The Legend of Hombarume (Legends Series, #1)

72.

The morning brought with it dark clouds that almost made Ushe reconsider the journey he was about to go on. He was early to rise as usual, as someone who was used to being in the fields before dawn. All his helpers, those who worked the fields with him, herded cattle, fetched water and all other duties that he had around his homestead were also early to rise as he was instructing them on what to do while he was away.

Leaving other people to manage his work entirely was something that made him extremely anxious because he had methods of doing things that he never wanted to change. Being a farmer was at the core of his being and if he did not have that, or if something went wrong, it would take away too much from him.

Ushe had just had his eyes opened up to things that he could never have thought could happen. It was no secret that the whole debacle with Hombarume had left him very confused, but the people around him had done an impeccable job at veering his eyes from the smoke and show him the fire lingering in the distance. He had been trying to connect all the dots all night. Everything all the way back to the day Hombarume came to him, looking distraught and telling him in as little detail as he could that he had possibly shot the Prince.

Then there was the humble tradesman he had met coincidentally on the road who then proceeded to disappear a few days later. He wished he had done more to find him, but soon after he disappeared, the whole mess from the seer to the sparring contest began.

There was also Hombarume who had absconded, run off to Makura village, where it would be difficult to find him in the sea of strangers, where no one would be able to make him answer for what they thought he had done. The murder and the gore, it was all so jarring to Ushe, he still could not bring himself to fully excuse or dismiss it all. Part of him told him that there was more to the story than Hombarume was letting on, that there was more to this than just believing that he did it.

There was a particular memory that stood out from his childhood. A lot of them were hazy, especially during the time just after his parents had been brutally murdered, but he distinctly remembered Hombarume's parents coming to console him, his uncle was there, trying to be as strong as he could be for him, everyone was tearful and remorseful, but he did not specifically remember Hombarume, how he had felt or what he had said to console him.

Just as the sun had begun to leave a streak of its beautiful glow on the horizon, Hombarume's father arrived at the homestead. He could not imagine what had been going through his head ever since this whole mess began. People had said a lot of things about his only son, whom before all this they had only known as a brave hunter. Now his name had been tainted in an irreversible way, people would talk for ages to come about the infamous hunter who slaughtered his own.

Ushe had to console him in the way that he had been consoled when he needed it. He had to assure him that what happened was not exactly as people had thought it to be, he had to show that he had faith in his friend, that it could all still turn around for the best.

'Welcome, baba,' he said.

'Wamuka sei hurudza?' he replied.

'I am as well as one can be in these trying times,' Ushe replied.

The man took a long sigh as they headed to the fireplace that was still cold and deserted.

'Times like this really make you think, question everything you know to be true, make you look for answers in places you had sworn you would never look, my son,' he said.

'What happened with Hombarume was very unfortunate,' Ushe said.

'There is a herd of cattle, feeding in the forest. Among the herd is a cow and her calf. They stray from the others while the calf is pestering the mother for milk. All of a sudden, the mother is attacked by a vicious predator. The calf is forced to watch as its mother is ravaged, then wanders off further unto the deep dark forest out of fear, towards even more danger.'

'What are you getting at, baba?' Ushe asked.

'What I am saying, Ushe, is that there are more unfortunate things than you have seen, there are more terrible acts ahead than whatever you think has happened to my son. I admire how you have managed to stand by him all this time, but doing so any further might have consequences that he will not save you from,' he said.

'You speak in proverbs that I cannot even begin to comprehend. Have you lost faith in Hombarume?' Ushe asked.

He was still trying to make sense of what was being said by the father of his closest friend, but he could not understand a word. To him, it seemed like all that had happened were things that he had already expected to happen.

'I used to think that I knew my son, that I raised him to be like me, a successful and humane hunter, but the more that I ponder on it, that I search my memory, I realize that there are some things that are missing and others in their place. Age has done its damage on me, but I am an intentional man, Ushe, I have always been. I teach what I believe produces results, what I would have wanted to be taught if I had found myself in the same position. Hombarume is an impeccable hunter, far more skilled than I ever was, but the skills he possesses are not familiar to me. I have seen him in action and his reason for hunting is not the same I had. When he is out there in the forest, it is almost as if he is in a trance, as if he is answering a call, a call to kill.'

'Is that not what hunting is essentially about? Killing?' Ushe asked.

Hombarume's father smiled at him, then replied.

'You have not been paying attention, my son. What I taught Hombarume was to hunt for food, to kill with intention, to be mindful, but what he does is only for the thrill of it. It exhilarates him in a way that terrified me.'

'But what does all this have to do with what happened?' Ushe asked.

'There is nothing under the sun that happens without reason, Ushe, even the coming and going of the sun itself has a reason. When I watched him at the sparring contest, he had that same look in his eyes, that same hunger for bloodshed that had surprised me, it had always been lingering, but then, it seemed to be fully in control,' he said.

What Ushe was hearing was further confusing him, making him question what he knew about his friend, making him turn his mind back to the day of the sparring contest. It was clear that Hombarume's father already had his reservations that were set in stone about the matter. In his mind, Ushe had thought that he had come to seek help or solace because his son had just disappeared after being arrested for an egregious crime, or that perhaps he thought he knew where he was, but he was here for none of the above.

It was odd because Ushe had known him most of his life, for as long as he had known Hombarume, he had been one of the many parental figures in his life after his own parents had passed away. Hombarume would tell him about all their adventures, all he had been learning from him whenever they met. They seemed to have an unbreakable bond that was solidified by a father who was eager enough to have his son know all the knowledge he could impart on him. The man who was in front of him today was someone who was talking about his son as if he were describing a complete stranger.

BeforeUshe could ask more about BabaHombarume's views, one of the men who had come from Makura, a member of theparty of traders he had met, Pasipanodya, came to him seeming rather distraughtand shouting at the top of his lungs.

Glossary

Baba - father

Wamuka sei hurudza - Good morning, farmer