Mama got up from the table and after a few minutes came from the back of the shop carrying what looked like a large, frayed, black leather-bound book. She set it down on the table and put her right hand on top and said a short prayer in French, and with tears glistening in her eyes she said, “This is going to be hard for y’all to see, but Mama has to show you now.”

As Mama lifted her hand from the book, I noticed that it was not bound in leather. It looked more like paper or something like that, and it was held together by exquisitely crafted rings that looked like hammered silver. The book looked ancient.

I looked at Mama and asked, “What kind of book is this?”

Mama looked at me and then at Maggie and reverently said, “This is no book. It’s a prophecy.”

Mama continued, “This is as old as people have been in Africa. It comes from an ancient tribe that used to live along the Great River, the Nile. The people were known as the Nubian. These were the first great people of Africa, and they built great temples and cities.