Goodbye's were always the hardest thing for Maliha. Even though she had loved the past few years if her life moving from one goodbye to another, the bittersweet feeling still caught her off guard.
Rajal's weary face stared back at her, those ancient eyes telling her of the words his stubborn mouth would never mutter.
"I'll miss you Rajal," Maliha whispered as she pulled his bony body into her tight clasp, "but I know we will see each other again."
"Yes, we will my daughter," Rajal croaked, squeezing Maliha tightly before releasing her.
She turned to Tobi and embraced him tightly, quickly pecking his cheek. "I think I was always meant to return to you."
"Of course. Who else would tell you to face your fears, if not me?"
Maliha merely chuckled at his comment. Everyone had been telling her to face her fears but hearing it from Tobi had made something inside her click. She was resolved to find out her heritage. All her life she had been waiting for this moment and she wouldn't let her fear stop her from finally learning her truth.
They said their final goodbye just as the sun slowly crept over the tree line. The beautiful orange hues signified the beginning of a new chapter. Their journey ahead would be long and hard but Maliha was mentally and physically prepared for it.
She chucked her bag to Nkechi and then Swung Enzo onto her back. Maliha smiled at the faces of the few Feri tribespeoples who had come to wish them a safe journey before gripping a few vines in her hands and swinging their bodies to the ground. Enzo clung to her neck as she slid down the large tree until her feet were firmly on the ground. Sinking to her knees, she let Enzo climb down before gripping her back from Nkechi.
"Let's go, we have a long journey ahead."
Nkechi tilted her head in acquiescence before leading the way.
Their journey through the jungle was a lot smoother than their journey out of the Der Surjaz Land. Though the weather was unpredictable and often had wild storms late at night, Maliha found that the land they traversed through was much easier to navigate. The ground was flatter, and the heat of the day was not so stifling due to the high tree's that made it hard to decipher morning from the night. Instead of depending on the sunrise and nightfall, the small travelling party listened to their bodies. They had two intervals for respite during their waking hours and only slept when Enzo's yawning could be heard every other minute.
The further they travelled the smaller trees grew allowing for small peels of light to arm their skin. On their ninth day of travelling, they woke to a pink sunrise that had Enzo's mood brightened for the whole day. They could see clearly now and what a beautiful land it was, the plants were foreign to Maliha, growing in colours and shapes that she had never seen in all of her life. When she told Nkechi this her friend pointed to the mountains in the distance.
"You started your journey on those mountains and instead of heading Northwards I am assuming you headed south. You have only seen a small part of this world."
"How do you know so much?" Enzo queried, giggling as a small pink flower licked his finger.
"My nation has explored many lands as Dahara and we have drawn them down on maps."
"Maps? What are maps?" Maliha questioned, her brow knitting as she tried to pronounce the foreign word.
"They are drawings of the world as we know it. It holds all the tribes and where they are situated. That is how I know where the Nah Barros lands are."
Maliha's eyes lit up as she swung her bag around and rummaged through her supplies. "I have maps," she called proudly. "Look, I made these myself."
Nkechi gripped the animal skins in her hands as began reading over the markers Maliha had made. The words were ineligible to Nkechi but she understood what each picture meant.
"When I first started travelling I kept coming across the same part of the river and so I drew what I had seen so I knew when I was repeating myself "
"Very smart. I would say from your markers that the only places you didn't travel were those separated by water or whatever was south of that mountain."
Maliha's chest puffed out with pride as Enzo oohed over her maps. At their last meal of the night, Enzo sat by the fire drawing over an animal skin with ash from the fire.
"Look, Mama, I have a map too." Maliha and Nkechi cooed at Enzo's work, puffing up the boy's chest with pride until he was drifting off to sleep with a grin on his face.
As morning came around and they continued their journey, Maliha noted that the terrain was becoming a lot drier. The green lush lands were turning in to dry orange and red earth that reminded her of the sandy Der Surjaz land.
"We are nearly there," comforted Nkechi when she noticed Enzo's laboured breathing.
"He won't struggle for much longer. Just over that last hill, the earth begins to flatten out and become moister. Past this hill, we have two days until we reach the Nah Barros border."
Maliha tried to sigh in relief but her mouth was too dry. The sun was too harsh on their skin and there were hardly any signs of life barring tall green prickly plants. Their water ran out after the first day and they had to resort to pealing the prickly plants and sucking the dew from them. The two days travelling through the wasteland nearly sent the travelling party to their deaths. crazy. Their dehydrated minds cried for water as the desert plagued their weary minds with all of their deepest
Fears.
It was to their great relief when the ground began to level and the sound of trickling water filled their ears.
They spent hours frolicking in the water, filling their stomachs and every container or cup they had to the brim. Instead of continuing their journey, they stayed the night by the river, washing their skin and drinking languidly until the early morning light rustled Maliha awake. Maliha restarted the fire and began making flat oat cakes for them to take on their journey. She waited for Nkechi to return from her morning scouting before Maliha left a still sleeping Enzo, to pick up some herbs and plants to cook with. When she returned Enzo was awake and sipping on his water as Nkechi skinned a fish.
"We can have that with some of the oatcakes I made."
Nkechi handed the skinned fish to Maliha and watched as Maliha flaked the fish into tiny pieces and cooked it with onions and some herbs she had found. Maliha used every part of the fish and mushed it down so it formed a paste that they spread over their oatcakes. They finished the fish, rinsed their appliances and then packed up the rest of the oatcakes. They filled up their containers with water before continuing their journey.
As the day progressed, the grass grew longer, and they began to sight more and more animals. Some that no one had names for and others they had all become accustomed to.
"Look umahu, look Nkechi, it's a Rak'haan," Enzo squealed, jerking further into the field.
"Enzo," Maliha snapped, "Get back here."
Enzo huffed in annoyance but halted in his approach of the creature.
"Do you not remember what you have learnt about Rak'haan's? They are territorial creatures and travel in large herds." Maliha reprimanded lightly, conveying how dangerous the situation was.
"Where there is one there are always more nearby. We must travel carefully," added Nkechi.
Maliha gripped Enzo's hand and slowly made her way through the shrubbery. Maliha became aware of every little move they made, her eyes continuously darting to the grazing Rak'haan as the grass crunched beneath their feet and the branches snapped beneath their fingers.
Maliha's sigh of relief at not being heard by the Rak'haan was caught in her throat when they broke through the bushes and caught sight of the large meadow. Hundreds and hundreds of Rak'haan's stood before them, their large bodies nestling together as they used their massive horns to uproot plants.
Nkechi's harsh cursing had dread feathering through Maliha.
"Mama?" Enzo questioned apprehensively, his fingers clenching tightly around her fingers.
"It's okay baby," crooned Maliha even though she doubted her own words.
They needed to move through the meadow to get to the border of the Nah Barros land, yet Rak'haan's were territorial creatures.
"We have to move slowly and stick to the outskirts."
Nkechi moved first, her feet slowly lifting and placing down on the grass. She moved a few paces out of the bushes and waited to see if any creatures noticed her, a few eyed her wearily but merely shifted to the side creating a small pathway.
Nkechi motioned for Maliha and Enzo to follow her, and together they began skirting their way around the wild animals. Every now and then a Rak'haan would raise its massive head and flare its nostrils at them but none made any move towards them. Not until a youngling gained the scent of Nkechi, its small eyes widened as it screeched in alarm. Its mothers regal head snapped up, her large feet thundering on the earth as she charged towards her child. Maliha pushed Enzo behind her and gripped Nkechi towards her, tugging the woman towards the shrubbery but it was too late. The Rak'haan mother had caught the scent of a predator and she was acting wild. Her feet stomped on the earth as her horns swung back and forth in warning.
"Mama?" Enzo sobbed, "What's happening."
"Shh," Nkechi whispered, "Don't move and don't speak."
Maliha's heart quivered with fear as the animal continued its angry gestures. At the mother's wild noises more and more of her herd began reacting, they coiled around the young and backed the small travelling party into a corner.
Maliha pulled Nkechi out of the way as a large male Rak'haan rammed his horn forward. Maliha jumped back, pushing Enzo into the bushes and yanking Nkechi with her. Maliha's feet slipped from beneath her and they went tumbling down a small hill, leaves and twigs slapping at their faces until they reached the bottom.
"Enzo" Maliha called frantically, shooting to her feet the moment they stopped tumbling.
"I'm coming, mama," he wailed. His small face appeared over the hill as he ran and tumbled down until he was in Maliha's arms. Maliha soothed her fingers through his hair as she held his shaking body tightly in her arms.
"I'm sorry," muttered Nkechi. "It's me, they can sense the predator in me. I didn't think they would notice but once they caught my scent... I can't take you through that meadow. They will let you through but my Dahara has a distinct scent. They can smell the predator in me."
"Okay, we can find a different route," Maliha interjected, trying to be optimistic but Nkechi shut her down with her quick response.
"Yes, we can but we will have to go back on ourselves at least five days. It doesn't make sense."
It didn't make sense but Maliha and Eno were not prepared to separate from Nkechi, this journey had brought them all closer together. Maliha couldn't imagine meeting the Nah Barros for the first time without Nkechi by her side but it seemed as if fate had decided otherwise.
"But what if we get lost?" Cried Enzo, "we don't have any maps, Nkechi."
"Actually, I made this for you." Nkechi bent down and handed a small piece of animal skin to Enzo. "It's your own map. I have drawn all three of your homes, see that big tree there, that marks the Feri tribe and you see the fire sign?" She pointed to the map again, "that's the Der Surjaz land."
"What does this water circle mean?"
"That's the border to the Nah Barros land, their home is surrounded by water, but they have scouts who will spot you the moment you break through the trees." Nkechi then turned her gaze to Maliha before continuing. "Once they spot you, show them the necklace. They won't harm you once they see it."
"How did you-"
"I have always known about the necklace, I just didn't know how important it was until we met again."
Maliha's lip wobbled at the finality of this moment, they had no choice but to move on ahead without Nkechi. Even though she abhorred the very idea.
Nkechi stepped forward and gripped Maliha's cheek in her palm and brought their foreheads together. "I want you to remember that you are strong Maliha and you are deserving of love. When you see the Nah Barros for the first time, no matter what they say or do, you remember that."
Maliha couldn't hold back the tears that glided down her cheek. "You remember that too Nkechi. Remember that you have a voice and you have a path. Even if it's unclear to you or unconventional, you need to remember that. Don't let your father silence you."
Nkechi sniffled back her tears as she clung to Maliha in a tight embrace, their bodies shaking as they said their final goodbye's.
Nkechi bent down on one knee and whispered her own love words into Enzo's ears before kissing him on his forehead and nudging him towards Maliha.
"Until we meet again," Nkechi snivelled, waving them away as they began their slow climb up the hill.
Maliha's shoulders shook as they made it to the top of the small hill. She tried to keep her composure and not burst into tears in front of Enzo, but it was so hard. She had said too many goodbyes in her lifetime and she was tired of it. tired of leaving people behind and never knowing if she would see them again.
Maliha sucked in her breath and then stepped out of the bushes, she stepped a few paces into the fray of Rak'haan's before she gestured Enzo towards her Enzo. He hastily made his way to Maliha's side and then they began making their way around the large animals.
Nkechi had been right, the animal's barely paid Maliha and Enzo any attention. The most they did was a small grunt or a shifting of bodies, but no animal cared to attack. A few sniffed at their bodies, sending Maliha's heart pacing as their big heads butted at their bodies.
They had almost made it to the other side when a large shift in the Rak'hann population brought something to Maliha's attention. A man in a deep wooden mask was sneaking his way through the animals. As more Rak'haan's shifted it became clear that there was more than just one man. There was a split second. A tiny signal and then the animals were clambering to their feet and stampeding through the meadow. Maliha screeched in fear, gripping Enzo even tighter as she ran alongside the large beasts, trying her hardest not to be killed in the process.
The animal's wild screeches rung in their ears as they sprinted through the grass and through the trees, narrowly missing being flung to one side by the large horns of the animal. Enzo's hand slipped from Maliha's as he tripped over, his body thudding to the earth as the Rak'hann's charged around him.
Maliha sprinted to his side and yanked him into her arms and to the side just as one of the animals crashed past them. They tumbled the ground, rolling and falling into the bushes until Maliha lay on top of Enzo. Her heart thundered in time to the animal's feet until eventually, the sound of their running became a distance sound.
Maliha's head slowly popped up and snapped back down just in time to miss an arrow in her head. It soared above them and landed in the bark of the tree in front of them.
"That was your warning, the next time I will strike you clean. Now, step out of the bushes slowly."
Maliha put her finger to her mouth, urging Enzo to stay quiet as she stumbled to her feet. "I don't have any weapons," she grunted climbing out of the bushes cautiously.
A curse left her lips as what seemed like hundreds of warriors stood in the forest. Their faces were shrouded in wooden, fearsome masks, but only relief filled Maliha's heart as she realised they were not the Svolik.
"Imposter," a man grunted beneath his mask. "What are you doing on our land?"
He was impossibly tall and muscular but not in the way of Ujarak or Abazz, who were full of brawn but in a lither way. His skin was a deep Umber that was flecked with sweat and rippled with his heavy breathing
"This is your land? That means you are-"
"We are Nah Barros and you are on our land." His words were cold and intimidating but Maliha did not fear him, instead a smile gentled her face.
"I am- my name is Maliha and I am here because, well I am here because-"
"Maliha?" he interjected, his head moving ever so slightly as he looked her up and down. A hush climbed over the forest as he hesitantly stepped towards her, his body circling hers as if he was looking for something.
When he was finally facing her again, he slowly removed his mask to reveal a face that was almost identical to hers and one green eye that spoke of a heritage she had never known.
"I am Makaio," he whispered in awe, "I am your brother."