She Would Be King

by Wayétu Moore

she was powerless to her pride, and she hoped she would make the spirits angry enough to reunite her with her deceased love.

“Fengbe, keh kamba beh. Fengbe, kemu beh.” We have nothing but we have God. We have nothing but we have each other.

She remained silent and Gbessa nodded, pleased at the sacrifice that her mother was making, the tradition that she was defying to feed her, and still deeply saddened that her sacrifice had limits.

What was Famatta’s curse but the mastery of life? And now they shunned her for mastering death. Cursed the in-between.

That place where we lost our language, lost ourselves. They told us we had no history but darkness, so they kept the books away for fear we might understand the truth better, and thus find those lost selves.

June Dey

😍

They were together now. It had begun.

!!!

Yes—perhaps everybody, in their own way, was either a witch or the king who loved her.