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Annabel is a name my mother loved since childhood. She would tell me ,"the meaning of the name ain't what people know but what was born in it. Her 4th great grandmum's name was Anna. She later birthed a son who was later nicknamed bells for his love in repairing and polishing bells especially church bells.
The son later was blessed at oldage with a daughter whom he thought was God's reward towards his service in church hence giving her the name marryAnn, Mary the mother of Jesus, Ann her mother's name since the mother died the day his daughter was born . He would say that his daughter was a reincarnation of his mother. Something happened during baptism when she was undressed to be baptized. He noticed a birthmark that was bell shaped on her right shoulder and he fell in shock.He rose on his two feet a moment later like something was woke inside him,in realization of what God wanted him to do.Immediately he shouted "bells" Gods chosen one.Bells! will be her third name" !
He took the baby himself, dipped her in water , raised her towards the cross in front of the church as he murmured something only him could understand and recited a quote in the bible as his dedication to God for the blessings. "Thee I offer the only fruit of my oldage and the choosen seed from God to you son of God as a dedication and a sacrifice to polish and wash all weaknesses in churches, sins in the world and corruption in your altars . Let's her children and the children of her children follow the pursuit of what you've started."
Suddenly a glorious light illuminated every Conner of the church and everyone inside fell to their knees as they praised, prayed and promised to protect the lineage,while a certain man became blind after the light and people said his family was chosen as the protector family, as his eyes openned at the first sound of the ringing bell on the seventh day. It was named the light family.
I would always listen to these stories again and again until I couldn't listen anymore. But one thing that was so clear that the story could be true was the birthmark I had on my right shoulder. It was passed through the female blood line of the family. My mother would oftenly cover the birthmark with temporary colors , clothes and would say "it shouldn't be exposed for the world to see." Her stories became bedtime stories even at my small age i couldn't comprehend the meaning of the stories but she would repeat again and again till I remembered every line.
"Why didn't you call me marryann bells" I would ask. I was curious at what point the name changed to Annabel. "The world started growing and the names started changing too, and no young girl would carry the name bells. " She would say. My great grandmother changed the name bells to bella. When I was little my mother told me the stories too"she briefly stated.
Something happened that pushed my mother into restoring the old name but still hid it in the modern world. Hence the name 'Annabel' without 'mary'.
"What happened to grandma?" I remember asking my mother . Why don't we have any other relatives but us ? " " They are all gone . They were persecuted! And no one should know about this!she would insist.I would stop her when it got scary. I couldn't bear the weight of her words and the stories she told ,living to look over my shoulder every single minute of my life fearing someone would take my life.
As I grew older, the stories stopped and I forgot about them thinking they were just stories since every child had stories they got from their parents.
Maribel, was my mother's name,the 7th generation from the original Anna lineage. She was a woman in her mid 50's, beautiful, intelligent, confident , protective and loving.Beautiful is understatement compared to what she really looked. Her velvet voice, feminine features that were bold and evident some women were created not just made, her long black hair with her light skin tone were nothing short of work of art. So many men in the community wanted to court her but she would respectfully turn them down in their first encounter. My father was forced to come down to the village away from work to keep these suitors away from her. Yes, I come from a very small village in the Eastern part of new valley,a small town where everyone knows everyone ,hundreds of kilometers away from the city.
We lived as a family of three and sometimes of two since my dad used to travel alot. He joined us when I was 7 years, an age where I could tell beans from nut. Growing up with both parents to teenagehood taught me so much more than school did. I got all kinds of provisions any child would ask for but was taught how to fish them before I got them.i was so rich in terms of confidence, self esteem, wisdom and also in knowledge. Transitioning from being a village girl to a city girl was alittle difficult but I caught up well so first. I had always wanted to join a collage in the city and my parents encouraged me to apply for one of the best colleges in the city because I needed to broaden my wings." You need to go out there and see the world . You can't grow when you are always on your Mama's lap. My mother would encourage.
I love my mother , and I love her to this day. I would call her a few times a day, maybe all days in a week and still I would feel lost without her. Adjusting to the life in the city without her made me feel like the best part of me was left with her. I know, she taught me to be hard and to fish for myself wherever I am since she wouldn't be present forever ,but still everything in me needed her.