Chapter 3: Opondo's Children
Bella's ruby eyes wandered away from the present and meandered into the blurred edges of her past. The king sat in rapt attention to the motionless zimwi. His soldiers attempted to feign professional disinterest, yet they too were internally focused entirely on the narrative of the foreigner.
"My memories are fuzzy, like trying to make out faces in a faded antique photograph," Bella began. "I feel like I ought to know more but it's hidden under the surface of my mind. It's almost as if my mind has shielded me from the details of my past."
"What is it that you know?" T'Chaka prodded gently, slowly rubbing his short beard with his nobbled fingers as he spoke.
"I know I come from Forks, Washington, in the United States. I know that Forks is too wet, too green, and too cold. I left because I was being chased and I wandered around from country to country trying to stay alive. I know that when I woke after the burning, I no longer needed to be afraid.
"I see brief glimpses of colors and pictures which have deep emotions attached to them, but I don't necessarily know why they are important. For example, I see bright red hair and I feel fear. I see a pizza box and I feel panic. I see golden eyes and I feel a profound sense of rejection. I see a motorcycle and I see hope. Then I see a completely different set of golden eyes and I feel an even more profound sense of acceptance. I just don't know what connects the dots."
"Do you know who caused you to change?" T'Chaka asked.
"A vampire. A female vampire and I feel like I should recognize her. I know she is connected to all the other glimpses I get," Bella said, and rubbed her forehead as if suddenly weary. "But I don't remember."
"Do you know how you came to Wakanda?"
"Ummm, I'm sorry if this is a very ignorant question, but where exactly is Wakanda?"
The assembly around momentarily lost their mask of indifference and murmured in amusement. General Okoye rolled her eyes and made a clearly unflattering comment in a language Bella could not understand. If Bella could have blushed, she would have.
"Our kingdom is in central Africa. We are bordered by Uganda, Rwanda, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo," T'Challa responded.
"Thank you. That is helpful. I think I flew into Johannesburg sometime before, well, you know. I remember carrying a backpack, which, wait, did you find a backpack with me?"
"No."
"Well, there goes that idea. Anyhow, I carried a backpack and I remember trying to hide and trying to run and I was hungry and tired and afraid. The next thing I remember is red hair, gold eyes, burning pain, and lights going off. Then I woke up in that hut."
"Thank you for sharing your story with us," T'Chaka said, crossing his hands on his lap and interweaving his fingers together. "Can you tell us why you have abstained from human blood? We have never heard of one of your kind behaving as you do."
"It's hard to explain. When I woke and realized what I was, I knew I didn't want to hurt anyone and I knew that I could survive on animal blood. I don't know how I knew that, but I have the feeling somebody told me once."
"Do you have family back in Washington?"
"Ummm," Bella paused and looked at a branch of a nearby tree where she could see a little yellow bird. "I used to, but they are not there now. They are gone…they…they…they wanted pizza…," she stuttered. Suddenly Bella wilted forward like a dying flower and began to tearlessly weep. "They are gone. It's my fault. They are gone. I killed them. She came because of me. I am a monster. They are gone. I am alone and she's coming for me."
T'Challa and T'Chaka looked at each other in sudden surprise and concern as Bella wept.
"Bella," T'Challa said, "Bella, be at peace. You are not in danger here."
His words failed to calm her. She rocked herself in a panic, her arms wrapped around her legs as if she were a frightened turtle hiding in her shell for protection.
"She is not in her right mind," General Okoye said with a frown, stepping forward with her spear to prod the rocking creature into sanity. "This is not safe for any of us to allow it to continue."
"At ease, General," T'Chaka said. His guards drew nearer to his side as they saw him stand. He motioned for them to step aside. They obeyed but their objections were painted clearly across their faces.
T'Chaka crossed the rest of the distance to where Bella sat. He gently knelt beside her on the mat.
"Shhh. Shhh. Shhh. Shhh. Bella, you are safe," the old king said.
His General's stance jumped into rigid attention as the king reached out his rough, warm hands to touch the dangerous creature. The bare skin of the zimwi's smooth, frigid forearm melted in the human touch. Bella's weeping ceased. She hesitantly unfurled her head, looked into the dusty eyes of the king, closed her eyes, and sank her head against his shoulder.
"Shhhh. Shhh. Shhh. Binti, shhh. Uko sawa hapa."
Oooooooooooooooooooooo
"My King," Okoye spoke as she nodded in respect to her sovereign. T'Chaka sat on his throne surrounded by T'Challa, Zuri, W'Kabi, the elders, and the Queen.
"General, you wish to speak?"
"I do not like it."
"I knew you would not. That is why you are a good general," T'Chaka replied with a half-smile.
"Mazimwi are dangerous! She is too close to our people. You do not keep lions in the same pen as goats. She may look harmless but it only takes one moment for a lion to strike," Okoye said, striking her spear against the tiled floor to emphasize "strike".
"We have watched her for half a year now and she has not hurt a person," T'Challa responded. "She has not killed anything except impala, gazelle, antelope, and the occasional wildebeest. She has never wandered more than twenty kilometers from her hut and has never even threatened a human."
"It is not natural," Zuri chimed in, standing to his feet in a passion that caused his dark brown robe to flutter around his feet like tree branches in the wind. "I have contacted as many of the tribal elders and waganga as I can think of who may have knowledge on the mazimwi. I have made inquiries as far as South Africa, Ghana, Italy, China, and America. This zimwi lacks nearly all the traits that accompany rebirth and youth.
"I do not trust it. She may have feigned her transformation when at our border to try to gain entry. She may be pretending to be a wounded animal so that she can garner our sympathy and attack us when we are not aware. She may be a spy seeking entry into our secrets to betray us to our enemies. I do not think she is good for our nation," Zuri said, sitting down to punctuate his completed thought.
"My King, you are wise and kind. I will obey your final decision, but I want to speak my fears first," Okoye said.
"A truly wise king will listen to many voices before reaching a final decision. This council has gathered to bring many voices together. Continue speaking," T'Chaka replied.
"I agree with Zuri. If she decides to strike, how many will die before T'Challa can arrive? Is T'Challa even a match for her strength? I say we end her now. If we do not want to end her life, at least banish her from our kingdom so she is not a threat."
"General, you would have the girl punished not for what she has done but for what she is? Eeeeeee! That is a treacherous path to travel. When the citizens of Wakanda are guilty because of the group they belong to and not because of laws they have broken, then our kingdom is no longer on the same side as justice. Those kinds of 'precautions' have led to the bloodshed of entire peoples who were judged guilty simply for the evil they might possibly do in future. No, that is not who we are."
"My king, she is not human."
"So said the Hutu when they cut down their Tutsi neighbors in the Rwandan bloodbath. No, the girl is not less human simply because her soul is inhabiting a stronger house."
Okoye nodded and pursed her lips.
"General, do you know the story of Opondo's children?"
"Opondo? That is a Luo name, yes? I do not know the tale."
"Yes. Opondo and his wife bore many children. However the couple was disgusted when the babies were born not human but kenge, monitor lizards. Year after year, they threw the new babies away and killed them. After many years, Opondo and his wife began to gather grey in their hair. They decided to let one baby live before their years increased.
"Their son grew into a very large lizard. One day, neighbors came to Opondo and told him that they saw his son as a human boy. When the boy went to swim, he took off his kenge skin and underneath he was a very handsome youth. His parents followed him to the pond the next time he went to swim, stole his kenge skin, and he remained a human boy for the rest of his days. But Opondo and his wife grieved in their hearts for all of their other children that they had thrown away."
"Aya, Bwana. I understand," Okoye said.
"Do we have other voices who wish to speak?" T'Chaka asked.
"Where will she stay?" the Queen Mother asked.
"We will let her stay in the hut on the lake for another three months and keep watch," T'Challa said. "We have discontinued the perimeter fence since it has not been necessary thus far. She has been told not to approach any of our people without one of our guard in attendance and to continue to be discrete. We are still tracking her movements."
"What will happen in three months' time?" Zuri asked, skeptically.
"Sasa, Secretary Norris is researching her past and we will begin to research her present. General Okoye, you will visit her weekly to test her strengths and weaknesses. Teach her what she needs to know to be on the margins of Wakanda," T'Chaka said.
Okoye raised an eyebrow, slowly nodded her head, and then crossed her arms over her chest in salute.
"In three months times, we will meet to determine her future," T'Chaka said with finality as he dismissed the council.
ooooooooooooooooooo
Translations and Notes:
Sudan: At this point in time, South Sudan and Sudan are still united. South Sudan did not become an official entity until 2011. The current year in the story is 2007.
Uko sawa hapa: You are ok here.
Binti: daughter
Zimwi/Mazimwi: for the purposes of this story, vampire. zimwi is singular, mazimwi is plural.
Mganga/waganga: traditional healer, shaman. Mganga is singular, waganga is plural.
Eeeeeee!: In central Uganda, this is an expression of surprise.
Opondo's Children: myth from the Luo peoples of western Kenya. Story obtained from website entitled Every Culture.
Kenge: monitor lizard
Sasa: now
Bwana: Lord. Master. Term of respect for someone of elevated position.