Kadian

The Great Flashback

Alaba had tested the waters with several men and boys throughout her adolescence, but none had ever caught her eyes quite like Mohassen had. Despite her stunning appearance, Mohassen proved to be quite the challenge. He was the only boy who wasn't throwing himself at her feet. He was oblivious to all of her advances, and she couldn't help but wonder if it had to do with the fact she was an Undo. She had intentionally let all of the Love Fests pass her by, for no man could please her. The village had always talked about Alaba for a plethora of reasons, but she was the subject of all conversation when she turned nineteen without a husband.

"Why didn't she get married?"

"Alaba had all the boys, all the men she could've wanted. Only an idiot would waste their beauty."

"She better not be a dyke!"

"Oh leave that poor girl alone, her daddy didn't teach her any better."

Gossip in general revolving around Alaba hurt her feelings, but the 'daddy' comments made her skin crawl. Alaba's father had been quite the womanizer in his time. From a young age, he 'romanced' all of the women and girls he found beautiful. He continued doing so even after his arranged marriage to a seamstress's daughter, Trini -Alaba's mother.

"Baako, I hate when you do this. I hate it!" her mother would sob.

"Do what?" Baako would ask smugly, entertained by his wife's despair.

"I can smell them on you! I can smell all of them on you! And I hate it!" Trini would scream. The two would always argue back and forth until her mother would inevitably sink into her little chair, and cry. Alaba soon became used to watching-and hating-her weak mother. But that fact had little to do with Mohassen.

So there Alaba was, nineteen, dazzling, and unmarried. Strangely enough, she didn't actually want a husband. All of her suitors never did have what she was looking for-but Alaba herself wasn't even sure what she was looking for. Whatever it may have been was found when Chief Mohoso returned from a trip to Mali with his son, Mohassen. She had never paid him too much mind-perhaps that was because he was only fourteen. But as she watched him emerge from the forest with his father, smiling widely, age seemed irrelevant at that moment.

She rushed over to greet the chief after all the people of importance had done so first.

"Greetings, Mighty Chief," she said in unison with the villagers as she bowed. They then focused on his son, for he was next in line to be chief.

"Greetings, Young Mohassen," said the villagers, but Alaba had substituted 'Young' for 'Sweet.' Only Mohassen and a few of the villagers had caught her intentional slip of the tongue. He raised his eyebrows, but simply said "Greetings, kind people."

Mohassen's mother, Omose, usually handled her family's luggage, but she had departed a few years earlier. Elder Zee took it upon herself to grab the chief's bags, but that was the most her aging body could handle. Alaba stepped forward excitedly, pushing past the other girls.

"Excuse me, Young Mohassen," she said, struggling not to wobble as she bowed. "But may I be of assistance to you?" She smiled a little too hard.

"Uh, no thanks Alaba, it's okay," he said. He then asked uneasily "But why did you refer to me as 'sweet' earlier?"

She smiled lovingly down at the boy, seeing that she was taller than him. "Because...you simply are."

Mohassen coughed and wrung his hands. "Um...you're too kind. But I don't think your husband would appreciate that, especially so soon after the Love Fest." He looked around curiously. "By the way, who did you choose? I know you had a lot of options," he said with a laugh.

Alaba shifted her weight. "Well, you see...no one. I chose no one."

Mohassen's jaw dropped. "No one? No one married the gorgeous Alaba everyone has been going on about?"

"He called me gorgeous!" Alaba thought gleefully, ignoring the fact that nearly everyone did. She blushed and twirled a braid.

"And wait...I've been gone for two years," Mohassen continued. "Aren't you nineteen now?"

Alaba tensed up, no longer flattered, and nodded slowly.

"So, you've let yourself become an Undo...hm."

It was the worst nightmare that she had never dreamed. He wasn't supposed to see her as an Undo! He was the one who was supposed to be blushing and stammering. He was supposed to be flattered that an older, gorgeous woman was interested in him. But there he was, staring at her as though she was just another desperate silly girl longing to be with him. As she stared at him, trying to read his face and feelings, a young girl in white pranced up to the two of them. Alaba knew that she was only a year older than Mohassen.

"Hello there Alaba, how have you been?" The girl inquired politely. When Alaba said nothing, she turned her attention towards Mohassen. The girl then performed one of the most graceful, effortless bows Alaba had ever seen-she didn't wobble or shake once!

"How I've missed you, Great Mohassen! You ran off to Mali before I could really get to know you." She spoke softly and sweetly. Mohassen's face brightened the second his eyes met hers.

"Oh, yeah. I'm sorry Mimosa. I just, eh, erm..." Now he was stumbling over his words. This was not supposed to be happening, not for this girl anyways. This was supposed to be his reaction to her.

"Don't apologize Mohassen, I'd expect the chief's son to have other responsibilities." She swooped down and grabbed all of his bags. "Let's put these away, I would hate to leave you standing here." Was that a subtle jab at Alaba?

"Oh, thanks Mimosa." He followed her as she walked towards his hut (he still lived with his father at the time.) "And you know, we could talk after this. You're right- we never did get to know each other. How does that sound?"

"Sounds wonderful!" Mimosa chirped, and Alaba was crushed to see Mohassen's bright smile as the two disappeared in the hut.

A dark skinned, bald headed fifteen year old had just run off with the potential love of her life.