4 - My heart

The morning faded into a day spent observing familial love. My brother was listening to our uncle drone on about the duties of the man in the household. I made sure to roll my eyes loud enough, hoping that my baby brother would hear.

I found my thoughts slipping back to the brown-haired girl. How did she know about my kind? As far as anyone knew the last Orisha was killed before she was born. Me. How is it that she knew the exact concoction that would calm my volcanic temper?

The compulsion to see her grew with each passing moment. It woke me up well before dawn and had me on the fast track to her metal house. As I speed-walked towards her house, I realised that I was racing towards a phantom. I knew barely anything about her, not even her name.  I found her outside in her garden. She was pruning what looked like an Erica plant near her porch. I smiled without realising it. It was my mother's favourite flower when I was a girl. I remember her placing the tiny blossoms in my hair. I had walked up to her without realising it.

"What's your name?" I asked in a rush as soon as I reached her. It was definitely not the usual greeting most civilized people were accustomed to, but I needed to know. She was obviously startled, but her shoulders relaxed as soon as she saw who the unannounced boom box was. I smiled sheepishly and piped out a "good morning" awkwardly. Manners first.

"Kelly-Leigh," she said with a shy smile, peeking out from behind her hair again. I, this time intentionally, brushed her fine hair back and tucked it behind her ear. She gave me a smile that froze time mid-flight. The amber flecks in her hazel eyes seemed to glow every time she smiled. It was a sight I could get used to.

We eventually left the house and I allowed myself to truly be at ease with her. We walked along aimlessly to our assumed spot. The riverbank. As we reached it, she ran towards the water. It shocked me. I raced after her. She ran until she was knee-deep in the murky grey water. She looked at me and smiled almost teasingly. I quirked an eyebrow but decided to las it and follow her into the cold depth. We swam across the breadth of the lake and reached a collection of rocks on the far end of the water. I recognised it immediately as the place I used to play with water spirits. Oshun's mystical waters were rumoured to collect in northern Nigeria and rain into the mouth of the Swellendam river. As a child, my mother would swim to the rocks with me on her back and we'd pray to Oshun for her strength and virtue. Guess she had better things to listen to than the prayers of children.

The rocks were haloed in the parting amber crown of a sleepy sun. I was still caught up in the rottenness of the past but the gleeful expression on Kelly's face brought me back to the present. It was a present worth existing in; one spent beside a beautiful woman in blessed water.

We settled on the smoothest rock and she sat closer to me than my heating body expected. She was so casual about our contact as if she didn't feel my rapid pulse through my wet skin. Once again, I bit my lip and let her thoughts flood my mind. She told me about her father and how he was teaching her about his work. He had taught her the names of the orishas and how to prey to Unkulunkulu, who protected the Zulus. I asked her why he told her to pray to the gods of other people. She smiled and said that in the Gods' eyes we are all one people. The gods have no concept of "other". That brought a smile to my face. She was unlike anyone I had ever met.

I was pleased that she knew about my kind. I was also interested in all the legends and mystical lore she knew.  It was important to understand the spiritual world and our place in it, she said. I still didn't understand why she was so fascinated with people like me. Most of my countrymen thought we were monsters. That’s why they attacked our village. My father was thought to be harbouring my kind. Little did they know that the terrifying monster they were hunting at that time was a petrified six-year-old girl hiding under her grandma's bed, praying to stay alive. They didn't even give me a chance to apologise to my mom and dad for costing them their lives. Nor did they allow my baby brother to memorise his parents' faces.

A tap on my forehead brought me out of my harrowing thoughts and back to the reality where I was sat beside an ethereal beauty at sunset. It hadn't registered that we had moved even closer since we had started exchanging fantasies. What a magical time to watch a gorgeous woman blush and cuddle against your side for warmth. I tried to be casual as I wrapped my arm around her waist and tugged her closer to my side. She let out a little yelp but near-instantly erupted into a joyful giggle.

There was a hypnotizing streak of orange sinking into the purple ocean. I watched until only its golden crown was visible. Then, I focused my attention on someone infinitely more beautiful than a sunset. I watched the golden hue of the day last a second longer on her walnut skin than on any other surface on the Earth. I didn't blame the lingering beam. I would have trouble parting ways with the timid angel as well. As if she could feel my eyes on her, she turned towards me and caught me admiring her. I didn't try to hide how enthralled I was by her. I only smiled. I suppose that could be counted as an admission of guilt. But if the king of the sky is allowed to linger on her, who could fault me for doing the same?

For the longest of moments, we were sharing a mind. Then a heartbeat and finally as lips parted ways and our breath fused into one whispered breeze, we shared our first kiss. The greedy part of me hoped and prayed that it wouldn't be our last. The feeling of her soft lips was intoxicating. It felt like we were sharing a newborn’s breath. I cradled the back of her neck and brought her close. She wrapped her arms around my neck and snuggled against me. Eventually, we broke apart and I rested my forehead against hers. I rubbed her cheek with the pad of my thumb. She smiled up at me.

"I'd like to see you tomorrow," I whispered. She nodded rapidly. I had to stifle a laugh. She looked like a bobblehead.

I kissed her on the forehead once more. She assured me that my family loved me and that my brother would love me too once he met me. Hearing her encourage me so openly made my heart swell.

“Home, now?" she asked, looking down at me from my lap. I nodded up at her and she laughed when I tried to kiss her. She kissed the tip of my nose and then hopped up into the water. She gave a daring smile and I took it as a challenge, following her into the icy water and chasing her to the riverbank.

She reached the shore first, but I was right behind her. I picked her up and hugged her tight to my soaked frame. She giggled and wriggled in my embrace. I tucked a dripping strand of hair behind her ear and kissed her lips delicately. She wrapped her arms around my neck and allowed us to linger in bliss for another sweet moment. I felt like crying with joy and getting on my knees and sending my eternal thanks to Oya for blessing me with this extraordinary woman in my arms.

"Let's get you home, sweetheart," I whispered against her lips. We took our time, meandered on the way back. The lights were on, so I imagined that her father was home. I realised that this is not something she would want to expose to her father so soon, so I kissed her hand and wished her good night. I watched until she was safely inside before turning to head home.

I raced home so that I wouldn't miss the dinner my grandma had spent the day preparing for me. I was overjoyed at the sight of the feast spread across the table. My uncle sat at the head and my brother at his side. I tried not to roll my eyes at the seating arrangement. I had to remind myself to hold my tongue when my uncle ordered me to sit down.

He was chief – not mine – but a chief nonetheless. If I wanted to stay in his territory long enough to watch my brother take his last steps into manhood, I would have to quell my flames for now.

Despite the residual tension floating in the air, dinner was pleasant. Grandma supplied me with a lifetime's worth of adorable stories about my bashful baby brother. Despite his embarrassment, I could tell that Razeen was having a good time. He always loved being surrounded by his doting family as a tot. He would smile and his leg would bounce subtly, something I knew came with spurts of happiness, every time he heard one of our voices. Despite his stubble and slightly shaded upper lip, his smile still lit up the room.

My dreams were flooded with images of my family's smiling faces, but they were soon overtaken by the delicate yet intoxicating image of a shy brunette with a full laugh and lips as soft and mystical as Camellia petals.