by AA Lee
As they walked closer to the bridge, Kenda saw that the cat was right; the bridge was surrounded by trash. It was as putrid as the riverbank, and she hadn’t seen anyone crossing the bridge whilst they had been approaching it, which seemed out of character for the town on account of how busy the streets usually were.
Kenda looked around and picked up a stick as long as her arm.
She looked around and found an arm-length rod. She remembered that it was called an iron rod because the townspeople who visited her village once a year to attend the annual fiesta would often carry cement and iron rods. It was a huge event in their village, and a commemorative house had been built in the center of Daa for the townspeople to stay in. The house itself did not really impress Kenda because it was small, especially when compared to her Uncle Goni’s house. The main difference was that it was stronger, mainly due to the use of iron rods in its construction. The iron rod was one of the strongest materials she had ever seen, and Kenda and the other kids had often tried to bend one to see who was the strongest.
Kenda swung the iron rod as if to hit someone. It was heavy, but she was able to carry it because she was used to carrying logs for firewood.
As they approached the arch of the bridge, Kenda noticed that the soil under the highest part was a darker color, indicating that rain was able to reach it. Lucy walked toward the lower part of the bridge, and, by the dim light, Kenda saw that the soil was getting drier, paler, and dustier.
Kenda jumped when a dog started barking. It was swiftly joined by several others and, in a minute, the place sounded like a battlefield. As she looked around her, Kenda saw about a dozen stray dogs gathered nearby, their backs arched and the hairs on their necks standing. Kenda stood still, not wanting to fight. She just stood there, waiting for the barking to die down, the iron rod held by her side. Her strategy was correct, and the dogs slowly stopped barking after sensing that she didn’t mean them any harm.
Beneath the lowest part of the arch was a dark place which looked like a cave. It looked like the builders had made a storage room when they built the bridge. She started walking toward it.
Lucy climbed onto Kenda’s shoulder upon seeing that she was not going to change her mind, settling there like a bird. Luckily, the cat was so thin that Kenda’s shoulder was big enough for her to rest there.
A deep growl made Kenda stop in her tracks. The growl was different from what she had heard so far. It sounded like it belonged to something much bigger. Her hand gripped the iron rod tightly, but she refrained herself from raising it.
A loud bark made Kenda’s skin crawl. The dogs all around her started barking in answer, but Kenda did not stop walking. Brown eyes stared angrily at her, but still she did not stop. The dog came out from its hiding place, and it was larger than any dog she had ever seen, its height almost as tall as Kenda’s waist. She understood why Lucy had called it ‘the king of dogs.’ The leader of the pack barked again, as if issuing an order, and the smaller dogs barked louder, coming closer to Kenda.
Kenda looked around and realized that she had no exit point. She was surrounded by a dozen vociferous dogs, with the giant dog as their leader. The dogs came closer, the hairs on their backs raised. There was no point in trying to calm them down.
She raised the iron bar to defend herself and felt Lucy’s claws burrow into her skin. It was painful, but Kenda did not tell her to let go. Kenda swung the iron bar, but it jolted to a stop when the large dog bit it, almost as though it were a stick for it to play with. It discarded the stick and jumped to attack.
The dog tilted its head to the side in curiosity.
The smaller dogs immediately changed into their attack mode, hairs rising at the back of their necks.
Kenda sprinted, leaving the iron bar. Every bark made her heart beat faster. The dogs were determined to catch her, and they were not slowing down. If only the river was near, she thought. She veered to the right as she reached the smelly canal, barely able to stop herself from falling into it.
Water, she thought, and her feet stopped moving.
Time slowed down as if she controlled it. Seconds stretched into minutes as she commanded the water to rise. The water followed her command, waking up from its slumber in the dirty canal. It rose higher and higher, flowing toward Kenda’s hand.
Kenda’s words were calm but commanding.
The leader whimpered in fear and backed up. Its followers ran in fear of the water that hovered high in the air. The water was frozen in place, waiting for Kenda’s command.
Kenda motioned for the water to return to the canal, and it settled as though nothing had happened.
The dogs all wagged their tails in response.
Chapter 17
Nora
“I brought you some roast potatoes. I figured they would taste better than boiled ones, and they will also last a little longer.” Nora placed the bundle in front of Goni’s cell and undid the tie of the cloth wrapped around the potatoes.
> There was an awkward silence as she waited whether Goni would say thanks or not.
Goni uncrossed his legs and knelt. “I am really sorry about what happened.” He bowed his head. “I have caused so much trouble for our village.”
“Oh, you have no idea how much trouble you have caused, but why are you kneeling down? I’m not a spirit.” Nora shook her head and motioned for him to sit down. “We must pay back all that Jinja and his family have spent. And guess what? They’re asking for more than three times what I thought the wedding had cost.”
Goni clenched his fists. “Those evil bastards! You don’t know how rotten they are. Especially that two-faced Jinja.”
Nora shook her head. “Now I’m left wondering if this was really my fault for agreeing to this wedding in the first place. I shouldn’t have accepted that family for my granddaughter. If I hadn’t, we wouldn’t be in this mess right now.” Nora passed the roasted potatoes to Goni through the gaps in the wooden bars of the cell.
“Don’t blame yourself, High Priestess. You were trying to protect Kenda.” He sighed. “Just as I was—in my own way.”
“I do not resent you for it. I just didn’t understand in the beginning. But your actions showed me the beast that was trapped in Jinja’s kind face.”
“It wasn’t just because of Jinja. I am ashamed to tell you this, High Priestess, but even though you are my mother-in-law, I couldn’t trust you with the truth.”
Nora couldn’t blame him for not trusting her. She waited patiently for what her son-in-law had to confess.
“But now that I am sure all you did was out of love for Kenda, I think it is time to tell you everything so that you can help and protect her better.” Goni’s brows furrowed, as if in deep thought of what he was going to say. “To start with, I want to tell you that the dwindling number of women born each year is not just a coincidence.”
Nora straightened her back. What he just said was far from what she was expecting. She thought it was irrelevant, but gave him more time to speak.
“There is a curse on Daa and the other two villages.”
“A curse?” Nora couldn’t help but interrupt.
“Yes. One of the high priestesses of old cursed our settlements as a punishment to men. Through the use of her magic, she called for the number of female births to be reduced, intending for men to realize the importance of women. But its effect is backfiring. Instead of the men suffering, women are once again being made to suffer.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Goni! I think you’re imagining things because you’ve been here in this prison for too long.” Nora started fiddling with the sweet potatoes. Should I have visited him more often? Perhaps solitude is making him lose his mind.
“Think about it, High Priestess. Why did I help Kenda if I didn’t know about this curse? Why did I let this mess happen?”
“Well, I think you saw how unfit Jinja is for my granddaughter.”
“No, you’re wrong. I didn’t know that he intended to mistreat her before I started helping Kenda. I distanced myself from all politics and decisions in our village. You, as the high priestess, knew that. I would have kept quiet if it did not involve what I was tasked with.”
“You have a task?” She listened, unblinking as Goni told her about him being the protector of the Bringer of Equality.
“Wait, so hold on. You and your father knew about this, but no one else in the village?” Nora raised her brows in disbelief. “I can’t believe that I, as high priestess, didn’t know about this.”
“This task has been passed down in our family for hundreds of years. Only those born from our family through a spell, can preserve the memory of the curse and to answer the call of the Bringer of Equality when she comes forth to break it.”
“I’m sorry, but that is just ridiculous. If our villages are cursed, wouldn’t the one who cursed them want it to be known? Wouldn’t they want the people to know that judgment had been passed on them?”
“That is not the case in this. The high priestess who invoked the curse did so in extreme anger. Such was her anger that she made it more difficult to undo by having people forget about it. There were several versions I’ve heard about what happened but the most reliable one from my father was that she intended only one man to forget, but the curse somehow affected all the descendants in the three villages. The high priestess was young, and had no idea of the extent of her power. To counter the curse, the magicians and priestesses of the three villages worked together. They haven’t undone the curse, but they retrieved a prophecy from the afterlife. It is said that the Bringer of Equality will be born, powerful enough to undo the curse. So, Daa’s high priestess created a spell that would make her descendants remember the curse and the prophecy. They couldn’t make one for the whole village though. I am a descendant of that protector, and so the prophecy endures.”
“That is unlikely. The dead do not meddle with the living unless they are evil. Unless… this soul of the prophet is ready to disappear forever. Anyway, what does any of this have to do with Kenda?”
Goni’s eyes sparkled. “She is the only person who can break the curse. Kenda is the Bringer of Equality.”
Nora almost laughed. “Impossible! She does not have a gift.”
“She does. How do you think we survived the fall? She saved me. That was the second manifestation of her gift.”
“What? Kenda is gifted? That is impossible! I haven’t detected her ability to communicate with the dead.”
“That’s because her ability is not just restricted to communicating with the dead, and she has yet to master the art. As her power develops, she will eventually learn how to talk to souls.”
“What else can she do, then?”
“She can command nature.”
“That is unheard of. In what way will that stop the curse?”
“It was said that the Bringer of Equality must free women from the slavery of men, but the actual method for doing so was forgotten. The longer time passes, the more knowledge that is being passed on dwindles. The best thing we can do at this time is to help her and guide her and understand about magic... even though I don’t have such powers myself. I believe that, as the Bringer of Equality, she will be able to figure it out eventually.”
Nora sighed. “I don’t know what to make of this situation, Goni. First off, I want to believe you, but it is hard without having seen what Kenda can really do. And you know as well as I do that, even with my backing, people will also doubt the legitimacy of such a curse, and that Kenda is the one to stop it. The moment that she comes back here, she will either be sent back to this prison or turned over to Jinja.”
“That must not happen. She has to remain unmarried to undo the curse. That much is clear,” Goni said firmly.
“In that case, I will postpone looking for her. It should take at least two months to pay back Jinja’s family. That way, once the debt has been fully repaid, they will not ask for her when she returns. Speaking of which, I am having a really hard time coming up with the money. I have asked for help from every friend our village has and I’ve sold some things—trinkets and such—but I suspect I won’t be able to come up with the amount needed for the first payment at the end of this month.”
“I don’t know how much more you need, but I have something that will help you.” Goni looked at the gate, as if afraid that guards would hear him even though the prison was locked with magic this time.
“What right do I have to ask you for help when you’re here, unable to provide food for the nine children you have at home?”
“You don’t have to worry about that. Please keep this to yourself, but I have hidden gold. No one will find it unless I give them specific instructions as to how to find it. There should be more than enough to cover what you need.”
“Gold!” Nora’s eyes sparkled with surprise.
“Please keep your voice down, High Priestess. I don’t want others to find out about this. Please keep it to yourself until the day you need to pay
Datu Hula.”
Chapter 18
Kenda
Kenda and Lucy had been coming back to the riverbank every day for over a week, collecting tin cans and asking the river for fish. The bridge had become their home when they had failed to find a better place to stay, and Kenda’s attempts at finding an employer always ended in disappointment.
She was getting tired of eating fish and being afraid of running out of money. The nights were cold, and her clothes looked dirty and ragged. Without soap, she was also beginning to smell, even though she tried to take a bath with her clothes on every day. She couldn’t take her clothes off to wash them because she had no spares, and, regardless, the trash-infested river wasn’t really sanitary enough to clean either her body or her outfit. Potential employers had begun to avoid her purely because of how she looked. Kenda knew that she needed new clothes.
Kenda stopped for a while. She and Lucy had just finished yet another meal of fish, and they had begun heading back to the market. The cat had a point. But what could she ask?
Her eyes glowed with excitement as she said,
