The night was still young. She paced and tossed on the bed until sun rays hit her.
As she slowly opened her eyes, a warm ray of sunlight danced across her face, chasing away the remnants of sleep. She stretched , feeling the softness of her bed and the gentle restle of the sheet. The room was bathed in a bright, golden light and the air was filled with the sweet sent of blooming flowers outside her window.
She smiled, feeling invigorated and resfreshed. The morning light seemed to infuse her with a sense of hope and possibility ...
Nia
" I felt alive when the sunlight illuminated on my face...
The day was bright and beautiful,, full of promises
I stood up from my bed and stumbled to the bathing room,, did all my toiletries and came back only to smell something aromatic inside my bed room and on the chamber hall way…
So I followed the scent,, my feet carrying me exactly where it should ….
My stomach grumbled...
Good morning aunty
" Good morning dear"",, she smiled softly
How are you feeling today,,, she turned to face me,, taking me in from hair to toe
" Better"
" That's wonderful ",, she nodded slightly
"Off to somewhere????"
"Yeah,,, I'm going to see Ayla",, I replied
Sensing my intentions,, she didn't press further
Eat something before you go
She barely finished when she saw me putting a handful of yam balls into me mouth….
Slowly,, Nia,,, slowly
I grinned,,, it didn't matter tho,,, slowness wasn't my option.
Once I was done,, I headed out of our hat…..
The village's streets were busy,,, there were chitters and laughter all over
Whiles some hats felt eeriely quite,,, others were filled with different aromas,,,
Life was simply carefree
Whiles the women work tiredly learning how to make beads and doing other household chores,,, the men farm
But there were always the lazy ones
Just there spending their time and wealth gambling... lifewaseasierthat way,, that's what they always say…..
Then I was infront of Ayla's hat
" I knocked slightly.... Little anxious for what will come next""
"Please I'm coming give me a sec" ,, she casually replied
And to her surprise it was me
"Nia,,, what brings you here???,,, she questioned,, eyebrows furrowed
" Can we speak,,, I calmly asked
"About what exactly???? Nia
Are you here to lecture me on how bad my choices are and who and whom I should be with and shouldn't be with???
For God sake Nia
"No,, I didn't come here for that,,, please can you give me the chance to at least tell you the reason why I am here??,, her gaze was hard
"Please....
"Sure, alright "...
" should we go to our favorite spot???
We went a little further from the village,, climbed to the top of the cliff at the village outskirts
The view from here was very beautiful …
We sat there,, silently staring at the village and it beauty
At that moment nothing mattered, not even a man,,, only our friendship…
" Ayla I'm sorry,,, maybe I was wrong
She turned and looked me in the eyes,,, making sure she wasn't imagining things
" Ohk",,, she finally gave in
"Tell me about him,,, do you love him???
"Yeah,,, I totally do,, I'm in love with Tim
I know he did many bad things to you when we were kids, it wasn't fair but hey,,, no one is perfect…..
We also did have our flaws too…
Like for example, you took my toy and broke her head of all because you were jealous
" I laughed at this silly childhood memory "
She laughed as well
Fair enough Ayla,, we all has,, I nodded in agreement
And honestly all I care about the most is your happiness,,, nothing else matter
We embraced each other, It felt so good
Then we sat there again immersed in silence and we watched what transpired in the village
Once again I was back on the same root to our hat….
Something on the floor caught my eyes
It's was marble,,, so unique and beautiful
I bent down,, took it and had a closure look
It looks like it's directly from the sea
I've never set my eyes on one before,, and that was because we had no sea around
We only got rivers and streams and I know the rivers too well to know it doesn't belong to any…..
While I thought it was strange,,, there was another and yet another
It's looks like someone has intentionally placed it there …..
They laid there via a specified pattern
So I cautiously followed,,, just to see where it leads to
Counting to last one I saw a boy,,, he looked so innocent but something was off about him…
He wore abani,, but it wasn't like the one we make and wear in our village,,,it was made from something I recognized to fish scales
That was quite surprising tho,, it was outstanding,,, something I've never seen before
he was little fair,,height maybe 4 feets7 inches,, maybe like 10 years
I've never seen him in this village before
he had this scarf wrapped around his head leaving only his eyes to be seen,,, his eyes look strange,,, then it dawn on me that child is no ordinary
All this while he has been there, staring at me,, as if waiting for me,, I couldn't see much of his face because of the scarf…
" Then he started moving towards me,, so quickly that I could barely make sense of what was happening,, then he dropped something on the floor
And he vanished into thin air,,, with no traces of him,, nothing at all
The only thing he left behind was that thing,, it was the same type of marble,,, but this one was bigger than the ones on the road
And on it was inscripted " Mine"
Then all of a sudden I felt my blood run cold,,,my body shivering ,, layers of sweat beads formed on my forehead
so terrified to even take a step
" Who in the name of heavens will do this???
Who???,,
Could it be Toron,, so that guy has the nerve to intimidate me like that...
I looked at the floor, and mysteriously all the marbles have disappeared
" Wait maybe I'm going crazy"…..
Relax Nia,,, take a deep breath,,, maybe it was just hallucination,,, but the marbles in my hands clearly said otherwise…..
*************
" You said a kid gave you this???,, Ayla asked
Yes…..
"Are you sure ???? Nalani asked
I'm definitely sure and you guys have been asking me this same question since the past one hour…
I was frantic,, pacing up and down in my room
"What's the big deal about this Nia,,, you've gotten yourself a Romeo,,, be happy girl,, she teased
I shoot her this dangerous glare that she knew better that to keep quiet
Relax maybe it from one of the guys in our village,,, plus you're hot,,,, no one will denies that
" No Nalan,,, look at it carefully
The writing,,
"It's looks different from ours,,, but also written in a way that I could clearly interprete
" And it got symbols on it,,, it's not one of our villages'
"Yeah you're right Nia"" they both nodded in agreement…..
" That's what bothers me,,, who is it from???
Maybe you should ask Makuna,, Ayla chipped in
" No way I'm letting the old woman worry about me,,, count that out ...
Nia you're just overly worried,,, I'm sure it's nothing
Don't take it serious….
" Well If you say so,,, I just relaxed a little bit
Now let's say something fun,,, Nalani exclaimed
" Did you guys hear the fight between, Zuma and his wife,,, the husband said the lady was a fish and the wife said the husband was chicken meat….. we all busted into laughter
Those two are something,, I said
Thank you guys so much for the visit, I'm missing you already
" yeah we know,,, and we have to go too"
We hugged each other and they departed