storiesbyzellahdee-blog

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I'm a storyteller that nobody wants to hear. Y'all still gone hear me though.

[storiesbyzellahdee-blog]

Displaced.

[storiesbyzellahdee-blog]

The Ancestor’s Cry: “Calypso’s Return” a short story by  Zellah Dee

The Ancestor’s Cry: Volume 1: “Calypso’s Return” a short story series by Zellah Dee 

Chameleons probably weren’t the most attractive species or liked, but they were interesting reptiles. Their ability to change and adapt in order to survive made them beautiful to Calypso Duverneau. She often felt like a chameleon on earth, so naturally they became her favorite animal since she related so well. There was no way people like her were from this place.

Calypso stared from her balcony at the very type of lizard she felt like. She should’ve been packing for her flight, but she wasn’t the most excited about leaving. She was returning home to the village, the very place she had run away from years ago. She wanted to ignore this trip, so she focused on the creature before her. He tiptoed slowly towards her. The lizard walked onto Calypso’s mahogany hand and she allowed it without hesitation.

“Geez, what the fuck are you doing? You’re turning into Steve Irwin, babe,” Winston said as he entered out onto the balcony.

Calypso chuckled and slowly turned around to face her boyfriend. “You should pet him.”

“No way. I’m a city guy, baby. My Dad didn’t take me outdoors. He had business trips,” he said.

“Poor privileged you,” she teased.

“Why don’t you put that thing down and come inside. I have something I wanna give you,” he said with mischief in his eyes.

Calypso smirked. “Can’t. Gotta pack.”

“You’re playing with a lizard,” he said.

Just as Calypso moved to place the chameleon down she groaned in pain. She held on to her stomach. A sharp shooting agony so hard to explain. The chameleon vanished into thin air.

Winston rushed to her side. “What the hell just happened? Where did it go? I told you to put that thing down?”

Calypso screamed again and again, holding her stomach then her head from a violent headache. “It’s not the chameleon,” she said.

Winston helped her cross the threshold and onto the bed. “What is it then?”

“Just a migraine. I’ll be fine.”

“That didn’t seem like just any old headache,” he said.

“I’ll be fine. I’m just stressed.” That part was the truth. She felt dread at the idea of packing her clothes to go home. She knew how long she planned to stay, which wasn’t long at all. It had been a while since she’d returned. Hell, she hadn’t been back since she left for college. Her family was different and it was a side of her that she often shied away from. They were assimilated to American culture now and hadn’t returned to their true homelands for centuries. They were not human, so they had to be chameleons.

“Just let me go with you. I’ll buy my ticket right now,” Winston pleaded.

Calypso sighed. There was no way he could go. She could not and would not introduce him to her family, at least not this soon. They’d only been dating for a few months and she liked him enough, but that was a milestone she just wasn’t ready to cross. “I told you how I feel about this,” she said.

“Is it because you haven’t told them that I’m white?” he said.

Calypso rolled her eyes. She didn’t care about that and neither would her family. The fact that he was human would bother them most. She hadn’t told or showed Winston her true self, but she knew she couldn’t. He would never understand how to be with someone like her. A powerful Sorcerer from a long lineage of what his people would’ve deemed as witches, but for Calypso’s people, that was the same as Winston’s people calling the black American’s niggers.

In Winston’s eyes and most white people that chose to deny their existence she was just another black American or an African immigrant. Her race of people were found in Africa, in fact, she was a descendant of one of the five loss regions of Sorcerer’s taken from their homes, but their people had already experienced migration throughout thousands of years ago. Sorcerer’s were from all over and wore many different faces. Calypso had no time to give him a history, especially since she had no idea how long he’d even be around. None of it would make sense.

If she told him everything he’d learned in history was a lie he would probably debate her for hours. She appeared to look like an average black American without any ties or roots to Africa because in many ways Sorcerer’s and other beings alike in America connected to them mostly. Black American’s were descendants of her origin, but they were stripped of their powers and experienced the loss of their true identity like no other people have.

There were humans on earth that believed other beings existed, but there were also many that had to see it to believe it. Still even with their eyes wide open and evidence before them they refused to receive it. It’s as if their eyes were still shut. “My family is different and I’m not ready to deal with it,” she said.

“Everybody has a little crazy in their family, so what? I know it seems soon, but I just want to know that we’re going in the right direction.”

Calypso grinned. “We are. Just not right now. Could you please just leave it alone,” she said.

Falling in love wasn’t an unusual thing amongst the Duverneau women. They came from the most powerful tribe and also the only one made up of only women. They didn’t take the last name of men in their culture after marriage, but they made some of the best wives.

Calypso hadn’t been that lucky in love, but her sisters on the other hand had found love more times than she could count. That was the very reason for her return. Marriage.

Her oldest sister Socorro Duverneau hadn’t been a widow long before she was in the arms of another man. She’d met and fallen in love with a demigod, a being with the ability of telekinesis, mind reading, contact with the dead and even speaking to beings in other dimensions. They had many other capabilities that Calypso hadn’t taken the time to commit to memory. She should’ve cared more for her own protection, but she tried her best to remain low-key. Calypso knew that Zora Duverneau the matriarch and the Empress of the Duverneau tribe had to be proud, especially since her new son-in-law was a purebred Camight-Arfaibian demigod Warrior.

Calypso didn’t care about any of that. She would be happy with just finding someone that loved all of her flaws. She didn’t need him to be some magical being that helped to carry on a powerful legacy of people. Calypso barely practiced her voodoo enough to be any good. There was no way in hell she’d carry those practices on to her children. In her mind she had a choice in who she wanted to be. The universe couldn’t decide that for her and if she wanted to cut all ties with her culture then so be it. It wasn’t her legacy or burden to carry. She just wanted to be normal.  

When Calypso reached the airport she expected her little sister, Allura Duverneau to be waiting for her. They’d discussed the arrangements a million times. Allura was excited to see her. It hadn’t been that long since she’d seen her sister. No, she didn’t go home often, but when they felt the need to find her they would. They’d intrude in the craziest ways, but sometimes she could only laugh because she missed them so.

She often ran into other people that were like her. Other Sorcerer’s and demigods and goddesses from different regions and even Hybrid’s and Demon’s that possessed humans to become their huntsman for all beings that were different from them. The moment she felt the energy of someone with supernatural capabilities good or bad she would go the other way. She had enough problems living life as a human, so she didn’t want to make her life harder being of the supernatural.

Calypso hadn’t gotten an answer from her sister or any other family members. She called everyone she could think of. Most public transits besides busses refused to go to her area. Though many people were afraid to believe and accept the existence of these magical beings they didn’t want to take chances. There had been rumored that in there part of town was were the magic and demon possession happened. She knew she would have trouble getting close to home, so she’d have to do something she hated. Use her voodoo.

She hailed a cab and told the driver where she wanted to go, but he refused to go. “The Mayor told us to stay away from that part of town for a reason. I’m sorry, but I can’t---“

Calypso ended his sentence as she chanted. Suddenly, the driver was moving and the rest of the traffic had stopped. She forced the car to rise into the air, to bypass the cars around them. Calypso chuckled remembering just how fun it could be to play like this. That is, until the car fell from the air and on top of another vehicle. “Shit.”

Calypso, hopped from the vehicle, afraid of the scene and what she’d done, she fled. She got out of there as quick as possible, suddenly needing another ride when the cars were back in motion. She hailed another cab and got him to take her to the closest destination possible to her city without the use of sorcery.

“This is the furthest I go,” he said.

Calypso hopped out with her luggage. She had a bit of a walk ahead of her, but luckily it was still daylight. After she’d walked a few miles down the long road a car pulled up next to her. He cruised slowly letting his window down and staring at Calypso. She didn’t want another mishap, so she’d have to deal with this the human way. She ignored him and kept up her walking pace.

He revved up his engine. She’d counted the steps. Seventy-eight. Seventy-nine. Why the hell was he still following her? This time she ran, she sprinted as quickly as she could. The car only chased after her, but once she’d reached the town he stopped. She didn’t know who or what he was, but she figured if he turned around either he was scared or the village had been placed under a spell of protection from people like him.

Calypso wandered through the village called, Chioma. It had been named after their Ancestor, Chioma Duverneau. Much of their history had been lost over the years, but they still had a connection with the ancestors. They were the ones that guided them. They generated their power from their ancestors, but in order to receive the blessings the bloodline had to be strong in numbers to use their gifts on earth. Without each other the ancestors could not grant them dominion.

After about an hour and half of walking she’d reached the home where she’d grown up. She found the place empty. Not in possessions, but in presence. Her mother and sisters were nowhere to be found. Her father, Idris DuPont was a Sorcerer of the same region, but he was of a different tribe. He’d died many years ago when her youngest sister was just a baby. Calypso had never gotten the full story on her father’s murder, but it had been one of the many reasons she wanted to live life as human as possible. What was so bad about being human when she looked no different and was made of flesh and blood the same? The saddest part for Calypso was no matter whom she chose to be she still had to endure a fight. She was afraid to be like her father.

Her mother had lived for centuries and for centuries she’d fallen in love many times, but Calypso and her two sisters were her children of this life. Calypso didn’t know if she had a desire to live so many lives as her mother had. She didn’t know if she desired finding new lovers to build with and then lose because of some other scorned soul that she’d refused to give in to. Many men wanted Zora Duverneau and because she hadn’t looked a day over thirty in her true form in the last few centuries she’d married many times.

Once Calypso turned thirty, it would be the same for she and her sisters. They would never age again. That was the kind of weird shit that she didn’t want to have to explain to the men she fell for. It had been so hard for her to fall truly in love because she knew she’d eventually have to show her authentic self. Being a Duverneau was both a blessing and a curse. She could change for her mate if she wanted to and age with him if he were human, but if she’d married someone like her or a demigod then she would have someone she wouldn’t have to explain anything to. She just had no desire of being with her own kind if she didn’t have to. They wouldn’t make her normal.

Calypso moved about the home. Different artifacts that brought back strong memories. She couldn’t smile though because something in her felt off and nothing about this felt right. She thought to venture a few homes down to where her aunts and cousins were. The tribe had been made up of exclusively the women of Duverneau blood, which was what made their tribe so powerful. To the Western World they’d be called covens, but that was blasphemy for any Sorceress or Sorcerer to hear. They were apart of tribes and many tribes had different lineages, but many had no idea what lineages they were apart of. Over the years they’d mixed a lot.

When she ventured to find the altar she was met with an unsuspected visitor that didn’t like to use words for talking. Instead, the woman had attacked. There was no use in trying to explain, so she defended herself.

           “Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my house?” she asked as she rammed the woman into the wall. She put her forearm in the woman’s throat, but the woman got the best of Calypso tossing her away.  She fell on her back.. She didn’t have time to think about the pain before the woman came back for more. She didn’t do this. That’s why she had no desire to come home. She hadn’t been back a full twenty-four hours and already had to fight someone.

    Calypso rolled out of the way just in time. She held her hands up in surrender. “Lets use our words. What do you want?”

The woman forces Calypso towards the wall. She picks her up and places a knife to her throat. “Who are you? Why have you come here?”

“You’re seriously coming to my home and asking me that?”

“Your home?” she thinks about it and pulls back. “You’re Calypso?”

“In the flesh. Now who the fuck are you?”

She learned the woman’s name was Yaris Diallo, a Winivorya Sorceress. Though she hadn’t learned everything about demigods she’d been forced to learn about the five regions no matter what. That part of her history would always stick with her. She didn’t know if Yaris practiced dark magic yet, but most people of her region had done so or they were eclectic, which meant they didn’t stick to a tribe and neither did they need to depend on their ancestors to grant them their power. They had the choice to use dark magic or not.

She’d learned that Yaris decided not to practice on the dark side during their walk. She’d told her there was something she needed to see. Calypso hesitated and refused at first. She’d told her that she was waiting for her family to return from where ever they were. Yaris had chosen to ignore and just repeated that there was something Calypso should see. She told her that she and Allura had just become acquainted a few months ago.

That hadn’t set well with Calypso, but she decided to go along. They went deeper and deeper into the forest and as they did so, she felt weaker. She stumbled a bit, the pain and the headache she’d felt before had return, but this time much stronger.

“Are you alright?” Yaris asked.

“I can feel them calling me. I think they’re in danger,” Calypso said.

Yaris grabbed Calypso’s arm and forced her to move quicker through the trees. Stepping and cracking sticks they moved like lightening. “We must hurry,” she said.

When they reached their destination Calypso fainted.

She woke up a few seconds later after being doused with water. She’d thought she was in a dream. They were gone and it was real. Her mother and sisters tied to trees and lifeless. She crawled over to them. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t think you would believe me and didn’t want you to blame me. I came to the home searching for Abdalahn, Socorro’s fiancé, but no one has been able to find him either. The Duverneau tribe has been slain, Calypso. You are the last of a dying breed.”

Calypso found herself wanting to faint again at the thought as she removed their bodies to take with her. “I need to know who did this and what happened.”

“What will you do? You’ve lost your way. Your sister told me that you do not practice. How will you avenge them if that’s your plan?”

“I’ll figure it out and I won’t need your help.”

“You will because this is bigger than you. Someone out there found a way to destroy the most powerful tribe the five regions has ever seen. What do you think they will do next?”

Calypso didn’t say anything. She knew this wasn’t her battle. She wasn’t this person, but as she laid the last body down she wept. She fell forward and wept into the ground because it was all she could do. She was alone now. She’d fought so hard to stay away from her culture, but now it was all gone right before her eyes. Her blood family ripped to shreds. Her bloodline near the end.

Her beautiful mother, the empress looked at peace, but Calypso knew she herself wouldn’t be. This was an act of genocide if what Yaris was saying were true. They weren’t the only Duverneau’s, but they had been the most powerful. Her family name would be extinct.

“You know what you must do, Calypso. You have to save the Duverneau power.”

“Why the hell do you care so much about our tribe? You don’t even have your own,” she scoffed.

“Because the Duverneau’s treated me as such. I didn’t need to be a part to know that they had my back when they took me in.”

Calypso didn’t have the strength to take her mother and sisters bodies anywhere, but she also knew she couldn’t leave them. She would lie there and sleep if she had to.

“You must find a Camight-Arfaib demigod to marry and mate with to continue on the legacy, so that the Duverneau power lives on. You must rebirth the nation, Calypso. It is your duty to hear your Ancestor’s cry.”