“The Oosoro. The Asase. The Asamando.”
My mouth ran dry. TheSkies. TheEarth. TheWorld of Spirits. Her voice was flat, not like the vibrant, melodious one I’d known all my life.
“They are gathering,” she said, her voice low, almost baritone. “Sheis gathering.”
I clutched Nana tighter to shake her out of this terrifying trance, but then the world changed. Gone was the sky that had been clear, pinkening and brightening as dawn began to break. Gone was the tiny peach grove Nana carefully maintained. Gone was our house with its wraparound, enclosed lanai; gone was her tiny shed. Gone were the smells of the morning dew on plush green leaves and the distant sounds of our families of Kinfolk or the rest of the islander locals who lived beyond the front gates of Kin’s Landing.
All of it fell away into some ethereal place of mist, too thick to make out anything except the outline of an enormous mountain,bigger than I’d ever seen. And circling the majestic mountain with a golden band were all the Adinkra symbols, glowing like individual beacons of light.
I grew up with the Adinkra. These centuries-old Akan symbols that Nana said were gifted by the gods to serve as both guides to live by and an indication of one’s purpose in life were infused into our cultural heritage and everyday life on the Golden Isle. Etchings of them were carved into every structure for protection, blessings, and reminders of where the Kinfolk had originally come from.
I stared at my grandmother as the image of the mountain with the gleaming symbols eclipsed her, and saw that it wasn’t just Nana standing there, but a large shadow with shapes resembling limbs protruding from its sides, making Nana look like she was a spider.
I stared hard at the image in front of me… the mountain, the shadow, the symbols… Was this all a dream and I was still in my bed? But it was too real. I could feel the heat from Nana’s skin beneath my fingers.
The shadow loomed over her, or emanated from her—I couldn’t tell which. It was hard to figure out where the shadow ended and my grandmother began. The symbols glowed so brilliantly, as if I were looking into the sun, that I had to shield my eyes with a hand. That is, until Nana Ama began to speak.
But her voice was not hers. It was a mix of her melodic tone and the deep baritone of a male. I tried holding on to her, but her skin became so hot I snatched my hand away, as if I’d touched a flaming-red stovetop.
Nana’s voice filled up all the space inside my head. I slammedmy hands over my ears, but nothing could dull the intensity and the volume of her voice.
“Sheis… gathering,” Nana said.
“Who?” Panic climbed my throat. I had no idea what or who Nana was talking about or what was wrong with my grandmother. She had never been like this before.
I asked again, “Nana, who is gathering?”
“What has been done is now undone” was her reply. “Stand and be ready. Stand.”
As quick as it came, the image of cloud and mist faded. The gigantic mountain behind Nana became lighter and lighter until it was gone, leaving Nana Ama still in her trance.
“Nana?” I backed up a step. I’d left my phone in my room so I couldn’t call for help. I looked around, but we were alone. No one dared come to our part of the Isle, which took up the back half of Kin’s Landing, unless they were invited.
I psyched myself up enough to shake my grandmother back to her senses when she blinked. Her body relaxed, and instantly, the danger-red vibe that had emanated from her downgraded to a safe green. She focused on me, eyes sparkling and clear.
“Do you feel okay?” I asked, searching for any remnants of seconds ago.
Nana smiled sweetly, as if those last moments hadn’t happened. I considered telling her what she’d said and what I’d seen. She would believe me, I thought. Nana was a firm believer of the gods and spirituality and earth magic. We lived on and protected an island that was more than just sand and rock.
Nana Ama took in her surroundings as if she were seeing themfor the first time. I joined in, searching the skies for the mountain or the shadow, straining my ears for that voice so deep it seemed bottomless. Could we have suffered from something like carbon monoxide poisoning and Nana and I were having one of those—what did they call them—shared hysteria? Except I was aware and Nana was… not? I waited for her to say something, but she acted as if nothing happened. Like everything had all been just a dream and maybe I was the one who’d been sleepwalking.
She eyed me critically, her once delighted-to-see me smile slipping into a Addae’s-about-to-get-it scowl.
“Addae, what’d I tell you about not wearing shoes outside?”
As if on a shared string, we both looked down, staring at my bare feet coated with dust and wet grass. I wiggled my toes at the sudden attention called to them. Maybe I would have remembered to put on shoes if I wasn’t running around looking for her.
“And don’t you track any dirt and sand up in my house either. I swear you’re so hardheaded.”
Nana rubbed my arm, giving it a tiny squeeze, and turned on her heels. Wordlessly, she started back toward the house. I was about to follow her when something on the ground caught my attention. I bent, my breath catching as I got closer and recognition took hold. First “born to be the cure but instead became the disease,” and now…
The Adinkra symbol of Nsoromma,Child of the Heavens, was etched in the dirt where my grandmother had been standing.
So much for what was supposed to be an ordinary graduation day.
CHAPTER TWO
“Fake it till you make it.”
