The Maidens' Dance II [Fiction]

Our king, the Eze, stood, raised his hands and at once, the chattering stopped. The village square was so silent that the drop of a pin would have been heard.

He gave a short speech, thanking the maidens for coming forward to fulfil their obligation and urging the young men to ‘shine’ their eyes and make lovely choices because it was for life. The men roared in laughter and hailed the Eze.

“Let the dance begin and may the gods deem you worthy,” Eze boomed and the drums ensemble erupted in unison as the crowd cheered. We formed a circle as practiced and started singing one after the other, dancing as the drummers played the best beats.

As we started to dance, I noticed Aunty Hanni began to cough but no one paid her any attention except me. All eyes were on the beautiful maidens. We wiggled our hips, swaying from left to right, enchanting the people while the young men watched us like hawks.

Finally, it was time to sing solos, one by one, while the rest of us maidens became backups. Aunty Hanni tried to sing but her voice was hoarse so she quickly waved her hand at Nunu to come forward and sing. My friend sang beautifully and a loud applause followed.

It was Anoma's turn but when she stepped forward, she tripped on her own leg and the next thing we saw, she was faced down on the dusty ground. Ohhh! The drums stopped and the crowd watched in shock as she stood, spit out wet sand and ran away, crying.

Aunty Hanni waved at the drummers and the dance continued. Her hands shook, betraying her anxiety. If this dance ended badly, she knew her family would be discredited before the Eze and the entire village.

Then it was Ilo's turn to sing and she glanced back at Nunu and me. We nodded, urging her to sing. She did and it was beautiful. The applause was resounding as my friend joined the circle in smiles.

Ify stepped forward at Aunty Hanni's insistence to sing. I'd hoped she would call me forward to sing but it seemed she wanted to keep my performance for last, probably so the whole village could mock me. Ify sang, her neck straining yet her voice came out croaking like that of a frog. She covered her face in shame and rejoined the circle.

Aunty Hanni looked unhappy and angry at the same time. She turned to me and urged me to go forward. It was like time stood still as Mama's voice flooded my mind,

”You will meet your destiny and embrace it.”

The crowd watched with anticipation as I began to sing. My voice rose high, clear and melodious like that of a nightingale. I closed my eyes and sang my heart out. It felt like the voice did not belong to me yet it was a part of me. I owned it, shaped it and released it, charming the entire village.

The rapturous claps and whistles drew me back to reality as I peeled my eyes open and saw the Eze on his feet, clapping and nodding his head in approval. Ilo and Nunu hugged me. I caught Aunty Hanni and the other maidens watching me in shock.

As the Eze crowned me the winner of the maidens' dance, he introduced to me his cousin, Kuti, from the city who had come for a short visit. Mama joined us then and embraced me. Kuti greeted her. “Ma Tamara, you've done well and so has your daughter.”

Mama smiled. “Thank you, my elder. You're welcome to our village. We did not know we would be hosting visitors.”

“I'm happy to have watched the dance. May I suggest that there are very rewarding opportunities for sweet voices like your daughter's in the city?”

Mama glanced at me with a wink and a grin. Was this me, meeting my destiny?

“My elder, please educate me more about…er…these opportunities.”

To be continued…..

This story is inspired by the #dailyprompt word “third rate singer”. I hope you enjoy reading it.

Thank you for visiting my blog.

^{Image created by AI in Nightcafe Studio}