Drowning

Drowning. He starred at his reflection in the ancestral gold mirror- carefully sculpted by the best gold craftsmen in the 1900's and hanged in the hallway of his family's mansion by his great grand father. His family's name; Nwammiri which meant child of the water in his native Igbo language was boldly engraved on the top of the frame. It was the most priced possession of his family but he hated it. He hated it because each time he looked at it, it reminded him of the man he had become and the man he would be forever. He hated that man that starred back at him through the mirror. That was not him. That was the man his family wanted and the man his people needed. He had to be that man even if it killed him. He broke out of his thoughts and proceeded down the hallway and paused when he got to the door of the ballroom. It was closed and after what felt like an eternity standing outside the door, he opened it and was immediately met by his mother- The goddess of Idemmiri kingdom. She was a graceful woman in her human form, tall and a beauty even in her old age. He was greeted by the whispers shared between the guests. They were obviously talking about him. Afterall he was the most eligible bachelor and who wouldn't talk about the god of water- the Chimmiri. He was to be made ruler of his kingdom and he was a god with the powers to destroy the universe if he so wishes. This was not the first time his mother had thrown parties like this. It was the eleventh time to be precise. These carefully planned out parties of his mother was in a bid to set him up with a woman for marriage, thus she only invited the prestigious young maidens from prestigious families she deemed worthy or fit for royalty. His mother always took her time to introduce all the maidens to him and at the same time noting his reactions towards them. She never reintroduced the ones he snubbed and always tried her luck with the ones he made little conversations with. She clearly took pleasure in her wife hunt and showed no shame whatsoever. He looked up from across the crowded room. No woman catching his attention. This party was going to be as fruitless as the ones before it. It was boring as well so he excused himself from the side of his mother who was now caught up in a conversation with his Aunt and left the room. As he walked through the hallway he felt the presence of someone behind him. He turned around but there was no one, only an empty hallway. He continued walking but felt that presence again, this time more intense. It was like someone or something was watching and following him. He turned around again but still no one. Suddenly he began to hear voices so he walked towards where the sound was coming from. It was from the ancestral mirror and he couldn't see his reflection on it anymore. What he had always wished for had now come true, but it was strange, even for him. He heard the voices again. They spoke to him; Drawing him in; Mesmerizing him; And finally capturing him. Without thinking, he touched the mirror's surface with his fingers and they disappeared into it. Still not thinking, he put his other hand into the mirror and then something drew him in and he found himself in the ocean. And he transformed; his legs fusing together to form a fishtail, the side of his neck opening up for gills and his skin grew scales. It was not the first time he had transformed, he had done it a thousand times. In his family pool; in the river near their mansion but he had never done it in the ocean. The water felt different and it made him feel different as well. Suddenly his attention turned towards the voices which had become louder and was gaining more effect on him. He swam towards it. Each stroke drawing him nearer and deeper. It made him feel like he was swimming towards the answer to all of his questions. The ones his mother could not answer and the ones his late father was not privileged to answer. He halted when he saw her. She was backing him and she had long dark hair which shone in the water. What he had been hearing were not voices but her song. Her siren. He swam towards her to try and get a glimpse of her face but she began to swim away. He swam after her and she stopped and now facing him, bowed and said. "You are welcome my lord. Please allow me to take you to your kingdom." He starred at her face. She was beautiful and before he could utter a word, she swam away again and he followed her. She stopped again and he knew why she had done it this time. There were thousands of his people below them and his mother was among them. In her right hand she held a golden Triton and in her left hand was a crown- the one that had belonged to his father. She saw him and called him " Dike my child, come to me." It gave him great joy to hear his mother call him that name because it was the name his father called him. The last time he had heard that name was the day his father was killed and since then he had longed to hear it. He swam towards her and she gave him her blessings and made him king. He got married to Uremma, the goddess of the sun. They had three children; Udo, the god of thunder, Chidi, the god of war and Ohammiri, the goddess of fertility. Dike ruled Idemmiri kingdom for a thousand years and is forever remembered as one of the strongest gods in the igboland because he put the lives of his people before his own.