The Dark Issue 26 by Kelly Stewart

Author:Kelly Stewart [The Dark Magazine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: dark fantasy, fantasy, horror, magazine
Publisher: Prime Books
Published: 2017-06-20T17:57:53+00:00

Nadia Bulkin writes scary stories about the scary world we live in. A three-time Shirley Jackson Award finalist, her stories have been recently featured in anthologies such as Aickman’s Heirs, Autumn Cthulhu, Cassilda’s Song, Letters to Lovecraft, The Mammoth Book of Cthulhu, and She Walks in Shadows, as well as in Paula Guran’s The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror 2015 and 2016. She works inside the Beltway in Washington, D.C.

A Lasting Legacy

by Osahon Ize-Iyamu

Ogu knelt down in his canoe, letting the waves fill his ears. Today, he would prove himself worthy to be lead machi.

Rubbing his hands together, he said a silent prayer. If all went well, one of the elders would be calling his name for all to hear his glory; with such an esteemed position, the family name could be something other than shame. With such an esteemed position, he could cause a bit of change.

And he deserved it. Not that Elder Bosi had been keeping track, but if he had, then the man wouldn’t even debate that he was the best leader among all the others in his set. His firing skills were some of the highest ever in machi history. County affairs weren’t his strongest suit—that title went to Imbala—but he was sure his name was in the conversation.

They had to be talking about him. Considering him. Recognizing his potential.

Last month, Uncle Ibida came to stay. His uncle brought all his things in fat cases, covering his face as he explained to Ogu’s mother his situation. Ogu had a better mind to listen in, the fear of his mother as a legitimate threat, but voices rose and lowered each minute, like someone was trying to shout and the other was stilling the storm.

His uncle hosted a betting site for matador games and masquerade fights, so the man was bound to run into trouble. But why did his mother agree to let him stay? Men like Ibida only carried shame with them.

Frankly speaking, it was an insult to Ogu and his efforts to break the cycle of embarrassment. He’d kept excelling in his machi training to make the county people forget his father’s story. The man did not raise any crops for harvest, or catch any fish, then slipped to death by way of dancing drunk on freshly mopped floorboards one night in a bar.

There were chuckles at the funeral.

Worse for his grandfather, who almost burnt the county down and was arrested by the sheriff.

And the useless man that came before that.

His ancestors didn’t try to have any sort of legacy, but that wasn’t the point. The less said about them, the better.

His family was like a big cosmic joke, constantly being punished for everyone’s amusement. It had to stop.

So when Uncle Ibida came, Ogu’s first thought was: “How long will you be staying?”

Ogu would have said it out loud, but his mother slapped his arm before the words could be blurted out in irritation. He’d been to his uncle’s betting ring: a good-for-nothin’ place only held together by the rotten, water soaked wood that termites were slowly chipping away at.

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