“I couldn’t agree more!” piped Beko. “Does my father honestly think that I would be interested in getting married and staying under his thumb for the rest of my life? I want to start my own life away from here. Honestly, my father can be so selfish at times. I am glad you turned down his offer and stood up to him,” added Beko furiously. She continued, “So where does that leave us?”
Mabige responded, “He said that I should return in two weeks’ time to discuss the dowry in detail when has had time to think it through, which is a positive outlook.”
That conversation left Beko with a sour taste in her mouth and as she stood up to go home, she was not sure of what state she would find her father in. However, she determined in her heart that if her father refused her to marry Mabige, she would most certainly take matters into her own hands and face him squarely and tell him she would marry him whether he liked it or not. After bidding everyone goodnight, she stood for a few minutes in the courtyard with Mabige for a quick chat and to reassure each other that everything was going to work out for them. She slowly walked home to face the music.
Chapter 22
When Beko got home, she found Papa Mondo and her mother sitting in the dining room waiting for her. She looked at her father squarely but could not utter a word as fear had gripped her. Her mother motioned her to sit down. As she sat her father said, “So you have decided to throw yourself far away from civilisation and marry this boy with a strange name? Why have you decided to bring shame on me and do something that you know is abominable in our culture?”
Mama Mondo interjected by saying, “No, Papa, that is not what we agreed. We agreed that we will respect her choice. Why are you starting all this again?”
“I just wanted to hear why she would choose a stranger over all the eligible men in this compound. There is nothing wrong with any of them is there?”
Beko said, “Papa it is not about whether they are eligible or not, I don’t feel anything for any of them. I see them as my brothers, that’s all. But with Mabige I feel alive, like a woman and I love him because I think about him all the time and we have a lot in common. I feel he is the one for me, Papa. So please give us a chance to be happy!”
“Well, I guess there is always a first where mixing up with other cultures is concerned, but I did not expect it at my own door. Nevertheless, I respect that you want to follow your heart, which is fundamental to a lasting marriage. Besides, he appears to be a descent and responsible young man. For this reason, I will respect your wishes, provided the young man can afford the dowry that I will ask him to pay for your hand in marriage. No dowry, no marriage. Simple!” said Elder Mondo with authority.
“Oh, thank you, Papa,” gasped Beko with delight. Her mother did not say a word, but she was ecstatic for her daughter. “If you wish to go and see where he lives, you can go with your mother, she had a good head on her shoulders and makes good judgement of people, generally,” Elder Mondo added. Beko knew straight away that her mother had something to do with her father’s change of heart about Mabige. She was even more excited that she would have her mother beside her to go and visit Mabige.
Elder Mondo left the room to go and see to his fish that he had caught earlier that day. He gutted and cleaned them, salted them and took them to the pantry to hang them until they are dried. Meanwhile Mama Mondo and Beko started talking about how they would plan their trip to Huru.
They felt it was important to get there before Mabige returned for final talks with Elder Mondo regarding the dowry. This would allow both of them to see Mabige in his own environment and to draw their own conclusions on who he really was and if he was the ideal suitor for Beko. They agreed on the day they would be visiting in the next two weeks’ time. Beko went to sleep with a smile on her face.
At Tamura’s place, Mama Haga and Mara got down to business and discussed how they were getting on with the prayer and how the whole compound was going to be informed of the impending danger. After their extensive talks and prayers, the two collapsed in their bed as if they had just fought a war. The biggest weight on their shoulders was how they were going to break this grave matter to the Goza people, especially since Mara was only but a child and Mama Haga was a stranger.
Early that morning, Mama Haga and Mara woke up to whisper about when the best time to break the news would be and they both agreed to wait until everyone had had their breakfast but before they started the day’s chores. This was going to be tricky as the young men would have gone to the fields to feed the cattle and the young women would have gone to fetch firewood and water at the well or gone to the river to do some washing. They concluded that they would still go ahead with their plan and assign everyone in attendance to inform their families on their return.
As soon as they finished eating their food, they hurriedly sat Tamura down to tell him everything that Mara had
