The Lost Tribe: Maliha the Wanderer (Book 1)

The Universe

"So, when do you actually plan on leaving?"

Maliha looked over her shoulder as Nkechi sank onto the bridge to sit beside her. Maliha's eyes narrowed as she turned back around to stare into the shifting orange sky. "When do you plan on telling your parents about your Dahara?"

"When do you plan on actually seeing Tobi and not avoiding him?" Nkechi shot back.

Maliha's head whipped around as she glared at Nkechi. "I'll stop hiding from Tobi, the moment you stop hiding from Kofi."

Nkechi huffed in denial, "I'm not hiding from Kofi. I'm not," she repeated when Maliha's eyebrow shifted skyward at the blatant lie. "I'm merely avoiding Kofi to prevent his untimely death."

"Yes, okay Nkechi, I believe you" scoffed Maliha. Maliha believed Nkechi's excuse as much as Nkechi believed that Maliha wasn't hiding from Tobi.

Nkechi had every reason to hide from Kofi, just as Maliha had every right to avoid Tobi.

Kofi was the pig-headed male who thought he was the goddess's gift to their kind and unfortunately the male that Nkechi was betrothed to against her will. No amount of protesting on Nkechi's behalf had changed her father's mind. The only positive was that her father hadn't officially announced the pairing to everyone. Nkechi believed her father would eventually change his mind but Maliha had witnessed their arguments. There was no changing Razi Matin's mind.

"Maliha, were you even listening?" Snapped Nkechi in annoyance, her fingers clicking in Maliha's face.

"Sorry," Maliha apologised swiping Nkechi's fingers from her face. "Repeat what you said one more time."

Nkechi rolled her eyes heavenwards as she sprang to her feet. "I'm giving you two days Maliha. Two. We have been here for well over a fortnight, we may have even been here for a whole moon cycle and that's unacceptable."

"Nkechi," sighed Maliha.

"Grow up Maliha," Nkechi huffed, struggling to hide the smile that Maliha's whining tone always brought to her face. "Seriously Maliha, stop hiding. I think you'll find that most things are never how we imagine them to be."

With those final words, Nkechi flounced off into the distance, disappearing into the trees and leaving Maliha alone with her thoughts. Sometimes it felt nice just to be alone, to just breathe and feel the world moving around her. Enzo was safe and sound in bed sleeping and these few moments were what Maliha needed to try and clear her mind.

Maliha sat there for a few moments pondering over her conversation with Nkechi. She could understand Nkechi's reticence because Maliha was reluctant to face Tobi, not because there was any animosity but because there was just so much unnamed emotion that Maliha felt for Tobi. He had been the boy she had lost her virginity to. The same boy she had only felt platonic feelings for. Well, that was what she had told herself back then. Tobi had been one of the only males she had as a friend, yet the moment things became sexual between them, something had changed. They had still remained friends but there had been a hidden undercurrent of something that Maliha had been too scared to explore. Her heart had been too battered for her to even contemplate what could have been but being amongst the Feri years later made it hard for Maliha to do anything but that.

She couldn't see Tobi now, not because she didn't miss him because Maliha had missed him. He was the only male she had been intimate with before Ujarak and as it stood, Tobi was the only positive romantic relationship Maliha had ever had. Maliha didn't want to tarnish that last relationship with the brutal reality, whatever that may be but perhaps it was time to stop hiding.

As she climbed to her feet, a solid body collided with hers, Sending her reeling. For a moment she thought she would topple to her death, but the strong arms outstretched and caught her. Her face thudded against the strong chest before she was slowly released.