6 months later.
Time, for Za, had accelerated since that first encounter.
Her tiny Chuta, who could barely stand for long periods, now walked with an astonishing determination. But it wasn't just him; it was the entire village.
Hunza, which was previously just a settlement, had transformed into the vibrant heart of something much grander.
Za recalled the initial weeks when Chuta's messengers carried his directives to neighboring villages. At first, people had doubts, but Chuta's promises were not in vain.
Currently, the air of Hunza has a different scent: less damp earth and more fresh herbs and carefully cooked food. The paths, which were once irregular, looked cleaner, and the children, with rosy cheeks, scurried with a vitality Za hadn't remembered seeing before.
She observed those same children in the new educational institutions, their small, clumsy fingers manipulating rudimentary pencils, learning to trace the singular shapes of the alphabet Chuta had taught. The cream-toned paper now used to record all information constituted another sign of order and palpable progress that expanded like a rising tide.
The Five Great Cities began to materialize, not just as names on Chuta's maps, but as guarantees of prosperity.
Za had examined the preliminary designs, and now saw the population moving, settling, and building with a fervor she had never witnessed. There was an incessant hum of activity, the tapping of tools against wood and stone, the murmur of voices brimming with enthusiasm.
One afternoon, while observing the incessant coming and going of the builders from the entrance of her dwelling, she felt a small hand in hers.
"Mom, what are you looking at? Is it the people?" Chuta inquired, his affectionate tone of voice pulling her from her thoughts.
Za knelt, caressing her child's hair.
"What you have achieved is extraordinary, Chuta. The homes are sturdier, the fields greener… It almost seems as if they were preparing for a grand celebration, but it's just a normal day," Za replied with a hint of pride, though her face, for an instant, revealed a trace of envy. "I feel like everyone else is progressing and I'm stuck," she murmured.
Za understood that the origin of this transformation was beside her, her small son Chuta, and for this reason, she could not experience perceiving all these changes as an ordinary person. She was even capable of anticipating the advancements her son was planning.
"Mom, would you like to be part of this evolution in a different way?" Chuta asked, looking directly into her eyes, his expression was unusually serious for a child his age.
"What do you mean, my little one?" she inquired with curiosity, a smile appearing. She knew her son harbored numerous wild ideas, and that perhaps what he was about to utter would be one of them.
"I want you to help me establish a restaurant," Chuta proposed, the word sounding peculiar in his mouth.
"What is a restaurant?" she asked, her brow furrowed by the novelty of the term.
"It's like a dining hall, but we would prepare food for others in exchange for payment or trade. A place where people can come to enjoy food and company," Chuta explained, smiling at the strange expression his mother adopted upon hearing his idea.
"Is that feasible? Cooking for strangers in exchange for something?" Za asked, trying to visualize the establishment her son described. The notion of transforming her passion for cooking into something of greater magnitude, into a meeting place, began to germinate in her mind.
"Of course. What's more, we can also make it a place where people can sleep if they come from other cities or from outside. A refuge. We could call it 'Za's Home'," Chuta replied enthusiastically, his eyes shining with that light Za already recognized.
A mixture of fear and immense emotion overwhelmed her.
"I'm not sure I can do it," Za hesitated, her voice barely a whisper. "Apparently my dear Chuta came with another crazy idea… But it seems he did it thinking of me," she reflected, moved.
"Don't worry, mother, I will help you," Chuta assured her confidently, squeezing her hand. "Besides, I have people who can assist you."
"Are you referring to those individuals you are personally training?" Za asked her son, her mind already visualizing larger kitchens and rooms for travelers.
"Yes, they could help you with everything you need. With management, with supplies. You just take care of the food and making people feel at home."
Za nodded slowly, a new spark igniting in her own eyes. This was not the kind of progress Chuta was bringing to the kingdom, but it represented her own corner in that vast and changing universe. Her own legacy.
2 years later.
Za observed Chuta, with a mixture of pride and a pang of melancholy.
He was no longer the infant who snuggled into her chest to sleep.
His steps were firm, his voice clear, and his eyes, one dark as night and the other clear as dawn, reflected a mind constantly in motion.
The Suaza Kingdom was an undeniable reality, extending over lands that were once just distant names. The incorporation of Pijao and Tairona had been completed, and Za saw how the people integrated, adopting new customs and sharing their own.
Chuta had insisted on cultural integration, on the acceptance of each people's gods within a unified pantheon. Za had seen how priests from different ethnic groups gathered in the temples, their once dissonant voices now uniting in chants that found astonishing similarities. It was as if Chuta had opened their eyes to a greater truth, one that united everyone under the same sky.
"Apparently the prophecy was real… Yes, I am the mother of someone chosen by the gods," Za reflected at that moment. She knew the prophecy and knew her son's greatness, but for her, he was simply her son, someone she loved with all her heart.
Religion wasn't the only thing Chuta improved. Za noticed the change in every corner of the kingdom.
Farmers worked the land with renewed speed, their iron tools, once crude, now gleamed under the sun. In the rivers, the constant murmur of the hydraulic mills, those strange structures Chuta had drawn on paper, resonated in the distance, easing the work of women who used to grind grain by hand.
And on the coast, the boats were no longer the small canoes of before, but larger vessels, with imposing sails Za had never imagined. Her son, with his 'Explorers,' was expanding the world in a way no one else would have expected.
She, for her part, continued expanding Za's Homes to all possible villages, offering refuge and sustenance in the new regions, a silent testament to the kingdom's growth and prosperity. Her food was loved by all, and she was very happy about this.
One day, while overseeing the kitchen of her most recent inn, she heard a merchant exclaim: "By the gods, Za! Your stew is more divine than the nectar of the heavens. I have tasted food from many places, but I have never eaten anything like it." Za smiled, the heat of the kitchen was nothing compared to the pride she felt. She never thought she would become famous for her food.
However, a bad thing about the presence of these foreigners was that her son had received news that had changed his mood for the first time in all these years. Za found him curled up in his room, his small shoulders trembling.
"What's wrong, Chuta?" Za asked her son, hugging him tightly. The worried look on his small face made her heart clench. Her maternal instinct told her that her son's worry could be a worry for her kingdom.
"Tizoc… Ahuízotl…"
"1482…"
"10 years… No, now it's only 6…"
Chuta murmured, not noticing his mother's concern, his words a distant echo of a world Za didn't know. Za, frightened by her son's state, cradled him in her arms and began to sing him a soothing song, the same one she sang to him when he was a baby.
She stroked his hair, trying to calm him.
"What's wrong, Chuta? What's making you so worried?" she asked again when she noticed Chuta had calmed down, his eyes, one dark and the other light, fixed on hers.
"It's nothing, Mom," Chuta said, trying not to involve his mother in his fears, but looking at her face, he couldn't lie. "I feel like the danger the prophecy spoke of seems closer than I expected."
4 years later.
The kingdom was vast now, an intricate network of roads and sea routes extending from the jungles near Inca territory in the south to almost the Endless Forest in the east. Ten regions, each with its own capitals, vibrated with a life Za could barely believe.
The population had grown immensely, a product of longer, healthier lives, abundant food, and the peace Chuta had brought.
The stories arriving at Za's Homes were astonishing. Merchants and travelers from all regions, and now from even more distant lands, mingled in their bustling halls. They spoke of 'giant ships,' enormous vessels capable of crossing the 'Inner Sea' in a matter of days, reaching places that were once unreachable.
Za listened in amazement as stories were told of conversations with the powerful Aztecs, whose cities were as large as mountains, and with the cunning Tarascan. Even dealings with the Incas of the south were mentioned, though their relations were more cautious.
News of the concluded trade treaties filled the air with optimism. Chuta, just over eight years old, had become the architect of a future no one else could have imagined a few years ago. Before, all the people of the region competed for resources or fought over more abundant territories, but now everything had changed.
Za watched him interact with ambassadors from people who were once just legends, his childlike voice resonating with an authority that should not be present in a small child. Just as the kingdom grew its business, or as Chuta liked to call it; 'Company'.
Although she no longer supervised every detail of her inn as she did at first, she received daily reports and made sure her establishments maintained the warmth and quality that characterized them.
It was her legacy, her palpable contribution to the kingdom's well-being, a place where the news and flavors of the vast kingdom met.
Za's constant concern for her son's immense burden never completely disappeared, but now it mingled with a growing and profound astonishment. Her little SuaChie, the baby who once snuggled tenderly on her chest, was now weaving the intricate destiny of the entire world.
"This world is getting bigger and bigger," Za reflected as she busily cooked in Chuta's house. Za let out a deep sigh; her worry was palpable and evident.
"What troubles you, Lady Za?" a young woman beside her asked.
"I was just thinking about how vast our world is becoming, Fiba… I'm worried about Chuta," she replied. She motioned for Fiba to bring her some necessary ingredients.
"Here you go," Fiba said, handing her a beautiful ceramic bowl containing avocado. "You shouldn't worry, Lady. Young Chuta is an extremely skilled and capable man. Besides, there are many people constantly helping him. You, his family, and now with the three young ladies who will always accompany him," Fiba commented, surprising Za with her unexpected eloquence.
"Generally, Fiba is very direct and unemotional," Za thought, confused. "It's true. And you 'Shadows' are there to look after and protect him," Za said with a mysterious, knowing tone.
Fiba immediately froze in place. Za's words touched a weak and extremely sensitive point for her. Her identity as a member of the 'Shadows' was supposed to remain a strict secret.
"Hahaha! … Fiba, I am his mother. You can't hide anything from me!" Za commented, chuckling at Fiba's obvious reaction.
Fiba didn't respond to a single word. Years of rigorous training and absolute dedication had not prepared her for a situation like this. She didn't know what she should do at that precise moment.
"Speaking of people who will help my dear Chuta… As I understand it, you get along very well with my son, Upqua. Are you getting married soon?" Za asked, looking at Fiba with that mother-in-law gaze that knows no era or time, a gaze that is eternal and always uncomfortable.
Fiba didn't know what to answer. She just blushed intensely and lowered her gaze to avoid seeing Za's smiling face.
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[A/N: CHAPTER COMPLETED
Hello everyone.
Here's the last part of this chapter. Two or three more will follow, and then... After that, there are some time jumps to advance to the first major part of the novel.
Za shows us the town's growth, but also its concerns. And like any mother, she knows almost all of Chuta's secrets. She even knows about the "Shadows."
Unnecessary Fact of the Day: The Catholic Monarchs conquer Granada in 1492. This ends the Reconquista in the Iberian Peninsula, marking the end of the last Muslim kingdom in Spain.
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Read my other novels.
#The Walking Dead: Vision of the Future.
#The Walking Dead: Emily's Metamorphosis from Visions of Future Saga.
You can find them on my profile.]