Latty walked slowly into the wedding venue. The drums were still beating, but not as loudly as before. One by one, heads began to turn. Conversations stopped halfway. People stared openly. Some whispered. Others simply watched in silence.
Latty’s beauty caught everyone by surprise. Her long dark hair rested on her back, shining under the sun. Her face was calm, but her heart was beating very fast. She looked around carefully. Nobody spoke to her. Even the drummers slowed their hands as their eyes followed her movement. The dancers paused, forgetting their steps.
Eba, who had been sitting quietly, raised his head and stared at her with deep admiration. He could not look away.
Latty pretended she was only a guest. She smiled gently at those staring at her, though her smile hid fear and nervousness. She moved slowly through the crowd, careful with every step, careful with every breath. Inside her mind, Rona’s voice echoed again and again: Do not let anyone know who you are yet.
Latty held on tightly to that warning. She did not come to expose herself now. She came to see. She came to understand. Most importantly, she came to find her mother.
As Latty walked deeper into the venue, she scanned every face carefully—happy faces, laughing faces, faces full of food and celebration—but none of them were the face she was looking for.
Then she saw her, sitting a little far away from the crowd under a tree, alone. Latty’s mother sat quietly, her back slightly bent, her eyes fixed on the ground. She was not smiling. She was not dancing. She looked lost, like someone whose heart was somewhere else entirely.
The sight broke Latty’s heart.
Pain rushed into her chest so suddenly that she almost stopped walking.
Mama, she thought.
She remembered how her mother used to hold her hand when she was blind. How she guided her gently, how she never stopped loving her even when the whole village looked down on her.
Latty swallowed hard and walked toward her. When she reached her mother, she did not hesitate. She knelt down respectfully and greeted her.
“Good afternoon, Mama,” she said softly.
Her mother answered the greeting automatically, but her eyes did not leave Latty’s face. She stared at her closely, like someone looking at a familiar dream. Something about this young woman felt known, yet strange. Her heart stirred, but she could not place why.
Latty’s mother tilted her head slightly and continued staring.
“Young lady,” she said slowly, “where are you from?”
Latty’s heart skipped, but she remained calm. She remembered Rona’s warning again. She bowed her head slightly.
“I am from the neighboring village,” she lied gently.
The woman nodded, still studying her face.
“You look so beautiful,” she said with a soft smile. “And you look familiar.”
Latty felt her chest tighten.
“What is your name?” her mother asked.
Latty lowered her head again. For a moment, it felt heavy to lie to the woman who gave birth to her, but she knew this was not the time. She raised her head again and spoke clearly.
“My name is Nene,” she said.
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