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“Sometimes things that seem dangerous are just misunderstood.” Mama said the words with a strange sadness before patting Diko again.
Kutoka mzizi meant “from the root.” The old family adage was a reminder of where he came from and the expectations that came with that. Kutoka mzizi.
a heron, a crocodile, a jackal, a serpent, a dove, and a hippo—icons of the gods’ familiars.
“Nightmares hunt like beasts of prey, vanquished in the light of day.”
Those beasts of prey represent our worldly troubles,” Brother Ugo explained. “Often, we run from painful things and hope that they will tire of chasing us. But in truth, avoiding our troubles simply gives them more sustenance, allowing them to eventually consume us whole. Only when we cast light on them and acknowledge them can they truly be vanquished, allowing our spirits to be free.”
“Destiny is not a single path, but many, Ekon. Some are as straight as an arrow, others twist and tangle like thread. Our duty is not to question them but to follow them.”
It was as though the jungle was feverish, trying to sweat them out of its depths like a sickness.
“Maybe there’s a beauty in the scars,” she said. “Because they’re a reminder of what’s been faced, and what’s been survived.”
“The umdhlebi’s fruit can be eaten and consumed, but not without the tree’s consent; otherwise it becomes poisonous. It is meant to be a lesson. Man is not always entitled to take what does not belong to it.”
“Like the word splendor, it comes from the old tongues we gods gave to mankind. Its meaning is simple: bridge.”
