When I was born, my mother took one look at me and sighed; worriedly.
'She's .... So spirited,' said the village healer who helped in my birth. She looked very surprised.'I can see that, and it worries my heart.' My mom replied with a bitter smile. She took me into her gentle arms and caressed my body with her rough hands from all the farming she had grown up doing.
My mother was a peasant in the kingdom of Pidah. Like everywhere else, this kingdom was divided into classes i.e. the royal class and the peasant class. The peasants had to work in the fields and provide ninety percent of their produce to the royals at the time of harvesting.It would be very hard for a peasant to cross into the royals, except when you were spirited. Different people got different spirits.
Like the spirit of love, fortune, ruling, food, health etc.These spirited individuals were kept within the palace to help rule the kingdom. They would advise the king on what to do according to their sights.This was a world with magic and fantasy. With some special features believed to be the embodiment of holy and others devil. Though, they were rare.It was a big world, one I didn't know where it began or where it ended.
Legends say that gods inhabited it first. They later ascended, to where? I also don't know. But we are told that it's to a happy place. After they ascended, they left remnants of their souls; they called them spirits.We were told that these gods also had the ability to take on human forms when descending. They would come incognito to check on us, their children without notice. But no one has ever seen one.
Or so we were told.These spirits manifested mostly in children at the age of ten, though some had them earlier or later. But never one like me. Never one, at their birth.When my mom found out she was pregnant, she had a plan to keep it a secret from my dad. You ask me why? Well it could be because my dad forced himself on her, or maybe because my dad was the Prime minister of the kingdom and she was just a mere peasant. One of those could be viable.
But I would never know. Because she left before I could say a word.Some say she died, I believe she's not dead. Just a bit lost. Trying, to find her way back to me.Her memory in my head is still faint.
But I can still make faint traces of how she looked like in my head.Her hair was naturally light brown in color but powdered with a little black. It was nappy and she wore it in a pony tail that made her mane glorious. She had a wide forehead that accentuated her beauty.
But years and hard work had taken a toll on her body. She was thin and always looked a bit tired. You wouldn't expect her to look like the royals of course. They had everything to beautify themselves. Her memory lives rent free in my head. I keep it sacred. Because she's my god. At least to me.
Asking your self how they would know that a child is spirited? Well they would have extra ordinary features on their bodies.For example, for a prince to be crowned a crown prince, he was supposed to have two umbilical cords. Some had twigs growing in their hair, some had two irises in their eyes, some had completely white hair, and some had six fingers on a hand instead of five.
There were many kinds.And the earlier you were spirited the stronger you would be.When I was born, mom took me into her hands and gently touched my thick brown hair that was the color of the soil. In it there were some light green twigs growing directly from my scalp. That was how they identified that I was spirited.
Contrary to what most believe, these twigs were truly directly growing from my scalp and not wrapped around my hair.Imagine how that is. Being born with a potential tree rivaling your hair for growth directly from the head.
My kingdom was funny; I have seen women get married to snakes in search of spirits, men having coitus with dangerous animals to show their pride and ability. I mean, I thought all those animals were supposed to be tamed, not defiled but well, I don't male rules around here.I stayed with my other for a full year before we were separated. But within that one year, we were always moving from one place to another. It was like she was always running from something.
One day, when I was about to make a year, I was playing with mud in front of our hut when I noticed a man standing in before me. He came in front of me, looked at me closely.
He was a tall dark skinned man, with hair growing into locs flowing up to his upper back. It looked so luscious and neat. He had an air of authority to him. He was mugged with a well built and firm body. He had a keen resemblance to me. This was the Prime minister, my father.
"OH, she is the real deal."
He said to the other man next to him who looked like he was his attendant.
He picked me up and said."Let me take you to your new home Sheja, it's better than this rundown. After all, she can't take care of you anymore.
She is dead."Since I was dirty, the attendant looked at me disgustingly and offered to take me from my father's hands.
But dad pulled away giving him a nasty looked that made him back down. He put his hands in my hair, feeling the little twigs in my head.
"Oh, she is going to make a great queen. And the best thing is that she is my daughter. But I wonder if my wife will accept her. Let's go home Sheja."