Curse Breaker

I remember that first rush. The thick wild scents of fruits, flowers, leaves, and animals, together yet separate, brushing in the air as we explored the dense forest.

Like a huge drum, its thunderous beat reaching out, my heart pounded faster in my chest. I felt alive. Felt as though this was a home I had lived in. A home I had somehow known before. A home that needed me.

A gun tucked in his hip to protect me he said, and with two of his dogs trailing behind us, I felt safe. On the footpath, we could see evidence that wild animals roamed there. The large python skins made my skin crawl though. It’s like they came to shed on the very spots we were exploring.

But with such a handsome man for company, I felt brave and safe. Like a lead in a lustrous 80s jungle Hollywood blockbuster with the closing scene our very hot kiss. I had tried to dress to impress too. A pair of sexy ankle-length camo cargo pants hugging my hips and a light green low crop top revealing just a little bit of my belly button ring. I intended to tantalise and finally have this man in my tight grip. Well, and to garner those numerous likes on Instagram too I’ll admit. He was after all a gifted photographer based on his portfolio.

From up in the villa, the scene was a mega masterpiece. Mist from the waterfall rose above the forest early morning. At the right angle, you could see a faint rainbow beneath it when the sun shone.

From up there, you could see monkeys swinging from tree to tree munching on wild bananas, and singing birds flapping away, perching from branch to branch. At the foot of the forest, you knew snakes slithered and rabbits hopped.

In his compound was a lush garden manicured to perfection with cultivated fruits and vegetables at the further end. Its gateway, a live fence with an arch for an entryway that made you feel as though you were being teleported to a magical kingdom when you went through it. If I had ever imagined a garden of Eden, this was it.

He said he tendered to it himself. That being in nature, playing with the soil made him feel alive. And seeing it firsthand that first week at the villa I had stopped denying it.

We had so much in common. Right from the start, we were a match.

What a life this would be! I couldn’t help but imagine myself as the posh woman of the estate, tending to a raised garden and selling the produce, this time as a lifestyle and not because I needed to do this to survive.

Alphonso was well built and had a farmer's tan which married well with the persona he put out. In the beginning, never would I have guessed that he was a wealthy heir living in the lushest neighbourhood in Mrasilia.

I was madly in love with this man who had been a supplier of farm fresh fruits and veggies at my stall at the farmers market. He usually came driving an old green rusted truck and insisted that I pay him after I had sold the produce. His prices weren’t bad either which gave room for a good markup. Because of his business, I was able to buy my first truck. It helped me transport my goods from my farm in comfort.

And later when we walked on nature trails and he took pictures of me, he paid me a percentage when the image from his portfolio was selected for a project. My life had improved so much ever since I had met him. He was so kind and fair. And he was always out to build me.

“ I will never hurt you. I need you in my life whole,” he constantly told me.

“ All the people living in Laguisia are cursed,” I remember my great-grandma saying, “ All of them! And all those who benefit from them. They turn into animals when they die. That’s why that place has been having so many monkeys lately.”

A decades-long court case of the Kabrao tribe against landowners had just been concluded with the latter winning. The Kabrao claimed that a portion of the sacred land of their ancestors going thousands of years had been grabbed by the elite, converted into coveted plots, and turned into a posh estate only benefiting the haves. This they said cut the links to their gods bringing sorrow and chaos to their lives.

Landowners produced title deeds, detailed agreements, and financial statements. The tribal chiefs' only words.

The tribe stood no chance. Even with mass public outcry which quickly died down giving way to another talked about scandal. But this didn’t stop stories of the so said curses that many including my grandmother talked of.

They now called the forest Laguisia Sanctuary, a non-profit funded through donations managed by the Friends of Laguisia. The general public was allowed free entry in the weekend to explore and experience its nature with security of course. But this was just a carefully crafted PR move aimed at bringing down the heat.

On weekdays, only workers and a selected few were allowed in, Alphonso now the owner of the property bordering the sanctuary being one of them. That’s how we got to enjoy our regular calming nature trail walks.

I had told Alphonso about the words from my great grandma on the very first day we got back from our nature walk.

He laughed it off.

“ I wonder which animals my great grandfather, grandpa, and pa are in this forest. They were great men and I’d love to have a chat with them. Maybe even go on another trail walk with them. Your family is true Kabrao. Was your great grandma not a Saatio you said..?”

I laughed too of course. I didn’t believe in curses. Even though I had come from a long line of tribal healers with staunch beliefs. Times were different now. But having lived there for a few years now, there was no doubt that the land we lived in had been grabbed from the forest. Snails crawling into the house during the rainy seasons, monkeys swinging in the windows, wildflowers sprouting in gardens, numerous snake skins in the garden… was more than enough proof. The wild claimed its territory. It was clear.

But the large python skins were what got to me the most. The more I lived there, the more frequent the shedding.

“ You live near nature. What do you expect?” my friend Muti usually commented when I complained.

Mother was not as practical.

“ Why do they come to shed in his garden? That should be the question!” she told me once.

She had not approved of our relationship and I didn’t work hard to obtain the approval from her. She had been critical of me and my choices since my teenage hood. This didn’t seem to be any different.

Once every few weeks, Alphonso would have me spend the weekend at his town apartment.

He said his extended family would come over for a get-together to discuss family business and that my ancestry was an issue to some of the older folks. They said our line was that of witches wishing bad on those who had worked hard to obtain their wealth.

Alphonso reassured me that once we got married and even had a child, these opinions would die out as the union would not just be legal but united by lineage. He just wanted to protect me from their bad vibes by asking me to stay away. He didn’t want anyone or anything to jeopardize our love.

I bought it. Muti didn’t.

“ That lying bastard! He could be cheating, bringing his girls over during these times. You really don’t know men, do you? You can’t believe such a good-looking Mr. I care about you wealthy guy has just you. All that glitters is not gold! Remember?” she burst out.

That’s how we hatched the plan to sneak in and hide in the attic when Alphonso had dropped me off and driven to the airport to pick up some of his relatives. I needed to be sure.

And like Alphonso had said, later that evening, from above we could see him coming into the house three elderly men behind him as more family members arrived after them. Inside we could hear the merry. Muti’s theory had been disproven.

With our snacks in hand after several munches and creeping boredom, we decided to sleep on the bed I had laid out prior as part of the plan. When the family went on the nature trail early the next morning as Alphonso said they usually did, we would sneak out.

But my sleep was disrupted in the dead of the night by what sounded like sharp hisses that seemed to come from the garden. I shook Muti waking her up.

“ Listen…” I whispered pointing outside, “ Snakes…”

She tried to find her bearing. After a few minutes, she said she could hear a voice.

I could also now hear it. In the dark and silent night, up in the attic Alphonso’s voice was amplified.

“ I have done everything right so far Father. She just needs to marry me now and then we will have the child. You know I can’t rush everything as it would seem too suspicious. The seer said she has to believe it’s love for it to work.”

I felt a huge knot in my stomach. Muti held my hand. I could feel her shaking.

Several hisses followed before we heard Alphonso’s voice again.

“ I know ... I know. The more you shed the more the curse consumes your soul. And like I told you it’s only a few more months now. In less than two years the child will already be here. Then I can bring it and one of you can swallow it to see whether it will lift the curse as the seer said. If it works we can repeat it until all three of you are free. And then we can move on to the next stage. Hopefully, this will not be my fate after death. I don’t want it to be. That’s why I searched so long for her. And put in all this work all these years.”

More hisses followed as other voices that must have been from the guests discussed the matter.

“ Again, again I know. I have been very careful this time. The first two didn’t work. I know she is our last chance,” came Alphonso’s voice.

I could no longer hear what they were saying. It all came as ringing in my ears as I counted each second to daylight. I didn’t think I needed to hear more. I didn’t know whether I could handle it. And the hissing made my skin curl.

As each second passed, I feared what would happen to us if we were found out.

Muki was shaken to a point of no return. I had to slap her and drag her out of the house when I heard the door shut early in the morning, a sign that the party was on their way to the nature trail.

We sneaked out through the back entrance. I cannot tell you how we did it. Even though I could see a purple butterfly guiding my path. Was it my ancestors saving us, or was I imagining it? We didn’t even jump in celebration when we did.

I have never laid my eyes on Alphonso since. He must have known I discovered his secret as he didn’t chase me. After all, based on his words, the curse would be lifted if and only if I remained in the dark.

“ I will never hurt you. I needed you whole. Till the next step.” That was the last message he sent me.

I do not believe the hurt part. Or the whole.

I told my mother I caught him cheating and called things off. I have a feeling she did not believe me based on the looks my grandmother gave me and the amulet she tied to my wrist strictly instructing me never to remove it.

Muti will not discuss the events of that night with me. I doubt she will ever tell anyone. Is she safe? I worry for her.

Shaken to my core, I doubt I will ever attempt to date again. And too blinded to see, I think about all the signs I ignored right from the start.

So far it’s been silence. My head races as I wonder what step he will take next. And when.

When I close my eyes, all I hear is a tick, then a tock.

Can I defeat slithering pythons?