CHAPTER TEN – TETHERED

True fear.  

Ogechi had always wondered what that was like, every time she imagined being buried alive. She would lie in her hard bed, wondering what fear that deep would feel like. On those days, she would wonder how Uchechi was doing, buried so deeply. Was she scared? What if she woke up and missed Ogechi? What if she woke up and called out for her? Ogechi would grip her chest, her fist holding on to her loose wrapper because her lungs no longer knew their purpose. These days, she tells herself repeatedly that Uchechi has come back to her, but there is that stiffening fear whispering, 'What if?'  

She truly wanted to believe that Uchechi had returned to her, but why was the fear back? Every time this little life kicked inside of her, Ogechi held on a little tighter to her chest, her other hand supporting her stomach. What if something were to go wrong again? What if this child were to go away? What if she were left alone again? Darkness came for her, and she went with it. It was much easier to go away these days. 

She woke up, but it was still dark outside. Oge wondered fleetingly if the sun would ever rise again before she went under again, the drowsiness taking her. 

“Debia, my daughter?” 

Ogechi’s eyes fluttered open. What day was it? She could swear her mother-in-law had on a different wrapper the last time she opened her eyes. Why was she on a different wrapper every time she saw her? Something was pressing down on her legs; everyone knows that the feet could tie down a soul. Was her sole tying down hers? The thought would have made her laugh; the gods thoroughly had a sense of humor. For over a year, she had begged them to take her life. Now they were obliging. How cynical. She coughed weakly, her lungs under too much pressure to keep the air flowing, did not find her coughing agreeable. A slight spasm of protest ran down her body. Oge could hear the commotion and fear in the room, but she was too exhausted to react. When the darkness came, she was grateful for it. 

Ogechi hadn’t even moved, had she? She wondered, groaning. Her mother-in-law rushed to her side; her age and weight were not enough to slow down her agility. She dabbed at Ogechi’s forehead with a washcloth while muttering prayers to the gods under her breath. Oge could feel how much lighter the room felt; the well-wishers must have become tired of well-wishing as a group, so how long had she been lying in this bed? Ogechi lifted her hand to her mother-in-law's face, or attempted to, but she couldn't move; all her body was capable of doing was letting out a soft groan, so she did. 

“My enemies will not win; my ancestors will not put me to shame.” 

The old woman prayed, over and over, her strong, chewing-stick breath washing over Uloma. There was light outside now. Oge could see the light, but she could not see anything else. 

“Debia, please.” 

Uloma heard her husband say. He was trying his best; he had cried his heart out to her on the night of her conception. He had asked for her forgiveness over and over again, calling his second wife a hasty means to cope, and Ogechi had realized that night that she hated him so much only because she still loved him deeply. All of that anger had made her forget. She tried to find him now in their tiny room, but she could not even move her eyes; the pain was searing when she tried. So, she groaned feebly. She would feel frustrated if she were capable of feeling anything other than this flattening exhaustion. 

“Debia, Debai.” 

Her husband called in a voice full of urgency, and the same fear that had sent Ogechi under, the same fear that she worried, that her Uche felt, buried under all those layers of earth. She wanted to yell for him to stop; this gripping, suffocating fear was how the darkness got you. She wanted to shout that he could never, ever end up like her; she would never forgive him if he did. 

“Tsk, tsk, mmhhmm, tufia.” 

The Debia’s groan was even louder than Oge’s, his spoke strongly of disapproval though. Ogechi mildly wondered why she was going under again; she could feel it. The darkness at the edge of her bed was beckoning to her; tempting her. 

“My ancestors have never been this quiet.” 

He said, making another throaty sound of disapproval. 

“My eyes have never been more blind. I sense darkness growing; the child within her is a daughter of another world, I feel it strongly. And I feel forces forbidding the child’s existence.” 

Ogechi could barely make out what the Debia was saying over her mother-in-law and Ozioma. When did Ozioma get here? The last thing Ogechi heard was the incantation of the Debia and the deep concern in his voice as she finally succumbed to the darkness. This time, she had at least fought to stay awake much longer. 

~ 

Ogechi dreamed: She was on her favorite farm. The one away from the village. It was so secluded that it was almost a world of its own. She was humming to herself, harvesting peppers lazily on her knees. The ground was hard, and the earth stuck to her kneecaps, but she did not notice. Around her, the breeze visited the leaves, forcing them into their glorious chorus, coaxing them to reach their utmost; the chorus of the leaves was a lull to the perfect day. Birds and crickets joined in the harmony. The sun made everything near golden as usual. The earth against her knees was scorching hot, but she was used to it; it was comforting. Was this a dream? The goosebumps on her skin made her wonder. She sniffed at the strong scent of the peppers and the insistent smell of the ants around her, and continued humming contentedly. It did not matter whether or not she was dreaming; she was happy, and that was enough. 

“Still a hummer, I see. You have not changed in the slightest.” 

Ogechi’s head snapped up at the interruption to her perfect serenity. The voice sent chills all over her body in a familiar way. She regarded the woman in front of her; she was tall. Tall was understated; she was truly tall, but that was not the most noteworthy thing about this woman, Ogechi thought; she was beautiful, maddeningly so. She had a beauty that was jarring, incredibly, remarkably so. The woman had a warm smile on her face. Her smile did not soften her features; it put you on your guard, like you instinctively should be wary of her. 

“Well, you did change one significant thing about yourself, you are a woman in this life.” 

Ogechi still could not bring herself to speak. Everything about this woman sent delicious warning signals through her body, told her to run, but she would rather drown in those deep black eyes than move a muscle. It did not make sense, but she knew this woman. She had loved this woman; she had yearned for her, but why? Who was she? Why would she feel all these consuming emotions for another woman? And why did it feel like she had always known her when she had never seen her before today? 

“Our daughters are determined to be with you, are they not?” 

The woman spoke again, her rich, deep voice resonating. Bending to Ogechi’s height, she caressed her face. Ogechi’s breath caught in her throat; she made her first mistake when she looked into the eyes of the jarringly beautiful woman. She drowned slowly, but she drowned without regrets. So, why was she crying? She wondered, as a single tear ran down her wet face. She shut her eyes, feeling those cold hands cupping her wet face, counteracting the searing heat of the midday sun. Ogechi had fallen for this woman once, as she wept for a love that was doomed from the moment it was conceived, she felt herself swept away again by the wave that was the woman in front of her. 

The woman put her beautifully lined lips to Oge’s bare lip, Oge shut her eyes tighter and leaned into the woman, she had made her second mistake, she could feel it. Her head felt lighter. 

~ 

Ogechi dreamt another dream, a deeper dream. 

~ 

Uloma counted to ten under her breath before she took the plunge into Emenike’s world, as she liked to think of it. His insignificant tree from the outside housed a whole world of existence. Inside, she walked down a red-carpeted hall that Emenike called ‘royally’; he always tried too much. It would have been endearing to Uloma, as it was from time to time, but today was not one of those days when her heart felt in the mood to be endeared. Flying dragon-like beings in shades of deep blues, that sometimes lied to the eyes, pretending to be purple, buzzed past her. The Orlus were not the most amicable creatures. They did not even stop to say hello in their haste, but Uloma did not mind, not on this day. One of the Orlus flew into Uloma’s hair and untangled herself with such bursts of curses that would make Ekama proud. 

“What is your problem?” 

The tiny voice bristled, picking off strands of what resembled blue strings from Uloma’s hair. She hovered above Uloma, her huge eyes staring storms. 

“You flew into me.” 

Uloma replied, shaking blue strands off her hair. 

“Because you are in our hallway!” 

The impossibly tiny voice shrieked. 

“Why won’t this thing leave my hair?” 

Uloma said instead, because she didn't have the time to debate who was in the wrong here, she just wanted to get on her way. 

“Well, I am wondering the same thing.” 

The dragon girl muttered. Something flashed across her huge, black eyes that churned Uloma’s suspicion. 

“Just my luck, it's something bad, right?” 

Uloma heard the resignation in her voice. She was exhausted, and she could feel it. 

“It's not bad, eh, it just isn’t good for Cosmics to come in direct contact with. Look, I am in a hurry, but I can try to gather all of them.” 

The girl offered, and she sounded to Uloma like the long-sufferer, which only further fueled Uloma’s irritation. 

“I don’t have the time for this, please.” 

Uloma said, walking away. She was more than exhausted, but she had a lot of people to answer to. The messenger who delivered her summons from Emenike also informed her that the Council required her presence. Maybe her mother would be there, she hoped. Perhaps she would have heard about what happened, Uloma told herself as she pushed open the massive oak door leading to Emenike’s library, which disguised itself as an office, which was how Uloma chose to think of it. ‘Your mother must already know, ’ a tiny voice nagged at her. Why wouldn’t she? She was as omniscient as they came and omnificent as well. 

She walked into the dimly lit waiting area, surrounded by occult symbols. Above her, constellations and astrological symbols surged in a blue hum, sparking and blinking against the mathematical problems that attempted to solve the universe and its dimensions. The dim hum from the only bright source of lighting on Uloma’s left colored the waiting room red, reminding Uloma of Echi and what had happened last night. Uloma's thoughts drifted back to the previous night, to the party, as she waited to be called in by Emenike. 

~ 

“Leave me alone, please. I don’t want to talk.” 

Uloma had said to Abali and Kama’s final attempt to reach her, just before the party. They had both tried to reach out to her repeatedly after Umaji, but Uloma had not wanted to be around anyone. She sat on her soft bed, now wearing her beautiful ash wrappers, the ones with all the patterns, frozen and exhausted. She did not want to think, so of course, all she caught herself doing was thinking.  

She saw old Umaji repeatedly in her mind. What had she even meant? Uloma shook the thought out of her head, interrupted by Kama’s insistent grappling about in her mind. She would not find anything, of course. Learning to communicate with their mind was one of the first things any Cosmic learned. Uloma had had to learn the power the hard way, though, and when she had, it had become a matter of keeping the others out of her head. If your mind can be bridged, you can bridge that of others. Presently, Kama knocked about in Uloma’s head until Abali pulled her out. Uloma felt it the moment Abali went in for Kama, but she did not feel relief. Blocking Kama out had at least been an intensive buffer to her intrusive thoughts. 

Uloma roused herself out of her bed; she was driving herself crazy. She had to go to the party. It was her only solution, the perfect distraction. She would have to avoid Kama and Abali, though, she told her reflection in the mirror, as she centered the red beads on her hair. Rubbing her forehead like Abali would his, she felt the exhaustion return with a vengeance. She would have to avoid the only two people who truly cared about her because she was not yet ready to face whatever Umaji had meant, and whatever it was, this darkness swimming inside her meant. Uloma closed her eyes as she readied herself for her journey. She did not have to, but she hated this part. It was easy enough to travel to most realms; even the human realm was easier to get to, compared to the Heavenly realms. 

Uloma was outside her room, and her body was in mere human seconds. She felt the fibers and invisible atoms that made up her being break apart and reassemble themselves; the effect was dizzying. When she opened her eyes again, she was in an open field crammed almost to overflow, with beings from different dimensions and realms. Seeing so many people all at once at a time when she was nearing her tipping point was nauseating. Uloma could feel the trepidation and doubt claw their way up from the bottom of her stomach. What was she even doing here? She wondered, holding her hand to her stomach, she could hear her anxiety in her heartbeat. Take a deep breath, she told herself, her unsteady legs threatening to bolt. How could she make it through the night if she could not keep her stomach from wanting to journey into her mouth? She felt like returning to her room to lie down, so she closed her eyes again to steady herself this time.  

A familiar sparkle spread through her. She felt her heartbeat slow down, the content of her stomach settling, and even her breath sounded like it was evening. Uloma breathed in his familiar scent; he always smelled of human celebration. Uloma laughed; she could not help it. 

“What a nice way to say hello, Echi.” 

Echi shrugged and flared, or at least he looked like he was shrugging. Uloma wrinkled her nose and wiggled them at him. 

“Don’t be silly, I was just catching my breath.” 

She said defensively, swatting at his flame. 

“Oh, you doubter, whatever. And I should be asking you what you are doing here.” 

Echi flared, and Uloma felt the laughter again. He was undoubtedly the chaser of sadness, Uloma thought, smiling at him. 

“No, I never said beings who had the same form as me were obnoxious and full of themselves, you accuser.” 

She joked, and Echi flared again and engulfed Uloma this time. 

“Okay, fine, fine.” 

Uloma giggled, his sparkles tickling her. 

“But aren’t I allowed to change my mind and come to their gatherings occasionally?” 

Echi shimmered and fluttered. Uloma giggled uncontrollably now; he had to be stopped. 

“Stop being naughty, you silly chicken, and get me a drink, will you?” 

Echi flared again, winking at her with his supposed eyes. Uloma giggled. Watching him go felt to her like standing in a room with a candlelight someone had rudely snuffed out. She sighed, reminding herself that he was only going to be gone for a few minutes if he could fight the crowd to the center of the gathering, where almost everyone was camped around the kegs and kegs of palm wine and calabashes of quickly disappearing green eggplants, peanuts, and kola nuts. 

Uloma looked around her nervously; she couldn't help but feel the nerves returning. The field they were on was a vast sea with no end in view; the horizon was blanketed with thousands of stars, and above them was the perfect full moon. Trust the school for Heavenlies to throw the perfect party. The intense noise from the myriads of creatures and beings from different dimensions and realms rushed through Uloma, reminding her to stay afloat and here in the present.  

She felt the air leaving her body again. She wanted to lie down; she needed a break from her life. Why couldn’t her mind shut up for a second? Uloma closed her eyes again, and that was when she felt him, Abali, he was here, watching her, no, wait, she shook her head, he was watching out for her, she wanted to leave, or at least lose herself in the crowd of students, if she were lucky, he would be unable to seek her out in the crowd. But first, she would have to see where he was. Uloma opened her eyes and looked around her. She searched and searched the crowd, but all she could see were blobs and shadows chattering, creatures with wings clinking their wooden wine cups. This was the only place young beings from every world came together, leaving their differences at the metaphoric door.  

The atmosphere changed without warning while Uloma was still searching; her attention and that of everyone else turned to the center of the large bonfire as if they were all collectively drawn to that point. Uloma searched herself for why she was watching the raging bonfire, but all she could come up with was that she was waiting for something, that they were all waiting for something. As Uloma watched, Ogba flew into the circle of people by the bonfire, in the wake of appreciative cheers. His powerful wings swayed everything around him. He was one of the only dragons of the sky. If he is here, then Kama would not be far. 

On cue, Kama was beside the dragon and his brothers. Even amongst other dragons, he stood out, one of the princes of the Sky. The light from the bonfire, reflecting red and orange against his perfectly glistening scale, looked like it existed solely for this purpose. He was irritatingly magnificent. Ogba craned his neck, moving it from side to side, his mouth turning up in an unmistakable smirk, his impressively white fangs glistened in the dark, as he morphed in his usual graceful way into a magnificent boy.  

Giggles and appreciative sighs bounced around most of the female beings and creatures. Uloma knew that a number of those giggles were from the boys as well. Ogba combed his hand through his gray locks and flashed a smile at the crowd like he knew what effect he had. Which of course he did. Uloma rolled her eyes, but was unable to look away. His chest shimmered as his scales had. The bead of royalty around his neck, similar to the ones around Uloma’s, signified his importance in their realms. Uloma caught herself rolling her eyes again and turned to Kama instinctively to make fun of the 'chief handsomeness,' but Kama was not by her side. Ekama was right there with Ogba, her skin shimmering as it came in contact with his. Ogba said something only she could hear, and she playfully slapped him on his chest to the envy of most of the present occupants of the field.  

Beside them were Abali and Ekani, her hair unlike the rest of theirs, cascading down her back; she was a picture in her glittering silver robe, her delicate beauty a perfect contrast to Abali’s dark, brutish looks. He held her in his arms, and she watched Abali chuckle as Ekani whispered something in his ear. Uloma felt herself lose the little light Echi’s presence had brought her earlier. They were all four, the perfect couples. 

A warm flame engulfed her, pulling her out of the pit she had unwittingly sunk into. Echi handed her her drink and led her to a piece of log, a little away from the rest of the crowd. 

“Thank you.” 

She mouthed to him and gulped down the milky goodness in one swallow. 

“Ahh.” 

She said, mustering up a gusto for Echi’s benefit that she did not even feel. She had known bad days were possible, but she could not have ever predicted a day like this, in her wildest imagination. How can you get your power the same day your life comes crashing down? Hadn’t she always wished for powers? What went wrong? She looked over again at the crowd that had formed around her friends. Girls and boys, but mostly admirers. She would usually have been in the center of all that, but that would mean suffering through Ekani and trying to make Abali jealous. Now all she was doing was gawk at them, while Abali held his betrothed close, as if losing her would shatter him. Bile rose to Uloma’s throat. 

Echi nudged her and crackled. He shared a memory with her. 

“You mean the first time you visited the human realm and burned down a farm because you were trying to help the village with the end of the harvesting season?” 

Uloma laughed. Echi crackled and roared. Uloma laughed genuinely this time. Echi had been beside himself that day, lucky for him, she and Ekama had snuck out of another lesson, into the human realm, and had ended up in the same area as Echi. The distraught poor being was beside himself, so while Uloma distracted and consoled him, Ekama put out most of the fire, leaving the appropriate amount required for a harvest. The village had erected an altar for Echi, suspecting that a fire god had been in their village to help, and Uloma had gained a friend. She smiled appreciatively at Echi, who pulled out a large keg from inside his flaming body. 

“That is disgusting, you know?” 

Uloma laughed. And Echi crackled and roared. 

“What? Imagine me pulling out food from my body for you.” 

Uloma laughed. Echi was still crackling and roaring his beautiful shades. 

“How is it different?” 

Uloma asked and watched her friend attempt to re-stash the keg of palm wine. 

“Okay, okay, you are right, I have learned my lesson, no more complaints from me.” 

Echi engulfed her again, leaving Uloma tingling with warmth. Uloma had told him in the past that his power was warmth more than anything else. He poured her a drink with his barely existing hand. 

“Won’t you ask?” 

She asked him as she accepted his drink, staring at her friends with a distant look in her eyes. His light became warmer, a more orange glow that had Uloma tearing up and sniffing. There was no way she would cry in front of all these people. 

“Friends, no questions asked.” 

She repeated after him. He had quoted her from the first time they met. 

“Any space on the log?” 

Another boy, Uloma, was friendly with, but she could never remember his name. He asked, sweeping his wrapper over his chest, as he sat at her feet. He had come with a crowd, Uloma and Kama called them the ‘zealous bunch’, Echi was one of them, to be fair. They were a group of do-gooders who hated missing classes and only broke the occasional rules. 

“You started time?” 

A shy water girl asked Uloma, her pretty dark eyes, which resembled those of a small animal, twinkled. She was almost translucent, her words pouring out, like water on a rock. The night took an upward turn from there. They chattered Uloma’s ears off; she did not even have the space to use her lungs. The alcohol never stopped following, so maybe it wasn’t Echi’s glow alone that left them all tingling inside. ‘Rebellious Shani’, which was what they all called the boy whose name Uloma could never remember, was recounting a story about his encounter with humans. The droning and loud chatter all around them acted as background to the warmth Uloma was feeling. She was just a girl, not one threatening to unbalance worlds, not one with a mother who was never around, and a human parent who at this very moment no longer had her precious daughter. She was not the girl in love with a boy already engaged; she was just a girl. The girl scuttled closer to Echi and rested her head on what should be his shoulder, grateful to have decided to come here. 

“Emm, what do you want?” 

Uloma heard the water girl, Tekena, ask protectively. She opened her eyes now, unaware that she had had them closed. 

“Just Ulo, please.” 

Abali replied. When had she completely shut him out? He had been watching out for her since she arrived at the party. Somehow, her new group had distracted her enough to shut him out. 

“Your bunch has been ignoring her all night. Why would you want her now?” 

Shani said he looked ready to fight. The drink must be doing its thing; if this timid bunch was intentionally going against perfect Abali, Uloma thought, she lazily pulled away from Echi and looked up at Abali. 

“It's okay, I will go with him.” 

She said, not taking her eyes off him. 

“You were getting cozy.” 

They were just out of earshot of her new friends; they were drunk. Uloma realized, watching them, like most of the other students, they had become very loud and self-absorbed, good for them, Uloma thought. 

“He has held you all night, Uloma.” 

Uloma heard the bitterness in Abali’s voice, but she wasn’t sure how to respond. The alcohol left her feeling a little too relaxed. 

“Ulo.” 

Abali pleaded. 

“Ekani looks stunning as usual.” 

Uloma said at last. 

“You held her, too.” 

She shrugged. 

“It is not a competition.” 

His voice had an edge to it; you could hear why he was the son of Darkness. Uloma stared at him for a second. She wished she weren't feeling so slow, because he was causing annoyance to bubble inside her. 

“What do you want from me?” 

She asked him after a few seconds of hesitation. 

“Come be with us, your friends.” 

Uloma wrinkled her forehead like she was considering this, then shook her head. 

“No. No, but thank you.” 

She said and started to walk back. 

“Also, Abali, your jealousy was not my intention tonight.” 

She said, stopping to turn around. The last thing she saw as she walked back to her new crowd was the hurt in Abali’s eyes. There was something that looked like pain there, too, but it must be the drink because Uloma realized it did not make her run to him as it usually would. Some of the students had found musical instruments ranging from slow flutes to a low, somber tune-drum, and were quietly singing a song that had no words, yet ignited the soul. Her new friends looked up at her when she reached them, their eyes showing their unsaid support. Echi glowed and shimmered, and she nodded that she was fine. Tonight, she was fine, she thought, looking back at Kama with Ogba’s hand around her shoulder; he looked like nothing compared to his beauty. Uloma turned her eyes on Ekani, who looked like she gave the night its glow, her shimmer visible even from where Uloma was sitting. The only person she did not glance at was Abali because he had come here with another girl, whom he was now holding—a girl who was not her. Uloma huffed and stretched out her hand, holding her empty cup. 

“Refill?” 

Tekena questioned. 

“Like she needed to ask.” 

Someone said, and the group roared as if they had never heard anything funnier. The drink did not settle her, though. Uloma looked around at the barely visible sea of faces, all in different states of contentment, some illuminated by the bonfire around which they were sitting. Couples holding hands, friends laughing, dancing, she could feel Echi engulfing her again. He had asked her if she was cold from the night chill, and she had nodded. He had asked if he could hold her hand, albeit shyly, and she had nodded. But she had not been paying attention; she could hear it again. The faint heartbeat made something in her surge. A type of darkness she had never seen or felt before, maybe? Something was making her uncomfortable; she wanted to make it stop, but the memory of earlier in the day, with Emenike's centering class, kept her still. 

~ 

In another world, in another realm, a Debia worked alongside a medicine woman, sent over by the brothers of the woman lying nearly lifeless in front of them. They were fighting for her life, having sent her family away. They could not afford, at that crucial moment, to let ancestors and spirits that hung around ordinary humans anywhere near that room. This woman was on her last leg of life; it would take a miracle for mother and child to survive.  

Unbeknownst to her, as she was no longer even conscious, the medicine woman forced a concoction down Ogechi’s throat. As she fed the almost still woman, she called on her personal god, her chi. She also called on the god of her family, but most importantly, she called on her ancestors, and she was also calling on the mother of life. If she had only known that Life was the other side of Death. That Death was also a mother, and that both shared similarities. That one could do the work of the other. 

The heart of the baby inside grew fainter, the body of her mother becoming increasingly too weak to sustain her. The child who had only just crossed over was again threatening to return to the other world.  

While Ogechi lay dreaming of a woman who once set her heart on fire. 

~ 

The stars were winking out one after the other as if counted off by the millisecond. Uloma’s stomach dropped lower and lower with every star. They were in the realm of light; even the darkness they had been partying under was brought here by some of the students from Uloma’s realm, to help with the feel and aesthetics of the party. Still, the stars in the sky in support had shone down lovingly on the young partiers, insisting against complete darkness.  

Now they were going away one by one, and Uloma could feel their very death in the pit of her stomach. She heard the commotion all around her, but this time she was stuck in the darkness —the darkness that was consuming the stars. She felt Echi winking out beside her and remembered he was still holding her hand. Why wasn’t he pulling away from her? She worried, snatching her hand away from him, afraid she would consume him too. She heard the screaming; it snapped her eyes open. Two starlings were lying, hardly breathing, on the ground, and a circle was beginning to form around them. The fear and panic gripping Uloma was instantaneous; had she done that? But the panic was only rising when she sighted Umaji, she was in the air, illuminated by the heavenly light now that the school of Death had withdrawn their darkness. Her eyes were white again, and she was not alone this time. She had the other sisters of prophecy with her. Breeze only felt by them, wiped at them, flaring their clothes and tossing their braids and beads. Their eyes had a glow that transcended the light of the Heavens.  

Their heads snapped in unison towards Uloma, their fingers pointing at her. Uloma was herself again; gone was the canopy of alcohol, and gone was the dreadful darkness brought on by the weakening heartbeat. Even the heartbeat was gone, though not completely. Uloma could feel a whisper of it, as if her body was only reliving a memory. The field was quiet now, and everyone watched as the sisters of prophecy singled out Uloma in a united show of power unprecedented. The trepidation Uloma felt now was all hers. She saw Abali running towards her with Ekani, Ekama, and Ogba in his wake. How much time had she started this time that Abali, one of the fastest beings she knew, was having to run to reach her? Uloma felt the wine threaten to make a comeback through her mouth. 

Everyone was paying attention to her; there was nothing else they could do. A wind that no one else felt was raging now just above them, propelling the sisters in the air. Their index fingers stayed pointing at Uloma; she and everyone else felt the resonance boom before the sisters even spoke. 

“One soul, Two beings. Out of the End, it came. A snake with two heads, bruise one and the other grows in strength. The End will come when two become one again.” 

Uloma could not take her eyes off them. They did not speak as one, because they were not speaking to each other. It was as if they were only echoes conveying a message. Their mouths never even moved, but it was not them that made Uloma double over with fear; it was the prophecy. She had read it before, and even then, Kama and Abali had agreed that the picture of the girl in that prophecy had an uncanny resemblance to her. Claws dragged at Uloma’s stomach. She wanted to hide, to run, to look away from the sisters. Lightning was flashing now around them, circling them, intertwining with those accusing fingers. 

“When Time comes, in its wake destruction drags. Two will become One again. Darkness and Time end all.” 

Their hands withdrew. The lightning stopped, the wind went away, and the sisters fell to the ground, their bodies limp. Uloma was sprawled on the ground, too, darkness attempting to engulf her. She heard the heartbeat again, stronger than ever. Who was this girl tearing her apart? Uloma wondered wearily before the darkness swallowed her consciousness whole.