Nubia: The Awakening

Now Zuberi had more than outgrown training in that living room, mostly because it doubled as her bedroom. So she d gotten creative, something she d never had a problem with. Sometimes she d train in an empty warehouse; other times she d train in the scraggly Hudson scrapyards with their open access to the river. At school, there was the gym, which she used on occasion. But she preferred places in nature, one of the reasons she made the trek so early to Minerva Park. Nature, with its serenity and stillness, made it easier for her to find an organic connection between the human body and the outer world, an intention deeply embedded in the Nubian forms. Given that the city was mostly devoid of nature, though, she had to rely on the small offerings of trees and shrubs found in Minerva. There, Zuberi had her special hidden places where she could practice, like her little patch off to the side of the abandoned playground where there was a sturdy-­­enough tree to hang the trusty punching bag she d bought cheap from one of her neighbors.

She had to admit it felt good to get out of the Swamp, as much as she loved her hood. The Nubian Quarter wasn t an actual swamp, of course, but that was what everyone had called it for as long as Zuberi could remember. She d asked her father once why the quarter had been blessed with such a nickname, and he d just shaken his head. He knew that when Zuberi asked a question ­­no matter how innocent it seemed ­­she usually had about five others in reserve.

The Swamp was where most Nubian refugees lived, a last resort after they d fled their homeland and arrived in New York back in the early-­­2080s. Nubians couldn t find even the most menial jobs and were shut out of the renters market by landlords, so they had no choice but to lease cheap plots of land held by the government in the city s abandoned financial district, which had since moved Up High. They d been expected to fail, or so Zuberi s father told her. It had been through sheer Nubian will and a sense of community that they d managed to build and maintain their homes there, humble as they might be.

Nubian will was behind most of the things Nubians had. Zuberi had seen it all her life. Her own father s determination to pass down the fighting forms was a testament to that, too, how he made sure she not only learned them all but could enact each of them in her sleep.

She turned back to the bag, shifting her weight as she landed more blows before switching to high kicks. She crouched low, her legs shaking from the exertion. She must ve already been out in the park for at least an hour, and she was feeling it everywhere. Didn t matter. Pain was part of the process, and she welcomed it with open arms. Punching and kicking and maneuvering around the bag every day helped Zuberi deal