Con La Brisa-Namor/K'uk'ulkan-Black Panther Wakanda Forever

2 of 5

Every day since T'challa's death, I was entranced by the beauty and felt myself unwillingly inching closer to the ocean every minute of the day. I begged myself to immerse myself, to jump in, to trust that I would never drown. But yet, here I was having the air being sucked out of my body as my body was shooting upwards toward the surface.

My teeth grind against one another due to the pressure pressing against my body as my body spun around in the water and rises closer to the surface.

"Ouch!"

An arrayment of combs, brushes, and a spray bottle. This didn't include all the hair creams, gels, rubber bands, and oils Queen Ramonda had in a bag across the throne room from her.

"Hush child! You won't let anyone else touch your beautiful tresses and I refuse to let your brother attempt to do your hair again!" Queen Ramonda said as she parted my hair into sections and massaged the warm oil onto my roots. She adjusted the positioning of my head. Her hand weaved through my hair grabbing pieces of hair within the confines of the part she made and tightening her grip as she went towards my ear, sealing off her work and leaving the remainder of my hair out.

"Though the Jabari refuse the use of vibranium and remove themselves from our main society, you must be able to hold your head high. Our hair is our soul and our crown."

She started with the first section, deftly parting my hair into neat, straight lines. I watched in the mirror as she skillfully divided my hair into small sections, securing them with clips to keep them separate. I admired her precision and artistry, knowing that she was creating a work of hair art on my head.

The half cornrow and half braids, deeply shape Wakandan's hair history by retelling stories of resistance as well as a cultural and racial identity. Whether seen as a protective style or a rite of passage in our tribe, braids like these from Wakanda were always filled with skill, creativity, and art that have witnessed decades of history. Although from what I have read about the outside world, the style has experienced turbulence and legislation, and yet it prevails still to this day and remains a popular hairstyle that pays homage to rich roots.

My eyes looked up towards her as she smiled and continued braiding my hair while sharing stories about T'challa and Shuri, having Shuri interject every time the queen mentioned an embarrassing moment of her and having all of us laughing.

For the queen to take her time out of her busy schedule to do this for me and to have the soothing caress of her fingertips run through my curls while having her words of wisdom and affirmation have me feel restored, well cared for, motivated, and love-made me appreciate them even more.

My body soon broke the surface and erupted from the surface of the freezing cold waters, riding within a humongous spinning water vortex. Water that had devastated the city with biblical levels of the flood was slowly retreating away from the destruction and began pooling around the vortex, making it larger overshadowed by the water tornado propelled toward the surface at amazing speed.

Breaking through the surface in front of the masses of the enemy, towering high over the city ruins atop my swirling maelstrom of water, was bound to catch their attention the moment along with those cowering in fear of the initial threat. Through the wavy motions of the water, I could see them all looking up at the swirling column of water and its pinnacle with dismay and fear.

The enemy who had taken notice attempted to jump into the vortex as a way to stop the threat from within. However, through manipulation-I bend the water from the column around me in a circle and had it swirled around me, forming a protective circle, before spreading outward releasing it and it expands outward in a shockwave that blasted the enemy off their feet. Leaving those who landed on the ground and the waters below to be unconscious.