The Legend of Hombarume (Legends Series, #1)

60.

Cheneso was still appalled by the events of the sparring contest and where things were headed for her friend's beloved. She was also quite curious about what she had seen hovering over Hombarume, what she had felt, the unsettling darkness, the nauseating aura, it was all too offsetting and she felt like she needed to know what it was.

Unfortunately, she had no moment to spare for someone else's troubles; she had enough of her own unsolved ones. Sooner than later, she would have to be given away to Garikai, whether she liked it or not, and if that somehow did not happen, she would have to take the hand of whichever man would eventually come knocking at his father's door. She had no reason to refuse a worthy suitor and her family, as much as they adored Simba, had lost faith in him returning in the near future.

The preparations for her to be given away to Simba's family would begin in two days and she was restless, grasping at straws trying to find her lover. She still felt his spirit, she knew that somehow, he was still out there and she could not rest until he was beside her again. She dreaded the thought of him returning and finding out that she had given up on her, but tradition had put her in an impossible situation.

One thing stood out in her mind, the mysterious pool. The strangeness of it, the ambiguity surrounding it told her that it was the right place to look, but now, after her dream that very much felt like reality, she felt like the pool might be a gateway to a world of treachery. Her curiosity had always gotten the best of her ever since she was a little girl but this was something completely unmatched.

She had often wandered farther than her mother would have liked, explored placed that she would never be allowed to explore by any adult. She always had an adventurous spirit and that same spirit had led her to the mysterious pool after Simba went missing. It was a surreal experience, now that she put more thought into it. The water had a tranquility to it that was very eerie.

So now she was out before dawn, wandering the early dark morning in a village that had been plagued by murders. When her mother came to look for her, she would have returned, she told herself. She would be quick, bargain with the spirits that held her betrothed captive and return home with her lover. She felt in her heart that this was what she had needed to do since the beginning. The strange pool was almost calling her, pulling her towards it, asking her to explore its strange depths and discover the answers she was looking for.

The horn felt like a fever dream to her, like a sound that did not exist. Was it one of the tests that came with approaching the pool that other people did not see? When the second blow was clear and taking over the tunes of the early morning, the rushing water, the insects in the thick bushes singing away before the sun came up with its myriad of disturbances, that's when she knew that it was all true.

She wondered to herself what had happened. Had someone else been killed? Had something else happened, something even more gruesome than what had taken place at the sparring contest? It was hard to tell where it was all headed, but it did not look good for her beloved village of Rujeko. Hearing the warning horn sunk her spirit, but she remained focused on her goal, finding the strange pool and getting to the answers.

She started to think about what she would do if she did not find the pool, if for some twisted reason, everything she had witnessed was all in her head, that it had been mere delusions that she had allowed out of her desperation to see Simba again. She did not like where her thoughts were headed, how discouraging her mind was, but the possibility was greater than she had been able to realize.

The quietness and absence of humanly sounds frightened her, but she knew that she had seen stranger things in her dreams, the horned men, floating around in ritual unison, the fireflies aiding them in the peculiar proceedings. What else could be more frightening than that? Perhaps whatever had taken her betrothed hostage was the only thing she needed to fear, everything else to her seemed like petty obstacles that she needed to get past.

As she moved closer and closer to where she had discovered the pool, her heart started beating faster, perhaps signaling danger, or perhaps it was the anticipation or fear. It was true what they said; the night was thicker when it was closest to its end. The darkness around her almost engulfed her, the smooth rushing of the water past the near bushes, the howling of dogs in the distance, the swaying of trees in the slow breeze. She could barely see where she was going and if not for the lamp she had brought with her, she would have been completely in the dark, then suddenly, she was in complete darkness.

The lamp that she had been clutching in her right hand had completely been put out, but that was not the only anomalous thing, she could barely see anything, even her own hands, her own body. She was in complete darkness. A darkness that was unnatural and terrifying to her. She stopped dead in her tracks and tried her best to not fall into a fit of panic, but that was impossible. She twirled around a few times, desperately looking for any sliver of light that could guide her out of whatever pit she had fallen into, but it was all to no avail.

It was only when she was about to fall to her knees and consult the gods that she saw it, a single firefly just in front of her. She had never been so happy to see such a small creature in her entire existence. It shimmered slowly in front of her, its minuscule light, the only ray of hope in sight, blinking now and then, reminding her of the darkness that was swallowing her whole. As swiftly as it appeared, it vanished for a moment, bringing back the dread inside Cheneso until she realized that it was moving.

She wasted no time and started following it, walking slowly in the staggered motion of an infant that was still trying to grasp the concept. She could not see, hence she had to be careful where she stepped, less she fall into a mass of water. She had not the faintest idea where the creature was leading her, for all she knew; it was accompanying her to her own undoing. In this instance, she had no other choice, so she kept on going, with her heart in her hands.

After a while, Cheneso started to notice another firefly, then another, and then there was a multitude of beautiful lights decorating the sky. Now she could see that the sky was clearly open above her and surrounded by tall trees, all around it like a formidable shield and in front of her was a beautiful still mass of water, shimmering from the light of the fireflies, but there was something else, something she could not quite describe.

As mysteriously as the fireflies, the trees and the pool had appeared to her, the water started rippling, just like it had done before, first calmly ,then progressing slowly to a vigorous motion. The ripples and the light reflecting on the water created an alluring illusion, then the ripples became stronger until the water seemed to be swirling around at the middle of the pool. There was something inside the water, something that kept on spinning and causing the ripples. Cheneso had to find out what it was.

Before she knew it, she was in the cool water, slowly approaching the swirling ripples as if she was in a trance, as if she was being led, or pulled. What if she was not to make it out of the pool, she thought. What if this was her end, what then? These questions kept on gnawing at her, but onward she went. The rippling water was now just above her waist and she kept getting deeper and deeper until it was at chest height. It seemed like soon it would just consume her entirely, but now, the middle of the pool with the swirling mass was just a breath away and when she reached it, she was fully immersed in the spinning water and all was dark yet again.