A Surprise Inheritance

One day I was on my way to work when my phone rang. I didn’t recognize the number, so I didn’t answer it. A minute later, the phone buzzed. Whomever it was left me a voicemail. I listened to it once I got to my desk.

“Ms. Paul, can you please give me a call when you receive this message? My name is Frank Mills. I am a lawyer and was calling because I have some very important news to share with you regarding one of your family members. My number is 222-342-5233. Please call me back when you get the chance. Thanks.”

As I leaned back in my chair, I couldn’t help but to think who in the world was Frank Mills and exactly which family member was he speaking of. So, I didn’t waste any time and rung him back immediately. He picked up the phone on the first ring “Ms. Paul, thanks for calling me back. How are you today?”

“I am fine.”

“Well I was calling you regarding the passing of one of your relatives. Are you familiar with a Mr. Shaka Chuke?”

“Who?”

“Mr. Shaka Chuke. It’s my understanding that he’s one of your cousins. He was the King of the African tribe Himba.”

“What? Is this a joke?”

“No ma’am, it isn’t. Unfortunately, King Chuke died about a week ago. He didn’t have any children and therefore no direct heirs. After some investigation though, I was able to locate you as his 10th generation cousin. Based on what I was able to find, you are his last living relative.”

“Hmmmm, okay. Well, I don’t know any Shaka, and both of my parents are deceased, so I can’t ask them about him. Is there a specific reason why you are calling me about this now?”

“Well, Ms. Paul, King Chuke has left an inheritance behind. I was calling to let you know that it is yours. You must satisfy one condition though, but essentially his estate is yours if you want it.”

“Whaaatttt? Seriously? What’s the one condition?”

“You must move to Africa and reside as the new Queen of the Himba tribe. If you do so, you’ll receive all of the King’s inheritance.”

“And what all exactly does his inheritance consist of?”

“Well, I can’t tell you all the specifics right now. You must first agree to relocate and once there, all he has will be yours. In addition, I am going to need an answer from you rather quickly. You have 1 week to decide or else all he has will be seized and become the property of his home country.”

“Wow really? Are you serious?”

“Yes, ma’am. I am. It took me awhile to track you down, hence, the need for such a quick turnaround. Do you have any additional questions for me?

“No I don’t. I am just a little shocked by all this, and keep waiting on you to say that this is a joke!”

“I totally understand. It’s a unique situation, but I assure you it’s not a joke. Well, thanks Ms. Paul for your time. I have to run to another appointment. We’ll be in touch, and remember you only have 1 week. Feel free to call me at any time if you have any questions. Have a great day!”

I hung up the phone. I couldn’t help but to still think was this man for real. How could I have a great day after that.

Well, needless to say, that 1 week flew by. The deadline came, and I had a decision to make.

Just like clockwork, Mr. Mills phoned me again.

Ring,ring,ring!

“Hello.”

“Good morning Ms. Paul. How are you today?”

“Fine.”

“Well, let me not waste any time and get right down to business. Have you made a decision?”

“Mr. Mills, I have. After thinking about it, I figured what do I have to lose. A few years ago, I lost everything that I had. My business, at the time, caught on fire. I have been struggling ever since to get my life back on track. So, I say ‘why not’. I am ready to go to Africa to see what’s all in store for me. It might just be the change that I need!”

“That’s great to hear, Ms. Paul! Then, I’ll go ahead and make flight arrangements for us to to travel to Africa and claim your inheritance. I’ll try to schedule for us to leave within the next 2 weeks. In the meantime, please make sure to pack your bags and to make arrangements regarding your residence and any personal belongings that you may have.”

“Okay.”

Once again, 2 weeks flew by. Mr. Mills and I was now on our way to Africa. After we landed there, we had to take a 20-mile bus ride just to get to my cousin’s village from the airport. His village was located in the country of Namibia.

His tribe must have known I was coming because once we arrived, one of the elder mothers came up to me hugging me, and she planted a kiss on my forehead. She started talking to me, but I didn’t understand her for she spoke in her native tongue. After her, a few more others came up to me and bowed before me. I was eventually led to my throne, a chair located in the back of my cousin’s hut.

I sat down and instantly started re-thinking did I make the right decision. At this point, one of the tribal leaders stood before me with a note in his hands. Thank goodness, he spoke English, and I was able to understand him as he read it. It went as follows:

“My beloved tribe, if you are reading this, then I, King Shaka Chuke, must be gone, and my heir is present to take over my reign. With this said, your next leader must declare his devotion to our tribe before officially starting his reign. To do this, he must complete the following test: He must go into the wild, skin a cat, and bring it back to the village for a tribal feast which is to be held in his honor.”

I repeated “Skin a cat? What does that mean?”

The tribal leader said, “It means that you must go into the woods, find a lion, kill it, and bring it back for us all to celebrate and feast with you. It is our ritual when invoking a new king.”

“Wait a minute? What? Mr. Mills, you didn’t mention anything about skinning no cat? I didn’t come all this way to be killed by no wild animal.”

“Ms. Paul calm down. I will try to help you.”

“Excuse me, what do you know about killing a lion? You are from Utah just like me.”

“Ms. Paul, I used to hunt when I was a kid. How hard can it be?”

Well, once in the woods, I realized I should have asked more questions before our trek. Come to find out, the only thing we could use to kill the lion was a bow and arrow. Plus, Mr. Mills was used to hunting with a gun. He didn’t know anything about hunting with no bow and arrow. It was then I feared for our lives!

We decided to hide in this huge mango tree that we saw. We had been in that tree for almost 5 hours when we finally saw a lion heading our way. It slowly walked over to where we were, looking for its next prey. As we sat there waiting for it to come closer, the lion stopped. It was as if it could sense that something was wrong. It looked around and stayed in place for a minute. Then it proceeded to walk again. Once close, Mr. Mills and I both shot our arrows. One missed, but the other one hit right in the lion’s side. We shot a few more arrows at it until it finally died. WE DID IT!!! We jumped down out of the tree and skinned the lion right there. We cut it up, packed the pieces up in our bag, and headed back to the village.

Once we returned, the tribe was already rejoicing to their Gods. We returned to the hut and got ready for the feast. The feast began and all night, the tribe singed and danced in my honor. It was at the end of the festivities when they put the crown on my head, and I was officially declared as the new Queen of the Himba tribe.

The next day, Mr. Mills informed me that he was going to have to head back home in a couple of days. However, before leaving, he needed to share with me the specific provisions of my cousin's inheritance. I sat there on my throne with my ears wide open.

“Ms. Paul, here goes. The estate of Mr. Shaka Chuke reads as such. I, Mr. Shaka Chuke, hearby leave my descendant the throne of Himba, along with all my riches. To my heir, I leave my tribe. I leave my hut and the 2 acres of land surrounding it. I also leave all the money I have, 367830 ZAR. Please use it to take care of my village and its people."

I jumped right out of my seat. I wasn’t good with money conversions, but I just knew I was rich. I started dancing around. I was too excited. After a few minutes, I stopped the mini celebration I was having with myself. I noticed that Mr. Mills was just standing still. I asked,

“Mr. Mills, what’s wrong. I just found out that I am rich, and you are just standing there. Why? Aren’t you happy for me?”

He said, “Oh yes ma’am, I am. Sorry about that. I am usually a pretty mellow guy, but yes, I am happy for you. It’s not every day one gets to become the Queen of an African country and then to also receive land and money along with it. I mean $25 isn’t much but it’s something and more than what you came over here with.”

“Wait a minute! What? $25?”

“Yes, 367830 ZAR converts to roughly $25 US dollars.”

It was right then, a train could have hit me, and I wouldn't have known it.

"You mean to tell me that I went through all this for a measly $25?"

“Ms. Paul, don’t focus only on the money, for you’ve gained so much more.”

Hmmph, did he not realize that the money was was all I was looking forward to.

In conclusion, I learned a hard lesson that day. Make sure to get all the details upfront before agreeing to accept a surprise inheritance and uprooting your entire life! The joke was definitely on me!