Swahili and Somali legends come to life in this tale of secrets, betrayal and a household pet or two with a desire for human flesh.
In the Malifedha family, the secrets that don't break them make their bond stronger; which is just as well because th...
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'Destruction of property,' the Head Maalim said, pacing around a wincing Istahil. Somehow, he had managed to turn his sunlight-filled, benign office into an interrogation room, 'public disturbance, years of research money wasted...'
'Actually...' Istahil raised a finger.
'Silence,' he growled, and continued, 'psychological damage to your classmates,' now he had just become ridiculous, 'physical damage to your lecturer...'
'Physical damage?' Istahil protested, 'what...'
The Head Maalim paused to glare at her. 'Maalim Hamdan is in the hospital.'
'Oh,' she said in a small voice.
'Oh? Oh?'
'Listen,' she began again. 'I know that seeing a cat t...transform...'
'You call that abomination you showed the lecture hall transforming?'
Istahil refused to rise to the bait. '...transforming is startling, but given the nature of my research and the fact that he had been reading my papers for eight years, he should have at least...'
'Are you victim blaming now?'
Screaming deep inside her warned her to shut her goddamn mouth, but that stupid piece of muscle had a mind of its own. 'I'm just saying, I smell a rat. He says he reads my work, but gives a 'fair' every time, even when I submitted my Hoyo's medicinal herbs log by mistake. He says he's looked into my research on his own but faints when a cat enlarges as if it's all new to him. In my opinion ...'
'How did God make that foul heart of yours? Hm? You put an entire lecturer in the hospital. How can you not care?'
'I do care,' Istahil mumbled. She did not - but now didn't seem to be the time to be candid.
'Do you? Do you, really?'
Istahil dropped her eyes to the long fingers curled in her lap in an attempt to avoid looking at the Maalim's face. They'd be delicate, even beautiful, if callouses, scars and burn marks didn't cover every surface. As if from far away, the voices of almost everyone slipped like a malevolent snake into her ears. Stupid. Foolish. Wasteful - God gave her all those brains. Research? Will research put food on the table? You'll see. That girl. She won't go anywhere. She plucked at her bangle again. Why did life have a penchant for proving all the wrong people right?
'Alright,' she said, standing up and shuffling backwards, keeping her gaze on the floor. 'I'm sorry. I really am. What I did was stupid and idiotic and irresponsible, but...please don't push defending my paper all the way until next year. I can brush it up and present something tangible in at least two months, so please, please, please, don't push it back.'
She gritted her teeth to keep the truth from slipping out. The truth was, she couldn't continue seeing all her friends marry, get children and push forward with their lives while she stayed in this neverending loop. The truth was, she couldn't continue seeing all the silent snickers and laughs when she walked through her homestead. The truth was she couldn't continue seeing herself failing. Plain and simple.
