“The sun rose in the east, ready to spread his life-giving light to all, chasing off the darkness that was settling in. The moon basked in the eternal night, refusing to reflect the light of the sun or any star. Not bright enough to be its own star, the moon was determined to find an orbit centered in darkness. Not learning from the past and the rule of shadows. The moon and night failed to give way to the sun and day, the eternal order disrupted. And so it remains to this time.”

“I see,” Jaha said. “Kamau, I tell you what, same thing. Sun, moon, and stars.”

Kamau cleared his throat. He steepled his fingers in front of him, focusing on them, before snapping to full attention. “There was a story told among my people of the time when the moon made the sun angry, though no one dared even whisper why. The moon had grown soft and content, dependent on the sun for warmth and strength. The moon saw its effect on waves and thought itself responsible for considerable changes, even impact on the planet. It confused influence with power, not realizing even its placement among the stars was dependent on the earth. The moon would never truly be free, but it was determined to please the earth no matter what. Well, the sun saw this and grew furious. It used its sharp rays to cut off pieces of the moon to learn, to plead for mercy, at which time the sun would let him go. From that small sliver, the moon would gradually grow again to become full and whole, and to truly find its place among the stars.”

“Not bad, not bad,” Jaha said. “We have some fine young griots in the making, wouldn’t you say, Wachiru?”

“No doubt, no doubt,” we said.

“Would each of you agree that there is some truth to each other’s story?”

Obi and Kamau couldn’t meet each other’s eyes, but they ticked their heads in passing, then turned to the side away from the other as if distracted by something.

“Well, let me tell you a story. Each word in its place; none forgotten. The order is sacred, exactly as I once heard it.” Jaha waited until she had all eyes on her. “For many years, the sun and moon lived on Earth with one another. Though they were forced to live in separate worlds, day for one, night for the other, rarely did they cross paths. They had found a way to live in harmony with one another. Over time, they even became friends.