by Marion Hill
I couldn’t imagine a family living in such a place. The duplexes on the west side back home in Charlesville were at least twice the size of these hovels. Also, the duplexes were decorated and fixed up because those people cared about where they lived. The hovels were all the same color, drab and run-down.
“How can a family live in a place like that?” I asked.
“They are small. But Governor Henderson believed that every citizen of this city should have a home to live in, and he got approval from the Konseho of Kammbi to have these hovels built during his time in office.”
“How long ago was that?”
Diakono Copperwith looked over at me. “Governor Henderson was one of our most beloved governors. His term lasted eight years, beginning in the Year 181 A.O.A. Without him, the people of this quadrant would live on the streets.”
“These hovels were built seventy years ago. Has the city ever tried to update them?”
We had driven through the entire quadrant in about fifteen minutes. It was mostly hovels and a couple of outdoor markets. I didn’t see anyone out until we reached a large area that reminded me of Aliki Park except that it was mostly hills and thick grass, without many trees. Diakono Copperwith explained how Santa Sophia operated as we got out of car and began walking through the park. The Konseho of Kammbi appointed a governor every four years as well as a governing council. There were five members, one from each quadrant and the city operator. The Konseho of Kammbi formed this type of government after Oscar Ortega died and wanted to give the illusion that the people of the city could participate in how their government should operate.
However, the transition wasn’t that easy. For many years, the power of the city had remained in the hands of the three families who helped build Santa Sophia after Oscar Ortega died—the Ortega, Carranza, and Merez families. Finally, the Konseho of Kammbi flexed its power and appointed Herman Henderson as governor, and that broke the control the three families had on the city.
“Governors after him made sure the basic upkeep of the hovels was maintained. Governor Henderson signed a law mandating it and that these residents don’t pay for living expenses. The other governors after him have followed the law and done nothing else.”
In the distance, a big, triangular-shaped item got my attention. There were people standing in front of it.
“That is called a shimmaro. The lights on the shimmaro start glowing today, and one light a day will burn out for the next thirty days until the Festival of Sinquinta, as a countdown in honor of Oscar Ortega’s arrival here.”
“I have never seen anything like that before,” I said.
After walking for what seemed like several miles, the diakono and I gotten closer to the shimmaro. The lights were shaped into a triangle, and the shimmaro stood quite high from the ground. People were bowing in front of it, and I heard some singing as well.
“Not yet, Diondray,” Diakono Copperwith said and gently pulled me away from where I was standing. “I will make sure that you get a chance to stand in front of the shimmaro.”
We walked past the shimmaro, angling along its left side. However, I kept looking back to see how people dropped to their knees in front of it. The shimmaro seemed like it had a magnetic pull that drew them in. I felt that pull, and I wanted to go back and stare at it myself.
Diakono Copperwith led me quite a distance away from the shimmaro. I was starting to get tired from all this walking. I was out of shape. We stopped in a cluster of trees.
“Forgive me for making you walk so far. I wanted to get some distance from the shimmaro,” Diakono Copperwith said as stood in front of me.
“Because?”
“The shimmaro is very important to us here in the city. However, it can be quite distracting.”
I agreed with that comment. Distracting in a good way.
“I would like for you to read from one of your themilies here at the shimmaro.”
“Why?” I replied. “My themilies are from my experiences back home in Charlesville.”
“Oscar Ortega shared his knowledge with the Mayza tribe when he first arrived, and they accepted it. The people here will do the same with your themily.”
It had been a while since I had read a themily. I did want to get in front of a crowd and read. I had never seriously thought I would do it here in Santa Sophia.
“I will.”
The Diakono had a big smile across his face. “Be ready tomorrow. You will read after the first light is burnt out on the shimmaro.”
I PACED THE AREA BEHIND the shimmaro. It was twenty-nine days until the Festival of Sinquinta, and the first light on the shimmaro was going to burn out this evening. I had thought all day about what themily I was going to read to the people of this city. I had tried to write a new themily last night, and my mind raced for quite a while before I was able to come up with some words I thought would be suitable for these people to hear. I had finally decided I would read the new one today.
“Are you all right, Diondray?”
I looked over at Diakono Copperwith and saw his thin, reassuring smile. “I will be all right,” I replied.
The diakono touched my shoulder when I paced in front of him. “You will do well.”
I felt the heat from his long, thin hand, and I relaxed instantly. I stopped and faced him. At that moment, I had a quick thought about Trayvonne and realized that Diakono Copperwith had that same ability to reassure me just with his presence. “I will say a few words, and then my wife, Annalisa, will burn out the light. After she finishes, you will read your themily.”
I nodded.
He shook his head in wonder. “I still can’t believe that I will be alive when Oscar’s prophecy will be fulfilled.”
I followed him as we came in front of the shimmaro. I stood on his left side and looked at all the people who were right in front of us. They all had their heads bowed while being on their knees. Diakono Copperwith walked right up to them, and I knew he had complete control of the crowd.
“Raise your heads,” he said, and the people followed his instruction. “We have begun the countdown until the Festival of Sinquinta and will tonight burn out the first light of the shimmaro. We know from the Book of Kammbi that these were the last days of Oscar Ortega’s journey to these hills; in these days started the vision our Lord Kammbi had for this land. And every year since Oscar went to be with him, we have celebrated his trust in our Lord. Now, we have reached an opportunity we have never seen before. This year, the fulfillment of Kammbi’s total vision will happen.”
The people were transfixed, their eyes and faces rapt. “Annalisa, will you please burn out the first light?”
To my right, Annalisa walked toward her husband. She wore a long purple dress that flowed with the wind. Annalisa’s hair flew up as she walked, and she had a motherly attractiveness that was appealing. I noticed a silver object in her right hand. I had no idea what it was.
Annalisa walked past Diakono Copperwith and went up to the shimmaro. She went to the bottom, right-hand corner and raised that silver object in front of the light. Seconds later, I heard a rush of wind coming from the object and It burnt out light instantly as the smoke rose into the air.
I turned to look back at the people. They all had their arms raised in the air. Then I heard a low, harmonious chant coming from them. It lasted only a few seconds as the people rose to their feet.
“We have a special event happening next,” Diakono Copperwith said. “We will hear some words of wisdom from a person who has come from south of the Great Forest. While his words are not from the Book of Kammbi, Diondray Azur will share his wisdom with us and continue the tradition that Oscar Ortega started when he first arrived.”
My hands shook as I stared down at the paper. I cleared my throat and began.
“Is a stranger always a stranger? Or can a stranger become a friend? Or do people here keep a stranger at arm’s distance? Or do people here bring a stranger close enough to be embraced? Is love for a stranger the same
as love for a friend or relative?”
Sweat dropped from my face to make several wet spots on my paper. I had never felt so nervous in reading a themily. I looked up and saw people with heads bowed and still on their knees. Were they accepting my words? Or were they being gracious to me because I was an outsider?
I was finished. I folded the paper and nodded at the diakono.
“Diondray has asked an important question. Is a stranger always a stranger? Well, I believe as a citizen of this city, we know how to welcome and make him a friend,” Diakono Copperwith said as he stood next to me.
The people lifted their heads and rose to their feet. There were genuine smiles on their faces. My themily had been accepted.
Diakono Copperwith said a few closing words, and the people began leaving the area.
“Beautiful words, Diondray,” Annalisa said. “I didn’t believe the people would take your words. They were simple, direct and insightful. You could be the one to fulfill Oscar’s Prophecy and I’m beginning to believe that all my years of reading the Book of Kammbi were not in vain.”
Annalisa clasped my hands and bowed her head. I was speechless.
FOUR DAYS PASSED AFTER my visit to the shimmaro. I reread the Book of Kammbi, going over the part where Oscar first arrived in this area and shared the teachings of Kammbi with the Mayza tribe. The writer of Book 3 of the Baramesa didn’t say how receptive the Mayza to those teachings. It seemed like they had already accepted them and in the next chapter started believing in Kammbi as their god.
I would have liked to know if they had really accepted Kammbi as their god so quickly. If so, what convinced them that Oscar’s god could be their god as well? Had the people of this city accepted the words of my themily as easily as the Mayza tribe did for Oscar Ortega?
I started to close the book when Second Esperah Carranza entered the room. He was wearing a long black shirt with white trim on the collar and pants that were same color as the shirt. I had never seen him in an outfit like that before.
“Diakono Copperwith is in Santa Teresa with the morrim, and he wanted me to take you to the shimmaro,” he said.
Santa Teresa was another city north of the Great Forest and southeast of Santa Sophia. I had read about it in Book 4 of the Baramesa. Oscar Ortega traveled there on his expedition and met the matriarch, Teresa, who was one of his first converts to believing in and following Kammbi.
“Does he leave Santa Sophia often?” I asked.
“He has recently. Diakono Copperwith is being prepared to become the next morrim of this kahall.”
“He has not mentioned that at all.”
“I can see that you are surprised by this news.”
“I am.”
“Before you came, Diondray, all the Second Esperahs met with the morrim. The morrim told us that he felt his time in the position was coming to an end, and he asked all of us which diakono we thought should be the next morrim. Eleven of the twelve second esperahs chose Diakono Copperwith.”
“What about the one who didn’t choose him?”
“That second esperah serves at another kahall.”
I followed Second Esperah Carranza out of the room, wondering whether Diakono Copperwith really wanted to become the morrim of the kahall of Santa Sophia. What if he wanted to stay a diakono? Could he refuse becoming a morrim? Or had Kammbi chosen him? His words about “obedience” still rang in my ears.
We reached the parking lot, where a white bus was parked. The vehicle looked similar to the one I had ridden in when I left the airport after first arriving in Santa Sophia.
“It should take us about ten minutes to get to the shimmaro,” Second Esperah Carranza said as we drove away.
I looked out the window, noticing the sun’s descent. Night was quickly approaching. I wanted Second Esperah Carranza to continue with the conversation about Diakono Copperwith being prepared to become the morrim. But he remained quiet as we reached the marperia.
He parked on Oscar Ortega Boulevard and started to exit the bus. “I will return shortly.”
I watched him walk toward the crowd in the marperia. I had no idea why he had stopped there or what he was doing. Moments later, Second Esperah Carranza had some of the crowd follow him to the bus.
“Please find a seat,’ he said to the crowd behind him upon entering the autobus. “Diondray, I pick up people every evening during the last twenty days before the Festival of Sinquinta. Most of them come from the Enoshe and Noa Quadrants and have no other way to see the shimmaro. I make sure they get to see it every night until the festival.”
The people were seated, and Second Esperah Carranza drove away from the marperia. I gained even more respect for him at that moment.
I glanced back at the people seated behind me on the bus. They were mostly families. I know Second Esperah Carranza had said they came from the Enoshe and Noa Quadrants and were poor, but I didn’t get that kind of feeling from them. They were all dressed and groomed nicely. The children didn’t have the look in their eyes of being less fortunate, like some I had seen in the west side back home. Maybe their version of poor was different from I what had seen.
We reached the shimmaro, and Second Esperah Carranza gathered the passengers off the bus. Some of them glanced at me as they exited. I noticed smiles on their faces in anticipation of seeing the shimmaro. I could tell how much seeing that huge light meant to them.
They followed behind him in a single line. I exited the bus and walked a little distance behind. Second Esperah Carranza led them through the crowd that was already standing at the shimmaro. I watched how those people moved out of the way for the autobus passengers. It was like they knew these people belonged in the very front of the shimmaro.
“Are you leaving?” I asked Second Esperah Carranza. He had almost walked by me.
“Yes, there are more people at the marperia,” he replied over his shoulder.
I watched him walk away from the crowd back to the autobus. He reminded me of the CRG guards at that moment. They were devoted to their duty of protecting my family and the city. I had always admired their dedication to their job, and I was seeing that again in this man.
“Could you stand next to me?”
I turned around and saw a little boy with huge eyes that covered most of his face looking up at me. “Sure,” I answered. “What’s your name?”
“Antonio.”
He stood and waited for me to stand next to him. Antonio’s light brown skin and stringy dark brown hair were a striking contrast to my own features. But those eyes pulled me in, and I walked up a few steps to stand by him.
“I saw you on the autobus and believe that you are special,” he told me very seriously.
Even though he was small, his tone was so serious it was almost intimidating. However, I didn’t feel threatened by his demeanor.
“I know you are from south of the Great Forest,” he continued. “I heard about you from Lady Patricia. She said you are the one to fulfill Oscar’s prophecy. She is right.”
“How do you know that?” I asked him.
“The Eternal Comforter told me.”
“How did the Eternal Comforter tell you?”
Antonio pointed his left index finger at his heart. Then he moved that finger to the left side of his forehead. “The Eternal Comforter speaks to me in both places.”
I looked at Antonio as he stared at the shimmaro. Even though four more lights were burnt out, signifying there were twenty-five days until the Festival of Sinquinta, I couldn’t stop thinking about this child and his strong belief about who I was.
Chapter 11
IT WAS ELEVEN DAYS until the Festival of Sinquinta. I had spent the last fourteen days going to the shimmaro with Second Esperah Carranza. I wanted to go to with him to see if I could talk to Antonio again. I accompanied him on his pickups at the marperia, hoping to see that child. I never saw him again. But his comments about the Eternal Comforter stayed with me. He spoke so earnestly about it. Did believing in Kammbi give chi
ldren such conviction?
For the last four days, I had also reread Book 4 of the Baramesa. Book 4 records Teresa’s account of Oscar Ortega’s ministry when he arrived in the area now known as the city of Santa Teresa. Teresa was the matriarch of the tribe that ruled the area, and she wrote about Oscar’s beliefs in the Eternal Comforter. He convinced her that the Eternal Comforter guided his every decision, and when she believed in Kammbi, Teresa would receive the gift of the Eternal Comforter into her own being as well.
Even though I had read Book 4 several times already and gotten the basic understanding that one received the Eternal Comforter as a gift for believing in and following Kammbi, I still didn’t have a clear picture of when the gift of Eternal Comforter was supposed to come to you. I certainly didn’t have him. Then again, I wasn’t even sure I was a follower of Kammbi.
After breakfast, I walked over to Diakono Copperwith’s office. He had returned from his teaching sessions with the morrim.
“How have the last few days with Second Esperah Carranza been?” he asked as I sat down in front of his desk.
“I’ve learned a lot about him in the past few days.”
“That he drives a bus.” Diakono Copperwith gave a smile after that comment.
“I will admit that surprised me,” I replied. “Also, that he picks up people from the marperia each day until the Festival of Sinquinta.”
“He has been doing that a long time. It has truly been a benefit to the kahall.”
“I would agree with that assessment. After one of those pickups, I had a little boy named Antonio stand next to me at the shimmaro. He knew I was from south of the Great Forest and said I was a special person.”
Diakono Copperwith raised his eyebrows in anticipation of what I was going to say next.
“I asked Antonio how he knew. He said the Eternal Comforter told him.”