The Legend of Hombarume (Legends Series, #1)

12.

‘I don’t know how to feel about this, Hama,’ Batanai said while resting his chin against his hand.

‘I don’t know how to feel about it either, but you know he won’t listen to us.’

‘We could have been halfway towards the plantations by now.’

‘I guess its our fault for choosing to work with a hopeless romantic, now we are wasting time in this strange small village.’

Batanai and Hamandishe were sitting outside the hut early in the morning while their employer was talking to Sekai.

‘You better tell him we have to leave soon if we want to make it in two days,’ Batanai said.

‘You tell him, he listens to you.’

After his fated encounter with Sekai on the road out of the village, Anesu decided that they would stay the night in the village and leave later, after he settled old scores with the girl. Anesu’s two advisors were right about him, he was a hopeless romantic and he now easily let someone who had brought him trouble before get under his skin. Anesu was a good looking man, attractive and easily garnered a lot of attention but he was also very easy to manipulate.

The three men spent the night at an overnight visitor’s compound. Such places were expensive because the owners knew that the people who visited the village were mostly rich traders or men of royalty thus they charged a lot of cowries for the stay.

‘How are you?’

‘I’m well,’ Sekai said, staring at the ground.

‘You can’t even look at me, can you?’

‘I am not sure how you feel after what happened back then.’

‘Oh I’m still very angry at you,’ he said, presenting an irresistible smile to contradict his statement.

‘Neniwo ndichiri ndakatsamwa,’ she replied.

‘Are you trying to say that I’m to blame for all that?’

‘Maybe not all of it but some of it.’

Anesu chuckled.

‘Then at least half of the blame is yours.’

They both started laughing as they moved around the compound toward the gate.

‘You still haven’t told me what you are doing here,’ she said.

‘I had a meeting with your Chief, but unfortunately, he did not show up.’

‘I would have applauded him if he did.’

‘Why?’

‘The prince has disappeared. Just the day before yesterday, I believe,’ Sekai said.

Anesu’s expression did not change. He wasn’t at all moved by what had just been said.

‘This is a very strange village, didn’t someone else vanish just a summer ago?’ he asked.

‘Yes, that’s very strange and also very frightening; everyone is scared of what will happen next.’

***

‘Sir, he has arrived,’ Revai said.

‘Bring him in tinzwe kuti anoti chii.’

Hombarume was outside patiently waiting to be called in so he could finally figure out what it was all about. He was going through scenarios in his head and trying to figure out why the Chief had ordered his immediate attention. Part of him told him that it was about his son, Pomerai, who had vanished while he was possibly the last person to see him. He wouldn’t dare bring such information to light. The delusional chief would immediately conclude that he had something to do with the disappearance and lock him up. He tried to find anything else that would have linked him to Pomerai’s disappearance but found nothing.