The Legend of Hombarume (Legends Series, #1)

4.

By first light, the news of the Chief's son had spread like wildfire to all corners of the village. In a village like this one, it was easy for such rumours to spread, one ember to a blade of grass is all it took to destroy an entire forest, after all. The villagers had already started connecting this disappearance to that of Mubaiwa's son, Simba. The parents had barely come to terms with the loss of their son and now they had to listen to stories like these flying around. Some were also connecting the disappearance of Pomerai to that of the Chief's eldest son. Only the brave would dare talk about that story and you also had to know it happened for you to talk about it, for it had been covered up immensely.

The Chief's son was said to have died along with his mother in a fire, that was the story that had been peddled to the rest of the village. Only those close enough to the family and wise enough to see beyond the ruse knew what really happened. One would expect that the rumour of Pomerai's disappearance had set its course after the herd boy's visit to the palace but someone at that compoun had already set it in motion before that.

When the boy had gotten back to Nhakayedenga's compound, everyone already had suspicions as to why he had been summoned by the Chief; they did not even need to ask at all. Nhakayedenga was secretly relieved that the prince had vanished into thin air. He did not have any intentions of giving his daughter to Banga's family and without a groom there was no bride, his thoughts were cruel but true. He already knew that his wife, Shinga, had been won over, for she was an easy woman to please. He remembered how he won her over back before he was even known for his farming expertise. He had bought her one of the most expensive cloth in the land back then when the villages were still divided. Shinga had left her suitor without a second thought and gone for him almost immediately. He knew his daughter was different from her. She was bright and did not follow material things; her fascination with the hunter had proven a lot to him.

Nhakayedenga was, however, troubled by these village disappearances. The gods were angry, he thought. He had to make sure that his house was in order for there was nothing he feared more than the wrath of the gods, maybe only poverty came close. Since he was young he had made sure that he led a positive and lawful life and he wanted the same for his only child. When he was young, during the time they called "the gods' walk", he heard many stories from his father about relatives being struck by lightning in broad daylight and attacked by lions on the path to the stream. He himself had witnessed the weird death of his mother and it had plagued him for life. The woman had developed boils all over her body the day after the village seer had visited their house, by the next full moon, she had been buried. A rumour had later reached him that his mother had committed impure acts with a trader she knew before marriage. Thus, until this day, Nhakayedenga had strongly believed in the wrath of the gods and he strongly feared it. The Chief was already someone he did not wish to associate with. They had been friends in the past before he had succeeded his father but the friendship did not last. Nyamayedenga also knew what had really happened to Chaminuka, Banga's first son and Tsitsi, his first wife.

Nyamayedenga was early to rise today as he had already started the preparations for the farming season. He wanted to make sure that everything was ready and a farmer of his calibre had means to make sure that the harvest was favourable. He moved around the compound just before day break, gathering all the necessary tools and checking the water reserves. After seeing that everything was at par, the farmer navigated his large compound to the kraals where his legendary herd of cattle was. He came to admire it every day before he started his morning errands and to pat himself on the back for what he had been able to achieve so far. He was far from done, he thought. He would not rest until he was the most successful farmer in the Four. He also stared out into the open fields that his father and father before him had cultivated and he was proud. As he started towards the fields, he looked back and in the early light he saw a figure approaching his homestead. He squinted to get a better view of who might be visiting him that early and as the figure drew closer and closer, he realised who it was and he was surprised.

***

The news of the Chief's son's disappearance had also travelled to the other end of the village and landed on the ears of Ushe. Upon hearing about this tragic vanishing, Ushe thought back to the conversation he had with his best friend the previous night. He had never seen Hombarumbe in such a state before and it bothered him hearing what he had to say. The rumour about the disappearance had reached him through one of his workers, Jowa. He arrived early that morning from his home and when he and another of Ushe's workers, Tafi, were milking the cows just before setting off to the fields, Jowa revealed that his wife told him about the Chief's son being possibly abducted during the night while everyone was sleeping. He claimed that the chief's guard had checked on him during the night and found that he was absent from his room. Ushe, busy sharpening his axe, tried his best not to eavesdrop on this elaborate story but then he remembered Hombarume's face as he explained what happened in the forest. At this very moment, he was sure of two things. Firstly, there was something wrong with the Chief's son, secondly, strange things were happening in the village and soon enough the unravelling would begin.

When Ushe was young, before his parents had both been killed by invaders, he used to accompany his father to Gomoguru, the big mountain that bordered the village. His father would travel to the peak of the mountain and pay his respects to the gods. They would walk together almost all the way but as they got close to the peak, Ushe would remain behind at his father's request. The mountain had always terrified him since childhood but he never really could ascertain why he had such a feeling about it. His father was irresponsible for leaving him behind but he was a man who did not care much for anything but the task at hand. Ushe would wait impatiently for his father's return while he fantasized about a wild beast attempting to attack him before a valiant warrior would come to his rescue. This daydream always seemed to be effective in keeping the fear at bay.

As Ushe grew older, his father frequented the mountains less and less. At first he only started going every few moons then he would go at the beginning of every season until eventually he stopped going. A few nights after he stooped visiting Gomoguru, he was attacked in his home. Ushe had woken up late as he was used to his mother rousing him at first light so that his father would teach him how to milk the cows before he followed his peers to herd the cattle. He had gone to his mother and father's quarters after he noticed that the sun had already risen and found them daggered in their bed.

'Remember a similar thing happened to Mubaiwa's son last summer?' Tafi said.

Jowa was busy fidgeting with the cow teat. He was trying to establish a comfortable position and when he finally did, he started rubbing the cow's teat gently before squeezing into his mouth. The fresh, warm liquid came spurting out into his already ajar mouth and cascaded down his throat while some of it spilled onto the ground. He finally grabbed the pot and started milking consistently into it.

'That was really strange, that man is one of the best we have in the village, the thought of Simba just going missing like that is perplexing,' Jowa replied.

'If something like that can happen to a man who would never hurt a fly, imagine what could happen to each of us,'Tafi said.

'You never know a man's deeds until his reckoning comes,' Ushe finally broke his silence.

'You're right there mukoma, the gods would never allow such an injustice to go unanswered for,' Jowa replied.

Glossary.
Mukoma - Brother.