"So, Caterpillar, you are back."
An old lady said to Nolamine. He recognized her from his younger days. They had made it to the Village and everyone welcomed them with open arms.
When the plane landed and they got out, he was amazed by the culture shock as they reached the city. It was buzzing and everyone looked like they were going somewhere. After catching a ride and traveling for hours, they had reached what many call the entrance into Africa.
Limpopo, rich in wildlife, spectacular scenery, and a wealth of historical and cultural treasures, but also known for something else that plagued its residence, witchcraft.
After traveling for hours off-road, they made it to a village nestled between two mountains with a great river cutting through them and a forest that stretched as far as the eye could see. The village seemed to be cut off from the rest of the world but the road was well maintained. There was only one reason for that, and it was standing right in front of Nolamine.
It was a Witch Doctor with a bone going through her nose and many of her teeth missing. She looked as old as the old hag who almost killed him. She was one of six that looked over the village, including the Grand Witch. He did not know why she was calling him a Caterpillar, but he was back to the place he was born.
The village was called Tembelihle, translating to 'Good hope'. And it was the hope of many who would seek help for their illnesses and those of the supernatural.
With many old friends that Mi-sun had left, she too was happy and smiling. The houses were a mixture of traditional huts and modern houses with electricity. After welcoming them, they were taken to the house Nolamine's mother had built in seconds.
It was like the rest of the traditional houses, only being big enough for two people. He could find nothing in it to connect him to the past, but he still felt at home. After resting and convincing Son-join that there were no lions roaming around or beasts and telling him about his trip over the phone, it was time to celebrate their return.
Drams sounded out over a great fire and the villagers wearing traditional clothes danced. Food and drinks were saved and the two were having a good time. It was like they never left.
He saw those who he used to play with and they chatted about growing up. It was like he had forgotten that just a day ago he had been fighting beasts and seeing a dead person, which made him reevaluate the world he had stepped into.
On their way there, he asked what would happen to the beasts and the person's body they had left and he was told he did not have to worry. She had called someone to take care of them. He was disappointed that he did not at least take a souvenir from the first beasts he had killed.
"Hey there, little one."
A voice rang out from his back as he was watching on as they danced. He looked over and saw a lady he knew.
"Sazi?"
He asked. He looked at her hand and saw the missing finger. It confirmed that she was who he thought she was. It was the nurse that he had crushed her finger when he was born. Unfortunately, they could not heal it.
"Look at how much you have grown. She said hugging him.
"Wait, you are now a...?"
He asked. She was wearing traditional clothes only a witch would wear, with pearls hanging from her neck and around her wrists.
"Yes, the ancestors have called me and I have answered their call. Seems my ability to see cursed people was an ability after all. I am now an Apprentice."
She said proudly. Nolamine was surprised and happy for her. As they talked, he was more than happy that he got his memories back. Remembering all the people he was meeting was fulfilling.
One thing he was curious about though was the fact that he could not see one person. Frogs was nowhere to be found and when he asked about him they would tell him that it was not their place to say.
They sat down and were brought food and that was when his eyes went wide...
"Beautiful..."
He said out loud reflexively, his teenage brain reacting on its own.
A girl as old as he was, was serving him food and she was as the word implied, 'Beautiful'.
She had beautiful black afro-like hair, her skin light-brown with no blemishes, and her eyes, her eyes were of different colors, one pink and the other a shade of green. Her face and body were decorated with white paint for the occasion, supplementing beauty with elegance that bordered on mysterious.
She laughed and left after giving him his plate of food.
"Love at first sight, is it? Even though it is not your first time seeing her. That's, Nala. You should remember her. You used to play with her and Frogs."
Sazi said. Nolamine remembered a young girl they used to play with, but she was nothing like the girl he had seen. She would always be in the background of his memories.
"She is a seer. An Apprentice under the Fourth."
She said, taking a drink from a jar that was being passed around.
'A seer?'
Nolamine asked himself as he saw her drinking, with her face turning sour like what she was drinking was bitter. She passed it on to Nolamine and as soon as he put it to his mouth a shoe came flying in, hitting him on his cheek and making him drop the jar and fall back.
It was Mi-sun. She was on the other side and was eyeing him like she was saying not on my watch. The whole of the people that were there laughed. The contents of the jar had spilled onto him and he knew what it was, just that he wanted to try it and go with the flow. It seemed he had to wait until Mi-sun was not around to be mischievous.
The night raged on and many were getting drunk. It was when the stories they told would get interesting and wild. Sazi who was sitting next to Nolamine at the time was reminiscing about the past but with concern for Mi-sun.
"How is she doing?"
She asked Nolamine.
"She is doing fine. Still as feisty as ever though."
"Well, that's our Chihuahua."
She said, making Nolamine show his evil smile as it seemed he had just got a juicy little nickname.
"Hah, she would complain about everything when she lived with us, just like how a Chihuahua would bark all the time."
Nolamine laughed till he could not breathe. By the time he was finished, Sazi had a sad face.
"It is good that she has you. Each of us has to sacrifice something in order to have some little bit of power. Even though she was the one who begged and cried to your mother to train her, not being able to have children is something cruel."
She said, taking the laughter out of him. She looked at Nolamine and saw that he did not know what she was talking about, but since he was in the village and that he would eventually find out, she chose to tell him. They all knew that he was there in order to go to their Guardian and go to where his mother came from. The Grand Witch had told them that they would be returning.
"In order to use mana from the other world, she had to absorb a Beast Core from that side, making her able to pull in the mana into her body and use it by saying keywords to determine the use of it and giving that use a name."
She said.
'So, that is what she is doing when saying her incantations?'
He thought.
"That is how those like her fight, but with them having absorbed a foreign substance into their body, having kids would be impossible."
He was more than surprised. He looked at Mi-sun who was trying her best to dance but resembling a deer on two legs trying to move. She acted like his mother, even though she was away most of the time. At that moment, he appreciated her more and the efforts she took to keep him safe.
"You would have known eventually. I say this because I see a mother's love in her for you. Best you know the things she has sacrificed to keep you safe."
She said. He had just met her and she was exactly as in his memories, always scolding him. At some point he even thought it was because he had crushed her finger.
"Let's dance, Prodigal son."
A girl's voice sounded out. It was Nala, her hand stretched out to him. He instantly took it, not wanting to ever let it go, making Nala laugh again.
"So, you have returned."
She said with a bright smile that turned his legs to jello, making him dance like a wiggly worm. She was the first one to make him feel that way... like not himself. Even more, he could not look into her eyes.
"On top of the tall tree, on the third day of your rebirth, do not sleep under the scarlet moon's light."
She whispered to him, him feeling her whispers resonating with his soul. He jumped back and looked at her. She had whispered in a voice so low one would think the wind was playing trick on you.
'Beautiful...'
That's all his mind could compute even after having his soul shaken, making him forget what she just said. The wind had blown, making the embers from the fire scatter into the wind. His eyes perceived her moving in slow motion as they lit the background.
"What did you say?"
He said, trying to muster himself.
"Nothing, I just said that you are still as dreadful at dancing as ever."
She said with a smile.