Gamu sat with her knees bent, head in her hands and her elbows resting on her knees.We were before the river. “Rena, why?” She asked me regretfully.I was sitting with my arms wrapped around my knees. I was still crying and shivering, I couldn’t get Sona out of my head: just when we had turned to leave I had heard the chief’s command loud and clear. And I heard the sickening slicing sound. And then I heard the villagers gasp in horror.“Rena you don’t know how much trouble you got yourself into with the chief and Furah.”“Gamu, forget about me.” I told her. “Didn’t you see what they did to Sona? Didn’t you see how his mother was crying? How could they be so heartless?”“Do you know how much Rena meant to the chief and Furah? Do you know how long it took them to get that first and only child? You shouldn’t have mentioned her to them.”“I could ask you the same about Sona’s mother. Why are you sounding as if Sona’s life didn’t matter. ““You don’t know a thing about Sona or his mother.
When we got to the hut he went to the side and put me down on the bench and then stood before me with his hands on his waist. I looked up at him with a scowl.“I don’t even know where to start.” He said biting his bottom lip like he always did. I didn’t say anything.“Okay, first of all why did you just leave Kuja without me? I thought you were supposed to wait for me.”I didn’t say anything. “Did you remember your way back?” “No I didn’t, I’m still lost there.” I said sarcastically. He smiled shortly. “Anyway, about the Princess, you spoke to her. I was so scared when you made a scene in front of her but I should have trusted you. Because of everything you told her she said that she would ask her father to free my father and let him take refuge in their village. She said it wouldn’t be easy because the whole village could question that act but she would try her best. Thank you, Genesis.”“There’s nothing to thank me for. It’s only human. If you claim you love somebody, how can you
"What are we going to do?" I asked him, the blood in my body still running a marathon. He looked back at me with so much concern.“It’s okay…” Yoké told me. “It’s just Uma.” How did he know? “Uma I’m this side.” Yoké called out. Uma appeared with a bucket in his hand. “You know this was the last thing I imagined seeing this morning after the beheading ceremony just took place.” “Rena was there.” Yoké told him. “Why did she even go?” Uma asked. “You shouldn’t have went Rena.” “She’s with the royal family. It’s a must for all of them to attend.” “I would never attend that ceremony ever again. The last time I attended I was just a little boy. But what I saw, I can never forget. It’s traumatizing.” He was swinging his bucket as he was speaking. “Yoké aren’t you going to draw water today?”“I don’t want to leave her here alone. She’s not in a good space right now.” “So… should I take your bucket or you have water from yesterday?” “I have enough water. Just do me a favor, okay?”“
Yoké later on ignited the fire and warmed his food for us and we ate. I told him that the food was delicious and he was so happy to hear that. He started telling me that when we get married he would be the one cooking for us since I do not know how to cook yet. He said he would then start teaching me how to cook. When we finished eating he brought the water from the hut and he washed the bowls while I rinsed them. When we were done, he put the bowls back inside. We then sat by the fire side by side and I laid my head on his shoulder. "Where do you want us to build our hut once we get married? We can build it anywhere you'd like." "I like it up here. Just us two, so far from everyone else." I told him. "Just us two? What about our little ones?" I started to laugh. "Which little ones?" "The ones which you and I will have. I want our first child to be a girl by the way. A beautiful baby girl with your hair." I tried to imagine a baby girl with Yoké's smile, his eyes and my hair. "I
"I don't blame her too." I said. "She has every right to be scared for her life. Look at poor Sona, his was just taken away from him just like that." "But I will try my best again to talk to her tomorrow at the well." Uma said. "Thank you." I said. "Don't say thank you. Bring me the corn that Yoké owes me." "You'll never get it." Yoké told him. "Rena do you see the man that you would like to marry one day? He doesn't even know how to return things he owes." "In brotherhood there is no owing." Yoké told him. "Anyway, you two are not even afraid to sit here like this after everything that happened. I told you two not to sit like this. You two are something else." Yoké got up and went inside his hut. "So when are you going to confess your love to Gamu?" I teased him. "Never. I don't love her." Yoké came back with a flute and sat back down next to me. "I thought you would have changed your mind by now." "No way. I need someone that will love me more than anything. You see the
We didn’t wake up at the crow of the rooster. When we heard it Yoké drew me closer to him. “Don’t mind that rooster.” He continued his sleep with his arms wrapped across my chest. I smiled and snuggled into his arms. After a little while I was woken by someone’s looming image over us. I opened my eyes and it was Uma. He had his hands to his waist and he was shaking his head. I smiled and attempted to sit up, that’s when Yoké woke up. “Are you forgetting that we go farm every morning at the cry of the cock.” Uma was asking Yoké. “Or was the cock not loud enough this morning?” Yoké laughed. “Rena ignore him.” He laid back down on the sleeping mat with his arm covering his eyes. “So today you are not going?” I asked him. “He can’t not go. The last time he didn’t go too. We don’t want the elders to start keeping their eyes on him.”“Rena come here.” Yoké drew out his hands. “And the last time you didn’t go because of Rena too. That day that Furah asked you to take care of her.”“I
When we got to the turn which leads back to the huts she didn’t take it. I didn’t ask her. I continued following behind her. She was not saying anything, not even looking back. “Gamu…” She didn’t respond. Didn’t even stop walking. “The way to the huts is the other way. Where are we going?” “To the river. She said before you come you must first bath.”"Did you bring my things?” I asked her. She looked back at me and rolled her eyes. I didn’t ask her anything after that.When we got to the river I bathed and changed into the same clothes I wore yesterday as it turned out, she didn’t bring anything for me. After that we went to the well and she filled two buckets with water, picked them up in each hand and then started to leave. She left the other bucket and I knew what that meant. I’ve never taken water from the well before but I’ve watched them draw water countless times so I had an idea. I used the handle and released the bucket into the well and watched it as it was going down
We sat around the wooden table eating the delicious vegetables that Gamu had made. As we ate in awkward silence I was only thinking of one thing: Furah’s last words. Each time I looked across the table toward her I was sure that maybe I had misunderstood her. She didn’t look like the person I was with in that chamber. She didn’t look like the person that told me what she had just said to me.The chief on the other hand wore an unshakable frown that I knew oh-so-well. I would always wonder how one person could hate me so much that he refused to speak whenever I was around but today I finally understood his hate. He hated me for trying to take his daughter’s place in their life. He hated me for sleeping in his daughter’s chamber and wearing her clothes. Perhaps I brought back the memories of his beloved daughter each day. Being called by her name each day… I understood his anger, it was pain. I suddenly remembered that Yoké had asked me to come back to him. He had to know what Furah had