MOTHER GAIA TATTOOED ME

I always knew how I was going to die. It was written on my skin from the day I was born. The image of my death always haunted me in my dreams. I knew where and when I was going to die. I saw it vividly in my dreams. But who is my killer? That was my everyday question. All I knew was that he is close to me and was red-haired. How ironic I don’t have a close one left in this world. My mom left this world ten years ago. Mom preferred not to utter a word when I bring up Dad. And she had not left me any siblings. She was a little selfish to hide my father\'s identity but maybe she had her own reasons. As the saying goes, speak not ill of the dead. My mother was the kind of mother who would laugh when her kid played with mud, rather than yelling at him for getting his clothes dirty and spoiling his moment of discovery and the little joy of freedom he felt. Her voice always echoes in my head as if she is imprinted in me. She used to say, "Remember, my son, we are not from this world. We are part of the Unigammas clan from the Unimorphe parallel world, the chosen ones and the only immortals in the entire Grandium multiverse. We are most hated and yet the most feared. You, my son, are one of us; do not let anyone tell you otherwise. There is a king within you, and you must always believe in the power of your soul. And keep it in your heart that no one is like you, and that we lead, not follow. Preserve your good heart and do not cause any harm to anyone, even to those weaker than you. Your good heart will do you miracles one day."

My mom was the princess of Unimorphe, but she made an unforgivable mistake - me. I was called the Bastard by her people. My father was from the Malardo clan. The Malardo clan was considered to be the most wicked people of the Grandium Multiverse. They were responsible for causing chaos in every parallel world. They were sinister rebels who sought to gain eternal life, which Mother Gaia, our Goddess, condemned them for due to their dark hearts.

They were not just mortal but were born with a unique tattoo that tells them how they will die. They know how they will die and who will kill them. So, they made it their principle to kill before they get killed. That is the only way to escape fate. They had one thing in common they were all destined to kill each other. This was their curse. Mother Gaia was determined to perish all of them one by one so that they will pay for every destruction and chaos they caused in the multiverse.

After my mom had me. Her parents were enraged with anger. They were devoted servants of Mother Gaia, so they asked her for a wish and that is to banish all the Malardo clans to the worst parallel world in the mirror multiverse. She chose the only world with life found in the milky way galaxy-Earth. She cast them all to different eras and ages and places so they cannot meet each other ever again. As I am part of this wicked clan by my father\'s side, I was cast to the biggest continent found in the south part. My mother chose me over her throne, so she came with me to earth. she had to go to her family shaman to request a body that looked like a human being as Mother was a spirit, she did not have flesh, but Father did. I was born with a pure royal spirit in cursed flesh. Maybe that’s why Mother Gaia cast us to earth, human beings were our relatives. We looked like them. Except they knew how to harmonize their dark and pure heart. The ones who cannot master their dark heart and let it rule them are regarded as psychos, sinners, and criminals. In my opinion, human beings were as wicked as us- The malardo clan if not more selfish and devilish than us. My Mom and I found ourselves in the northern part of the kingdom of Abyssinia-Tigray. Mother was given the power to easily master the language that the locals spoke, so it was easy for her to communicate with the people. She transformed her clothes to fit the culture of ‘Tegaru” which is what they called themselves. Their language was called “Tigrigna”. 

My mom found the servant of Ras Alula Engida - a prominent general and leader from the Tigrayan region and asked her for asylum in her master\'s home. Since then, Mom raised me serving as a maid for his excellency. I grew up with children of nobles and generals of Adwa.

They were such generous people. I was in the flesh of a human being, but I had all the powers and knowledge of my parents. My mom left Earth when I was 20 years old as her human flesh already had a limited period and her shaman can\'t do anything about it. She left me with her human best friend Eleni. I liked my life as a human being, but I was always confronted by the two internal forces of my parents. One was telling me to be wicked and do evil to the ones that gave me an asylum and the other told me not to lose hope in discovering my golden spirit and preserving my good heart. I have always immersed myself in thoughts. Even when I am out in the forest with my friends and other fellow shepherds, I would just sit and watch them play not because I don’t want to play but in case something triggers my emotion and do something that may cause harm to them. I did my best to suppress my evil side. I promised Mom to be fair and good to everyone. They gave me the nickname “ሰላማዊ’’  selamawi which means peaceful and calm not knowing I was hiding a tornado inside me. Mom told me I will find my way back to her nevertheless I was losing hope. Maybe Earth was my last destination. My wicked flesh will bury my spirit forever. Years after reading all the books Mom left me about her world and tried everything to discover my eternal soul within but no use. I found out that my dad is from the malardo clan from the books. My tattoo was glowing day by day, reminding me of my doom. If I didn’t reveal the mystic essence that defines my soul, I would be buried in those human tombs and earthworms would eat my flesh. It was the year 1896, emperor Menelik ordered the mobilization of all male youth in Abyssinia as they have been encountering attacks from Italians who based themselves in the north-Eritrea. I had to run away as I am not human and should not involve myself in this.

I made my way to Axum and from there to Eritrea-Adi Quala. I spent days hiding here and there. As I was resting under a tree near a river a bald man covered with Gabi (a white traditional garment) approached me. I told him where I’m from and my human name- Neguse. He told me his name is Berehe and asked me why I didn’t join the battle. He stared into my eyes “Aboy Berehe I could not go to the battle because I...” didn’t let me finish “Because you are not a human being” he pushed me down and touched my arms. My tattoo was glowing, and he was reading it. How is this possible? human beings cannot see it let alone read it. I know that my killer had red hair, but this man is bald. He dug his nails into his head and began to rip his body apart. Suddenly, a dark human-looking creature with red hair emerged from inside. "It\'s nice to see you vassilias. come give Papa a hug," he called me by my real name. “How did you find me? Mother Giaia cursed us all." I shouted out in fear.

“The king of this world gave me this power. We have Gaia there and they have Diabolos here”. he took out his sword and come running to me. I could not believe I was the son of this devilish creature. This was it. My doom was in front of my eye, and I can\'t do anything about it. The only way to escape this fate was to kill him but I could not do it for it will prove to him that I\'m nothing but the evil part of him he created. I promised Mom to not harm anyone. I just was not meant for this. With a swift motion, he thrust his sword forward, piercing my flesh. I felt this excruciating pain in my flesh. My human flesh turned dry as if it was burnt.  I could see the veins bulging in his forehead as he shouted and cursed in anger. I started to listen to voices and feel things I could not describe. Is this how human beings die? A tear of guilt fell down my face. I wish I could have given Mom a proper eternal goodbye instead of being delusional and dreaming of defying destiny. In my final gasps, I saw His fists clenching and his teeth gritting as he let out a ferocious scream of frustration. “Why is he angry” I wondered. I thought he would be happy by now but that’s only if I was dead and to my delight, I was not dead. The pain I was going through was only because I was transforming into my natural form. His sword bent. “You little trash. You and your mother ruined my life and banished my clan. How can you possibly have my flesh ad not own a heart like mine? ” he tried to stab me multiple times, but nothing was happening to me. Mom was right when she said, “Your good heart will do you a miracle one day” and now it did. My dad could not kill me as this curse only works for the dark-hearted and I was not. My human flesh turned into ashes and now am a free spirit. Suddenly the river began to surge forward as if it was stirred by an unseen power. A beautiful spirit with a crown came out. As she approached, the air around her seemed to shimmer and glow with an otherworldly radiance. Her face was strikingly beautiful, with sharp features that spoke of both power and cunning. It was the sacred Mother Gaia and behind her was Mom. I eagerly flew to Mom. I was enjoying her warm hug as I watched Mother Gaia take my father by his head and furiously yell at him “No god in this world or in the whole multiverse will outpower me. I am the Goddess of all the universe- Mother Gaia the greatest. You will go with me, and I will make you suffer with your earthly god forever.”

"Where is she taking him, Mom?" I asked, " To Dalul where the gates for the eternal prison are open. " She looked back at me with a proud motherly smile "I knew you will keep your promise son. Let\'s go sweetheart I will show you your kingdom" Mom opened a sliver door where it took us to the lake Tana. The largest lake in Abyssinia. We sank deep into the lake. I saw a big golden gate that led to The Grandium multiverse-My kingdom. Finally, I will go to the place where I belong-Home.