Maqueen Lawrence

Restless Throne Maqueen Lawrence

A few kilometers northwest of Johannesburg, South Africa, is the Cradle of Humankind caves. This UNESCO-declared world heritage site is full of anthropological, genealogical, and mystical clues about the evolution of mankind. She heard the caves aren't a mere tourist attraction, but rather a realm believed to have powers that can unlock the lost facets of one's destiny. Trudging along the cave trek with Europeans dressed in safari gear, clicking their digital cameras at every fossil in site, she entered the caves without a camera, but only instinctive driven hope that she will find something that will help her navigate through life with ease. Indeed, she does find something in the caves other than rocks and bones. She is certain she locked eyes with something hidden in the caves' crevices. She is certain it is a living being, an elderly man perhaps. He tried to communicate with her, but she couldn't engage him as she had to move swiftly along with the rest of the tourist crowd. Since the cave visit, her dreams are dominated by this man's piercing gaze. Who is he? How long has he been in there? With time, she learns to communicate with him, harnessing a sincere friendship not bounded by time, physicality, or age. He requests her to record her observations about life outside the cave, trusting that her findings about a changing South African sociopolitical landscape he is estranged from, will enable him to survive and rule the land he has been exiled from for more than four hundred years.