Faizah and Nuru stood opposite each other with Yenge between them, bent at the waist as Ayinde began the story
“In the time before life, there was only darkness, then slowly the universe filled with a soft glow as Gzifa took form.” Ayinde spoke the legend in a voice made weighty by the long history of his subject. “Her light fell gently through the darkness illuminating a lonely barren rock floating nearby.” Faizah stretched out in fluid steps, orbiting her crouched brother. “Gzifa floated around the rock to see what else there was in the darkness. As she did, a bright light exploded into existence, casting illumination to the very edges of the galaxy as Nur awoke.”
Nuru leapt up, throwing her arms and legs wide as she danced in a circular perimeter around Yenge. Faizah followed the same perimeter with small steps, soft twirls and sways. A gentle presence in contrast to Nuru’s wild intensity. Hadhi smiled watching her sister perform as Nur, bold and bright she commanded the room. She was marvelous.
“Nur shouted over that empty rock between them, proclaiming his might and his power, proclaiming himself the strongest being. His light could brighten half of the world at a time.” Ayinde continued. “He could scorch its ground with his power. But Gzifa was gentler than her brother; she insisted it was not necessary to scorch the ground to be powerful and drifted by the world, presiding over the night with her soothing presence. Nur railed—”
Nuru raced at Yenge, throwing her body against his back and reaching out around him for Faizah.
“He demanded his sister concede that he was mightier and worship him as her ruler.”
Faizah spun on, calm and unmoved. So Nuru leapt higher and higher. Throwing her legs wide, bright and distracting. Nothing altered Faizah’s orbit.
Hadhi grinned, but from the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Asha watching and began to relate her life to the legend of the battling siblings. All their lives it seemed Hadhi and Asha had been pitted against one another.
Every time Hadhi thought she could find a way to put an end to their struggles, Asha just had to shout out how much better she was than Hadhi. Had to call her sour-face or crow over her superior knowledge, and Hadhi would want to grind her into nothingness, so that she could shine for one moment. She longed to shine with even a quarter of the light Asha cast. But...Could they not both shine?
If Hadhi did what Mzaa wanted, if she won the approval of the vaashta and captured Azize for a husband...what would Asha do to outshine her? Would she marry him as well? Only she would be the wife tasked with standing beside him, displaying her beauty to the world, while Hadhi would be the hidden wife, running his home and hiding in shadows lest she bring shame on him. Even if she won Azize for a moment, Hadhi would never win in truth, would she?
There was utter silence as Nuru danced. Hadhi pulled her eyes away from Asha and let herself be caught up in Nuru’s gift. She commanded the attention of every eye. Dictated the beat of every heart. Nuru, in her element, was a bright shining goddess of dance. Hadhi watched entranced. Nuru eclipsed sound and emotion and thought.
Never but when she watched Nuru dance did Hadhi believe so completely in the existence of the great spirits. Nuru belonged among the Spirit Dancers. She belonged among them more than Hadhi had ever belonged anywhere.
It should not be so difficult to sacrifice a little to see her sister’s purpose fulfilled. Hadhi had always known she would eventually marry someone, and she never expected to love them. Why not Azize? Just because she had felt desire for the first time in her life, and it was for a different man? Just because she did not want to spend the rest of her days in shadows feeling ugly? Those were not good enough reasons. And...a woman’s honor was in the accomplishments of her family.
“Nur raged and scorched,” Ayinde intoned, calling over more and more observers. “Shouting of his might and his sisters weakness. Until faced with Nur’s relentless magnitude, Gzifa began to shrink.”
Asha’s heart pounded as she watched Nuru dance, breathing with the room. She was fabulous! Baba would have been so proud. As Faizah’s twirls became smaller and her steps slower, Nuru continued her broad wild movements.
“When the siblings passed one another in the sky, Nur took up a dominant post, blocking the barren rock from his sister’s sight. Gzifa drifted quietly by and with each day less. Shrinking before her brother’s light. Until came the darkest night, when Nur could not find his sister in the heavens.” Ayinde spoke on unnecessarily; his words were not conveying the story nearly as poignantly as the dance.
A gasp went up among the audience as Faizah dove between the legs of a few observers. Nuru spun around, wild, violent movements, tugging Yenge this way and that, searching for Faizah.
“Nur had won the sky.”
Nuru danced around Yenge joyfully, leaping and spinning.
Nuru was so like Baba in that moment! He was always so bright. So entirely full of life!
Asha had never cared for this story. She preferred stories of real beings or far-off tales of adventure. And this story, in particular, had always annoyed her because of the way people treated Gzifa as pitiable one moment and as a heroine the next.
She just...gave in. She hadn’t light enough in herself to protect the earth, but wanted to deny her brother the accolades he was due for bringing the light that fed the earth. Had she not been fighting him Nur’s light would never have scorched the earth. Just look how much better the earth was in Gzifa’s absence.
It annoyed Asha, knowing what was to come. It was all the same old thing: jealousy. Gzifa was jealous of her brother’s light, so she had to steal it to make herself happy.
“The sky, the rock, the day, the night all were Nur’s to rule by his superior strength,” Ayinde continued. “But with no Gzifa to rail against, Nur grew despondent. His light mellowed and his heat gentled.”
Nuru’s movements began to shrink. She leapt, but plopped heavily on the ground when she landed. And when she reached out towards Yenge her arms extended only a short way. Yenge began to jerk and rumble.
Asha’s eyes were drawn away from the dance to another sister, and she realized suddenly that the story was reminding her of Hadhi. Of her quiet, pity-me, exterior that hid her ugly jealousy. No one good would have unspooled the gold from Asha’s gown.
And yet here she was, rewarded for it. Everyone whispering about how taken Azize was with her. The vaashta speaking with her. Azize staring after her. Hadhi stole and was rewarded. It was unfair.
Hadhi always tried to steal any joy Asha found.
Nuru noticed both of her sisters as she moved. Hadhi was beaming with pride. And Asha leaning in, intent and pleased. Eshe was among the audience too, smiling softly. Mzaa was against a wall, with her head high. And even Faizah was crouched awaiting her triumphant return, and watching Nuru with pleasure.
This was...indescribable! Even while they were dancing together, when Nuru’s heart had been breaking for the dying goddess, still she’d felt such exhilaration. At last, she was dancing with Faizah! As much as she longed to be one more spirit dancer, she knew nothing would ever eclipse this moment for pure wonder and joy.
“Nur grew lonely in the sky,” Ayinde said. “When he passed over the very top of the world and what would become Maltuba he saw a softer light in the sky. Gzifa.”
Faizah slid out to join Nuru and Yenge, twirling up to her full height, remaining where she was to twirl around and around.
“Gzifa had returned to the sky, larger than ever before. She waited until her brother met her in the sky, large, confident and protective Gzifa blocked his light from scorching the earth.”
Nuru’s leaps brought her to Faizah, so they faced one another, Faizah’s body blocking Yenge. They danced the perimeter together. Nuru leaping and throwing her body wide. But no matter how broadly she moved, Faizah softly swayed to block her motions, protecting the earth. It was as though Nuru could feel Faizah’s heart beat before it happened. As though their beings were connected though they’d never danced together before. Their passion was so matched their souls must commune.
“Gzifa matched Nur’s path through the sky, allowing only the tiniest ring of light to touch the earth. Gathering his light into herself, Gzifa glowed brighter. For one day and one night, she blocked Nur’s path through the sky and soothed the earth. She called the oceans forth to spill across the land, and the ground shook, letting in air for new life to breathe. All of the world soothed by their first defender.
“When she moved out of Nur’s path, allowing his light to touch the earth once more, the world bloomed to life.”
Now was Yenge’s turn. He leapt stretched wide, spun around shaking to life.
“Gzifa returned to her old orbit, twice as large as before, waxing and waning in her time. Each cycle rousing more great spirits to protect the earth. When Nur saw the blooming earth he rejoiced, he need never be lonely again. He circled the heavens at peace with his sister, one sibling ruling the day.”
Nuru leapt and spun arms wide, smile large.
“And the other the night.”
Faizah spun softly, swaying around the earth.
Ayinde stopped speaking and bowed his head. Nuru, Faizah, and Yenge stopped as well, but with heads high, each taking a stance that embodied their character. There was a seemingly endless moment of silence— The crowd around them began to cheer. Nuru couldn’t contain her smile. She’d never felt such joy, such power surging through her! Overcome, she threw her arms around Faizah and tried to thank her, but her words sounded garbled and nonsensical to her own ears.
“You danced that beautifully, Nuru.” Faizah hugged her back.
Nuru heard Masahiro and Omar asking Ayinde questions about the story. Nuru preferred her grandmother’s telling, full of emphasis on Gzifa’s power, but she would never forget Ayinde’s version because this one she had lived. Her eyes scanned the crowd for her sister. Either sister. This was the best feeling in the world, and she wanted to run to her sisters and share it with them. But Asha had darted back to the window to watch Azize and Hadhi was turning away down a hall.
While she was dancing Nuru stood between her sisters like Maltuba between the battling spirits, and she’d realized Mzaa was wrong. She had to be wrong. Couldn’t they feel it in the air? In the story? It was a call to come together. The greatness of the story was in each character having a chance to see their own power and share it with the universe. It required them all.