Gifts Given By the Ocean can also be taken back.
After the death of the Village Head, estranged cousins Mandeeq and Shermake reunite at their Grandfather's funeral where their fathers fight over who would be the Heir to the village. With tensions ru...
Gar iyo geeri loo siman ~Death and justice affect all men equally
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MANDEEQ
If Mandeeq had to choose who her favourite people in the world were — even if she'd never admit it out loud for the sake of sparing feelings — it would indubitably have to be her grandparents, and her father, not necessarily in that order. The three people in the world who seemed to see her, and actually hear her, and take her seriously.
Her favourite memory of her grandfather was from a chilly November morning, and being gently shaken awake from her sleep as a child. Mandeeq awoke to his smile. He shushed her, grinning from ear to ear, and she instantly smiled back. "Get dressed," he whispered. "Don't tell your mother." That was enough to launch her out of bed.
Awoowe did this often, sneaking her out of the house to join him on his morning walks throughout the village. Hooyo didn't like it as Mandeeq should be at home preparing breakfast for everyone but she loathed making canjeelo. It was so time consuming and in the time it took her to finish breakfast, she could've made three new tools at the shop.
They scurried across their hallway and through the front gates, sunlight barely breaking over the horizon. Mandeeq remembered thinking about how different the air felt this early in the morning, and how lucky she was to be here with her grandfather. She asked him where they were going, and he told her they were going to the sea. Mandeeq remembered the seawater smelled different that morning, too. A tad more sweeter than she was used to.
"Grandpa," she started, as he began rowing farther and farther away from the shore. She liked the way the boat rocked, even if it made her a little seasick. It was as if she was being cradled. "What are we going to do if the mermaids find us?" Mandeeq had never seen one close before and she wasn't sure if she wanted to.
She was really curious about them but the tales that would be told to kids about the mermaids held her back.
He didn't seem phased. "Greet them, the same way we do our neighbours," he replied.
He paused, thoughtfully. "They are our neighbours."
"Hooyo says they're bad." Hooyo often lectured her about going too close to the shore unless she was with an adult.
He didn't respond, but chuckled, and shook his head in the gentle, and patient way that she would grow to love more than she did then. His laugh was disarming, and she felt that it meant that he knew something that she didn't. However, he never came off as arrogant, as most men in power were.
Even if Mandeeq didn't have a quarter of his restraint, she still loved him to the moon and back for his qualities. No one was as patient as her grandfather, so it only made sense for him to have as much authority as he did in their town.
Being next to him oftentimes made her feel like a celebrity, whenever they ambled through the marketplace; a dozen voices vying for his attention, a moment of his time, a piece of advice. She would never know how he had the patience or the time for any of it, especially because he attended to each voice, with equal care and attention to every one. Awoowe was a gentle breeze on a hot day and everyone gravitated towards him. He was a natural born leader and no village chief would ever be the same as him.
