That night, as the Harmattan winds whispered through the curtains, Ayikailey lay in bed, her head resting against Addae’s chest.
His fingers traced slow, absentminded circles along her shoulder as they listened to the distant hum of nighttime sounds—the occasional hoot of an owl, the rustling of palm fronds, the steady rhythm of their breathing intertwined.
“You’ve been quiet,” she murmured, tilting her head to look at him.
Addae exhaled, his gaze fixed on the ceiling. “I was thinking about what you said earlier—about our daughter.”
He hesitated, then turned to face her fully, his eyes dark and searching. “Ayikailey, do you ever wonder what the future holds for our baby?”
She studied him for a moment, understanding the weight of his question.
“I do,” she admitted softly. “But I also know we cannot control it. Only prepare him or her for it.”
Visions of the future
Addae nodded, but there was something deeper beneath his expression. “When I was a boy, my grandmother used to tell me stories of the ancestors—how they sometimes sent dreams, visions, whispers of what was to come.” He paused. “And lately, I have been having dreams.”
“Dreams?” Ayikailey asked
“Yes. In one dream, I see a girl… our child, standing at a crossroads.
One path leads home—to our traditions, to the ways we were raised. But the other is unfamiliar.
I cannot see where it leads. But she stands there, unafraid, looking between the two, as if waiting for something.”
The power of choice
Ayikailey reached for his hand, lacing their fingers together.
“Maybe it means she will have choices,” she said gently. “That she will honor where she comes from but also forge her own path.”
Addae looked at her, the worry in his eyes softening. “And what if she chooses a path we do not understand?”
Ayikailey smiled, pressing his hand against her belly. Their daughter stirred beneath his palm, a small but certain movement.
“Then we will love her still,” she whispered. “Because no matter where life takes her, she will always know where she comes from.”
Embracing the unknown
Addae closed his eyes for a long moment, then leaned down, pressing a kiss to her forehead.
“You are right,” he murmured. “She will be a force. And whatever the future holds, we will be ready.”
Outside, the wind carried a whisper through the night, as if the ancestors themselves had heard and approved.
And somewhere in the depths of Ayikailey’s heart, she felt it too—a certainty that transcended time.
Their child would not only inherit their love but the wisdom of generations before her.
She would walk paths untraveled, guided by the voices of the past
