by A A Lee
“Tell me how to be stronger, Father,” Goni begged.
“There is no time. I am being summoned back to the afterlife to pay for interfering with the lives of the living.”
It was Nora who begged this time. “Please help us, Maximo. Lives will be lost today if you don’t.”
“All will eventually go to the afterlife. You cannot stop those who will do so today, including...” Maximo disappeared without completing his sentence. Cold sweat ran from Nora’s brow. She didn’t know who Maximo meant would die today. She dreaded the thought of losing someone and so she called forth other souls to help her.
“Mother, please help us.”
Nora’s mother looked exactly like her. She was as old as her when she had passed away. “My dear, I know why you have called me, but I cannot help you. I don’t want to meddle in the affairs of the living.”
“But Mother, you have to. Please,” Nora begged, her wrinkled cheeks wet with tears.
“Do not waste your energy calling forth souls, child. Only those who are willing to turn their backs on God are those who continue to meddle with the living. It is the Bringer of Equality who is destined to break the curse, and no other. That is the best motherly advice I can give you right now.”
“But Kenda is just a child. She cannot save the village.”
“Power is not based on age, child. She was able to accomplish something that no one has been able to do in this village. She cheated death and refused to be a slave to a man. She is powerful.”
“Just this once, help us.”
“I have to go now, child. Your body is suffering, and you are too weak. You should only call one soul at a time.” Her mother disappeared, leaving Nora to sob like a child.
She collapsed onto the dry earth, and when she opened her eyes, she could barely move her body. She had not called two souls in a day before, let alone one right after another.
“High Priestess!” Goni gently lifted her head and made her lean against his body. “I must help the villagers. I can hear a commotion and I’m afraid the men from Taa have arrived.”
“Go; leave me here. I will regain my strength in a few hours.”
“What did your mother say?” Goni looked at her and then toward the direction of the houses. “I couldn’t see her. I could only see my father.”
“She refused to help.” Nora wept again in agony. “She told me to focus on Kenda instead.”
“High Priestess, I think your mother is right! I will summon her.”
“No! Don’t. I don’t want her to be harmed.”
“I am sorry, High Priestess, but only the Bringer of Equality can save the village now.” Goni gently laid her on the dirt and ran toward his cell where the man-made well was located. He began to busy himself with the preparations for contacting Kenda.
Nora wanted to stop him with every ounce of her being, but she didn’t have the energy. She couldn’t even lift her head.
* * *
Kenda poured the water from the white plastic bowl into the sink and turned on the faucet. The water had been sitting there for a few days and she had decided to change it to avoid mosquitoes from breeding in it. The bowl had been her communication tool with Goni and her grandparents since she wasn’t able to go to the river as she pleased. Since the fire, Lita had a hard time moving around, so Kenda did most of the chores. Her knee had been badly injured in the fire, and she was currently using crutches to walk.
Lita’s store had been built from bamboo and cement. Most of the bamboo had turned to ash during the fire, and Lita had spent what little of the meager savings she had on repairs to reopen the store. Despite her injury, Lita had insisted on returning to work right after she was discharged from the hospital, and she certainly didn’t follow Kenda’s advice to close the store while she recovered. While Kenda was able to communicate with the townspeople, her language skills weren’t adequate enough when it came to bargaining, and people loved to bargain when buying from a small store like Lita’s. As a result, Kenda had no choice but to set up her store each morning and help Lita as best she could as the fruit seller sold her stock from the remnants of her store.
Kenda smiled as she thought of the day after the fire. It was a tragedy for those who had lost their livelihoods, but Kenda had been hailed as a hero for putting out the fire. She had been invited by the town mayor to attend the emergency relief assistance program for those affected by the fire. Even though she wasn’t able to give a speech due to her lack of language proficiency, the mayor had gestured toward her several times, which prompted claps from the attendees. In her heart, she knew that her gift was alien to the public and that the people were torn between awe and fear when it came to her.
“Kenda! Can you hear me?” Shiny water rippled in the bowl.
“Yes, Uncle Goni. What’s wrong?”
“The village is under attack. I need you here, fast, to help the villagers.”
Kenda dropped the bowl. There hadn’t been a war in all the time that she had been alive, but she had heard stories of horror from the older people who had experienced it.
She bolted toward the entrance of the store and ignored Lita, who was calling her name. She skidded to a halt and looked back at her. I can’t leave her alone, she thought. Lita couldn’t move enough yet to cook by herself, and her injuries would worsen if she set up the store unaccompanied in the morning. Fear of the village getting wiped out loomed over her, but her pity for Lita was so great that she couldn’t move from where she stood.
Daniel, she thought.
Seeing the serious look on her face, Lucy ran without question. Kenda didn’t know how to find Daniel and she was losing time. There were several kids by the river, but Daniel was nowhere in sight.
“Where is Daniel?” she asked a short-haired girl. The girl shook her head. Kenda did not waste time. She moved to her left and continued running. A white shape caught her eye, and she realized that it was Lucy.
“No, that place is far,” Kenda muttered, not caring if anyone heard her. She looked at the water. “Dear spirits, please let the water obey me without difficulty now. A lot of lives are at stake.” She raised her right hand to call upon the water. “I need your help to make me go faster. It is a matter of urgency!”
Without delay, water rose toward her and began to carry her like she was stepping on something solid, the wind blowing her waist-length hair. “Please go faster,” she asked the river, and the water sped up like it had only waited for her word.
She raised her hand to guide the water. People froze when she arrived at the junk store. Daniel’s eyes widened both in fear and shock upon seeing her. “Water, stop here. Bring me close to the child.” Kenda pointed at Daniel.
“Daniel, I need your help,” Kenda talked to the boy in her broken version of his language. “Can you stay at Lita’s until I return?” Daniel shook his head. She put her hand on her pocket and took out ten kwartas. Daniel gasped. “Go to Lita’s store and stay there. You know that she is injured, and I have somewhere very important to go. Please?”
Daniel nodded. Kenda handed him the money, trusting that Daniel would do as she asked. “I have more money in the store. Tell Lita that I told you that you can use it.” Daniel’s eyes sparkled and he ran immediately in the direction of Lita’s store.
“Now, water, please follow the river upstream,” Kenda commanded. “We have to hurry.”
She passed the mountains in a blur. When she reached the Great Fall, the water rose to convey her to its peak, and when she reached the top, the water continued moving upstream. She moved her hand to the left, indicating to her village after arriving at the foot of the nearby mountain.
Her heart sank when she saw the chaos that
had befallen her village. Her heart raced when she saw the same men who chased her when she had first fled the village. Men, women, and children ran from them, but the warriors from Taa mercilessly hacked away at them.
She clenched her fist and the water rose in response to her anger. “Them.” Kenda pointed at the invaders. “Punish those who are attacking my village.” Water rose in all directions, only targeting the aggressors. Men from Taa rose high in the air on her geysers of fury, only to be smacked down against the earth.
Other warriors tried to shoot at her with arrows, but Kenda merely deflected them away using the force of the water.
Men fell as cascades of water hit them. Kenda was angry, but she had no intention to kill. She unleashed just enough water to knock them unconscious. Villagers also ran in fear of the water, as if Kenda scared them more than the invaders.
She moved toward her grandmother’s house, but to her dismay, it was damaged beyond repair. She hovered near the roof of the house, but her grandmother was nowhere to be seen.
“To the prison.” Kenda raised her hand for the water to follow her direction. Dry earth became wet as they passed. She remembered that Goni had alerted her about the attack, which meant that only Nora could have warned him. She arrived at the gate in next to no time.
“Kenda!” She heard a weak voice. “Run!”
Her grandmother was on the ground, trying to stand.
She quickly asked the water to take her nearer. “Grandma, what happened to you?”
“Run! This is a trap!”
Her body suddenly jolted as the air was knocked out of her lungs. Her arms and legs stiffened, lifeless, as an unknown force extended them to her side. She opened her mouth to command the water, but no words came. With all the strength she had, she moved her head and looked down. Eleven men surrounded her in a circle, their arms raised toward the sky. They were chanting, and Kenda could see traces of powder on the ground. Each of the magicians used almost the same technique that Goni had used in training her. Light danced from their hands and connected with Kenda.
“Kenda!” Nora cried. She was so weak that all she could do was use her hand to support her upper body.
Kenda opened her mouth again, desperate to speak. In a croaky voice, she said, “Water, move away from me and strike them!” The water put her down gently next to her grandmother, and her body became dry. The water spiraled toward each of the men surrounding her. The gifted men pointed toward the water, severing their link to Kenda. The water stopped midair and fell to the ground as a rotating vortex of air hit it.
“No!” Kenda turned around to see where the voice was coming from. She was glad that she was once again in control of her body. She gasped as she saw Goni, kneeling, his hands tied inside his cell. Jinja was towering over him like he was a child. “Dear God!” her uncle cried. “I’m sorry, Kenda. I was supposed to protect you, but I told them. I told them that you can command water.”
Jinja slapped Goni hard across the face, and her uncle recoiled beneath the force of the blow. Jinja knelt in front of Goni, looked him in the eye, and slapped him again. Goni hung his head, and in one fluid movement, Jinja ripped his shirt and gagged his mouth with it to prevent him from talking.
Kenda couldn’t blame him for giving away the information. She could see that his body was bruised and his face had been bleeding prior to the slap. They must have tortured him with either physical force or magic.
When Jinja turned his back, Goni pointed his face toward the water that was slowly seeping deeper into the ground. Kenda got the message. She commanded the water to rise and solidify. The magicians’ countering magic was stronger this time, breaking the ice into thousands of tiny pieces. She tried several times to no avail. With their gifts combined, the men were simply stronger than she was.
Nora cried out, and Kenda tried to process what was happening. Something hit her on the head. It wasn’t thunder, although that was what it sounded like to her; it was something solid, and her vision blurred as her body fell to the ground. Warm blood oozed down her face.
Kenda watched in horror as the iron rod in Jinja’s hand arced upward to strike her again. While Kenda had been distracted by the gifted, he had moved from Goni’s cell towards her and her grandmother. She called the water, but no water came. She turned her head and saw that the gifted men were combining their powers to push the water away from her.
She watched helplessly as Jinja brought the iron rod down with a maniacal smirk on his face. Her body wouldn’t cooperate to block the blow, and she desperately wanted to use her training to fight. She closed her eyes in anticipation of the pain, but it did not come. The rod sounded as though it had hit bone, but she did not feel pain.
“Jinja! What have you done?” Hula’s voice was low, but Kenda heard his quick footsteps coming their way.
Jinja looked flabbergasted. “I didn’t mean to hit the old woman! She got in the way.”
“Grandma!” Kenda cried as she saw Nora’s head oozing with blood. She caught Nora’s body before it hit the ground. Nora had stopped the blow that was supposed to be for her.
“I am sorry, child.” Her grandmother’s voice sounded faint, barely a mutter.
“No, Grandma. Don’t be. We will find you a healer.”
“Please.” She turned her head to Hula. “I beg you to find a healer for my Grandma. I will follow your wishes.”
“No, Father! You will do no such thing!” Jinja spat the words venomously.
“Have you lost your mind?” Hula said. “What are you doing? I told you to capture Goni, not to hurt the villagers!”
“This is what you should have done, Father.”
Hula ignored his son and turned to the magicians. “Call a healer! Quick! The High Priestess is losing too much blood.”
“No! Nobody will call any healer. Once she’s gone, we will only have one gifted person to worry about.”
“Are you trying to undermine my authority?” Hula slapped his son hard across the face.
Jinja laughed maniacally and licked the blood from his mouth. “This is how you should rule, Father. Watch me crush them and make our village rich. You are so weak that needed to be motivated to come here, when perhaps this is what we should have done from the start. Let me give you some useful information. The debt this village owed you? They paid… in full.”
“What is this disgrace? How could you do this to your own father?” Hula went to slap Jinja again, but Jinja grabbed his hand in midair.
Jinja smiled belittlingly. “And one more thing. The villagers did not run after us. Why would they? They gave us full payment. That fool Dasig wanted to rat me out, so he had to go.”
Hula strained to break free from his son, but Jinja was stronger. He gritted his teeth. “High Priestess, I am sorry. It is my fault for not seeing how the devil had taken over my village.”
Nora did not turn to Hula, nor did acknowledge him. She was barely hanging on to life. Kenda couldn’t stop her tears from falling as she stroked her grandmother’s face. She was so weak after the blow to her head.
“Grandma, don’t leave me. Take me with you,” Kenda sobbed.
“Child, you have a mission.” Nora’s voice was barely audible.
“Stop this bullshit softness!” Jinja spat on the ground. “Idja! Let’s put my father in there with the weak magician.”
Idja did not argue. Without meeting the village chief’s eyes, he gently took Hula’s other arm and helped Jinja to pull him inside the cell.
“Dear spirits, what has he done to all of you?” Hula cried as he looked at each of his gifted men’s faces. Nobody met his gaze.
“I did not do anything, Father. I just showed them real power.”
“Child, I will not last long. Take my staff. You are worth...” Nora coughed up blood, and Kenda focused her attention on her grandmother, realizing how helpless she was now that Hula had been imprisoned by his own son. “You are more than worthy of carrying it.”
“No, Grandma,” Kenda cried. “
Don’t go. Just hang on. You will get better.” She knew it was a lie, but she also desperately wanted to believe in it.
“No, take the staff. It will help you. I want you to lead the village, because you are…” Nora frowned in concentration.
“Because I am the Bringer of Equality. Because I was supposed to end the curse.”
“Yes, the staff will help you, I am sure. It connects the souls from the underworld to this life. I am sure that animals have souls, too. Use it to connect with them.”
“I don’t want to, Grandma. I want you to stay. Please don’t die yet. Help me. Train me. You haven’t even taught me how to communicate with souls.”
Nora smiled upon hearing her familiar annoyed voice. “That’s my kid.” She looked at the gate as if she could hear someone coming. “They are here.”
“Who?” Kenda panicked. Her grandmother stopped breathing. “Who are here?” Kenda asked again, desperate to hear her grandmother’s voice.
“They are here. I have to go.” The sound of Nora’s breathing returned; this time, shallower.
“No, don’t go. You have to teach me how to use the staff. I can't do it alone.”
“You can, Kenda. Remember that you are strong. I will still be with you, once I have crossed into the afterlife.” And then she breathed her last, like a sigh of relief.
Kenda wailed in agony. Her grandmother was gone. Her face was twisted with anguish when Jinja came out of the prison cell. Anger replaced her sorrow. She grabbed her grandmother’s staff.
Kenda shouted with rage, her hair standing up. She was dimly aware of the air lifting her a few meters from the ground. She felt that she was at one with nature, and Kenda began to realize the extent of that power.
A tornado formed beneath her feet. “Devil! I will punish you today!” The voice didn’t sound like hers. It was hoarse and loud, like thunder booming across the mountains. The gifted men conjured magic to hit her, but she flicked it like it was nothing and sent all the men flying away.
Jinja looked up at her in horror and quickly ran back to the cell to hold onto it as the wind began to blow dust and debris all around. She blew the bar Jinja was holding onto, and he fell to the ground. He clung hard to the protruding rock.