Unheard Story

Friday morning, Muhire went to their local defense station. He was called that his identity cards were found and are submitted at Mubuga local defense station. The day was sunny and everyone was quite busy with work. He entered the office where he found a brown woman in the office. She was looking in red mirror smearing the solid lotion on her lips. She was in a scholastic black suit and white shirt inner. She appeared ill at ease in her suits. Her hair was combed as if she was going to the wedding ceremony, and she had a negligence face. Her voice was law and elastic as if she didn’t want to speak. When you look at her mouth, she seems ill person about to vomit. There was also a middle-aged man in the officer’s suit and hut in his head. He had reddish eyes like hot charcoal with a terrifying sight. His face was wrinkled and creased up, which gave him a very menacing appearance though when he penetrates his eyes at Muhire, he started to feel guilty of the mistake he didn’t make. When he speaks, oh good God. The officer had a harsh shrill feminine voice. Though, Muhire almost burst into laughter to realize how he contradicts himself in nature.

After some time of silence like three or four minutes Muhire sat in front of them without a word, the policeman asked Muhire.

“Young man, what can we do for you?” At least they talked.

“Sir, I was called to come here to take my identity cards which were lost. And....” Muhire replied learning the policeman’s reactions to his words.

“How have lost your documents by the way? Were you drunk?” the officer asked Muhire as he penetrates his eyes on Muhire’s face. While Muhire was about to say a word, the secretary left next to an officer in a black suit suddenly planted her words into Muhire’s mouth.

“Yes, he was drunk. Don’t you see his eyes? He is an alcoholic drinker.” She said but Muhire said divergent to her as he answered the question asked.

“No. I was not drunk. It happened accidentally.” Muhire complimented.

“That is impossible.” She said “how could a bearded man like you lose his properties? You are irresponsible. That is why you deserve a big forfeit.” Muhire started to think in his mind. “This woman was born with the prosecution in her heard. How can she accuse me drunkenness as if we have ever shared at the same bottle?” he said in his mind.

“You have to pay fifty thousand francs” the officer concluded

“Fifty thousand? It is too much Sir.” Muhire said as if he was trying to beg them to reduce the penalty. Muhire had about forty thousand and he wanted to reserve some money for lunch and ticket from there at the local defense station to their village.

“I think we have talked too much. If you don’t need yours, don’t pay. Fifty thousand. No reduction, no further negotiation That’s it.” The woman in the black suit said in her stretchy voice as if she was fighting to catch a breath.

“What can I do?” Muhire was wondering but in vain. He was compromised to pay no doubt.  When Muhire was trying to talk to the policeman, outside of the office came sounds and interrupt. What was that? Who knows.

There came a bleeding man from Muhire’s village. His name was Murera. He lived about a hundred meters from Muhire’s household. Muhire knew him from his childhood. Mufasha was Murera’s wife and they had begotten four children. The first child was a girl, but it was said that she was married far at Kibungo and it has been passed about nine years passed without coming back for her family. And her family knew nothing about her. The second born of Murera was a boy who was nicknamed Mahane because he was furious and cruel boy to his sisters and colleagues. Mahane was three years older than Muhire. Whenever Mahane used to meet Muhire, He used to slap Muhire in the face and knock in his head. Though Mahane liked to throw stones to the people and passerby he didn’t know. One day, Mahane insulted an old woman who was passing by and threw stones to her. The story says that that old woman poisoned Mahane and he became unconscious that resulted in his tragic end where he fell in the fireplace when he was left home alone and he was burnt till he died.

 The third child of Murera was a girl. She is name was Matete. She was Muhire’s age mate, and they attended the same school at Mutara School of science.

When they were in senior five, Matete fell in love with their cook Fabien. Fabien was a brown charming young man with sweet tongue and open-handed who used to be loved by women especially female students at Mutara School. Day today, there were always overwhelming conflicts related to this cook. Girls quarreling between themselves, everyone was claiming to own Fabien especially Matete. She was like a lion against wolves to her kids. Although girls were in deep fight, it was not easy for Fabien, since school boys hated him and sometimes they used to attack him and wrestle because he was accused of drug school boy’s girlfriends and have affair with them.  

In the second term of senior five, Matete dropped out the school and ran away with their former cook at school Fabien. After a few months, the story spread everywhere that the cook Fabien caught Matete in bed cheating him with their landlord. From that day, Matete was chased out and come back home but she was pregnant. At home, Matete used herbs to abort her child. The fourth child of Murera is a young fifteen years old boy.

at the local defense station, were about five officers around the office. When they saw Murera coming, they let him inter in the office and ask other people who come after him to stop outside the office. Muhire was about to go out, but when Murera saw him, he asked the senior officer that Muhire remains to sit and listen to what had happened to him. Sincerely, Murera’s left ear was cut off and he was terribly bleeding. He was wounded all over the face, though it was hard to recognize him because he was brown bloodshed. His eyes were blinded by blood. His clothes were badly wet and changed the color because of blood flowing from the face and from the ear. In his face, it looked as if he was scratched by a leopard’s jaws. to see that, Muhire started to be afraid that Murera would lose blood and die.

When the mistress saw him, she showed no reaction as if she was the one who did it to Murera. Muhire curiously asked Murera “Murera, what happened? Is it a hit in an accident?” Murera’s pain was great. His brain was greatly suffered near to burst into parties. In his heart, Murera was wishing a place where he could go and scream louder to announce his pain but he couldn’t. Only tears were falling even if they could not be recognized in flood of blood falling to his cheek down to his toes. Pain is real but crying out is naivety. As the elders said: “a man’s tears flow to the stomach.” Murera did not cry.

“I come here to re..repo..report the brutality and sa..savageness of m...y own wife and my own daughter t...t..o me.” He deadly stammered.

“what? The savageness of your wife? Impossible” the senior an officer said, but his assistant secretary in suit burst into laughter.

“The one who laughs after is the one who laughs longer!” she said and continued laughing.

After some time as her amusement to Murera, the office phone rang. A senior officer was called to attend the meeting and left the case to his assistant.

“SP Mariza” senior officer called and his assistant reply politely “Yes Afande!”

“I want you to take care of this case now. I have a meeting to attend” a senior officer said as he goes out and left us silent. That is how Muhire realized that that ill woman in her black suit was called Mariza. In his mind, he started to think “knew that women who are called Mariza are good people but the one who was in front of me was in contrast.”

“Tell me. You want to mean that...” she pauses and tries to get the core of what Murera said. “you saying that your wife and your daughter are the ones who did this to you?” she finally asked.

“Yes. You are right. The woman I married myself is the one who is killing me. My children are the ones to dig my grave. They are trying to bury me alive.” Murera said in woeful voice but Mariza laughs at him again.

“I can’t believe your story. Never. Have you ever seen a man claiming to be violated by a woman? No! No! Muzee! Referring to my familiarity, now ten years passed doing this job. Women always come claiming to be violated, but no man who can be desecrated by a woman” she sarcastically said.

 “No wonder, this woman’s month is a reflection of her heart,” Muhihe thought as he tries to remark her words to Murera but he is interrupted by Murera’s reclamations.

“Yes. Take a good look at what they have done. Don’t you have eyes? My left ear. Where is it? Look at my face. The skin from my forehead and my cheek is in the nails of their fingers. Don’t you see these scratches? Do you think I am the one who did this to myself?” as the old man asked the question, sips of tears started to flow opposing blood to his wounded cheek.

“Okay, tell me then. What happened?” she asked Murera.

The old man Murera was saying, he was checking and trembling. Muhire saw it and stood slowly so that he could not hurt Murera and go out a while. It was around eleven AM. Besides that place, Muhire saw other prisoners in a wooden fence in about twenty meters opposite the office. These prisoners were busy doing kitchen work. Some were chopping firewood and others were cooking as others were cleaning tools. To see them, Muhire approached the fence to talk to them. However, a policewoman who was watching them nearby saw him and stopped him.

“Do you have an idea of where you are going?” a policewoman asked Muhire as she was approaching him.

“Yes I do” he replied “ I come to ask you some clean water, please. I have a person in a critical situation there. Please help me.”

“Do you mean that man who is excessively wounded in the face?” she asked.

“Yes, please. That is the one.” Muhire replied.

“Okay. Wait here. I will bring some” a policewoman entered the building, and brings water in a white jar and a yellow cup and gave them to Muhire.

“Here there are.” She said as she hands a jar to Muhire

“Oh! Thank you so much. My name is Muhire. D” he said to a policewoman.

“You are welcome. My name is Agnes.” She said as she smiles at him.

“Agnes? How kind are you? You deserve to sit in that office and replace that ill woman” Muhire said into his heart as he smiles to Agnes, but he didn’t utter these words to her. He went back to the office in a hurry. When he entered, Murera was still trembling. Muhire gave him some water to drink, but he could not drink enough. Murera sat tightly and gather as he was trying to calm down the pain. Mariza was looking at him beamy.

“Muze! I guess you took a part in this mess. Aren’t you the one who made mistakes?” she asked. “Some people cause troubles and get hurt. Are you trying to seek my favor? Never. A woman can not violate a man? how? Did they come and start beating you without any motive?” she pauses and look to Murera and turn her eyes to Muhire. At this time, her face was darker and her eyes reflect a great grudge in her heart.

“Impossible. I think you have set the fire, and you got burnt. Now you have come here to cover your misdeed. That is what all crimes committers behave.” She easily prosecuted him.

“I honestly telling you the truth. It started a long ago” Murera started to narrate his story in grief full voice.

“ I work from cock-crow until the sunset. They wake up late morning, cooking and eating, then everyone takes a journey. From Monday to Sunday, it has become a habit. When I ask, my daughter scorns at me, my wife spites in my face. A daughter says: ‘it is not your business’ wife saying that she is enjoying revelation and free from a man’s control. When any coin comes into the house, they are the ones to keep it. In the harvesting season, they the ones to take the harvest to the market and I will never be informed about the gain. When I try to stand on my feet as a man in the house, one brings a hoe another brings a stick and beat me like a snake. When the fight is over, they take up the telephone and call the police.” He pauses and puts off his shirt and shows Muhire and Mariza the dried scars in his back. They were about four long scars. When Mariza saw them, for the first time, she showed a sign of human reaction. She shook her head and hides her eyes in hands.

 “See yourself. When the police come, they took to their station and beat me to death saying no woman is firmed. Gender balance has come.” He paused and tries to wipe tears on his eyes; he looked at his top fingers. There was blood. Then, he bowed his head in his hands and sigh deeply.

 “Yesterday, they sold a calf. They didn’t give me a coin.” He continued. “They drunk until dawn. The one who came earlier was Mufasha, my wife. She came later from the launch of a new day. She was delighted a great deal and her sentiments to words me were greatly burning and erective. My own daughter came in first light. Her clothes were split into pieces even here underwear came into view.” He paused. The anger started to arouse in him. “I felt ashamed and slap her to ask what had happened and where she slept last night. She is daughter cried loudly, and her mother came quickly and attacks me. They beat me saying that I am a hindrance in their lives. Saying that they have given freedom of doing whatever they want so that I have to go away from their lives. Madam, maybe you can’t understand me, maybe you can’t trust me. But it is your job. Ask my neighbors, ask people. They know the truth” he kneels down “I beg. I need justice. I knocked to thousands of offices, but none needed to know the truth. Like you, they said: ‘no woman can violate a man’ however I am heartbroken. I am dying in the eyes of an open universe. But none cares.” Murera stood up. Mariza put down a pen she had in her hands and have a sigh followed by a short time of hesitation.

“Muze! To be frank, It is the first time I heard about a man claiming to be violated by his wife and it is hard to believe your story. I don’t see where I can start.” She paused and stared at Murera. “My conclusion is simple. go home and be a good person. If it does not give an answer, you can pack yours and find somewhere to live for a while. Soon your wife will be here claiming that you have violated her and your daughter. We shall start over the case. Go home. A woman cannot fail a man, we are going to see what to do afterward.” Mariza the officer said herself and she continued to say to Muhire.

“I am really grateful for your undivided mercy. I will never forget your blessed heart you received me with.....” Murera said turning his back to the door and went out ignobly.

“He is from your village right?” Mariza asked Muhire. “Take him to the hospital before he dies of losing blood.” She said and Muhire didn’t add anything. He went out dried of words...

When Muhire and Murera reached out of the gate, Muhire called a motor driver to carry Murera to the hospital, but when they were waiting, an old man said something to m Muhire. His family’s story was known everywhere. Muhire too knew well about them. Wherever Murera used to pass, people used to whisper to one another: “See. That man is a husband of that woman who always gets drunk and pee-pee on herself.” “He is speechless at his home” people murmur. “His wife having affair with other men, his daughter brings men in his house. But he can’t do anything because he was given the Inzaratsi to make him a fool and unconscious. Everything happens in his house, he says yes. He never says why.” That is his story.

In the evening, the weather was humid. Not hot, not cold. The stars were few in the sky and the moon seemed too sad. The wind was blowing the sinister feeling and sting in the skin to cause Goosebumps. Muhire was walking in the road alone leading home. he looked on his phone, no call no message from Diana. he felt heartbroken and grief aroused in him but he tried to ignore it.

Five, four meters, he was looking at his home in front of him. Suddenly he heard his father and other two persons running and murmur.

“the death of two people? How can this happen on the earth?” Muhire heard his father saying.

“not only deaths but another person was also arrested for committing murder.” he heard another person saying. What was that? Death of two people and the arrest of another? It was too strange. He ran after them, to see what the matter was but strangely, the road lead them to the house of Murera’s family.

To reach there, there were two corpses. One of Murera and another for Mufasha his wife. Matete their daughter was arrested for killing her father. Then who killed Mufasha? None knew about it till the note is found in Murera’s pocket of his trouser. It looks as if he planned to kill his wife and kill himself on the other hand, but the fact is that he was killed by something hit him in back head afterward he died.

There is a time to saw and time to reap, there is a time

To laugh and time to cry, there a time to live and a time

To die. there is a time of happiness and time for sadness.

Those who knew my happiness, have you ever heard about my

Sadness? Yes, you did. What have you done then? None wanted

To hear my laments, when I was happy, you came and laugh with me

When I was sad, you turned your back. You closed your ears

Ash to ash

Dust to dust

I am going to find a hide, since none

On the earth listened to me. But I go

With my bed mate. We have sworn together

NSHIMIYIMANA Evode.

Email: nshimiyimanaevode2@gmail.com