?", and her father snapped "We don't want whatever the hell you're selling!" after the fourth call. Neither one of them answered their phones again.

A similar response was received when the villagers contacted her school, friends, neighbors, and Michigan's Secretary of State. When the villagers, much to their disdain, took Kadian off reserve to ask for help, all of the tourists thought it was some sort of 'African game,' and that it was their job to find the 'invisible girl.' It became increasingly clear that the Azurayans were the only people who could see Kadian, a notion that many found to be disturbing. Kadian's train of thought broke when she saw Chief Mohoso, who was standing in the center of the circle, light a thick pile of kindling-a sign that he was ready to speak.

"My brothers, my sisters, I welcome you with open arms tonight," the chief's voice boomed across the wide space. "However, I do not owe you an explanation- for it is sitting among us." All eyes shifted to Kadian, who stared at the ground.

"What has been happening to the American is clearly not a game, but a serious problem," the chief continued. "As a result, I have come to my own decision concerning the girl's fate."

Kadian felt her stomach tighten. What kind of decision?

The chief clasped his hands together, his eyes gleaming as he smiled. "Regardless," he said, "I still love hearing from my people. Speak."

Kadian quickly discovered how opinionated the villagers truly were. Each and every one of them had something to say, and their massive conversations followed the same pattern: Gibberish, gibberish, blather-and silence for a legitimate statement. Then more gibberish concerning the previous statement, until a new comment was made, and so on. She found it difficult to decipher the nonsensible words in between, and the thick accents of certain people only made the task more challenging. However, the whispers, yells, and mixed facial expressions told her all that she needed to know.

"How does nobady see you, huh? Weird child." Many murmured in agreement with the older woman, and shook their heads at Kadian.

"This is da work of da devil!" A young man with a mohawk shouted, and a small bunch of approving 'Yeah's!' followed.

"Or maybe she is da devil!" A large mother screamed. "Do we really want her around da children, now?"

Nearly everyone glared at Kadian, a few even spatting profanities her way. She desperately looked around for friendly face, but Zee was nowhere to be found. Zuri's mother was busy scolding her daughter, scrubbing at Zuri's hand with her skirt for touching 'da devil and her tainted luggage.' Mohassen, who was now not too far from his father, looked rather indifferent, while Sister...Sister looked afraid. Kadian only wished that she could hug her, and tell her that she wasn't the monster that everyone was making her out to be.

"She needs to leave the village!" a boy her age snapped.

"Yeah, tonight!" a friend of his chimed in.