When Hindiya’s cat, Bilan first told her that she was a shapeshifter, Hindiya sat stock still on her bed. The cat’s mouth hadn’t moved, and yet she could hear every word clearly. Bilan’s eyes were even glowing.
Bilan speaking wasn’t that much of a surprise. Hindiya was almost 16 and for as long as she could remember, Bilan had always been in her life. Her hoyoo (mother), said that when she first nursed the cat back to health, it had refused to leave her side.
The cat had an uncanny ability to know exactly when to show up any time Diya was in danger. And often, when Diya planned on running away, Bilan would look her directly in the eyes and moan. Like clockwork, Diya would immediately feel an overwhelming sense of regret.
//My name is not Bilan. It’s Zakiya, and now that you can hear me, you should use my name with the proper respect.//
Zakiya told Diya that it was almost time for her initiation, and that she had to reveal herself early because Diya was in danger.
Within a day of hearing Zakiya in her head, Diya learned more overwhelming information: she was a shapeshifter, too.
Diya also found out that her current parents weren’t really her parents. She’d been adopted by her hoyoo and baba after her biological parents sacrificed their lives to protect her. Ali and Jamiila were the loyal human companions to Hawa and Hamza, Diya’s biological parents. She inherited her shapeshifting gifts from them.
“And you are from my pack?” Diya asked, having not yet mastered how to communicate with Bilan without using her human voice.
Diya didn’t flinch or become confused when the calm voice answered her question in her mind.
//Yes. We are from the same pack. When I recognized your scent, it told me you lived with humans and I wanted to protect you. It gave me purpose because I was alone.//
“Why are you alone?”
//Both my parents died in a battle against a rival pack and I decided to explore the world instead of drowning in grief.//
“I’m sorry Bil-…Zakiya. I can’t imagine how much that hurts to lose your parents.”
//I’m in a better place now but thank you for your kindness. Let’s continue because I know you have more to ask.//
“So ahh…what does this have to do with me? What happens on my 16th birthday?”
//Your powers will be activated.//
“You keep saying powers. What powers?”
//Your powers as a Muklaal will be unlocked and you will be able to finally shift.//
Unfortunately with Diya’s early initiation, a strong, pulsing vibration was let out into the universe, informing her parents’ enemies that she was still alive. The signs of her identity had been there all along, but once they were activated, there was no going back. So she had to keep learning if she wanted to live.
Diya had school the next day and all this new information was making her tired. Her fingers began to tighten their grip in the fabric of her hijab as feline eyes tracked her every facial expression.
//It’s important we teach you how to control your abilities to shift. We can’t have you losing control.//
That was when Diya’s panic set in. Her breath caught in her throat and the world began to spin. She reached over to her nightstand for balance as her face heated up and she saw stars.
//Hindiya, please breathe. I can feel your anxiety and it’s getting out of control. I am not your enemy. I had so many opportunities to hurt you but I didn’t! You have the power to hurt us both right now//
When Bilan telepathed the last words, she snapped slender fingers and in a blinding flash of light, she was Fatima. Fatima was Diya’s best friend, a short, dark skinned East African girl with deep dimples and mischievous eyes.
Diya ran to the restroom and locked the door. Her adopted parents weren’t awake yet. She was a natural born athlete who refused to play any sports, much to the distress of all the coaches in her high school. So when she sprinted into the restroom, even the cat couldn’t catch her.
She had so many questions and didn’t know which was more pressing.
Bilan meowed at the door, and Diya assumed she switched from human form to cat. It was just that easy for her. Everything Diya knew was a lie and she hated liars more than anything.
//Diya, it’s almost time to go to school. Please breathe and shower. We’ll talk on the way to campus.//
When Diya didn’t respond, Bilan telepathed:
//You have access to my mind and even if we do not share space, you can still speak to me. It’s a handy communication tactic to have.//
***
The shower cooled her down and she felt alive again. She convinced herself that all of this was a dream and once she went to school, it would all be over. These thoughts reassured her and she wanted to talk with Fatima.
It didn’t take long for Diya to pin her hijab to her head, the process made easier from the thin headwrap she already had on underneath. She didn’t know how she managed to sneak both herself and Zakiya out of the house, especially on her birthday but adrenaline was a powerful influencer. And she wanted to see Fatima and Zakiya side by side.
She clutched her book bag to her chest, lost in thought.
//Last night you turned 16. Did you feel a ripple? Something has changed in your body.//
In a way, Diya was angry. She’d wanted silence and for her cat to just be a cat, but in another way she was grateful to talk with someone about the changes she’d felt.
“I couldn’t sleep last night because it felt like my entire body was on fire, like something was trying to get out.”
//Because you are both a Muklaal.//
“Are you serious? Was that…was that my cat trying to come out???”
Three teens turned the corner on the right side of her and Diya became silent, channeling her energy to communicate with Bilan through thought. Kids talk and she was nobody’s favorite person on campus.
//Yup. I know I don’t look it, but I am older than you by a decade. I’m an orphan and when I was close to changing, I decided to request leave of the pack so I could explore and find my own path because it was hard to stay. I’m really happy I am here with you to support your change because I had to do it alone and it was hell.//
Her dark cheeks paled slightly. “Wait. So, you are serious? I’m really going to turn into a cat? Like you?”
//Yes and yes.//
Diya stayed quiet for some time before asking something she had been dying to know, “Do I only change into a tabby or can I take on shapes of other felines?”
//That’s a really great question. You will eventually take on the forms of other cats within the cat family. The only drawback is that comes with time and experience so the first form you have access to is a tabby. At least for now.//
“Thank you…so ahh…Where is back home?”
//You know Wakanda?//
“Don’t tell me that is home…”
The sound of laughter echoing in her mind was heard.
//No. But I know that was a great way to explain. We are a small nation, but powerful, in the Horn of Africa. Only visible to supernatural beings. Pretty sure when Stan Lee and Jack Kirby were creating Black Panther, they probably have met a Muklaal or another type of supernatural who snitched. It’s not okay for us to share our existence with humans but not everyone is into abiding by the rules.//
“There are…more types of supernatural being?”
“Yes Hindiya. There are more of us then there are humans.”
Zakiya switched to verbal communication when she replied next and it amazed Diya how easily she was adapting. Or maybe she was just experiencing a delay in a proper reaction to finding out everything she knew was a lie. Anxiety knotted in the pit of her stomach.
“Everything will be okay. I have your back. You will be okay. We got this.”
A week later, Diya felt less shocked and vulnerable than when she learned her true identity. Now that time had passed, she grew strongly suspicious of her self appointed ‘guardian.’ The more she learned, the less she trusted Zak/ Zakiya.
For example, if her ‘powers’ became activated when she was 16, how was Zak able to find her when she was a baby? Diya did her own research behind the scenes and managed to find out that she should have been virtually undetectable. How did Zak ‘stumble’ upon her?
So many things were not adding up so as a precaution, Diya avoided Zak as regularly as she could while she tried to figure out what to do. She still had not managed to shift since she found out she was a Muklaal. She was scared and shapeshifting required all of her focus. Something instinctively warned her that she needed to save her energy until she could figure it out.
***
“Why have you been ignoring me?”
Diya was glad the voice came from behind her so the flinch that crossed her features wouldn’t be seen as she turned around with a fake smile. “Why would I be ignoring you?”
“You’ve been ignoring me. I know this is a lot of information to hold but today you have to shift. C’mon. Let’s go!” Before Diya had a choice, she found her hand being grabbed and herself being dragged along a path outside of school and into the forest.
Understanding glittered in the other girl’s eyes after she studied Diya’s face. “You figured it out didn’t you?”
Diya wasn’t sure what she meant by it but did not fail to notice the dangerous glint in Zak’s eyes as she nodded to herself. “What do you mean?”
“Who told you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about?”
“I am so sorry I have to do this. I thought by being your guardian I could right the wrongs I have committed against our pack but since you figured out it was I who murdered your parents, you can’t live.” There was sincere remorse in the shifter’s voice and stamped on her face, as she began to step back and lift her hand up that now sported razor sharp claws, partially having shifted. “I wish I didn’t have to be like this.”
Diya took a step back, eyes wide with fear as Zak advanced on her and when she was in close range, slashed her claws into her face.
Diya woke up instantly, bathed in her own sweat, heart accelerated, chest weaving as she desperately tried to take a breath. It was a nightmare but still, her eyes scanned her bedroom, scared that the monster in her nightmare she just woke up from would be out here too.
There was no one in her room.
Zak was not here.
It was all just a nightmare.
Yet she couldn’t shake the feeling of dread growing inside her, tightening until her body felt strung up. Goosebumps rose on her arms and back of her nape and she began to shiver, rubbing along her arms and thighs for warmth.
She noticed her window was wide open, curtains billowing out, letting in the cold draft of the dark night.
Odd.
She didn’t recall leaving her window open before going to sleep, a frown furrowing her dark eyebrows as she threw over her comforter and walked across the room to shut it closed.
Before pulling her dark red drapes together, she took a quick glance outside her window to view the ethereal forestry landscape that surrounded her house, hoping its tranquility could soothe her frayed nerves as it normally did.
From the corner of her eyes, she sensed movement. She turned her head slightly to find herself staring at a pair of glowing red eyes. Her breath caught in her throat and her heart stopped.
It wasn’t a nightmare.
It was reality.
“Tell me now. Why have you been ignoring me?”
Farhiya Mohamed Jama is a visual diasporic storyteller. You can find her visual work here.
