Allora

I am Allora. I am an 30-year-old woman. In this story, I wanted to share the experience of my life. I will start with the time I was 11. I lived with my mother, father, my elder brother, Albert, my aunt, uncle and my cousin, Nina. I had a simple life and many dreams. I lived in Alashmere, in the country of Gogortia and I still do. My father was the chief of our village, Tadodi at that time. My mother, like all other women, used to make spices for the village's use and for exporting. She also helped father in some of his work as she was extremely witty. Since my father used to be busy with the village, my uncle and brother took care of our land and our crops. 

My dreams at that time, and till now, weren't to get a large house and money and power. Instead I dreamt of a simple life. All I wanted, were 2 dogs, which I have now. I had even thought of the names of my dogs. Ochre and Fauna, two Golden Retrievers.

That is everything I ever dreamt of. But what I didn't know was, destiny had other thoughts. 

One day, father came home looking really tensed. This was a once-in-a-month occurrence, but father called mother and Albert to his room and I knew it must be something related to the village. Albert was present when mother and father talked about these things ever since he was 15 years old. I would also be allowed inside when I would be 15. It was also important for him to be present since he, being the eldest child, was probably the next-in-line for the chair of the village headman.

It was not as if I was not allowed inside the room when the conversation was going on, just the fact that I was small and it was my age to play and learn, not discuss solutions to problems faced by villagers. Since father looked more tense than usual, and mother had a small headache, I decided to take some lemonade inside for all three of them. My mother always felt better when she drank some lemonade. 

I went inside with a plate containing three glasses of lemonade in my hands. Just as I was about to knock the door, I heard Albert's voice, "Father, I have a suggestion to make. Why don't we use the land near the river. The area is fertile. Making new houses there will be a good idea. It is also a good place to grow crops."

Father replied in his deep voice, "We had chosen that land dear. But we soon realized that it floods almost every year. The growing population and the increased demand of houses and food...", his voice trailed off.

I heard mother say, "We need that land. All we need to do is figure out a way to make houses in such a way that the floods don't affect them. We don't have any other area of land that we can use."

Then I heard my brother getting up. I quickly knocked, in case he was coming to the door, and thought I was eavesdropping. I heard my mother say, "Who's there?"

"It's me, Allora. I brought some lemonade for all of you."

Her voice softened, "Come in, Allora." As I entered, she said, "You know you need not knock to enter."

"I know I need not knock but you all seemed to have an important conversation on some important political decision. I thought that if I entered uncalled then it would be disturbing."

"It is an important conversation, but you are not banned from any conversation and you do know that right?", I heard father's voice.

"I know, father I just thought that you guys were stressed and didn't want to disturb you guys. Anyways, I have some lemonade, everyone."

"Ya, sure. Did you make this lemonade Lo?", asked Albert.

"Well, I did make mother and father's lemonade I was going to make yours too but Sally said she wanted to make some for you.", I said, trying to lighten the mood by teasing Al. Sally was his wife-to-be. Albert was 20, while Sally was 19, and the 20 was the age after which marriage was allowed. They would be married soon after Sally turned 20. 

Normally, Albert would have blushed at this and scolded me for trying to tease him, but he was serious and took his glass, collected both glasses of mother and father, and gave them to me. I returned to the kitchen, disposed the glasses, and then realised that it was my play time already. Will, Alnear and the others must be waiting. Will and Alnear were my best friends, and they still are. I am married to Will now, but he was and will always be my best friend.

I went to the garden and found them both a bit irritated. "Why were you so late?", was the first thing I heard. I turned my head and realised that Alnear had said this.

"We all were waiting Allora.", that was Will. 

"Yes, you said you had something special today.", said Nina.

"I have a game.", I replied to everyone. "Let's try to solve a riddle today."

"That sounds fun. Do you have a riddle?", Alnear said

"I do, but first, tell me, where is everyone?", I said

"Everyone came early, expecting something special today, but you were late, so everyone left.", an irritated Nina replied.

"Oh! I'm sorry! Anyways, let me tell you the riddle. I assure you, it is very interesting.", I said, pausing for a second. Then I continued, "Today we need to build Alnear's little sister's doll's house on the lake in such a way that it doesn't get wet."

"What!? (pause) That's interesting...", said Will.

"Ya, it is. Can we build a house in water?", asked Alnear

"Not in water, we need to make it on water.", I said

"Like, a flying house? C'mon, what idiocy is this?", said Nina.

"No, no, no! It's not idiocy. And not a flying house, a floating one. Or maybe one made on a higher level.", I paused for a second and no one spoke. Everyone was deep in thought. Suddenly, an idea came flying into my mind. I said, "Ohh!! A house on a higher level! I got it!", saying this, I ran towards the house, shouting as I ran, "I WILL PLAY TOMORROW!! YOU GUYS GO, I HAVE SOME WORK TO DO".

I ran straight to father's room. I slowly entered, and I saw father pouring over some pages. He looked up and saw me. "Yes, Allora. Do you have some work?"

"Yes father. I have a brilliant idea."

"About what?"

"Father, don't get me wrong, but when I was bringing lemonade for you all, I accidentally heard about the problem that is going on in the village. About the land near the riverbed."

"Ok.. What about it?"

"Since that area is prone to floods, we can't make houses there right? So, I just got an idea to make house there in such a way that the houses won't get damaged during floods."

"Ok.. Go on."

"We can't make houses on the ground, so we can make houses on pillars."

"On pillars?"

"I mean, we can take some strong tree branches and make 4 corners of a square as large as a house. Then, we can connect those four corners with a big plank of wood and glue the branches to the planks. so we formed a base for the house a bit above the ground. Now, on these bases, we can make the houses. Or an even better idea is to make a large base, and make all the houses on that base itself."

Father looked stunned for a moment, then he replied, "That is a brilliant idea Allora! It will need some structural modifications, but it is a brilliant idea, nevertheless."

"Thank you, father."

Father looked at his watch for a second and the said, "It is 4:00 right now. At 5:00, you will explain this idea to your mother and brother. If they approve, we will start this project of building homes in your name."

"Me? But why do I need to explain the idea to mother and Albert? And why will the project be in my name?", I asked, stunned.

"Because this project is your idea."

"It is my idea, but instead of keeping the project in my name, you could give me the offer to choose the name of the project."

"Ok. What name do you think is fit for this project, or that area."

I took a pause. The name of the our clan goddess was Kol. So... "What about Kolay, father?"

"That is a beautiful name."

After this incident, at 5:00, I explain my idea to Albert and mother. They too said that it was a great idea. The project began. The area was named Kolay. Years passed. Albert got married to Sally. 3 years after their marriage, Sally gave everyone the good news. A baby was coming! As the years passed, their daughter, who they named Clove, grew a bit older. 

                                                         --7 YEARS LATER--

One day, father called a house meeting. We were surprised. As everyone gathered, father started speaking, "I have served Tadodi for a long time. But I am getting old. I want to spend my last days as a normal old man, who is always with his family. I have two smart kids, whose childhood I missed, and I do not want to miss the childhood of my beautiful granddaughter. So, I have decided, I am going to leave this headman's chair for my successor. The tradition competition will take place in two weeks. The winner will be crowned the headman in one week after the competition. And the participants will be, Allora and Albert."

Everyone was shocked to hear the part of the traditional competition. There were gasps and murmurs everywhere. "I have made my announcement. Everyone, to their beds.", said father, and the meeting was dismissed. I lay in bed, not able to sleep. 

The traditional competition is the most well-known thing and yet the most well-kept secret of our village. I knew, and so did Albert, that one day we may have to face each other in this competition. It happens with every pair of siblings born in the clan of the village headman. My father and uncle too had to participate in the traditional competition. Father won, so he became the headman. Both the siblings that participate should be above 18. Ever since I turned 18, 5 months ago, I have been dreading the traditional competition. The reason for this dread is that, what happens in the traditional competition is unknown to anyone who was not present during the last one.

I decided to visit Nina. She would comfort me. As I went to her room, I found out that she was awake too. When I went in, she said, "You're still awake, Allora?"

"So are you."

"Yeah. You're right. Couldn't sleep?"

"Yeah. Traditional competition. You?"

"Same."

"I am just frightened."

"Of what?"

"The unknown. You know that it is the greatest mystery of our generation."

"It's all right, and it's going to be all right. Ok?"

Suddenly, a terrible thought occurred me, "What if it's not all right? What if he dies? What about Clove and Sally? What if the traditional competition is a fight to death?"

"That can't be true."

"Why?"

"There are two reasons. Both of our fathers are still alive. And our ancestors would keep the fight for the headman's chair a fight of brains, not brawn."

"You're right. Thanks Nina." Both of us waited in silence. For what, God know. After 10 minutes I said, "Well, I guess I'll go to my room.", I stood up at turned to leave, "Bye. Good Night."

"Bye. May you never return (laughs). Good Night.

"Uhm. Very funny."

I returned to my room, and slept a good nights sleep. Nothing special happened the next day. Mother refused to let me or Albert do much work. She said that we had to preserve our energy.

Just as I was about to go to bed, two days after father's announcement, Albert knocked on my room's door. "Allora, are you there?"

"Albert? What happened? Why are you here so late?", I said, while opening the door.

"Come with me."

"Ok. Where?", I said, but he didn't answer me and, holding my hand, took me to father and mother's room.

He knocked, and when father opened, he quickly went inside- dragging me with him- and closed the door. Then he said, "I have made a decision. I wanted to call a family meeting but I thought that I should first discuss it with the three of you first."

"What decision?", I asked.

"I don't want to become the village headman, so, I and going to step out of the traditional competition."

There was a long pause. No one spoke for 5 whole minutes. In these five minutes, I was in shock for the first minute. The second minute, I thought, 'Oh! If he doesn't participate, no traditional competition! Yay! But then, he is my brother, I don't like the thought of him backing off.' It was only after one whole minute that I realised that if he backed off, I would be the village headman. Oh no! I was just dreading that thought for 2 minutes! Then, I thought, 'Why? Why was he giving up?' Finally, I spoke, "But why, Albert?"

"Ever since I remember, father was the village headman. I am not saying that he, that is, you father, didn't love me and Allora, but we never got your time. I do not want this to happen with Clove. I want to give her all my attention. For that, I need a simple life, not the life of the village headman. I know many might disagree but this is my choice. This is my life."

"I disagree, but I respect your choice. We cannot make a person who doesn't want to become the headman, headman, right?", said father.

"Same goes for me. It is a good thing you told us about this in five days after the announcement.", said mother.

"Why is that mother?", I asked, curios.

"There is a law in the village. It states that the competitors get to know about what happens in the traditional competition in 5 days. The competitors cannot back off after getting to know what the competition is. But, they can back off before it.", father replied.

"Well, I guess, lucky me."

"We should now go and call a village meeting. You will announce that you will back off. According to the ceremony, the priest will ask you, 'Why do you want to back off?'. Remember, do not say the real reason. If you say it, you could get criticized by the villagers your whole life. Just simply say that you do not want to become the headman, and you think that, not you, but your little sister is more worthy of becoming the headman.", said mother.

"Ok mother."

One hour later, the whole village was gathered in the village square. Our high priestess was the one who was speaking. She said, "Hello to everyone present over here. We are really sorry for calling a meeting so late in the evening. But we had to have this meeting right now. As all of us know, -. Sorry, not all of us, but the generation which has witnessed the last traditional competition. The participant have 5 days, that is, 5 days after the announcement of the traditional competition to decide whether they want to participate or back off. Of those 5 days, today is the second day. And one of the competitors has backed off. That competitor is the eldest child, Albert."

The high priestess then turned to Albert. She said, "Why do you want to give up and back off?"

"I do not want the chair of the headman. I think my sister, Allora, would make a better headman. There is no specific reason. But I do know that if I become the village headman, I will not be able to take the village to the high heights that Allora could. Thank you."

Everyone was quiet. She continued, "Are there any objections to this from the villagers?"

No one spoke. The representative of the villagers shook his head. "Any objections from the family of the current headman?", she asked.

No one spoke. Then, the high priestess said, "Since Albert has given up, Allora will be crowned the village headman in one week."

To this, the crowd of villagers cheered loudly. After this, the meeting was dismissed. I couldn't sleep the entire night. One week? Just one week? Oh no, no, no.

The week passed in a blur. I was given new clothes, and gifts by the villagers every day. Everyone suddenly called me 'Your Highness'. At least everyone in my family called me 'Allora' not 'Your Highness'. Alnear and Will still called me Allora, which was a relief. 

A week later, the crowning ceremony arrived. Father gave me the ancient crown and the scroll of law. He renounced the chair and I promised to serve our village, the great village of Tadodi, best I could. The villagers pledged loyalty to me. After the ceremonies, there were celebrations at home. The whole time, I was with Clove. She was such a smart and beautiful four-year-old.

From the next day, I was the village headman, who had to hold courts and take major decisions for the village. Father guided me until I was able to handle the village.

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This was the story of how I became the village headman. I now have a beautiful family. I am happy and content. But the traditional competition is still the greatest mystery of our generation.