The Last Princess of Saint-Domingue

A Vision

Dahomey, Africa

1783

The Queen embarked on a walk near the secret hut she had been living in. As she strolled, she heard whispers from within the soft rustle of the trees. Deep voices resonated with the rhythm of her own heartbeat. She stopped and closed her eyes. An image of a beautiful girl suddenly emerged in her mind.

A girl strong in frame, clothed in smooth brown skin was running in a forest. Her quick brown eyes were focused straight ahead. She wore a thin white dress and small leather sandals. In her right hand was a small stick. The girl waved the stick around as if fighting an invisible foe. Then she stopped and looked at the sky. Her light brown eyes were filled with moonlight.

The Queen suddenly felt a gentle thud in her womb.

The girl paused and whipped around toward a sound only she could hear. Slowly, she backed away

and ran back the way she came.

*****************

Mamma was ecstatic when she saw the Queen. Her belly was large and protruding.

"Oh, you are beautiful!" said Mamma.

The two women hugged quietly. Mamma held her close, feeling the baby shift in her mother's womb.

"Mamma," said the Queen. "I have so much to tell you."

Mamma motioned for the Queen to sit on the best chair in her hut.

"Sit, Queen, sit," she said.

The Queen raised her hand in protest.

"Oh, no Mamma. I can't sit. My back is too sore now."

Mamma ignored her, placing a bundle of clothes behind the Queen's back as she slowly sank into the chair.

"Tell me everything, daughter."

The Queen closed her eyes momentarily and shook her head.

"Mamma, so much has happened. I thought I was going to die," said the Queen. "I thought the king was going to send me back to the ancestors."

"What happened?"

"The king was so angry. His eyes were red. He was ugly with hate for me. He yelled. He screamed. He ordered the guards to take me! Then, I cried. I cried for all my children, all my sons he killed. The king's face changed like the shifting wind. He said he was sorry and he told me to come to him."

"Did you?"

"I thought he was trying to trick me. But I realized I had no choice. If my end was near, it was near. So, I went to him. He held me and soothed my head. He told me not to worry."

"The king? King Fon? I can't believe what I am hearing! The king? Soothing you?"

"Yes! He tried to make me feel better. He told the guards to leave and he led me to a special hut outside the kingdom. It is a secret place. He took me there and laid with me as if he loved me."

Mamma pondered her words. The king had twenty-four wives. He governed a vast kingdom. He was prudent with provisions. He was ruthless in war. Only at special times, was he respectful to his wives, but never was the king loving, Mamma thought. It was a gesture the king did not know.

"Mamma, I had never felt this in my life. Afterwards, he ordered the cook to make me whatever I wanted. He left the next morning and ordered the guards to protect me. For days, the cook brought me wonderful food and I lived alone in peace."

"Then what happened?"

"The king never came back. When I started to feel the sickness, I sent a guard to summon the king but he did not come. Instead, he returned a message that I was granted to stay in the secret hut for as long as I needed. The king promised to give me my freedom quietly after the baby was born. He even promised to give me half his kingdom and send me away secretly lest I am hunted by his enemies."

"This cannot be. The king has never done this. Who has heard of such things?"

"Mamma, I have been afraid to trust his words, too. But look at me! Seven new moons have passed and my child is growing happily within me. I am well fed and well protected. It is true."

Mamma leaned back, swallowing the heaviness in the air. She had not seen this. Mamma had not been given the sight to predict this. It could only mean one thing. The ancestors were about to do something greater than Mamma could comprehend.

"Queen, this is good news."

The Queen shook her head in agreement, her eyes moist with happy tears.

"There is more, Mamma. I believe I have just seen my baby in a vision. It is a girl."

Mamma sat up.

"Tell me everything, Queen. Tell me what you saw."

For the next hour, Mamma quietly listened to the Queen's words as she recanted her vision of the girl-child.

"The ancestors are speaking," said Mamma. "This child will be born between death and life, between past and future."

"I don't understand. Whose life? Whose death?"

"The kingdom's death. New life on new lands. And-."

"What is it, Mamma?"

"That's all. I am tired. I have to lay down. Old woman tired."