Tapfuma was yet to leave the village although he had vowed that he would put everything behind him, sell his father's belongings and start afresh in a new environment that did not remind him of the tragedies. Something kept tugging at him, he felt that he had some sort of strange responsibility in all this, that he somehow was the one who had to uncover the mysteries of the village. He was no fool, although Hombarume had committed a crime right before their eyes, there were still peculiar things happening that needed to be taken seriously. Who was finding out how it had all been done, how it had happened so quick before their eyes, with no blade or weapon in sight. Every person in the village had seen it happen but nary could a soul explain exactly how it happened.
His conversation with Ushe and Dererai had given him perspective, also them. He had been able to convince them that there was more than what they were seeing, but somehow he felt like he could do more than just convince them, he felt like he was supposed to be finding out what happened to his father, connecting all the missing pieces of this mystery, from the prince to his father, to the seer and even Simba.
He felt that he had to be objective and look in the places that no one was looking, to veer in the direction that the village was neglecting, that was where the answers would be. This was his only way of getting the peace of mind that he felt he deserved, only then would he be able to leave everything behind and pursue a future that did not involve the cursed village.
Tapfuma had been lying on his mat in the darkness that morning. His thoughts had kept him awake for quite a long time, staring into the darkness and pondering about all that had taken place since the night he saw the prince. Suddenly, he felt this overwhelming sensation, a strange feeling that he had never felt before. It was different from the one he had felt in Hombarume's presence, this was something completely different, this felt evil. There was no confusion with this feeling, although it was strange, he immediately knew it was terrible, vile even. Before he could even begin to digest it, the horn blew.
Although he had been sheltered his entire life, he knew exactly what the horn meant. It was a signal of danger, a warning that something dreadful had happened or was about to happen. This was no coincidence, he thought as he immediately sprung up. This was all connected, woven together into a riddle that was far too impossible for a simple mind to solve. The strange feeling had just come mere moments before the horn began and now he was staring into the distance, the deep blue of the early morning as if he could by any chance catch a glimpse of something happening, or someone, but all he saw was Ushe rushing to heed the call of the horn.
'Something is happening,' he said out loud.
'Indeed it is happening.'
Tapfuma turned his back almost immediately, searching for whoever had just replied to him, but to his utter surprise he found no one there. He was now standing behind the hut that Ushe had provided him for the night, wandering where the reply had come from. No one else in the compound was awake and there was now a strong, frightening silence.
'Father?'
He felt ridiculous calling out to someone who was dead, but he wanted to know that he was not becoming insane and hearing things when they had not be said, when he was alone. What if someone heard him calling out to his dead father? The silence echoed back to him as he looked around desperately, searching for a sign of life.
'Yes, my son,' the reply came, slowly but surely.
He turned his back quickly and there he was, the man whose body he had seen slain before his eyes. He looked well, healthy and sane, just as he had been a few days ago. He had to be a dream, a mere figment of delusion.
'Be gone, spirit! How dare you masquerade as my father, a respected healer of this village?' Tapfuma said furiously.
Yeukai Vhudzijena let out a laugh that was unnerving to Tapfuma.
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The Legend of Hombarume (Legends Series, #1)
الخيال (فانتازيا)After a hunting expedition goes awry and Hombarume shoots the Prince while he shape-shifts into an unknown creature, he must clear his name and prove that what he witnessed was indeed real. Only a summer after a villager of Rujeko mysteriously disa...
