The Choose One

chapter 5: King Hel'lbunka'ni

......

I just turned and realized I was the only one left in the colony. Like a mystery, the three other ladies (vírgins) I was within the colony were all gone as they disappeared in an instant. Then I remembered what the female ancestor had said earlier about their going back to the human realm at the dawn of the morning.

I've never been afraid since I crossed the ancestral plain, but fear gripped me that very hour when I realized I was left alone.

"Do not be afraid Limah, I'm here now. I'm king Hel'lbunka'ni I was once a king in the village where you came from. I was king for 7 years before I was assàssínated by my then beloved brother 'Urtru'nnie' and his wife 'Palkambuni' and their cohort... Hahaha ha"

he smiled hypocritically and then he continued

" My brother and his wife, They did évil against me, and took over the kingdom from me, but I forgave them... I'm here, and a thousand times better than they even in death... Well, enough of talking about the past" he said looking at my innocent face. Then he smiled and put forth his hands out towards me as though he wanted to hug me or shake hands with me or so... I don't even know what he wished for.

I stood with my eyes wide open looking at him like a mystery. A feeling of fear and skepticism streaming down my heart, mingled with the thought of "How did I get here?"

I was just looking at his probably hundred-thousand-year-old face.

In those few seconds, my eyes glimpse through his entire being with a lot of thoughts running through my fragile youthful heart.

I just can't shake those hands that looked bloodless as dried okra and as tough as iron bars. I can't.

With his hands in the air trying to hug me or so. I was just looking at him like a paradox.

He looked at me dropped his hand and said

" fear not Limah, I'm the one who sends two massagers to the human realm to go and get you. I knew you from when you were conceived and I have determined not to pick for myself a wife from among the mortals until you are of age."

He smiled and said

"Now is the time my love, now is the time for you and I to unite and fight the battles that had been laid untouched ahead of us.

Now is the time for us to take the human kingdom by surprise, to dominate and subdue it with powers that had never been seen before.

He spoke at the top of his voice like he was angry about something too intimate to him.

As though he realized that his shouting would scare me.

Then he lowered his voice and tried to sound romantic.

Then he said, " My love, we're going to fight, we're going to win and we're going to dominate them."

The more he tried to sound nice and tried to explain his plans to me, the more I got confused.

His face alone was already scary and his smile was nowhere close to anything romantic. But it was obvious that in his aggression he was trying to do some things that could win my affection so that I could give him my full concentration, but how could I even concentrate? When I was standing before a creature that was probably a million times older than I was and was already calling me his wife and trying to initiate me into joining him to fight a battle that I knew nothing about

I held my breath because his àngry face was suffocating me. I couldn't look directly at his face, because his eyes became fallow.

I guess he realized that I was deeply afraid of him. Then he put his hands on my shoulder and said

"Limah believe me you are equal to this task, you're the chosen one and I'm going to give you powers that you can't control, you'll do things that are way beyond your imagining. Limah I know how strong you're that was why I came and snatched you on the day of the coronation along with the three other ladies. Those three are not my focus. That was why we sent them back. But you Limah, you're going to fulfill a greater mandate."

In my heart, I was just crying but I couldn't let him know I was crying so that he would not get disappointed in my feebleness, and strike me with anger. I held my tears.

The hand he placed on my shoulder was as heavy as 16 bags of cement. I was tired but he didn't realize it.

With one of his hands still on my shoulder, he lifted the other hand like he was trying to collect powers from somewhere and transfer them to me. As he started speaking in a strange language, suddenly

Some of the other ancestors strolled into the colony then he got distracted. He dropped his hand and released my shoulder.

The other ancestors told him they'd sent the girls back to the human realm... As they were talking with him, the female ancestor appeared and called his attention. She acted like it was a matter of urgency. So they despaired along with her and left me alone

It was a breath of fresh air.

I was happy to be left alone, but I couldn't stop thinking about all the things he said.

About dominating the human realm

About fighting a battle and giving me the powers that I can't control.

From the little that I've heard, I know our ancestors don't fight their human family, they only protect us. But why is he talking about a war he wants me to join him and fight?

Something must be wróng somewhere! I thought.

And why did he say he snatched me and the other girls on the day of the coronation? That means something contrary to normal order happened on the day of that 'Tamar'kumeh' reunion.

Suddenly an unholy fear gripped my heart because I realized that I was in the wrong place or probably with the wrong set of ancestors.

I became concerned about the villagers back home. Thinking about what type of powers the rest of the three other Virgin have been given to operate with. I remember when they were told that their assessment in the ancestral realm was over, it was time for them to go back and carry out their assignment.

Fear gripped my heart because I knew that the village was in trouble, because of the rest of the three other virgíns who returned home.

From that very moment,t I became home síck.