The Deities’ World: Papa Legba: Choosing to Connect (part 2)

[k_a_webb]

This entry is part 3 of 19 in the Deities' World collection

Part 1

This entry is part 3 of 19 in the Deities' World collection

The world I live on is somewhere my writer knows very little about at the moment. We are giving her time to get used to us, as best we can, because we know she has a difficult job. Maybe you don’t think of it as such. I’m sure there are many who don’t, but to me those are the ones that don’t have a true understanding of what she, and others like her, really do. Even those who create their own worlds. Connecting with characters, whether they are true characters or simply people that the writer happens to be able to converse with, is not something anyone can do – it takes a very special type of person to be a true storyteller.

You know I’ve seen some of the books that have been published recently and it makes me wonder what is happening to your world. As far as I am concerned there is no such thing as a bad book, because even the worst of them can help us to learn something new, but that doesn’t mean I’m happy to see the sameness of the work that those in charge have chosen. They go through stages of publishing one type of book, to the exclusion of all others, before moving onto the next, and it is something that I believe is a mistake on their part. None of them understand how important it is that everyone can find a book that they can relate to, no matter what race they are, what religion they may follow, what their sexuality or gender is…

It’s their decisions that helped me to come to the conclusion that it was time I spoke out. The other loa may not agree, but in the end it isn’t up to them. Being who I am means that I’m the one to change things, when they need to be, and it is something they will come to understand, the way they did before. We are needed. Nothing else matters. Of course that is something they don’t care about in the same way that I do. Fortunately they are not the ones who get to make the final choice. I do.

Understanding where we came from, how we began, I think is an important step in understanding who we are. Especially now. You see we’re not human and we never were, so, sometimes, it can be hard for us to understand you. I know you see us in human form, but that is our choice. We wear the clothes that you think we should, instead of the clothes that we would do normally, because we know that we would scare you if we didn’t. Occasionally the other loa talk about doing it anyway and I think they would if it were not for me. They’re scared of me, for reasons I will go into in a moment, so they do as I tell them, although they don’t often agree with the decisions that I make.

Compared to me they are all young. I’m one of the few who keeps going, even though I could move on, because I’m needed. The only deity like me is Hekate and she is different because she chose to become what she is. I want to say I was born this way, but that isn’t quite the right way of putting it, as I wasn’t born. I wasn’t created either. I evolved. Sadly I don’t remember the process. Or I could be lucky not to. I haven’t yet decided. I’ve been a loa for millennia now, so most of the time what I was doesn’t even really matter now, unless, like I am now, I am talking to someone I feel needs to know how I became who I am.

Now, I’m sure that you’re all wondering, as I’m that old, if I know how the universe was created, and I have to tell you that it is a secret I can’t share. It’s not that I don’t want to – it’s that anyone who did exist then has long since chosen to forget. You have to realise that living for millennia isn’t easy. We live through things we would quite like to stop, but we can’t. That’s the same for loa and deities, and angels for that matter, so sometimes we chose to let go of certain memories. Ones that bring us the most pain. Ones we know will affect our choices in the future. Ones that make our lives more difficult.

So, yes, I chose to forget the memory of the beginning of your universe, because I knew the time would come when I would be asked the question. I am a very honest person and to lie to someone, if I did know, would be something that would damage me in such a way that I’d end up becoming a different person to who I am now. Therefore I made certain that couldn’t happen by making choosing to forget, which is something I couldn’t describe to someone if I wanted to, as it’s beyond me, even though I wish it wasn’t. Explaining to you how you make it happen is something I probably shouldn’t do, just in case, and that might well be why I can’t find the words.

Were there loas before me? Yes, and there’s a chance more might evolve in the future. It all depends on what happens, on how many of us are needed, and of the choices that are made by those of you who do need us, because if you don’t tell the world that you need help then how is it ever going to be able to. There are going to be many readers who don’t believe that the world can hear you, but, I tell you this as something who evolved because someone told a world that they needed help, it does happen. Although sometimes it doesn’t always work out and that is a story that I will tell you in the future.

Mirrored from K. A. Webb Writing.