Chapter 4 The Rhythm of Kisaro

The invitation came three days later, tucked neatly in an envelope beneath Amara's door.

Her name was written in firm, slanted handwriting - Amara Nwosu.

Beneath it, only six words:

"Come to Kisaro. The festival awaits."

There was no signature. But she didn't need one.

That night, as she packed her small bag, she told herself she was going for the photography - the chance to capture Lumeria's coastal life, the colors, the movement, the culture. It had nothing to do with Kairo Mbeki.

But when her taxi rolled into the Kisaro district the next morning, and she saw the endless stretch of ocean glinting beneath the sun, her heart knew the truth.

This wasn't just a trip for art. It was a pilgrimage toward something she wasn't ready to name.

---

Kisaro was nothing like Namira.

If the capital city was noise and pulse and ambition, Kisaro was song - slow and rhythmic, breathing in tune with the waves. The houses were painted in soft pastels, the air heavy with salt and the scent of smoked fish. Children ran barefoot along the beach, laughter rising like gulls in flight.

Amara rolled down the taxi window and inhaled deeply. The ocean air filled her lungs, cool and alive. For the first time in years, she felt unburdened.

Mama Thebe had told her once, "Every soul has a place it returns to when it forgets how to breathe."

Maybe this was hers.

Kairo met her near the shore, his shirt rolled at the sleeves, his feet bare in the sand. He looked more at home here - less architect, more human. The sun caught on the edge of his smile, brief but real.

"You came," he said.

She adjusted her camera strap, pretending not to notice the way her pulse stumbled. "You invited me."

"I wasn't sure you would."

"Neither was I."

They stood for a moment in the hush between waves, the silence stretching - comfortable, unfamiliar, fragile.

Kairo gestured toward the village ahead. "Come. The festival starts soon. You'll want your camera ready."

---

The festival of Kisaro was unlike anything Amara had ever seen.

Drums beat in layered rhythms, deep and hypnotic. Women in coral beads and bright wrappers danced barefoot in the sand, their movements fluid and fierce. The men played wooden flutes and horns carved from shells, filling the air with melodies that rose and fell like the tide.

Color flooded every corner - woven mats, painted masks, lanterns made of palm leaves. The scent of grilled fish and spiced plantain hung thick in the air.

Amara's camera clicked endlessly, each frame a heartbeat - laughter, rhythm, movement. She caught children spinning in circles, elders clapping in rhythm, waves crashing at their feet. The whole scene pulsed with life, the kind that felt sacred.

She didn't notice Kairo watching her until she turned, lens lowering. He stood a few feet away, arms folded, eyes unreadable.

"You blend in," he said quietly.

She laughed softly. "Hardly. Everyone's staring at the strange woman chasing moments."

"They're staring because you're seeing them - really seeing them. Most people just look."

The way he said it made her throat tighten. She lifted her camera again, focusing on the light glinting off his jawline, the shadows that framed his expression.

He frowned slightly. "You're taking pictures of me now?"

"Observation," she teased, echoing his words from before. "Not hiding."

His eyes softened. "Touché."

They spent the afternoon moving through the celebration - tasting spiced coconut water, listening to the storytellers by the fire, watching fishermen haul in their nets as the sun began to fall. The sea turned molten gold, the air thick with song and smoke.

At sunset, Kairo led her up a rocky path overlooking the bay. The view stretched endlessly - a horizon bathed in orange and violet, waves whispering below.

"This is where I come when I need to remember," he said quietly.

"Remember what?"

"That even foundations need roots."

She turned to him, wind tugging her hair. "You speak like an artist, not an architect."

He smiled faintly. "Maybe both are the same. Both are about building something that lasts."

For a moment, neither of them spoke. The wind carried the faint sound of drums from below. The air smelled of salt and woodsmoke.

Amara lowered her camera and let the silence settle between them. "Who was N. Mbeki?" she asked finally, her voice barely above the wind.

His body stilled. The question hung heavy.

"My sister," he said after a long pause. His tone was quiet, stripped of its usual calm. "She died two years ago."

Amara's heart clenched. "I'm sorry."

"She believed in this," he continued, gesturing toward the sea, the houses, the horizon. "In building something better for people. The foundation was her idea. I'm just... finishing what she started."

The grief in his voice was quiet, contained, but it trembled beneath the surface.

"She sounds like she was extraordinary," Amara said softly.

"She was," he whispered. "And she's gone."

The ache in his words drew something raw from Amara. Without thinking, she reached out and touched his arm - a small gesture, hesitant but genuine. "You didn't fail her," she said.

He looked at her hand, then at her. "You don't know that."

"I know loss," she replied. "I know the way it eats at you - how it convinces you that breathing is betrayal. But you're still here, Kairo. You're still building. That matters."

Their eyes met. The air between them changed, thickened.

Kairo's breath hitched slightly, the tension in his body softening. He turned to face her fully, his voice low. "You talk like someone who's been broken."

"Maybe I have," she said. "Maybe we all have. That's why we look for beauty - to remind ourselves there's something left to love."

For a moment, the world went silent except for the distant crash of waves. He reached up slowly, brushing a strand of hair from her face. His touch was light, uncertain, but it burned through her like fire.

Her camera hung forgotten around her neck.

The wind stilled. The distance between them vanished.

And then, as if the world itself conspired to break the moment, a shout rose from below. Someone calling his name.

Kairo froze. His hand dropped, his expression shuttering instantly. "We should go," he said quietly.

Amara blinked, her heart hammering. "Kairo-"

He was already walking down the path, his shoulders tense, his steps measured.

She followed in silence, her emotions a storm she couldn't name.

Back in the village, the celebration had grown wilder - dancers spinning around bonfires, laughter echoing through the night. But for Amara, everything blurred.

She watched Kairo move through the crowd, his calm mask firmly in place again, greeting people, smiling politely. The vulnerability she'd seen moments ago was gone, sealed away behind layers of restraint.

When he turned to her, his voice was steady. "Your guesthouse is just down that road," he said, pointing toward a narrow lane. "Mama Jali will take care of you."

She nodded, though her chest ached. "Thank you... for inviting me."

He gave a small smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Goodnight, Amara."

She wanted to say more - to ask why he always pulled away right when she began to understand him - but the words stuck in her throat.

So she simply turned and walked toward the lane, her shadow stretching long in the firelight.

The drums beat louder behind her, wild and beautiful, like a heart refusing to be quiet.

And somewhere in that rhythm, between the sea and the flames, she realized she was no longer just a photographer chasing stories.

She had become one.

---

Later, in her small guesthouse room, Amara sat by the window, staring at the dark stretch of ocean. Her camera lay beside her, untouched.

She should have been reviewing her shots, but all she could think about was the look in Kairo's eyes when he said she's gone.

That quiet grief, that strength, that gentleness buried under steel - it all haunted her.

And though she didn't understand it, part of her wanted to be the person he didn't have to hide from.

The drums still echoed faintly in the distance, their rhythm pulsing like a heartbeat.

She closed her eyes and whispered his name once - softly, like a secret.

"Kairo."

The word lingered in the dark, an unanswered prayer.

Outside, thunder rumbled over the sea, and the first drops of rain began to fall.