The Child Who Should Not Stay

The Native African Tales

In the quiet village of Njobvu, a mysterious baby is found beneath the ancient iroko tree — marked with cowries, tied with red thread, and no name. Midwife Zalika takes him in, unaware that the child carries a blood oath tied to a long-buried betrayal. As whispers grow and fear spreads, Zalika must choose between tradition and truth, survival and sacrifice.  Through sacred pools, ancestral spirits, and dangerous secrets, she uncovers a hidden pact between an exiled sorcerer and one of the village's revered elders. What began as a simple act of compassion becomes a journey that tests her courage, identity, and the soul of her community.  This is a suspenseful, emotional African tale of betrayal, redemption, and the power of truth — told in the spirit of ancestral storytelling.  🕯️ Will Zalika break the curse? Or will the child’s presence bring ruin to them all?                                             @TheTrueAfricanTales  🌟 Dive into African magic!  Follow *TheNativeAfricanTales* on Dailymotion for captivating stories & rich culture.   👉 https://www.dailymotion.com/user/TheNativeAfricanTales  🌍 Love stories with deep meaning and cultural roots?   Check out *The Native African Tales* – a channel bringing timeless African stories to life!   🔗 https://www.youtube.com/@TheNativeAfricanTales    Would love your support – watch, enjoy, and subscribe! ✨  *Follow now!* 🚀

Transcript

00:00They found the child at dawn, wrapped in a faded blue cloth, barely breathing.

00:06His tiny chest rose and fell under the shade of the ancient Iroko tree at the edge of Enjabu village.

00:12He couldn't have been more than a year old.

00:15No note, no name, just three deep kauri shells tied to his ankle with red thread, a sign the elders hadn't seen in generations.

00:23The village gathered, murmuring prayers and suspicions.

00:27All them fatso, the blind herbalist, stepped forward slowly, his white beard brushing his chest.

00:33His hands trembled as he touched the kauri's mabusa.

00:36He whispered, this is not a child of chance.

00:38He was sent, sent, for what?

00:40Zalika, a 22-year-old midwife with calm eyes and thick coiled hair wrapped in green kittens, stepped forward.

00:47I'll take him, she said, but the moment she lifted the boy into her arms, the ground beneath the Iroko tree cracked loudly.

00:54Birds scattered, the tree's bark split slightly dot, and from its hollow came a whisper.

00:59He must not stay.

01:01Everyone heard it.

01:02No one spoke.

01:03That night, the village could not sleep.

01:05Even as the stars emerged, casting their cold light over Enjabu, a thick silence pressed on every rooftop.

01:13Cattle refused to rest.

01:14Dogs barked at nothing.

01:16Babies cried in unison.

01:18Salika rocked the child.

01:19In her small clay house, at the edge of the village, she had placed him in a reed basket near her fire, hoping warmth would soothe whatever shadow he carried.

01:28But every time she dozed off, she heard it again.

01:31The whisper.

01:32He must not stay.

01:33At first, she thought it was the wind.

01:36But the third time, she heard her name in it.

01:38Double quotes.

01:39Z-A-L-I-C-A dot dot dot dot.

01:41She leapt up.

01:42The baby was silent.

01:44Still breathing.

01:45Still calm.

01:46But her mirror had fogged over and on it, traced in mist, was the shape of an eye dot.

01:51By morning, someone had painted a red X on her door.

01:55And just before sunrise, the village chief's messenger came running.

01:59The elders want the child brought to the shrine.

02:01Now.

02:02Z-A-L-I-C-A walked the narrow path to the shrine with the baby wrapped tightly to her chest.

02:07The morning air was heavy.

02:09No birdsong.

02:10No greeting villagers.

02:12Only silence and smoke from cooking fires that refused to rise.

02:16The shrine sat at the base of the hills.

02:19A sacred cave carved into red earth, guarded by two ancient statues of forgotten deities.

02:24No one went there unless summoned.

02:26Dot inside.

02:27Five elders sat cross-legged on leopard skins.

02:30Their faces were painted with white clay.

02:32The chief priestess Nankoma held a bowl of burning herbs.

02:36Her eyes never blinked.

02:38Z-A-L-I-C-A bowed and placed the child in the center.

02:41Nankoma sniffed the air.

02:43He carries the scent of the forbidden.

02:45Another elder leaned forward.

02:47This boy bears the mark of Ndani.

02:49A cold wave passed through Zalika.

02:51Ndani the name hadn't been spoken in years.

02:54The traitor.

02:55The one who vanished into exile.

02:57After trying to curse the village during the last famine.

03:00This child, Nankoma said, was born of a blood oath.

03:04Zalika's voice trembled.

03:05What does that mean?

03:07But they only stared.

03:08Zalika left the shrine shaken.

03:11The elders had kept the child for now.

03:13But their silence chilled her more than any curse could.

03:16She returned to her compound, only to find her front door slightly open.

03:20Her calabash of water was overturned.

03:23Footprints.

03:23Small.

03:24Bear led in and out of her home.

03:26And in the center of her floor sat a wooden bowl.

03:29Filled with black feathers and dried lizard tails.

03:31She gasped.

03:33Someone had cursed her.

03:34Her neighbor, Mama Thando, rushed in.

03:37You must leave, child.

03:38Before nightfall.

03:39The village is stirring.

03:41Zalika gripped the doorframe.

03:42Her mind spinning.

03:44Why?

03:44I've done nothing wrong.

03:46Mama Thando looked at her with pity.

03:48They say the child is a spirit sent by Nandine.

03:51That he will bring ruin.

03:52And now that you touched him, the curse spreads.

03:55Zalika's hands trembled.

03:56But he's just a baby.

03:58Mama Thando shook her head.

03:59In stories, yes, in real life, curses wear small faces.

04:04And from deep in the forest, drums began to beat.

04:08The drums beat steadily through the night.

04:10Low, deliberate, like a heartbeat buried in the earth.

04:13Everyone in Njabvu knew their meaning.

04:16Dot warning.

04:17Zalika didn't sleep.

04:19She packed only what she needed.

04:21Dried cassava.

04:22Water in a gourd.

04:23And a cloth sling to carry the baby.

04:26She tied her grandmother's protective amulet around her neck.

04:29The one said to guard against both snake and spirit.

04:32But just as she stepped into the dark bush path, a figure blocked her way.

04:36It was the blind herbalist.

04:38His white eyes stared through her.

04:40Yet he spoke with clarity.

04:42You cannot run.

04:43He was placed in your hands for a reason.

04:45Zalika whispered.

04:47They'll harm him.

04:48They fear him.

04:49Mfazzo said.

04:50And fear, dot, dot, dot, awakens old violence.

04:53It handed her a small clay jar.

04:56This powder will reveal what's hidden, but only under moonlight.

05:00Go east.

05:01Follow the termite mounds.

05:02You'll find what the elders will not say.

05:05She stepped past him, clutching the baby close.

05:08The drums faded.

05:09The bush swallowed her.

05:11The eastern path was wild and narrow, bordered by tall elephant grass and gnarled trees that

05:16whispered with the wind.

05:18Zalika pressed forward, guided by the alignment of termite mounds that rose from the red soil

05:23like silent watchers dot by moonlight.

05:25She sprinkled the powder Mfazzo had given her.

05:28It shimmered faintly, like ground bone dot at the third mound.

05:31The wind changed, the baby stirred, and suddenly, the powder traced a shape on the ground, not

05:37randomly, but in the form of a symbol, a snake swallowing its tail.

05:41Zalika gasped.

05:43It was the mark of the forbidden pact, used by the exiled Endani before the elders cast

05:48him out.

05:49The same symbol that appeared in cursed fields and poisoned wells during the famine.

05:53But why now, and why the baby?

05:56A rustle from the trees made her freeze.

05:58A hyena?

05:59No, too tall.

06:00A figure stepped out, face hidden under a raffia hood, holding a curved blade.

06:05Zalika backed away slowly, heart pounding dot.

06:08Then the figure whispered, leave the child and walk away.

06:11Zalika did not move.

06:13Her fingers clutched the sling holding the baby as the masked figure inched closer, blade

06:18gleaming under the moonlight.

06:19Leave the child, he repeated, his voice low and cracked, or you will not see morning.

06:25But Zalika, fear turned to fire.

06:27Who sent you?

06:28The figure paused.

06:29You've already seen the signs.

06:31The elders lie.

06:33The boy is not what he seems.

06:35Then tell me the truth, she cried.

06:37The masked man tilted his head.

06:39He is names on his blood.

06:41Zalika's knees weakened.

06:42But you, you are the key, he added.

06:45It was always meant to be you.

06:47Before she could ask what he meant, a sound cut through the night.

06:51The cry of a hunting owl.

06:53The figure turned sharply and melted into the shadows.

06:56Zalika stood frozen, shaken.

06:58She looked at the baby.

06:59His eyes were open, unusually alert.

07:02He wasn't crying.

07:03He was staring at the spot where the man had vanished.

07:06And then, for the first time, he spoke a word.

07:09Mama.

07:10The word echoed in Zalika's ears.

07:13Mama.

07:13The baby had not spoken a word until now.

07:16Not even a cry when hungry.

07:18But his voice had been clear, firm, almost practiced.

07:21Shaken, she pressed on through the forest, following the termite mounds.

07:25Until she reached a clearing.

07:27There, half buried in vines and roots, stood an old stone house.

07:31Its roof sagged.

07:33Door hanging by one hinge.

07:34But the land around it was undisturbed as if time had stopped.

07:38Zalika hesitated, then stepped inside.

07:40The air was stale.

07:42Dried herbs hung from the rafters.

07:44On a cracked table lay an open calabash filled with dried blood and teeth.

07:49Strange diagrams were etched into the floor, Dutch.

07:52She turned to leave but saw something behind the door.

07:55A wall painting, faded but clear.

07:58A woman holding a baby, with cowrie shells on his ankle.

08:01And the woman looked like her.

08:03Exactly like her.

08:04Zalika staggered back.

08:06What is this place?

08:07She whispered by her.

08:09A dry voice answered, home.

08:11Zalika turned swiftly, heart pounding.

08:14An old woman stood in the doorway, bent, cloaked in barcloth.

08:18Her eyes milky with age, but sharp with knowing.

08:21I've been waiting, she said.

08:22Zalika stammered.

08:24Who are you?

08:25I am Malika.

08:25The woman replied.

08:27Caretaker of what was buried.

08:29She walked past Zalika, running a hand over the painted wall.

08:33That is not you.

08:34But it could have been.

08:35Or still may be.

08:36The future and the past twist like vines when oaths are broken.

08:41Zalika held the baby closer.

08:42They say he's Nadani's blood.

08:44Malemba nodded slowly.

08:46Yes, his child.

08:47But also dot dot dot, something older.

08:50She reached into the ash-filled fireplace and retrieved a burnt leather bundle.

08:54Inside was a faded birth cloth, identical to the one the baby had been wrapped in.

08:59You must understand Malemba, said, voice grave.

09:02And Dani did not curse the village alone.

09:04He made a pact with one of the elders.

09:07Zalika's breath caught.

09:08Which one?

09:09Malemba whispered.

09:10The one who still sits in judgment.

09:12Zalika sat beside the dying fire.

09:14The child asleep in her lap.

09:16Malemba's words spun in her head.

09:18A pact with an elder.

09:20But which one?

09:21The shrine council had five members, all respected, all feared.

09:26Could it be Nankoma, the high priestess, or the quiet elder Mandala, keeper of ancestral names?

09:32Why would they hide this?

09:34Zalika asked aloud.

09:35Malemba poured a dark herbal brew into a carved gourd.

09:39Because if the truth rises, the foundation cracks.

09:42The boy is proof.

09:43She handed Zalika the drink.

09:45Take this.

09:46When he wakes, put a drop on his tongue.

09:48If his blood remembers, his mouth will speak the betrayer's name.

09:52Zalika hesitated, then nodded.

09:55That night, under a full moon, the baby stirred.

09:58She gently gave him the drop.

10:00His lips parted.

10:01His voice soft, unnatural.

10:03Like someone far older, Mandala.

10:06Zalika froze.

10:07A rooster crowed in the distance.

10:09And the baby closed his eyes again.

10:11By sunrise, Zalika was already walking back to Injabu, faster than she had ever moved before.

10:18Every tree seemed to whisper Mandala's name.

10:20The betrayal stung like a wasp in her chest.

10:23Elder Mandala, the keeper of ancestral names.

10:26The one who sang lullabies over the village's newborns.

10:30The one everyone trusted.

10:32The one who had made a pact with the cursed Malambasa's warning rang in Zalika's ears.

10:36Do not confront him openly.

10:38The mask of age hides many teeth.

10:40As she neared the village outskirts, she noticed something strange.

10:44People were avoiding her path.

10:46Doors were closed.

10:47Cooking pots untouched.

10:49Dot at the center of the square.

10:51A new notice had been nailed to the talking tree.

10:54She stepped closer.

10:55Wanted Zalika for abduction.

10:57Forbidden practices and spiritual endangerment.

11:00Her chest tightened.

11:01They had turned on her dots suddenly.

11:03A hand grabbed her from behind and pulled her into a nearby hut.

11:07It was Mama.

11:08Mama, Thando, they're planning to burn your house tonight.

11:11Zalika peered through the slit in Mama Thando's hut.

11:14As the sun set over Yanjabvu, a crowd was already gathering near her home.

11:19She watched silently as dry grass and old palm fronds were piled against her door.

11:24A young warrior lit the first torch.

11:26Mama, Thando whispered.

11:28They believe you've been twisted by Nandi's ghost.

11:31They think the baby is the curse itself.

11:33Zalika whispered back.

11:34I know who betrayed us.

11:36Elder Mandala.

11:37I have proof.

11:38Thando grabbed her wrist.

11:39Then you must reach the sacred pool.

11:41It's the only place truth can be spoken without death.

11:44If the boy speaks there, no one can deny it.

11:47Outside, flames burst from the roof of Zalika's hut.

11:50Sparks rose like angry spirits.

11:53She didn't flinch.

11:54Instead, she wrapped the baby tightly and slung her satchel across her shoulder.

11:59Then I'll go.

12:00Before the embers cool.

12:02And under cover of the crowd's celebration.

12:05Zalika disappeared into the night again.

12:07Toward the one place secrets could not hide.

12:10The forest thickened as Zalika traveled east under moonlight.

12:14Her feet guided by instinct and memory.

12:16Few dared go near the sacred pool, said to be the dwelling place of Imbui, the spirit of unclouded truth.

12:23Even the elders approached it only after ritual fasting.

12:26By dawn, she reached it.

12:28Nestled between high rocks, the pool shimmered with unnatural clarity.

12:33Mist floated just above its surface.

12:35And the air buzzed faintly.

12:37As if alive.

12:38Zalika laid the baby at the water's edge and waited.

12:41Minutes past the forest was silent.

12:44Then the wind shifted.

12:45The water darkened, then cleared again.

12:48Revealing a glowing white stone beneath the surface.

12:51Malemba's voice echoed in Zalika's head.

12:54Truth calls to blood.

12:56She lifted the baby gently.

12:58Dipping his toes into the water.

13:00He did not cry.

13:01Instead, he looked at the pool and murmured,

13:03Mandala, curse, betrayed.

13:06Suddenly, the water trembled.

13:07And from behind the rocks came slow footsteps.

13:10Someone else had followed her.

13:12Zalika spun around.

13:14Emerging from the fog was Elder Mandala draped in ceremonial beads and feathers.

13:18His face painted in white and ochre.

13:20But his eyes, they burned with something far from wisdom.

13:23So it is true, he said.

13:25Stepping closer.

13:26You were led here.

13:27Zalika rose, shielding the baby.

13:29You betrayed the village.

13:31Made a pact with and...

13:32Mandala chuckled.

13:33Betrayed.

13:34No.

13:34I preserved power.

13:36Andani knew what the others feared.

13:38The famine came because of their pride.

13:40I only opened the door wider.

13:42Zalika's voice shook.

13:44You used a child.

13:45Mandala's smile faded.

13:47That child was meant to carry my legacy.

13:50A vessel, not a curse.

13:52Until you disrupted the balance.

13:54Zalika stood firm.

13:56He spoke your name.

13:57In the pool.

13:58The spirits heard it.

14:00Mandala's face twitched.

14:01Then, I must silence you both before they tell others.

14:05He reached into his robe and pulled out a bone dagger.

14:07But the pool behind Zalika began to roar.

14:10The spirits had heard enough.

14:13The sacred pool thundered, waves crashing against its stone edge though no wind blew.

14:18The mist thickened, forming ghostly shapes that rose around Mandala.

14:21He stumbled back, eyes wide.

14:24No.

14:24I kept the pact.

14:25I honored the oath.

14:27Zalika stepped aside as a glowing figure emerged from the water.

14:31Neither man nor beast.

14:33Its form shifted like smoke.

14:35Yet its voice was as deep as the earth.

14:37You broke balance.

14:38You used life for gain.

14:40You tied blood to shadow.

14:42Mandala fell to his knees.

14:44I did it for the village.

14:46I preserved its power.

14:47The spirit hissed.

14:48You cursed the child to carry your burden.

14:51Suddenly, the baby floated gently above the water, eyes glowing pale blue.

14:56From his lips came a voice not his own, and Ani's.

14:59I was betrayed by the one I trusted.

15:02The curse is not mine.

15:03It was planted.

15:04Mandala screamed, covering his ears.

15:07The spirit raised one hand.

15:09Mandala's body turned to dust, where he knelt.

15:11The baby lowered back into Zalika's arms, calm and silent once more.

15:16The pool went still.

15:17Balance, for now, had returned.

15:20The forest fell quiet.

15:21Even the birds did not dare sing.

15:24Zalika stood still, heart pounding, as mist slowly retreated into the pool's depths.

15:30The spirit had vanished.

15:31So had Mandala.

15:32Not a trace remained.

15:34Only a few scattered beads where he had stood.

15:37She looked down at the baby, sleeping now as if nothing had happened.

15:40No glow.

15:41No whisper.

15:42Just a child again.

15:43But Zalika knew nothing would be the same.

15:45She wrapped him tightly, and turned to leave.

15:48As she stepped from the sacred grounds, the wind shifted, and a strange warmth settled

15:52on her shoulders like approval.

15:54By the time she returned to the edge of Injabu, word had already spread.

15:59The fire that had destroyed her home had mysteriously reversed.

16:02The ashes had become whole again.

16:05Her compound, untouched, and the notice on the talking tree, gone.

16:09But the villagers did not cheer.

16:11They watched her in silence.

16:13And one by one, they knelt, not in fear, in apology.

16:17Zalika said nothing as the villagers knelt.

16:20She walked past them quietly, the baby resting peacefully on her back dot at her doorstep.

16:26Mama Thando stood waiting, tears in her eyes.

16:29They know now, she said softly.

16:31The truth always returns, even if it crawls.

16:34Zalika nodded but the child.

16:36What do I do with him now?

16:37Mama Thando looked at the sky.

16:39He carries power, but not all power is evil.

16:42You are his anchor now, and maybe, he is yours.

16:46That night, under a quiet moon, Zalika unwrapped the cloth tied to the baby's ankle, the red thread with the cowries.

16:54Carefully, she removed it.

16:57She boiled river water and bathed him in silence.

17:00It was not a ritual, just care, just love, dot.

17:03And for the first time, the baby laughed, not a spirit's laugh, not a ghost's echo, just the soft, bubbling joy of a child.

17:11And it broke something.

17:13Open in her dot.

17:14He was naid on his blood.

17:15Yes, but he was hers now, too.

17:18Three days later, the elders of Njavu gathered once more, not in judgment, but in humility.

17:23They stood beneath the Iroko tree, where the baby had first been found.

17:28Smoke from incense drifted upward.

17:30Drums played slowly, mourning the past, welcoming the future.

17:34Zalika stood before them, the baby in her arms, no fear in her eyes.

17:39Elder Nankoma, now visibly aged, stepped forward.

17:43Will you name him?

17:44Zalika nodded.

17:45He is not just a burden, or a sign, or a warning.

17:49He is the end of one story, and the beginning of another.

17:52She raised him high.

17:53His name is Kizomo.

17:55There was a murmur of recognition, a sacred name, meaning Gray Zalika added.

18:00And I name myself, too.

18:01I was Zalika the midwife, but now, I am Zalika the keeper.

18:06The people bowed their heads, dot above them.

18:08The wind rustled the leaves of the Iroko, not as warning, but as blessing.

18:12And for the first time in many seasons, peace returned to Njabu.

18:17Weeks passed, Njabu slowly healed, though scars remained.

18:21Some elders stepped down, and new ones were appointed.

18:25The people no longer whispered when Zalika passed.

18:27They greeted her with respect.

18:29Children followed her, curious about the baby, who had once been feared.

18:33But Zalika felt the change within herself most.

18:36She began teaching again, not just midwifery, but the old songs, the lost names,

18:41the hidden stories elders had buried, to protect themselves.

18:45She spoke the truth, even when it hurt, dot.

18:48She never sought revenge, not even against those who tried to burn her home.

18:52Instead, she planted herbs in her compound, left food by the shrine, and welcomed those

18:58who came in fear or shame, dot.

19:00G S O M O, grew strong.

19:02He laughed often, and when he looked at people, it felt like he saw past their skin,

19:07into their guilt, or their peace, Zalika.

19:10Once feared she had inherited a curse, but she realized now, she had inherited purpose.

19:15One morning, Zalika walked with Shizomo to the Iroko tree, the place where everything

19:20had begun.

19:21She sat beneath its wide roots, the child asleep on her back.

19:25Birds sang.

19:26She touched the bark gently.

19:28It was still cracked where the voice had first warned.

19:30He must not stay.

19:32But now, there was no fear in her.

19:34Look at us, she whispered.

19:36We stayed anyway.

19:37A soft breeze stirred the leaves above dot behind her.

19:41Malemba appeared, staff in hand, her voice calm.

19:44You've done well, child.

19:46You broke the chain, not with power, but with grace.

19:49Zalika smiled.

19:50He deserves more than they gave him.

19:52Malemba nodded.

19:54And now he will give more than they ever dreamed.

19:56From the roots of the Iroko, new shoots had begun to grow small, green, vibrant dot.

20:02A sign that even trees cursed with memory can bloom again dot.

20:06As the sun rose fully, Zalika whispered to her son's sleeping ear, your story begins now,

20:12and the wind carried it into the future.

20:14I hope this tale touched your heart.

20:16If it did, please show your love by liking the video, sharing what you discovered in the

20:21comments, and subscribing for more magical stories yet to come.

20:24Thank you for joining us on this journey, and until next time, may your own story grow

20:29bold, bright, and beautifully yours.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended