The days came like sunshine after a very cold and wet season. Everyone in Tulgo blossomed with so much joy and excitement. It was the season for festivals. The time to tuck all your sorrows away beneath the dark corners of your bed and embrace the warmth and sunshine.
I came out of my hut as early as possible. I was going to catch up with all the other maidens in the village. There would be hot topics on discussion. The prince was returning from a long travel and the king had ordered a festival to celebrate his return and perhaps to pick a bride from amongst the dancing maidens.
I was eager for the day to come. Not because I wanted to be picked as his bride - I couldn't dance to save my life. I only loved the energy around everyone and I wanted to immerse myself in the happy moment. In Tulgo, It is believed that a woman who moves her body well will know how to manage a home and make a good wife.
I wasn't planning on embarrassing myself in front of everyone again. I was a terrible dancer no matter how much I tried. I would always make a caricature of myself whenever I danced. I even froze a few years ago while dancing during one of the village festivals. I became a mockery and a hot gossip for a very long time. Ever since then, I swore never to take on any crowd again until I perfected my dancing.
My mother always worried and feared for my future. However, I didn't care. I wanted to live my life and I didn't need any rescuing from a charming prince. “Who will ask for your hand now that you can't even wriggle a bone in your waist?” she would crease her forehead as though I've been condemned for life while applying olive oil to my waist. “This should ease whatever tension preventing you from swiveling like your mates”.
I would wince in pain but my mother would refuse to let go. “Let that child be. Every woman has her beat and her time. When the beat comes on, the time will be right. I was exactly like her before I met your father.” my grandmother would rebuke my mother when ever she criticized me in that manner.
I loved my granny more than anything in the world. I was a lot like her and she always saved me from my mother's admonishments.
My mother was at it again as soon as I came out of my hut that morning. I was going to take the backyard but I failed to evade her monitoring eyes. It was like she lived to watch my every step. Draped in her lapaya wrapper, she stood with her arms in akimbo.
“I’m going to join the maidens in practice”. I answered the question in her piercing eyes before she asked. My words came out of my mouth like hot chili.
“As if that would do you any good”. She gave me a thunderous look, grabbed a rafia palm and started sweeping.
A week later, the prince arrived Tulgo. Delighted was an understatement for the villagers. There was a new contagious happiness bustling around. The day of the festival had come and the maidens were especially thrilled. One of them would emerge the prince's bride - the best dancer.
I dresses up in my best two piece lapaya. I adorned my waist and ankles with my grandmother's silver beads. Although I wasn't going to partake in the dance competition, I needed to look the part or else my mother would have my head.
I left our compound to join the other maidens. Together we walked in a single file to the kings palace. It was an exhilarating sight exotic beauties commanding so much poise and charm.
As soon as we got to the palace, I slipped out of line and blended with the crowd. It was going to be a long night of fun.
Fire stands, drums, gongs, bonfire, food and wine, wrestling contests, bodies wriggling, children dancing and singing. Then it was time for the maidens to take the stage. I sighted the prince seated so majestically beside the king. He seemed full of pride. Why not? The performance was for his appraisal.
The drummers began pounding while the maidens devoured every beat wholeheartedly. Their joy spoke through their body movements. Hair flapping, waists twisting, bossoms and beads shaking to sound of music.
Then I saw him! He came like cool breeze and took over the lead drummer. I had never seen such a beautiful man in my entire life. It was the way his chest glimmered against the fire. Skin as dark as coal and long locks that covered his face down to his shoulders.
I was mesmerized. I found myself squeezing and pushing to the front of the crowd. He struck the first beats, cleared a lock of hair from his face, and looked up. We locked eyes immediately. Something inside me churned. It was the way his eyes pierced my soul. It was so compelling I started to move.
Beat by beat a fire burned inside of me. I was moving in ways I never knew I could. It was perfection. Something unexplainable. The maidens had stopped dancing and everyone was now gaping.
He intensified the beats and I was like a puppet to his puppeteer. It felt like the audience had disappeared and the stage was ours. My heart racing, the bunch of beads on my waist splattering on to ground and the sound of his last beat at the same time was a cacophony I would never forget.
I was breathing loudly as my chest thumped up and down. “Clearly we have a winner, the prince’s bride”. So said the king as he rose from his throne. Laughter and sound filled the air again.
Slowly I walked up to the drummer and held his hand. Hushed tones and whispers replaced the laughter followed by a resounding silence. I had chosen my man.