Over the years, Forence and I gravitated towards the Rasta movement . Flo was vegan and I was a clean eater – no pork or crustaceans . We came to identify with Rastas and before we knew it ,Amani and Imani Tafai started coming to our Friday meet ups. Flo started going out with Amani , the most serious of the twins , who during discussions, proved to be the most critical of western society . I thought their coupling was odd . Not that I thought he would have fared better with me- I did not like his opinions about women .

I was slow to open up to Imani , the other brother . Just because Flo and I did everything together did not mean we ought to love brothers but he was persistent. I had never been with a man and toyed around with the idea of eternal celibacy. He laughed it away , saying I am quirky. That he was going to earn my love.

Imani accompanied me to pop up markets , where I sold my artwork and hand crafted necklaces . I found out they were from an affluent Rasta family known for setting up communities all over Africa for diaspora and locals who wanted to live a spiritual life in line with Jah . I was impressed that their family had lived in Jamaica , where their parents were lucky enough to witness Haile Selassie’s visit . They became instant believers in his divinity . They then moved around , living for sometime in Barbados , Haiti , Ethiopia, Ghana .

They were one of the blessed families who had been given land in Ethiopia by the emperor but left when tensions rose between locals and the rasta community .

Their father being South African , decided the family should move back here and set up the Tafai Rastafari Commune .

Imani was patient with me and to loved my free spirit . We spent our courting days swapping books , attending music festivals and kissing in buses. A year later , we flew off to Jamaica and married before elders of the Tafai community of Jamaica . We spent six months immersing ourselves in literature : I read Marcus Garvey. I learned that being a Rasta goes beyond Reggae. I learned chants. I learned livity . The women of the community embraced me and I ended up teaching art to a poor community outside Kingston. Six months became two years . I wrote to Flo who lived in Birmingham , England where Amani , the serious Tafai brother was sent to set up a commune amongst Rastas there . She told me the air was beautiful , that she had reconnected with her mother who lived in Edmonton and had started writing novels for young adults . Flo felt connected to her sense of purpose. Her husband was a big name during the race riots – Amani became involved in the struggle for better treatment of black people in England . Flo always bailed him out. We marvelled at how lonely we felt growing up without one of our parents , how it seemed we had finally found belonging : we were grounded .