Read Online Zahrah the Windseeker by Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu
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think I was that stupid?
"I'm sorry," I said, my chin to my chest. And I was. I hated worrying, disappointing, or angering my parents.
"You should be," my mother said, lowering her voice. "Now go take a bath and sit in your room and do some thinking."
That night, Dari and I weren't allowed to talk to each other on our computers; nor was I allowed to use my computer for anything but schoolwork. Nonetheless, when I closed my bedroom door, my mind immediately went back to Nsibidi. She was a Windseeker, too. She could fly and she'd traveled far.
I flopped onto my bed and breathed a giggle. I'd never felt so energized in my life.
"Practice," she'd said. I could do that. But where?
Chapter 9
Welcome to the Jungle
"I must be crazy to let you talk me into this, " I said as we walked down the road. I nervously glanced behind us. "Crazy!"
"Oh relax," Dari said. "I know what I'm doing."
But I knew Dari. I could hear a little fear in his voice.
"No you don't," I whined. "Someone will
see
us ... or something! What am I
doing
! Oh this is so crazy!"
Only a few days ago, we'd gotten caught in the Dark Market, and what we were doing now was far more forbidden.
"Some risks are worth taking," Dari said.
We'd had to lie this time, telling our parents that we were going to the library. As punishment, we couldn't go anywhere except the library. But we were really going into the Forbidden Greeny Jungle, and we had only a half mile to go as we passed the last building. There was no wall between the outskirts of Kirki and the jungle. For decades, the people of Kirki had tried to build one. The forbidden jungle simply wouldn't allow it.
"This stuff isn't in our school history books. It's really interesting," Dari said as we walked, always a wealth of historical information. "Our government, a long time ago, announced this grand project to build a nine-foot-tall cement wall to shield Kirki from the jungle. But the roots of nearby trees grew under it, and eventually the whole thing just fell apart!"
I shivered as Dan told me about the failed project he'd read about on the net.
He said that when they rebuilt the wall, this time using wood, voracious termites gnawed at it until it fell down. When they rebuilt the wall using metal, insects that had no scientific name dissolved it with acid produced in their thoraxes! These insects glowed a bright orange during the night, and for days, the wall kept nearby residents awake with its light. Eventually the metal wall melted. The wall looked as if it were on fire. It was Papa Grip who put a stop to all the wall-building efforts.
"It's not the Ooni way to do battle with nature," he said that year during his annual address to the town. "If the jungle doesn't want us to put up a wall, then we must
listen
to it, for it's our neighbor and one must respect his or her neighbor."
And so there was no protective wall. The buildings just ended, the grass began to grow higher, then the trees started. A road led to the cocoa bean, palm kernel, and lychee fruit farms located in the jungle's outskirts. The cocoa bean was used mostly for making chocolate. The palm kernels, red clusters of fat seeds chopped from the tops of palm trees, were pressed for oil and then used for cooking and in body lotions and moisturizers. The road went a mile or so into the jungle, and then it quickly tapered off into a very narrow path.
"And who made that path?" Dari asked. "I mean, if no one goes into the jungle, who made it! And why haven't the plants and trees grown over it by now?"
I only shrugged. Who could explain the ways of the forbidden jungle?
"It's as if the jungle wants people to go into it," Dari said.
There were no guards stationed on the road. For what purpose? No one in his or her right mind would go in. This was the road Dari and I would walk down.
Going into the jungle was Dari's idea.
"I've been reading a lot in the field guide. The jungle's 'forbidden' only because we don't understand it. It's all
"I'm sorry," I said, my chin to my chest. And I was. I hated worrying, disappointing, or angering my parents.
"You should be," my mother said, lowering her voice. "Now go take a bath and sit in your room and do some thinking."
That night, Dari and I weren't allowed to talk to each other on our computers; nor was I allowed to use my computer for anything but schoolwork. Nonetheless, when I closed my bedroom door, my mind immediately went back to Nsibidi. She was a Windseeker, too. She could fly and she'd traveled far.
I flopped onto my bed and breathed a giggle. I'd never felt so energized in my life.
"Practice," she'd said. I could do that. But where?
Chapter 9
Welcome to the Jungle
"I must be crazy to let you talk me into this, " I said as we walked down the road. I nervously glanced behind us. "Crazy!"
"Oh relax," Dari said. "I know what I'm doing."
But I knew Dari. I could hear a little fear in his voice.
"No you don't," I whined. "Someone will
see
us ... or something! What am I
doing
! Oh this is so crazy!"
Only a few days ago, we'd gotten caught in the Dark Market, and what we were doing now was far more forbidden.
"Some risks are worth taking," Dari said.
We'd had to lie this time, telling our parents that we were going to the library. As punishment, we couldn't go anywhere except the library. But we were really going into the Forbidden Greeny Jungle, and we had only a half mile to go as we passed the last building. There was no wall between the outskirts of Kirki and the jungle. For decades, the people of Kirki had tried to build one. The forbidden jungle simply wouldn't allow it.
"This stuff isn't in our school history books. It's really interesting," Dari said as we walked, always a wealth of historical information. "Our government, a long time ago, announced this grand project to build a nine-foot-tall cement wall to shield Kirki from the jungle. But the roots of nearby trees grew under it, and eventually the whole thing just fell apart!"
I shivered as Dan told me about the failed project he'd read about on the net.
He said that when they rebuilt the wall, this time using wood, voracious termites gnawed at it until it fell down. When they rebuilt the wall using metal, insects that had no scientific name dissolved it with acid produced in their thoraxes! These insects glowed a bright orange during the night, and for days, the wall kept nearby residents awake with its light. Eventually the metal wall melted. The wall looked as if it were on fire. It was Papa Grip who put a stop to all the wall-building efforts.
"It's not the Ooni way to do battle with nature," he said that year during his annual address to the town. "If the jungle doesn't want us to put up a wall, then we must
listen
to it, for it's our neighbor and one must respect his or her neighbor."
And so there was no protective wall. The buildings just ended, the grass began to grow higher, then the trees started. A road led to the cocoa bean, palm kernel, and lychee fruit farms located in the jungle's outskirts. The cocoa bean was used mostly for making chocolate. The palm kernels, red clusters of fat seeds chopped from the tops of palm trees, were pressed for oil and then used for cooking and in body lotions and moisturizers. The road went a mile or so into the jungle, and then it quickly tapered off into a very narrow path.
"And who made that path?" Dari asked. "I mean, if no one goes into the jungle, who made it! And why haven't the plants and trees grown over it by now?"
I only shrugged. Who could explain the ways of the forbidden jungle?
"It's as if the jungle wants people to go into it," Dari said.
There were no guards stationed on the road. For what purpose? No one in his or her right mind would go in. This was the road Dari and I would walk down.
Going into the jungle was Dari's idea.
"I've been reading a lot in the field guide. The jungle's 'forbidden' only because we don't understand it. It's all
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