In pre-Islamic Somali mythology, there existed a creature called the Buuti, one of those rare monsters that were friendly to Mankind. She is a daughter of Dhegdheer, the Demon Queen herself, and risked her life to save some villagers from danger. The Buuti was taught to be a flesh-eating monster, but like most of the surviving breeds of monsters, she went about disguised as an ordinary woman. The Buuti has wandered the world for a long time, for she is ageless and immune to disease, though not exactly impervious to death per se.
Like virtually all the monsters and demons of Somali mythology, the Buuti could be killed if one possessed the right tools and knowledge. In the myths and legends of Somalia, every creature possesses certain powers and certain weaknesses. The same holds true for the monsters of other myths and belief systems. For example, vampires are thought to be immortal, but sunlight, garlic, silver and a stake to the heart are believed to be lethal to them. At the end of the day, nothing lasts forever...
The twenty-first century found the Butti living in the City of Minneapolis, Minnesota, in a neighborhood full of Somali immigrants. The Buuti went by the alias Bushra Tawfiq, which means good news or good omen in the Arabic language. After traveling across Africa, the Arab world and much of Asia, the Buuti stayed in the United Kingdom for a time before moving to the United States of America. In the U.S. a land full of immigrants, the Buuti's strangeness might actually go unnoticed...
Bushra Tawfiq liked living among the Somali immigrants of metropolitan Minneapolis, even though their ancestors hunted her back in the Horn of Africa. There was a time when Somali men and Somali women waged war against the race of the Monsters. There were even some legendary Somali female warriors known as the Xamuul Marwada, whose prowess at slaughtering monsters made them almost mythical heroes in Somali culture and folklore. Of course, things are different today.
Today's Somalis practice their own brand of Islam, largely influenced by their Arab neighbors, and they've largely forgotten the creatures and monsters of Somali mythology. Bushra lived in a neighborhood called Golden Pines Grove, located a few blocks from Dunwoody College of Technology, which she attended for computer science. Life was alright for Bushra, for the moment. In the United States of America, for the most part, if you mind your own business, people leave you alone. Bushra likes that mentality...
Part of the reason why the Buuti seldom stayed in one place is because humans are naturally xenophobic, and sooner or later, they notice that there is something not quite right about her. The Buuti looks like a young woman of African descent, but since she doesn't age, and seems immune to disease, it's in her best interest to never stay in one area too long. What humans ignore over overlook usually becomes glaringly obvious to them after a while...
"Hey beautiful," came a voice, snatching Bushra out of her train of thought. She sat at a corner of the Dunwoody College library, working on an assignment for Professor Chan, who taught Advanced Coding at the school. Bushra turned around and found herself facing Bilal Jama, a tall, dark-skinned and ruggedly handsome young Somali American who'd taken a liking to her. Like a lot of young men who'd felt drawn to Bushra in the past, Bilal couldn't quite explain his attraction to her, but he couldn't deny it...
"Salaam, brother," Bushra replied, playing the role of the demure young Somali American Muslim woman that she was supposed to be. Anyone looking at Bushra would see a five-foot-nine, curvy young woman with dark brown skin and long black hair framing an oval, youthful face. Bushra didn't look a day over twenty one. She'd been looking like that for the past sixteen hundred years. The Buuti was one of the youngest monsters of Somali mythology, having been spawned by the Demon Queen Dhegdheer just before the rise of Islam in the region. Of course, nobody knows this...
"Hmm, so this is where you come to hide," Bilal said, and he casually grabbed a chair and pulled up next to Bushra, to her supreme annoyance. The Somalis are a tactile people, and they're usually quite friendly when dealing with their own. Bilal was taking a lot of liberties, but Bushra, who had a keen nose for predators, knew that the nineteen-year-old student was relatively harmless. The Buuti hadn't survived the course of millennia without being cautious and having keen instincts for danger...
"You've found me," Bushra said, and Bilal took off his Kufi hat, acting like a cowboy in one of those old movies she used to watch. In the 1950s, Bushra lived in the City of Los Angeles, California, and developed a fondness for cowboy movies. She remembers sneaking into largely segregated movie theaters after hours and watching John Wayne movies. Bushra once had a crush on old Hollywood icon James Dean, who made a terrible cowboy, but had the nicest ass she'd ever seen on a man...
"Alright, Bushra, I just wanted to ask you if you wanted to go see Godzilla Versus Kong with me," Bilal said casually, and he leaned back on his chair, like the smooth operator he was pretending to be. Bushra, blessed with the ultra-sharp senses of a super predator, could hear Bilal's heart stammering in his chest. The Somali American brother was nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs, but he certainly acted cool. Bushra found this profoundly amusing and more than a little endearing...
"Only if you promise not to talk during the movie, you look good but talk too much, Bilal," Bushra replied haughtily. Bilal grinned, and laughed nervously, dropping all pretense of smugness. He nodded at her, and proceeded to assure her that he would be on his best behavior. With covid still ravaging the country, some of the local movie theaters were slowly reopening, as were restaurants. Landmark's Lagoon Cinema was one of the most daring movie theaters out there, and they were showing G vs. K, the movie event of the year...
