Chapter 1

At a dam surrounded by trees, green bushes and grass, was a girl filling up her clay pot. She hummed a tune only she, the birds, insects and trees could hear, for there was no other human there. When her pot filled to the brim, she lifted the heavy pot and placed it on her head, elegantly so. The pot was heavy but you could not tell, she was graceful and effortless in her task. Her journey home began.

As she went on, she walked past her female age-mates along the way. They laughed. They were laughing at her. Like a deaf one, she did not react, she continued walking.

"Oh my, Buhle. Beautiful girl! How are you this morning?", joked a young man ahead, who then obnoxiously laughed with his two friends.

She paid no attention; her journey was more important.

Buhle had the body of a goddess. Her hair ran, like wild wall climbing plants, down her back to her tailbone. She had wooden beads and cowry seeds attached it. Some of her strands were braided down to show her face. She had an upright posture, which commanded attention in an ever so gentle manner. She had a slender frame, but her hips were wide and full, her waist; tiny. Buhle had some sensual mannerisms, which came effortlessly in everything she did or say. However, a girl so godly had a flaw.

She was the most hideous-looking girl in the kingdom of Simunye. Her name, however, was the complete contrast with her physical appearance. Her name was Buhle. It meant Beauty. It was given to her by her mother.

Buhle had been cursed by a furious witch that lived in a mountain cave. The witch, Zitha, was feared by many in the kingdom because of her merciless heart and the stories of devilry that accompanied her name.

Buhle had eyes of a snake; the skin on the sides of her face was covered in scales. She had scales under her arms and at the back of her upper arms. She seemed to be some type of human reptile. For that reason, she was considered ugly. Her ugliness manifested during the day, but at night, her beauty was unveiled, and it was unmatched. She was even thought to be a goddess by those who caught a glimpse of her in those dark hours of the night.

"Grandpa, would you like some tea?!" Buhle called out as she put the heavy pot on the ground.

She had arrived home from her trip to the river.

Her grandfather was inside their beautiful, colourful hut.

"No, child of my child! I see, you have returned from the dam!" grandpa responded from inside the hut.

"Yes! Should I wait for you or should I proceed with the events of today?!", Buhle asked her grandpa.

"No! Do not wait for me. I will find you at the farm, my child!" grandpa responded.

Buhle and her grandpa were close. Very close. He never went to bed without telling her a story. The two spent a lot of time together singing, doing household chores, listening to each other stories, farming and cooking.

Later in the evening, Buhle and grandpa sat staring at the live fire under the night sky. They had already finished cooking on the live fire, and had already eaten. This was an era before electricity; thus, cooking was done on fire and rooms were lit with fire. Grandpa was in the middle of telling a story. He scratched his chin and wondered;

"Now, where had we left of? Remind me, child of my child."

"Grandpa, you told me this story before. Perhaps this is the hundredth, Grandpa", argued Buhle.

"Nevertheless, it is still a legend. A legend that should be told to future Kings and Queens. And I believe that this story will find its ending soon, and very soon", grandpa said.

Buhle sighed and reminded her grandpa; "Zitha killed her son."

"Aah… The son, your father, finally grew the courage to speak against the will of Zitha, which was to turn him into a witch", grandpa told the story.

"A wizard, grandpa. A wizard," corrected Buhle.

"Witch, wizard. There is no difference, my child. Like a brave warrior, he commanded that his training be put to an end. He did not want to be a witch anymore. An argument between mother and son panned out that night. The following morning, like an unexpected dust, news of the death of the son of the notorious witch descended down the kingdom and the surrounding kingdoms", argued grandpa.

Grandpa stretched out his legs and complained about how tired he was. He then swiftly continued his tale;

"Your father and mother were to blame. The pure love your mother shared with your father turned his dark heart into a purified element of love. Witches from all other kingdoms united in our kingdom, Simunye Kingdom. An unsettling silence fell upon the kingdom in those few days. All other people locked themselves indoors. There was nothing they could do but peek through their windows and wonder if that was indeed the end of the world as they knew it. A decision was taken; lives for a life."

Grandpa took off his shoes and socks. He then wiggled his toes at the fire. He was warming them up.

"Like a brave man, I then summoned the elders to appeal to The King to intervene", with pride, grandpa said.

"This was back then when the current King and Queen were a young, newly married couple. They had not ascended to the throne yet. They were just Prince and Princess. The present King's parents were the one ruling. They were that time's King and Queen" grandpa clarified.

"The King then summoned the kingdom's wiseman; the passage to the land of the dead, the Sangoma. Upon consulting with the ancestors, the Sangoma declared that your existence should remain undestroyed. But the witches wanted to take your life and that of all the people in the kingdom. Hearing that they were prohibited, the witches' hunger for blood grew even more. The thing is, they had every right to claim your life and that of your mother, but not the lives of the rest of the population of Simunye."

Grandpa stretched his hands to the fire and wiggled his fingers. He smiled with satisfaction as he felt the warm of the fire. He continued with his tale;

"They argued that the lives of the rest of the population in the kingdom would make up for a mother who had to kill her own son. The witches empathised with Zitha, who killed her own son, your father. And they wanted to appease her. After all, it was well-known that all kinds of affairs between witches and non-witches were forbidden. But your parents went ahead and fell in love anyway. Upon liaising with the ancestors, negotiations were made. Your mother's life was to be taken after your birth, but your life was spared."

Grandpa paused for a while. He seemed sad about what he was about to deliver. With a frown on his face, he said;

"However, they-"

Buhle interrupted; "However, they put a curse on me. I shall be the most hideous creature to walk the earth. I shall never find love. And thus, I shall never continue our family line…"

Buhle turned to her grandpa and assured him; "It is well, grandpa. It is well with my soul… I have accepted it."

"But, my child. How do you forget to say that the curse shall and will be broken", grandpa reprimanded her.