Part IV. Betrayal and Farewell

Jealous rivals moved swiftly. Fatouma, threatened by Djamila’s artistry, revealed her secret spy work to the emir of Gao. Zahra, Aminata’s former patron, denounced her as a corrupt sorceress who seduced women away from virtue.

On the dawn of Djamila’s execution, guards led her away, naked except for her golden cuffs. She looked back one final time at Aminata, who knelt clutching the small ebony sculpture of her lover, tears streaming silently down her carved cheeks.

As the desert winds rose, Djamila raised her chin and began to sing her last poem:

“Let the sand bury my bones, But my love shall remain In the heart that carved me into memory.”

Exiled into the desert, Aminata carried the sculpture pressed against her chest, feeling the carved curves beneath her clothes until her dying breath.