Please listen to music linked with chapter
I stopped reading and looked up at him remembering what the letter said on the front.
" Actually I think I'll read it when we get back. She told me to read it alone so I think that's what I'll do. Those are her wishes ", I told T.
" Understood ", he nodded.
After our dinner date we went back to the loft. I sat in the bathtub with the letter having a soak. I figured now was the perfect time to read it since I was alone now.
————-
" My Dearest Harper, I know you might feel frightened but you have no reason to be. I'm closer to you than you think. You and I have shared an invisible bond for a long time. I am very sick and I'm getting worse but I'm not afraid. In my dreams you are my comfort and solace. I started dreaming of you 6 months ago. I've seen your face as clear as day. There isn't a detail I've missed in my drawings. For awhile I didn't understand the significance of your existence but I found answers. I'll start from the very beginning.
My mother came from a tribe known as the Kulati. Our tribe was raped and conquered once, just like Cai & just like Cai, every Kulati person had a similar look. After the colonizers left and died out of Kulati, the people of Kulati were afraid of the outside world. Over time the people in this tribe started to look like one another and visiting the outside world was forbidden. For a long time they stayed inside this deserted part of Kenya, not daring to find out what the world had to offer. My mother Princess Onkoya, was the most daring woman I'd ever met. She knew that outside of her village there was a big world waiting for her. I attribute my braveness and courage to her. Our tribe had warriors that would hunt and gather for the women and children in the village. One day a strange man was found in the forest with a big broken air plane. To the Kulati, this airplane seemed like some evil man made machine. They'd seen these machines fly above the village before. Believed to be evil, they'd shoot arrows and bows at it as it flew by. The Kulati believed that every part of the outside world was evil and plagued with dark spirts and illness. When they found this man they realized he was injured and needed help. Many of the men wanted to shoot him to end his suffering. They didn't want to bring this man back to the women and children. My mothers brother being brave like his sister, felt sorry for this man. He convinced the chief of the tribe (my grandfather) to let him into the village and get nursed back to help. It was a miracle for the chief to even allow this man to come back but he approved. The warriors brought him back to the village and though scared, the women treated his wounds from the plane crash.
There was one woman in particular who cared for him the most - my mother. She tended to his wounds, held his head for him to drink and fed him with her hands. As this man started to gain awareness of his surroundings and became stronger he'd always ask for the woman with the braids to her hips, my mother. When he was strong enough for conversation she'd ask him about the outside world. This man revealed that he was royalty, from a place called Cai. He'd been touring Africa and soon planned to head to Egypt. He wanted to see what more the world had to offer as well, he was an adventurer. My mother was intrigued by this.
The people of the village grew to tolerate this man and let him stay until he found a way back. When he was healed he'd sleep in his plane and worked in the forest to stay out of people way. He started to repair his plane and every night that he fixed this plane my mother would join him. This man could speak her native language and he knew many languages. He'd teach her the names of different tools and would ask for her help by handing him tools. She was so captured with this plane that she asked to ride it when it worked.
It took him 3 months to repair his plane but he was missing one thing, aviation fuel. He would have to find a way to the city which was a ways away, in order to buy this fuel. He had a lot of money to buy this fuel so that wasn't the problem. He figured if he walked far enough he could catch rides along the way and eventually he'd be in the city. When my mother realized how long it would take this man to get to the city, she wanted to go with him badly. She'd always wondered what else was out there. She asked her village to go with him but they insisted that a man should accompany him on his journey. She went with him anyway, sneaking out with him during the dead of the night.
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