The Black Panther (Discontinued)

Ororo's Letter ( New Chapter)

The journey took two days. During those two days to the city my mother fell deeply in love with this man. He shared stories of his childhood in Cai and how much he no longer wanted to be apart of that lifestyle. He taught her some of his language...simple phrases. She was absolutely enthralled by him and he was amazed by her. By the time they reached the city, they were already making plans to explore the world together. Many say nothing good happens over night....but this was the exception. They fit together like pieces of a puzzle. When they returned, my mother was scolded for leaving. My mother didn't care about the backlash and insisted  that the outside world wasn't as scary as they believed it to be. She insisted that people were nice and giving.

" The illness you've been dealing with can be fixed with a simple procedure grandfather ", she argued. After learning so much about modern medicine, she realized all of the things that her family didn't have to go through if they hadn't been so stubborn.

" This isn't about simplicity, this is about tradition. This is about culture ! I don't want to hear another word about this WESTERNIZED AFRICA! He is to leave TONIGHT ! ", her grandfather/ the chief demanded. My mother was heartbroken and devastated. She'd cried all day long just thinking about being away from him. Him appearing in the village 3 months ago was the most exciting thing to ever happen to her. Her brother heard her crying and comforted her.

" The world is yours Onkoya ", he whispered to her. He encouraged her to leave and to find whatever she was looking for out of this life.

" But...but our family ", Okoya sniffled.

" You will always have a home here, no matter how angry they are ", he smiled. She declined this. She insisted that she had to stay here because leaving would be betrayal. He brother whispered words to her she'd never forget.

" Many of us are held down by invisible chains. Many of us have more choices than we believe. Many of us think of what we have to do instead of what we want to do. Live for yourself. All you have to do is start walking ", he patted her back and left their tiny stone home.

Those words rang in her ears all night. She'd heard the mans plane start in the distance. She ran into the forest thinking he'd left but he hadn't. He stood by his plane watching the plane finally start to work after such a long while of it being dormant. The man walked over to her and said his goodbyes, holding her hand to his cheek.

" I'll hold you in my heart Onkoya ", he said. She cried from his farewell and just before he was about to leave, he kissed her. In that moment Onkoya...my mother knew. She knew she was leaving with him the moment they touched. She knew her destiny right then and there. She left with that man that night.

She didn't know this man's name until the night they left together. He revealed to her that he went by the name " Kyle" short for Kyle tali Atsu. He was the Duke of Cai and fled his country to explore the world. He was tired of the lifestyle and wished to finally be a " Free man". They spent the next few weeks traveling the world together and sometimes hotel hopping for the fun of it. The next thing she knew, they'd been traveling for almost a year. Kyle made his last stop in Egypt where they finally settled down. By now they were deeply in love and planning to get married. They found a nice house to live in with a lot of land. They had cows, chickens and even two little pigs. After they got married they had me right away. I was born in the summer time, the first day of summer to be exact. My home was loving and my dad would always take me swimming in the pond behind our house. He even let me feed the chickens every morning. My mom cooked every single day...I think she was quite possibly the best cook in the world.

When I was ten years old a plane crashed into our home and I was the only one who survived. I held onto that grief for a long time and it led me to do bad things. I roamed the streets of Egypt for three years picking pockets and working for criminals until Charles Xavier found me and took me in. He raised me into the woman I am. He taught me how to harness my powers and encouraged me to be the best version of myself. I've had a fufiling life, I've seen many things, done many things and helped those in need. I've won metals and held the keys to many cities. My work is coming to an end and I'm not sad. I'm not sad because I know that somehow when I pass....what's inside me will come into you.

The reason why my parents stories are so important is because it teaches us that sometimes your destiny is in arms reach but you just have to reach out and take it. Yes my mother died, but she died happy. She died after finally exploring the world her village taught her to fear. My mother always felt guilty about never returning to her family but when I came into my powers I was able to restore what was broken. Once the Kulati saw me, they told me that they had forgiven her the moment she left. That's how I got my name...the goddess of the Serengeti.
You've also probably realized by now that you and I are cousins. Chances are you never got to meet your Uncle Kyle. My father left Cai behind because he no longer wanted people bowing to him. He'd always told me he was never meant to be highborn. Ever since I was little he'd say " There's honor in the little people Ororo" .

After I did some digging on my father's side of the family tree, it became clear to me that the people of Cai's melting pot of cultures came from a great migration and colonization. A huge herd of people from Eastern/West Africa was forced to live else where. Despite all those things, Cai is rich in history and cultural differences. It took me a long while to go down our family tree but then I found something interesting. Because of both of our father's ancestry and cultural mixing, if you go back far enough you'll find a tribe of  women with white hair and blue eyes. These people were believed to have powers. Do you know what these means ? We come from ancient African priestesses. Only girl children carry this trait/gene. With the help of Mr.Charles I learned that this gene is hereditary and sometimes it skips a few family members before it lands on a baby girl. Our powers are awakened either by catastrophic events, accidents, danger, fear and sometimes we are born with it. I'm not sure how your powers came to you but don't let anyone tell you different. Those powers were put on your for a reason and they will serve you to help people in need. Your powers will help you defeat the corrupted power of Cai. You will free the little people.

When your job is done you will know. Your powers will pass onto your daughter, or your daughters daughter and so on. I knew what my destiny was: to lead the X-men at one point, help people, empower women, make paths for the little people. Now you must find your destiny. What will you use your powers for ? It's only up to you. You do what you feel is best for you. I have faith in you sister. Though are parents were siblings I feel it is only right to call your my sister. Nobody else in the world could possibly know what it feels like to be me other than you...that makes us sisters. Despite my time almost being up, I have faith in you. Treat your powers with care. You have a bit of claustrophobia. People who have our gifts do not do well in tight spaces and we become a danger to others.

I hope you get everything you want out of this life. I hope you find a man who isn't threatened by you. I hope you are loved, FULLY. I have someone and his name is Logan. He won't even see me because he can't look at me without crying. I understand his pain but he's yet to realize that he can love again. Love has no limited number. We love all the time in many different ways. There's a life for him after me. I haven't cried yet and I don't think I will. Though my cheeks sink and my hair thins I'm still very much a Queen and always will be. I hope you find yourself, I hope you find happiness. I hope that others accept you for who you are. I hope you one day learn how to control the weather on other planets (It takes years of practice so don't feel bad if you never do ). Most of all I hope you accept yourself for who you are. I'm always watching you Sister. Even when you don't think I'm there, I am there. I'm watching you from the sky.

                                               With love,
                                                          Ororo Munroe Atsu

  
Date: 9/30/01