he said after a brief pause.
“Then why . . .”
“Aro needed to know that you came on your own volition. People who are driven by others . . . trust me, he’ll never accept them. Come, we need to talk.”
Once at my house, we sat on the back steps in front of my mother’s garden.
“Does my papa know who Aro really is?”
“To an extent,” he said. “Enough people know of him, those who want to know.”
“Just not most.”
“Right.”
“Mostly men, I assume,” I said.
“And some older boys.”
“He teaches others, doesn’t he?” I said, annoyed. “Other than you.”
“He tries. There’s a test you have to pass to learn the Mystic Points. You can only take it once. Failure is awful. The closer you get to passing, the more painful it is. The boys you overheard, they’d been tried. They all return home bruised and beaten. Their fathers think they’ve passed initiation as Aro’s apprentice. In reality, they’ve failed. Aro teaches the boys some small things so the boys have skill at something.”
“What are the Mystic Points anyway?”
He moved closer to me, close enough that I could hear his soft whisper. “I don’t know.” He smiled. “I know that one must be destined to learn them. Someone must ask for it to be so, for you to BE so.”
“Mwita, I have to learn them,” I said. “It’s my father! I don’t know how I . . .”
And that was when he leaned forward and kissed me. I forgot about my biological father. I forgot about the desert. I forgot about all my questions. It wasn’t an innocent kiss. It was deep and wet. I was almost fourteen, he was maybe seventeen. We’d both lost our innocence years ago. I didn’t think of my mother and the man who raped her as I always thought I would if I were ever intimate with a boy.
There was no hesitation in his hands working their way inside my shirt. I didn’t stop him kneading my breasts. He didn’t stop me from kissing his neck and unbuttoning his shirt. I ached between my legs, a sharp desperate ache. So sharp that my body jumped. Mwita pulled away. He quickly stood up. “I’ll go,” he said.
“No!” I said getting up. The pain was spreading all over my body now and I couldn’t quite straighten myself.
“If I don’t leave . . .” He reached forward and touched my belly chain that had come out as he’d fumbled with my top. Aro’s words flew through my head. “That is for your husband to see,” he’d said. I shivered. Mwita reached into his mouth and handed me my diamond. I smiled weakly as I took it and put it back under my tongue.
“I’ve unknowingly betrothed myself to you,” I said.
“Who believes that myth?” he asked. “Too easy. I’ll come see you in two days.”
“Mwita,” I breathed.
“It’s best that you remain untouched . . . for now.”
I sighed.
“Your parents will be home soon,” he said. He lifted my shirt up and tenderly kissed my nipple. I shivered, the pain between my legs flaring. I squeezed them together. He looked at me, sadly, his hand still cupping my breast.
“It hurts,” he said apologetically.
I nodded, my lips pressed together. It hurt so badly that areas of my vision were going dark. Tears ran down my face.
“You’ll recover in a few minutes. I wish I had known you before you had it done,” he said. “The scalpel that they use is treated by Aro. There’s juju on it that makes it so that a woman feels pain whenever she is too aroused . . . until she’s married.”
CHAPTER 11
Luyu’s Determination
AFTER HE LEFT, I went to my room and wept. It was all I could do to curb my fury. Now I understood why a scalpel was used instead of a laserknife. A scalpel, simpler in design, was much easier to bewitch. Aro. It was always Aro. For most of the night, I considered the many ways I could hurt that man.
I considered ripping the gold chain from my waist and spitting the stone in the garbage, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Somewhere along the way, these two
“Then why . . .”
“Aro needed to know that you came on your own volition. People who are driven by others . . . trust me, he’ll never accept them. Come, we need to talk.”
Once at my house, we sat on the back steps in front of my mother’s garden.
“Does my papa know who Aro really is?”
“To an extent,” he said. “Enough people know of him, those who want to know.”
“Just not most.”
“Right.”
“Mostly men, I assume,” I said.
“And some older boys.”
“He teaches others, doesn’t he?” I said, annoyed. “Other than you.”
“He tries. There’s a test you have to pass to learn the Mystic Points. You can only take it once. Failure is awful. The closer you get to passing, the more painful it is. The boys you overheard, they’d been tried. They all return home bruised and beaten. Their fathers think they’ve passed initiation as Aro’s apprentice. In reality, they’ve failed. Aro teaches the boys some small things so the boys have skill at something.”
“What are the Mystic Points anyway?”
He moved closer to me, close enough that I could hear his soft whisper. “I don’t know.” He smiled. “I know that one must be destined to learn them. Someone must ask for it to be so, for you to BE so.”
“Mwita, I have to learn them,” I said. “It’s my father! I don’t know how I . . .”
And that was when he leaned forward and kissed me. I forgot about my biological father. I forgot about the desert. I forgot about all my questions. It wasn’t an innocent kiss. It was deep and wet. I was almost fourteen, he was maybe seventeen. We’d both lost our innocence years ago. I didn’t think of my mother and the man who raped her as I always thought I would if I were ever intimate with a boy.
There was no hesitation in his hands working their way inside my shirt. I didn’t stop him kneading my breasts. He didn’t stop me from kissing his neck and unbuttoning his shirt. I ached between my legs, a sharp desperate ache. So sharp that my body jumped. Mwita pulled away. He quickly stood up. “I’ll go,” he said.
“No!” I said getting up. The pain was spreading all over my body now and I couldn’t quite straighten myself.
“If I don’t leave . . .” He reached forward and touched my belly chain that had come out as he’d fumbled with my top. Aro’s words flew through my head. “That is for your husband to see,” he’d said. I shivered. Mwita reached into his mouth and handed me my diamond. I smiled weakly as I took it and put it back under my tongue.
“I’ve unknowingly betrothed myself to you,” I said.
“Who believes that myth?” he asked. “Too easy. I’ll come see you in two days.”
“Mwita,” I breathed.
“It’s best that you remain untouched . . . for now.”
I sighed.
“Your parents will be home soon,” he said. He lifted my shirt up and tenderly kissed my nipple. I shivered, the pain between my legs flaring. I squeezed them together. He looked at me, sadly, his hand still cupping my breast.
“It hurts,” he said apologetically.
I nodded, my lips pressed together. It hurt so badly that areas of my vision were going dark. Tears ran down my face.
“You’ll recover in a few minutes. I wish I had known you before you had it done,” he said. “The scalpel that they use is treated by Aro. There’s juju on it that makes it so that a woman feels pain whenever she is too aroused . . . until she’s married.”
CHAPTER 11
Luyu’s Determination
AFTER HE LEFT, I went to my room and wept. It was all I could do to curb my fury. Now I understood why a scalpel was used instead of a laserknife. A scalpel, simpler in design, was much easier to bewitch. Aro. It was always Aro. For most of the night, I considered the many ways I could hurt that man.
I considered ripping the gold chain from my waist and spitting the stone in the garbage, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Somewhere along the way, these two
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