Raised by a Gangster

Chapter 11 | Demons of Sea

Keywords:

Fasver day: A day to celebrate the births of all first bloods.

First blood: First born children have significance because they carry spirits of other first borns in their family.

Istra nom: For the sake of our ancestors

Af- save

O- me

Herika party- they have a party since they can't celebrate any five star occasion. It's their way of saying they still believe in Papa K and Nuhu

Polus: A long royal fitting meant for meant for the upperclassmen, like a jallabiyya but shortsleeved and hairy with a matching cap.

Dara- lets

Faloo- Come

Saloo- go

Goo-blood

Ee-and

Five star coronation- five royal events celebrated every five years to mark a certain stage in life until the prince or princess is 20.

Tey-father

Goo Tey- blood father (papa k and Nuhu whom they practically worship)

Hlinfo (pron. Linfo) - Traditional food; meat eaten with a special soup made with lentils and soy sauce.

•Sanusi

"Ba." Surayya climbs my bed and I feel her knees beside me plowing into the foam "Baaaaa!" She hits my shoulder, "Linda said you should get read for Five Star Bongo."

It was her birthright so I had no idea why Linda would ask her to get me to wake up. I spent the night imagining how the day played out in several ways in my head.

Maybe, Surayya would have to take her first goo crown and kneel before our father to take the oath or she'd not be called upon at all and they'd ask me to remain in my room but never did I imagine that I would be the one to be celebrated again, and with my sister too—it meant the world to us both. It was a great day to remembered.

This would be my third out of five five star coronations until I was twenty. The first is for the Trita grapes of age when you're 5. A white rose wasq given to me and all I had to do was make its color change to green.

The second which was what I was attending, is the fasver growth of spade; I was ten so I was to be taken to the top of a mountain to see a mountain man. He was to show me my future in a cave and if I got scared I'd fall off and die at the bottom of  the mountain but if I survived I'd finally get my ring of spade to be able to speak to my first blood ancestors.

I remember being really excited when our father told me about Trita. I was scared—scared if I didn't get the incantations right as the assumed first blood I'd turn it black and that meant I wasn't his child at all—the crowd would remain ignorant to this day. I made it green and I didn't know how.

Then, I worried for Surayya but she was also his original first child—even if I wasn't told I knew—but it didn't matter if our father treated me like his own.

Like the first coronation, I was called but without Surayya but that was because she wasn't five yet and I was scared the same would happen today even if she was actually five because the kingdoms rarely cared to acknowledge their women.

I'd planned not to go without her but I was glad it didn't have to come to that. Our tey respected all women especially his only girl child.

"I'll be ready soon. I hope you're prepared?"