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I was more than happy to oblige.
Taking a seat at the nearest table, I tried to engage in the conversation. But it was hard to talk over aunt Ghalla, who was still going on about the Lunja.
“This is the beginning of the end!” she said, her eyes wide with fear. “We will all be dead soon!”
In an extremely morbid way, she looked rather excited about it. The other ladies at the table nodded in agreement, their faces just as grim. My cousin Souhir kept her mouth shut. Her expression said it all; she wanted to be anywhere else than here.
I agreed with her as I listened to my relatives speculate about our impending doom.
“The Lunja are coming.”
“They say they bring death.”
“They’re going to banish us from our ancestral lands.”
“They’re going to eradicate our culture and our magic!”
“They’re going to abduct our children!”
The list of predictions went on. And with each new prediction, the tone grew more and more hysterical. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get their words out of my head.
They were like a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off, clucking and squawking and flapping their arms around. It was all they could do. Waiting for the ax to fall down.
“I can’t believe it,” aunt Ghalla repeated for the fourth time. “It’s been so long since the Lunja have last visited Midar. It’s hard to believe that they wouldn’t be aware of the visions. What if they know?”
“I know, I know.” Idir rubbed her forehead, her voice weary. “But what can we do? They can show up whenever they want and there’s nothing we can do about it.”
“I refuse to believe that they’re here to kill us.” I raised my chin. “There has to be another explanation.”
Everyone at the table turned to look at me, their eyes wide with surprise. They weren’t used to hearing dissent amid all this panic. Hope sparked in Souhir’s eyes and she leaned forward, her face earnest.
“What do you think they’re here for, then?” she asked.
“They haven’t crossed our borders in 350 years. I think it’s safe to say that they’re not here to kill us all,” I continued. “I think we should try to find out what they want before we panic.”
“And what reason could that be?” Souhir challenged, her voice small but firm.
“Maybe they remembered they haven’t seen us in a while?”
My cousin’s disbelief was palpable.“The Lunja don’t care about us, Thimsal. We’re nothing to them.”
But I could tell she was at least considering my words.
Aunt Ghalla huffed in agreement. “Souhir is right. Maybe they remembered they haven’t seen us in a while. But I still think they know.”
Silence fell over the table as everyone considered this new possibility. If the Lunja knew about the visions, then we were in trouble. The thought alone was enough to make my stomach churn. There had to be another explanation. There just had to be.
“They are immortal. They don’t think like us.” I placed my hands on the table. “Maybe they just want to talk to us? It’s like when I don’t come to visit you for a month. After three weeks, you’d be wondering why I haven’t been around anymore.”
The ladies nodded their heads in agreement. Even aunt Ghalla looked a little less sure of herself. But my victory was short-lived, as their conversation shifted back to the Lunja.
A small hand tugged my sleeve. I looked down to see my five-year-old sister, Tilila, looking up at me with wide eyes.
“I’m bored,” she whined. “Can we go home now?”
I stifled a laugh and shook my head. “No, Tilila. We can’t go home yet.”
Tilila pouted and crossed her arms over her chest. “But I don’t want to stay here anymore.”
