The Calling – Part 3
Anele knelt in the water, her body trembling, not from fear but from the sheer force of memory crashing into her. Visions came in waves—distant echoes of songs sung around sacred fires, the rhythmic pounding of drums, the feeling of her feet moving in dances she had never learned but somehow knew.
She opened her eyes, and the river seemed different. The water shimmered with an otherworldly glow, as if reflecting a reality unseen by most. The clay figure in her hand warmed, vibrating softly.
“What must I do?” she asked.
The voice, deep and resonant, answered, “Accept.”
Anele took a shaky breath. “Accept what?”
“The truth of who you are.”
The water around her stilled, as if holding its breath.
For so long, she had resisted. She had tried to fit into the world’s mold, to silence the callings in her dreams, to explain away the whispers in the wind. But here, in the embrace of the river, there was no more running.
She pressed the clay figure to her chest, its warmth spreading through her like fire. A deep pulse echoed in her bones, in her soul.
And then she spoke. Not in the language she had been taught, but in the tongue of the old ones—the words flowing effortlessly, powerfully, as if they had been waiting for her lips to remember them.
As she chanted, the wind picked up, the trees swayed, and the river swirled around her feet. She felt something lift from her, a weight she hadn’t even realized she carried.
When she finally fell silent, a new stillness settled over the land. Not empty, but full—charged with a presence she could feel in her very marrow.
“You are ready,” the voice whispered, softer now.
Anele turned to leave the river, feeling as though she had been stripped bare and rebuilt anew. As she stepped onto the shore, she saw Gogo Thandi standing there, a knowing smile on her face.
“You heard them,” the old woman said simply.
Anele nodded.
Gogo Thandi reached out, pressing a hand to her forehead. “Then it is time to begin.”
Anele didn’t know exactly what lay ahead. But for the first time in her life, she wasn’t afraid.
She was home. She was ready.
She was awake.