Mayowa yawned as she was finally starting to wake up. Squinting, she looked at the person who had just saved her. She didn't know what happened or where she was. Her brain was still in the process of taking in her surrounding. She asked "Who are you?"
"My name is Sari and you're my treasure" He replied smiling.
Remembering what happened, her eyes went wide and she got up. Sari moved away from her so he wouldn't have a break down. He had already been too close to her. She looked at Dabo who was just in awe of seeing a mador. It felt like a dream. But it seems like she didn't know yet or does she?
"What do you guys want from me?"
"Your powers" Dabo replied, making both Mayowa and Sari confused. He didn't expect him to say it
"What powers?"
Oh, she doesnt know yet.
"Stop it Dabo!" Sari yelled. "You're scaring her"
"She needs to go home Sari" Dabo blurted
"No! She goes nowhere" Sari replied
"Yes, yes, I want to go home" Mayowa intruded. Of course, she wanted to go home but she didn't quite get message of which type of "home" Dabo meant.
Ignoring her, Dabo continued "She is a danger to herself and everyone"
Now, Mayowa's eyes widened in shock mixed with fear. What did he just say?
"Dabo, what is wrong with you? Why are you scaring her?" Sari said fuming.
"I know you want your right, but not her. We can find other girls like her in the west" Dabo said, moving close to her while she in turn, moved back.
"Don't you dare" Sari glared "I know you want what's best for me but I want her. Zabu said I had to feel it that she is the one and I've felt it"
"Sari, you know that does not matter. Ari takes short, plump, chocolate skinned girls very seriously because they are hard to find here in the east. They are like a rare gem so anyone of them can be used" Dabo said clenching his teeth as he spoke.
"I know but I want this one. I have to feel complacent for it to work and again as you said, her type is hard to find" Sari replied.
Mayowa ears had gone deaf after hearing what Dabo had to say about her being dangerous. She looked at the two of them, they were still talking but she couldn't hear them. She was in a trance and was almost fainting before she snapped out of it.
No, she wasn't dangerous! Who are these guys? They are the ones who are dangerous and I have to escape from them. She thought earnestly to herself.
Ignoring Dabo, Sari looked to Mayowa's side, hoping to see her but she had already bolted from there. Doesn't she get tired of running?
"See what you caused. She's gone and we didn't even know!" Sari furiously said.
"It's for the best" Dabo replied.
"Shut up Dabo. I'm going to look for my treasure. It's too dangerous for her out there"
"There are other treasures in this world" Dabo said with exhaustion as he watched Sari leave.
"I want this one and if anything happens to her, I'm coming for your head" Sari shouted.
Mayowa ran with all her might. Of course, they were looking for her so she had to move very fast. She had been given another chance, she couldn't afford to waste it.
"Treasure wait!" Sari screamed as he chased her "I won't hurt you!"
Mayowa could care less what he said. All she wanted was to go home. Hearing Sari's voice made her heart beat faster. He was truly fast in running.
The fear made her stumble on a rock, falling down. She groaned in pain. This little mistake, made Sari catch up with her. She quickly took the nearest stick she saw.
"Don't come near me" she put the stick at her front for protection.
Sari halted. He didn't want to scare her the more. This was all Dabo's fault. Sari fumed. "Treasure, I promise I won't hurt you. Just come with me and I will explain everything"
"No, get away from me" Tears spilled from hers "Please, I just want to go home. Is it too much to ask?"
"No, no, no please, stop crying. I beg you" Sari begged knowing what her tears would cause.
The clouds sparked and then rain burst out. Sari had to look for where to hide. Hopefully, he saw a small cave nearby. He took to his hills or he could die. He watched as the trees withered and lost life. Everything was dying.
Oh my gods! Treasure, stop crying.
When Mayowa didn't hear anything, she opened her eyes to see if he was still there. Excitedly, she got up. The gods actually answered her prayers. Now, she could go freely.
Mayowa's legs halted when she noticed her surroundings. The grasses on the ground had turned yellow, some looked burnt and dead. The leaves on the trees had lost its colors. The trees looked dead.
She gasped as she took in everything. What happened? They were fresh a while ago. What happened? She asked herself again
"No, no, please don't cry, I'm begging you" Sari's voice echoed in her mind. Did she do all this? Then again, she remembered Dabo saying she had some sort of powers. What is she? She looked at her palms, they were wet, even the wrappers tied on her body. Did it rain? How come she didn't know? What is wrong?
As she kept contemplating the situation, she saw Sari come out from nowhere. He looked a little weak, he was stretching his bones while frowning like he was in pain. Did she also hurt him?
Without thinking twice, she asked "Did I do this?"
Sari stopped stretching and forced out a smile "No, no, of course not. You didn't. The rain here is usually bad"
For some reason, she didn't believe him. She tried to but she couldn't. Would a rain cause all this? And how come it only rained in one part. Looking deeper in the forest, the trees and grasses still looked fresh and dry. Only the place where she stood looked dead. It was like the rain only covered one place leaving the other places untouched.
"Then why are the other places not wet?" Mayowa said pointing.
"That's the way the rain is. It rotates. You should know that just because it's raining in the east doesn't mean it will rain in the west" Sighing, he moved close to her. His breathing was louder than normal "Now, let's go. It's dangerous out here"
"I am dangerous" Mayowa cried out.
"No, no, not again, don't cry" Sari begged as the clouds above rumbled.
"Why are you stopping me from crying? That only means I'm dangerous!" Mayowa shouted
"No, you're not, you just need to learn how to control i.." Before he could finish his statement, he watched Dabo put Mayowa to sleep.
"What did you do?" Sari growled.
"I saved you and the remaining part of this forest" Dabo answered.
Sari sighed. Even though it annoyed him, Dabo did the best for now. If she continued, she would have caused a storm.
**************
"So, I can't go home now" Mayowa asked. She listened keenly to them explain what she is, but what they can't get is how she got it. People in the west don't believe in things like this. They hate it and prefer to depend on their work for things, so they have really small room for abilities like Mayowa's. Ritualists are almost extinct there and would be killed at a goal. It's in the east that supernatural things happen to people. They believe and accept it, but certainly not Mayowa's. Nobody accepts a mador. It is either they want to use them or kill them, that is why the madors ran away to somewhere no one has been able to find for years. So, how did Mayowa come out to be? Being a mador is either hereditary or transferred from one mador to a normal person. Was her mom perhaps a mador?
"Yes... for now. I know a ritualist who can.."
Sari noticed how Mayowa's face lit up in fear as he mentioned knowing a ritualist.
"Don't worry, he's a good one. He will help you control it so you can use it only when you want. Even when you cry, it won't have effect unless you want it to"
"What about my home? The home of the madors" Mayowa asked. She seemed to have accepted her fate.
"We don't know about that. Let's not worr.."
"We will find it" Dabo said, annoying Sari. He knew Sari didn't want Mayowa's home being found.
Sari ignoring Dabo, proceeded to ask Mayowa if she would comply with his request "Please, will you do it?"
Mayowa looked at the guy in front of her. She hadn't noticed him before. He looked a bit brawny, dark and quite tall. His eyes were really black and his jaw line was masculine. His hair was shaped well and his teeth were very white. He did look good, but not better than Dami. Oh yes Dami! She wondered how he was doing. He is the one who led her into all these.
Taking a deep breath, she asked "Are you sure I'm that special?"
"Yes"
"Why?"
"Because the greatest woman that ever represented our kingdom looked exactly like this. After she died, nobody took her characteristics. Everyone came as tall, really tall or average; both boys and girls and very dark so, we see girls like you as some sort of treasure" Sari explained.
"But there are other girls like me" Mayowa asked, still confused.
"Yes, but you can only find them in west and they are really expensive in the sense that they don't want to come. If they are forced, they could affect kingdom spiritually. The last girl that was forced, made our kingdom go into famine, so we promised not to force anyone. And besides, the west after knowing why we wanted them became stricter towards guarding them" Sari continued to explain.
"But I don't think that's true. Where I'm from, no one cares about girls like me. infact, we are not the special ones and we are really rare"
"Maybe, but it is what it is here. The west is too far to go to and I need this quickly before my step brother is crowned King. Bringing you in will stop it so?" he looked at her pleadingly.
Mayowa was confused. She had never been this treasured to the extent that she wanted to help someone get his kingdom back. Now, she had her abilities to deal with, so going back was not an option now unless she wanted to be killed or called a demon. But what if things don't go as they said? It's still quite weird, hearing Sari speak about her being special. Was he lying? Maybe he wanted her abilities, maybe he wanted to sacrifice her. She couldn't be too sure. Looking at him, she couldn't convince herself that he wanted bad things for her. Well that is how Dami looked like until he broke her heart. What if she fell in love again and he breaks her heart again?
No, no, that wasn't possible!
She couldn't and she wouldn't. Right now, she had no choice. She didn't want to hurt anyone with her abilities and since they wanted to help her control it, what choice did she have?
Looking straight into Sari's eyes, she asked "What's your name?"
"Sari"