The Legend of Hombarume (Legends Series, #1)

27.

Tapfuma stared at his father's eagle compound, all it's grandeur had been watered down by the terrible events that had occurred a few nights prior to this moment. His eyes raced across it, thinking that somehow he'd catch a glimpse of the famed healer in the middle of some iron work or concocting a new remedy for a patient. Such luck did not exist.

He was alone. After the trial, no one had set foot in the compound, not even to check on him. How could they? He was accused of his father's murder, no doubt everyone would keep their distance. The Chief's men collected the body for further examination although the farmer, Ushe had rallied the court in his favour.

This place was no longer a home. It reeked of death and misfortune. It's sanctity had been defiled and it wasn't a safe place for the wounded and sick anymore.

If he stayed here, he wouldn't survive the summer. He'd fall into a great despair for sure, the grief and sorrow would overwhelm him and eventually drive him to take his own life.

The sun was high up in the sky just after midday, the heat of the impending summer was already quite unbearable and it promised to be hotter than the previous one. Tapfuma sat on the reed mat under the tree on the far end of the compound, trying to down a morsel of sadza, his first meal since he returned. The silence of the deserted large compound was almost driving him to insanity.

He heard whistling from far towards the periphery of the compound and thought the spirits had started to torment him. No one had come to the house since the tragedy in fear that they would suffer the same fate as his father did, so then who was this brave soul approaching ever so confidently?

Tapfuma abandoned his meal, trying to eat was like going against the current anyway. He decided to meet his visitor halfway, part of the reason was his growing anticipation and building anxiety to see who it was and the rest was driven by his crippling lack of human interaction.

'Greetings to you, Tapfuma,' Ushe, the farmer said.

'Maswera sei, vakuru?' he replied, taking a lazy halfway bow.

Ushe's eyes were riddled with something that Tapfuma had never seen from him. Of course he'd only seen him a few times, perhaps more than anyone else he'd ever encountered excluding his father, but the sadness and fear that was plastered across his face made Tapfuma even more terrified.

'Ndaswera hangu,' Ushe replied weakly.

'What's wrong, sir? You're the first person to come here since my return, which I owe to you.'

'If you owe it to me, then would it be so far fetched that I'm here?'

'The dismay on your face speaks louder that words ever could,' Tapfuma replied.

Ushe finally sat down on the stool that had been offered to him for quite a while now.

'I came here to gather more answers than questions,' he said.

'What else could I possibly know that you don't by now?'

'For starters, a great deal of misfortune in a short amount of time. In less than a week, your father's life was snatched away, you were labelled a common criminal, a murderer and now you're a social pariah.'

Tapfuma's eyes were now sparkling with imminent tears, he tried to hide it by looking away but the farmer could not be fooled.

'I've never known evil my entire life, my father had never known such evil either, it weighs heavy on my heart that I had to be the one to usher it into the household.'

Ushe scratched his head then cleared his throat before giving Tapfuma a solid stare.

'Knowing your father and the way you were brought up, you've never known good either. You don't know the world. Before this, your innocence was remarkable but now I was hoping you'd have fresh eyes and you would see that what happened to your father was the work of pure evil, the kind neither you nor I can control.'

Tapfuma's eyelids finally gave in and the tears they were harbouring let loose.

Tapfuma had never in his life felt such an overwhelming urge to cry. He couldn't even remember when last he had done so, but now Ushe just sat there as his tears gushed on.

'I want to know what you saw, I want to know where you found Pomerai,' Ushe said.

'In the forest, just off the southern border of the compound. He was badly hurt and I felt that he needed help right away or he'd bleed out. Your friend had already shot him.'

'Yes he had,' Ushe nodded.

'He should've finished the deed,' Tapfuma said, staring into the distance.

'I understand your frustrations, right now people don't know the situation in the way that you and I do.'

Tapfuma was still looking out into the distance as if he was in a trance.

'Who is the other victim?' he finally said.

'You've heard the rumours already?'

'What rumours?'

'About the seer, how then do you know that there's another victim?'

Glossary.
Maswera sei - Ndaswera hangu - Shona greetings, how was your day and it's reply.