Zaire

The evening gray was visible in the skyline where the traces of light started to slowly disappear, turning the bright yellow into an orange shade. The purple clouds ambient to the horizon as yet another day met it’s demise in this river village. The sounds of birds chirping a typical tone in the surrounding trees. Each desperate to find it’s rightful nest before darkness fell.

A man walked passed the thatched houses snaking his way around the dwellings, stopping briefly to greet his encounters. He stared briefly at the sky beyond and paying his prayers to the line of headstones that was below the far end of the village. 

He continued walking , nodding swiftly with a half smile at the people he encountered. In his broad shoulder a rabbit hanged with it’s ears dangling just above his sculptured breast.

The hut-shaped houses carried the history of villagers that had gathered here for many centuries before. The were some old and some new, some bruised and some broken but each was uniquely it’s own. What they lacked in privacy they made up in warmth of each neighbor knowing the other.

He stopped at the edge of the village where a new hut appeared freshly affixed. A young boy ran towards him with an open embrace. 

“Father ?” the boy screamed with earnest jubilation.

“Danda, how are you my boy?” the man responded. And with effortless ease he lifted up the boy with one arm.

“Where is your mother?, tell her I’m back and tonight we eat rabbit” he continued while he pulled a stool and sat outside of the hut. 

A woman quickly came out, and seeing the seated down she handed him another smaller child and embraced him briefly.

“Welcome home, dear” she said with a smile that warmed his heart.

“I bring meat today” he replied. “Let us eat well and I saved the blood for the soup.” he added handing over the kill and a leather pouch.

The sat together at dinner. The little ones close to the man nudging each other while they ate. The sound of a cracking fire could be heard from the burning wood that was still active but barely beyond their reach. 

“Have you heard about Moringe? They burned everything and they were no survivors” the woman said.

 He continued to eat as he listened. It was not surprising to him she would talk about this. They have been growing concerns in the village lately

“Ntula came by and she told me the whole village smelled of blood. People are thinking we could be next and they are planning to leave the village to Bantu” she continued.

“I think we should leave with the others. They have been talks of…..” She was interrupted half way.

“Quiet woman. Can’t we eat in peace?” the man retorted with an elevated pitch.

The children were shocked to silence by the sudden raise in voice. He looked at them and returned his attention to the food.

“I am sorry, I didn’t mean to shout” he started with his head bowed down.

“You must understand Amina, this is my father’s land. And my grandfather before him and my great grandfather before him. It is cowardly for me to leave this place because of fear.” He said.

“I don’t think they will attack us. The raiders are many but we have the tribes together. And Bantu will surely retaliate if they do.” He continued

“Bantu will come to collect our corpses” Amina replied

He raised his head slightly, shooting a fiery glance at her before facing down again where the food was placed and continued to eat. The rest of the meal was done silent, with only the children occasional sounds with each other.

After dinner, Amina sat outside watching her husband smoking an old pipe. She had put the children to sleep and sat by the door of the hut. They both stared at the night sky without talking.

“Zaire, you are a strong man and I love you. Just promise me, you will at least think about what I told you.” Amina said.

“I could not bare to see our children die” she added after he did not respond.

He ushered a sound of displeasure which was somehow common to her. He knew she was right but would never admit it. The raids were getting too close to their home. He had never thought about leaving his home, but deep down he knew he may as well have to someday.

“If trouble comes just do as we have planned” he replied. 

He averted her concerned gaze and remained fixed in the sky.

****

A few days passed and the rumors in the village continued to grow. The tensions were so high and everyone was on high alert. After the attack on Moringe no one felt safe. The warriors sharpened their spears and machetes. They roared at night and wailed at the moon, calling to their ancestors. A ceremony of raising the spirits of old warriors and fighters to give them courage and strength. 

It was almost noon when Amina walked past the other huts and made her way to the river to draw water. The children followed close behind her struggling to keep up with her pace. Zaire had left that morning for another hunt. The rabbit had only lasted a few meals.

A horn suddenly sounded in a distant. It was a sound she was not familiar with, something she had never heard before. The village was abruptly silent. It was like time had stopped and everyone was glued to their positions. The horn continued sounding for a short moment. And then it was silent again. 

A mountain of darkness suddenly enveloped the sky and appeared to be moving like a swarm of birds. The swam then turned into rain of steel. The sharp metal heads ringing with the wind. The wailing and cries immediately started as the thuds crushed into the grounds.

The raiders were upon them. 

“Ruuun! Ruuun! They are coming.” a man shouted before crashing to ground with his back full of arrows.

 Chaos descended upon the village. The screams were severe and loud, children cried, women cried and the men cried too. The raiders where emerging from the forest and trees around. Their battle cries infused in the screams. The smell of blood was in the air.

Amina did not have time to think. She turned and picked up the children. Running toward the hut she felt a cold sharpness on her back. The sensation turned warm and painful, burning her flesh from the inside. The impact threw her over the ground and she rolled down river bank and fell into the water. 

She did not want to let Danda go, even after shoulder was lodged with the flaming arrow head. She could feel Danda slipping away as she held on to Simile on her bosom. She gathered herself and pulled Danda closer as he cried from the fall. She pulled him to her back.

“Keep quiet or they would find us?” she whispered as her other hand held Simile’s mouth shut with her face full of tears.

She swam slowly along the bank until she saw the river boats being destroyed. All the bank was in flame, the blood red bank was reflecting yellow with the fire. 

Amina kept swimming slowly with some of her steps touching the bottom of the shallow waters. She moved towards the upper part of the burning shore and walked into the bushes. Dashing through the trees she saw the Sanzu tree. 

She pulled the bushes aside revealing an old wooden boat just as they had planned Zaire. 

She put the children inside and quickly moved to deal with the arrow wedged on her shoulder. She had broken the shaft during the fall and only the head remained. She tore part of her cloth and wrapped it around the steel and pulled it out.

 She then pushed the boat back to the river mouth moving in a low squatting motion. Once it was in the river she jumped in and paddled downstream leaving the bank behind. .

****

Zaire walked deep into the jungle trying to find the perfect spot to setup the traps. The words Amina said had been stuck on his head in the past few days. He was glad he could go out for another hunt, staying at home made him more anxious. The sun was already mighty hot in the early morning hours but he could still feel the wet grass beneath his feet. 

He continued to wonder even deeper into the forest. He found his previous hunting grounds and went a little further this time. He set the first trap and continued inward to set two more traps.

He gazed up in the sky and the sun was still leaning to the east. He found a shade nearby and waited quietly. His mind wrestled with the responsibilities of his ancestors versus his own family safety.

When the sun passed the center, he removed some salt jerky from his pouch and ate them. Savoring every last one of them. He pulled out his soft water hide and sipped moderately before returning it to his waist. A heaviness overcame him as he sat leaning on the tree and a slumber took him over.

The smell of smoke had traveled for miles. The forest was very quiet and no animals could be seen or heard. The birds had disappeared and the sky and land were both empty.

He awoke abruptly with a sick feeling of dread. It was the strange silence that made his skin thick and heavy. A cold sweat ran through his back and he immediately smelled the smoke in the air. 

He quickly climbed a tree trying to find the source of the smoke. His gut turned when he saw a dark cover of heavy air with embers of fire hovering in the distance. They were coming from the direction of his village.

***

The ground beneath him felt heavy, he moved steady but fast. It took him almost half a day to walk to the trapping area. He would need to run fast if he was intending to head back soon. He jogged with a chasing pace, not too slow to loose a prey but not too fast either. He knew he had to get home immediately but he would also need his energy if he encountered trouble.

As he passed his traps he noticed they were still empty. It seems the animals were also in hiding. A sign that troubled him even more, increasing the tense sensation he was feeling on his gut.

The air on his face was warm and dry. He tried thinking of something different averting his mind of the worst of possibilities but this only raised his distress. He boiled with worry unable to restrain his concerns for Amina and the children.

It was almost two hours later that his pace began to slow. He was nearing the village and the odor was growing strong and irritating.

He halted at the outskirts of the village and laid low approaching closer with extreme caution. Each step confirming his worst nightmare. The sun was leaning towards the village at this time, getting ready to disappear soon. While this gave him perfect visibility it also added a layer of obscurity in the tall grass. 

He froze beneath the Savannah grasses when he noticed the raiders laying around. The fear he had so much pushed to his back was now staring straight at him. The bodies were indistinguishable, unable to pick friends from foe. He clenched his fist on the soil below. 

He slowly crawled to the tree line that led to the river. A small wind passed over his back bringing with it the smell of blood and burning flesh. Putting his arm on his mouth, he felt a repulsive curling on his throat.

He continued trailing the tree line until he was able to see the village center. The mountain of bodies continued to grow, only this time they were children and women combined. The charred remains of unrecognizable people was all over center. His eyes grew wider staring at the raw and repulsive conditions.

An intense urge to throw up suddenly came from his abdomen making him spasm with pain. 

He continued moving along edge, hiding his presence among the trees. He was yet to see any survivors or assailants but he was aware of voices coming from somewhere he could not see. When he reached the river front where the boats had been set on fire, some of the remnants were still burning. 

He slowly submerged his feet, then his body and finally his head into the river. He swam below passing to bank to the small river mouth on the other side. He moved quickly towards the bush were he had left his boat. He noticed a broken arrow head with blood laying next to a piece of cloth on the ground. 

On pulling out the bushes behind the Sanzu tree, he discovered that his boat was missing. A small grin of relief ran escaped his face. He quickly turned around to check his surroundings.

He raised his water pouch sipped moderately again before he started chasing the river down stream. He moved swiftly and steadily with a new found purpose.

He knew he could never come back. His home was long gone and nothing was left behind but there was something he needed to protect with all his life.