Bitter Hearts: A Dark Cinderella Retelling

Two

Present Day

The first person General Pricha interrogated was Makani, he had learned from General Rithisak that she was Zenaida's best friend.

Makani was dressed in a bright yellow two piece clothing, the first piece wrapped around her upper body and was small enough to reveal the top part of her dark glowing breasts while the second piece wrapped her lower body and was equally short enough to expose her thick cocoa coloured thighs. Hanging from her ears were huge cowry earrings and around her bare waist was a waist bead with matching cowries. Her face was painted with native chalk and on her bare arms, patterns indicating a fertile female awaiting marriage.

Makani was dressed like a bride awaiting her introduction. General Pricha was taken aback for a while as his body responded to the beautiful dark damsel before him and his mind concocted explicit images of what he would like to do to her. He snapped out of it before his body could act upon his mind's fantasies. Shaking his head he began his interrogation. Makani smiled to herself as her plan was working. She dutifully answered all his questions about Zenaida and her friends and left after close to two hours of interrogation.

General Pricha was pleased with himself, he had four suspects; people who had had a major misunderstanding with Zenaida in recent times and had good motive to want her gone.

Makani might be the epitome of black beauty but General Pricha was not deceived by her seductive wiles, she was his number one suspect. What kind of person loses a best friend and then a week later dresses like a temptress, a murderer I tell you. She was a dark beauty on the surface but a vile creature underneath.

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Africa sat on a wooden stool with carved ancestral figures enjoying the splendid warmth of the sun on her bronze skin. It was a beautiful day and yet her heart was heavy with sorrow, she was too old to get too far but her thoughts could run as fast and as far as they wanted.

She was worried about her goddaughter, Mia; the girl had stopped talking and walked around the house like a zombie with no emotion.

Ancestors, what do I do?
What do I say to her?
She's grieving and it doesn't seem like she'll be snapping out of it anytime soon.
People are talking and accusing her wrongly. Saying all these nasty vile things about her.
Great Spirits! What do I do...

Be still

The words came to her and her restless mind instantly calmed.

Africa made up her mind not to worry anymore but to completely trust the ancestors and hand over all her fears to them. She was too old to be worrying so much anyway.

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