by AA Lee
She had been teaching the boy to make Christmas lanterns as her way of giving something back to him for the kindness that he had shown her when she was new in town. Making Christmas lanterns was far more profitable than just picking up cans and plastic, and the boy was a fast learner. She had begged Lita to let the boy stay, but the boy preferred to be on the streets with his friends.
Almost two months had passed since Lita had accepted Kenda to be a helper in her fruit store, and the lady had spent countless hours trying to teach her the language of the town. Since Lita didn’t know any of Kenda’s native language, she taught her words by pointing at things, saying their names, and asking Kenda to repeat. Kenda thought that Lita was a good teacher because, in just a matter of two months, she was able to communicate using actions and words.
“Taw i ako it straw?” The boy tried to act cute while talking to her. Clearly, he wanted something.
It had been difficult persuading Lita to let Lucy stay with her, but after frequently promising to wash the cat and making sure that it didn’t clamber over any of the fruit displays, Kenda had managed to win her over. She suspected that part of Lita’s decision for allowing Lucy to stay was based on the fact that she knew that Kenda had no real friends besides Daniel and the cat, and she couldn’t bring to separate the young girl from her feline companion.
the cat replied accusingly.
“Sa suba.” Kenda motioned to the river. “Abo idto.” She told the kid that there were plenty there.
The boy said that he didn’t want to collect more, but Kenda refused to give him any of her straws, forcing the boy to go. Her main goal was to clean the river, and while people with money could just buy the materials to make the things they needed, homeless people like Daniel needed to pick up things to make something out of it.
People had really had no interest in trash before Kenda had started collecting it. A few weeks after she started to make Christmas lanterns and other things from trash, people started to become interested. They took pictures of her making art and other useful tools and put it on something Lita called ‘social media’, although Kenda had no idea what that was. She was becoming famous around town, and there were times when people only wanted to buy things after they had watched Kenda making it for them.
Lita did not really mind when Kenda was busy. Often, the people who came to buy Kenda’s art also bought fruit to eat while they were waiting, and, secretly, she loved nothing more than seeing the young girl smile after finishing one of her creations.
Over time, other people produced art out of trash. She frequently saw several homeless people picking up trash from the riverbank, intending to copy her designs. She didn’t mind people copying her ideas. She was just happy to be able to finally clean the river.
“Kenda, ilabas ta,” Lita said from the kitchen, calling Kenda to eat. Kenda put down her unfinished Christmas lantern and went inside. Lita’s store was also her house. At night, once they had brought all the external fruit displays inside, there was barely any room for them to sleep, but Kenda never complained. Anything was better than sleeping beneath the bridge.
She went straight to the kitchen in the corner of the store. A curtain gave them privacy when they wanted to eat without people seeing them. She sat down on the floor.
Lita laid a plate of rice and fish down in front of her. “Pakan a ing kuring.” She motioned toward the cat and pointed at the food. Kenda assumed that Lita was telling her to feed her cat.
Lucy had slowly become bigger since Kenda had found her. Her fur had also become fluffier because she was able to eat regularly, but the cat was still as moody as ever.
Kenda got up and transferred the food to Lucy’s plate, which was made of coconut shell.
Kenda rolled her eyes.
“Salamat.” Kenda thanked Lita and pointed at the food.
Lita just smiled and urged her to eat more.
After lunch, Kenda told Lita that she would be going out to the river to collect more straws. Upon exiting the front of the store, she saw two men arguing, and Kenda was surprised to see that one of them was the store owner to whom she had sold the gold.
“Daya imaw.” The store owner pointed at her. He looked at her apologetically and mumbled some words that were complicated for her to understand. Kenda looked at Lucy, who started to translate.
The other guy looked at him disbelievingly and started talking again in a raised voice.
The aggressive man walked toward her.
Kenda pretended not to understand him at all, even though she understood some of what he was saying.
Lita came out from the kitchen. She put her hands on her hips and asked what was going on. It was impossible for her not to hear the commotion because the store was small, and the flimsy wooden walls stood no chance of blocking out the noise.
The man appeared calmer.
Lita sounded angry and looked like she was about to win the argument.
Rene smiled, truly happy about what he was hearing.
Agosto said goodbye when it was clear that Lita and Rene were no longer paying any attention to him. Lita offered Rene fruit to eat as Kenda left to go to the river to pick up trash.
Chapter 22
“And here is the last payment. I hope Datu Hula will make good use of it.” Nora pushed the purse across the floor toward Jinja. He opened it and retrieved fifteen hundred kwartas and a gold nugget that looked like an exact twin of the one offered for the first payment.
“My father was thankful that there was no delay last month and expressed his gratitude for the gold.”
“That is good to hear.” Nora picked up a roasted sweet potato from a bowl made of coconut shell. “When your father is well, please ask him to visit our village. Even though there was no marriage between our families, I would love to see him again someday.”
“I will surely tell him. I think he would love to, if he is not busy and his body is well.” Jinja also picked up a sweet potato, peeled the burnt skin, and ate it.
Nora looked at him closely and thought that Jinja was a very dangerous man. His innocent act was really rather convincing, even in front of people who knew his true colors. He seemed to be able to make people doubt their memory of him, and she was glad that Kenda had escaped her nuptials to him.
“If I may ask now that all is paid, where is Kenda, by the way?”
Nora stiffened at the mention of her granddaughter. She summoned a sad face, even though she knew that Kenda was alive. “No one from Daa has seen her since the day of the wedding. I just hope that she was able to survive. There was no news of bodies being found, but there was also no news of her coming back or people seeing her, either.”
“I hope she is alive,” Cesar said, participating in the talk. His voice was full of hope.
“Well, I hope that when she comes back, she will see that marriage is the best option.”
Nora couldn’t help but stare at Jinja sharply. “My granddaughter has suffered enough. Should she return, I will not force her to marry.”
Jinja’s kind countenance disappeared. “That’s all well and good, but you may have to protect her if she doesn’t. I’d hate for hungry wolves to come for her without the protection of a husband.” He stood and waved for his men to leave, and without another word, he marched from the house.
“That snake just showed his true colors.” Cesar clenched his fist, his pale face red with anger.
“I had better go and talk to Goni. We have to make sure that Kenda does not come back alone, or she will be in danger when passing Nayon.”
“Do you mean that Kenda is really alive?” Cesar’s anger suddenly dissipated.
“Yes. And more importantly, she is gifted. She saved Goni from The Great Fall.”
Cesar’s eyes filled with tears of joy. “I knew the girl was strong. And she’s so stubborn, too. A gift surely suits her, and I hope she uses it against the people of Nayon.”
“But Kenda is just a girl. She is not familiar with how to use her gift. Hell, I don’t even know what kind of gift she has! Goni only said that she could command nature. If she had not taken control of the water—”
Cesar leapt to his feet in joy. “My granddaughter is the Bringer of Equality!” He almost shouted but caught himself and covered his mouth.
Nora turned to him, suddenly remembering what Goni had told her. “What? You know about the curse? But how?” Nora moved closer to her husband.
“It has been passed down to us for generations.”
“But I thought that it was only passed down in one family, Goni’s family.”
“Yes, and did you forget that Goni’s father and I are cousins?”
“But you are not their immediate family.”
“That doesn’t matter. Come here. Let me show you something.” Cesar hurriedly went to the kitchen. There, in the corner of the kitchen, was a big box where Cesar stored several long knives.
Cesar untied the vine holding the box shut and rummaged inside. He pulled out a long knife kept in a wooden sheath. The sheath was dark and very old.
“Come here, dear.”
“It’s just a knife. I’ve seen it countless times,” she said, but Nora squatted on the floor regardless. As Cesar passed it to her, she looked closely but saw only designs common for expensive knives.
“What do you see?” Cesar asked, his tone urging her to think.
“I see designs, but nothing out of the ordinary. It is common for expensive blades because they add detail.” Nora sounded annoyed that Cesar wasn’t getting directly to the point.
“Look closely and tell me what the designs represent.” Nora did so, and she saw figures etched onto the sheath. She saw a woman… no, it was a girl holding her hand up. There was a swirling wave of water meeting her hand.
“I see a girl… Wait, is this about the curse?”
“Yes. I made this sheath. When the prophecy was passed on to Goni’s father, I was there, but the rest of the family didn’t know. If truth be told, at that time, they barely took any notice of me at all. The first thing that was said to him was that people who have told the prophecy would forget it as if it was never spoken to them. Only their family would remember it, so I immediately started drawing on the ground to ensure I would not forget. Even though I was not their immediate family, I was closely related to them by blood, so I did not forget completely. I transferred the drawing here after some time to preserve it. Whenever I look at this drawing, I remember the details of the curse. I am sure that Goni has forgotten some of the details, but this drawing made sure that I did not.”
“You did great, old man.” Nora stroked Cesar’s long beard. He grinned proudly, showing his minama-stained teeth. Minama was a mixture of bitter leaves and ashes of freshwater shells. When chewed, its pulp would become red, and people who chewed it were distinguishable because of the staining of their teeth, no matter how frequently they cleaned them. “We still have to talk to Goni, though,” she continued. “He is the only one that might be able to find Kenda.”
“How about if you just talk to one of the deceased and ask them to talk to Kenda? Wouldn’t that be faster?” Cesar stroked his beard again, thinking hard.
“No, Kenda has no experience of talking to the deceased. I’m afraid that it will frighten her, and she will not be able to communicate well.”
“Good point. Come on then, old woman.” Cesar smiled. “Time to get moving.”
“Bring that knife. It may help to trigger Goni’s memory.”
Cesar hurriedly picked up the knife, and the old couple walked from the house side by side. The two would usually bicker, but today was different. Being united in a common purpose felt much more gratifying than the constant bickering that seemed to liven up their life.
Goni’s face brightened as they approached. “Father! Isn’t this your first time to see this prison?”
“Indeed, but we have to hurry. We came here for an urgent matter.” Goni opened his mouth, but Cesar did not give him a chance to speak. “Please use your magic to contact Kenda and make sure that she will not return here for now. It looks like Jinja is not giving up on making her his wife, even though we have paid them already.”
Goni looked at Nora in surprise.
“Yes.” Nora confirmed the truth. “He knows that our granddaughter is alive.”
“Well, I have never done this before, so I am not sure if it’s going to work.”
“You have to try. Kenda is...”
“Because Kenda is the Bringer of Equality.” Cesar completed the thought for Nora, holding up the knife in its sheath.
Goni frowned. “How did you know about this? You’re supposed to forget.”
“It’s a long story, but to cut it short, I was there when your grandfather passed down the prophecy. Your father and I were young boys back then, and I was hiding from my mother because she wanted me to have my afternoon nap. I drew the information on the ground to stop myself from forgetting it. I transferred it to a leaf and then a bamboo, and later on, when I was older, I carved it on this sheath.” Cesar handed the knife to Goni between the prison bars.
Goni marveled at the drawings on the sheath. “Now I feel like the day my father passed on the in
formation was only yesterday.” He ran his fingers over the curves of the drawing. “A prophecy was revealed about the curse and the Bringer of Equality.” In a low voice, he recited the prophecy. “The Bringer of Equality will be born to make women stronger. She will command the staff and will be the most powerful of all. She will open the door that stops women from coming to life, free the cursed, and make sure that no woman will ever be in service to men again.” Goni’s eyes glistened with tears after saying the prophecy aloud. “That is the prophecy. I can remember all of it now. Thank you, Father. I wouldn’t have fulfilled my duty if not for you.”
Cesar patted Goni’s hand in acknowledgement. “Now, please hurry. We don’t know where our granddaughter is, but wherever she is, it is safer than being here.”
“High Priestess, this might put our village at risk. You know that this prison is locked with magic. If my gift works, there is a possibility that the guards will know that I have used magic.”
“I am willing to pay the price. I am willing to risk my life as the high priestess.” Cesar put his hand on top of hers.
“I don’t have any of my things to aid me right now,” Goni said. “First, we need water.”
“They supply you with water here, do they not?”
“They do, but I meant a source of water. Something that travels from one place to another. It can be small, or water that comes from under the ground. That way, it can connect to other bodies of water.”
Nora and Cesar immediately stood to look for wet areas near the prison cell. There was no guard present because the cell was locked with magic and, in the event of escape, Goni could be traced, so they did not worry about anyone spotting them.
After almost ten minutes of looking, Nora returned without any luck.
“Here!” Cesar shouted. He came running back like an excited boy, breathless by the time he reached Goni’s cell. “I found moist soil. It’s not much, though. At the base of a small tree.”