Chapter 18
The following morning, the Goza people woke up to their usual run of the mill as the children got ready for school. Mara reluctantly got herself ready for school and stood in the compound looking around as if she was expecting a visitor that early morning. She had no appetite for breakfast today and just stood there pondering on when the evil spirits would strike. She felt a shiver down her spine at the thought of the spirits being so near and so dreadfully deadly. Mara quickly went back to her room and fell on her knees to pray out of her brothers’ site as they were busy munching their breakfast at the kitchen table. It was the second time that morning that Mara had dedicated time to prayer. When she said ‘Amen’, she wondered if Mama Haga was praying at all.
When she came out of the room, she met with Baka at the door heading out to school and asked him as a distraction from her deep thoughts and said, “You have finished eating in three minutes! Do you chew your food at all, you greedy—”
Before she finished her sentence, Baka protested, “You don’t chew porridge anyway and tea is for drinking not eating!” Mara squinted at him with annoyance and did not say another word. They joined the other children in the yard and ran off to school as they had to be there on time or face detention.
On the way to school, Mara felt safe and protected as she had prayed; all of a sudden, her fear had disappeared and was replaced with strength from within and hope for a better future rid of evil. She felt the reassuring presence of the Angel protecting her and the other children on their way to school and wherever they found themselves, as long as she prayed without ceasing. At the king’s compound, the adults were busy with their daily chores of washing, cleaning, cooking, feeding the domestic animals, fetching water from the well and firewood, to name but a few.
Tamura was catching up with the king, looking at how they were going to travel to the Towa Village where the king was invited as a gesture of goodwill in expressing their gratitude for the hospitality the king had shown to the Towa people at the summer festival. Tamura planned with the king to journey to Towa in a few days’ time and come back the following day to allow the king to acquaint himself with the people of Towa; and also to take a tour of the Towa area and see how those people lived, but not overstaying their welcome as the king does get grumpy if kept away from his home comforts for too long. Tamura made sure the king’s donkey was in good shape and was well fed and watered in preparation for the journey. He knew that if the donkey was not up to the journey, the king would certainly grumble about the journey being too long for walking.
Tamura knew the king so well in the short time he had worked for him. Sometimes he wondered, who complained more between the king and the heavy-laden donkeys the Goza people used to carry heavy loads.
He thought to himself that he hoped Leona would not take after her father’s traits of a serial complainer. The journey to Towa was agreed on by the two men to take place in two days’ time. However, the king insisted that they should take Chief Bongo along with them or any of the younger men for company and increased protection, just in case they met unfriendly people along the way.
Tamura felt, besides Chief Bongo, they needed to go with at least two extra men for a more fortified front. This, he took to the rest of the subjects to ask who would want to come along on the journey with the king. This sparked a frenzy among most of the young men, who were trying to outwit one another in an attempt to prove their stamina and bravery as a qualification for Tamura’s approval. Tamura laughed and said, “I will leave Chief Bongo to decide the two men who should come along, as I clearly can’t choose between you.”
Chief Bongo felt proud and honoured by Tamura’s gesture. He got up and cleared his throat and said authoritatively, as if he was talking to naughty children, “Settle down, all of you, do you take this as a joke that you are to accompany the king on an unknown journey to a strange land?” He continued sternly, “You have no idea that the king’s life will be in your hands, should you be chosen to go along, and yet you are making a mockery of the whole thing as though it was child’s play. You ought to be ashamed of yourselves!”
The whole place fell silent; you could cut the atmosphere with a knife, as the young men felt both ashamed and annoyed at what Chief Bongo was saying in their rebuke. Once he realised, they were all ears and seated down anxiously for him to finish his address and choose the two men, he continued, “Now, we will take on the journey, Chega and Makada, and that is final.” The other hopefuls felt dismayed but could not raise their protests with Chief Bongo as they knew his word was final. According to their ranks, they could not go above him to complain to Elder Mondo, neither could they go direct to the king.
Chief Bongo was directly in charge of them and they accepted his
