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I started to feel it as I lay resting on my bed. It would come like mild shocks through my bones that subsided into a sensational feeling of release. I was six years old the first time I felt and heard it. It was that sonorous sound again rousing me. It wasn't creepy or awful. The sound was like an ancient flute that spoke to my insides. It would rouse something inside of me like a conjuring. That's the name I made up for it. My body heard. I wanted to obey but my mind didn't understand it. It would last only a couple of minutes but would leave me with a greater wish of longing, and deepen the void I needed to fill up. I needed to know exactly who I was.
I looked out of my window and to the sky. The stars looked so beautiful. When I was a kid, I always dreamed of holding a piece of star in my hand and painting a picture of it. I was in awe of nature and it inspired a lot of my paintings. I looked at the butterfly tattoo on my arm. I had six of them and they gave off a bright green shimmer each time I felt the conjuring. My parents had told me that I was born that way and that they were birthmarks. “But who is born with a tattoo of six green butterflies?” I would often ask.
I got out of bed and headed straight to my father’s bedroom. “Father! I'm ready to go to Tahaka. You said you'll let me go when I turn eighteen.” I pouted and folded my arms while standing in front of my father. He paused while still holding up his newspaper and looked at me. His eyes pierced through his glasses. He parted his lips as if to say something. He then let out a sigh and finally said, “You know what Lamirah? I bless you. Go ahead”. My father closed his newspaper and folded his glasses.
“You mean that?” I exclaimed. I leaped forward and hugged him. His smile spread from his cracked lips to the creases beside his eyes. “But honey, don't get your hopes up. Whatever you are looking for, you have it right here. Your mother made sure of that. She always said that there was nothing more left there for the butterflies to find their way. Whatever that meant.”
“I know father but still, I want to find the truth for myself. These tattoos! I saw them in the photos. My grandmother also had them but mother would not say anymore.” I paused and looked into my father’s eyes as I settled on the side of his recliner. “There has got to be a story worth telling and a picture worth painting.”
“You are a hard nut just like your mother. Rest her soul.” My father spoke softly with a hint of sadness in his voice.
I arrived in Tahaka very early in the morning. I checked myself into a local motel before I decided to immerse myself in the air of the town. Tahaka was my maternal village that I had never been to. My mother never said much about the town no matter how hard I tried. It was like something she wanted to forget. Tahaka and its people looked like any other normal community. Other than friendly people and a little smile here and there, there was hardly anything spectacular about the town. I ate some local meals and decided to call it a day.
Back in my room, I lay resting on my bed while watching the sky through an open window. It was my favorite thing to do before bedtime. The view even from my bed was amazing. I could see a huge part of the town. The mountain tops and forest covers created a panoramic atmosphere. The feeling moved me. I got up to stand by the window. I could see more scenic views. I felt like grabbing a canvas.
I closed my eyes and I began to feel different. It was the conjuring taking hold of me. I held on tight to the window blind until the feeling surged through me. This time, it was more intense and present. When I opened my eyes, I saw little dots of light flashing in the distance like a beacon. When I looked closely, I saw butterflies. Hundreds of them came through the forest. They were shimmering colors of green and blue. My tattoo began glittering the same colors as the butterfly. My head started to spin.
I rushed out of my room and followed the path of the butterflies. They seemed to be flying in different directions but in unison. I hardly realized that I had gone deep into the woods. I came to a path where the leaves looked greener and smooth like silk. There were no winds but the trees were swaying in the same direction as the butterflies. Then I saw her. She was the most striking thing I had ever seen. Her skin was shiny and her hair was olive. Something about her made me tremble. She held a strange flute in one hand and moved the other hand like a chorister. As her hand moved, the butterflies and trees moved too. It was like magic. I saw tattoos of six blue butterflies on her arm.
I trudged gently. “What are you?” I whispered loud enough to be heard.
She paused, looked at me, and said, “the butterflies have found their way”.
I was puzzled and she knew. She then raised her flute to her mouth and began blowing. The feeling that engulfed me immediately was all too familiar. I knew the conjuring like I knew my name. “Stop!” I yelled. “Tell me. What is this place? What are you?”
She dropped the flute and began to speak. “Lamirah, we've waited forever for you. You are Tahaka but a special one. We are Ödul Tahakan, the tree people.” Her voice was sweet like a nightingale. Listen Lamirah. Each of us Ödul have a special duty to nature. We are agents of nature and your niche awaits you. An empty niche breaks the cycle of nature. We must populate your ecosystem. The last of your clan to be here was your grandmother. Decades ago, the human people of Tahaka began destroying the forest to build homes. There was no longer a way for the butterflies and Your clan moved away to find shelter elsewhere. The link is broken and must be fixed else nature will fall apart. Come! I'll show you. I am Hana by the way.”
She effortlessly jumped on a tree and began to move with ease. She looked as light as a feather while moving. She then looked at me and gestured. I tried to lift myself while holding on to a branch. As soon as I did, I felt my weight leave me. I was as light as the wind and I could move with ease and speed. I looked up and the atmosphere had transformed into something breathtaking. Trees of different colors and sizes formed a cover above us. The leaves swayed and shimmered lightly. The sound in the air was mesmerizing like a lullaby.
I followed Hana jumping everywhere she did. “Watch this,” she halted. I watched as my skin began to reflect the colors of the flowers. My body became a work of art. “Yes! We are magic,” she smiled.
We hopped until we came to a place where the sky was visible. There were no colorful trees and flowers. Just bare stems and roots. “There! Your niche!”
Immediately, the butterflies in my arm began glittering again. This time, I watched as they emanated from my arm straight to the bare trees. Like that, they perched on each stem until flowers and leaves began blossoming gracefully. I was in awe. I felt my blood rush through my body.
“The cycle of life is complete now. Stretch your hands out.” Hannah instructed. As soon as I did, a star slowly fell from the sky and landed softly on my palm. “Once there was a girl who dreamed of painting a star. Right here, there are stories worth telling and pictures worth painting.” Hana looked at me and smiled. “Come! You need to meet the rest of Ödul Tahakan.”