The Legend of Hombarume (Legends Series, #1)

13.

Ushe came out of hiding later in the afternoon. He was still exhausted from the eventful previous night and the remnants of the beer had finally left him so he decided to get up and make sure things were in order around the compound. Of course his nieces had done all the work in cleaning up and his farm workers were obviously hard at work in the fields preparing for the incoming rains.

Nevertheless, he staggered on to the fields in the late afternoon as he could not possibly let a day go by without assessing his ample piece of land and how preparations for the season were going. As he got to the mango trees near his well, he rested and finally started thinking about what he had pushed to the back of his mind the other night. His best friend was troubled and most of all, what he was claiming to have seen was something that was unheard of in the village, especially for someone royal. As he was beginning to consider passing by Hombarume’s compound, two female figures walked up to him. He had heard the soft voices earlier paired with the constant sound of pestle and mortar outside the kitchen.

‘Afternoon ladies, to what do we owe this awesome surprise?’ Ushe greeted his visitors.

They didn’t seem as pleased about the visit as he was. Something was not right.

‘Maswera here?’ Nakai said coming closer.

Ushe had already sensed the displeasure in her voice.

‘What’s wrong, Nakai?’ he asked.

‘They took Hombarume,’ Cheneso said.

‘What? Who?’

Ushe was surprised by this news but he remembered what his friend had said to him the last day he went hunting.

‘The Chief, they wouldn’t tell us anything worthwhile,’ Cheneso answered.

‘Was it about the Prince?’ Ushe asked scratching his chin.

‘We figured it had something to do with him,’ Cheneso said.

Ushe took a long sigh. He still wasn’t sure yet how much of a mess his friend was in.

‘Before he went to the palace, he was saying that he saw something but he never told me what it was,’ Nakai said as her eyes had just began to water.

Ushe could simply handle anything else but tears. Tears were the last straw for him. He couldn’t stand to see a woman cry, especially the love of his best friend’s life. He also wasn’t sure he could trust anyone with the information Hombarume had given him, even her.

‘I, I don’t think he had told me about anything yet,’ he replied.

Cheneso eyed him.

‘This is really tragic. The Chief surely can’t get away with this, can he?’ she asked.

‘We have to demand justice for him. If they think he has something to do with this then we deserve to know what it is.’

Ushe was now really out of it. All the thoughts that he had about going to the field and checking on the progress had disappeared and now he was focused on something else, the mystery of his friend and the prince’s disappearance. His friend was probably the last person to see him before he went missing. That was actually suspicious when he really thought about it but he had no time to doubt his friend, especially now when he needed him the most.

‘Don’t worry yourself, Nakai, I’ll make sure everything is handled. Now I’ll alert his parents about what has happened and then tomorrow, the Chief must summon the dare. If he doesn’t then we will know that something is definitely amiss for sure,’ Ushe said.

The responsibility was now on his shoulders. It was a feeling that he wasn’t used to as he always looked up to Hombarume to be the responsible authority. He always had a plan for everything and he always knew how to keep everything in control and to keep him calm.

Ushe saw the two women out as he himself set off to see Hombarume’s parents and tell them what had happened to their son. It was unfortunate news but it was something they needed to know because if he was correct, soon everything would start to go downhill. Hombarume’s arrest was just a tipping point. A lot had been going on in the small village and for a long time it was brushed off. The village had developed a shield towards these kinds of situations but now, it was too big to not admit. The Chief’s heir was missing and he wouldn’t rest until what he deemed as justice was served.

***

‘I’m getting impatient now,’ Hamandishe said.

‘You’re only getting impatient now?’ Batanai asked.

‘He’s honestly getting on my nerves, tomorrow he’ll be over this so why even bother?’

Hamandishe had for the first time in a long time wasted an entire day doing absolutely nothing. He had seen Anesu like this before and nine out of ten times it had not ended well for him. Anesu had rescheduled their trip to the sugar cane plantations by yet another day and his work partners were far from pleased.

Hamandishe and Batanai decided to give Anesu a few more hours to come back to the land of the sane, in the meantime they enjoyed a stellar game of tsoro behind their hut and some mahewu while they passed the time. Anesu spent the whole day going around the village with his not-so-new found love.

After a few rounds of the game, Hamandishe got up and went into the hut to get some nuts when he felt a tinge of hunger. He assessed the room and his eyes quickly fell upon the pouch that was covering his priceless possession, the feather head. It was a beautiful piece indeed and he couldn’t stop staring at it right now. It was mesmerizing, almost as if it was drawing him towards it. The sun was moving fast toward the groud outside and in the dwindling light of the hut, Hamandishe could have sworn the head was glowing. The golden light reflected in his eyes and beautifully so, Hamandishe was captivated and also shaken by this phenomenon. He had to get closer to affirm that what he was seeing was true. This most definitely quadruples its value, he thought. The thought of the ridiculous price at which he would sell a glowing trinket gave him a shiver but then again, he was curious about what was causing the glow.

The lion head felt heavier than he remembered and as soon as he held it in his hands he felt a weird sensation that he had never felt before, it was smooth to the touch as if water was flowing through his hands and through his finges, rippling effortless at the simple touch of his fingers. It was such an odd sensation, so terribly unexpected that he almost immediately dropped the piece. The lion head dropped to the ground, but the pure gold didn’t make an irritating noise like he expected, he was ready to cringe but the lion head landed smoothly on the ground and its glow was suddenly magnified. This was no ordinary piece at all, this was unlike anything he had seen before.

Hamandishe called for his partner immediately, but when he got there, the lion featherhead was just lying on the floor with no glow and no odd properties at all.

‘You dropped it? Did you destroy it?’ he asked, picking it up slowly.

‘No, no. I think…’ Hamandishe scratched his head.

‘It’s still fine, not a single dent,’ Batanai said.

‘Did you see that?’

Hamandishe was pointing at the artefact and he was still confused about what had just happened. He might have been day-dreaming but it felt more than real.

‘Chii chaitika?’

‘Never mind, I think I’m tired.’

Glossary.
Maswera here? – How was your day?
Dare – Court of elders.
Mahewu – Maize meal or sorghum drink
Chii chaitika? – What happened?