🌴 Nab's Youth

Nab was born to the witchdoctor of the African tribe of Benduti. The Benduti, as we already know, believed that health and flexibility as synonyms and the main duty of the tribe's healer was to make sure that everyone in the tribe have their backbends, frontbends, twists and splits in good condition.

As the first son, Nab was expected to inherit his father's business and become the next great witchdoctor. Since early childhood the boy was taught everything his father learned about flexibility and that would probably take tomes if he wanted to write a book about it. But Benduti didn't trust books.

They trusted in a whole lot of practice and it's good that Nab inherited his father's flexible gene. Generation after generation healers only improved their techniques and wisdom, so it was no surprise that Nab learned to do some miracles with his body that even his father couldn't do at that age.

Nab sure was a dream-like son, never skipped his lessons and always stretched to his best ability while his father was busy elsewhere, checking on other children and adult members of the tribe, making sure everyone is healthy and can prove it.

The Benduti was quite an ancient tribe that over its centuries of existence grew into truly unbreakable people who had the backbone and guts to do some of the most unbelievable things. Usually with their own or each other's bodies.

The most flexible members took a lot of pride in their abilities and were highly praised, but at the same time worked the hardest to serve as inspiration for the rest of the tribe.

So it was most unfortunate that the tribe suffered a pirate raid and several of its most talented teenagers were kidnapped and ended up in American slavery. Nab for one became a mere toy of his "owners". That family treated him like a thing made of rubber and had a lot of fun dragging his flesh and soul through their insane daily trials.

But Nab always believed that flexibility equals health and that sole thought helped him to survive through the months of slavery, until he was finally sold to certain Mr. Smith, who suddenly freed the boy.

Nab and Smith became great friends and Nab would often try to entertain his savior with a flexible performance or two. At first Smith was not sure what to think but then more and more started finding flexibility highly interesting. Being a scientist, he even devised some stretching devices for Nab.

So first Nab's own father made him unbelievably flexible, then that family of slavers worked on his body for months and, without realizing it, boosted Nab on a whole new level. Then his new friend and scientist, Cyrus Smith, helped Nab to get even further.

If Nab were more vain, he would look at himself and decide that his body is pretty much god-like, but such thoughts never crossed Nab's mind. He was only happy with his flexibility when someone else was happy looking at him. He would never say no to anyone who wanted to see how far he can bend and he could perform for hours if people wanted to watch.

Only one thing made Nab sad, in America pretty much nobody could even touch their toes, let alone more difficult things. As a witchdoctor's son, Nab was very concerned about the whole enormous country where all of its citizens very unhealthy.

Cyrus Smith kept explaining to Nab that health and flexibility are two different things but Nab was inconsolable. Back in the tribe, his performances would always inspire other kids, who would immediately try to stretch and imitate Nab's incredible poses.

But here, he performed in front of Mr. Smith's guests and visitors, he even went around the city to do small performances but nobody looked inspired by what he did, they looked at him as if he was doing something weird or wrong, and all they would give him was money.

The pain kept growing in Nab's heart and he craved to find at least one friend, he wouldn't ask for more, just one friend who would be as interested in training as Nab himself. Even if that friend wouldn't be flexible at first, Nab would put his heart into helping him.

And as we know, under very strange circumstances and in a completely unexpected place, Nab would finally meet this friend he dreamed about, by the name of Harbert Brown, the French-American boy who could barely touch his own toes at first but in a few years of getting daily training from Nab, would become Nab's greatest competitor.